Weekly Family Communication

The mission of Holy Rosary School is to help each child discover and fully develop their God-given talents. As a Catholic School community, we strive for excellence in our students’ spiritual, academic, physical, mental, aesthetic, and social-emotional growth. It is our intention that those who attend this institution mature into active citizens leading a committed faith life and reaching out to help others locally, nationally, and internationally with their wisdom, time, talent, and financial resources.

Dear Holy Rosary Families,

Yesterday we celebrated Ash Wednesday, the beginning of our Lenten journey. This time is intended to draw us closer to Jesus, as we walk alongside Him in the desert these 40 days. Yesterday the staff and I talked about ways we can make this time meaningful for ourselves and our students. Father Charles challenged us all at Mass yesterday to think about how we can use this time to pray better, love others more fully, and to be of service to each other.

In this light, I wanted to share with you a short reflection on ways you might prepare yourself during this time period. Likewise, here is a wonderful resource to support your family during this important time as well.

My prayer for us all is that we truly embrace all that Lent has to offer. For if we do so, we will be able to truly embrace the joy of Easter to come.

I hope to see many of you at the Crab dinner on February 24th. If you haven't signed up already, please do so soon! It promises to be a wonderful evening of community and delicious food! Many thanks to the Tucci-Ringstad family for planning and sponsoring this event with the support of our Parents Club.

In Christ,

Anna

February 22 – Feast of The Chair of St. Peter

The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter celebrates both a real (very old) chair that is in the back of St. Peter’s Basilica and the spiritual authority that the chair represents. Peter passed down the apostolic succession all the way down to our current Holy Father, the pope. The chair is a fancy, old oak armchair. It is unknown whether St. Peter actually sat in it.

Ways to celebrate the Feast Day in your home:

*Talk to your child(ren) about what it means to be the pope. When a pope speaks ex cathedra (from the chair) he is preserved by the Holy Spirit from making errors. But other times, the pope can make errors just like anyone else.

*Write a letter to the pope on this day to say thank you, send your prayers, or ask respectfully for clarifications on statements that are confusing to you. Mailing address is:
His Holiness Pope Francis, Apostolic Palace, 00120

*Using cookies or candies, make a little chair using frosting to stick the ingredients together. Decorate with sprinkles. You could also use popsicle sticks, cardboard, glue, and glitter. Use whatever you may have around the house.

This week Kindergarten through 4th grade are discussing love and empathy. Some of the key factors we discuss are the importance of loving yourself, being proud of yourself, and caring for others. Some of the students did an activity where they wrote down love as experienced through their 5 senses. Love sometimes shows up in the small things. I love their creativity.

In 5th-8th grade this month, we are continuing to partner with #WinatSocial and delving into Finding Your Influencers. Please continue to reach out with any questions, mchoitz@holyrosaryws.org.

• Feb 16th - Noon Dismissal
  
• Feb 19th - No School, Presidents' Day
• Feb 23rd - 8th Grade Pizza Lunch
• Feb 24th - Crab Feed
• Mar 8th - Noon Dismissal, Teacher-In-Service

Enjoy another long weekend. We will see you back at school on Tuesday, February 20th.

The lost and found is in the front entry hall. Please have your child check it out. There are a lot of nice coats with no name on them. Anything not claimed by Tuesday Feb. 20, end of school day, will be donated!

We have: Water bottles, pencil pouches, hats, coats, uniforms, clothes and hair bands and many other items.

With parties coming up for Valentine's Day, it's a good time to review the policy about taking pictures at school. During parties, events, and field trips, and while volunteering, parents and guardians are welcome to take pictures of their child(ren). Volunteers who are not parents/guardians should not take pictures of students while volunteering at school. Due to the sensitive nature of social media, if other students appear in any group shots, parents are strongly encouraged to seek permission from other parents/guardians before posting these pictures online or sharing them publicly.

We have many skirts, skorts and jumpers up for grabs. If you need any item from the Uniform Closet please contact Nannette at: NannetteBuroker@gmail.com

Currently we are getting requests for red cardigans, cadet jackets and sweatshirts. Please continue to turn in uniform items so the uniform closet can fulfill student requests. Thank you for those families who have turned in outgrown and unused uniforms.

During Lent, one of the pillars we focus is on almsgiving. This means that we strive to intentionally focus on serving others in need during this Lenten time. As a school, we will do two things to focus on serving those in need during Lent. First, we will take up a special collection on five Fridays during Lent to support Father Dunstan and his school in Kenya. You may remember Father Dunstan who was with us for a school Mass in January and who celebrated Christmas Masses with us. Father Dunstan has a school in Kenya and they are trying to build a kitchen in order to keep their food safe from animals to feed their students. Our students will get to learn more about this in class. On these Fridays in Lent (2/23, 3/1, 3/8, 3/15, and 3/22) students may come to school in free dress if they bring in a donation (minimum $1) to support this important need in Kenya. We strongly encourage students to earn the $1 each week doing some act of service around their home. This way they will connect their own service to their almsgiving. Students may come in uniform on these days if they choose not to participate, and please no free dress passes these Fridays.

Second, we will continue our tradition of supporting a local men's shelter in Seattle, St. Martin de Porres. We will take up collections as follows (optional as well, but encourage participation if possible). We will deliver the donations from our school to St. Martins each of these Fridays.

Fri. February 23rd:

Last Names A-L: Brown Bag Lunches (perishable OK)

Last Names M-Z: Large and small bath towels (gently used, if clean and unstained are OK)

Fri. March 1st:

Last Names A-L: Disposable razors and shaving cream (travel size)

Last Names M-Z: Brown Bag Lunches (perishable OK)

Friday, March 8th:

Last Names A-L: Brown Bag Lunches (perishable OK)

Last Names M-Z: Travel toothbrushes/toothpaste

Fri. March 15th:

Last Names A-L: Men's socks

Last Names M-Z: Brown Bag Lunches (perishable OK)

Fri. March 22nd:

Last Names A-L: Men's deodorant (regular or travel sized) or Brown Bag Lunches (perishable OK)

Last Names M-Z: Men's deodorant (regular or travel sized) or Brown Bag Lunches (perishable OK)

Bring your Thriftway receipts to the school office. For every purchase, Thiftway will donate to Holy Rosary.

If your child will be playing baseball or softball this spring, please bring your completely filled out form to the school office for a signature. The office does not supply or fill out the forms for the player.

What: Family Style King Crab Dinner

When: Saturday, February 24, 2024

Time: 6:15pm (after 5pm mass)

Where: Lanigan Gym

Benefits: Holy Rosary School Parents Club

Contact: parentsclub@holyrosaryws.org

Tickets: holyrosaryws.org/crab-dinner

Volunteer: We really need volunteers for the 6-8pm serving shift. You will receive DOUBLE HOURS. Sign up here. Thank you to those in our community that have already signed up!

UPDATE: You may now bring your own beer/wine to this the crab dinner we will obtain a permit. Serving alcohol requires additional volunteers and due to low volunteer turnout, this is the best option available.

Join us Saturday, February 24 for a family-style served dinner filled with King crab, corn and potatoes, ending with dessert. All served literally on the table, from the pot, ready to dig into with your hands! Child main course option of corn dog or crab (must select one). This is a family friendly event, non-alcoholic beverages will be served. Proceeds benefit Holy Rosary School Parents Club.

Family of 4 - $175 / Adults - $65 / Seniors - $45 / Children (age 3-12) - $25

LAST DAY TO RSVP IS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH.

All King crab donated by the Tucci-Ringstad Family and American Sea Ranchers, LLC

FAMILY DONATION MUST BE ENTERED INTO ONE OF THE LINKS BELOW BY TOMORROW @ 9PM. Do not bring the donation to school until FEBRUARY 23. Remember all families are required to contribute a minimum of $225 to the auction in the form of cash or tangible items.

Make your CASH DONATION here.

Make your ITEM DONATION here.

Ideas for donations may be found on our auction web site.

Suggestions:

-go in with friends on an experience

-have a special talent (baking, photography, coaching, etc), donate time

-vacation property

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the family procurement duo of Giulia Canali (Olson) and Jun Ren (Gangon) with your ideas and questions. Looking forward to hearing all your ideas!

auction-procurement@holyrosaryws.org

DO NOT bring your donation to school until FEBRUARY 23.

1. Are you a people person and don’t mind hearing the word no? The auction committee is looking for a SPONSORSHIP COORDINATOR. Work off a list as well as seek new sponsors. Contact Beth.
   
2. Are you a natural salesperson? Or really organized? Then the auction RAFFLE needs you to organize and account for all the raffle tickets sold in conjunction with the auction. Most work done at home. Contact Beth Martin (bmartin@holyrosaryws.org) for additional details on each position.

Thank you to those that completed the fundraising survey in December. After reviewing the results, a few questions arose. Over the next month, answers to these questions will be in the efc.

Auction

Q: Why do we fundraise when tuition is charged?

Fundraising is used to help close the gap between the cost to educate and tuition charged. Without fundraising there would be on average an annual budget shortfall of nearly $750,000.

Q: Why is the auction not held on Holy Rosary's campus?

The auction was held at HRS for many years. However, about 8 years ago the auction was moved off campus because securing enough volunteers to turn the school into an event venue was impossible. Plus, by the time all the vendors were hired (caterer, sound, stage, décor) it cost more than going to Brockey Center.

Q: Why does the auction cost $125 a ticket?

A: The auction ticket price had been set at $100 for years, however this did not include alcohol. In order to cut down on volunteers a ticket price of $125 was established and we discontinued drink ticket volunteers, converting to an open bar. The goal of the ticket price is to try and cover the cost of the event so that all dollars raised between the online auction and event night go directly back to our students/programs.

Q: Have we ever considered having the auction at another venue?

A: The auction committee is considering other venues for the 2025 auction. The size of our auction, 300 guests, limits venue availability. Most venues comfortably hold 200 guests, think wedding sites, but adding in another 100 guests and tables for auction items pushes capacity restrictions. Moving venues will increase ticket costs and the committee will carefully weigh this fact when considering alternative locations.

Dine out at West Wings to support HRS. West Wings will donate back 25% of your purchase for eat-in or take-out from 5-9pm on the following Thursdays:

February 29th

First Tuesday of the month (see dates below) is HRS night at The Good Society! Grab a pint and a bite at The Good Society and 25% of your sale goes to HRS. Social time, great beer and fundraising for HRS…it’s a WIN-WIN! Be sure to mention you are there to support Holy Rosary!

***March 5th***April 2nd***May 7th***June 4th***

Please spread the word that we have a few spaces open in our Preschool 2s class (age 2.5 by Aug. 31st)! holyrosaryws.org

Thank you to all the families who completed re-enrollment for 24/25! We will be starting student visits this month for prospective students applying to enroll next year.

The Parent’s Club is seeking volunteers for the Crab Dinner on Saturday, February 24th. There are three shifts available, sign up for one shift or all three! All volunteers MUST be SAFE ENVIRONMENT cleared.

Set-Up: 3pm - 6pm

Event Assistance: 6pm - 8pm

Clean-Up: 8pm - 10pm

Sign up here!

Glow Bowl is back this year on Friday, May 17th!! We're looking for volunteers to help with planning and/or day of event logistics/set-up. No prior Glow Bowl experience necessary. Please contact parentsclub@holyrosaryws.org if interested.

Holy Rosary is partnering with OLG and other Seattle-area parishes to participate in the South Deanery Day of Service on Saturday April 27th, 2024. This is one amazing day where volunteers perform service for over 20 charities with projects designed for all ages, abilities, and schedules, including drop-in campus projects and at-home projects.

Holy Rosary Parents Club is looking for a volunteer (or group of volunteers!) to help lead HRS’s participation in this amazing event. Commitment would include 1 planning meeting per month with the multi-parish team and coordination of HRS-specific communications and campus service project. Earn school volunteer hours and serve the community! Win-Win! Interested? Contact Lee Quirk (leeaquirk@gmail.com) for more info.

To volunteer at any school or parish events, individuals need to be Safe Environment cleared (includes a background check). Please login below and select the Protecting God’s Children class.

Steps:
1. Log in to the Virtus web site
2. Create an account
3. Select Archdiocese of Seattle from the dropdown
4. Then select Holy Rosary Seattle

Congratulations to the 32 Confirmands that were confirmed by Archbishop Etienne on Tuesday evening.

Thursday Evening or Friday Morning or Both!

It's not too late to join WWP sessions. Looking for a way to connect with other women and renew and grow your faith life? Holy Rosary’s WWP group offers all that and more. Women of all ages and stages of life are welcome and you do not need to be Catholic to join a Women with Purpose session. We are offering two incredible sessions, Thursday Evenings: “Epic, A Journey Through Church History” and Friday Mornings: “Mary, A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother”.

• WWP Thursday Evenings from 6:00pm to 7:30pm, January 4—February 1 & February 15—March 21, 2024.
• WWP Friday Mornings from 9:15am to 11:15am, January 19—March 22, 2024
• Register for WWP Thursday Evenings, Friday Mornings or Both!https://holyrosaryseattle.org/wwp-registration.
• Contact Deyette Swegle for questions, scholarships, Friday morning childcare at dswegle@holyrosaryseattle.org.
• Meeting Location for both WWP Thursday evenings and Friday mornings—Parish Center Reception Room.

Have you looked at the Parish website lately? Take a moment and see what's happening on the other side of the street.

If you are interested in having your child baptized, please email Deyette at Deyette Swegle. You may also complete our Baptism Registration form by using this link, https://holyrosaryseattle.org/infant-baptism-registration.

Please contact Deyette Swegle at Dswegle@holyrosaryseattle.org or 206-937-1488, ext. 251.

Please contact Sr. Stella at srstella@holyrosaryseattle.org or call 206-937-1488 ext. 252.

Please contact Sr. Stella for more information at srstella@holyrosaryseattle.orgor call 206-937-1488 ext. 252.

Please contact us at evangelization@holyrosaryseattle.org

We offer Children’s Liturgy of the Word year round at Sunday 10:30am Mass.

• Parish Children’s Choir YouthChoir! (Grades 3-6) | Holy Rosary Catholic Church | Seattle, WA (holyrosaryseattle.org)
• Altar Serving (5th -High school)–email Paul Dolejsi at Pdolejsi@holyrosaryseattle.org for more information.

Please contact us at evangelization@holyrosaryseattle.org.

Want to play the fastest game on two feet? Southwest Lacrosse Club's Spring 2024 Registration is open for Kindergarten through 8th grade. Players of all skill levels and experience are welcome to play. Practice starts for 3rd graders and older in February, with games beginning in March. As part of our ongoing mission to make lacrosse accessible to all who want to play, the club offers financial aid and scholarships based on family need. Loaner equipment is also available. Let's Go Titans!

Links: https://swlacrosseclub.org/

Registration Is Officially Open For The 2024 Spring Season For West Seattle Baseball And Softball!

West Seattle Baseball is offering Baseball for six different divisions, and – new this year – offering Softball for three. Registration is open now through February 15th. Early registration discount is available for all registrations completed by January 5th. Also available are multi-sibling discounts.
Sign up at: https://www.westseattlebaseball.com/

West Seattle Baseball believes that every child deserves to benefit from the games of baseball and softball. For families needing financial assistance, we offer reduced-fee league registration through the West Seattle Baseball Scholarship Assistance program. If you wish to apply, please contact wsbbregistrar@gmail.com.

West Seattle Little League will offer Baseball, Softball, and Challenger programs; registration is now open!

West Seattle Little League Spring 2024 registration is now open for all youth ages 4-14.

The WSLL baseball and softball spring season will run from March to June, featuring fun activities like the jamboree, sandlot days, and end-of-the-season bash. Interested to know more details? Check out westseattlelittleleague.com to find information about boundaries and divisions of play.

Each year, we want to make sure all kids have the opportunity to write the next chapter in the Little League story, regardless of their situation. No child will be denied a chance to play due to financial reasons. If you need a full or partial scholarship, please visit our Scholarship page for more info. We are dedicated to finding a confidential financial solution for families.

We look forward to seeing you on the field!

We are pleased to let you know that registration is now open for HNA Summer Camps 2024. These camps are open to young women entering Grades 4 through 8, and to any student starting Grade 9 at HNA in the Fall. We offer Athletic Camps (all skill levels welcome) and a wide variety of Special Interest Camps. More details are available on our website

Dates: June 24 through July 26 with the exception of July 4th and 5th

We offer a 5 week academic summer school program with certificated teachers and Instructional Assistants. It is not a summer camp. It’s an all or none program in order for students to make the most gains academically.

Summer School registration is open to all students currently attending a Catholic school. Your own school uniform is the required dress code. All students who apply must come with a positive, cooperative attitude ready to learn. Your child’s teacher/principal will supply us with Spring MAP Student Progress Reports along with recommendations for areas of focus during summer school.

· St. George Parents will be charged through Finalsite on June 17th.

· Non St. George parents who wish to enroll his/her children are required to attend a Parent Education Night on Tuesday, June 11th at 6:30 p.m. in the school hall. ALL FEES are due in full that night. Payable by cash, money order or cashier’s check. No personal checks will be accepted. Summer School requirements and expectations will be clarified. See our Flyer for more information.

Our Blanchet Buddies program offers an opportunity for local grade school students to be paired with a Blanchet junior or senior, in specific areas of interest. For this spring, we are offering Buddies in Boys Soccer, Boys Lacrosse, Girls Lacrosse, Baseball, Softball and Drama . As part of the program, buddies receive a monthly letter during the season, a Bears jersey/sweatshirt, and the opportunity to attend a practice and game night or event to get to know their buddy. Spring Blanchet Buddies registration opened January 26. Please visit bishopblanchet.org/buddies for more information. Go Bears and Go Buddies!

BBHS families - please share this with your friends and family! Soak in the summer fun at Bishop Blanchet! Registration is now open for in-person camps in athletics, academics, and the arts at BBHS.

• Multiple Athletics Camps run throughout the summer

• The Discovery Learning Camp (gr 5-8) runs August 12-16.

• The BBHS Study Skills Camp (gr 5-8) runs August 12-15.

• The Musical Theatre Camp (gr 5-8) runs August 19-22.

Seattle Preparatory School: Summer Prep

www.seaprep.org/summer-learning

Summer Prep is for rising 5th-8th grade students

Summer Prep Week 1: June 17, June 18, June 20, June 21

Summer Prep Week 2: June 24 – June 27

Registration Link: https://campscui.active.com/orgs/SeattlePreparatorySchool?season=3441639

2024 Summer Art Camps are being offered next door at Hope North. All rising first through sixth graders at HRS are welcome to attend. Dates: July 8-11 and July 15-18. We may also offer a third week of art camp in August - stay tuned! Each camp offers a totally new and unique set of projects. These camps are taught by former HRS art teacher, Lacey Reuter. More info and registration here: www.rainbowparrotart.com (This is not a Holy Rosary School program).