You may have heard from your children that we participated in the Great Shake-Out, a statewide earthquake drill, today. Even though it was an abbreviated drill, we were able to practice ‘drop, cover and hold’ and evacuating from the classrooms. Tomorrow we will practice a fire drill. The Greenwood Fire Department will be present for their annual inspection and to observe our drill.
Centennial celebration continues with stories from alumni, Greenwood history, greetings from ‘the voice of the Mariners’, the Governor of Washington, and the President of the United States, and the next big event – the Endowment Dinner this Saturday! Michele Thornquist, former Director of Admissions & Development and parent of alumni, will be honored for her great contributions to the legacy of St. John. If you cannot attend in person, be part of our history by watching this adorable video of our students voicing their opinions about the new logo, donating or volunteering (this is a great opportunity for high school students to accrue service hours).
These are busy days! Students in grades 4 and 5 are busy planning for the “Día de los Muertos” celebration, and middle school students are getting ready to host this year’s Halloween Carnival. Please make sure costumes are appropriate for the school day; details can be found here. The Admissions Office is hosting tours and preparing for the PreK & Kindergarten Open House on November 3. I can’t believe we are already speaking about enrollment for next year! We are also getting ready to host a very special day – a ‘grand day altogether’ as we would say in Ireland – when grandparents and special friends of students in grades 3, 4 & 5 are invited to visit the campus, so put ‘Grand Day‘, November 22 on your calendar.
If you haven’t done so, do remember to sign up for conferences. Though there is no school for students on November 9 and 10, we do expect you to be here or on zoom for parent-teacher conferences. Some teachers also expect the student to be present.
Colds, sore throats, and stomach bugs are back, and we still have COVID. Thank you for keeping sick children at home; do remember to submit an attendance form if your child will be absent from school. Some teachers have also been out sick. I am very grateful to the faculty and staff for filling in for one another when we cannot find substitutes. On another staff note, Dora Hall, who joined us along with Lee Rolfe during the early COVID days, is staying on as the part-time school nurse. Thanks to Dora, St. John may host an on-campus Flu and COVID Booster Clinic for our students if there is enough parent/guardian interest. Please complete the interest survey so that we can plan accordingly.
The forecast shows rain tomorrow. Send your children with rain jackets. We look forward to being outside again!
Blessings,
Bernadette O’Leary
