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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.

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PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

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Dear Holy Rosary Families,
When we return from the long weekend, it will be Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.  As we approach the beginning of this time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, I wanted to share this wonderful resource from Catholic Relief Services that may help your family prepare for this time.  Rice Bowls will be coming home with students as well.
I also wanted to let you know of one significant staffing change we are planning for as we progress towards next year.  Jon Barker, technology teacher and specialist, has told us he has made the difficult decision for this to be his last year at Holy Rosary.  We will have time to honor and celebrate Jon later this year, and his leaving will certainly be a loss for this community. Jon made this decision early to allow us time to seek a qualified candidate to fill his big shoes.  We will communicate later this year when we will celebrate him!  
Finally, when we enter Lent, we will once again take up a collection as a school for the St. Martin de Porres men’s shelter.  This important service provides support at a time when they need it most. The collection schedule is listed below, broken up by student last names.  NOTE- the lunches we will make for them can be perishable, unlike Lunches of Love. We are also looking for volunteers to help transport the collections to St. Martins each Friday morning.  Please contact Kristin Bentler (office@holyrosaryws.org) if you are available to help.
In Christ,
Anna

Lenten Collection for St. Martin de Porres Shelter:
Fri. February 24th –     
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 3rd:  
Last Names A-L:  Disposable razors and shaving cream (travel size)
Last Names M-Z:   Brown Bag Lunches (perishable OK)
Fri. March 17th:  
Last Names A-L: Brown Bag Lunches (perishable OK)
Last Names M-Z:  Men’s socks  
Fri. March 24th:
Last Names A-L: Men’s deodorant (regular or travel sized), toothbrushes, toothpaste (travel size toothpaste)
Last Names M-Z: Brown Bag Lunches (perishable OK)
Fri. March 31st
Last Names A-L:   Brown Bag Lunches (perishable OK) and/or reading glasses 
Last Names M-Z:   Brown Bag Lunches (perishable OK) and/or reading glasses 

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UPCOMING DATES

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• February 17th – Noon Dismissal
• February 20th – Presidents’ Day – No School/No BASE
• February 21st – Mid-Winter Break – No School
• February 24th – 8th Grade Pizza Lunch
• March 4th – Auction
• March 10th – Noon Dismissal (Teacher-In-Service)

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NOTES & REMINDERS

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Noon Dismissal Friday

School will be dismissed at 12pm tomorrow (2/17). There will be no school on Monday and Tuesday (2/20 & 2/21) for Presidents Day/ Winter Break. We will return to class on Wednesday, February 22nd in perfect uniform for Ash Wednesday mass.

School Year 2023/24

We are already hard at work planning next school year. Below are the major calendar dates. We ask that when you are planning family vacations, please schedule them during non-school times. There is one change to the 2023/24 calendar that we would like you to make note of. We will not have a day off in February 2024 for Winter Break. This will allow us to complete our required number of school days. There will be a full 2023/24 calendar available soon.
First Day 9/5/23
Fall Conferences 11/20/23-11/22/23
Christmas Break 12/18/23-1/1/24
President’s Day 2/19/24 (No Winter Break)
Spring Break 4/1/24-4/5/24
Last Day 6/14/24

COVID And Health Screening

Please find the latest COVID screening flowchart on our website and linked here. We have testing available on site and can test any student, parent or family member if needed.  NOTE- parent permission will always be obtained prior to testing at any time. This permission slip can be found here and should be returned to the school office. 
Please contact the office as soon as possible if anyone in your family tests positive at any time at office@holyrosaryws.org or COVID@holyrosaryws.org.  Kristin Bentler will work with you then on protocols and next steps.  
Students who have a family member test positive may remain in school, but should engage in a Test to Stay Protocol testing prior to attending school each day.   Per the Department of Health (DOH) guidance, students are asked to mask at school if a family member tests positive until that family member is no longer contagious.  If a student tests positive, he/she should wear a mask until day 10 even if returning to school on day 6, per DOH guidance as well.  
Due to the disruption it causes to the learning environment, Zoom instruction will not be offered building-wide this year.  Individual teachers will share protocols for addressing COVID-related absences.  Number of new COVID cases in the school this week (as of Thursday am) = 1

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EVENTS & FUNDRAISING

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Auction

Auction tickets are now on sale.  Buy your tickets here.  Only 20 remain.
Either dress in a Vegas theme or cocktail attire.
Raffle Tickets – Tuition and 50/50 raffle available. Cost is $100 for $5000 tuition and 50/50 raffle tickets are 1 for $25 or 5 for $100. Raffle forms came home with your invitation or print this form and drop by the main office.
Sponsors
Thank you Kamila Kennedy Homes, Windermere West Metro, The Johnsons at Windermere, West Seattle Co-working, Potter Construction, O’Dea High School, Bishop Blanchet High School Sorensen Orthodontics and Blue Moon Burgers! 
Volunteer positions available for auction weekend, sign up HERE.
Auction Volunteers Needed!
We need volunteers to make our Auction on Saturday, March 4 a successful event! Please sign up today.
Planning to Attend the Auction?
If you are planning on attending the auction, we still have LOTS of slots where you can help – including moving auction items and décor on Friday, March 3; set-up for the auction on Saturday morning/early afternoon; bringing volunteer food (3 volunteer hours for buying and dropping off food and get reimbursed!). You can even do some jobs during the silent auction and still attend – including closing out silent auction tables, selling raffle tickets, staffing our wine sales booth, and helping our photographer. We will also need someone to help organize our storage area (the cage) at school after the auction.
Want to see what the event is all about, but not planning to attend this year?
As always we need a lot of help night of to make the auction happen, and for these roles we need folks who are NOT planning on attending the auction as a guest. This includes live auction spotters, live auction PowerPoint operator, dessert auction support, distributing auction items at check out, and the all important auction data-entry volunteers (auction office), and clean-up/transport back to school that night.
Questions? Please reach out to Auction Volunteer Lead Renee Kurdzos at renee.kurdzos@gmail.com.
Desserts Needed Love to bake or have a favorite dessert from a local bakery? We need desserts for the auction. Deliver to the venue on March 4, earn volunteer hours. Contact Sarah Mosley (Bucci) at auction-dessert@holyrosaryws.org.
If you are love baking and coordinating, then the dessert auction may be a perfect fit for your volunteer hours. Contact Sarah Mosley if interested in shadowing her for the remainder of this auction season and co-owning the position next year.

Good Society Night Out

Third 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!

• February 21st
• March 21st
• April 18th
• May 16th

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ADMISSIONS

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Re-Enrollment

Re-enrollment contract reminders were sent out. Thank you to those that have re-enrolled.  Search for subject: Accessing Holy Rosary School’s Online Parent Portal. Still no class with 100% re-enrollment. Reminder first class to 100% will receive a free dress day!

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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

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Holy Rosary Lenten Gathering

Volunteer Opportunities for Parents and Youth (6th grade-high school) at our Holy Rosary Lenten Gathering
Looking for a way to volunteer during Lent? Join us by volunteering at our Lenten event on February 26, 2023 in the School Hall. There are setup slots on Saturday afternoon, February 25, 2023 as well as two different time slots for helping with Lent activities/crafts and Coffee and Donuts on Sunday, February 26. This counts for School Volunteer hours. Click here for Signup link Volunteers: Holy Rosary Lenten Gathering February 26, 2023 (signupgenius.com). For questions, email Deyette at DSwegle@holyrosaryseattle.org.

Holy Rosary Soup Kitchen

The Holy Rosary Soup Kitchen group meets the first two Thursdays of the month to prepare soup for the Saint Martin de Porres center. The are looking for a couple of people who can commit to helping out for the rest of the school year.  If you are interested, please reach out to Chris Dormaier at 206-412-0168 or Chrisdormaier@aol.com.

Lunch And Milk Duty

The Milk and Lunch crew is looking to fill one more spot.  We need a Thursday lunch person.  Shifts are 10:45-12:15. You are committed until March 9^th and then can choose to stay on if you wish. If you are interested, please email klawson@holyrosaryws.org.

Volunteer Hours Requirement Change

In the spirit of encouraging Catholic Community and to simplify the program, the volunteer hour requirement that half of any required hours must be fundraising activities is now removed.  This years, 50 required hours may be Fundraising or General hours in any proportion.  See the Volunteer Hours Program page for full complete program details as well as the 2022-2023 Family Handbook.
Looking for Volunteer Hours?  See the Volunteer Opportunities page for Tree Lot, Auction, and many more activities that need your help.

School Parents: Sing For Your Volunteer Hours!

Did you know that you can sing for your volunteer school hours? Participation in a parish adult choir for Sunday Mass qualifies for “non-fund-raising/general volunteer hours.” Come and sing with one of our choirs – Saturday 5pm, Sunday 8:30 or 10:30! Singing with choir is a fun thing to do for yourself once a week. Imagine an evening away from the family on a Wednesday or Thursday! You can have fun and claim up to 25 valuable volunteer hours! Singing with the choir can also give you a spiritual boost, as we not only sing together, but pray together and support each other in many ways. You can sing every week or arrange per your schedule.
Paul Dolejsi directs the choirs for Saturday 5pm and Sunday 10:30 Masses. Both of these groups are SATB choirs with piano and guitar accompaniment. You can sing melody or parts per your ability. We rehearse together on Wednesday evenings.
Mary Ann Lee directs the music for the Sunday 8:30 Mass. Their SATB choir sings from the loft and features organ and piano accompaniment. They rehearse on Thursday nights and are a very joyful and welcoming group!
For more info on this opportunity for volunteer hours, contact Paul at the parish office or drop by after Mass!

Reporting Volunteer Hours

The volunteer hours portal is ready for the 22/23 school year.

• Go to ‘Report Volunteer Hours‘ (also a red hyperlink on our home page.)
• New families:  If you haven’t set up a volunteer log-in yet, you will need to do that first, use the same link!  Remember, only one account per family, NOT per parent

Safe Environment Training

There are many opportunities to help out this year. All of our volunteers are required to take Safe Environment training prior to volunteering with the school or church. If you have not taken the class, please sign up as soon as possible. There are in-person as well as online classes. **It can take a couple of weeks after you’ve taken the class for you to be cleared to volunteer.**

Traffic Patrol

We are looking for parent/guardians to do traffic patrol duty this year for volunteer hours. You would need to be fully vaccinated, and available to arrive on time and stay until your duty is complete. This would be a trimester obligation.
Start Date:
December 12^th – March 24^th
March 27^th – June 16^th
Times: 8:00-8:40am
2:45-3:15pm  1:45-2:15pm (Wednesdays) 11:55-12:20pm (1/2 days)
You could choose to do one day per week, AM or PM, or both AM & PM on the same day if you wish. Please contact Maggie Judd if you are interested.

Playground Volunteers

We are looking for playground volunteers to help us during lunch recess. Shifts are Monday through Friday from 10:55am to 1:05pm. If you have one or two days available each week, please contact Maggie Judd. Prompt arrival and a full shift are needed. Covid vaccination is not necessary.

REMEMBER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES ARE ALSO LISTED HERE!

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PARISH NEWS

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Lenten Gathering

Save the Date…Lenten Gathering, Sunday, February 26, 2023 at 9:30am-12:30pm, School Hall
All are welcome join us as we prepare for Lent on Sunday, February 26, 2023 in the School Hall. Stop by after Mass or anytime between 9:30am-12:30pm for Lenten activities and crafts for children and adults, Coffee and Donuts and more! For questions, please email Deyette. See our flier.

Donations & Food Drive

St. Vincent de Paul–Donations & Food Drive for Lent, February 26, 2023
Help those in need in our West Seattle Community by contributing non-perishable food for our St. Vincent de Paul Food pantry. You may also make a cash donation which is used for Emergency assistance for rent, paying a utility bill, car repair, etc. Drop off your donations at the Lenten Gathering on Sunday, February 26, 2023, anytime between 9:30am-12:3pm in the School Hall. Thank you for your support to those in need!

Where Are The Giving Envelopes?

Due to both personnel and material shortages, the vendor that provides our giving envelopes is unable to fulfill our order.  We are not the only parish to be affected by this situation.  No envelopes have been printed for January or February.  The earliest we will receive envelopes is in March.  We apologize for any inconvenience and ask for your patience and prayers while we try to resolve this situation. 
In the meantime, there are a limited number of envelopes available in the Parish Office.  You may also use a plain envelope for your giving.  Please clearly print your name and your family number on the envelope.  If you do not know your family number, please contact the Parish Office.  Without your family number, we may not be able to credit your giving to the proper family.  If you do submit an envelope without your family number, please be sure to clearly print your full name and home address on the envelope.   
You may also sign up for online giving.  On the parish website, click on the “Online Giving” button or follow this link:  Holy Rosary Parish – SEATTLE, WA | Online Giving (osvhub.com).  On the top right corner of the page, click on “SIGN IN/CREATE ACCOUNT”.  If you need help creating or updating an online account, please contact the Parish Office.

Book Study

Fr. Oakland is planning a book study on one of his favorite books, Les Miserables, the theatrical production of which is coming to town this spring.  It’s a great work filled with all sorts of Christian themes.  If interested, email him at froakland@holyrosaryseattle.org   

2023 Women With Purpose Session

“What We Believe: the beauty of the Catholic Faith”. What does it mean to be Catholic, what do we believe and how do we live it?  Would you like to understand more about the Catholic Faith? Please join us for our Women with Purpose (WWP) Winter2023 session on “What We Believe: the beauty of the Catholic Faith” as we learn more about Jesus, “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Ignite your faith life as we read scripture, discuss the book, and pray with Women in WWP. “What We Believe” Session will meet on Thursday Evenings starting January 12 thru March 30, 2023 at 6:00pm-7:30pm. More information athttps://holyrosaryseattle.org/wwp. For questions email Deyette at DSwegle@holyrosaryseattle.org.

Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW)

Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW) is now running on Sundays at the 10:30AM Mass. We welcome our young children from preschool thru 3^rd grade to join the Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW).  This is a great opportunity for our children to hear God’s message in a way they can participate and helping them apply the Word of God to their own experiences and actions. Come and join us!

RCIA Adapted for Children and Youth

We just started our RCIA sessions with children and youth. If your child/children/youth expressed their desire to know about the sacraments and Catholic faith you are welcome to join us! We have room for more! Contact Sr. Stella for more information at srstella@holyrosaryseattle.org

Rite Of Christian Initiation Adapted For Children

Holy Rosary Church welcomes children 7-18 years of age who have never been baptized, along with their families, on a journey of preparation for initiation into the Catholic Church. If you or your children are interested to know more about RCIA, please contact Sr. Stella at srstella@holyrosaryseattle.org or 206-937-1488 ext. 252 or you can register online: RCIA for Children (formsite.com)

4th Annual Summer School At St.George Parish School

Dates: June 26 through July 28 with the exception of July 3rd and 4th
We offer a 5 week academic summer school program with certificated teachers
and instructional assistants for students currently in Grades K-5. 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 opens March 1, 2023 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.
Registration opens March 1st and will be limited. If you would like more information and/or an application, please email Anna Horton (ahorton@holyrosaryws.org) ASAP.

West Seattle Little League

West Seattle Little League will offer Baseball, Softball, and Challenger programs; registration is now open!
West Seattle Little League Spring 2023 registration is now open for all youth ages 4-14. 
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. Thanks to the generous support of T-Mobile, financially challenged families in our community can apply for the T-Mobile Little League Call Up Grant, which helps cover registration fees associated with West Seattle Little League for the upcoming season! Little League and T-Mobile share the belief that every kid should have the chance to play ball.
The WSLL baseball and softball spring season will run from March – June and features fun activities like the jamboree, sandlot days, and end-of-the-year picnic. Interested to know more details? Check out westseattlelittleleague.com to find information about boundaries and divisions of play. We look forward to seeing you on the field!

Southwest Lacrosse Club

Did you know that all Seattle Metro Catholic High schools have boys and girls lacrosse? Are you looking for a fun and fast-paced team sport for your K-8th grader? Registration is currently open for the 2023 Seattle Metro Youth Lacrosse Season. 
Founded in 2008, the Southwest Lacrosse Club is dedicated to promoting, organizing, and developing K-8 youth lacrosse from West Seattle to Federal Way. Our mission is to teach lacrosse fundamentals and good sportsmanship while emphasizing the importance of discipline, teamwork, and physical fitness. Players of all skill levels can develop their game, and we will prepare each athlete for the next level of play. No prior lacrosse experience is required, the club can provide all equipment if needed. We offer full and partial scholarships for those who qualify and have equipment available to loan.
Practices begin mid-February, and games run from March through the end of May. You can check out our website or contact us at swlctitans@gmail.com  with any questions.