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.
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Dear Holy Rosary Families,
What an amazing Catholic Schools Week this has been! Last weekend we had a spectacular Open House and a special celebration at Mass. This week we’ve enjoyed special theme days, performing community service, and celebrating our students, families, grandparents, and special friends. Tomorrow, we look forward to a spirit assembly and the long awaited staff versus 8th grade volleyball game! There is a tremendous amount of joy and thankfulness permeating the halls of Holy Rosary School this week.
We truly appreciate our families and all you do to support Catholic education. We truly love our students, they are a blessing.
May the peace of Christ be with you this special week, and always!
Anna
UPCOMING DATES
- February 10th – No School (Teacher In Service)
- February 16th – Kindergarten Testing – no school for kindergarten
- February 17th – Noon Dismissal
- February 20th – Presidents’ Day – No School/No BASE
- February 21st – Mid-Winter Break – No School
NOTES & REMINDERS
Spirit Day On Friday, February 3rd!
Are you team surfer or team biker? On the Friday of CSW, we celebrate spirit with a fun spirit day: Surfers vs. Bikers! Students can choose to dress as a surfer or a biker! Do not feel the need to buy anything! Find something at the house, or ask around to borrow items. Students can keep it simple or go all out!
Surfer ideas: board shorts, loose t-shirts, baggy pants, Hawaiian shirts, sunglasses, graphic tees, flowy dresses, Vans/Converse
Biker ideas: leather jackets, all black, chains, white t-shirt, old jeans, boots, bandanas, gloves, chokers, sunglasses, fake tattoos.
We look forward to seeing if the students choose to be a surfer or a biker!
School Year 2023/24
The calendar will be coming out for everyone’s viewing after we receive approval from the Archdiocese. At this time, we can confirm the start date of Tuesday, September 5th for our K-8 classes.
Honor Band 2023
Honor Band members that will be representing Holy Rosary are:
- Marina C – Flute
- Max R – Clarinet Co-Section Leader
- Leighton W – Clarinet
- Zara C – Bells
- Jacob K – Percussion
Crocs & Other Non-Athletic Shoes At School
Student need to wear athletic shoes for PE classes. For their safety, they will not be able to participate if they do not have the appropriate footwear.
Morning Drop Off
On these dark morning, we know that traffic is challenging with the current construction south of us. For the safety of our children, please adhere to the drop off schedule for your student, A-L 8:15am, M-Z 8:25am. If you need to bring your student to school outside of their designated drop off time, please consider dropping them off north of the school and having them walk in. We have staff and volunteers at the cross streets near the school to assist students when needed.
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) = 8
ACTION ITEMS
Vision & Hearing Screening
We Need You!! We are looking for volunteers to help with our Vision and Hearing Screening on Thursday February 9th and Monday February 13th. No previous experience needed. We will be screening kids all day on the 9th and then finishing up on the 13th. If you are interested, please contact Claire Bederaux-Cayne. If you are only available for part of the time, that’s OK. We would love your help.
Library
The Catholic Schools Week Book Fair has been a great success. The Book Fair runs through Friday, February 3. If you missed the fair or your student didn’t find their book, please visit the online book fair. The online book fair has a great selection of books that may be purchased with the balance left in the eWallets. The eWallets do not carryover from each book fair.
Visit: Book Fair Homepage (scholastic.com)
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the SHOP NOW button. The online book fair runs through February 12.
Parents Club Survey
We want to hear from you! Parents Club is looking for input regarding how to best engage the families at Holy Rosary to provide events/experiences that are in alignment with the Parents Club mission to engage and build community at Holy Rosary.
Please take a few minutes to complete our survey here. We look forward to hearing from you by February 10th!
EVENTS & FUNDRAISING
Auction
Auction tickets are now on sale. Buy your tickets here. Tickets will sell out, so purchase today. Check your youngest child’s backpack for an invitation.
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.
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.
Work From Home Volunteers 2 Needed
Do you love PowerPoint? We need 1 volunteer for the Live Auction PowerPoint – must be completed by February 28. We also need 1 8th grade parent to help create the PowerPoint slide show to be shown at the auction of our soon-to be graduates!
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.
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 14th
- March 14th
- April 18th
- May 16th
ADMISSIONS
Re-Enrollment
Re-enrollment contracts have been sent. Search for an email with subject line: Accessing Holy Rosary School’s Online Parent Portal. First class with 100% re-enrollment, or have contacted Beth will alternate plans for the 23/24 school year, will receive a free dress day!
Champion Of HRS Award
Annually we honor a Champion of HRS. This is someone who is a true champion of our school and Catholic education, someone who has given considerable time and effort to support our community. This year we are excited to honor Michelle Neal, Teacher Shelley as students at A Child Becomes call her. Read more about Shelley and why she was chosen for this award here.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Cheer Your Gators!
Holy Rosary will be hosting CYO playoff basketball games this Weekend. Come out and support your Gators.
Saturday’s lineup:
9am: St. Brendan vs Holy Rosary 6th -grade girls
10:15am: St. Al/John vs Our Lady of the Lake -6th grade boys
11:30am: Our Lady Of Guadalupe vs TBA -6th grade girls
12:45pm: Lakeside vs TBA -6th grade boys
2:00pm: Holy Rosary vs TBA -6th grade boys
Sunday’s lineup:
1:00pm: Lakeside vs TBA -6th grade girls
2:15pm: ASB vs TBA -6th grade girls
3:30pm: TBA vs TBA -6th grade boys
4:45pm TBA vs TBA -6th grade boys
*snack shack will be open both days and selling fresh donuts and many other goodies. We could use a few volunteers, see sign up genius below.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4AA5A82AA02-cyobasketball
Go Gators!
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
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
Milk and Lunch crew is looking to fill two more spots. We need Thursday lunch and Friday milk. Shifts are 10:45-12:15. You are committed until March 9th 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 12th – March 24th
March 27th – June 16th
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!
PARISH NEWS
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
NEW 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 3rd 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)
COMMUNITY NOTICES
West Seattle Baseball
Calling all baseball players! West Seattle Baseball registration is open until February 15th, and some divisions are nearly at capacity. Sign up at https://www.westseattlebaseball.com/.
West Seattle Baseball offers six different divisions for players ages 4 through 18. Our tee-ball and coach-pitch divisions target younger participants, while Bronco (12U) baseball has been developed to help players begin adjusting to the larger diamonds and different rules of high school baseball.
Prices start as low as $130 for the season. Registration costs include a ballcap and team jersey for each player, in addition to a full season of baseball with events three times per week from mid-March through early June.
West Seattle Baseball is a 100% volunteer-run, non-profit youth baseball league. Our goal is to provide comprehensive baseball programming which appeals to kids of all levels of enthusiasm and ability. The league prides itself on being a fun and enjoyable program that our players, their families, and their coaches want to participate in again each succeeding season. If you have questions about the divisions or anything else West Seattle Baseball, please email the league at info@westseattlebaseball.com. We hope to see you at the West Seattle PeeWee Fields soon. For the love of the game.
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!
Knights of Columbus Free Throw Shooting Championship
Our Lady of Guadalupe Knights of Columbus Council is sponsoring the annual free throw competition for all boys and girls age 9 to 14. Please come to shoot baskets and enjoy pizza on Friday, February 3rd at 6:00 PM. The competition will be held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Gym, 3410 SW Myrtle St., Seattle. Please see our website for more detaiis: https://olgseattle.org/free-throw-championship
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.
After School Art Classes for HRS students – In-person
These super fun art classes are taught by former Holy Rosary art teacher, Lacey Reuter. Classes are held in-person at Hope Lutheran, and all HRS students are welcome to join. (This is not a Holy Rosary School program.) www.rainbowparrotart.com
