Please join us tonight and/or tomorrow night at 6:30 for the 8th grade presentation of "The Importance of Being Earnest" at the Church of the Living God.

Dear St. Brendan Families,

It is that time of year where we celebrate and close out this current school year while also planning for the coming year. At this time we are finalizing our staffing for the 2022/2023 school year. We will be saying goodbye to Mrs. Minter (4^th grade teacher) and Ms. Hair (Pre-k and middle school religion) as they both will be moving on to new adventures next year. Both teachers have made many wonderful contributions to our students and  school community, and we have been blessed to have had them on staff these past years. We will miss Mrs. Minter and Ms. Hair and wish them the very best. 

We have hired both of these positions for the 22-23 school year and will make announcements in the coming week.  

Our 8^th grade students have been working on a play production over the last several months. They will be performing the play, "The Importance of Being Earnest", on Wednesday and Thursday evening at 6:30 PM. Please come support our 8^th grade students at one of these performances.

Each year we ask our families entering K-8 to complete the Parent Volunteer Agreement. This greatly helps the Parent Club plan for events and activities for next school year. Please take the time to complete this form by May 20th.  

This month we begin our spring MAP testing for grades 2-8. Please have your student(s) get a good night rest and eat a healthy breakfast. Teachers will provide reminders for the class testing day and time in their newsletters.

Blessings,

Catherine Shumate

It’s Easter Season! Roman Catholics celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the first full moon of spring (this year on April 17^th) and have been doing that since at least the Council of Nicea in 325 AD (the same council that gave us the Nicene Creed we recite at each Sunday Mass). But Easter, like Christmas, doesn’t end on Easter Sunday, rather that is the beginning of the celebration. Eastertide, or the Easter Season, actually lasts for 50 days! It is the second longest liturgical season, the longest being Ordinary Time. Pentecost marks the end of Eastertide, this year falling on June 5^th. To learn more about Easter and all the different ways Catholics celebrate it, check out this article on Hallow.com.

The Easter season is a time of joy and celebration, when we focus on Jesus’ triumph over death which opens the gates of heaven to humans. It’s also a time when our minds turn to miracles and the power of God. On the Hallow app, during the Easter season, they have daily miracle stories. Some of these stories are biblical miracle stories, some are stories of saints, and some are stories of miracles that happen to “ordinary” people. One such miracle is the story Gemma Di Giorgi, a girl born with no pupils and therefore blind. Her parents sought the intercession of Padre Pio (who was alive at the time). They brought her to him praying on the journey. On the way, she begins to see a few things. After meeting him and having him touch her eyes, she was able to see. She still has no pupils, has been examined by scores of doctors, and there is no scientific explanation for her sight! She is still alive and there are many youtube videos featuring her story! If you’d like to be uplifted by more of these wonderful stories, check them out on the Hallow App!

St. Brendan Boat Races

St. Brendan, known as the Navigator, was an Irish priest who founded a large monastery in Clonfert, Ireland. St. Brendan is most famous for his legendary sailing adventures, including landing on an island that was actually a big sea monster! There is also a story that he sailed to America, and drove a demon out of a man! St. Brendan’s feast day is May 16^th. In honor of our sailing patron saint, St. Brendan school will again host the St. Brendan Boat Races! Warm up those lungs and get ready to find out, who is filled with the most hot air!

We are in NEED of volunteers to make this fun feast day celebration possible. Races will take place during lunch recesses and PreK recess. Volunteers will be needed to help set up starting at 10/10:15 and facilitate during recesses until 1:15PM. Please contact Eileen Warner, eileenw@school.saintbrendan.org, to volunteer! This is your chance to get ahead because these volunteer hours can count toward next year’s requirement!

We will be using our weekly bulletin to communicate positive Covid-19 cases in our community.

Dashboard Update for the week of May 4 - May 11

Positive Covid-19 Cases: 24 cases

As you may be aware, cases have been rising across the county. We are in close contact with the health department and Office for Catholic Schools. We want to remind you that layering additional mitigation strategies can help curb the spread:

• wearing a mask 
• screening for symptoms 
• COVID rapid and PCR testing

While mask wearing is not a requirement, it is a way that can help curb the spread of COVID.  We, do however, REQUIRE symptom screening before sending your student to school. If your student has symptoms, do not send your student to school until they have been cleared to attend by ruling out COVID via a test. If your student has tested negative, we ask that you test again 1-2 days later to confirm the negative result. 

King County continues to be in the “Medium Transmission” level (over 200 new cases per 100,000 people over a 7-day period).

What Does the “Medium” King County Transmission Level Mean for St. Brendan? 

There are no new restrictions or requirements currently. However, it serves as a reminder for our community to remain vigilant and to continue to use easily accessible prevention measures recommended by Public Health – including monitoring for symptoms, rapid testing, and masking – to limit spread and lower our individual and community risk. For more information on the Medium COVID-19 Community level, see the related blog from King County Public Health. 

If Your Child Develops Symptoms, What Should You Do?

• Regardless of vaccination status, keep your child home.
• Students should have a COVID-19 test (rapid home test and/or PCR test) performed as soon as possible after symptoms present. The school can offer free testing to your child or provide you with at-home testing. Please call or e-mail Mrs. Murnane: secretary@school.saintbrendan.org to arrange for testing.
• Siblings of students that develop symptoms, or test positive, are encouraged to wear a high-quality, well-fitting mask (KN95) to school to prevent any potential spread in others grades/classrooms until COVID test results are available.

St. Brendan School remains committed to ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment for our students, faculty, and staff. Please contact the main office if you have any questions or concerns.

The 8th Grade Play is a longstanding St. Brendan tradition.

Join us for two nights of laughter as the St. Brendan 8th Grade class proudly presents "The Importance of Being Earnest " – by Oscar Wilde.

This hilarious comedy is set in Victorian London, England providing fun for the whole family. Please come support the 8th grade students!

SAVE THE DATES

Wednesday, May 11 & Thurs, May 12

6:30 PM

Location: 

Church of the Living God

(located across the street from St. Brendan School)

19510 100th Ave NE, Bothell, WA 98011 

Tickets

$5 per person

Tickets are available at the door

Concessions For Sale

The 8th graders are excited for their performances on Wed-Thurs night. We hope the whole school community will come out and watch the show. The 8th grade parents will also be selling concessions at the play, so please bring some cash to purchase some tasty snacks and drinks.

Our student-led Sunday Mass for the month of May will be Sunday, May 22nd. The 7th grade class will do the readings and will also sing at Mass with a student-only choir. 

May 22 – 7^th Grade (note: this is also First Holy Communions)

Ms. Sims will prepare each grade to sing and the teachers will prepare the students to do the readings. 

Given the rising number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the school and among our coaching volunteers, Lego Robotics will be cancelled this Friday, May 13^th. If feasible, we will attempt to reschedule before the end of the term. 

Congrats to the following Challenge Team students who have earned a promotion in the 1^st Lego Robotics Level-Up Skills Exam! To advance up the ranks, students must complete progressively more challenging robotics tasks. With each rank, they earn a badge, which they can proudly display at team meetings and FLL/Robotics events. Following is a sample of some of those skills. Awesome work from these amazing students at our inaugural exam, and we look forward to their journey as they climb up to Level Black!

Art Walk - May 11 - May 20

Our art teacher, Mrs. Marlize van Eeden, is hosting an Art Walk (grades K-8) on the lower level of the school building this week and next. Parents are invited to go and look at the 3rd trimesters work after school until 4:00 PM.

Here is some information about the projects:

The theme was Famous artists that inspire.

• Kindergarten – Claude Monet – A frog on a lily pond. Students used oil pastels to create a lily pond with a frog inspired by Claude Monet’s work. This art work is located outside of the kindergarten classroom.

• Grade 1 – Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers. Students took inspiration from Van Gogh’s sunflower painting to paint a vase with beautiful flowers on a table.

• Grade 2 – Vincent van Gogh – Starry night. Students drew a rendition of Van Gogh’s Starry night painting with oil pastels.

• Grade 3 – Vincent van Gogh – Clogs. Students used Vincent van Gogh’s painting of clogs to design their own shoe using a theme of their choice for example candy or sports.

• Grade 4 – Pablo Picasso – 3 Jazz Musicians. Students collaged the 3 Jazz Musicians playing instruments inspired by Picasso’s work Jazz Musicians.

• Grade 5 – Pablo Picasso – Old guitarist. Students used monochromatic hues inspired by Picasso’s blue period for their instrument and colored the complimentary hue, for the background. They also used cubism inspired by Picasso.

• Grade 6 – Gustav Klimt – Lady Angela Broch. Students used scratch art to design a Gustav Klimt inspired frock and patterned background.

• Grade 8 – Henri Matisse – Cat with the red fish. Students drew a pencil sketch of an animal and collaged a complimentary background inspired by Matisse’s collage work. 

Each year, we hold a special celebration with grandparents and special friends of St. Brendan School students. This year, the event will take place on May 20, the Friday before first communion for our second graders.

Grandparents & Special Friends Day

Friday, May 20, 2022

8:30 AM - Mass

10:00 - 11:00 AM - Program

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM - Visit classrooms, book fair, take pictures

12:00 PM - Dismissal (no lunch at school and no extended care)



Grandparents & Special Friends will have the chance to see special presentations, meet the teachers and staff, tour the school and book fair, and spend time with their grandchild(ren) or student friend.

IMPORTANT GRANDPARENTS DAY INFO: If your child would like to sit with their grandparents/special friends during Mass, please have the child go directly to Mass with their guest rather than checking in at school. The guest can then walk the child to class after Mass. 

St. Brendan Boat Races - May 16

We are in NEED of volunteers to make this fun feast day celebration possible. Races will take place during lunch recesses and PreK recess. Volunteers will be needed to help set up starting at 10/10:15 and facilitate during recesses until 1:15PM. Please contact Eileen Warner, eileenw@school.saintbrendan.org, to volunteer!

Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day Volunteers

We need many volunteers to make this GP & SF Day a success. Some volunteer we will need are:

• Set-Up
• Photographers
• Check In Table
• Refreshments Table
• Selling Spirit Wear
• Selling at the Book Fair
• Clean Up

If you are interested in volunteering for day-of activities, please Sign Up Here.

Scholastic Book Fair Volunteers

We could use some help setting up the book fair on Tuesday, May 17th, after school. We also need help selling items on Wednesday, Thursday, and during Grandparents Day on Friday. The kids love shopping, so this is a fun volunteer opportunity. Please Click Here to Volunteer.

Variety Show Coordinator

We are in need of a variety show coordinator. The main tasks will be:

• Collecting registration forms and creating the act order/line up
• It is a variety show, so we should have some things like singing, dancing, skits, hula hooping, karate demonstration, etc.
• Hosting the dress rehearsal on June 7^th after school
• Making sure costumes and music are appropriate
• Running the show on June 9^th

If you are interested in coordinating this fun event, please e-mail christenl@school.saintbrendan.org. 

ACTION REQUIRED FOR ENTERING K-8TH GRADES

Each rising K-8 family is required to complete the annual Parent Volunteer Agreement. This is a lengthy, but important, questionnaire to gauge volunteer interests for next school year. We thank you in advance for your time completing this agreement.

Are you spring cleaning this week? Please keep your eyes out for the Wednesday envelopes and return them every week. Our Wednesday Envelope Helpers thank you!

May Birthdays

Happy Birthday to:

5/13    Colton Boyce    8^th Grade

5/13    Anela Swager    5^th Grade

5/17    Sarah Fletcher    6^th Grade

5/17    Hailey Shugarts    7^th Grade

5/17    Fox Weiss    Kindergarten

More birthdays will be announced in the next Weekly Bulletin

The lunch menu is located on the school website and will be updated monthly. You can reference it here: Lunch menu.

We are nearing the end of the school year. All lunch accounts must have a positive or zero balance at the end of the school year. Status letters will be coming out soon, but you can also check your balance online and plan for the rest of the school year.

Lunch depends on parents volunteers and could really use the help of some parent volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you can spare some time, especially from 12:10-1:10 (cleanup between lunches and after second lunch) it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you to all of you who generously give of their time and talent, not just at lunch but all throughout our community!

The annual Variety Show will take place on Thursday, June 9th from 1:15 pm to 2:45 pm in the school gym. The Variety Show has been a long-standing tradition at our school. It is a very enjoyable and entertaining afternoon for all students, staff, siblings, and parents. The show allows our students an opportunity to share their talents such as acting, skits, singing, dancing, gymnastics, comedy or playing a musical instrument (just to name a few).

Get ready and start practicing! It will be here before you know it. Sign up information is in the Wednesday envelope. Please limit acts to about 3-4 minutes.

St. Brendan families receive a discount!

REGISTER ONLINE

At https://ota-seattle.jumbula.com/#/summer-camps

Select SUMMER CAMPS

First Communion

On May 21-22, our second graders will celebrate their First Holy Communion. Please keep them in your prayers as they are coming to the end of their preparation. We ask our Mother Mary for her intercession and our Lord Jesus for his protection over them and their families.

FIRST COMMUNION REHEARSAL—May 18/Wed./6PM

Vacation Bible School

Mark your calendars for Vacation Bible School! Grades first through fifth will be involved in a Marvelous Mystery this summer, from July 11 through July 15.

Anyone wishing to register their child or get volunteer hours should contact Priscilla Finch at childfamilyministry@saintbrendan.org.

Annual Catholic Appeal

Your gift to the Annual Catholic Appeal supports the mission to help others encounter Jesus. From hospital and prison ministries to Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) camps and young adult programs, your gift to the Annual Catholic Appeal allows us to do together what one parish can’t do alone. Together, we can be Christ to Others! 

Thank you for joining us in supporting this year’s 2022 Annual Catholic Appeal.

To contribute to the ACA, please consider giving online at www.archseattle.org/GiveACA.

Student Council St. Vincent de Paul Food Drive

Now - May 31

8th Grade Play - TONIGHT & TOMORROW!

Church of the Living God

May 11-12, 6:30 PM

$5 per ticket; tickets available at the door

Concessions available for purchase

Feast of St. Brendan

May 16th

Spring Map Testing

May 16 - June 3

Scholastic Book Fair

May 18-20

Grandparents Day

Friday, May 20th

12:00 Dismissal. NO LUNCH and NO PM EXTENDED CARE.

Mass Uniform Weekend

May 21-22 (excluding students receiving First Communion that weekend)

First Communion Mass for the School Community

Monday, May 23

8:30 AM in the Church

8th Grade All-School Carnival

Friday, May 27th

Non-Uniform Dress

Memorial Day - No School

Monday, May 30th

8th Grade Dinner Dance

June 6th; 6:00 PM

8th Grade Graduation

June 8th; 7:00 PM

Field Day & Variety Show

Thursday, June 9th

Last Day of School

Friday, June 10th; 10 AM Dismissal