St. Brendan Weekly Bulletin
January 5, 2022
The mission of St. Brendan Catholic School, in partnership with parents, is to empower our students to act as Disciples of Christ and leaders, use their God-given gifts in service to the Church and community, and achieve academic excellence.

From the Principal
Dear St. Brendan Families,
Welcome back! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas break and a happy New Year. It has been so nice having all the students back in class and the building full of learning and activities once again.

We have recently welcomed two new staff members from our talented parent community. Amanda Richardson, mother of Jessica in kindergarten, is our new lunch room assistant. Jenell Boyd, mother of Garrett in 4th, is our new preschool aide in Mrs. Ditter's part-time preschool class. We are so happy Mrs. Richardson and Mrs. Boyd have joined our school staff!

Each year, parents are required to attend the State of the School Address in order to complete enrollment for the next school year. The State of the School will include important information including accomplishments, registration process and tuition rates, PTO contract information, our upcoming parent survey and more. It is required that at least one parent for incoming Kindergarten-8th grade families attend one of these sessions in order to register. Normally this is held in-person, however this year we will provide a recorded link for you to watch. You will be asked to register for this recording so that we will be able to monitor attendance. Once we confirm your attendance via Zoom, you will receive a link to register your children for the 2022-2023 school year. The State of the School Address link will be sent in the Wednesday, Bulletin on January 12th.

Re-enrollment schedule and rates (per family) are as follows:
Register between 1/13-1/21  $200 re-enrollment fee
Register between 1/22-1/28    $250 re-enrollment fee
Register after 1/28                   $300 re-enrollment fee

I encourage families to enroll early to prevent being placed on our waiting list. We do have a few waiting lists that we expect could carry over to next year.

We are starting 2022 off with a parent feedback survey. The timing of this survey is significant to us as we are nearing the halfway point of our school year. Like any good team, we will head into the locker room at halftime and discuss what is going well and what we want to improve in the second half. Halftime allows us to re-evaluate our game plan, get the team refocused, and reposition ourselves mentally and emotionally for the second half. We are seeking your feedback to identify ways that we can finish the school year off even stronger than it began. 

This parent survey is your opportunity to provide feedback on how St. Brendan Parish School is achieving our collective mission. We will also use the data as we go through the accreditation self-study, examining the program and determining target goals for the next years. We will be sending this parent survey out in the coming days and we encourage you to provide your feedback by completing it. Thank you for your continued partnership.

Upcoming Accreditation Renewal
St. Brendan Catholic School is once again embarking on our accreditation process. Our last accreditation cycle was completed in 2016 and we were pleased to be awarded the highest-available (6-year) accreditation by the Western Catholic Education Association. To receive this accreditation means that a school must be worthy of the trust placed in them to provide high-quality learning opportunities and clearly demonstrate continual self-improvement.

It is now time to renew our school accreditation. You all have a role to play in the success of our school as we plan for the future. This trimester we are launching an in-depth self-study of our programs. Part of this self-examination is the above mentioned survey of all stakeholders. We encourage all families to share their feedback through this survey.

Blessings,
Catherine Shumate
Catholic Corner
Merry Christmas! We continue to celebrate the Christmas Season until at minimum the Sunday after Epiphany, celebrated as the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. In the old Liturgical calendar, and still celebrated by many today, the Christmas Season didn’t end until Candlemas on Feb 2nd, when we celebrate the Purification of Our Lady/Presentation of Our Lord. So keep your decorations up until at least this coming Sunday, or even until Feb 2nd!

Epiphany is tomorrow, January 6th. Epiphany is the celebration which commemorates the coming of the Magi to adore baby Jesus, also symbolizing how Jesus can be Lord of Jews and Gentiles alike. On Epiphany, people traditionally move the Kings into the Nativity scene. They can then adore baby Jesus until Candlemas!
Another tradition in the Catholic Church is to perform an Epiphany Blessing on your home. In the Wednesday Envelope you will receive a blessed piece of chalk taped to a paper with the Epiphany Blessing and instructions. Essentially, you say some prayers as you bless your home, writing above your doorframe with blessed chalk “20+C+M+B+22”, which stands for the new year, and the initials of the wise men (also translated from Latin as: Christ Bless this House). You can write this above your main entrance door and/or above any doors inside your house as well. This blessing stays on your home for the year! Our students will be participating in this tradition by blessing the school and their classrooms on Thursday, January 6th. If your paper is misplaced, you can also find the blessing here: Epiphany Blessing
Note: Please don’t throw the chalk away in the garbage since it has been blessed. If you do not want to use the chalk, simply send it back to school. Thank you.
7th & 8th Grade Honor Roll
Congratulations to the following students for earning First or Second Honors in the first trimester of 2021-2022.
 
First Honors are awarded to those students earning a 3.7 to 4.0 grade point average. Second Honors are awarded to those students earning a 3.4 to 3.69 grade point average.
8th Grade - First Honors
3.7 to 4.0 GPA
Thomas Davenport
Gemma Dickson
Indie Fix
Miranda Frigillana
Avery Goldwire
Maya Goldwire
Kassidy Irish
Raphael Rivera
Dexter Rominger
Nathan Scott
Te'a Simonson
Leilani Swager

8th Grade - Second Honors
3.4 to 3.69 GPA
Miles Burdeen
Stella Gilley
LeeAnn Rosin
7th Grade - First Honors
3.7 to 4.0 GPA
Elise Almeda
Jumana Atef
Brady Davis
Madison Deal
Chiranjay Dutta Gupta
Ashley Fletcher
Madeline Gardner
Gabrielle Mascarenhas
Cecilia Mayans
Tristan Rayen
Grayson Thomas
Benjamin Xavier

7th Grade - Second Honors
3.4 to 3.69 GPA
Michael France
Carter Najour
Kaylee Nguyen
Margaret Rooney
Hailey Shugarts
Poinsettia Update
The 8th grade class would like to thank all those who supported their poinsettia sale. The 8th grade class raised more than $1,100.00 for the Father Mike Schmitt Tuition Assistance Fund. Additionally, 27 poinsettias were donated to the Church, helping with the beautiful Christmas display.

Thank you!
Report Cards Envelopes
If you still have your report card envelope at home, please sign and return it to your child's homeroom teacher. Thank you.
Upcoming Birthdays
January Birthdays
Happy Birthday to:
1/6    Mrs. Ditter     Preschool teacher
1/9    Lauren Golla    Kindergarten
1/10    Raphael Rivera    8th Grade
1/10    Callie Taylor    5th Grade
1/10     Cody Taylor    5th Grade

More birthdays will be announced in the next Weekly Bulletin
Lunch Program
Hello from the St. Brendan School Lunch Program!    
 
LUNCH MENU UPDATE: Due to the school closure, the planned lunch for Tuesday will be moved to NEXT TUESDAY. January 11th the lunch will now be Chicken Sandwich with Smiley Fries, NOT the Baked Potato bar. This change has been updated on the school website. Please update your paper calendars which were sent home before the break. Thank you.

The lunch menu is located on the school website and will be updated monthly. You can reference it here: Lunch menu. Also, please check your lunch balances. Negative balances were emailed and paper copies sent home today.  

Lunch this Week:
Thursday 1/6: Uncle Peteza's Pizza
Friday: 1/7: Cheesy Lasagna
Click here for the January Lunch Menu
To add money to your child's account, https://www.schoolpaymentportal.com/

Who do I contact for questions?  
Please contact Eileen Warner at: lunch@school.saintbrendan.org .
Art Walk this Week
Art Walk - January 5th - 14th
Our art teacher, Mrs. Marlize van Eeden, is hosting an Art Walk on the lower level of the school building this week and next. Parents are invited to go and look at the 1st trimesters work about portraits after school until 4:00 PM.
Art Club (Grades 1-5) Registration
Art Club with by Mrs. van Eeden
Drawing and Acrylic Painting on Canvas

Meetings: Wednesdays, 2:00 – 3:00 PM
Location: Art Room
Dates: Wednesday, January 12 – Wednesday, February 2nd
Total # of Classes: 4 classes
Grades: 1st – 5th
Capacity: 20 students
Chess Club Registration Open
Chess Club will return for a new session in January. Classes are held after school on Mondays. Click on the image below to register.
Catholic Schools Week - Coming Soon!
National Catholic Schools Week 2022 is January 30th - February 5th. A tradition this week is to dress up in a different theme each day. The Student Council will be announcing the dress up themes very soon! Stay tuned...

What is National Catholic Schools Week? Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It starts the last Sunday in January and runs all week, which in 2022 is January 30 – February 5. The theme for the National Catholic Schools Week 2022 is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.” St. Brendan School will observe the annual celebration week with an Open House and other activities for students, families, parishioners and community members. Through these events, we focus on the value Catholic education provides to our young people and its contributions to our church, our communities and our nation.
Thank You Corner
Thank you to Tani and Tyler Simonson for helping with the de-icing and shoveling in our parking lot yesterday so that we were able to open school today!
Volunteers Needed
Student Store Committee Chair Needed
This involves buying all the fun toys that will be sold at each store, meeting with the student volunteers 1x month to assign jobs, keeping track of profits, organizing the charitable donations, and of course managing the student store one Friday a month. This is a great way to fulfill all volunteer hours in a fun and meaningful way. You will fast become one of the favorite parents that enters the school building.
If you are interested in the position, please email: loughlint@hotmail.com.
Auction Procurement
Procurement, Procurement, Procurement, and more Procurement



We hope you are all looking forward to our Annual School Auction this year April 30, 2022

  • Family Procurement Deadline is February 15th


EVERY Family (K-8th) is required to make a $175 donation in goods or services to the Annual School Auction.*
This donation can be a tangible, physical item that has been purchased. It can be gift certificates for items or services, or it can be a service that you, the family, provide. You are not limited to $175! Many families choose to donate either a single item or multiple items totaling well over $175, but $175 is the minimum. We also ask you to refrain from donating any clothing unless it is sports memorabilia or previously approved by an Auction Chair.


*Families who selected to Buy Out of the Parent Club fundraising do not need to procure an item for the auction.
Financial Aid Applications Due Friday!
Financial aid applications are now being accepted through  FACTS Management  for the 2022-2023 school year.

Fulcrum Foundation Tuition Assistance Grants
  • Available to parish and non-parish families
  • Open for entering K-8th grade families
  • Income/needs based grants

St. Brendan School Financial Aid Awards/ Fr. Mike Schmitt Grants
  • Available to parish and partner-parish families
  • Open to entering preschool -8th grade families
  • To be considered for St. Brendan School aid, families must also apply for the Fulcrum Foundation grant through FACTS.
  • Income/needs based grants

Documents Required
  • W-2s from 2020
  • Documentation for child support, DSHS, rental receipts, other miscellaneous income
  • Any other pertinent documents
Deadline
  • Application deadline is January 7, 2022
  • All documents must be submitted online by the deadline. If you need assistance scanning and uploading, please contact Christen Lambert in the school office.
Earn a Free Month of Tuition!
Earn ONE Month Free Tuition!
Current St. Brendan School families are our biggest asset in marketing our school, and for the past seven years, several families took advantage of referring a new K-8th family to St. Brendan. This year we are offering one child a one-month tuition credit PLUS one month for the newly enrolled family too! It’s a win-win!
 
The referring family will receive a tuition credit of one child for one-month tuition in April 2023. The new K-8 grade student(s) would need to remain at our school for one year to earn the tuition credit for the referring family, and the referring family must be named on the application. There are no tuition credits for referring new preschool and pre-k families.
 
Spread the Word - Open House and School Tours
Open House - January 30;10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Tours can also be set up by appointment via phone or e-mail:
425-483-8300
christenl@school.saintbrendan.org
Open House - Spread the Word!
Our Open House is for all CURRENT and PROSPECTIVE families. As current parents, we encourage you to visit with your teacher(s) for next school year and learn about curriculum and goals for that grade.
All students who attend the Open House will earn a FREE DRESS day the following month on February 14th. Additionally, families in attendance will be entered into a raffle for free registration for 2022-2023 - a $200 Value!
CYO Volleyball Registration
Registration is now open for 4th through 8th grade Spring Volleyball. Season matches will begins February 26th and run through April 3rd with tournaments from April 6th through May 1st (5th -8th grade) 4th grade season will be February 17th and end April 10th. 4th grade is coed teams. We will try to start practice the week of February 7th but players must be registered through the Team sideline website prior to attending practice. All players interested are encouraged to register early as teams have to be registered by January 21st.

Early Registration
January 5th through January 20th
$95.00
Standard Registration 
January 21st through February 3rd
$110.00
Late Registration 
February 4th through February 25th
$125.00

Please contact Athletic Director at CYOAD@saintbrendan.org if there are any questions.
From the Parish
Altar Server Training 
Has your child been a candle-bearer for at least a year and would like to learn a new altar serving skill? Is your 6th-grade son interested in being a thurifer (incense)? Or does your 7th-grade daughter need a refresher course and would like to volunteer during school Masses? There will be a training session next Thursday, January 13th, immediately after school (3:15PM). Duration is about an hour. If your child is interested, please contact Ermina Swager at ermina@saintbrendan.org or text/call at 425.877.7633 to register. 
Dates to Note
Epiphany
Thursday, January 6th

Financial Aid Applications Due
Friday, January 7th

Virtual State of the School Address
Wednesday, January 12th - recording will be sent

Re-Enrollment Begins
Thursday, January 13th
Re-enrollment instructions will be sent following the State of the School

Altar Server Training
Thursday, January13, 3:15 PM

Noon Dismissal
Friday, January 14th

Mass Uniform Weekend
January 15-16

NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Monday, January 17

1st Reconciliation for 2nd Grade Students
Saturday, January 29th, 9:30 AM

Open House
Sunday, January 30th; 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Catholic Schools Week
January 30 - Feb. 5

Please note the following calendar changes:
  • Friday, January 14th: Noon Dismissal
  • Friday, March 4th: Noon Dismissal (previously 12:45 dismissal)
  • Monday, April 25th: No School
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