Don’t Miss It! Family Game Night on Friday 12/7

Posted by Fundraising on 6 December 2018, 8:25 pm

Don’t miss family game night

Play games and meet new friends at Family Game Night 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm December 7 in the cafeteria. Admission is free and you won’t want to miss the raffle prizes! Pizza, salad and sweet treats will be available for purchase. Help support our school and West Seattle Elementary by buying a game now for your own home or as a gift to the school. Wishlists by grade level are online! 30% of every order comes back and will help us purchase games for West Seattle Elementary.

Can’t make it but still want to buy a game for you or the school? No problem – click here to view and order.

Winter Enrichment and Study Club Enrollment Starts 12/4 @ 7 PM

Posted by Chau Pho-Tung on 3 December 2018, 8:45 am

SAVE THE DATE! Enrollment for Winter enrichment and Study Club will open on Tuesday, December 4th at 7:00 PM.

Winter enrichment classes will start on January 7 and run through March 22, 2019. Study Club will also start on January 7 but will run through March 29, 2019. Students enrolled in enrichment classes also have the option of registering for post-enrichment Study Club classes (March 25 – 29). Class schedules and descriptions can be viewed the Enrichment Course Descriptions page.

Enrollment is online only and will take place via Homeroom – an online after school enrichment portal where you can enroll, purchase and manage all your student(s) classes in one convenient location. If you already have a Homeroom account, all you have to do is login to book classes. If you do not have an account, you’ll only have to sign up once and your student(s) profile will be saved for future sessions. Note: Enrichment course offerings can be viewed on the Homeroom site in advance, however, classes cannot be added to your cart until registration goes live at 7 PM on 12/4.

REGISTER via Homeroom HERE

Videos and detailed instructions on how to enroll are available on the Enrichment page.

Questions? Please contact the Enrichment Coordinator.

Thank you to our 2018-2019 Sponsors!

Posted by Fundraising on 30 November 2018, 6:51 am

Community businesses also play an important role in supporting our students, staff and teachers at Genesee Hill Elementary School. Local businesses, many affiliated or owned by parents of our students, sponsor our school with monetary and in-kind donations. This support goes towards the budget maintained by the PTA and is a critical part of our fundraising efforts.

Check out this year’s sponsors as they will be featured on the right hand side of this website all year long (and in your printed yellow Student Directory)! And please consider being a patron of these fine local businesses. They offer a wide range of great services.

Still want to be a sponsor but missed the Fall cutoff? We would still love your support and can find new ways to showcase your business. Contact us: fundraising@geneseehillpta.org

November Volunteer of the Month

Posted by Chau Pho-Tung on 6 November 2018, 9:23 am

Congratulations to Robin Lutton, our November Volunteer of the Month.

Robin is a doer! Field trips, birthday bashes, passport. If you put out a sign up genius request for volunteers, her name is probably on it. Also she is a co-chair of the passport program.

She’s passionate about environmental education and a person who authentically cares for all the children in our school that she comes in contact with. She is generous with her volunteer time and gifted at teaching.

She has given many years to The fourth grade finding urban nature and is very good at explaining wildlife and plants. She’s also a beach naturalist and enjoys volunteering in the community on low tide days.

She was in the Peace Corps and loves music! She has a 6th, 4th and 1st grader – all girls

Here’s what one friend said about Robin:

“Robin is someone I admire because she’s quietly committed to and passionate about the school being the best it can be. Our conversations are always deeply enriching to me, because she’s thoughtful, inquisitive and engaged. She’s always willing to jump in and help, as well as learn about the community and its needs. She’s a valuable asset, and our community is so lucky to have her and her family here. “

Robin is a rockstar parent volunteer and we so appreciate her contributions, big and small to help our school succeed! You probably see Robin in all kinds of roles around school like passport testing, recess and lunch monitor, in the classroom and more.

Congratulations and thank you for all of hard work, Robin! Enjoy your dedicated parking spot in front of the school for a month!

Have an idea for our next Volunteer of the Month? Let us know: volunteers@geneseehillpta.org

Join us this FRIDAY 8AM! Donuts, Donations & Discussion

Posted by Fundraising on 1 November 2018, 5:58 am

Gather and discuss our school’s fundraising approach and how we use PTA Funds. We committed to these interactive discussions when we started our Direct Give campaign this year, and the need for such discussions is clear given recent news articles about equity in PTA funding. We strongly encourage you to come and participate in these discussions. Please join the PTA Board, Principal Kischner, and fellow GHES parents to learn and share your thoughts.

Please join the conversation: Friday, 11/2 – 8AM: School Cafeteria

Donate to Direct Give Now!

Posted by Genesee Hill PTA on 18 October 2018, 10:16 pm

“Direct Give” is our simple, straightforward annual fundraising campaign during which we ask families and the community to contribute towards our annual fundraising goals of $360 per student. The best way to donate is through Kindful online:

More details on Direct Give and the fun activities happening during the campaign can be found here.

October Volunteer of the Month

Posted by Chau Pho-Tung on 3 October 2018, 8:38 am

Congratulations to Stacy Pritchard, our October Volunteer of the Month.

Stacy is mom to Elliot (1st grade) and Nolan (kindergarten) and loves spending as much time as she can volunteering at Genesee Hill. When she isn’t at school she is an avid runner and baker, loves cheering on her boys’ soccer or baseball games, is team mom for her boys’ various sports teams and is most happy spending time with her two boys and husband Joel.

In considering candidates for October, Stacy was an overwhelming favorite choice considering all of the work she has done quietly behind the scenes and the amount of work and time she has committed to our school and her enthusiasm for supporting our educators and youth.

Stacy is a room parent for both Elliot (1st grade, Ms. Lewis) and Nolan (Kindergarten, Ms. Henderson). She helped, before school started, with PTA packet stuffing and worked with Cindy in the office a few times in the last couple of weeks getting new school year paperwork filed and input. Alongside another parent volunteer, she set up two display walls for Ms. Ritzman and Ms. Henderson in their hallway. She’s signed up to help Nurse Sue do the upcoming health screenings for K and 1st. And, she’s also done lunchroom monitor duty. There’s more. She has helped Ms. Lewis and Ms. Henderson in various roles and last year spent lots of time in Ms. Cook’s class and summer enrichment program support.

We thought it was remarkable the amount of time a relatively new parent was willing to commit to our school and are so thankful to the contribution of this hardworking, humble and kind individual.

Congratulations and thank you for all of hard work, Stacy! Enjoy your dedicated parking spot in front of the school for a month!

Have an idea for our next Volunteer of the Month? Let us know: volunteers@geneseehillpta.org

Additional Details on Staffing Adjustments for the 2018-2019 School Year

Posted by Genesee Hill PTA on 25 September 2018, 3:51 pm

Many schools across the Seattle Public School District have been affected by budget cuts for the 2018-2019 school year, and unfortunately, Genesee Hill is one of those schools. Our school was affected for a few reasons. Current enrollment is 678 students, which is below both the 692 student projection that the initial budget was based on last February and the updated projection of 686 this past June. Also, the shared equity priority that the district implements preserved staffing at schools with higher needs and reduced staffing at schools with greater resources and deeper programs that could absorb adjustments easier, like Genesee Hill.

Principal Kischner, Ms. Dunn and Ms. Henn worked closely with the Building Leadership Team (BLT) and PTA leadership to implement the budget adjustment in ways that respected the amazing staff members we have at our school, minimized disruption at the homeroom level and followed contractual guidelines. Starting October 1, the following plan to address the budget adjustment will be implemented:

Reduce Physical Education to 1.6 teachers
Eliminate our 0.5 Technology teacher
Reduce our Math Specialist to 0.8 (four days/week)
Shift our new Art teacher position to PTA funding
Use savings from last year’s budget

Principal Kischner will be hosting a discussion about this plan and the budget adjustment at 5:30 pm Tuesday, September 25 in the library. Additional information about the plan for our school are included in his letter emailed to families September 24. Additional information on the district-wide staffing and budget adjustments can be found on the Seattle Public School District website, and questions can be emailed to Principal Kischner directly at gakischner@seattleschools.org or staffing@seattleschools.org.

Save the Date – General PTA Membership Gathering Oct 4

Posted by Genesee Hill PTA on 24 September 2018, 10:16 pm

Please join us at our first General PTA Membership Gathering of the school year on Thursday, October 4 from 6:15 pm – 8:00 pm in the Genesee Hill Elementary lunchroom. Childcare is provided for school aged children. Our Fall Membership Gathering gives our membership and community an opportunity to learn more about our PTA’s vision and goals, activities and events planned for the year and how you can get involved, whether it is sharing your time, talents or resources. Our Fall Membership Meeting is also where will we fill our open board position (Vice Treasurer), accept nominations for participation in the Washington State PTA Legislative Assembly and review and approve our revised 2018-2019 PTA Budget.

PTA General Membership Meetings are open to all current PTA members and the community. However, if you are not a member and would like to vote at the meeting to elect the board and approve the budget, please join the PTA now. (Please note that your PTA membership is an annual membership and must renewed each school year.)

Open Elected Board Positions and Nominees
Greg Deviny – Vice Treasurer

Open Appointed Board Positions
Legislative Advocacy Chair(s)
Nominating Committee

*If you are interested in being nominated for one of the open board positions (elected or appointed positions), please let me know.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

Erika Rasmussen, PTA President

District Staffing Adjustments and the Impact on Genesee Hill

Posted by Genesee Hill PTA on 24 September 2018, 8:05 am

On September 20, the Seattle Public School District posted information on staffing adjustments for the 2018-2019 school year. These adjustments will impact Genesee Hill Elementary School by decreasing our staff. The school must submit its staffing adjustments to the district Monday, September 24. That evening, Principal Gerrit Kischner will email families an update on the school’s staffing changes, how we will be addressing the impact and why staffing adjustments are happening at our school. In follow up to the email, he will be discussing the staffing adjustments with families who are interested and able to attend at 5:30 pm Tuesday, September 25 in the school library. This is before the special Trudy Ludwig presentation, which begins at 6:30 pm. Information will be posted here on the blog when it is available. If you would like to contact the Seattle Public School District directly, you can email staffing@seattleschools.org.