Back by popular demand, we have just added two days of Wilderness Awareness classes.  The slightly shortened session will run from from Monday, October 3 – Wednesday, December 7, 2016.  Classes will be offered Mondays for 3rd-5th grade (9 classes) – $150/session and Wednesdays for 1st – 5th grade (7 classes) – $115/session. Class will run for 2 hours from 2:15 – 4:15 PM and take place in Schmitz Park.  Wilderness Awareness instructors (many of who will be returning from previous sessions) will meet students at Genesee Hill and walk them over to Schmitz Park for class.  Parent pick-up will be on the playground at Schmitz Park Elementary. Register early to reserve a spot!

Online registration is now open here.  If the class is full, you can request to be wait listed here.  Wilderness Awareness can add more instructors once the wait list for a class reaches 4-6 students depending on grade level.

Questions?  Please contact Chau Pho Tung at enrichment@geneseehillpta.org

Registration is now open for Early Dismissal Mandala Coloring Camp to be held on Wednesday, September 28, from 12:15 PM – 2:15 PM. The camp is open to grades K-5 and will be taught by local teaching artist Adam Lee Allen-Spencer of High 5 Arts (the same company that offers the popular Watercolors after school enrichment class).  Join us for a relaxing afternoon of coloring Mandalas – from Darth Vader to Shooting Stars to Butterflies we have what you are looking for!  The camp will focus on color theory and examine how hot and cool colors working together in the same image. Student artists will have the option to use markers, colored pencils, crayons or all three to create their masterpiece.  Plus since the camp is two hours we will take a recess break in the middle and go outside (rain or shine).   Cost is $25/student and the camp is limited to just 20 student artists so register early to reserve your spot!

Register online here.  If the class is full, please contact the Enrichment Coordinator to be placed on the wait list.

We are pleased to announce that we have enough dedicated staff (and interest) to offer Afternoon Study Club for the rest of the school year, including on early dismissal days and gap weeks between enrichment sessions. Registrations for the Fall session of Study Club (September 26 – December 16, 2016) will be accepted here starting on Tuesday, September 20th at 7:00 PM, and will remain open until the session starts or all spots are filled. In order to maintain staffing levels, we ask that families commit to one or more days of the week for the entire 10 week session.  Families will also have the option of registering for one or more extended Study Club sessions (2 hours) for early dismissal days and for the add-on week (from December 12-16) when there are no enrichment classes. Cost is $15/day per child; $20/day per child for extended Study Club on early dismissal days. More details are available on the online registration form.

If you would like to volunteer to work one or more days/week in exchange for free tuition for your child, or have any questions, please contact the Study Club Coordinator.

Registrations for Fall 2016 enrichment are now being accepted through Friday, September 16 at 5:00 PM.  More information on classes offered, days/times/fees, and how to register can be found under the Enrichment tab

Questions? Contact the Enrichment Coordinator at enrichment@geneseehillpta.org

Our annual Genesee Hill-ville Carnival will be held on Friday, September 16th from 5:30pm-8:00pm.

This annual event is a great opportunity to catch up with old friends, meet new ones and rejoice in our community being back together at school. Plus, we’ve got some of the best Seattle food trucks joining us, including Ezells Fried Chicken, The Grilled Cheese truck, Dante’s Inferno Hot Dogs, Wicked Pie Pizzas, Full Tilt, and Jamba Juice.

In addition, our team has once again outdone themselves by planning many fun activities on the playground and in the gym. Your family won’t want to miss it!

But we couldn’t do it without the help of volunteers. We are looking for cake donations for the cake walk, and volunteers – and we’ve broken down many of these volunteer opportunities into just 30 minutes of your time, so please sign up now!

The Genesee Hill Walking School Bus program is off to a robust start!

Over the summer we were able to coordinate eight (8) routes to serve the school’s new walking area.

At this time, walking school bus routes run before school only.

If you would like to join a route, please consult our current map. This map shows the meeting places for each route as well as the captain/coordinator for each. If you live in close proximity to one of these existing routes, please contact the route’s captain for more information about joining their route and schedule. Families who participate in a route must volunteer to walk students to school at least one morning per week as well as turn in updated volunteer paperwork to our Volunteer Coordinator, Athena Fredrick.

If there is not currently a route in your area, please hold tight until we can find a program coordinator who can help launch new routes.

We Need Your Help!
Our former Walking School Bus coordinator, Elaine Bailey, is stepping away from her duties so that she can focus her attention on her new role as a second grade teacher at Genesee Hill. As such, we are seeking a volunteer to take over the coordination of the Walking School Bus program. This volunteer will coordinate the launch of new routes for the un-served areas of our neighborhood by helping plan safe walking routes and schedules for interested families. They will also serve as a central point of contact for the captains/coordinators of existing routes. Elaine will work closely with this volunteer during the transition process and provide all program documents and data that may be needed. If you are interested in this role, please email Elaine at elainenbailey@gmail.com.

Due to an overwhelming amount of interest from families, we will be offering an initial two-week Study Club session from September 12 – 23, 2016.  Students will have the opportunity to have a snack, do homework, read quietly, play board games, and play outside (weather permitting). Study Club hours will be from 2:15 – 3:45 PM and the cost will be $15/child per day. Study Club will be run by Catherine Prezbindowski. Catherine has over a decade of child care experience and is a GH parent to 1st and 5th grader. Catherine will be assisted by two additional staff, Kiki Elbel and Tunisia Braxton (both experienced  child care providers and GH parents), along with new GH parent volunteer James Powell. We could still use additional volunteers, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so please let us know if you are interested in volunteering to help out.

While there is significant demand, we will only be able to enroll a maximum of 20 – 30 spots/day in Study Club on Monday through Wednesday due to limited staff availability. On these days, several of our wonderful enrichment instructors will also offer one day “pre-enrichment” camps (i.e. Drumming, Martial Arts, Jump Rope, Open Gym) in order to accommodate additional families needing extended care after school.  These camps will have the same hours and cost as Study Club.

Please note that Study Club is meant to meet the needs of those families that require just few hours of extra care after school for 2-3 days a week, and should not be used as a 5 day/week child care option.

Online registration for Study Club and the pre-enrichment camps will open on Monday, September 5 at 7:00 PM and close on Thursday, September 8 at 5:00 PM .  Registrations will be processed on a first come, first served basis. The registration link is available here .

If you have questions, are unable to register online, or would like to volunteer to help with Study Club, please contact Chau Pho Tung at enrichment@geneseehillpta.org

Class assignment lists have been posted. Swing by the main entrance of the school to find out what classroom your student is in!

For the first day of school, remember:

• Grades K & 1 are on the first floor
• Grades 2 & 5 are on the second floor
• Grades 3 & 4 are on the third floor

This year, classes will be dismissed at 2:05pm, 40 minutes earlier than last year.

To serve families who need a later pick-up time after school, we are considering offering an Afternoon Study Club during the first two weeks of school – just until Enrichment classes begin on September 26.

If there is enough demand, the Study Club would continue year round. We have tentative staff available for this, and now need to know the interest.

Study Club would start September 12th and run from 2:15 to 3:45 PM. It would run through the year, possibly including Fridays when there are not other Enrichment classes. The cost would be $10 to $20 per day depending on enrollment.

If you are interested, please let us know soon by completing a brief pre-registration form here.

If you are interested in helping to staff this Study Club throughout the year (as a paid position), or would be interested in volunteering once a week in exchange for free coverage for your child on other days, please email Chau Pho Tung at enrichment@geneseehillpta.org.

We would love to make the Afternoon Study Club a reality – please let us know if you are interested as soon as possible!

For the first time, Slow Start will be a part of Kindergarten orientation at Genesee Hill Elementary, providing a great opportunity for the Kindergarten Team to gain a better understanding of the cohort before jumping in with both feet on September 12th.

By now, you should have all received your Slow Start assignment. Please remember that this is a time for students only – parents and caregivers will drop-off and pick-up their students at the assigned times as if it were a normal school day.

During your child’s scheduled time, he/she will have:

• A one-on-one “getting-to-know-you” meeting with his/her teacher. This will provide a chance for your child to meet their new teacher, see the classroom, and provide an initial view for the teacher about your child’s starting point at the beginning of this important journey.
• An opportunity to work with the reading specialist and tutor team in both large and small group activities that should give them more information about important aspects of each child’s developmental level.
• Recess! Play is a very important aspect of child development and they learn a lot about them during recess time.

On Friday afternoon (9/9), the entire team will look at all the data they have collected over the week and make any classroom placement changes that they deem necessary to maintain balance among all the Kindergarten classes.

On Thursday, 9/8, at 6pm, please remember to join us for Kindergarten Orientation. All families will start in the cafeteria, then parents will move to individual classrooms while students learn about playing on the playground. While they want you to focus on your new Kindergarten student, younger siblings are welcome, and the playground will be available for parents to supervise toddlers.

If you have any questions or concerns, our tireless Assistant Principle, Liz Dunn, has said not to hesitate contacting her: 206.252.9642 | eadunn@seattleschools.org