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Day: January 14, 2025

The Wildchat: 1/15/2025

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

What's Happening This Month:

  • 1/13: Registration for After School Programs Opened
  • 1/20: NO SCHOOL (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
  • 1/21: PTA Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Meeting
  • 1/23 – Staff Appreciation (Hosted by 3rd Grade)
  • 1/24: Registration for After School Programs Closes
  • 1/27: Winter After School Programs Begin

No More Manual Entry of Events!

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Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee Meeting - January 21st!

Interested in learning about what the EDI Committee does?

Have some ideas, concerns, questions to share?

Want to eat snacks and talk about how to make Whittier an even more inclusive and welcoming community?

Come check out our January meeting!

When: January 21st
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 pm
Where: Ballard 

(Please email edi@whittierptaseattle.org for meeting location.)

Here is some of what the EDI Committee works on throughout the year:

  • Researches and arranges student, parent, and/or staff education opportunities around diversity/race/inclusion
  • Maintains relationships and mutual support with EDI PTA chairs across the district
  • Shares relevant community events with the Whittier community
  • Works with school leadership to support activities in conjunction with Black Lives Matter at school week, Pride, etc.
  • Annually reviews and provides recommended updates to relevant PTA EDI guidance such as the EDI Communication Rubric, Land Acknowledgement guidance and the Anti-Harassment policy (in standing rules)

Registration for Winter After-School Programs is Open!

Blue and yellow Whittier after-school programs banner.

Whittier PTA is excited to continue offering after-school enrichment this winter! We’ve got arts and crafts, LEGOS, parkour, dance, and more!  View the full schedule and class info here.

Save These Dates!

  • Registration closes on January 24 or until classes fill
  • Classes are held weekly after school from January 27 – March 27

Set up your 6crickets account. We are using the 6crickets platform to make registration easier for families. Families MUST set up an account prior to registering. Set up only takes five minutes.

Scholarships are available! Please reach out to programs@whittierptaseattle.org for more info.

Volunteers needed! After-school programs at Whittier can’t happen without your help.

Volunteers commit to one hour a week for eight weeks. Volunteers help unlock classrooms, take attendance, and hang out in the school building during club time. It’s one of the easiest jobs, and you get to know so many amazing Wildcats!

Tuition discounts are available for volunteers. Please contact programs@whittierptaseattle.org for more info.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Seeking Volunteers for 4th - 5th Grade Lunch Clubs

Community Camps and Activities

Join the Whittier Ultimate Frisbee Team!

The Whittier Ultimate Frisbee Team is seeking active, team-oriented 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to join the “WUF Gang” for the Spring 2025 season. No experience is necessary to play. The all-gender, non-contact sport prioritizes mutual respect, fair play, communication, and conflict-resolution skills.

3rd and 4th grade Wildcats are especially encouraged to participate so we will be able to field at least one gender-balanced team for this age group. 

The team will practice on Wednesday afternoons at Loyal Heights Playfield beginning February 26.

Coaches will organize a “walking bus” from the Whittier courtyard (with an option for pick up and drop off at Whittier Kids). The season runs from March 8 through May 10, with an optional three-game tournament on May 17.

Learn more and register here.

Youth Lacrosse (Pssst…. Mr. Buck is One of the Coaches!)

Field-Trip Based Spanish Language Exposure Summer Camp

Our K- 5 Summer Camp is field trip-based, meaning each day will be an adventure! Campers will explore exciting new destinations around Seattle, including a variety of parks, museums, playgrounds, pools, indoor play zones, interactive activity spaces, and more. 

Each day brings a new adventure, offering opportunities for fun, exploration, and Spanish exposure in a wide range of engaging environments!

Learn more!

Fantasy Parkour Adventure Camps

Use Code “CBsummer25” for an additional $25 off. Register Today!

Seattle Young Engineers Lego-Themed Camps

Summer Camp 2025 Registration opens January 20th, 2025 at 9:00 AM PST

This years camp will be run at Daniel Bagley Elementary School

We will have 3 Programs to choose from. In addition to our flagship Lego Engineering program, on popular demand we are introducing Lego Robotics program for Students of Grades 4-7.

Find out more here!

Gymnastics Camp on 2/1

The Ballard High School Gymnastics team will host an afternoon gymnastics camp for elementary school-age kids on Saturday, February 1st from Noon – 3 p.m. The proceeds from the camp will help support the Gymnastics program at BHS. Find more details and purchase tickets here.

Summer Camp Planning Resource

Looking for summer camps or other extracurricular activities? OneStopCamp.com is a free tool created by fellow Seattle-area parents to help you find relevant camps in your area. Check it out today: www.onestopcamp.com.

Age-appropriate strength and conditioning classes in Phinney Ridge

The 12-week Winter series runs Jan. 15 – April 9 (no class Feb. 19), every Wednesday (Seattle Public Schools’ early-dismissal day) at CFPR Functional Fitness, 7601 Greenwood Ave. N., Suite 100:

Kids class (ages 7-11): 2:30-3:05 p.m.
Teens class (ages 12-15): 3:15-4 p.m.

Pricing for the Kids series is $165+tax for 12 weeks, $100+tax for 6 weeks, or $20+tax for single classes. The Teens series is $210+tax for 12 weeks, $120+tax for 6 weeks, or single classes for $25+tax.

CFPR’s Youth classes teach kids functional fitness movements, but with a focus on form and fun!

Our age-appropriate strength and conditioning classes can help your already sporty child be stronger, faster and more agile. And it can help build confidence and body awareness in children who just want to have fun moving their bodies.

We’ll work on bodyweight movements like squats, planks, burpees, pull-ups, and handstands, plus cardio with rowers, scooters and more. Older children will begin weighted movements like deadlifts and overhead presses (starting extremely light and moving up in weight as they establish good form). Every movement will be scaled to each person’s ability, and we’ll play games that will be fun but also fitness-oriented!

Email info@crossfitphinneyridge.com to learn more or sign up!

Download the 2024-25 Whittier Student Directory

The 2024-25 Whittier Student Directory is now available for download! Many thanks to all the families and Wildcat artists who participated. We recommend bookmarking this link to access the most current version, as the PTA makes updates throughout the year. 

To protect families’ privacy, we will only share the directory through internal channels (i.e. Konstella).

The PTA compiles the student directory each school year in coordination with families who wish to opt in. Families can use the directory to plan playdates, birthdays, and other fun! Opting in is voluntary. We only share the information you provide.

If you need to add or update your student’s contact info, it’s not too late! Please contact elzingg@gmail.com.

Submit Your Photos to Whittier's Yearbook Committee

We’re looking for high-resolution photos that capture our community learning and having fun together!

Submit photos for Whittier’s 2024-2025 yearbook to yearbook@whittierptaseattle.org.

Advocacy Update: 1/13/25

We’re running this January in advance of WA State’s legislative sessions! For more news, please check out last month’s advocacy update. For today, here’s a list of advocacy activity we’re currently focusing on:

  • We’re contacting our State reps to demand they fully fund education. Using engagement templates from the Billion Dollar Bake Sale, a grassroots, parent-led advocacy campaign, we’re sending postcards and emailing State reps in advance of funding-specific advocacy action in Olympia on January 30th.
  • Make your Special Election voting plan for both the BEX and EP&O Levies on February 11th. Passing both levies is vital to ensure Seattle schools maintain its current (insufficient) funding.
  • SPS’ proposed spending for its BEX levy includes building new, large-scale elementary buildings in neighborhoods that are already dense with school buildings. Its BEX plan also spends way more on far fewer construction projects than past plans and continues its practice of tying Technology operations funding to this capital levy (effectively forcing residents to pass it or risk SPS’ operations budget altogether). SPS is not required to follow its proposed plan for Levy spending if levies pass; families can share their vote to try to influence change. Contact all School Board directors and contact Seattle Public Schools.
  • SPS is developing their new 5-year strategic plan. Learn more about the Goals and Guardrails in this plan here. Share your voice about this proposed strategic plan by contacting all School Board directors and Seattle Public Schools before the School Board votes to approve the plan at their meeting on January 22nd.
  • School Board Meetings are an amazing opportunity to share your voice and learn more about the district’s work and priorities. Learn more about upcoming meetings, how to watch or attend, and how to sign-up for public testimony.
  • On the horizon, we anticipate the following issues that will require advocacy efforts to surface:
    • THREE BELLS: The District has mentioned (but not shared specifics) moving from “two bells” (or school start/end times) to “three bells.” The last “3 Bell” proposal in 2022 moved neighboring elementary schools to either 7:25am or 9:25am start times. It was disbanded following public outcry as it created unsolvable childcare challenges and unsafe conditions for families.
    • REDUCE ALL LIBRARIANS TO .5 FTE: The District has mentioned reducing all librarians to .5 FTE. While this wouldn’t reduce Whittier’s library time, it does impact middle and high school librarians (currently 1.0 FTE) and functionally eliminate student library access for half the school year, including using the library space for clubs and other student activities.
    • NEW SCHOOL BOARD LEADERSHIP: The School Board voted Gina Topp at their new President, Evan Briggs as Vice President, Joe Mizrahi as Member-at-Large, and (D2 Director) Sarah Clark as Chair of a Financial Oversight and Short-Term Strategic Planning Committee. School Board Elections are slated for Nov 4, 2025. Our community will want to express support for this year’s school board directors that act and vote in alignment with our voices to help build a coalition of directors that can vote in agreement with our values.
    • CLOSURES WILL COME BACK: Director Rankin, Director Briggs, and others have remarked that they believe school closures are the only way out of SPS’ operational deficit. Without a majority coalition at the school board level, we should anticipate the possibility of being impacted by future school closure proposals and the need to organize and advocate for proposals that have the best outcomes for our students.