The Wildchat: 6/04/2025
Wednesday, June 04, 2025
What's Happening This Month:
- 6/04 – Spring Sing and Art Walk
- 6/04 – Seattle School Board Meeting
- 6/06 – Blacktop Celebration (5-7pm)
- 6/07 – Work Party to Support Staff
- 6/13 – Field Day
- 6/16 – 5th Grade Adventure Day
- 6/17 – 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony
- 6/18 – Last Day of School! (1-Hour Early Dismissal)
No More Manual Entry of Events!
Subscribe to Our Calendar
Select “Sync to My Calendar” to subscribe to our Konstella calendar. Or, subscribe to our Google Calendar
Whittier’s 2025 Spring Fling Was a Splendid Voyage!
Ahoy, Whittier Community! Our 2025 Spring Fling was a splendid voyage, charting a course for success with over $89,000 raised – a whopping $14,000 beyond our initial goal of $75,000!
A Big Thank You to Our Crew
None of this would have been possible without the steady hands at the helm. A massive thank you to our Spring Fling co-captains, Rena Giannoulakis and Elan Wang Simonson, and to the Spring Fling Core Committee: Rebecca Grandin, Melissa Ivancevich, Joni Larson, Angie Lundstedt, Shannon Luoma, Sara Lukas, Aisling McCarron, Mendy Minjarez, Melinda Nett, Sarah Okun, Emily Schweiger, John Shaw, Jess Twardzik, and Laura Zingg-Wadstack.
To the Volunteers Who Stepped Up
We’d also like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers who pitched in throughout the event—whether you signed up for a shift ahead of time or jumped right in at the end of the night to help us swab the deck! Your willingness to help out wherever needed is the true spirit of our Whittier community, and we couldn’t have sailed this smoothly without you.
Our Party Navigators
A special shout-out to the crew who kept the event afloat:
- DJ Pool Party—for spinning the tunes that kept us moving like a ship on a smooth tide
- Emcee Jesse Thomas—for steering the evening with charisma
- Sound Engineer Andrew Bastian—for making sure the sound was as clear as the calmest seas.
A Heartfelt Thanks to Our Captains
We are deeply grateful to our leaders:
- Principal Watters
- PTA Presidents Allie Thomas and Kate Scher
Your steady leadership always keeps us on course!
To Our Auction Contributors
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the auction—whether you hosted or will host an event, helped create beautiful classroom art or masterpieces of your own, chipped in to create fantastic classroom buckets, offered up your vacation rentals, or donated tickets to exciting events. Your generosity created a treasure trove of experiences and items, making the auction an incredible success!
Set Sail with Us for Next Year
If you have feedback, questions, or are interested in volunteering for next year’s event, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at springfling@whittierptaseattle.org. Together, we’ll keep sailing toward success!
Our Ship for the Night
A heartfelt thank you to our beautiful venue for the evening: Sunset Hill Community Hall. It was the perfect port for our celebration.
To Our Community of Caretakers and Supporters
And of course, we extend our deepest gratitude to the crew of caretakers, families, and supporters of Whittier and our Wildcats. Your generosity has helped us sail far beyond our financial target, allowing us to support crucial staff and services for next year.
Because of your unwavering support, we’re now able to fully fund next year’s Unified Snack Pantry, ensuring that families won’t need to provide snacks for individual classrooms. Your contributions also put us nearly halfway to our $15,000 target to increase investment in our school by funding a Staff Intervention and Enrichment Coordinator, who will facilitate math intervention and extension programs, a Whittier STEAM Lab, and much more.
If you missed the boat, it’s not too late! You can still contribute to our Fund the Need, buy tickets to some hosted party experiences, and bid on/buy some amazing silent auction items!
- Buy a Paws of Whittier Calendar featuring SPS school dates, special events, and more between June ’25-May ’26 (and you can buy a calendar for a staff member, too!) or Limited Edition Whittier Paw Pet Bandanas
- Bid on Limited Edition Screen Printed Art, College Admissions or ISEE/SSAT Prep Sessions and Class Artmade by Individual Ogle Students, Greeting Card bundle by Mr. Keener’s Class, and a Poured Painting by Mr. Collin’s class!
- Snag Hosted Party tickets for:
- Pokemon Go Fest with Ms. Newcomb and Mr. Buck (6/14 at 10am)
- First Grade Backyard BBQ (6/14 at 4pm)
- 2nd Grade Moms Happy Hour (6/5 from 5-7pm)
- 3rd Grade Moms Happy Hour (8/27 from 5-7pm)
- 3rd Grade Pool Par-tay (6/7 from 11:30-1:30pm)
- 4th Grade Moms Happy Hour (6/13 from 4-8pm)
- Barre3 Ballard Studio Sign Up Party (6/25 at 7:15pm)
- David’s Smokehouse (6/12 at 4pm)
- Introvert Party (6/32 at none o’clock)
- Kinder Cat Happy Hour and Splash Pad Party (6/12 from 4-6:30pm)
- Magical Summer Solstice Soiree (6/21 at 5pm)
- Party Like It’s 1999 (7/26 from 7-10pm)
- Poker Tournament (6/13 at 6:30pm)
- Private Viewing of Lilo & Stitch at Majestic Bay (6/8 at 9:15am)
- Watercolors and Wine (7/19 from 2-5pm)
- Whittier Dads Bike Ride (8/31 from 9am-12pm)
- Whittier Euchre Tournament (7/9 from 5:30-9pm)
Share Your Thoughts on After-School Programs!
The PTA is planning next year’s after-school programs, and we’d love your input!
What clubs would your child be interested in? How can we improve your experience? This survey is open to all families, even if your child did not participate in clubs this year. Your feedback will help us plan fun, enriching programs aligned with your students’ interests. It only takes five minutes to share your thoughts!
Wildcat Connections- Incoming Kindercat Family Mentor Program
This year, the PTA has been learning about belonging- what it means to belong, how we can create a sense of belonging and how to increase belonging within the larger Whittier Community.
A new project that we are launching is the Wildcat Connection. We are looking for current 1st and 2nd grade families ( Connector Families) to be matched with incoming Kindercat Families, with a goal of helping Kindercat families transition into the Whittier Community and foster a sense of belonging from the very beginning.
Emily S. will be the PTA Contact person to support the Family Connections program. You will receive monthly check-ins and Emily will be available as needed for questions / concerns/ suggestions. The goal is to create community without creating a lot of extra work!
Duties of Connector Families:
- Connector Families will be matched with at least one Kindercat Family. This will be facilitated by the Whittier Admin team and the PTA.
- Connector Families will contact Kindercat Families once a month from September to January. The first contact should be close to the beginning of the school year.
- Connector Families will coordinate one in person meet up at a school event- such as Curriculum Night or Fall Festival.
- Connector Families will be available to answer questions as needed
Interested??? Complete this form!!
If you have any questions, please email outreach@whittierptaseattle.org.
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.
Rising Whitman Wildcat? Plan Ahead for the First Day of School!
Wildcats Walk to Whitman!
Date: September 3rd
Time: 8:15 am
Meet at the corner of NW 92nd St & 8th Ave NW
Corinne Kostis would like to invite you all to a “Wildcats Walk to Whitman” on the first day of school.
Join the Whitman Staff Appreciation Team!
The Staff Appreciation Team at Whitman is a fun, social, organized, and thoughtful team that loves to spoil our hardworking staff.
Whitman staff spend more waking hours with our kids than we often do. Let’s show them they are valued and integral to our community!
The Staff Appreciation Team hosts low-key, meaningful, monthly appreciation events and recognitions of staff. The best news is most of the work is done online!… However, showing up in person at the school once or twice a month is a bonus!
If you are interested in joining the team everyone is happy to see, don’t wait!
Contact Ali Schlameus at whitman-ptsa-staff-appreciation@googlegroups.com.
Whittier STEAM Lab Seeks Volunteers to Shape & Create the Program!
Whittier STEAM Lab Program Team: Are you excited about shaping a brand-new educational space?
Whittier Elementary and the Whittier PTA are looking for community members to join a STEAM Lab task force this summer! This group of leaders will collaborate on designing the new STEAM Lab space, plan how teachers and volunteers will use it, and help prepare the space and program for launch.
Volunteers will attend a kickoff meeting in June, meet periodically over the summer, and participate in hands-on work sessions in late August and early September.
No science background is required—just a passion for creating a valuable resource for the Wildcat community!
To learn more, contact: president@whittierptaseattle.org.
Whittier STEAM Lab Experience Team: Do you enjoy brainstorming creative ideas and helping shape educational experiences?
Whittier Elementary and the Whittier PTA are seeking community volunteers to help develop a yearlong set of science-focused activities—including demonstrations, invention projects, and games—that will support classroom instruction and engage K–5 students in hands-on learning.
Volunteers will work independently and remotely from June through July 2025 to design these activities, with opportunities in early September to finalize plans and collaborate with fellow community members who will bring the ideas to life in the school’s new STEAM Lab.
No teaching or science background is needed—we’ll support you every step of the way!
To learn more, contact: president@whittierptaseattle.org.
