…to performances by the Coe Elementary and John Hay Elementary children’s choirs.

(Photo courtesy of Jon Boyce).

Canlis chef Jason Franey demoed his cooking skills (with samples!), and the folks from Chocolopolis handed out sweet treats.

Many QAFM old timers returned to the market this year…

..including Seattle street food favorites Parfait and Maximus/Minimus.

The market also welcomed a number of newcomers, including the folks from Jello Mold Farm in the Skagit Valley, who were excited to take part in their first farmers market ever.

The Queen Anne Farmers Market will be held every Thursday, through October 7, 2010 from 3 to 7 p.m. on W Crockett St. at Queen Anne Ave N. Happy market season, Queen Anne!

In a letter addressed to the community on Friday, May 7, Goodloe-Johnson explained the decision making process and introduced Hanson, while wishing Warren well at his new post. Read the full letter below:

Dear John Hay Community:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Karen Hanson as the new principal for John Hay Elementary School.

A team from John Hay participated in the selection process. The team developed a profile of the qualities desired in the next school leader, interviewed a series of candidates, and provided feedback on the strengths of each applicant relative to the needs of your school. The candidates were drawn from a highly qualified pool of individuals who participated in a rigorous interview process conducted by principals and administrators.  Led by Education Director, Pat Sander, the finalists that your school team recommended then participated in a Learning Walk at John Hay.  During this walk, they visited classrooms, interacted with students and wrote some reflections on what they observed. The Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer conducted final interviews and made the appointment.

We believe that Ms. Hanson’s background as an enrichment specialist, classroom teacher and head teacher at John Hay for the past 11 years qualifies her to be an excellent principal choice for your school, and will ensure continuity of John Hay’s current educational experience.  Her student-centered approach means that she works for the success of all students at every level; she demonstrates personal integrity and an ability to foster positive change.

Ms. Hanson’s recent experience includes two years as a head teacher, three years as a classroom teacher and six years as an enrichment specialist at John Hay, plus five years as a classroom teacher at Olympic View Elementary School.  She values relationships with staff, students, families and community, and is committed to ensuring academic success for all students.  Ms. Hanson’s professional preparation includes a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology, a Master’s Degree in curriculum and instruction, and principal certification from Seattle Pacific University.

We want to also take this opportunity to thank Dan Warren for his outstanding educational leadership. His dedication to providing the best possible education for every child has been a gift to John Hay. We wish him all the best in his appointment as principal of Sand Point Elementary School.

Sincerely,

Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson, Ph.D.
Superintendent

Funds will be used to support and expand equipment for the Physical Education Equipment Resource Center (PEERC). PE teachers share everything from archery equipment to roller skates to unicycles. PEERC makes it possible for all students to have access to success-oriented fitness experiences.

Other events, including the Walk of Champions, Carnival of Activities and Physical Education awards ceremony are free and will be held in the stadium. Check the full schedule here.

Queen Anne residents interested in participating are invited to join the John Hay Elementary team, which has already raised $710 in pledges, $460 over their goal! From the John Hay blog:

All of your registration fees will come directly back to John Hay to support Mr. Sturm’s efforts to keep our kids active and fit!

This event is for everyone in your family. We had a sizeable group last year and our fundraising allowed Mr. Sturm to buy many items on his wish list! We hope to see you on April 25, proudly sporting your John Hay spiritwear or Move-a-thon t-shirt!

Other Queen Anne Schools participating include Coe Elementary (they’ve raised $680 so far) and McClure Middle School (they’ve raised $35 so far). The brand new Queen Anne Elementary doesn’t have a team yet, but it’s not too late to make one!

For more information on joining the John Hay team, contact Carol Brown at carolgbrown@gmail.com or Suzanne Cohen at suzcohen@yahoo.com.

Although online pre-registration has closed, participants can still register day-of. More information here.

On Tuesday Coe earned a whopping $1,376.67, but was slightly beat out by Hay, which raised $1,442.52 on Thursday, adding up to $2,819.19 in total!

The funds are going directly to each school. Coe will be purchasing age and reading level appropriate books for their classrooms with the funds, while John Hay is putting its portion toward hiring math and reading tutors.

Families from the schools who participated in the fundraiser were asked to write their teacher’s name at the top of their checks, allowing the 5 Spot to figure out which classrooms from both Coe and Hay had the highest level of family participation. Ms. Spiller’s class at Coe and Ms. Mirabueno’s class at John Hay took the prize. Every student in both winning classes was given a $10 Chow Foods gift card.

“We know our local public schools are hurting as much or more than the rest of us right now and are in a frightful financial state.  As an integral part of the Queen Anne community, we at the 5 Spot wanted to answer that call. We couldn’t have asked for two more successful evenings—both schools are winners!” said 5 Spot owner Peter Levy in a press release today.

Congrats Coe and Hay!

These awards recognize top-performing schools across the state, selected based on statewide assessment data collected over three prior consecutive years and analyzed using a school Accountability Index (.pdf). (Read up on the methodology here). John Hay also received these same two distinctions last year. See previous award recipients (.pdf). From John Hay’s blog,

The Overall Excellence award places John Hay in the top 5 percent of all elementary, middle and high schools across the state.

Congratulations to all of the hard working teachers,  staff, volunteers and parents that made this happen, and make John Hay such a special place.

Read more on the Washington Achievement Awards here. And congratulations Hay!

Their new Spring Break Drama Camp will focus on creating a play in four days, beginning on Monday, March 29 to Thursday, April 1, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Using improvisation exercises and theatre games, we will create and perform a play which has a plot with a beginning, middle, end, characters and setting – all in 4 days!

The Spring Break Drama Camp costs $135 for the week. All school grades and ages are welcome. To sign up, pick up forms in the John Hay Volunteer Office or print and return the forms here.

Kids should bring a light snack to camp and wear comfortable clothing that allows them to move. For more information or to answer questions, email Deb Fox at foxbarlow@comcast.net.

On Tuesday, March 23 (Coe) and Wednesday, March 24 (Hay) students, parents and teachers will pack into 5 Spot and see how much they can earn by eating out. For these two days the 5 Spot will be contributing 25 percent of all their food and beverage sales from 4 p.m. to closing at midnight to each respective school. So if you eat at the 5 Spot either Tuesday or Wednesday next week, a quarter of every dollar you spend will go straight to Coe or John Hay.

Additionally, the children in the classroom from the winning school that has the highest level of family participation—families will be asked to write their teacher’s name at the top of their guest checks—will win a $10 Chow Foods gift card for each child in the class of the “highest participation level” classroom.

All funds raised over these two nights will be donated directly to each respective school. Coe Elementary, who will be fundraising on Tuesday the 23rd, plans to utilize the proceeds to purchase age and reading level appropriate books for their classrooms. John Hay Elementary, who will be represented on Wednesday the 24th, plans to put its donated funds toward the hiring of math and reading tutors.

The John Hay Citizenship Committee and Student Council are hosting an evening of great music, dancing, a cupcake walk, face painting and food.  All proceeds will continue to support our sister school in Afghanistan.

According to John Hay volunteer coordinator Lynn Baker, all proceeds from the Sock Hop will go toward helping the Afghan school build six more classrooms. Admission is $12 per family at the door. Once inside, tickets will be sold for 50 cents each that will be redeemable for concessions, face painting and the cupcake walk.

“Journey With an Afghan School” is the brainchild of Seattle woman Julie Bolz, who has been working to raise money for the construction of 19 schools and repairing of more than a dozen others in the Balkh province in northern Afghanistan. Read the Seattle Times piece on Bolz’s project here.

This is the second time Coe Elementary, John Hay and McClure Middle School have gotten together to run a major sale event for charity. The three schools first teamed up in 2005, just after the tsunami, and successfully raised $10,000. When the earthquake hit Haiti, the organizers decided to run the event again. This time they raised $19,200.

“The same group all came together and decided to do it again,” said organizers and former John Hay parent Mimi Gan. Their goal was to beat their previous record. “We’ve almost doubled it!” she said.

As for the sale itself, items varied from used toys and clothes, to housewares, baked goods (the in-house bake sale raised $755 alone) and even some last-minute surprise donations, including a car! According to Gan, the principal of Coe Elementary, Mr. Elliott, drove his car to the rummage sale and began taking bids, eventually selling it for $350.

“I don’t know how old it was,” Gan said. “He was very honest about it – there were some things wrong with it. But it sold!”

(This is Mr. Elliott’s fifth and last year at Coe. He will be moving to the new Old Hay, Queen Anne Elementary for the 2010-2011 school year).

Volunteers said the rummage sale stayed relatively busy from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the crowds were taken over by football frenzy.

“We had a steady flow of people most of the day. At the end, we did a Craig’s list blast to get rid of as much as we could. We advertised $5 for what you could take out,” said fellow parent and volunteer Stacy Lawson. As for the results, “We were ecstatic,” she said.

“It was great fun,” Gan said. “It was a great community builder and people were so generous.”

According to Gan the money will be dispersed evenly between three aid organizations, the American Red Cross, Partners in Health and Project Hope.

(Thanks to Eileen Nishi for the pictures!)

While it is an incredible loss at Coe, it will be a wonderful thing for the new school community.

In addition to Elliott’s reassignment, the principal at John Hay (not to be confused with Old Hay), Dan Warren, will be moving to the new Sand Point Elementary after five years on the hill. Read principal Warren’s letter to John Hay families here (.pdf).

And on the high school level, The Center School principal Lisa Escobar will be moving to Rainier Beach, where she will become co-principal alongside current head Dr. Robert Gary. Meanwhile, Judy Peterson will serve as the interim principal at The Center School.

To read Goodloe-Johnson’s letter, check out the West Seattle Blog, who have posted it in its entirety.