Together, the Villa Academy Preschool donated hundreds of gently used books to the Seattle Ronald McDonald House, an organization that supports the families of seriously ill children by providing a “home-away-from-home” as the children undergo treatment.

Piles of donated books created an impressive collection, which lined the halls of the Preschool classrooms. There were so many books that, unfortunately, a final count was never determined. Estimations range between 900 and 1,000!

On Monday May 24, TWO carloads of books were loaded and delivered by a P3 parent volunteer.

“Most of the children are familiar with Children’s Hospital,” said Mrs. Raymaker, and “all the children were excited to give their books away for other children to enjoy while they are away from the comforts of their own home.”

The Preschool would like to thank all the preschoolers and their families for such generous donations.  The books will be extremely appreciated and well loved!

Today, the Villa Academy fourth grade had the honor of presenting representatives from Food Lifeline with a donation check for the amount of $668.58.  The money was raised at an annual fundraiser hosted by the fourth grade students as part of their yearlong service project.

Prior to presenting the check, four student representatives stood as a group and shared heartfelt sentiments about their experience as volunteers for Food Lifeline.  The students each read a letter expressing what this service project meant to them personally, and some mentioned how it had helped them to reflect on their own blessings.

This special opportunity was the culmination of the fourth grade’s yearlong efforts.  Several trips to Food Lifeline to help sort and package food donations and the sale of handmade ceramic bowls at the “Empty Bowls Soup Dinner” preceded today’s special event.

Food Lifeline graciously accepted the donation with much appreciation and reminded students that this donation alone would be enough to provide over 2,600 meals!

Watch video of students presenting the check to Food Lifeline:

Lifeline Check Presentation

As announced in the Monday Memo, the search process for Head of School has begun.  The search committee would like to assure that all members of the Villa Community (alumni, parents, student, faculty, staff and friends) have an opportunity to engage in this process.

Terry Macaluso, the search consultant hired to assist Villa in this process, will be on campus to meet with parents and community members who would like to share their thoughts in person.  Terry has scheduled parent input sessions at the following times:

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Thursday May 20, 2009 in the Villa Parlor

8:40 am – 9:40 am, Tuesday May 25, 2009 in the Villa Parlor

6:00 pm  – 7:00 pm, Wednesday May 26, 2009 in the Villa Theatre

Your input is important. If you cannot attend one of the scheduled times above, please take the opportunity to share your opinion through this short online survey

Read more

Villa Academy 3^rd grade artwork will be on display at The Confectionary in the U-Village this spring.  The student art is based on the creations of artist Wayne Thiebaud, who is best known for his paintings of desserts. His symmetrical compositions have strong light and shadows and bring the viewer right into the picture.

The student art caught the attention of Kristi, a Villa Academy parent and owner of The Confectionery, an upscale candy boutique in Seattle’s University Village. Kristi invited the students to share their yummy looking artwork with her customers.

Through this assignment students practiced drawing 3-dimensional cylinder shapes to use as their cake form and experimented with oil pastel layering techniques. Colors were layered in varying values to show light and shadow. Decorations were added to the outside of the cake and platter to finish off the delicious looking creations.

Stop by The Confectionery this spring to satisfy your sweet tooth and your appreciation of student artwork!

The Regina House gift drive is one of Villa students’ much loved ways to volunteer.   Every year, Villa students work hard to collect donations for their “adopted families.”  Not only does the program offer relief to the families in need, but it also touches the hearts of its student helpers and has been a very positive community relationship for Villa over the years.

Right now we have the opportunity to help the Regina House Food Bank win $5,000!  This would literally purchase tons of food and help the food bank feed many hungry families.

It’s as easy as a quick online vote!

In August, Paige Collins, the director of Providence Regina House, won the KOMO4 Brotherton Cadillac ‘Community Champion’ award for her passionate work. A video about Paige Collins has been nominated for a “Community Champion” online video contest.

To help, please go to the Komo News website /champions and vote for Paige Collins.

The Villa Preschool is collecting gently used books for the local Ronald McDonald House.  The Ronald McDonald  House is located right here in our community. Families with an ill child, seeking medical treatment at Children’s Hospital,  stay at the house for extended periods of time, when they live too far away to commute to be near their child.

Many of the patients  at Children’s Hospital, and their siblings, are the same age as our preschool students, five years of age and younger. Donations of gently used books help families during the difficult transition to their new, but temporary home.

Our Book Drive will begin Monday, May 10 and continue through Friday, May 21. This is a great  opportunity for you and your child to get together to decide what book or  books you would like to donate from your shelves at home.

The  Ronald McDonald House is really looking forward to our donations.  Please look for our special book boxes  just outside each of the Preschool classrooms starting on May 10.

Thank you for your consideration.

The Preschool Team

Back in January, Villa’s Student Emergency Response Team (SERT) hosted a “Change for Haiti” coin drive.  Their efforts helped raise over $4,000 dollars to buy relief-kits for the victims of Haiti’s recent magnitude seven earthquake. All funds were donated to Catholic Relief Services and were pooled with donations from other schools across the country. Read more about the Power of Pennies, as children all over the United States take on the challenge of helping others in need, a few cents at a time.

Grandparents have so much to share with younger generations and we are honored to have so many of them involved in the lives of our students.  Many Grandparents play a crucial role in their grandchild’s education.  Whether they are involved in a child’s daily schedule, or on a less frequent basis, a lot can be learned from the history, experience and life views of our Grandparents. It is truly a privilege to be able to share these experiences!

Grandparents, join us as we celebrate your contribution and influence on the lives of our students this Friday, May 7th.

Friday, May 7th
9am Mass at St. Bridget Church
10:15am Reception in Theatre, followed by classroom visits
Noon dismissal
RSVP to ncollora@thevilla.org or 206-729-0219 x 267

When: Saturday, April 24, 9:00am-1:00pm

Who: All Preschool Parents Past and Present and Middle School students looking for volunteer service opportunity

What: 4 BIG EARTH WEEK PROJECTS

• Heavy pruning of an old laurel hedge
• Serious weeding of terraced garden (with a statue of Mary)
• Mulch all Preschool garden beds
• Clean Up for green pick up!

Bring: Your own garden gloves and tools

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a young child friendly event. We will not be able to supervise children.

We are working hard to make our Preschool Garden an amazing outdoor space for our children NOW and for years to come!

Thank you for your help!

Questions: Please email P-5 teacher, Sara Olson

Please note the the date of the event has been changed to April 29th

Lent is a season of simplicity, self-reflection, and Christian growth – An excellent time for spiritual spring-cleaning and a perfect opportunity to reflect on our service to others.

One of the highlights of the Lenten season is the fourth grade’s annual Empty Bowls Soup Dinner.

On Thursday, April 29^th our fourth grade students will prepare a simple soup supper. That evening, at 5pm in the Villa Cafeteria, students will host their families and friends to dinner. Soup will be served in bowls that were handmade by the student’s themselves as part of the art curriculum in Ms. Kunselman’s class.

Bowls, as well as the soup, will be for sale, with all proceeds going directly to Food Lifeline, a local hunger relief organization, serving Western Washington.

This annual fundraiser is a continuation of the fourth grade’s yearlong service project. Each class has already visited the Food Lifeline Distribution Center twice this year to assist with the sorting and packaging of food donations.

Empty Bowls is a grassroots effort to bring money and awareness to the fight against hunger. Events like this take place across the country several times a week throughout the entire year, and Villa Academy is proud of its fourth grade for their participation!