Thanks to our generous parents, we have hit our goal to cover the cost of the Hepa Air Purifiers.  They have been purchased and will be installed soon.  A big thank you to the Parent Association for making this happen!

The Saint George's Parent Annual Fund Drive has reached 85% participation; you can help us exceed our goal of 90% parent participation.  Kindergarten and 1st Grade only need two more families and 3rd Grade only needs one family to reach 100%.  Which grade will get there first?  Make Your Donation today and help Power the Dragon during this challenging year.  Thank you!

Dear Saint George's Community,

As we reach the start of March, I wanted to give you some updates on what Spokane Regional Health District is seeing combined with what we are seeing here on campus.  

There is a fatigue level with protocols around the country, state, and community.  As our caseloads in Spokane County drop, it is imperative we continue to do the things that have led to our success at Saint George's School.  The cold is going around, and allergies are starting to creep in as our weather is beginning to change.  According to Spokane Regional Health District, they are seeing an uptick of school-age kids who believe they are having allergy or cold symptoms who are testing positive for COVID.  Many of those kids are rejoining class without testing and causing classroom shutdowns.   SRHD still wants to have our students stay home from school when symptoms are present.  They also want to see a negative test if those symptoms last longer than 24 hours, or your student has more than one symptom for any duration.  We expect some protocols to change in the near future as the number of cases drop.  We will notify you when the changes come.

At SGS we are getting more calls asking about how to handle cold and allergy symptoms.  In our discussion with SRHD, they recommend getting tested for cold symptoms.  For allergies, if they are chronic, parents can get a doctor’s note in lieu of getting tested each time multiple symptoms are present.  Their advice was to also get a test if there were any symptoms outside of regular allergies.  
 
We are at the end of our sixth month of school this year with a little over three months to go.  I cannot begin to thank every one of you for helping the school community stay as safe as possible.  Our parents have partnered with the school from day one to keep our staff and students safe.  With our continued diligence we can get through the rest of the school year as safely as possible.  

Sincerely,

Ryan Peplinski
COVID Coordinator

After discussing their goals in Advisory this month, Upper School students, teachers and administrators chose a word that they wanted to embody or a trait to attain during the coming year.  Here is a Photo Gallery of their Words for 2021, which are on display on the side of the main stairs in the Upper School courtyard.

Spokane's Teen & Kid Closet, which provides good quality clothes and toiletries to vulnerable children and teens, is the focus of a drive organized by seniors Reagan Ivey and Addy Lennemann.  Feb. 2 through 23, please bring new or gently used clothing and toiletries, as well as bras and underwear, to the collection bins at the foot of the Upper School stairs.  Contact Reagan or Addy to volunteer with Teen & Kid Closet or to make a contribution that they will use to buy items for the drive.  Thank you, Dragons!

The Parent Association Class Ambassadors have been working to put air purifying filters in each of the Middle School and Lower School classrooms as well as Metters Gym and the Dragon's Den.  The school needs a total of 25 filters that costs between $120 and $588 each.  A total of over $6,000 will be needed to cover the cost of all the filters for our classrooms.  To date we have received $850 and would love fill this need ASAP.  

Your donation to the school will qualify for a tax deduction and you will receive a receipt of acknowledgement once your donation is made.  Click here to Make a Donation, then under 'gift purpose' select unrestricted and in the comments section note 'for air filters.'  If you have any questions, please contact Ashley Miller at 464-8755 or ashley.miller@sgs.org.

Upper School students are invited to a free ASB Movie Night on Friday, February 19 at 7pm in ESAC Gym.  Watch the Disney film "The Princess and the Frog."  Students should bring blankets and pillows to sit on at this socially-distanced event.  Snacks provided!

After 38 years in the profession and 31 years of devoted service to Saint George’s School as a teacher, administrator, friend and colleague, Kathy Johnson has announced her retirement at the end of this school year.  

Kathy’s career at SGS has been almost exclusively in the Lower School.  She taught Kindergarten for many years, establishing the solid learning foundation for so many young Dragons, including some of the current high schoolers.   She has been a life-long learner throughout her teaching career, serving as an adjunct instructor at the college level and showing dedicated commitment to numerous key school committees.  She capped her career as the Assistant Head of School for Elementary Education for the past eight years. 

"Knowing Kathy, she will not be slowing down in her zest for life," says Head of School Jamie Tender.  "She will be looking forward to spending time with her twin sister, her children, and grandchildren.  Everyone at Saint George's will miss her smiling face and positive approach, and all wish her well on her next adventures."

Head of School Jamie Tender has announced the promotion of current fourth-grade teacher Rick Petrini to the position of Head of Lower School for the 2021-22 school year.  Rick will build on the strong Lower School experience and foundation established by Kathy Johnson, who will retire as Lower School Head at the end of this school year.

Rick has been at SGS for 16 years and has earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues and SGS families for his hard work, dedication and commitment to the SGS community and elementary education.  Rick, along with Co-Chair Brad Kirsch, led the school's most recent NWAIS K-12 Self-Study.  He has served in lead roles on the Benefits Committee, Shared Leave Board, Compensation Committee, the COVID Re-opening Committee and was Saint George's previous McCutcheon Endowed Chair.  Rick is currently completing his second master’s degree; this degree is in Educational Administration.  

"Saint George's is fortunate to have an accomplished educator with the experience, SGS knowledge, and impressive record to lead our Lower School starting in the 2021-22 School year," says Jamie Tender.  In addition to Rick’s teaching duties this year, he will be included in the planning for next year.

The winners of the Saint George's Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest are Bella Buckner, 6th grade, and Lila Rigsby, 9th grade.  Their essays were based on the quote by Dr. King that “A riot is the language of the unheard.”  In addition to the $50 prize, sponsored by the SGS Writing Center, the winners will have their essays published in The Round Table, the SGS student newspaper.  You also can read Bella Buckner's Essay and Lila Rigsby's Essay on the SGS website.  Congratulations to both of them!