Check school website for all school events.  Dates are subject to change.

Aug.20        Tiger Tracks and Meet your Teacher 8:00-11:30 am

Aug. 21        First Full Day of School

Sept. 3         School Holiday- Labor Day

Oct. 1           Blessing of the Pets 8:10am

Oct. 3-5        7^th and 8^th grade to David B. Terk Outdoor School

Oct.8           School Holiday Columbus Day

Oct. 9          Teacher Inservice  Student Holiday

Oct 10-12     5^th and 6^th grades to David B. Terk Outdoor School

Oct. 18         Grandparents and Special Friends Day 5^th-8^th -  2:00 – 3:45 pm

Oct. 19          Grandparents and Special Friends Day PK3-4^th 8:00-11:30 am

                      Early Dismissal for all students 11:30am

Oct. 24          Parent Teacher Conference Day  Student Holiday

Nov. 2           Fall Auction Party

4^th Grade Outdoor School

Nov. 19-23   Thanksgiving Break

Nov. 26-30    Book Fair

Dec. 13-14    Science Fair (6^th-8th)

Dec.  19-10    Middle School Exams

Dec. 21         Lessons & Carols  10:30am with 11:30am Early Dismissal

Dec. 24-Jan 4   Christmas Break

Jan. 26          All classes resume

Jan. 21          Community Service Day  Early Dismissal  12:00pm

Feb. 15          Reenrollment Contracts Due

Feb. 18          School Holiday Presidents Day

Feb. 19          Teacher Inservice Student Holiday

March 1        Trade Fair Early Dismissal 11:30pm

March 11-15  Spring Break

March 20       Parent Teacher Conference Student Holiday

March 29       School Holiday Good Friday

April 26         School Holiday Battle of Flowers

May 17,20-21  Middle School Final Exams

May 22           Early Dismissal  Times TBA

May 24           PK3-2^nd Grade Closing Ceremonies 9:00am

3^rd-7^th Grade Closing Ceremonies  10:30am

8^th Grade only Holiday       11:30am Early Dismissal

May 25           9:00am start for 5^th – 8^th grades

                       Graduation 10:00am

On Saturday morning I was privileged to have been invited to attend a St. Luke’s student’s Bat Mitzvah service at Temple Beth El. It was a very moving service that marked the moment when, in Jewish law, the child becomes morally responsible for their own actions. This rite of passage was celebrated with great love, kindness and humor, and I was so proud of the speech that our St. Luke’s student gave to the congregation.

One particular moment in the ceremony struck me forcefully. At a certain point the young woman who has come of age is handed scrolls of the Torah to carry around the synagogue. Temple Beth El possesses a scroll from the former Czechoslovakia that somehow survived the Holocaust. It was this scroll that the young woman was asked to carry.

Seldom have I seen the life of faith, human spirit and education so dramatically captured in a single act. Education must be founded in the values that one generation seeks to pass on to the next. Those values guide, they empower, but they also bear with them great weight and responsibility, for something very precious is entrusted to the young for them to preserve and sustain.

That young woman was entrusted with a scroll that is a remnant of the wreckage of an entire civilization, something that miraculously survived the Nazi attempt to annihilate a people and a religion from the face of the earth. Who knows how it did survive, but now it is her turn to carry that faith and that tradition into the future. Bearing the weight of that scroll about the synagogue was a moment of true drama, epic in its historical and religious symbolism. But in a humbler form, that act of carrying values forward into the future is what every faith-based school must do, if it is to serve its students truly.

Dr. Q. Mark Reford

By the end of the day St. Luke’s had won two championships. The Girls A team are this year’s Independent School Athletic League champions, and the 6th grade boys won the 6th Grade League for the second year in a row.

Personally I ended the day exhausted and incredibly proud of our students. They had all worked so hard to get to the championships and quite simply they never gave up. Our 6th grade boys were down 12 to 2 against a tough team, but they persevered and fought for every point. The girls played with a grit and determination that was inspiring, and I for one will make sure that I never come between some of those 8th graders and a basketball.

Our students showed a level of team-work, guts and good sportsmanship that reassured me that the future is in sound hands. I want to share two letters with you. The first is the letter our beloved basketball coach, Art Rangel, sent to his Girls A team at the beginning of the big day:

“Dear Lady Tigers!

Having seen all the teams in our conference and in my humble opinion, we have the “best” team.  All that you have to do today, is go out there and prove it, by tying a nice bow on what has been an awesome season.  Finish the job this afternoon and you’ll have a banner of your own.

To say that I am proud of you would be a huge understatement.  For some of you, this has been a 2 or 3 year process of getting to the playoff but losing in the first round.  Then losing in the semifinals last year on a “hail mary” 3 pointer.  Then having experienced the excitement of competing in the playoffs, with this year’s goal of getting to the finals.

We never talked about winning the championship because there was the little issue of the work, preparation and dedication that would be necessary to be in that position.  We have done all of those things to put us in the position we’re in, which is playing for a championship.

When you step out on the court this afternoon, try to remember…ALL of our talks about various basketball and non basketball related issues that we had.  ALL the conditioning you subjected yourself to, in order to get to this point.  Now you must continue to “survive and advance” for one more game and you are the champions.  You always were, you just never allowed yourselves to believe it.  Believe it now and your prize of a well deserved banner awaits you.”

The second letter is from the coach at KIPP Aspire Academy, whom our girls defeated in the final.

“I want to acknowledge an outstanding season for St. Luke’s girls basketball team. I was very impressed with the character, work ethic and overall performance of the players. We had a great time playing against a team that shows such class whether they are up or down in the game.”

I can praise our students every day, but that is an extraordinary salute from their chief competitor.

This year 95% of our middle school students participate in a team sport. I want to congratulate them all for living the St. Luke’s Way on the field and on the court.

Sincerely,
Q. Mark Reford

 Double Identity by Margret Peterson Haddix is a mind-boggling novel about a 12-year-old girl named Bethany whose life is turned upside down in just a few weeks. Bethany lives an ordinary life with her overprotective parents, Walter and Hillary Cole.  One day, out of the blue her parents drop her off with her Aunt Myrlie, who Bethany has never even heard of before.  While she is with Aunt Myrlie, her mother calls and lets Bethany in on some very enthralling family secrets, ones that no one was ever supposed to know.  Bethany’s father calls every so often also, but all he tells her is that he has to get help for her mother, and he needs Myrlie to keep Bethany safe.  But safe from what?  As the plot deepens, Bethany finds out bizarre and perplexing things about her parents’ past.

The author keeps this novel very interesting by constantly having new secrets pop up everywhere. I kept wondering what I would do if I were 12 years old and in Bethany’s confusing situation. Bethany learns a lot about herself, and she realizes that there is a different side to her that was just waiting to come out. I couldn’t stop reading as Bethany, Myrlie and Myrlie’s daughter, Joss, dig into the mysteries of the past and discover a shocking skeleton that not one of them was expecting.  Double Identity is one of the best books I have ever read, and definitely, the most baffling.      

Book Review - Girl in Motion by Miriam Wenger-Landis

Girl in Motion, by Miriam Wenger-Landis, is a tell-all tale about the competitive world of ballet. This fictional book follows Anna, a budding prima ballerina, as she navigates the Manhattan School of Ballet. This school teaches high school teens a very particular style of ballet. The Manhattan School prepares these protégés to be picked up by ballet companies across the country.

Anna has all the troubles of a regular teenage girl: she has a crush, drama with friends, and insecurities. The difference is, Anna dances all day, and is always in a cutthroat competition with her peers to get noticed. The book follows Anna from the beginning to freshman year all the way to graduation. Senior year is tough. This is the year that the companies audition the girls. Anna struggles to stand out and gets one more chance to prove herself.

Since I do ballet, this novel really inspired me and it taught me a lot about the world of ballet. Even if you know nothing about ballet, this story is also about teenage drama. It is extremely entertaining, and I read it in one day! I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a moving book about deciding where your loyalties are and following your heart.  The story takes place in Seattle mostly in the 1940s throughout the war years. The main character in the book is named Henry Lee, a Chinese American, and the story switches between his life as a boy in the 1940s and his adult life in the 1980s.

When the novel starts out, the adult Henry Lee is standing outside the Panama Hotel. The hotel was what used to be the entrance to the Japanese section of Seattle in the 1940s. Standing outside the hotel brings back many old memories for Henry. Growing up, Henry was one of the only Asian kids in a mostly white school. He was picked on, made fun of, and left out a lot. It’s 1944 and Henry meets a new girl at school who is Japanese-American; her name is Keiko. Henry’s father, who hates the Japanese and feels they are an enemy to both China and America, forbids Henry to be friends with Keiko. Despite Henry’s father’s disapproval, he and Keiko become best friends.

Henry and Keiko acquire the love and the bond of best friends, a bond that cannot be broken. Henry has to decide whether to honor his father’s wishes and stop seeing Keiko or follow his heart. The choice is made more difficult when Keiko is moved to an internment camp and the couple is heartbroken. When the book switches back to the 1980s, Henry watches as the new owner of the hotel brings out some of the personal items that have been stored in the basement since the 1940s for families who were interned. Henry recognizes one of Keiko’s personal items and, in his search for more of her family’s possessions, he thinks back on his situation and the choices he made.

This book was an amazing story of what reviewer Sara Gruen called “conflicted loyalties and timeless devotion.” The book gave such a heartrending description of how the Japanese were torn away from their friends and families to be moved to the camps that the reader feels the loss and longing of Keiko and Henry first hand. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is definitely one of the best books I have ever read, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a bittersweet, touching story that captures how individuals are personally affected by wartime loyalties and divisions.

This teacher must have a bachelor’s degree in the related field (Master’s preferred), a state teacher’s certificate, and teaching experience.  To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to: jobopenings@sles-sa.org

St. Luke’s prefers substitute teachers to have a bachelor’s, a state teacher’s certificate, and teaching experience but everyone is welcome to apply.  Please send your resume and cover letter to jobopenings@sles-sa.org along with a list of subjects and grade levels you would be interested in teaching.