Pathfinder Compass

And just like that we are in the last week of summer! Staff will be hard at work this week in preparation of greeting your amazing children and warmly welcoming them into the 2022-23 academic year!

All events will be at Pathfinder K-8!

Back to School Ice Cream Social

• Tuesday, September 6th at 4pm

First Day

• 1st - 8th Grade Wednesday, September 7th 8:55am-3:25pm
• Back to School Coffee Chat Wednesday, September 7th 8:55am at the Front Entrance
• K Monday, September 12th 8:55am

To start the 22-23 academic year, we are looking forward to having our annual Back to School Social!! The purpose of the social is to bring the school community together before the start of the year. If you are planning to bring supplies, please bring them to the social.

Please join us at Pathfinder on Tuesday, September 6th at 4pm for fun with the whole community!

We look forward to being able to offer after school programing again this year! To help us in our planning, please complete the Pathfinder K-8 After School Enrichment survey as soon as possible!

We have had a team of folx working hard to complete the handbook, unfortunately it is not yet ready to be released. We will continue to work on the handbook and share it with the community as soon as we can!

Ultimate frisbee varsity and junior varsity coach needed! Experience playing the sport is preferred and coaching experience is helpful but not required. The season runs from September 12-November 20th with games played on Saturdays typically between the time of 8am-2pm. Locations of games vary, but a majority are played on north Seattle fields near Ingraham High School.

Teams will be expected to practice a minimum of 2 days a week. Practice times may not exceed 3 hours for the week.

These are paid positions, however persons interested must go through a short process which includes fingerprinting, a valid CPR/First Aid certification and approximately 4 online “classes”.

Some of our students served in the distinct program go swimming every Wednesday morning! We are hoping to begin this amazing program again this year and we are in need of someone who is lifeguard certified to join them at the pool each Wednesday from 10:00am-11:00am. Please email bdholmes@seattleschools.org if you are interested and able!

Sarah Schieron, our fearless coordinator, is stepping down and handing over the reins to Gillian Ehrlich who has graciously stepped up. Sarah accomplished a lot during this very strange year, she established our relationship with the Duwamish Tribe, got our recycling program back on track, coordinated parent support of the eighth grade Earth Day/ Exit project, and spent a lot of time planning and unplanning multiple events that did not happen due to Covid restrictions. Thank you for your grace and commitment to our school and our kids.

Gillian Ehrlich (Jillian Er-lick) is mom to Tobin Parker, an incoming 2nd grader & lives in the Pigeon Point neighborhood. She loves being outside in all ways. In her college years, she studied organic farming at Evergreen State College, worked at a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm in southwest Ohio (1000 lbs of garlic was pulled out of the ground that summer!), and helped run a worm farm in Shelton. After that, she spent 7 summer seasons working with mainly adolescents in boats in the San Juan & Canadian Gulf Islands as an outdoor educator for the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School. In her real life now, she’s mom to Tobin, wife to Michael Parker, they have a dog, Shadow, and she works as an integrative Family Nurse Practitioner at the Center for Healing Neurology in Westlake. Her outdoors activities now are playing behind Pathfinder, sometimes in the woods, and she is obsessed with ‘beach Fridays’ down at Alki- all are welcome to join 5:30pm Friday nights. Please help me welcome Gillian.

I look forward to seeing everyone in the garden and if you can, please sign up to help us with the weeding.

Jessica Peralta, she/her. Kids usually call me Miss Jess. I am new to Seattle and am very excited to explore everything I can in the PNW.

My name is Kali, pronounced like collie the dog or CAULIflower. She/her pronouns.

Most of the Pathfinder kids/family/staff may recognize me as one of the recess supervisors or "Recess Teacher" as the K/1's put it. I have been working at Pathfinder for the past 5 years as a recess supervisor for K-8 and elementary tutor. I LOVED that job....everyday I learned something new from our students and got to watch them grow! As a lover of learning, I am on the path to further my education and career. I am a proud Pathfinder alumni and feel honored to continue to be a part of this community. I am very excited to start this new role and dig deeper into my passion of working closely with children in empowering, encouraging and witnessing their differences.

Hello all! My name is Dani (she/her) and I am so excited to be joining the Pathfinder team as your K-8 Visual Arts teacher! I love making art, playing music, going to shows, surfing, and travel. Most of the time you’ll find me at the beach with my seven-year-old son, or in the kitchen exploring different cuisines. Prior to teaching I worked as a professional artist in various media, most notably serigraphy and tattooing. I can't wait to share my passion for Art with the Pathfinder learning community!

Hello! My name Rachael (she/her) and I am thrilled to be joining the 2/3 team at Pathfinder this year. I recently graduated from the Master in Teaching program at SU, but I am originally from New Mexico. I have a passion for traveling and have lived in many countries including Japan and Romania. I love live music, reading, swing dancing, hiking, and watching soccer. As a lifelong learner, I am excited to be learning alongside all of you this year.

My name is Schuyler (she, her) and I’m thrilled to join the Pathfinder community as a 3rd grade teacher! In my free time I love to read, make art, and spend time in nature. I can’t wait to share my passions with students this fall!

I’m Clarke (he/him) and I love music, so I’m really excited to be teaching it this year at Pathfinder. I play the piano but am also stoked about singing and percussion and many other instruments, and how music brings people together. I taught Spanish for a few years, and am also excited about languages, geography, and travel. And I love to get outside in the beautiful PNW when I can.

Hello families! My name is Lucie and I will be your school nurse at Pathfinder K-8 this year. I look forward to meeting you all. A little bit about me...I live in West Seattle with my husband, Quinn, and 2 children; Owen (8), Zoe (5), and our dog Luna. We spend lots of our time adventuring around West Seattle so if you see me around the neighborhood please say hello! When time allows, I love to garden, paddleboard, visit our weekly farmers market, take long walks and bike rides around West Seattle, and travel to new places. I have been a nurse practitioner for 12 years and am thrilled to be joining the school nursing team, combining my love of working with families and children and keeping us safe and healthy.

Timmesha Watson in Elementary Access

J. Nicole Williams in 7th Math and Science

Semhar Gebremichael in Distinct

Bernadette Hoover in Distinct

Brooklynn Turner in Distinct

We are continuing to hire for other essential folx on staff, updates will be provided as soon as they are hired!

BLTs are school-based teams comprised of teachers, support staff, families, and school leaders that together work collaboratively to make decisions about school-based functions. Decision-making through an equity lens focuses on budget development, professional development, and Continuous School Improvement Plans (CSIPs). This is a critical space for families to use their knowledge and expertise to inform critical decisions about resources for for their schools.

For the next two years, our BLT Representatives are:

Parents:

• Amanda Steinhauser
• Karen Stone
• Ed Li

Staff:

• Jami Hanulik
• Lisa Stencel
• Syd Bridges
• Diana Bridges
• Leanna Heritage
• Clarissa Resendez
• Scott Rose
• Lisa DeBurle

Students:

• ASB President
• ASB Vice President

You may contact BLT at PathfinderBLT@seattleschools.org. Please give us a week to respond.

PTA’s mission is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.

Seattle Council PTSA (SCPTSA) represents over 80 PTAs and PTSAs in SPS. Centering the voices of those furthest from educational justice, they support, inform, and advocate for and with school communities all over Seattle. Advocacy is at the heart of PTA. SCPTSA organizes and empowers local leaders to come together for our students.

The Pathfinder Parent Teacher Student Association is a non-profit organization that works toward enhanced student achievement and increased community involvement. We accomplish these goals through community building efforts and raising funds for key programs.

Learn more about joining PTSA, fundraising, upcoming meetings and volunteering with Pathfinder's PTA!

You may contact PTSA at president@pathfinderk8ptsa.org. Please give us a week to respond.

Pathfinder’s Racial Equity Committee (REC) was formed in 2020 as an all-volunteer, family-based committee dedicated to addressing racial equity in the Pathfinder community. REC’s mission is to create a self-sustaining, anti-racist culture at Pathfinder. REC is an independent committee of the Pathfinder PTSA that consists of committee members and project-based volunteers. REC operates autonomously on a horizontal, community-based decision-making model. REC created and administers annually the Pathfinder Racial Equity Questionnaire for Pathfinder families. REC’s annual scope of work is informed directly by the results of the Questionnaire, and also by repeated themes arising from REC-hosted events during the school year.

You may contact REC at equity@pathfinderk8ptsa.org. Please give us a week to respond.

• To learn who is at Pathfinder; who are our students? What are their stories and strengths? Who works here in service of those students? What are their stories and how do their strengths help them serve students?

• To learn what is part of Pathfinder; what artifacts, beliefs, assumptions, cultural norms, traditions, and practices exist here? Why have each of those continued to live or grow here?

• To learn how we serve students and their families at Pathfinder. How do we allocate money, time, and people in service of students? What data do we use, and how do we use it to understand our efficacy and measure equitable outcomes? How do we understand change? How do we navigate change together?

• To know all folx personally and professionally connected to the school. Further, allow others to know me as fully as possible outside day to day connection, crisis, and problem solving.

• To use qualitative and quantitative data to determine concerns and issues regarding improving student performance that needs to be closely examined and addressed to repay the educational debt.

• To learn the artifacts, beliefs, and basic underlying assumptions through engaging in essential conversations with Pathfinder students, staff, and community.

• To identify, hold onto, and strengthen traditions that center students and bring the community together. Further, partner with students, staff, and the community to ensure social emotional learning and growth is embedded in the curriculum, adult strengths are highlighted, and we have fun!

https://www.pathfinderk8ptsa.org/

Email: bdholmes@seattleschools.org
Website: https://pathfinderk8.seattleschools.org/
Location: 1901 SW Genesee St, Seattle, WA 98106, USA
Phone: 206.252.9710