
The WAVA Wave
December 1, 2019
Festive Fridays!
Friday, December 6th- Holiday PJ Day
Friday, December 13th- Grinch Gear
Friday, December 20th- Ugly Sweater Day
Friday, December 27th- Holiday Colors
Have fun! Get creative! Share your pictures with us! Email Heather Bennett at hbennett@wava.org if you would like your pictures shared in the newsletter.
December- Random Acts of Kindness
Let’s spread some cheer this month with random acts of kindness. These small actions and efforts can have an enormous impact on their recipients. Check out some of the ideas below to demonstrate kindness within your community. It all begins with you!
How You Can Get Involved:
•Design colorful bookmarks and place them in a library
•Paint small rocks with cheerful colors and distribute them for others to find
•Pick up a neighbor’s newspaper and bring it to his/her door
•Compliment someone
•Find more ideas HERE!
•What other ideas can you think of to share a random act of kindness?
Caleb Snyder-- 1st grade
Student Spotlight
Kaya Sol, 10th grade
What I Learned in My Travels as a Compassion 2020 Delegate
Kaya Sol
Compassion 2020 is a collaborative endeavor between the Association of Washington Generals, office of the Lieutenant Governor, and the Tibetan Nation in Exile. The program aims to cultivate compassionate leadership in Washington State. The compassion delegation consists of community leaders and six high school students. As part of the program, the delegates travel to Dharamsala, India to witness compassion in action and have a 90 minute in-person conversation with the Dalai Lama. Afterward, the chosen high schoolers are mentored by the community leaders to create and implement projects aimed at inspiring compassion in their communities.
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My passion for compassionate leadership started my second semester of 9th grade when I took Service Learning Leadership class. I really loved getting into discussions about leadership and service and how we can apply it to our lives. In February I went to the SERVUS conference in Kent, and it really inspired me to work hard on my compassionate leadership skills. During this same period of time I started volunteering for an organization that teaches English as a second language. In June, WAVA HS sent out an email about the Compassion 2020 program and I decided to give it a go. I wanted the opportunity to further the skills I’d learned and be able to make a difference.
I submitted my application on July 31st and in August I was contacted by the Lieutenant Governor’s office that I was one of the top ten finalists, and they were conducting interviews to narrow down the candidates. I was pretty nervous, but once the interview was over I felt very confident about my chances. In September, my family and I went on a road trip to Yellowstone National Park, it was a Friday when we were making our way back. We’d stopped at a restaurant and that’s when I got the email that I was one of the 6 students picked to be a compassion delegate. I was absolutely ecstatic and the feeling of accomplishment and gratitude was overwhelming!
I met the 5 other Compassion Scholars only twice before my trip. We first met over a zoom video conference where we went over the general itinerary. About a week before the trip I met up in person with some of the Compassion Scholars and our teacher chaperone in Seattle. We went through a day to day itinerary of what we were doing and discussed the other information and details. Our chaperone took the Compassion Scholars and I through this fun get to know each other game where we did 3 minute interviews. I learned quite a bit about my companions in about 10 minutes!
On November 5th, we all met up at SeaTac airport, at first it felt a little awkward because I didn’t always know what to say, but I warmed up quite quickly. In fact, we hadn’t even left SeaTac airport before I was chatting and laughing with the other students like I’d known them forever. We took a plane from Seattle to Vancouver BC, and from there a 14 hour plane ride to New Delhi, India. The New Delhi airport was quite the experience….we all agreed it was quite traumatizing. For one thing, my visa expired a day before we arrived in India. I didn’t realize until I was going through customs! Luckily, Hana, who worked with the Lieutenant Governor’s office and was traveling with us, figured it all out. From that moment on, it was one disaster after another, from waiting forever for luggage, to luggage breaking at the check in counter. I’m happy to say, we all made it to Dharamsala, our luggage included!
My first impressions of India were nothing like I’d expected them to be. Everywhere there was something to look at. The people wore vibrant colors and held lively conversations with one another. The buildings were all a mismatch of styles that made the city feel both ancient and futuristic. Healthy and friendly animals roamed the streets, cows, dogs, horses, even monkeys! Although, the monkeys weren’t super friendly. The driving itself was an entirely new and crazy experience. To me, there seemed to be no rules or regulations when it came to driving. Cars honked at each other and the people who crowded the streets. Most of the drive from the airport to our hotel consisted of our car driving up steep one lane roads, with a steep drop on one side, and a 3 foot vertical drop into a ditch. If you imagine sitting in the back of car that was driving down the crowded sidewalks of Las Vegas at 30 miles an hour, you will have my Dharamsala driving experience.
The first day in India consisted of getting settled, doing a bit of shopping, and a welcome dinner. Our second day in India was quite a busy one. We had to wear business clothes because we were meeting members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, the Central Tibetan Administration, and the Tibetan Justice Commission. When we talked with some members of the Parliament, they gave us scarves. According to the knowledge I gathered, the scarves symbolized our importance. (I came back home with 6 of these white scarves, all from different visits!) We went to the Tibetan Library and Archives where we visited a small museum. I was able to see the 3 different versions of the mandala, sand, 3D, and loom. Afterwards we went to a medical institute and pharmacy where we observed different medicines and tools they use. Later in the evening we went to the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) were the other compassion scholars and I handed out teddy bears to the children. This was one of my favorite visits because it made me so happy to see the children smile and hear them laughing. They sang us a very sweet song, and afterward we got a tour of the village grounds. TCV is one of several residential schools for Tibetan refugees and other orphaned children. It features high quality education and rehabilitative care for often traumatized children.
The third day we went to the Dolma Ling Nunnery. It was fascinating to see how the Nun’s lived and learn about what they did each day. From there we went to the Norbu Lingka Cultural Center for lunch and a tour. We got to visit a temple and a wood working shop. After that we went to Nyingtob Ling, a home for disabled Tibetans. They put on a wonderful talent show for us and were so welcoming. We had a dance party with them, and it was another one of my favorite places we visited. The residents were just so happy that we were taking an interest, the home was one of the most special places where I witnessed compassion in action.
The fourth day in India seemed the least busy with a visit to Gyuto Monastery and a hike to a beautiful waterfall. That night we talked with the Lieutenant Governor about our compassion project proposals for the Dalai Lama, and he gave us tips on how to make them better. My compassion project focuses on cultivating compassion for foster kids. Foster kids are those who have been removed from their living situations due to abuse and neglect. The experience of a foster kid can include frequent, and often unexpected, moves from home to home or facility to facility. All too often foster kids enter the system with little to no belongings and this means they usually don’t have a bag to put their personal items in. The most common solution is using a trash bag which makes a horrible situation worse. I want to create pillowcase bags for them to store their belongings in. I want foster kids to know they are loved and cared about and they deserve something better than a trash bag to carry the few belongings that they get to keep. I want my project to be a way for the community to express and exercise compassion. I’m going to need all the help I can get in order for this project to be successful. If you are interested in helping or know anyone else who might be, send me an email at thepillowbagproject@gmail.com with your contact information.
The fifth day in India was the most important day, the day we held our conversation with the Dalai Lama. The room we held the conversation in was very simple, but it made the room feel more important. The conversation was broadcasted live, and on TV screens we could see watch parties from all around the state. My family was watching at home and I was set on making them proud. I talked a bit with my fellow compassion scholars. We’d become very close after just a couple days with each other. I understood their personalities and I learned to like each and every one of them. We described our new relationship as a compassion family, because we felt more like siblings then friends. I knew they were all a bit nervous, even my roommate who was amazing at public speaking, which made me feel better.
When the Dalai Lama entered the room, my heart raced a bit, he seemed so at ease, and he looked each one of us in the face and smiled. All the things he talked about were so empowering and inspiring. After listening to him talk for a bit, I wasn’t as nervous about my project proposal. He made me feel calm, and every time he laughed, the whole room lit up. His laugh was contagious, no one could keep a straight or sullen face in his presence. The conversation with the Dalai Lama was incredibly inspiring, and the places I visited and learned about were incredibly. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience, and an amazing way to witness compassion in action. (If you’d like to watch the conversation, here is the link to the video! https://www.dalailama.com/videos/cultivating-compassion-in-the-next-generation
There are five lessons that really stood out to me on my trip to Dharamsala, learnings I will deeply cherish. One lesson is something the Dalai Lama talked about: wise selfishness versus foolish selfishness. Wise selfishness is making yourself happy by thinking of others before yourself. Foolish selfishness is making yourself happy by focusing only on yourself and your wants. Another thing that I learned on this trip is what I feel is the true meaning of compassion. Compassion doesn't come in the form of being nice or kind. It comes in the form of treating others with the human dignity they deserve, regardless of who they are or their station in life.
The Dalai Lama taught me three other things that I will forever remember and hold dear. Our mother is most often our teacher, our leader, and the most compassionate person in our lives. They treat us with the respect and love that is the right of every human being. After I was done talking about my project the Dalai Lama told me to not just focus on my community, but on the world, hence I concluded another life lesson. First work toward a compassionate family, then a compassionate neighborhood. From there, a compassionate community and nation. Only then can we achieve a compassionate world. The Dalai Lama left me with one more important life lesson. Sometimes it feels like a compassionate world is an impossible goal, where do we even start? You start with yourself. To be truly compassionate, we must break down the walls of hatred and anger. We must remove our prejudices from our minds, and embrace every human being as a dignified individual.
My trip didn’t end there, the same day of the Dalai Lama conversation, we flew back to New Delhi with several of the adult delegates that had come with us on the trip. The next day we visited the Taj Mahal and a Hindu Temple. When it was time to leave, I found that I wasn’t sad about leaving India. I would miss it, yes, but what I was truly sad about was leaving all the friends that I’d made. All the delegates and I had formed an incredible bond. Something that only comes from sharing a life changing experience together. I’d even made friends with the adult delegates on the trip, and would miss them too. I have tons of mementos from the trip, all my scarves, souvenirs I got for myself, and tons of pictures!
The next step for me is take the experiences I had in Dharamsala, India and share them with other people. I will use the things I’ve learned to inspire more compassion. I still have a lot of work to do before my compassion project is up and running, from partnering with organizations to creating a website. But, one step at time! Sometimes, I think it’s crazy what I’m trying to do, I’m only 15 after all, then I remind myself that it’s never too early to start changing the world.
Corduroy at Seattle Children's Theatre- Kindergarten
Corduroy at Seattle Children's Theatre
Seattle Center
305 Harrison Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Date and Time: December 5, 2019, Show time 12:30 and social time 11:45
Host Teachers: Ari Olsen and Dena Voth
RSVP: All Kindergarten teachers have messaged their class. Others interested can email Ari Olsen at aolsen@wava.org and can get information to purchase tickets based on availability.
Thursday, Dec 5, 2019, 11:30 AM
Seattle Center, Harrison Street, Seattle, WA, USA
WAVA Ice Skating Outing- Kent Valley Ice Center (K-8)
Join WAVA teachers and WAVA families for ice skating and
cookie decorating! WAVA has reserved the upstairs party
room, by the food court. The public skate session starts at
1:45 and ends at 3:15. If you plan on skating, consider
showing up at least 15 minutes early so that you can get
fitted for skates.
Admission Prices:
General (Age 13+) $11.36
Youth (Age 4-12) $10.00
Toddler (Age 3 & Under) Free
Senior (Age 55+) $9.77
You don’t have to skate! You can also just show up and
mingle in the party room with other WAVA families. We will
provide sugar cookies and stuff to decorate with. Yum!
RSVP here (for cookie buying purposes):
https://forms.gle/gzgYonRRh8qjTR2B8
Thursday, Dec 12, 2019, 01:45 PM
Kent Valley Ice Centre, South 240th Street, Kent, WA, USA
Eagle Cruise- all ages
Join WAVA families on an incredible adventure on Lake Couer D'Alene. Eagle Cruise is a fantastic outing that you do not want to miss. Save the date! Clear your calendar!
Eagle Cruise
Lake Couer D'Alene Resort Marina
115 S 2nd St
Couer D'Alene, ID 83814
Date & TIme: Friday, December 13, 2019, 12pm to 3pm
Cost: $9.50 per person, includes hot cocoa on the boat
We board at the boardwalk located at the east of the Coeur D'Alene Resort.
RSVP: Tisha Putz, tputz@wava.org
Friday, Dec 13, 2019, 12:00 PM
115 South 2nd Street, Coeur d'Alene, ID, USA
Learning Coach Coffee Chat
December 19th: Random Act of Kindness
January 23rd: Martin Luther King Day
February 20th: Love a Charity
March 19th: Read Across America
April 23rd: Child Abuse Prevention
May 21st: Join Hands Day
Thursday, Dec 19, 2019, 12:00 PM
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Omak Statement of Non-discrimination
Omak School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination: Civil Rights Coordinator and Title IX Coordinator: LeAnne Olson, (509) 826-7687, lolson@omaksd.org or WAVA Family Resource Coordinator: Kathy Swartz, (253) 682-7906, kaswartz@k12.com; and Section 504 Coordinator: John Holcomb, (509) 826-8342, johnholcomb@omaksd.org , P.O. Box 833, Omak, WA 98841 or WAVA 504 Coordinator, Scott VanGerpen, (253) 964-1068 svangerpen@wava.org
El Distrito Escolar de Omak no discrimina en ningún programa o actividad por motivos de sexo, raza, credo, religión, color, nacionalidad, edad, estado militar o veterano, orientación sexual, expresión de género o identidad, incapacidad o el uso de un perro entrenado o un animal guía o de servicio, y proporciona el mismo acceso a los Boy Scouts y otros grupos de jóvenes que sean designados. Los siguientes empleados han sido designados para estar a cargo de preguntas y quejas de presunta discriminación: Coordinadora de Derechos Civiles y Coordinador del Título IX: LeAnne Olson, (509) 826-7687, lolson@omaksd.org; Coordinador de recursos familiares, Kathy Swartz, (253) 682-7906, kaswartz@k12.com; y el Coordinador de la sección 504: John Holcomb, (509) 826-8342, johnholcomb@omaksd.org, P.O. Box 833, Omak, WA 98841 or WAVA Coordinador de la sección 504, Scott VanGerpen, (253) 964-1068 svangerpen@wava.org.