Dear SJV Family,

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather we're having. Sunshine can make even the most challenging day better. I continue to pray that each of you is able to find the grace in these unusual days. God's grace often hits us by surprise. Just yesterday evening my family and I went out for a walk and discovered that an acquaintance of ours lived just around the next block. We had a great conversation (at a proper social distance of course!), and we look forward to seeing them again on our next walk. Even though each day has its own struggles, God continues to journey with us and bless us.

One of SJV's biggest blessings of the past year has been the presence of the Gonzaga University School Counseling students, under the guidance of Dr. Addy Wissel and Dr. Curtis Gardner. Each month they would hold class at SJV and visit each classroom to give a presentation to help our students grow socially and emotionally. Their semester is about to end, and though we won't get to see them again, we appreciate all they have done for the students, from preschool to 8th grade. They have written a letter to you and the students, and I have attached it to this email. Please share it with your children.

Another of God's graces is our dedicated and loving staff. Tomorrow is National Administrative Professionals Day, and I invite you to surprise Joan with email messages of appreciation from you and the children. She deserves it!

We are also graced with a strong partnership between teachers and families. I have been impressed with how our entire community has adapted to our new mode of learning. I've seen videos of teachers reading storybooks, presenting new math concepts, and teaching religion lessons. And just a few days ago I received a video of one of our 2nd graders who responded to a STEM challenge by making a paddle boat out of a plastic bottle and rubber bands. I have asked teachers to add me to their Google Classrooms and I am excited to see other work that students are doing. I will also be popping in to classroom video meetings occasionally to visit with students and stay connected with them.

As the 4th Quarter continues, teachers will continue assessing students to measure their progress and report their achievements on report cards at the end of the year. If your student is struggling to stay motivated to do school work, I would be happy to give them a "pep talk" and encourage them to keep focused. Let me know if you would like to schedule a video chat or phone call with me and your student.

We are looking forward to receiving your video testimonials to help share the good news of SJV with prospective families. Full details about the video were in the April 16 newsletter. If you have any questions, please call the office. 

As always, thank you for your support and prayers, and thank you for the blessing you are to our school community.

In Christ,

Nick Senger, Principal