Back to school, back to community

School is well underway at McGilvra Elementary School (1617 38th Ave. E.), with kids, parents, faculty and staff spearheading some high-impact community outreach projects. 

The Wildcats have finished up their annual Run-a-thon, which, this year, benefited from 15 local merchants who contributed to a rewards booklet for the students, offering a range of goodies. Thanks again to Bert’s Red Apple, Denali Fitness and Madison Park Bakery for their sponsorship generosity! And, a big thank you to the Seattle Fire Department and all the parent volunteers and cheerleaders who helped make the event a smooth success. 

The final lap count for all the kids was 5,458, which translates to 989.82 miles. That’s a lot of motivation! 

Funds are still being tallied, but we welcome any additional funds from the community, in case you missed the boat during our Run-a-thon. 

In November, the school will kick off an all-school food drive to support the newly launched school-break food backpack program, which provides essential nutrition to students in need. 

In the lead-up to the holidays, the school will continue its Mitten Project, which donates gift cards to families who could use a little extra help around the holidays. Last year, many individual families donated mittens, and the school was surprised when, in one day, all of the remaining mittens were bought by one very generous donor, who chose to remain anonymous. This type of selfless giving is what the holidays are truly all about. 

It’s an auction year for McGilvra, so fundraising chairs for the PTA will actively work on procuring donations and in-kind support, which will be on display at the Showbox SoDo on March 19. Contact fundraising@mcgilvrapta.org to find out more about sponsorship opportunities and donations. 

Students continue to be enthusiastic planters and weeders in the McGilvra garden, where we celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day and learned about the importance of native plants and food sources. To get involved with volunteering or donating to the McGilvra Garden, email mcgilvra.garden@gmail.com. 

McGilvra continues to foster rich dialogue around promoting multicultural values at school. The goal of Families of Color at McGilvra is to hear from as many families as possible and plan for a number of events throughout the year, possibly including a holiday party, workshops and forums for parents and students to discuss race, racism and identity in positive, age-appropriate ways. To find out more, contact community@mcgilvrapta.org, or Hilary Hoover at hooverhe@yahoo.com. 

To find out more about activities going on at McGilvra, go to mcgilvraes.seattleschools.org.

To reach out to the McGilvra PTA, write to president@mcgilvrapta.org. 

SIAN WU is a parent of a McGilvra Elementary School student.