West Seattle schools: A gift, and gratitude

A gift from one school community to another is something that might not have become common knowledge – but in this case, the recipients let the Seattle Council PTSA and the district know about it, and that’s how we heard about it – we are publishing it with permission:

Last Thursday, November 10th, Roxhill fourth graders were treated to a Living Voices performance of Native Vision. Lisa Gladstone, a Blackfoot Indian from Browning, Montana did a remarkable job of engaging our students in the story of Alice, a Navajo girl sent to a government run boarding school in the 30’s and 40’s. Alice became a nurse in the Pacific during World War ll, struggling to keep true to her native culture in a changing world. Before the performance, Roxhill students had read about and discussed how native children fared in the boarding schools and had also learned about the contributions of the Navajo Code Talkers. Their rapt attention during the performance and perceptive questions afterward spoke to how valuable this performance was in enhancing their knowledge of a very complex subject.

I am writing to you because this performance was a gift to Roxhill, a gift from the PTSA of a neighboring West Seattle school, Schmitz Park. With more than 80% of our students on free and reduced lunch, Roxhill does not have the resources to pay for performances of this type. The Schmitz Park PTSA paid for the Living Voices performance at their school and gifted us with an additional performance. We at Roxhill would like to acknowledge this generous gift and applaud the Schmitz Park PTSA members for their dedication to the educational welfare of Seattle children who live beyond the boundaries of their own school.

We are deeply appreciative,

Pat Bliquez
Roxhill Teacher/Librarian

Carmela Dellino
Roxhill Principal

7 Replies to "West Seattle schools: A gift, and gratitude"

  • Add November 16, 2011 (8:20 pm)

    Love this! It really is all about the big picture – in this case, the kids (all of our kids) who benefit. Nicely done SP PTSA.

  • Kate K November 16, 2011 (9:08 pm)

    Bravo!

  • C November 16, 2011 (9:52 pm)

    I worked with a nurse, her father was a code talker. She had great stories and I’m glad that young children today can learn about it. They were very important during the war.

    I also applaud Schmitz.

  • metrognome November 16, 2011 (9:57 pm)

    what a cool thing to do!

  • CMT November 17, 2011 (9:39 am)

    That’s really awesome.

  • JM November 17, 2011 (3:04 pm)

    So great! I love the community spirit of West Seattle.

    Props to everyone involved!

  • Amanda November 17, 2011 (3:15 pm)

    That was incredibly thoughtful!

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