Volunteer Spotlight: Karen Murphy

As a part of our ongoing series shining a spotlight on our Sacajawea volunteers, this week we’re featuring Karen Murphy, our Family Support Coordinator and an active member of our community. Here’s a condensed version of her conversation with newsletter editor Susan Heller Evenson.

SH: Can you share a little bit about you and your family and how you ended up at Sacajawea?

KM: Of course! My name is Karen Murphy; I am a 9-year Sacajawea parent- I have an 8th grader, Cleo (at JAMS), and a 4th grader, Leonie. My husband Chad and I moved to Seattle from the Bay Area and have a home in the neighborhood, and we love it here. 

SH: You do so much at Sacajawea! Can you share more about your volunteering/position within our community?

KM: I have been volunteering at Sacajawea for many years. It started as just showing up at events and helping with clean up. From there, I would go to the cut and chats to help the teachers, and soon much more.

I've been a room parent, a Girls On The Run school liaison, summer reading giveaway helper, ice cream social chair, PTA co-chair, member of the budget committee, auction student art co-lead, and more (not all at the same time!). 

Currently, I am gearing up for the Art and Science Fair (June 1st) and Ice Cream Social (June 12th)- join me? I'd love to work with you! (You can sign up to help here!)

I am also the Family Support Coordinator at Sacajawea which is a position that is funded by the PTA. This 4-hour-a-week role is an important position to help our families as needed: weekend food support, grocery assistance, and much more. 

SH: What sparked your interest in volunteering at Sacajawea?

KM: I teach at a cooperative preschool and did coop preschool with both of my daughters. Our focus in coop is building community, supporting families, and meeting children where they are. PTA shares those values, and there's something so special about working together for our community. Every little bit helps, and it's a bit of a snowball. Once you start, it's so enjoyable that you want to come back!

SH: What are some of your favorite hobbies or interests (or can be favorite books, movies, etc)?

KM: I love to read, and while I will read most anything, my favorite genre currently is memoir. The best book I read in the past year was A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung, which is a memoir with many themes: transracial adoption, found family, class, and, most of all, grief. If, like me, you had to endure a devastating illness and loss during the pandemic, you will find community in this book. I’m currently listening to Rebel Girl by Kathleen Hanna. I don't usually do audio books, but this is a good one (all the trigger warnings on this one). 

SH: What is your favorite thing about the Sacajawea community?

KM: My favorite thing about the Sacajawea community is how much we like one another. This is a supportive community inside and out of the building. We have a place for everyone here! 

Sacajawea Releases Salmon at Matthew's Beach

Since 2013, students and teachers at Sacajawea have been participating in Salmon in the Schools to release salmon fry into Lake Washington. This program teaches students about salmon lifecycle, data collection, and environmental stewardship. Mr. Reddecliffe is our site leader for this project, and he’s been using this project to teach our students for almost 10 years!

This year, Sacajawea students from all grades gathered at Matthews Beach to release 163 Coho salmon fry into Lake Washington. Students took turns using small cups to gather the fry from a bucket and gently release them into the lake.

Way to go, Sacajawea!

Volunteer Spotlight: Seth Bridges

As a part of our ongoing series shining a spotlight on our Sacajawea volunteers, this week we’re featuring Seth Bridges, a longtime member of our community. Here’s a condensed version of his conversation with newsletter editor Susan Heller Evenson.

SH: Can you share a little bit about you and your family and how you ended up at Sacajawea?

SB: My wife (Julie Letchner) and I have three kids that currently attend Sacajawea (1st, 4th, and 5th grade). We live just up the hill from school, and it's been such a wonderful experience seeing our kids grow up in this community.

SH: You do so much at Sacajawea! Can you share more about your volunteering/position within our community?

SB: Presently, I have been the communications chair for the PTA since the 2018-2019 school year. My responsibilities include maintaining the PTA website and writing and editing our email communications.

In the past, I was the co-chair of the PTA from 2019 to 2021, and I ran the newsletter for my first two years at Sac.

I’ve had a lot of fun being able to contribute to various other events and initiatives over the years. Last spring, I had a blast helping Sac parent Erik Evenson (pitmaster extraordinaire) serve BBQ to everyone at the Spring Arts Festival. What a great way to put faces to so many names!

SH: What sparked your interest in volunteering at Sacajawea?

SB: I wanted to get engaged and involved with our community, and volunteering with the PTA seemed like an easy way to meet a lot of other parents very quickly. I was right! There was/is no shortage of ways to contribute to our school community. I met Charlene Shanahan at Jump Start, and she encouraged me to jump right in.

SH: What are some of your favorite hobbies (or can be favorite book, movie, etc)?

I love the outdoors, and I have favorite activities for every season. After a hiatus (due to parenting three kids), I returned to snowboarding over the last two years. I also love camping and the mountains, and I'm enjoying sharing that interest with my children as they grow. I've also enjoyed coaching AAA baseball this season with a number of our Sac 4th graders. Their passion for playing is infectious!

I also really enjoy cooking, and with three growing children, there’s no shortage of opportunities to try out something new. The kids might not like everything I throw at them, but they were definitely supportive of my deep dives into fried chicken and pizza during the early parts of the pandemic.

SH: What is your favorite thing about the Sacajawea community?

SB: One of my favorite things about our community is the way our educators support our children across their time at Sacajawea. From programs like NEST to the extra time teachers and staff make to get to know all of the children in the building, I know that there are MANY adults in the building who are working toward the happiness and success of our students.

Thanks for Supporting Educator Appreciation Week

Last week, the PTA celebrated our Sacajawea educators with a full week of games, gifts, food, cards, and flowers. Our PTA Educator Appreciation lead Julie Letchner coordinated the week with contributions from a number of other parents and students.

On Monday, the staff kicked off a weeklong game of Saccleship, a battleship-style game that had educators collaborating for the top prize of $100 to Third Place Books (and wonderful prizes for the rest of the top 10, too). Congrats to Elizabeth Bailey and Jahira Teague who came in with a close 1-2 finish, both having sunk all of the Saccleships (S.S. Sacajawea, S.S. Ball Stuck on the Roof, S.S. Gotcha Ticket, S.S. SHINE, and S.S. Sky House)!

There were even matching cupcakes!

On Tuesday, the educators were greeted with a gift table featuring a collection of themed gifts, such as movies, coffee, gardening, and art.

On Wednesday, the PTA provided a full bagel and lox spread from Eltana along with beautiful bouquets and personalized gift baskets for our homeroom teachers from the Chip in for Class Wins auction event. Thanks to Jessi Friedrichs for making the bouquets and gift baskets happen!

On Thursday, many parents and students contributed snacks for the teachers’ lounge and cards for educators throughout the building.

On Friday, we finished up with a catered Thai lunch to ensure everyone went into the weekend fully fed!

Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped the PTA celebrate and appreciate the contributions of the 55-person staff that make Sacajawea place an enriching and rewarding place for our students to learn.

2024 Sacajawea PTA Award Nominations

Submitting Nominations

It’s fast and easy to make nominations for any (or all) of the awards. Just use the button below to get started!

Awards Details

Each spring, Sacajawea PTA seeks nominations for our Golden Acorn, Outstanding Educator and the Roy Norman S.H.I.N.E. Award.  These awards celebrate the people in our community who have gone above and beyond to make Sacajawea a wonderful place for our students and families.  Please submit your nomination by Friday, May 17th.  Awardees will be announced at the Ice Cream Social on June 12th.

Golden Acorn Awards
Every year three deserving volunteers receive a Golden Acorn Award.  The Golden Acorn is a Washington State PTA award given by local PTAs recognizing exemplary and outstanding volunteerism and service to the PTA. Golden Acorn nominees should be active volunteers in PTA, our school and/or our Sacajawea community.

Outstanding Educator
This award is given to an individual (teacher, instructional assistant, staff member, administrator -- anyone on staff at school!) who has made significant contributions to our school and community and has helped to enhance the educational, social-emotional outcomes and well-being of our students.

Roy Norman SHINE Award
We are proud to continue the tradition of presenting the Roy Norman SHINE Award. Roy Norman is the late husband of Doreen Norman, Sacajawea’s Admin Secretary for over 20 years who retired in 2022. Roy was a fixture at Sacajawea Events and exemplified the SHINE values that are at the heart of our Sacajawea community (Safe, Helpful, Inclusive, Neighborly, Engaged). Nominees for this award will also have demonstrated SHINE values in how they have supported our school and community.

Please Submit your nomination online by Friday, May 17th.

Thank you!

Sacajawea PTA Awards Committee
(Heather Platisha, Justin Pritchett & Charlene Shanahan)