Gear

Please continue to gather and start packing your gear. If you are unable to acquire the gear you need, please request gear to borrow using the form linked below

• Gear Check Night - March 23 (6:00 PM- 7:30 PM) in the US Gym.
  • Students will have all gear checked by a leader and then will leave their trip gear at SAAS until the trip departs.
• Packing list and gear advice
• Borrowing Gear Request Form. As emphasized in the packing list, please try borrowing the gear you need from friends, family, and other students before completing the form.
• We will distribute borrowed gear the week of March 13. Instructions will follow. 

***If you have not sent in a copy of your passport, please do so (on Magnus Health or bring to any front desk ATTN: Freddy Carley). You will carry your actual passport with you on the bus.

Required Pre-Trip Meetings

• Wednesday, March 22 at Community Time (9:40 AM) in the AC Theater

  • All seniors attending the trip are required to attend this special pre-trip meeting during community time in the Theater. 

• Thursday, March 23 (6:00 PM - 7:30 PM) 

  • Gear Check Night in the US Gym. Bring your fully packed bags to be checked. 

Trip Departure and Return Updates

Wednesday, March 29 (Departure Day)

• Seniors are expected to attend blocks 2 and 4 on March 29. 
• Seniors should then check in at the Temple sanctuary on 16th Ave by 12:00 PM (make sure you have eaten lunch or bring a sack lunch)
• Seniors will check-in, then gather in the sanctuary for final reminders and updates. They will load on the buses and depart promptly at 1:00 PM for the Bellingham Ferry Terminal. 

Friday, April 7 (Return Day)

• The group is scheduled to arrive in Vancouver, BC at 2:35 PM on April 7. We will gather baggage, load on busses, cross the border and return to SAAS. Estimated return to 13th Ave between 6:00 - 7:30 PM. 
• We will email families after we have crossed the border and have a better estimate of return time. 

Health and Safety

COVID-19 Testing

All trip participants and leaders will be required to submit a negative COVID test before departure. We will share a form to submit a photo of your results the week before departure. 

Health Concerns?

If a student has health or nutritional concerns, including allergies, medications, food restrictions, or other needs requiring accommodation, please contact one of the trip leaders as soon as possible, in addition to noting the information on the trip medical forms.

For those seniors that are planning on attending the Senior Yukon Trip (or still considering the trip), please see the important upcoming deadlines: Last call for signing up to go on the Senior Yukon Trip is Wednesday, February 1. All seniors who want to attend must sign up by that date.

If you need to check the status of your participation agreement, permission forms, and payment status, please click HERE.

SAAS Class of 2023: Senior Projects & Yukon Trip Meeting Follow Up

• The group will travel by bus, plane and ferry to make their way up along the inside passage to Skagway, Alaska.  From there, the group will make their way to Lake Laberge, just outside of Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Camp in pristine wilderness on the frozen shores of Lake Laberge with your classmates. Go ice fishing, dog sledding, hangout around the campfire! Join the Seattle Academy tradition of the senior class trip; a time to celebrate, reflect, engage in fun activities, and spend time together.  

• 12th grade students

• No limit

Project Dates: April 26-May 26
Senior Project Night: Tuesday, May 30

Questions? Contact: Rick DuPree

TBA

TBA

TBA

We are excited to announce that the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2023 will be held on Tuesday, June 6 at McCaw Hall. More information is listed below in our Important Communications. If you have specific questions about the event, please email Madeline Pennington or Stacie Cone.

SAVE THE DATE!
Class of 2023 Grad Night
June 6, 2023 

We are thrilled to announce that the SAAS Senior Grad Night will take place immediately following graduation on June 6, 2023 at McCaw Hall at Seattle Center!

Grad Night is an all night party that senior class parents organize; it is not a school sponsored event. The party provides seniors with an opportunity for a safe, drug and alcohol-free celebration with a night of non-stop entertainment at two surprise locations around Seattle. SAAS Senior Grad Night gives seniors once last chance to be together as a class but the memories will last for years to come! 

PURCHASE GRAD NIGHT TICKETS HERE

Tickets are on sale through the spring. There is ticket availability for each Senior. Community Chest funds are available to those students needing financial assistance. To obtain a Community Chest discount, please fill out a Community Chest form on the SAAS website and you will receive a Community Chest Discount Code via email. It can take a few days for your Community Chest request to be processed. After receiving the Community Chest Discount Code, return to the Grad Nights payment form to complete your purchase. 

Senior Grad Night Required Forms

Click the links BELOW TO VIEW, Fill Out, PRINT, SIGN, and Return To The Vanderbilt Front Desk.

• 2023 Senior Release Form PDF - Signed by Parent/Guardian and Student in advance of June 6, 2023. 
• 2023 Senior Grad Night Emergency Care Plan PDF - if there is a life threatening allergy or other condition indicated on the Senior Release Form. 

We are very excited to return to McCaw Hall for this year’s graduation ceremony on Tuesday, June 6 at 6:30 PM. While we had to pivot the last two year’s due to the pandemic, this special venue provides a more intimate (and indoor) space for families, friends, and the SAAS community to properly recognize each and every senior. 

With this return, and unlike our time at T-Mobile Park, we are limited to a specific number of tickets that each senior can provide for their families and friends. We received guidance from both the team at McCaw Hall, as well as other schools that hold their graduation events at the venue, and determined the best and most equitable seating and ticket process. Those details are below, but feel free to reference this specific seating chart that we created to aid in understanding the designated sections. 

Each senior will receive: 

• (6) tickets to the Orchestra and Gallery sections
• (6) tickets to the First and Second tier sections

Additional notes: 

• Seniors will have their own seat and are not included in your allotment.
• Seating will be a first come, first serve basis; tickets will be designated by specific sections. Doors will open for the event at 5:30 PM. 
• If families do not need all 12 tickets, they can “gift” their extra tickets to other families that might be interested in more seats. SAAS will not be able to help with any ticket exchange process. 
• If a family member requires ADA accommodations, those requests can go directly to Darby Frey when ticket pickup information is released (late April/early May). 
• The physical tickets will be distributed in late April/early May. Seniors and senior families can swing by campus to pick them up (more details and information on this process will be coming later). 

If you have any questions about graduation tickets, please contact Madeline Pennington at mpennington@seattleacademy.org or Darby Frey at dfrey@seattleacademy.org.

Senior Portraits

Families can use the official school/yearbook photo taken by SAAS or submit their own. Please use the link in the button below to submit hi-res (300dpi) images; vertical and/or horizontal versions are welcome. Important: please label the file name with the first and last name of the senior. 

At a later date, will also ask families to submit baby/toddler pictures, along with candids for senior events & slideshows. Stay tuned. 

Due Date to submit Senior Portraits: April 21, 2023

UPLOAD CLASS OF 2023 SENIOR PORTRAIT HERE

Step By Step Photo Upload Instructions to Google Drive

Questions? Email Andrew Spitzer

For the Class of 2023, we will be creating and printing the first-ever “Senior Book” for each member of the senior class and the SAAS community. Separate from the all-school yearbook, this Senior Book will be a special printed piece of memorabilia, and have one dedicated page for each 12th grade student. This page can be designed by the family, the student or a combination of both. Unlike previous years, there will be no cost to the family for this page nor an option to purchase more space; this will ensure equitable representation for the Class of 2023 in the book.

The senior class will also be represented in the all-school yearbook (given to all students, faculty and staff), but in a similar way to the other grade levels. A copy of the printed Senior Book, in addition to the all-school yearbook, will be given to each senior.  There will be an option for SAAS students, faculty, staff and families to order additional copies of the Senior Book if desired.

Here are the additional details and deadlines: 

• Each senior is allowed (1) 8.5”x11” vertical page. 
• These pages must be designed by the senior or the senior family. See design notes below. Seattle Academy cannot design the page for the student or family. 
• The deadline for the senior page is Friday, May 5, 2023. 
• Pages must be in a PDF or JPEG format and emailed to dfrey@seattleacademy.org. 

Design Your Own Page: 

• The senior page can be created in whatever program you are most comfortable using (Word, Publisher, InDesign, etc.). Please submit your final version as a JPEG or PDF in a vertical 8.5”x11” format. 
• For Novice Designers, we recommend using Canva.com. It is an intuitive online application for graphic design. 
• Make sure the photos you use are at least 300 dpi or ppi resolution (dots per inch or pixels per inch). 
• Upload your completed page and keep a back-up of your page. 
• Email your completed page to Darby at dfrey@seattleacademy.org. She will contact you if there are any questions or if she cannot access your page.
• Remember, just in case, please keep a back-up of your page. 

Then, of course, just to remind you, do not include any of the following items:

• Inappropriate language (e.g. swear words, references to drinking or sex)
• Inappropriate photos (e.g. photos that include people who are naked or in underwear, making lewd gestures, drinking, smoking, or doing anything else illegal)
• Insults to other students or faculty
• Copyrighted material (this includes, but is not limited to trademarks, celebrity photos, memes and logos.)
• Poor quality photos or text (e.g. black and white photocopies, text handwritten in pencil or light pen.)
• Anything else that the editing committee would agree is offensive.
   

The College Advising staff is still here to support you! Please remember to keep your College Advisor in the loop on both outcomes and merit scholarships. You might have some tough decisions to make about where to go. Pro/con lists actually work pretty well, and your College Advisor is happy to talk with you about your options. 

Contact College Advising

All service hours should be documented in x2Vol. If you missed the March 24 deadline, please contact Rick DuPree and update your community service hours immediately on x2Vol. For those of you that have not yet reached the graduation requirement, we will work to support you in developing an action plan for the remaining hours. 

EACH SENIOR WILL RECEIVE: 

• (6) tickets to the Orchestra (main, back, value) and Gallery (prime, upper, lower) sections
• (6) tickets to the First and Second tier sections

ADDITIONAL NOTES: 

• Seniors will have their own seat and are not included in your allotment.
• Seating will be a first come, first serve basis; tickets will be designated by specific sections. Doors will open for the event at 5:30 PM. 
• If families do not need all 12 tickets, they can “gift” their extra tickets to other families that might be interested in more seats. SAAS will not be able to help with any ticket exchange process. 
• If a family member requires ADA accommodations, those requests can go directly to Darby Frey when ticket pickup information is released (late April/early May). 
• The physical tickets will be distributed in late April/early May. Seniors and senior families can swing by campus to pick them up (more details and information on this process will be coming later). 

If you have specific questions about the event, please email Madeline Pennington at mpennington@seattleacademy.org or Darby Frey at dfrey@seattleacademy.org.

Seniors and senior families will be notified when their Class of 2023 announcements (and individual name cards) are ready for pick up. Our plan is to have those ready the first week of May.