october 2025 update
rise & shine
Photo credit: Olympia School District. | Our annual Rise & Shine for Students! fundraiser was held Friday, Oct. 3, at Capital High School's Performing Arts Center. Clockwise, from top left: Daniel Grimm, retired CHS dean of students, is surprised with this year's Hecks' Hero Award for his efforts to support students with the Principal's Emergency Fund; Jefferson Middle School student Noah Shrestha, one of three student emcees, announces that in partnership with Browsers Bookshop, the Olympia Education Foundation will sponsor the 2026 Battle of the Books competition, which will allow all schools to participate; guests enjoy pastries, donated by Gary and Rochelle Potter of Left Bank Pastry, at the conclusion of this year's program; all donors received a tote bag, made possible with support from Browsers Bookshop; student emcees Sophia Phillips (left) and Alhagie Jallow, both sophomores at Capital High School, announced that a $10,000 matching gift was made possible by Chris and Lori Hopper; Lt. Gov. Denny Heck (left) and Paula Heck (right) present the Friends of the Foundation award to longtime Principal's Emergency Fund supporter and former Foundation Trustee Patty Seib (center); several of the district's teacher-librarians (from left: Brandi Appelgate, Sharyn Merrigan, Kristi Bonds, Emily Waugh, Cassie White, Stacy Udo and Katy Beattie) were on hand to accept the Students' Champion Award on behalf of all teacher-librarians; Foundation Trustee Amelia Layton (left) moderates a panel of district employees (from left: Sean Shaughnessy, Jennifer Gould and Anthony Brock) about the importance of the Principal's Emergency Fund for students who have urgent basic needs.
Annual fundraiser celebrates our mission to cultivate student potential
We are so grateful for all of those who were able to attend this year's Rise & Shine for Students! event on Friday, Oct. 3.
Highlights of the morning include:
Our amazing emcees:
Capital High School sophomores Sophia Phillips and Alhagie Jallow; and
Jefferson Middle School seventh-grader Noah Shrestha.
Our award winners:
Students' Champions: All OSD teacher-librarian;.
Friend of the Foundation: Jonathan and Patricia Seib; and
Hecks' Hero: Daniel Grimm, retired dean of students, Capital High School.
If you weren't able to attend, use the button below to access a recording of the program. To see photos and all of the event's sponsors, click the "photo gallery" button.
We are making solid progress toward our fundraising goal. If you haven't had an opportunity to make a gift yet, or would like to make another gift, follow the "donate" button below.
Wreath update
Outdoor education fundraiser suspended
While the Olympia Education Foundation continues to endorse outdoor education opportunities for Olympia School District students, we have made the difficult decision to suspend our annual Cispus wreath fundraiser due to a significant decline in sales during the past five years.
The good news is that the district has committed to funding outdoor education at Cispus this school year.
Thank you to everyone who has enthusiastically supported this fundraiser -- and student participation in outdoor education -- during the past 15 years!
If you have questions about the spring 2026 Cispus experience, please contact the district office.
help us cultivate student potential
Join our Board of Trustees
We are looking for new members to join our volunteer Board of Trustees.
Just as we are dedicated to our mission to cultivate student potential, we are committed to including all voices from our community as we work to improve and enrich the programs and services we offer -- and to make the community more aware of them.
If you have a keen interest in the work we do and are ready to roll up your sleeves and help out, we encourage you to apply!
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the positions have been filled.
Questions? Need access to the application in an alternative format? Contact Executive Director Katy Johansson at info@olyedfoundation.org.
grants close oct. 24
"School is cool with these boards!" said a kindergarten student at Hansen Elementary. Teacher Deyana Menser received funding this fall to support the purchase of phonemic sets (pictured above) that are helping her students learn how to blend sounds and read words. "I have a few students who often refuse to write letters and words. Blending and segmenting is very difficult for them and they were not interested in reading. However, they loved the phonemic sets the very first day I started using them in my classroom," Menser shared. "At first I allowed students to move any of the magnet letters in a way they wanted as long as they were willing to say the letter names and sounds. The kids said it is like a game on an iPad, but cooler, because they would touch and feel the magnet letters. Little by little their interest in the boards grew. They started building words and even making up words. And then they sounded out words!"
Requests will be accepted until 5 p.m. this Friday
Attention Olympia School District staff who work directly with students: Your final opportunity to apply for an Opportunity Grant is Friday, Oct. 24., with a hard deadline of 5 p.m. After that, grants will not be accepted again until spring 2026.
Our grants allow educators to enhance student learning, address opportunity gaps, and meet needs that the district cannot. For a list of projects that have been funded in the past -- as well as for more details about the process and to access the application -- use the button below.
Thanks to WSECU, Browsers Bookshop and individual donors, we were able to award nearly $130,000 in grants last year, supporting programs and projects in every school in the district.
sponsor spotlight
An enormous shout out to Parfait Bassale (far right), who was the main emcee for this year's Rise & Shine for Students! event. He also served as a mentor for his student co-emcees. Bassale is a cultural strategist, singer-songwriter and author who helps organizations reimagine the Other through the power of friendship, story and song. He is also a former Foundation trustee.