Gala

Our annual community celebration and fundraiser for WMS. Every year, families, faculty, staff alumni and grandparents come together in support of our community and to enhance the strong and supportive learning community that benefits all students.

The WMS Auction and Gala is a hybrid event and will run for six days from Tuesday, May 17 to Saturday, May 21. You can place bids at any time on the silent online auction items. Each auction item will have a “Buy Now” option, so be sure to check in on items early! Raise the Paddle donations can be made at any time.

Join us Saturday, May 21 at 6:30 p.m. for the in-person event at Columbia Winery where we will have dinner, drinks, games, and an auction of the live items which include vacation rentals, exclusive experiences, and more.

The event and program will also be broadcast where we will hear from members of our community. The livestream will be broadcast on YouTube.

Our goal to support WMS this will be accomplished through a combination of silent and live auction items, classroom wish lists, teacher time experiences and classroom art projects, and Raise the Paddle to support Building Excellence.

Tickets are now on sale for the in-person event and WMS families will receive information about how to purchase tickets or sign up to attend the free virtual livestream. Purchase tickets here: https://wms.schoolauction.net/2022/homepages/show

This year, to make the WMS Auction and Gala more accessible to all, we are offering a pay as you are able scale ranging from $50, $100, and $150 per attendee. We want the entire community with us, ready to celebrate WMS!

All tickets for the in-person event will include drinks, heavy appetizers, and a gourmet reception-style dinner that won’t leave you hungry! If the cost of attendance is still an obstacle and you would like to attend, please contact Director of Development Laureen Ng.

Ticket price options will be sold as follows:

• $50 Ticket (max two per household.) Discounted cost of attending the event per person.
• $100 Ticket (max two per household.) Covers the full cost of attending the event per person.
• $150 Ticket (max two per household.) Covers the full cost of attending the event per person and partially supports the attendance of others.
• $100 Sponsor a Faculty/Staff Ticket. Sponsorship tickets allow WMS to offer free tickets for our faculty and staff.

The in-person event will be held at Columbia Winery in Woodinville. The in-person event is a reception party format and ticket purchases include heavy hors d’oeuvres, gourmet reception style dinner, cocktails, wine, and beer. Open seating for the program will be available. You can expect to mingle amongst reception style tables or grab a seat for the program in a variety of seating options.

We are working hard with students and parent volunteers to bring our remote audience an engaging livestream experience! Families can bid on silent auction items online throughout the week and donate anytime to the Raise the Paddle.

The theme this year is “An Evening Under the Big Top” and our goal is to create a vintage circus theme with elements of fun and engaging carnival games to allow all guests to mingle easily!

Cultural or cocktail party attire is suggested, but we encourage you to wear whatever feels best for you.

Each year, WMS chooses a priority need that cannot be readily met through the regular operating budget. Examples of past paddle raises include support for outdoor education and new playground structures, tuition assistance, creation of the innovation design lab, and more. More recently, last year our community came together to raise the paddle for WMS faculty, ensuring that we enable the best in our talented and dedicated faculty and support an ongoing growth mindset with social emotional learning curriculum, additional AMS certification, DEI training and more. All the support from previous families before us have helped to create the incredible opportunities that make our community and school what it is today.

This year, we invite you to Raise the Paddle high for building excellence in our campus! WMS is taking necessary steps modernize our campuses to prepare us for continued growth, allow for better safety and security, and make repairs to improve our buildings, serving as a critical step in our long-term plan for the future of WMS. Over the next two summers, we plan to:

• Reconfigure a classroom into a dedicated community, music, and movement space for all levels, and use as a multipurpose space to allow for gatherings again which was not possible due to occupying all our spaces for social distancing measures.
• Relocating a classroom at North Creek Campus to allow all Early Childhood classrooms easier access to their respective playground and provide more community connection among North Creek Campus Early Childhood classrooms.
• Upper Elementary level spaces will be built out to make larger classrooms by removing interior walls in their current space and allow all classrooms to be on one level to provide whole community connection.
• Create a new classroom space in Ginkgo (Middle School).
• Prepare for infrastructure upgrades in summer 2023, which will be critical in our ability to add a new dedicated multipurpose building in the future.

WMS anticipates raising $100,000 in philanthropic support from the community to offset the $325,000 in project costs.

Giving levels range from $50 to $5,000+. Every gift of every amount makes a difference to the school. We hope our whole community considers making a donation online or by including a donation in your online auction purchases during the event.

While we love seeing WMS students engage with the greater community, it will be adults-only for the in-person event at Columbia Winery. We encourage all students to attend virtually via the livestream.

WMS is excited to offer a Kids Night Out event for students whose adults will be attending the in-person event!

Kids Night Out is planned and run by WMS Secondary students with proceeds going towards future Secondary school trips. The child care event will be held at the WMS North Creek Campus only for WMS students who are either five years old, are in Lower Elementary, or are in Upper Elementary. Groups will be divided into separate spaces by level. Five-year-old students will be in the Lower Elementary group. Middle School students, with staff supervision, will plan engaging activities, age-appropriate movie time and more. Pizza dinner will be provided.

The Kids Night Out cost is $25 for the first child, $20 for the second child and $15 for three or more siblings. This does not include pizza dinner costs ($3.50 per slice). 

Space is limited, and if you are interested in registering for this child care opportunity, you will receive a separate link to register after you have completed your Gala ticket registration. Please contact the Gala Committee with any questions.

Countless WMS parents and friends volunteer their time and lend their expertise and creativity to make our Auction and Gala a successful event year after year. The 2022 Auction and Gala Committee includes:

Jenifer Alyazdi – Chair, Julie Adams, Vannie and Nick Beerman, Shanna Ganem, Olof Hellman, Jamie Holland, Pooja Kohli, Lindy Liles, Cristina Podlusky, and Jonny Plumb.

As the in-person event will be taking place indoors, we want to continue to ensure a healthy and fun evening for our community. With this in mind, we want to provide you with event COVID-19 protocols following recent state and King County guidelines:

• We highly encourage all attendees to be fully vaccinated (initial doses).
• We highly encourage all attendees to take a rapid test within 24 hours of the event and to stay home if any symptoms arise.
• We encourage attendees to make the choice that is best for them and their families regarding masking.