Community Letter

Dear LISD Families,

“March is an example of how beautiful new beginnings can be”
― Anamika Mishra

As we notice the days getting longer and the weather constantly changing it's mind, we can feel the pull of spring. A time of natural transition, spring seems to breathe new life into everything and everybody. It's a great time to reset intentions and revisit goals. Spring cleaning serves many purposes. It's a time to sweep out the dust, both literally and figuratively. For students, this might mean cleaning out backpacks, claiming clothes from the school lost and found, making some mid-course adjustments to academic habits, or reaching out to include new friends.

Conferences are at the end of March, and this is such an excellent opportunity to SPRING into action for a strong finish to the school year.

We hope you have a lovely weekend.

All our best,

Mary and Martha

We continue to deal with significant issues regarding planning for the school district’s future.

We want to be clear that decisions have yet to be made regarding our organizational structure for

the 2023-2024 school year. We are still exploring options and expect to have more clarity around

this issue by the end of March.

One thing that has been misrepresented is the status of our elementary principal and special education director, Mary Fordham. Principal Fordham will remain a critical component of our admin team, but she has requested that she be reduced to a 0.5 FTE employee next year while continuing to serve as our special education director. With the extra time this will provide, Principal Fordham will be working toward completing her Ph.D., which has been on the back burner for the past two-plus years. We genuinely value Principal Fordham’s work on behalf of students and staff, and we are excited to work together to help her achieve her personal goals.

A Calendar Committee and Budget Advisory Committee (B.A.C.) will begin their work this

month. The Calendar Committee had an organizational meeting on Wednesday, March 1, 2023,

to review the committee’s purpose and select a chairperson. The committee will be reviewing a

proposed calendar for the 2023-2024 school year (expected to be similar to years past) and

considering modified-balanced school year options for the future. The Calendar Committee is

scheduled to meet again on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, in the library/media center. The B.A.C. will have its first meeting on Saturday, March 4, 2023, from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. in the multi-purpose room. Anyone interested in participating on the budget committee in this critical time is welcome to attend. A second meeting is scheduled for March 18, 2023, from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. The focus of the March meetings will be the development of enrollment and staffing projections for the 2023-2024 school year. Subsequent meetings in April will focus on revenue projections, and the May meetings will concentrate on expense projections. The B.A.C. will meet twice each month from March through May.

If any community member has specific questions about what we are doing as a district, please

email me at emurray@lopezislandschool.org or the school board at

board@lopezislandschool.org. We are stronger as a team working together and moving in a

common direction in service to our mission and vision.

Sincerely,

Ed Murray, LISD Superintendent

Elementary spring conferences are March 27-31. There is a noon dismissal every day that week and teachers will be reaching out to parents to schedule afternoon conferences. If you have a particular concern, please contact your child's teacher to make sure we schedule a conference at a time that works for your family.

Secondary spring conferences will be Wednesday, March 29, 1:00-7:00. There are limited slots, so teachers will be reaching out to families for whom a conference would be especially important. If you want a conference with a specific teacher but they haven't contacted you, please reach out to them to let them know that you want to meet.

There will be a noon dismissal on March 28 and March 29 for secondary students.

We encourage both elementary and secondary families to bring your child/teenager to the conference.

High school track and golf practices started this week.

The middle school girls basketball team had two home games this week. Your next opportunity to see the Lobos play is Tuesday, March 7 at 4:30. See you in the gym...and go Lobos!

Lopez Island Cheerleaders are hosting their spring fundraiser with hanging basket sales! Baskets come in sun or shade-loving varieties and are 12" premium flora and fauna ready for spring. $40 each with all proceeds going towards the growing cheer program.

Click here to order...and thank you for supporting the Lobo Cheer Squad:

https://forms.gle/immLXucxAUf4jPPC7

What’s your earliest memory at LISD? There is one memory I randomly remember...I think from Kindergarten. We were in the classroom playing house and pretending to play different roles in a family. It might have been with a Lego house or a Barbie house.

What clubs/athletics/extracurriculars have you been involved in? I played baseball in elementary school, soccer in middle school, and golf in high school….each of them for one year. I’ve been part of MPPACT since 7th grade and I play electric base and a little piano. I also took orchestra for a year.

What is one positive memory from your time here that you’ll carry with you forever? During sophomore year during Covid, I was struggling in English 10. Ms. S agreed to meet me at school to get late work done because I wasn't getting much work done at home. Just being able to work at the school for two hours felt like a breath of fresh air because I felt trapped in the house for a year doing remote school. I was able to focus and make up a lot of work, which was really good for my brain.

Finish this sentence: “I cannot live without…….” Music! It has had such a big impact on my life. I’m always playing it or listening to it. Music is a must.

What is the most creative excuse you have ever used to get out of school work? I just own up to not doing the work. I try not to make excuses because I’m a bad liar!

What is one piece of advice you have for incoming high school students? Start paying attention to your own interests and what you enjoy spending time doing. That’s essentially your future….figuring out what you are interested in doing and pursuing it.

What is the most meaningful assignment ever given to you by a teacher? Making a movie in film lit gave us creative freedom instead of being told what to do. In groups of 4, we were tasked with making a movie from scratch. Having to work with other people’s schedules, planning dates to film, creating a framework for the film made us feel like we were in control. I liked the joy of brainstorming and expressing my ideas to the group. I was the one tasked with writing most of the screenplay.

What’s the most important quality in a friendship? Why? Communication. To explain simply, you can’t read a friend’s mind and they can’t read yours. I learned this when I started working at LVM.

In 10 years, I will be… Happy and working in a profession I enjoy and take pride in, and living in a place I can call home.

Who/what do you find inspiring? My mother, because she is the strongest person I know.

What song summarizes your feelings about graduating from high school? Somewhere Only We Know by Keane

What are your plans after high school? I plan to attend college at Western and while I’m at college, I hope to find a major I’m interested in to further my education.

What is one important life lesson you learned in kindergarten? To be kind to others and to treat them as you want to be treated.

March 4, 8 am (MPR) - Budget Committee Meeting

March 8- CANCELLED Board Work Session

March 15, 4 pm (LMC)- Special School Board Meeting

March 18, 8 am (MPR)- Budget Committee Meeting

March 22, 6 pm (MPR)- School Board Meeting

Become a Lopez Island School Employee!!!

Short-term, Long-term, part-time, full-time, daily, weekly... whatever you want, there is a position here for you!!!!!

Many of these positions qualify for Medical, Dental, Vision, & Retirement benefits, plus EAP and paid leave time (personal, sick, & vacation). Allocations are based on hourly commitment and classification.

Classified:

· Elementary Custodian - perfect for you if you like to work independently! This position helps to clean and maintain the Lopez Island school buildings. This is a 7 hours daily position starting ASAP.

· ParaEducators - Interested in working with students individually, in small groups, and/or in general classrooms and helping assist teachers in modifying student behavior? Then Paraeducator is your dream job, and we have positions available!

· Special Needs Behavior Technician- If you have been thinking about being a Special Needs Behavior Technician for Lopez Island School District...well you are in luck!!!! We are looking for a Special Needs Behavior Technician to hire for this school year!! Behavior technicians are responsible for assisting behavior specialists and the Special Education department to implement behavior reduction and skill acquisition treatment plans. The candidate will assist students with day to day activities, monitor their behavior, record and collect data on students’ progress, and communicate with the team.

· Van Driver - Want to get out and see the island? This transportation position drives a wheelchair van (or another vehicle) to transport student(s) with special needs to and from school. This 3.5 hour per day, Monday through Friday.

- Stipend:

· HI CAP - providing leadership of the Special Service Program for Highly Capable (HC) students, grades K-12, in the Lopez Island School District.

- Substitutes:

· Certificated Teachers

· Paraeducators

· Bus Drivers

· Cooks

You can see full postings on our website! Just go to District Info and then to HR and Employment for more details.

We look forward to working with you!!!

Ed Murray, Superintendent

Martha Martin, Secondary Principal

Mary Fordham, Elementary Principal

The Lopez Island School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employee(s) has been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination: Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator, Ed Murray – emurray@lopezislandschool.org; Title IX Coordinator, HR Specialist, Summer Hagge – shagge@lopezislandschool.org; Section 504, Mary Fordham – mfordham@lopezislandschool.org; OR contact by phone, 360-468-2202, OR mail to 86 School Rd, Lopez Island, WA 98261.

Website: lopezislandschool.org
Location: 86 School Road, Lopez Island, WA, USA
Phone: 360-468-2202