LISD School Newsletter

Dear LISD Families,

Thanks to all of you for coming out to Winter Arts Night this week to support our student artists and musicians. It was a joyful event and I loved seeing so many parents and community members on campus.

As you already know, our school board has extended an offer to one of our superintendent candidates. Pending a signed contract and swearing in at a board meeting, Brady Smith will be LISD's next superintendent, and we are excited to welcome him to the team.

I so appreciate everyone who participated in the process of hiring a new superintendent. Whether you served on the search committee, participated in a focus group, or asked questions at the community session on Tuesday, we valued your input. It was a priority to be as inclusive and collaborative as possible. Ultimately, the list of important qualities in a superintendent generated by the focus groups was included in the feedback form for Tuesday's staff and community Q&A sessions.

I am looking forward to working with Brady AND focusing my time and energy on the job I love, being our K-12 principal. Many thanks to the LISD school board for trusting me to take on the extra responsibilities of superintendent while we went through the process of finding a good fit for the position in our unique school setting. I learned a LOT.

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone.

All my best,

Martha

The folks from the Lions Club Christmas Ship have extended sincere apologies that they were not able to speak to anyone last Saturday to notify you of their decision to turn back. They had tried to call Lopez but could not get service so, and then they tried to text to notify people they weren’t going to make it. It wasn’t until much later that they realized the number they were texting was a landline, and the message did not get through.

The captain advised that had they continued that day they would have not made it home safely that night. We had winds gusting to 50 knots per hour, which made navigation on the boat a challenge, at best.

Again, sincere apologies to everyone who was disappointed that day.

Isaac Berg was recently selected to be part of a World War II educator seminar offered by the Teaching American History program. In January, he will travel to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans with a group of 20 history teachers selected to be a part of the weekend cohort.

His proposal emphasized the societal and cultural significance of WWII on the modern world and the importance of student understanding of it in many of his classes, including US History, World History, NW History, and CWPS (Current World Problems and Solutions).

As a teacher, Isaac enjoys using primary sources as teaching tools for critical thinking, which is a fundamental focus of Teaching American History. Along with the accepted proposal, Isaac was excited to receive hundreds of pages of primary sources on WWII to prepare for discussions with other teachers and graduate school faculty in the program.

In this week's edition of "Qué Onda", learn more about "Lotería"-- a traditional game of chance, similar to bingo, that originated in Italy in the 15th century and was brought to New Spain (modern-day Mexico) in 1769. Lotería is more than just a game in Mexico; it's a cultural staple that has influenced art, music, and literature. Read more about its fascinating history here.

The library has been an active, well loved and used space this past month: from secondary student use all through the day, to hosting the Superintendent Interviews, to read alouds and weekly book checkouts to the Kindergarten through 6th graders. Recently, the students from Decatur Island visited the library to research for their Genius projects. Our students are continually discovering the joy of reading!

The next home basketball games are on January 4. Girls at 4:30 and Boys at 6 pm. Please come out and support them - school won't be back in session but basketball is ON! And our fabulous elementary cheer team will be performing at the home games as well!

Martha Martin, Interim Superintendent & K-12 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, and Title IX Coordinator Martha Martin; HR Specialist, Beth Stanford; Section 504, Mary Fordham. OR contact by phone, 360-468-2202, OR mail to 86 School Rd, Lopez Island, WA 98261.