Community Letter

Dear LISD Families,

As we head into these last weeks of school, we are already enthusiastically planning for next year. You may already be aware of some changes, and we are working hard to share the details of those changes with you as soon as we can so that you have up to date and accurate information.

In elementary...

• 6th grade will be part of the elementary school beginning next school year.
• There will be two multi-age classrooms in elementary next year, a 1st/2nd classroom and a 2nd/3rd classroom. We are in the process of making decisions about teaching assignments for next year.
• Although teaming is already happening in the elementary faculty, next year's teacher teams will be K-3rd and 4th-6th.

In secondary...

• We will have an A/B block schedule next year. We are in the process of creating the schedule and will soon be letting students sign up for classes. Students will have 8 classes, with 2 core classes (English Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science) and 2 electives (everything except core classes) per day. Each class will be 80 minutes and will meet 5 times during a 2-week period.
• As soon as we know who will be teaching each class, we will communicate that information to you in either the weekly newsletter or a separate parent/guardian email message.
• The A/B block schedule will allow small teams of teachers to meet during common planning to discuss students, plan, create continuity across classrooms, and support one another in implementing new practices included in our strategic plan.
• The plan is to hold two secondary parent meetings very soon to discuss the schedule for next year...one meeting in English and one with a Spanish interpreter. Stay tuned for a meeting invitation.

It's always a little risky to share information with our families before it is "fully baked," but we know that you are hungry for facts, and that uncertainty can cause worry. Again, we will keep you updated, and we hope you reach out to us with questions.

We love our community and our school. As we work toward a bright future for this district, we are also focused on the present. The end of a school year is filled awards ceremonies, graduations, field trips, and other fun rituals, traditions, and events. These are all important ways to cultivate joy, honor our students, and wrap up the school year with intention. Please join us in celebration of our school community.

All our best to you and your family,

Mary and Martha

Today was a professional development day. Paraprofessionals met with Mary to complete their Washington State Paraprofessional Certification. Teachers and other instructional staff members gathered for a whole day of learning about Universal Design for Learning and Standards Based Grading, two initiatives that are included in our District's Strategic Plan. Tovah Denaro, an emotional and behavioral consultant from Tacoma, was our facilitator, and this professional development was sponsored by ALIGN (Advocates of Lopez Island Gathering for Neurodiversity). ALIGN even brought us coffee and treats to start our day, and we are very appreciative.

There is a LOT happening between now and the end of the school year. Mark your calendars so you don't miss anything, and we'll keep this list updated every week.

• Elementary

• June 2: Elementary Field Day

• June 6: K - 2nd Field Trip to Fidalgo Park & Storvik Park

• June 8: 3rd - 5th Field Trip to Fidalgo Park & Storvik Park

• June 8: Preschool Visit to Kindergarten for incoming Kindergartners

• June 9: Field Day Make-Up Day

• June 12: Science on Wheels

• June 13: Elementary Beach Potluck at Odlin Park

• June 15: Kindergarten Graduation

• June 16: End of Year Assembly

• Secondary

• June 2: MPPACT Performance at Vita's

• June 3: AP Art Show at the Lopez Island Library

• June 6: Term 4 and End-of-Year Academic Awards, 10:10-10:55 am

• June 7: High School athletics banquet, 5:00 pm

• June 10: High School Graduation

• June 12-14: 8th Grade Camp Moran trip

• June 15: 8th Grade Graduation

• June 16: Last Day of School!

If you ordered a yearbook and you owe money, you should have received an email invoice. You can pay this with cash or check in the library. yearbooks will be distributed on Wednesday, June 7. Elementary teachers will handle distribution and celebration on a class by class basis. for secondary students, LIPTSA is sponsoring a yearbook signing party at 2:30 that day. We'll have music, popsicles, time to sign yearbooks, and one last whole school gathering with our seniors before graduation day.

Sky's the limit with experiential learning in Parent Partner classes! Intent form coming soon.

Bea preparing vaccinations for the herd.

Sawyer working on a collaborative art project.

Oliver turned into Albert Einstein!

Ema's hieroglyphics poetry

Finn's Cascade Falls hike for science class.

The 11th grade class planned an awesome prom this year. What a lovely evening! Thanks to 11th grade class advisor and DJ, Jesse Hammond, and all the chaperones who helped make it a safe and fun dance for all.

The 7th graders had a great trip, and we are so very grateful to the Lopez Island Family Resource Center for making this happen for our middle schoolers.

We are thrilled to announce that we have hired a new Elementary Custodian. Welcome to John Sanford! John is moving to Lopez Island from Illinois, and he will begin work on May 30.

Last week Physical Science students completed a phase change lab in the chemistry space.

Outdoor Leadership students completed the last of eight local student lead hikes. Next year we want to go to other islands too!

Time commitment is less than two hours and you get to help with fun outdoor games with our young students! Approximately 1:30 - 3:00 pm. on June 2. Contact Laurie Bullock with the Lopez Island PTSA, liptsavpfv@gmail.com.

Hours: 7 hours per week

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday AM (exact time TBD) from July 11th - August 17th

1.5 hours/day plus an extra hour on Thursdays for coach meeting

This has the possibility to become a school-year position, dependent on further funding.

Compensation : $25/hour

Application Deadline: Open until filled; multiple coaches needed.

Job Description: Facilitate 1:1 literacy tutoring for early Elementary students, three mornings a week for a 6-week Summer Reading Program

• Provide on-site literacy intervention curriculum to elementary aged children. This is a program based at Lopez Elementary School. Each coach will have 2 students, to meet with individually in back-to-back 45-minute sessions.
• Attend additional paid program training during the last week of June 2023
• Participate in weekly supervision sessions with Literacy Leads
• Plan weekly lessons with the ability to organize, perform and evaluate a
• comprehensively designed individualized program of varied activities with a minimum of
• Supervision.
• Flexibility and responsiveness to student's unique individual needs is required, but
• Curriculum and materials will be provided.

Please email katy@lifrc.org for more information or to apply.

Join the LIFRC for summer fun and save the dates!

• British Challenger Soccer Camps. June 26-30. Open registration with a fee. Registration opens is open.
• Specialty Camps for Tots: Dates TBD in July/August. Open registration with a fee. Registration opens in May.
• Six weeks of full-day Summer Camp Huckleberry (going into 1st-5th grade) and Summer Camp No Name (6-8th grade): July 10-August 18, Mon-Fri 9 am-4 pm

Free of cost to full-time Lopez resident families – funded by a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant. Note that priority will be given to campers who are enrolled in the current After-School Program and attend regularly. For more information and to apply for a spot in the After-School program, visit the LIFRC Website.

Only looking to join Summer Camp? We have a waitlist.

Do you still have service hours to complete before graduation? LIFRC has an amazing opportunity for you to give back to your community while also learning fundamental skills in the hospitality industry. We are looking for 10-15 volunteers to help, set up, serve and clean up for our annual Summer Social fundraising event on July 15th. Hours are flexible but will likely be from 3:00PM to 9:00PM (6 hours), not including some pre-party training sessions. You will be working with and reporting directly to Stephanie Cariker. If you are interested, email her at stephaniec@lifrc.org or shoot her a text at 760-673-8253.

Bring a listening ear and a joyful spirit to the WITS Year-End Reading & Celebrations on Thursday, June 1, in-person or online!

Thank you for partnering with WITS again this year. Every year, Writers in the Schools culminates in a program-wide reading and celebration of student work that features student readers from approximately 30 schools and Seattle Children’s Hospital. We invite you to join the celebrations and hear from middle and high school WITS students, who will share the poems and stories they've tended to all year long. You'll also hear from the WITS Writers-in-Residence who have creatively engaged and inspired these young writers to bloom. Come witness the magic that happens in a WITS classroom and hear young writers tell their stories in their own words.

This event is free and open to the public!

We hope to see you there,

Team WITS

Indira Dahlstrom

Youth Programs Coordinator
Seattle Arts & Lectures

Like working with kids?
Have a knack for preparing crafts, planning games, and leading adventures geared for kiddos aged 2 to 8?
Want to earn community service hours and/or some extra cash this summer?

We are looking for "Teen Helpers" to assist in our childcare needs, during a three-day training this June.

WHEN:
June 20th, 21st, and 22nd
8am to 4pm, each day

WHERE:
Lopez Island School (on the playground, inside the library, etc)

More info:
We are flexible on hours -- shifts can be full-day or split.
We can offer $20/hr, and/or Community Service Hours.
We'll have an official kiddo head-count by May 20th, but you can expect to assist one or two adults as they oversee and entertain small groups of children (likely no more than 10 kids at once). The more kids that are enrolled, the more adult and teen helpers we'll recruit.

Interested?
Email LopezAligns@gmail.com for next steps.

· HR Specialist - If you are fairly organized and like to help people; this could be an awesome job for you! 4 hours a day, 4 days a week, 200 days a year... with benefits and a flexible schedule!

· Paraeducator - Are you fluent in both Spanish and English? We would love to have you work with our secondary students in their classrooms as a Bilingual Paraeducator! Not a Spanish speaker, but still 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! Houlry commitment determines benefit eligibility.

- 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!!!

(She, Her, Hers)

Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 11am - 4pm

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