Community Letter

Dear LISD Families,

There will be no school next Thursday and Friday, November 24 and 25 so we can all enjoy a long weekend. If you celebrate Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving, we hope your feast is fabulous. If you refrain from celebrating this holiday as a form of activism, we acknowledge you for shining a light on the origins of Thanksgiving. Here at LISD, the staff get together before Thanksgiving to make pies for the Lopez Island Family Resource Center food baskets. On Monday after school, we will make 24 pies....12 apple and 12 pumpkin/squash....made with local produce and lots of love. We will cook, laugh, have fun together, and lift our hearts in gratitude to our community. Stay tuned for photos of this baking extravaganza in our next newsletter!

Speaking of newsletters, this will be the last one before the Thanksgiving break. Look for the next one on December 2.

All our best to you and your family,

Mary and Martha

Big thanks to Sara Jones for planning and facilitating an amazing Lopez and LISD experience for our guests, and to John Shaw for farm to cafeteria inspiration and advice.

Fourth graders are just finishing their personal narrative rough drafts. Within these narratives students have included sensory details, topic sentences, details, evidence, dialogue, transitions and a lot of thought. Fourth graders are also learning to code using MakeCode. They are applying this coding skill to robotatize their Island Marble Butterfly using their Hummingbird robotics kits.

November's L.I.F.E. team meeting.

Kaileah is the winner of the Housing Lopez logo contest.

Writers in the Schools is a program sponsored by Seattle Arts and Lectures to bring professional writers into public schools for two week creative writing residencies. We are so excited to have three writers (one for elementary, one for middle school, ,and one for high school) coming to work with LISD students between November 28 and December 9. Every elementary class will get to participate in these creative writing experiences. For secondary, we are focusing on 6th grade Humanities, 7th grade Literacy, 8th grade Northwest History, Spanish III, Heritage Spanish, and U.S. History.

The next home middle school boys basketball game will be Tuesday, November 29 at 2:15, and the last game will be Thursday, December 1 at 2:15.

Elementary Community Soccer is happening this winter in the school gym, Sundays 4-5. So far, we have primarily attracted younger elementary players but all elementary players are welcome. We will need parent participation to make this successful as it is modeled after the other community sports programs. There is no coach or formal organization. We will see who turns up and kick the ball around with whoever comes to play. A coordinating parent will be there each time to set up the gym and help supervise and engage kids. The PACK has offered to sponsor us. Each individual will need to sign a waiver the first time they come to play. Hope to see you there!

This is an opportunity for all LISD staff and students who didn't have their school photo taken in October or who want a retake. If you are doing a retake, please bring your first photo packet with you to give to the photographer. Check with the office coordinators, Ronda (secondary) and Karrie (elementary) if you need an order form.

Today marks the end of Mid-term 2. All grading will be caught up in Canvas by Tuesday, November 22 at midnight.

On Tuesday, we had an awards ceremony to recognize LISD middle and high school students for demonstrating our four habits of character: kindness, belonging, ownership, and perseverance. Then we printed mini versions of each award and organized them on a bulletin board in the secondary lobby as a visual recognition.

This Saturday will be Glow Up night at the school...featuring glow volleyball, floor and board games, and Multiplayer Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart!

Isaac Berg is the secondary social studies teacher and a former Lopez graduate. As a student on Lopez, he had opportunities to study Spanish and Japanese cultures, and these experiences fostered a curiosity that grew into a passion for social studies. Since graduating from Lopez school fifteen years ago, he has studied education, spent time abroad in almost 40 countries, and worked in social service and youth nonprofit roles in the San Juans while substitute teaching and coaching.

This semester, Isaac teaches Mythology, US History, World History, Northwest History, and middle school humanities. He also coaches middle school basketball and is starting a Geoguessr (geography game) club during Advisory. Isaac enjoys travel, the outdoors, and spending time on Lopez with his wife, Emily, and three young kids.

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:

· Leave Replacement Food Services Manager - This exciting, professionally enriching, and challenging position will provide tremendous opportunities for professional growth in a food services program that has earned state, regional and national recognition. The District is looking for a Leave Replacement Food Services Manager to work from the beginning of January 2023 thru the end of the 2022-2023 school year (June 16th, 2023).

· 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.

· Special Services Administrative Assistant- to provide assistance to the Special Services Coordinator and the District’s Special Services programs. There will be a high degree of confidentiality and attention to detail required, as this person works with parents, students, and others to serve students with special needs and those struggling with school. There will be some flexibility of schedule desired, but the position is based upon 15 hours per week throughout the calendar year.

· 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.

Certificated Teaching:

· .6 to .8 Music Teacher - This is a teaching position to work with elementary, middle and high school students as a Music teacher starting the second semester of 2022 – 2023 school year (January – June 2023). The .6 instructor would be responsible for elementary Music class, one middle school Music class, and one high school Music class. There is a zero period Orchestra class that can be added to make this a .8 FTE position.

· FTE Special Education Teacher- We are looking for a full-time Special Education teacher to help serve our students starting ASAP. This 7.5 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