Eagle Sightings November

What an exciting week we’ve had to end October and begin November! The Halloween parade was a faboolous time! This is one of my favorite traditions. It is always exciting and heartwarming to see how the community shows up and it is equally as fun to see how proud the students are to show off their costumes!

As we get into November, we will begin having classroom discussions on gratitude (our character trait of the month). The definition we use when talking about Gratitude is choosing to appreciate the people and things in our lives. I will be visiting classrooms to have discussions with students about who and what they appreciate and how they show their appreciation. I am grateful for these opportunities to connect with students and learn more about what they value. FHES is full of genuinely kind students full of gratitude!

Another thing we are working on school wide for this 2024-2025 school year, is social emotional regulation. It is perfectly normal to feel all emotions, and it is very important to be able to regulate our emotions so that we can learn and be successful at school. Our Social Emotional goal is: 95% of Students at FHES will be able to name or identify their feelings and they will know two to three strategies to calm down and feel in control, according to the student Zones of Regulation Self reflection survey. If you haven’t already, you will be hearing your child/ren talk about the Zones of Regulation. We will also be including more information in this newsletter, so keep an eye out!

As we move forward with a school year that continues to feel full of togetherness, fun, and lots of learning, I want to express how full of gratitude I am to be part of this amazing community. I want to say thank you to you! Thank you for supporting the children in your lives in all the ways you do. I also want to say thank you to all the teachers,counselors, para educators, office staff, bus drivers, food service staff, and other school staff for continuing to provide consistency, predictability, and structure for our children each and every day. Thank you to our generous community who contribute in so many ways to Friday Harbor schools. Thank you for your continued partnership.

With appreciation,

Holly Wehner

Please remind your child/ren about the following school policies:

• Personal electronic devices are not to be used at school. If a CELL PHONE or SMARTWATCH is brought to school for afterschool use it must remain in the student’s backpack until the end of the school day.
• No texting or calling during school hours from student devices.
• All communication to or from home must go through the school office.

We had such a fun Halloween! The parade was a success and the kids enjoyed all of the classroom festivities.

We’d like to remind you to keep candy at home. A piece or two for school is perfectly fine, but we’d appreciate it if the majority could stay at home. Thanks for your understanding!

This month, we are highlighting some of the amazing work our librarian, Ms. Charlene, is doing in the FHES library to support our growing readers! Using proceeds from last spring’s book fair and her own classroom budget, Ms. Charlene added 87 books to our collection this year. This includes books related to our Character Strong traits, more early Spanish readers, teacher and student requests, graphic novels, and more early reader nonfiction animals and science. Thanks to a generous donation from our PTO, we also added all 2024-2025 Sasquatch Book Award nominees and Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award nominees. The Sasquatch Book Award nominations include twelve novels for grades 4-6. Our 4th and 5th-grade students are encouraged to read at least two of the books and vote for their favorite in the spring. Last year, more than 7,000 4th and 5th graders of Washington state voted for the Sasquatch Award. The Washington’s Children’s Choice Picture Book (WCCPB) Award nominations include twenty picture books for grades K-3. Ms. Charlene is reading all nominated books to our Kindergarten - 3rd grade students and they will vote on their favorite in the spring. Last year, nearly 117,000 K-3 students in our state voted for the WCCPB Award. We look forward to joining students across the state in voting for our favorites again this year!

Thanks to so many great titles and more than 12,000 different books in our library, our K-5 students average checking out 962 books a week during our weekly library visits! In addition to checking out books, Ms. Charlene also has a give-a-book/take-a-book shelf. Students can bring books from home to trade for other used books. Thanks to Ms. Charlene for all that she does to support our FHES readers!

11/4 Monday: Vision Screenings

11/4 Monday 5:30 pm PTO Meeting in the FHES Library

11/8 Friday 8:45-9:15 am Veterans Day Assembly

11/11 Monday No School Veterans Day Observed

11/13 Wednesday PTO Community Dinner/Reading Night 5:30 pm FHES Library

11/14 Thursday 11:20a-12:00p Zoom Lunch with the Principal

11/15 Friday: PTO Popcorn Day!

11/27 Wednesday 11:10 am Dismissal

11/28 Thursday No School Thanksgiving

11/29 Friday No School

FHES families do you have a family member you would like to honor at our upcoming Veterans Day Assembly? We welcome them to join us on November 8th at 8:45 am as we celebrate our Veterans. Legion veterans will be performing their traditional flag-folding ceremony.

Wednesday, November 13; Dinner at 5:30 and Reading at 6:00 pm

Food-Giveaways-Activities

Story Reading and Poems by Community Members

🍂 Check out the Gratitude Nature Scavenger Hunt for a chance to win a door prize! 🍂

Did you know? In the San Juan Island School District, we have 79 students in our Multilingual Learner (ML) program! These students are spread across the district from k-12th grade. Among them, 3 different home languages are represented! This is very exciting, as these students each bring their own cultural knowledge and linguistic backgrounds, which helps make the district more diverse and interesting!

Please remember No Dogs are allowed on school grounds (even if they are on a leash). This includes the fields for games and practices and before and after school.

Thank you for your support 🐾

Please make sure your child knows their going-home plans before the school day starts.

We understand that going home plans may change during the day. When this happens we can write a note to be delivered to your child. Please be aware that notes are delivered at 2:15 pm, and Wednesdays at 1:10 pm. Please let us know your plans before this time, thank you!

Thank you for setting your child up for success by ensuring they know their going-home plan before the start of the school day.

Our district has moved towards a paperless system by having our Federally Mandated forms online. These forms must be completed for each student.

Please log into Skyward

Thank you for your attention and cooperation with this matter.

Please contact our Office Manager, Roslyn Butcher with any questions at roslynbutcher@sjisd.org

The online store is now open to order a FHES sweatshirt or t-shirt!
Please follow the link here, the store will be open through 11/8/2024.

School Parking Area Safety Reminders

Please remind your child to stay on the provided path and/or sidewalk while they are walking to school. Younger students benefit from walking with an older sibling or an adult. This is especially true on mornings with reduced visibility.

Please remember, that there is no supervision on school grounds before 8:00 am. Thank you for your help in keeping our students safe!

Join FHES principal over Zoom for a chat or a listen.

• Thursday November 14 11:20-12:00 pm

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 834 8500 2911

Bring your questions, concerns, gratitude, and thoughts.

We love to have visitors join us for lunch!

We need to know if you will be eating a hot lunch prior to 9 a.m. Please call or email the office to let us know.

Breakfast is served every morning starting at 8am. If your child would like breakfast, please have them come through the front doors upon arrival.

The Salad Bar is open every day at lunch with regular salad, caesar salad, fruit, and vegetables.

A vegetarian option is available daily by request.

Daylight Savings Time Ends Sunday 11/3/24 at 2 am. Don't forget to set your clocks back 1 hour.

Click on the links below to connect with PTO:

FHES Eagles PTO page

FHES Volunteer Survey

The Next Meeting date will be:

Monday, November 4 at 5:30 pm in the Elementary School Library.

It's ok to bring your students to the meeting.

Thanks for dropping off KING'S MARKET receipts to the School Office.

Please remember that all visitors must check in with the office and wear a visitor badge while on school grounds during school hours.

If your child has to miss a day of class, please remember to excuse the absence by emailing jeannarheinberger@sjisd.org or calling 360-378-5209.

It is important that this information, regarding absences, or change of pickup or drop off plans, comes to us from parents and/or primary caregivers not through a friend, grandparent, neighbor etc.

Thank you!

Emergency announcements will be posted on district websites, and Facebook accounts, sent out via ParentLink, and broadcast before school on the stations listed below. If school must be closed mid-day, this will also be announced on these stations and students will be sent home by their usual mode of transportation.

Emergency weather information affecting Bus Routes and times are provided in this link.

Radio:

• KISM - 92.9 FM Bellingham
• KLKI - 1340 AM Anacortes
• KOMO - 1000 AM Seattle
• KAFE - 104.3 FM Bellingham
• KGMI - 790 AM - Bellingham

TV:

• KOMO TV 4 - Seattle
• KING TV 5-Seattle
• KVOS TV 12-Bellingham

• San Juan Islander Website
• San Juan Journal

Wondering about local groups and businesses that offer youth activities and/or support? San Juan Island School District has them posted on our Community Partners page.

Email: roslynbutcher@sjisd.org
Website: sjisd.wednet.edu
Location: 95 Grover Street, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
Phone: 360.378.5209
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FridayHarborElementarySchool/

San Juan Island School District Commitment to Non-discrimination

San Juan 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 San Juan Island School District offers classes in many career and technical education program areas such as Culinary Arts, Career Prep, STEM, and Computer Science under its open admissions policy. For more information about CTE course offerings and admissions criteria, contact CTE Directors, Liz Varvaro, elizabethvarvaro@sjisd.org, PO Box 458, FH, WA, (360) 378-4133. Lack of English language proficiency will not be a barrier to admission and participation in career and technical education programs.

The following people have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies:

Faith Knight, Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator, Title IX Officer

PO Box 458, Friday Harbor, WA 98250

(360) 378-4133

faithknight@sjisd.org

Becky Bell, Special Services Director, 504 Officer, ADA Coordinator, Gender-Inclusive Schools Coordinator

PO Box 458, Friday Harbor, WA 98250

(360) 378-4133

beckybell@sjisd.org

Fred Woods, Superintendent, Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) Coordinator

PO Box 458, Friday Harbor, WA 98250

(360) 378-7905

fredwoods@sjisd.org