LISD School Newsletter

Dear LISD Families,

I know our students and staff are excited about mid-winter break next week, and I hope you are too. If you are heading off-island, I wish you safe travels. If you have family members suffering from one of the nasty viruses going around, I hope the week provides some much needed rest and recovery.

Once we return from this break, the spring semester seems to speed up with celebrations, concerts, field trips, the talent show, dances, graduation, promotion ceremonies, and more. We will keep you updated with a list of important dates and events in the newsletter.

We had a fun Valentine's Day here at school and I hope our students are feeling the love as they head into the break. Elementary classes had parties and valentines, the junior class sold flowers and candy, the Spanish club sold candy, and Safe San Juans delivered flowers to all secondary students.

I hope to see you all this weekend at our varsity tri-district game in the MR Buffum gym at 2:15 on Saturday (unless you are headed off island for the boys game) and the Pack crab feed fundraiser on Sunday at the LCCA.

All my best,

Martha

• February 17 - 21: Mid-Winter Break - NO SCHOOL

• February 15: HS Girls Basketball Playoff Game, Buffum Gym 2:15 pm.
  Tickets for this game MUST be purchased online. Link to purchase is here.

• February 24: FAFSA Completion Night

• February 26: School Board Meeting, 6pm, LMC

Brady traveled with the Superintendents from San Juan, Orcas and Shaw to meet legislators in Olympia this week to advocate for funding for our island districts. Thanks to the Island Districts Advocacy Group consisting of Superintendents, School Board members, union leadership and PTAs from the four islands, they brought a unified message about the need to change funding formulas to provide the funding necessary to serve our students.

This survey is super short and should take less than 2 minutes to respond but it's pretty important. Please let us know what you think about the calendar change we implemented this year.

Calendar Survey // Encuesta de calendario

Last Saturday, 17 middle schoolers travelled to Sedro-Woolley to participate in the Solo & Ensemble contest. This is a music event where students from around the region perform as soloists or in small groups for a judge, who then works with them on their technique and musicality. It was a great chance for students to learn from experts on their instruments and hear other middle school musicians perform.

Bring the whole family to this free family friendly concert co-hosted by the Library and Lopez Center.

For those of you who have never seen Joe Reilly in concert before, you are in for a treat! He started coming to Lopez in the early 2010s, performing at Isabel's, house concerts, the library and finally the Center by 2016! It's been 6 years since his last show and we are excited to welcome him back!

Joe Reilly is a singer, songwriter, social worker, and educator from Michigan who writes songs from his heart. Joe's songs are playful, clever, engaging, joyful, and always have something meaningful to say. The core of his message is an invitation to heal our relationships with our selves, with each other, and with the earth. Joe uses his music to bring people together and build community across lines of race, class, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, and nationality.

More info here.

On February 8, 2025, the Lopez Archery Team traveled to Lynden to compete in the Washington State Archery Tournament. Athletes Sebastian Ratza, Skyler Caps, Aiden Patrick, Gael Velazquez, Linnea Peter, Oliver Honeywell, Finn Post, Mason Hays, and their coaches Becca Hamilton, Lorri Swanson, and Brett Jensen attended.

The students began practicing in December to prepare for the tournament and have shown total dedication and grit by practicing outside twice each week after school in the often frigid weather until February 8th, tournament day!

Lopez archers await their scores/standings which won't be published until next week after the east-side competition is completed in Kennewick, WA. The archers all shot well and are looking forward to continuing archery by participating in the Archery Club available to all students grades 5-12, starting again after school in early April.

Coach, Becca Hamilton, stated "I am so proud of the hard work and dedication these athletes showed to get better at the sport. They all improved immensely and competed well. Our team, in particular, followed the strict procedures and protocols perfectly and showed excellent sportsmanship. It was a great event and a great time!"

The program is part of the National Archery in the Schools Program, and coaches Becca and Lorri are certified to coach archery under this program. You can find out more at www.NASPschools.org.

This is a FREE early childhood screening opportunity. Specifically for children from age 0 - 5 yrs, this screening will help parents identify their child's strengths and opportunities for growth. This check of your child's development covers large muscle development, fine motor abilities, communication, comprehension, social skills, vision & hearing, and self-help abilities.

FREE, but advance sign up is required.

Time to wow your friends and family and the Lopez community in general with your super awesome talent! No talent too small. Anything you can do that you are proud of is worth sharing! (Within reason of course. No fire juggling. 🙂). Deadline for talent sign ups is March 14. The Talent Show is Saturday, March 29.

Sign up here.

Enjoy a great meal, socialize with awesome folks, and support Lopez athletics at the same time!
Get your tickets here.

Join us on Lopez Island for hands-on workshops on Friday, February 28, followed by a Community Social at the Lopez Community Center. The main Summit conference takes place Saturday, March 1 at Lopez School, featuring a keynote by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, CEO of Tree-Range Farms, on Regenerative Living: A Call to Embrace the Abundance Among Us.

All details can be found here.

What clubs/athletics/extracurriculars have you been involved in?

I’ve done soccer for four years, basketball one year, golf for two years, Spanish club for two years, French club for two years, ASB for one year (Sergeant at Arms). Also, this is my third year in MPPACT. I play electric guitar.

What is one positive memory from your time here that you’ll carry with you forever?

Going to state with my soccer team this year. Just knowing that we were able to make it that far in my last year felt like such a cool accomplishment. We’ve been wanting that since we first started playing together. We always talked about it, and we finally did it!

Finish this sentence: “I cannot live without…….”

My family. They help me out a lot during difficult times. They support me, and if I ever need extra help, they find a way. Before I could drive, they made sure I could be at sports and other after school activities. My dad has helped me with college applications, doing research at night after working all day. I’m the first person in my family to apply to college.

What is one piece of advice you have for incoming high school students?

Keep a schedule and write everything down. Be organized.

Who/what do you find inspiring?

Richard Tetu. Seeing everything he accomplished in his life was inspiring. He is a great teacher and a great person, and he was so involved with the school.

What is the most meaningful assignment ever given to you by a teacher?

The rap we did this year in Mr. Berg’s Civics class was a really fun assignment.

What’s the most important quality in a friendship? Why?

Honesty is very important.. To have a friendship, you have to be able to be honest with each other.

In 10 years, I will be…

Hopefully, I’ll be out of college with a job, saving money, and having my own place. I want to visit Europe and I’m hoping to do a college exchange program in Paris.

What are your plans after high school?

I’m planning to go to a four year school, and I just got accepted to Gonzaga yesterday! So right now, it’s between Whitworth and Gonzaga.

Brady Smith, Superintendent

Martha Martin, 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 Sarah Rucker; Section 504, Steven Dahl. OR contact by phone, 360-468-2202, OR mail to 86 School Rd, Lopez Island, WA 98261.