Community Letter

Hello LISD Families,

We have made it to the end of 2021…almost. LISD staff and students are looking forward to winter break and we sincerely hope all our families are able to enjoy some quality time together.

Here are just a few of our favorite activities to keep brains active and engaged during the break:

• Host a family/friends game night

• Get lost in good books

• Cook/bake together…maybe try a new recipe :-)

• Get outside and take a walk together

• Visit the Lopez Island Library…so many great books and movies to choose from!

Happy Holidays, everyone! We are looking forward to welcoming our students back to school on January 3, 2022.

All our best to you and your family,

Mary and Martha

...to be announced at a later date.

This week's recipe comes to us from the amazing cookbook Falastin by Sami Tamimi. The cookbook is a very sweet and comprehensive guide to the foods of Palestine and its culture, full of great recipes and essays. Reading through this book, I gained a new appreciation for uniquely Palestinian food, and all of it's contributions to what we think of as monolithic "middle eastern cuisine."

These morning buns can be filled with anything savory that catches your fancy. In the original version, they are filled with herby caramelized onions and topped with a spicy herby oil. We like to change the filling up every time we make it, but almost always using caramelized onions and some kind of cheese. The most recent version was filled with onions, roasted squash, and parm. I'm sure that you have some savory flavor combination that's a hit at your house that would work well with this dough.

If you end up making this (or any recipe from the newsletter) please let me know, I'd love to see what you come up with!

-John

Dough:

5 1/3 c Flour

1/4 c sugar

2 1/4 tsp fast acting dried yeast

4 eggs

1/2 c water

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 c+1 tbsp (190 gram) butter, room temp, cut into medium dice

To make the dough:

1) Combine the flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low until fully combined. (Note on yeast: If you're using Active Dry yeast, you'll want to bloom it in the water instead).

2) Whisk together eggs and water, add to the mixer bowl, mix on low speed, and then increase to medium speed for 2 minutes.

3) Add the salt, then begin adding butter, a few cubes at a time. Wait for the butter to be completely incorporated before adding more.

4) Continue mixing on medium for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic.

5) Turn the dough out into a greased container and put in the fridge over night - dough should rise about 40%.

6) Turn dough out onto floured surface and roll into a rectangle that's about 22x14".

7) Add filling and roll up into a log. Cut into 12 even pieces.

8) Place on baking sheet with parchment, place in a warm spot for about 1 hour or until risen by 20%.

9) Once proofed place in a 400f oven for 30 min or until golden brown. Once browned, remove from oven and loosely cover in foil and cook until done, about 20 minutes.

10) Let cool for 30 min and serve.

This week, the culinary class took on a big task of making carrot cake cupcakes for all the students as a special treat at lunch before the holidays. They used 4 gallons of carrots grown right here in the LIFE garden. The students did a great job, and the cupcakes were delicious.

This holiday has been extra fun watching all the students getting into the holiday spirit!

The middle school boys only game, a scrimmage against each other, ended on a high note with only a one point deficit game. This group of boys dedicated themselves to practicing for a full season with only a one game reward. Great job boys and Coach Berg!

I wish everyone a safe, healthy and happy Holiday Season.

Stay safe, wear your mask, wash your hands. If you feel sick, stay home and take good care of yourself.

Enjoy the Holiday.

Peace and Joy

Karen

Three sheds were completed this weekend by our woodshop class and volunteers. This was a huge accomplishment for them. Three more will be built next semester. A special shout out to Ascent Building Company (Shawn Westervelt, Greg Danforth, and Jon Edwards) for their expertise and guidance, Sunset Builders Supply for donating tools to the woodshop, and LVM for donating pizza for project day. Great job!

Our 1st, 4th, and 5th grades took a little trip to Odlin to do some outdoor activities. They hiked, talked about why the water takes on color, and made greenery swags. Fun was had by all, and the sun decided to show up too!

Getting ready for the holiday, Ms. Deirdre has been checking out a lot of books for the students, to keep them reading through the holidays. The book count is now 1700 checked out from the beginning of the year until winter break! Ms. Deirdre would love for everyone to take a break from technology this holiday season and read a book.

Secondary Semester 1 grading period ends today, December 17. Report cards will be posted in Qmlativ Family Access in the Portfolio tile on Wednesday, January 5. Students will also receive a printed copy of their report card to carry home to their parents/guardians.

Semester 2 courses will begin on January 3, 2022.

Students can view their schedules in Qmlativ by logging into Family Access, and opening the Schedule tile. At the top left of the screen, set the VIEW to Weekly Schedule, the MONTH to January, and the WEEK to 1/03/2022 for semester 2 classes. Parent Partner students will see semester 2 "P Partner."

Students may request to drop or change a class during the first week of the semester by filling out a Schedule Change Request form in the secondary office. Students will continue attending the class on their schedule until approval is granted and Qmlativ reflects the new schedule.

If you have any questions about your schedule, please contact Jeanna (jcarter@lopezislandschool.org) or Ronda (rberg@lopezislandschool.org).

As we enter our winter break and celebrate the holidays, I want to take a moment to wish everyone a joyous and safe time with family and friends. It will be a new year when we return on January 3, 2022, but we will continue to face many challenges. The strategic planning process scheduled to begin in the new year is an opportunity for us to create new cultural norms as we seek a pathway through this pandemic and all it has wrought. The new year will generate tremendous excitement and highlight many new opportunities for our students and our community despite the problems we face. I hope everyone will take some time to reflect on what you see as the ideal future for our district and that you seriously consider participating in the strategic planning process. This is the chance to create a better future for the children of Lopez and Decatur Islands, and we want you to share with us the things that are important to you.

During winter break, we know that many of you may have travel plans, both domestically and internationally. To ensure we are proactive in addressing the potential for COVID-19 transmission during this break, Nurse Hattman will be conducting a testing clinic on Sunday, January 2, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. She will be processing rapid tests to expedite the process. Any staff member or student is welcome to get tested. Still, we are specifically requesting that those of you who may travel internationally and those who have other factors that may contribute to increased susceptibility to the virus try to get tested.

To make the process more manageable, Nurse Hattman is asking you to adhere to the following testing schedule:

Last Name A – M, Testing from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Last Name N – Z, Testing from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Once again, I wish everyone a happy holiday season and a joyous new year.

It is cold and wet outside. Please send your students to school with appropriate winter wear and even a change of clothes just in case they get wet or muddy. If you are need of any winter items for your student, please let us know. There are donations available for this.

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, Renee Koplan – rkoplan@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.

Email: mmartin@lopezislandschool.org
Website: lopezislandschool.org
Location: 86 School Road, Lopez Island, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 468-2202
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lopez-Island-School-District-500747673389618