Community Letter

Dear LISD Families,

January is School Board Recognition month and we are excited to acknowledge and celebrate the dedication of each of our board members as well as the important and sometimes difficult work they do throughout the year. Among other things, school board members meet with state representatives, approve school policies and procedures, set the mission and vision for our district, and help forge a positive relationship between the school and the community.

At the school board meeting on Wednesday evening, there were several individuals and groups of people that showed their appreciation for the board. Please join us by giving thanks to our board members: Kelli Carrier, Del Guenther, Sarah Rabel, Kirm Taylor, and Robert O'Connell.

All our best to you and your family,

Mary and Martha

I've been managing educational and small production gardens for the last 4 years and pursuing garden and small scale ag knowledge via internships and apprenticeships for the last decade. A passion of mine is teaching kids and adults alike about food, food systems, and growing food which is a constant endeavour in this fast paced world of ours. Teaching the slowness of seed sowing to harvest is one of the most important things that can be shared with our youth. You can find me fishing at Hummel or walking the trails foraging for edible mushrooms and of course out in the school garden! Hope to meet you soon!

This year the Garden Class students are so busy with lots of activities. Both Elementary classes and Secondary SAP have been learning about livestock and farm animals. Gardener Brett Jenson has been increasing the garden's flock of chickens to turn compost, scratch for bugs and add fertility to the hoops. In the classroom, students are learning about chicken egg development and are expecting chicks to hatch next week. And there's so much more....We have microgreens, hardwood cuttings getting rooted, oyster mushrooms and lion's mane mushrooms in bags and shiitakes on logs. Mrs. Deach's class painted rock art to brighten up spaces. The LIFE Program is looking for volunteers, too! If you'd like to help out with classroom, garden or kitchen projects, please reach out to Sara at sjones@lopezislandschool.org.

We are hatching chicks in the garden room and we think they'll hatch on Tuesday, January 31. Here is the link to the webcam if you want to follow the journey: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87437595373

Here are some creative painted rocks for your garden from Ms. Deach's garden enrichment class...always a fun assignment that the students look forward to each year.

The middle school History of Sports & Games elective has been learning about world cultures through playing the oldest games in history. One picture is Chataranji, the original version of Chess, a four-player game (which has elephants and sailboats!). The other picture is Go, an ancient Chinese game popular in Asia and the oldest continuously played game in the world today.

Kindergarten enrichment working on making clay mugs. Ms. Jaimie was very impressed with their creativity and focus.

Students in grades 10-12 use their PSAT access code to sign in and use Khan Academy.

It's SAT Practice Week, beginning today through January 29, and we're celebrating the more than 13 million students who've used Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy. As a leader who helped your school offer the PSAT/NMSQT, you're invited to participate in SAT Practice Week by encouraging your students to sign up for Official SAT Practice and send their PSAT/NMSQT scores to Khan Academy.

After sharing their scores, your students' Official SAT Practice experience will be completely customized to indicate their strengths and weaknesses. All it takes is following a few steps to link their College Board and Khan Academy accounts while signing up.

Learn How to Link Accounts

https://learn.khanacademy.org/sat-kickoff-week/?utm_source=cbemail-mar7349-educators&utm_medium=cb418-email&utm_campaign=kickoff-lp&SFMC_cid=EM883747-&rid=47016004

What’s your earliest memory at LIHS? The first things that came to mind from kindergarten and first grade were little carpet squares with animals, and we would sit criss cross applesauce on them. Sometimes Mr. Shreve, our homeroom teacher, would pretend to thread a needle through his lip and pull on it…or let us pull on it, and he would act like he was falling over.

What clubs/athletics/extracurriculars have you been involved in? I’ve done track and field, soccer, baseball, basketball, and I’ve been in ASB since 7th grade.

What is one positive memory from your time here that you’ll carry with you forever? Senior year soccer season will stick with me. The team was a lot of fun. There were a couple other seniors on the team too, so I enjoyed taking a leadership role within soccer but also having fun. I felt like I did a good job and made a lot of friends.

What is the best piece of advice you have received from a teacher? Coach Berg tells these stories at the beginning of class. One was about dogs in a house full of mirrors. The moral of the story was you get back what you put in. The happy dog saw a bunch of happy dogs in the mirror and the unhappy dog saw a bunch of other unhappy dogs barking back at him.

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

What is the most creative excuse you have ever used to get out of school work? In elementary, I would sarcastically say that my cat ate my homework. Honestly though, I haven’t found a need to make up excuses….I either did it or I didn’t.

What is one piece of advice you have for incoming high school students? Start figuring out what you want to do in the future and how to get there….so you don’t end up doing too much or doing too little.

What is the most meaningful assignment ever given to you by a teacher? The Film Lit movie I made with a group of friends last year. Time management was super important because we had to work through the entire project together. The whole time frame was all about teamwork and organizing all of that. We made a really good film. Plus, I got to hang out with a group of people I really like.

What’s the most important quality in a friendship? Why? Communication. Without that there is no way to do anything. You want to know what the other person is thinking, how they feel, or what they want to do.

In 10 years, I will be… Finished with my education and hopefully working in a profession I enjoy.

Who/what do you find inspiring? A bowl of ice-cream….which is what I was eating when I thought about this question.

What song summarizes your feelings about graduating from high school? I Ain’t Worried by One Republic

What are your plans after high school? Get off this island, go to a 4 year college (majoring in kinesiology/sports medicine), possibly more education after that, hopefully play sports, and then a profession I enjoy.

What is one important life lesson you learned in kindergarten? Treat others how you want to be treated

Is there a book or movie that has changed your life? Avatar, the Last Air Bender…I have rewatched it a thousand times. It was more about the experience of watching it with my family, all the humor, and thinking about different parts of the movie at different ages of my life.

Is there anything else you want people to know about you? I care.

There is one more home game for boys basketball...Monday, January 30 at 4:30. GO LOBOS!

Today was senior night and we recognized Malachi Cary for his leadership as the only senior playing basketball this year.

Jessie Patrick will be the new middle school girls basketball coach. Thank you, Jessie! Practice will February 8, after school.

Elementary Students from the Lopez Island Chess Club competed at a tournament in Seattle on Saturday. Together they earned a team trophy! We are so proud of them.

Chess Club is open to all students K-12 and meets on Fridays after school in the MPR until 4:30. Students can join anytime, and no prior experience is needed. Questions: LopezIslandChess@gmail.com

The "smile checks" on Wednesday were a big success. 125 students were screened by 2 dental hygienists as part of the health department's School Based Sealant Program. The dental hygienists recommended sealants for over half of the students who were screened. Sealants are thin coatings painted on the chewing surfaces of molars that can prevent the majority of cavities that children get.

Fortunately, the Community Health Center of Snohomish Mobile Dental Team will come to the school April 27-28 to provide the sealants. To receive the treatment, parents need to sign the consent form that was sent home with the students that were identified to benefit from sealants. Forms are also available in the nurse's office.

Was your student not screened on Wednesday? No problem! Come to the nurse's office to get a consent form, and your student can be assessed by the mobile dental team in April, and receive sealtants if they are recommended.

By the way, this is all quick, easy, painless, and FREE!

If you would like to learn more about sealants there is an oral health zoom presentation put on by the CHC of Snohomish specific to the school based sealant program.

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:

· Elementary Custodian - perfect for you if you like to work independently! This position helps to clean and maintain the Lopez Island school buildings. It is a daily position with flexibility in actual working hours (up to 7 per day) and schedule, starting in late January 2023.

· Literacy Interventionist - multiple positions are available fill the newly created position of Elementary Literacy Interventionist, working one-on-one or with small groups of students in grades 1, 2, and 3 to practice the fundamentals of literacy. This contract position runs for two 10-12 week sessions during the school year.

· 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.

· 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.

- 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!!!

(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