It’s been a productive week at LISD! Thanks to the detailed preparation of our elementary team and transportation department along with the cooperation and patience of elementary families, we welcomed back our 2nd - 5th grade students, beginning on Monday. It was gratifying to see students back in classrooms and enjoying the after Garden and Science Clubs.

While our secondary staff continue to collaborate on ways to bring students back into school after spring break, the elementary team explored options to increase instructional time to meet the requirement established by Governor Inslee’s emergency proclamation. Our nutrition and transportation department leaders have been important partners in these conversations.

At their meeting on Wednesday, the School Board voted to place a capital levy on the August ballot. Unlike educational programs and operations levies, which fund things like teachers, support staff, supplies and materials, or services that the state only partially funds, capital levies can only be spent on repairs or improvements to school facilities and infrastructure. At their next meeting, scheduled for April 28, the Board will continue discussing the needs that would be addressed by the passage of a capital levy.

Family input is essential for many school and district decisions. Surveys are a tool that many organizations, including schools, use to gather input. While they have limitations, they are efficient and, if well designed, easy to use. Yet many of us have come to experience “survey fatigue” and are inclined to hit the delete key when they appear in our inbox.

At LISD, we are aware of the risk we run of adding to survey fatigue for families. At the same time, input from our families is essential to successful planning for school reopening and developing our budget for next school year.

You have or will soon receive invitations to complete surveys asking:

• how many children attending grades 6-12 in your household will return to part-time, in-person learning this spring;

• how many children in your home will return to our schools next fall; and

• your priorities for our school district budget for 2021-22.

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We have worked and will continue to work to keep these questionnaires straightforward and brief. I encourage you to complete them when possible. Thank you for your help!

That’s all for now.

Enjoy the weekend and Go Lobos!

Carl Bruner

Interim Superintendent

School pictures have arrived! Elementary picture packets will be distributed by teachers by grade. Secondary pictures can be picked up in the secondary office between 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-3:00.

Retake Day is scheduled on Thursday, April 15 for those that have not been photographed or would like retakes. Kevin Hellriegel will take pictures in the morning to accommodate staff and students during school hours.

Travel recommendations from the State DOH have not changed. Even if you have been vaccinated, there is still risk in traveling and the further away you go and the more people you come in contact with increases your chances of becoming infected.

It is recommended that you get COVID tested 5 to 7 days after your return from vacation. It is recommended that you isolate until the test result is back.

For staff and students, we will have Covid testing available on Wednesday 4/14/21 after school resumes. If the Antigen test system is activated I may be able to do some 15 minute tests for staff on Monday 4/12/21.

If your child has allergies or asthma, some of which have the same symptoms as Covid-19, please provide documentation of this chronic health issue for their file or contact our school nurse: khattman@lopezislandschool.org.

If you haven't already done so, please complete the reopening survey. Knowing who will be choosing the hybrid option and who will be staying fully remote will help us tremendously in our planning.

English: Survey Link

Spanish: enlace de encuesta

Here is what we know so far:

• Students will have the option to return to in-person learning on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
• Health screening (questions and temp check) will happen at home. The student or parent will complete a quick survey each day.
• We are offering bus transportation to those who need it.
• The school day will now be from 8:30-noon.
• Students can bring snacks/lunch or get a boxed lunch at school.

Our school nurse, Karen Hattman, has been working with each secondary teacher on safety protocols and calculating room capacity with 6 ft. physical distancing. HEPA filters are being provided for each room.

We are currently working on the schedule for PACK and nutrition, para-educator support, a structure for large groups that exceed the safety capacity of the room, and models for supporting both hybrid and fully remote learning.

Stay tuned for more details next week.

As we reopen this building to secondary students, I'm hoping we can all work together to use our habits of character as a guide:

• Kindness
• Belonging
• Ownership
• Perseverance

I'm thinking a lot about how to model these habits for our students and how to help them demonstrate them for each other and for themselves.

All my best,

Martha

Please join us in celebrating Camille Steckler! Camille was chosen as a winner in the NWESD Regional Art show and awarded a $3,000 scholarship.

Here is link to the Gallery if you want to learn more and see some incredible student art.

The “Eyes of Old” (below) will now be included in the OSPI State Superintendent’s Art Show. There are multiple awards available in that show, and there are prospective buyers should Camille wish to sell her piece.

High school soccer (grades 9-12), HS volleyball (grades 9-12), and middle school track (grades 6-8) will begin after spring break. Participants will be learning, practicing, and building skills for six weeks, without competition against other schools.

Please complete the extracurricular forms and turn them into the secondary office before the first practice. All forms are available on the school website at this link: Extracurricular Sports Forms and Risk Management Forms.

The Physical Evaluation form remains active for two years. If you had a sports physical on file but are not sure of the date, please email Ronda rberg@lopezislandschool.org.

We are getting proficient using the jig saw, drill/driver, and drill press.

What a thrill this week has been for our staff, students, and families. Having our students, kindergarten through fifth grade, back in school has brought more energy in our steps and smiles to our faces. Leading up to this week has been a journey for the whole elementary team. Many long work days, weekends, and meetings with families took place in order to have all the details in place for the restart of school. A huge thank you to the elementary staff and families for all your hard work in making this week a success for all.

Thank you to all of our families and paraeducators for making student drop-off and pick-up a smooth process. Completing the daily health screening form prior to dropping off your student(s) has been very helpful and has expedited student check in to the school. If you have a change of plans for student pick-up, such as your child will be going home with another family member or your child will not be riding the bus, please be sure to call the elementary office at least 30 minutes before the end of the school day. Karrie Warner, our elementary office coordinator, is ready to take your calls. She can be reached at kwarner@lopezislandschool.org or 360-468-2202, x2100.

Now that we have students in-person, our next plan is to reach the 30% weekly instructional hours for in-person learning. Starting Monday, April 12th, we will be extending the school days from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m., which will include lunch at school. We are working through all the details, but our hope is to organize a schedule so that all students will be eating outside under the covered pavilion. Next week, we will be working through all the details and will be communicating the whole plan to each of our families.

“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai

Thank you,

Mary

The students researched a person from history, wrote a biography about that person with citations and then created a presentation for the class on their person. We are wrapping that up now. Here is the link: Seamus O'Bryant Biography Timeline

A couple more things we have been up to: Creating recorded book talks about a favorite book to provide to the Kindergarten and First grade classes to encourage them to read the books! Here is a link to Ian Cankusic's Book Talk about the book The Mischievians by William Joyce - so cute! Ian Cankusic Book Talk Video

We buddied up with Kindergarten students to give them an older buddy to look out for them and help them. They played together and planted some seeds together. Really sweet. This is the first time the Kindergarteners have really hung out with the olders at school. I wish I had taken pics!