by Brandon Bakke

As most have heard, in the coming days Special Olympics and ESPN, along with a host of special guests and dignitaries, will be converging on Fife High School to celebrate us being recognized as a Top 5 National Banner Unified Champion School. We, essentially, are being recognized for being an inclusive school. I believe wholeheartedly that we are a great choice for this award. In my opinion, FHS can indeed be characterized as an inclusive school. It makes me so proud of our staff and students to see daily expressions of kindness, acceptance, respect, and empathy. The Fife community truly should be proud.

Make no mistake about it, however, we are not perfect. It's humbling to be recognized for inclusiveness because we know that some students are still struggling to feel included. In fact, as soon as this award was announced, I received a few emails saying just that. This was not a surprise to me, and I was glad some students reached out. Making friends can be hard, and it truly saddens me when I see people struggle to connect.

I’ve been stressing to our students these past weeks that we are not being recognized for being perfect, but as Special Olympics puts it, “for being on the right track.” What a great way of putting it! We HAVE to be on that mission to try and reach every student-- to never be satisfied. Simply put, we have to earn this “Top 5” award every day by our never-ceasing pursuit of inclusiveness. When we do that, we will continue to “earn it” every day. We will be able to look at the banner hanging on the wall and know it’s not something we did once.

The challenge being offered to our staff and students is don’t underestimate the impact you can have. I am a firm believer in the amazing law of influence; you might have heard me talk about it before: One life touches another, potentially both lives are changed. One life touches another, potentially the whole world can change. It starts with one hand shake, one time moving to a different table at lunch to sit with someone who is alone, one time going out of your way to start up a conversation, one time making yourself vulnerable… that one time can change a life.

Get ‘em Fife. Let’s earn this!

We are thrilled to be hosting Special Olympics folks from around the country; Hall of Famer and former Sonics Coach PJ Carlesimo from ESPN is co-hosting the event, Governor Inslee is scheduled to appear, and host of other special guests and media, all coming for our Unified National Banner Celebration It is going to be a fun day of celebration, but unfortunately the event is NOT open to our greater Fife community and families. We simply don't have the space.

However, you can watch it live! How? go to www.nfhsnetwork.com and search for "Fife"!

We are asking students who drive to consider a car pool that day to help us with space! Thank you!

In one of the more unique school traditions in our country, Cabbage Patch 2020 didn't disappoint. Thank you to our students for doing a great job showing their Trojan and class pride, for competing hard, and for handling the entire event with class and respect.

Unfortunately Fife HS has a limited amount of parking passes available for students. They go on sale during Trojan Days, and once they sell out we can no longer offer parking. This is not a unique problem to Fife, but one that is frustrating for sure. This year we will be able to create some additional spots in February. In an effort to provide students with equal opportunity to get a parking spots, we will be implementing a raffle drawing for anyone who submits their request for a spot. Eligible students must have a drivers licence or have obtained a drivers licence before May. We will begin taking names of interested students in January with the drawing to be held soon after... so be listening for updates on this as the new year approaches.

Trojan Football Fans!

We have made some changes to our security and seating procedures to make the fan experience the best it can be at Fife High School. We have very limited seating capacity in our stadium, and these changes are being implemented to help us ensure equity in our fan's viewing experience.

• Bleacher Blankets. Effective immediately we will no longer allow for students, fans and families to tape down blankets to reserve seats. This practice has created some frustration and potential conflicts in the stands. Starting with the 9/20 home game, there will be designated sections for students, coaches, etc., but all other seating will be first come first serve beginning at 5:30pm when the gates open. All blankets that have been put down in the stadium to "save" seats prior to the gates opening will be removed. In addition, the stadium will be cleared prior to tickets being sold.

• With a heightened awareness on safety and security we are no longer allowing re-entry to Football home games for students, parents and friends. Once you enter the stadium you will not be allowed back in if you leave the gates.

• Surprise Lake Middle School students' ASB's will no longer be accepted for free admission for Fife High School events. The cost for middle school students is $4. This policy is consistent with all the schools in our league.
  

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Finally our online Webstore is available! You can make purchases and pay fees/fines for your student at your convenience. Click the link below to access the Webstore.

https://wa-fife.intouchreceipting.com/

Want to catch up on some past Principal's Messages from Mr. Bakke? Follow this Link...