Eagle Sightings December
Holly Wehner, Principal
Dear Eagle Families and Caregivers,
At school this month our character trait is empathy. In September, October, and November, we have focused on respect, gratitude, and responsibility. Even though we have moved on to a new trait, these are all important in our daily lives. Please ask your child why these traits are important to them. This past Thursday, fifth graders planned and performed a fun whole school assembly to kick off our month of empathy. Ask your student about the Empathy Detective song or the Empathy Game.
Along with our character trait of the month, students continue to demonstrate S.O.A.R. (Safe, On-task, Accountable, and Respectful) behaviors daily. Every Friday a student name from each grade level is drawn from the S.O.A.R. awards that have been earned schoolwide that week. Students whose names are chosen, come to the office to pick a prize, and their name goes up on the Wall of Fame in the hallway. In addition to S.O.A.R. awards, we also have a sportsmanship award for a class that has shown the best sportsmanship for the week throughout activities in their school days. They are presented with the School Sportsmanship Trophy and get to keep it in their classroom for the week. It has been so much fun working with Mrs. Levasheff to present classes with a trophy and a song. They are so proud!
Wonderful things continue in the FHES world of Instruction! I feel very lucky to be in a position where I can regularly visit classrooms and see teachers providing engaging opportunities for learning in classrooms full of consistency, encouragement, challenge, positive support, and fun. This year our literacy goal on our school improvement plan is in writing. We have ongoing professional development and collaboration time to continue to work on our K-5 writing alignment, improving instructional practice in new ways. The growth students have already made in writing this year is impressive! FHES teachers continue to make me feel extremely proud to be part of this team!
Have a lovely December, and I wish you a safe and Happy Holidays!
With appreciation,
Holly Wehner
➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️Electronic Devices at School⬅️⬅️⬅️⬅️⬅️
Please remind your child/ren about the following school policies:
- Personal electronic devices are not to be used at school. If a CELL PHONE OR SMARTWATCH is brought to school for afterschool use it must remain in the student’s backpack until the end of the school day.
- No texting or calling during school hours from student devices.
- All communication to or from home must go through the school office.
Growing Readers and Writers
High-frequency words are words that appear most often in printed text. FHES teachers refer to these words as: “snap words” (we want to know them in a snap), “trick words” (they can be tricky, and often don’t follow rules that can be sounded out), “sight words” (we want to know them by sight), “word wall words”, etc. Readers work hard to recognize these words with automaticity, not needing to “sound them out”. Reading research tells us that when these words are instantly recognized, our brains can apply effort to the other words of the text and the short term memory can focus on comprehension of what is going on in the story. There are varying lists for these high-frequency words (e.g. the Dolch List, the Fry List).
Click here to see a list of 109 Power Words! These words have a lot of “power” for beginning readers as they comprise 50% of the words found in children’s texts. The first 13 words represent power little words that make up 25% of the words in children’s texts. Ensuring that your reader knows all of these words can be very beneficial for their reading success!
▪️ December 2023 ▪️
12/3 Sunday: Online Ordering Ends for Sweatshirt/T-shirts
12/11 Monday: PTO Meeting 5:30 pm FHES Library
12/12 Tuesday: Lost and Found on Display
12/14 Thursday: 11:20a-12:20p Zoom Lunch with the Principal
12/15 Friday: PTO Popcorn Day; afternoon recess
12/15 Friday: PTO Movie Night-Happy Feet 6:30 PM FHES Cafeteria
12/18-1/1: No School-Winter Break, See you on Tuesday, January 2, 2024!
Staff Highlights!
Introducing one of our 5th Grade Teachers, and one of our 4th Grade Teachers!
Rotary Dictionary Project
Thank you to The Rotary Club of the San Juan Islands! Find a fun article about the distribution to FHES 3rd-5th graders on the San Juan Islander
3rd Grade
4th Grade
FHES Swag!
The online store is now open to order a FHES sweatshirt or t-shirt!
Please follow the link here, the store will be open through 12/3/2023.
Lost and Found
Lost and Found will be displayed on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 12, 2023. Please come find your student's missing hats, jackets, water bottles, lunch boxes, pants, or shirts!
Popcorn Day!
Friday, December 15 afternoon recess: Free
No School for Winter Break
No School 12/18-1/1
See you on Tuesday 1/2/2024!
PTO Movie night!
6:30 pm in the FHES Cafeteria.
*Please check your student's food account balance*
Your help is needed to keep our program running! Due to State Auditor Mandate, please maintain a POSITIVE lunch balance at all times. We have made this more manageable by providing online credit card payment and account maintenance though Skyward Family and Student Access. You can opt in for low balance email notifications as well as make instant online payments. Of course, payments can also be made in the school office with cash or check before lunch.
ATTENDANCE COUNTS
If your child has to miss a day of class, please remember to excuse the absence by emailing jeannarheinberger@sjisd.org or calling 360-378-5209.
Thank you!
We are collecting King's receipts! Thank you for saving your receipts and supporting our school!
Receipts can be turned in at the office.
PTO Meetings
Upcoming Meetings:
December 11, 2024
January 8, 2024
Elementary School Library at 5:30 pm
Employment Opportunity!
Share your knowledge and get involved. Bus drivers, custodians, lunch servers, paraeducaters, secretaries, teachers; we need substitutes from the community in all areas!
You can set your days of availability, pick the teachers you like to sub for, and review assignments before accepting. Take a look at the district website or stop by 285 Blair Ave for more information on becoming a substitute for the San Juan Island School District.
❄️Emergency Weather Information❄️
Media Links for "Snow Days" Emergency announcements will be posted on district websites, Facebook accounts, sent out via ParentLink and broadcast before school on the stations listed below. If school must be closed mid-day, this will also be announced on these stations and students will be sent home by their usual mode of transportation.
Emergency weather information affecting Bus Routes and times are provided in this link.
Radio:
- KISM - 92.9 FM Bellingham
- KLKI - 1340 AM Anacortes
- KOMO - 1000 AM Seattle
- KAFE - 104.3 FM Bellingham
- KGMI - 790 AM - Bellingham
TV:
- KOMO TV 4 - Seattle
- KING TV 5-Seattle
- KVOS TV 12-Bellingham
Online Newspapers:
Community Connections
Wondering about local groups and businesses that offer youth activities and/or support? San Juan Island School District has them posted on our Community Partners page.
Friday Harbor Elementary School
Email: roslynbutcher@sjisd.org
Website: sjisd.wednet.edu
Location: 95 Grover Street, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
Phone: 360.378.5209