Dear LISD Families,

We've had quite a few groups of students out of the building on fieldwork this spring. Just this week, 4th graders were visiting Sucia Islands and 5th and 7th graders were at Islandwood on Bainbridge Island, and Sustainable Agriculture students visited Sunnyfield Farm. We have been reminded of the importance of taking students out into the field to give them opportunities to connect with the natural world and with each other, and we are filled with gratitude for the teachers, parents, and the Lopez Island Education Foundation for making this happen. We often see leadership abilities, expertise, engagement, and dispositional traits surface during fieldwork that are different from what we see within the walls of our school building. To observe this in our students is truly a gift.

With only 18 school days left in the calendar for K - 11th grade students and 13 school days for our Lopez seniors, we are definitely in the homestretch. In order to keep you informed of current events, we will be updating our list of events (below) each week and posting them in the community letter. Please make sure to put these important dates on your calendar. We hope you all are able to attend!

All our best,

Mary and Martha

• June 3: Field Day 1:30
• June 15: Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony 1:00
• June 16: 5th Grade graduation Ceremony (time to be determined)
• June 17: Last Day of School

• May 21: Prom for high school students, 8:00
  
• June 4: Middle School Dance, 7:00
• June 7: End of Year Awards 10:05-10:55 in the gym. Parents are invited to attend.
  
• June 7: Yearbook signing party: 1:10-2:00, hosted by LIPTSA
  
• June 10: MPPACT plays at Vita’s, 5:00-7:00
  
• June 11: Graduation, 2:00
  
• June 14: Performing Arts Night
  
• June 15: 8th grade graduation, 5:00-7:00
  
• June 17: Last Day of School

Please check the district website. It will be posted by Sunday May 22.

Congratulations to all students who made the Semester 1 Honor Roll with a 3.5-4.0 grade point average. Names were published this week in the Islands Weekly newspaper.

Order your 2022 LISD yearbook HERE. The yearbook committee has been working hard, and this year's YB is going to be amazing!

Please fill out the Parent Partner Intent Form for 2022-2023 if you anticipate your child doing Parent Partner classes next school year.

Check out these photos of parent partner projects in art, woodworking, and life skills!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wAS7houbgfr_HLhvJB6B3HlzEFvkifWN/edit

Students and their families are welcome and encouraged to participate in a very special occasion in our community on Sunday, May 22. On this day as many as 10 canoes of tribes from the Salish Sea, Oregon and Hawai’i will land on the shores of Lopez at Odlin Park as part of a week-long journey from Anacortes, through the San Juan Islands, and ending on Lummi Island.

This special event needs the help of volunteers who are prepared to step into the water (thigh deep!) to welcome and escort these canoes on to the land. As many as 4 - 6 persons per canoe (approximately 50 persons) are needed for this event. Following the landing of the canoes there will be a special ceremony that all can attend. Please note that anyone participating in this event must be fully vaccinated to protect the visiting elders.

We hope that you will consider being a part of this special event and ceremony to honor the tribes of this region and their ancestral heritage and customs. It is an educational opportunity for us all!

Further information on this special event can be found on Lopez Rocks:

https://lopezrocks.org/page.php?type=item&menu_type=calendar&offset=2022-05-16&return=11&item_handle=1650928064

For more information about the special meaning behind the Pacific Northwest Canoe Journey, please go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribal_Canoe_Journeys

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Jane Fuller - janebfuller2015@gmail.com.

The fourth grade had a fabulous adventure on Sucia Island. We did a lot of exploring and climbing around the island, checked out the site where the dinosaur bone, a theropod, was found and saw load of fossils, beach combed and braved a wind storm! We left dirty and tired but happy!

A negative Covid test is required for entrance to prom, and Covid home test kits were made available to students this week at school. Students can send a photo of their test to Nurse Hattman (khattman@lopezislandschool.org) or come to the dance early to do a Covid test. Most students purchased their prom tickets early but tickets are available at the door for $20.

The middle school track athletes have been working hard this season! We have 30 athletes on the team, many of them learning events for the first time. Last week, they braved hail, wind, and downpouring rain at their meet and the majority of them got PR's in their events! Their coaches, Emily and Isaac Berg, are incredibly proud of them and how committed they all are about improving as athletes.

The track team is competing in Prelims this week and qualifying athletes will go to Finals next week. Lopez competes against major area schools like Anacortes, La Conner, Mount Vernon, Burlington-Edison, Friday Harbor and Sedro-Wooley.

(This picture is of 9 of them after cheering on and celebrating Kylie, who won her 200m dash race - you can see they are all soaked but smiling after a long meet in the rain!)

LISD will be hosting a technology surplus sale on Monday, June 13 from 3:30-6:30 PM in the school's Library Media Center. Items available for purchase are a variety of Chromebooks, laptops, network equipment, and more. Please bring cash or check, credit cards will not be accepted. If you have questions or would like a spreadsheet of our surplus inventory, please reach out to jhammond@lopezislandschool.org.

Would you like to be more involved in our school? How about becoming more involved in Lopez Island's community? Making some money? Earning some paid time off or other benefits? We would LOVE to help with that and there are many different opportunities available for you at our school!

- Certificated Teacher Substitutes pay increased to $220 daily rate for the remainder of 2021-2022 schoolyear - Did you know that Washington offers an emergency substitute certificate, which does not require a teacher training program? Work days you are available and don't worry about having to take time off for days you aren't!

- Various Certificated Teachers starting 2022-23- Come get your island teach ON with US!!!! There are numerous certificated teaching positions open for the 2022-2023 school year at Lopez Island and even one at Decatur School. There are various schedules, hours and positions available in Elementary, Secondary, and Music. Now is your chance to help inspire, educate, enlighten and refine the future islander generation!! Most positions qualify for paid time off, retirement, and insurance benefits! Keep your eyes peeled and directed to our website for official postings soon to come.

- Cook/ Dishwasher- Help make and share all the FRESH, HEALTHY, and DEELICIOUS local foods with the children and staff of Lopez Island School! We are looking for some help in the fast-paced, fun and friendly kitchen at Lopez Island School from 8am - 2pm daily (with a 30 min break). The position starts at $18.53 an hour and qualifies for paid time off, retirement, and insurance benefits!

- 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. This position qualifies for paid time off, retirement, and insurance benefits!

- Certificated Teacher Substitutes - Did you know that Washington offers an emergency substitute certificate, which does not require a teacher training program? Work days you are available and don't worry about having to take time off for days you aren't!

- ParaEducators and ParaEducator Substitutes - Interested in working with students individually, in small groups, and/or in general classrooms and helping assist teachers in modifying student behavior? You can apply to become a ParaEducator with a regular schedule or else a ParaEducator sub for flexibility!

You can see full postings on our website! Just go to District Info and then to HR and Employment for more details.

Let me know if you are interested in any of these positions! I am at school 11-4 daily and available at 360-468-2202 extension 2303 or hr@lopezislandschool.org to help see if there is a good fit here for you!

Thank you and I look forward to working with you (in whatever capacity),

Summer Hagge

Human Resources Specialist

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: 96 School Road, Lopez Island, WA, USA
Phone: 360-468-2202