LISD School Newsletter

Hello LISD Families.

A belated welcome back from spring break to everyone! The next two months of school are filled with trips, celebrations, performances, presentations, and ceremonies. It's busy for sure, but also my favorite time of year in many ways. Like the natural world, our school community is blooming and vibrant this time of year.

We hope you'll join us for our Elementary Celebration of Learning tomorrow evening at 5:00. Everyone is invited to come see what our elementary students have been learning and creating!

I appreciate everyone who completed the paper or electronic survey for student-led conferences. The teachers and I met on Tuesday to talk about the overall experience from preparation to presentation, review your feedback and student feedback, and make plans for next fall. Based on the survey data and comments, most families enjoyed the experience of listening to their child present their work and talk about their school experience. One theme that emerged is that families want more teacher perspective on their child's progress in school, so we are considering ways to balance student experience and presentation with achievement data and teacher provided information.

Thank you SO much for your help when we had to dismiss students mid-morning last Tuesday due to the power outage. It is always tricky to cancel school once students are already in the building, but LISD staff and families were so cooperative, calm, and responsive. Way to go, Lobo community! We understand that families left phone messages, but we were unable to use our phone system to retrieve them. We'll be discussing this in our next safety committee meeting.

Have a great week!

All my best,

Martha

• April 21: Elementary Celebration of Learning, 5 pm
• April 22: School Board Meeting, 6 pm LMC
• April 23: Kindergarten Info Night, MPR, 5:30 pm
• April 27: NO SCHOOL - Balanced Calendar Day
• April 28: Home Golf Match - Lopez Island Golf Course, 3 pm
• May 2: School Work Party, 10 am - 4 pm
• May 2: Prom - Woodman Hall, 9 pm - Midnight
• May 8: MS Dance, 8 pm to 10 pm, MS Commons
• May 9: LIFE Program Annual Plant Sale, MPR, 10 am - 1 pm

The Elementary staff and students have been working hard at planning a Celebration of Learning this Tuesday, from 5:00-6:00. Projects and student work will be displayed in every classroom so we encourage you to visit each elementary classroom. Please come and invite your friends, neighbors, and extended family members!

If you have a little one who will be 5 years old by September 1, come find out about LISD's Kindergarten program on April 23. Please share this info with any families that you know who have young children. Spanish interpretation will be available.

The library has had a great year, and it's not over yet! Each elementary class participates in read aloud on a weekly basis, with many of the books read over a few months. The 6th graders just finished "How to Stay Invisible" by Maggie Rudd; the 4/5th graders are currently listening to "Count Me In" by Varsha Bajaj, 2/3rd graders have listened to "The Wild Robot" and are now enjoying the classic, "Because of Winn-Dixie". The 1st graders totally approved of "Toys Go Out" and are now enjoying the second book of "My Father's Dragon".

During Enrichment, upper elementary students alternate weeks between Typing Club and Digital Citizenship lessons developed by Common Sense Media. During this time, discussions are lively and relevant, as the topics of online behavior, digital privacy and media balance bring out many opinions. Common Sense Media's materials are presented by grade, so the content is appropriate to the student's level.

A sincere thank you to our very own Lopez Island Library. They have made their wonderful collection available to our school library, students and staff. We have checked out 234 books since the school year began! Speaking of numbers, our students have checked out 2,646 books from our school library! This is wonderful news. Keep on reading!

Space is limited - register here.

Come out to the library for an unforgettable afternoon of illusion and discovery. Participants ages 7 and up will learn a magic trick they can perform themselves, dive into the magic of the Italian Renaissance, and then discover the secret to the biggest magic trick of all; how to take your own ideas and make them a reality. Inspired by the ingenuity of Leonardo da Vinci, this hands-on workshop is both incredibly fun and a game-changing life lesson in self-actualization. Led by performer and artist, Phina Pipia, participants will come away laughing, energized, and with the power to unlock their own creative potential.

Please come give an hour or two at the school on May 2. Lots of jobs, all help is appreciated.

This year's annual plant sale has quite the variety! We have an excellent selection of warm season crops, PNW favorites like kale and collards, along with flowers, herbs, bare root trees and berries and houseplants! The popular raffle will be back again with great prizes including some rare plants, a bee hive set up and more!

Youth crew members work closely with program staff, conservation professionals, and partner education programs on stewardship/restoration projects, inquiry-based experiential outdoor education, and professional development.

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The program provides a range of skills and knowledge for crew members that includes weekly educational themes during the summer program:

• Team building & anti-bullying (training week)

• Sense of place

• Wilderness skills

• Land management ethics

• Marine ecosystems & nearshore environments

• Endangered species preservation

• Forest health & fire ecology

• Art & environmental awareness ​

For more information, contact YCC program coordinator Mike Rosekrans.​​​​​

What is one of your favorite memories from school? Going to state for basketball this year. Even though we had to travel really far, I still enjoyed it.

What are your plans after high school, and what are you most excited about? I’ve been accepted to a lot of colleges. My plan is to be a vet tech. I think I will either go to Bellingham Tech and then transfer to WSU or just go straight to WSU.

What do you hope your life will be like in 10 years? I want to have my vet tech certification. I’ve thought about moving off island and working at a vet clinic or staying on Lopez and working in the San Juans. Another thing I’m thinking about is getting trained as a farrier for horses. I do want to have my own piece of property and be financially comfortable. I hope to also do some traveling to rodeos with my horse and do some barrel racing.

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your freshman self? Get your assignments done on time and don’t wait until the last minute to do them, especially at the end of a grading period.

What is the most meaningful assignment or project given to you by a teacher? In 10th grade, Mr. Carter gave us an autobiography assignment. I wrote about how my brothers shaped me into a strong person. They were there for me when I needed them, always making me smile or laugh.

What is a favorite book, movie, song, or show that tells us something about you? There is a song by Zach Bryan called Fear and Fridays (the poem version) that represents me. It’s about not fearing things and how there are small groups of people you can stick close to.

Who or what inspires you? My parents. I’ve seen them work really hard to run a business since I was very young. Between that and watching me play sports and finding time to spend as a family, their work ethic is inspiring to me.

When you’re not in school or working, how do you like to spend your free time? 4H, volleyball, and basketball. I hang out with my friends a lot. In the fall, I liked to go to Lynden and watch football games with one of my friends. I also love being on a boat, crabbing and fishing.

In what ways do you feel you have had an impact on your community? I think I’ve made an impact by having strong leadership skills, especially in 4H. I really try to support others.

In what ways do you want to have a positive impact on the world in the future? I want to be able to still be a strong leader and to help people. As a vet tech, I’ll need to support the vet I”m working with and the people who own the animals.

What else do you think people should know about you? A lot of people know I have horses, but I also really like helping my brother with his cows. I want to travel to Mexico and the Bahamas.

What is one of your favorite memories from school? Hanging out with my friend, Luke, who graduated two years ago. When I first met him, it was outside on one of the memorial benches at recess. When we hung out, we talked and we worked on a coding site.

What are your plans after high school, and what are you most excited about? My plans are to find a job. I don’t have an exact idea of what I want to do. I just want to find something I’m happy with. I have a friend who works at the state park, and I was thinking it would be cool to do a job like that. I want a job where it feels like I’m making progress towards something.

What do you hope your life will be like in 10 years? Hopefully, I’ll have a stable routine that I do every day or every week.

What is the most meaningful assignment or project given to you by a teacher? Building stuff in woodshop class. We built an arch for the Rishi center. It was fun working with other people, using all the tools, and making something.

What is a favorite book, movie, song, or show that tells us something about you? I really like comics and maybe they say something about my sense of humor.

Who or what inspires you? I’ve always been inspired by any time of video editing….mostly cool stuff like actually editing and effects, not just putting text on a screen. It’s hard to explain, but I feel that it’s a type of art. People who edit each have their own style, and it’s inspiring because it makes me want to do stuff like that.

When you’re not in school or working, how do you like to spend your free time? I spend a lot of time playing video games and hanging out with my cat, Nernal. I love her so much.

In what ways do you feel you have had an impact on your community? I’ve done a bunch of volunteer work. I’ve done stuff with state parks, Youth Conservation Corps, and the Family Resource Center summer camp (that one was a job).

What else do you think people should know about you? I’m taller than you, I really really like cats, and I’m autistic.

Brady Smith, Superintendent

Martha Martin, K-12 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, and Title IX Coordinator Sarah Rucker; Section 504, Mary Fordham. OR contact by phone, 360-468-2202, OR mail to 86 School Rd, Lopez Island, WA 98261.