April Principal Newsletter 2012

8/2/2019 April Principal Newsletter 2012

1/7

April 2012 Friday Harbor Elementary Principal

Soaring to Excellence 95 Grover Street PO Box 458 Connie MartinFriday Harbor, WA 98250 360-378-5209

April 9-13th Spring Break!

April 16- 20 Lice Checks

April 20th - Mr. San Juan

Fundraiser - Cancelled

April 25th - 6th Grade Marine

Expert Day

April 24th - Early Dismissal Day

April 24th Living Lesson #1

April 25th School Board

Meeting

April 26th - Class Pictures April 27thBe your Dream Day

April 30th Reptile Man

Assembly 1:45pm

April 30th Reptile Man EveningEvent 6:30pm

Dear Families,

Happy Spring to all you! I imagine you are excited for spring break. I

know I am. I have no special plans for the break, but I look forward to

spending some time with my family and relaxing at home. I hope to

get out on our boat a little and enjoy the beautiful San Juan Islands.

As you may have heard by now I will be returning next year. The

school board asked me to stay for another year, and I gladly

accepted. I am enjoying my work here at Friday Harbor Elementary

very much. I am getting to know the kids better and better each day

which makes me a more effective leader. It takes a while to build

trusting relationships, and when it happens a principals effectiveness

is increased.

The staff and I have accomplished a great deal this year as we have

learned to work together. One of the projects that helped with

strengthening our staff was the work we put into our School

Improvement Plan (SIP). It is a requirement that Washington State

schools develop or revise a SIP each school year. With my being newto FHES, the staff and I decided to develop a new SIP that will give us

a unified vision and a clear path to success for our students. Our SIP

focuses on four areas: Math, Reading, Writing and a Supportive

Learning Environment. In each of these areas we established a goal,

developed actions that will occur to meet the goal, decided on

specific steps that will take place, designated who will be responsible

for the work, the resources we will use, and how we will measure

whether we have accomplished our goal. The SIP was presented by

the SIP team and approved by the school board on March 28 th. We

are proud of the work we have done on this plan and would love to

receive your input. The plancan be viewed at

www.sjisd.wednet.edu/Page/1042. Feel free to email me at

[email protected] .

As you read through this newsletter youll see that we have many fun

activities coming up. Our wonderful PTA has put together a new fund

raiser this year called Works Of HeART. This event will happen in

May and will be held at the Mullis Center. You will have an

opportunity to purchase local art and to help support our Art

program for next year. See page 5 of this newsletter for more

information.

Have a wonderful safe and restful S rin Break!! ~Connie
http://www.sjisd.wednet.edu/Page/1042http://www.sjisd.wednet.edu/Page/1042mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.sjisd.wednet.edu/Page/1042


2/7

Finally.4th Grade Salmon

Release! Did you see us on KOMO News??

Artists Visit our Classrooms!

Avery explains the steps on Talula and mom are ready to draw!

how to draw your favorite pet

So Much Happening at FHES!!

FHES Spring Art Enrichment Program Off to a Great Start.

Discovering the mysteries of nature through hands on explorations of materials nurtures curiosity and

enriches thinking in the developing mind. This kind of learning experience has been addressed nationally in

the newly designed state education standards. Thanks to donations from the Washington State Arts

Commission, Island Museum of Art, San Juan Island Community Foundation, and Friday Harbor Elementary

PTA, a new art enrichment program is underway at FHES. Student in grades K, 1, 2, 3, and 4 will explore the

arts in a six week art enrichment program taught by 5 talented artists from the island community. Annie

Adams is working with first and second graders on designing their own collage book of island wildlife. Ms.

Pasik, 1st and 2ndgrade teacher, said, Annie showed the students a book she had made as a child and then

really knew how to inspire their imaginations with special colorful papers. The creativity she brings out in

these kids is totally amazing in their torn paper foxes, turtles, eagles, butterflies, and deer. Additional

teaching artists included in the Spring Enrichment Program are Avery Adams (K) Jennifer Armstrong (2nd

) Amy

Plant (1st

) and Dan Lobue (4th

). Student artwork will be exhibited May 29-June 10 in Friday Harbor Elementary

School.

For questions contact Leisha [email protected] Art Enrichment Coordinator
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


3/7

Math Tips of the Month

Spend time with kids on simple board games, puzzles, and activities that encourage bettercount attitudes and strong mathematical skills. Even everyday activities such as play with

toys in a sandbox or in a tub at bath time can teach children mathematic concepts such as

weight, density, and volume. Check your television listings for shows that reinforce

mathematics skills in a practical and fun way.

A fun site to visit: www.coolmath.com

Reading tips of the monthBrought to you bywww.ReadingRockets.org

Write a fan letter. If your child has a favorite author, help your child write a

letter to send to the publisherwholl send it along.

Start a book club. If your child likes structure and doing everything with friends,

consider joining or starting a parent/child book club.

Another fun site to visit:www.vocabulary.com

Friday Harbor Elementary Garden Project

Thank you all for coming out to help get our garden started!!

Vicki Hebert Keegan Hebert

Meghan Hoffman Tori Zehner Scott Zehner

Maggie Zehner Ben Zehner Charlie Zehner

Donna Dyer Tanja Williamson Jasper Williamson

Val Curtis Laurie Paul

Thank you FHES gardeners.or all your hard work!!
http://www.coolmath.com/http://www.coolmath.com/http://www.readingrockets.org/http://www.readingrockets.org/http://www.vocabulary.com/http://www.vocabulary.com/http://www.vocabulary.com/http://www.vocabulary.com/http://www.readingrockets.org/http://www.coolmath.com/


4/7

Golden Eagle Feathers

winners for the month

of March!

Abril Ignacio

Fallon Taylor

Yaritza Plaza

Chelsey Campbell

Hank Erickson

Jordyn McCutcheon

Clarissa Felix

Congratulations all Golden

Eagle Feather Winners!

FHES hits their goal of 500!!

Heading to the food bank!!


5/7

Getting a much needed roof.thanks to YOU!

Due to your generosity, our school will have

some much needed repairs over Spring Break

and in the summer months. Soon we will have

our heat pumps replaced, a new air flow system,

and, if all goes well this summer, a new roof over

our heads. I think we need it dont you??

The Trails Passport Adventure Continues.Dont miss the fun!

Sat. April 28, 2012, 1-4:00pm. Meet Doug McCutcheon, Land Stewardfor the San Juan County Land Bank, and Boyd Pratt, local historianand author. "They clear-cut all the forests to feed the lime kilns...or did they?" Learnhistory, mystery, and myths about the lime mining and production on San JuanIsland and how our unique natural history played an important role in its success.Meet and park at Lime Kiln State Park. Length is 1.5 mi. RT. Terrain is wooded trail.Rating is easy-to-moderate. Dogs on leashes welcome.

Works of HeART:

Calling all artists: seeking works of 'heart' for elementary school art

Parents and teachers hope to enlist the help of local artists to bring art classes back to Friday Harbor

Elementary School for the next school year.

To off-set budget cuts, the elementary school PTA will host a fundraiser May 18th, the Work of HeART Event,

and seeks contributions from local artists for a silent auction on the evening of the event.

With a written description of its intent, art work of any medium will be accepted. A heart must be included

within the frame of the work. Contributors will be paid a percentage of the purchase price that each work of artearns at the fundraiser.

To contribute, submit your name, phone number, email address, medium and photo of a work of art or previous

works [email protected] Deadline to apply is May 1st.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


6/7

MSP is coming in MAY

Washington State Public Education:

Washington has academic standards and tests that measure whether students meet them. The tests

are given every spring to students in grades 3-8 and in 10th grade of high school. Students in grades3-8 take the Measurements of Student Progress (MSP). The state tests not only help schools assess

how well they are teaching our state learning standards, but they also help identify strengths and

weaknesses of our students so they can receive extra assistance if needed.

If your child's state testing scores show that he or she isn't meeting the state's academic standards,

you should ask the school to provide extra help and be sure your student understands what he or

she needs to do to improve. You should also take into account your child's entire academic record

when looking at the achievement level.

The Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) is the states exam for students in grades 3-8. The

MSP name conveys the goal of the test: to measure student progress. State testing should never bethe sole judge of a students academic skills and knowledge. A students entire performance should

always be considered.

The MSP reading, math and science exams take one day. The writing exam takes two days. The MSP

is also available in an online format. In spring 2012, grade 3 will be added.

Below is our schedule for the MSP in May. Be sure your children are rested, well fed, on time and

ready to learn. All assessments, except writing will be done online this year.

3rd Grade May 3 Reading May 10th Math

4th Grade May 4th Reading May 8th Math May 19th Writing

5th Grade May 15th Reading May 17th Math May 22nd Science

6th Grade May 2nd Reading May 16th Math

Here is a link that you might find helpful.

English: http://www.k12.wa.us/Parents/default.aspx

Espanol:http://www.k12.wa.us/Parents/Espanol/default.aspx
http://www.k12.wa.us/Parents/default.aspxhttp://www.k12.wa.us/Parents/default.aspxhttp://www.k12.wa.us/Parents/Espanol/default.aspxhttp://www.k12.wa.us/Parents/Espanol/default.aspxhttp://www.k12.wa.us/Parents/Espanol/default.aspxhttp://www.k12.wa.us/Parents/Espanol/default.aspxhttp://www.k12.wa.us/Parents/default.aspx


7/7

Documents

April Principal Newsletter 2012