District Wide Newsletter
End of the School Year
June 2019 Congratulations South Whidbey High School Class of 2019!!!
Falcons SWHS and SWA Grades 9-12
South Whidbey High School is celebrating their seniors this week!
June 4 Senior Scholarship Night (7pm)
June 6 Senior Farewell Assembly
June 7 Senior Parade and SWA Graduation (3:30pm)
June 8th SWHS Graduation (Noon)

Falcons finish the year with Epic Spring Season of Athletics! The mighty Falcons flew to five league titles, including Conference Championships in Boys Soccer, Girls Tennis, Boys Golf, Girls Golf, and Boys Track. The sports season concluded on Saturday, May 25 th  with the boys track team earning a 2 nd  place team finish at the State meet held in Cheney. This is the highest finish since 2004! The Falcons were led by an amazing double from Callahan Yale, who finished 2 nd  in the 1600 meters, and was a State Champion in the 800 meters! Other notable highlights include boys soccer Michael Lux setting the boys soccer school record in goals scored and Emma Leggett claiming the individual conference championship in girls golf. Falcon Pride!!
The Big Blue can hardly wait until next year!
Fall turnouts start in August: HS Football-August 21 st
HS XC, Volleyball, B. Tennis, G. Soccer—August 26 th


SWA had a busy year with 12 of our students graduating on June 7th. Lots of thanks to SWSF for the grant so our students could experience 2 off island excursions. We sadly say goodbye to Kristen Nelson, we will miss her! 

Save the Date Class of 2023! There will be a new freshman orientation on August 27, 2019 from 11am - 1pm. Check out the flyer linked here.


Cougars SW Middle School
June is full of adventure for the 7th and 8th Graders at South Whidbey!

Forty-nine 8th graders embarked on a week long Washington Coastal backpacking trip. See more of there hike linked here.

Another twenty-seven students embarked on a Salish Sea sailing adventure.

The remaining 8th grade students headed to Camp Casey where there were involved in a number of activities for the day. These activities revolved around academic ideas and social emotional learning. Students spent the night in gender specific barracks and were involved in activities the next morning.

Both 7th and 8th grade classes will celebrate the end of the year with fun at Deer Lake.

For the mighty Cougars, all turnouts start on September 9 th,   including Football, XC, and Volleyball. This is later than usual, in an effort to allow and encourage even more participation! Jump in and feel the Cougar Roar!  .

Sign up to help out with the 8th grade party on June 13th.

South Whidbey Elementary School Grades K-6
What a wonderful year it has been for grades K-6! 

Here’s a quick recap of some of the highlights from our year – as well as some updates for next year! 

Field Trips: Grades K-6 are traveling all over in person and having hands on experiences creating memories to last a life time. These include the Island County Historical Society Museum and Langley Museum (4th), Deception Pass (2nd), Woodland Park Zoo (3rd), Meerkerk Park (2nd), Camp Casey (1st), Castle Park (K) and the Outdoor Classroom for all.

SWEPTA / Parent Support:  We have been incredibly fortunate to have the amazing support of our SWEPTA team and our parents! They provided so many amazing opportunities for our students – our Fall Harvest party, amazing treats for our staff (especially during teacher appreciation week!!) fabulous snacks for our kids during testing – the list goes on and on! Special shout out to Cailyn Murray and Kymy Johnson – who never fail to be there for us!

Academic Programs:  Our teachers implemented our new Ready Math curriculum this year and worked hard to help support our students as we moved forward! In addition to their day to day stellar work in their own classrooms, teachers also worked together to develop school wide programs to support student learning. This year’s schoolwide programs included a focus on keyboarding skills and intensive writing focus programs across the curriculum.

Environmental Education:  Our teachers provided a range of environmentally focused learning projects for our students this year. Programs included the Salish Sea Expedition marine science sailing program, expeditions to the Seattle Aquarium, Outdoor classroom, Friday Harbor Whale Museum, Earth Day programs with local community non-profit organizations, whale watching aboard the vessel PS, the salmon adventure program with Whidbey Watershed Stewards and of course – ongoing experiences in our amazing school farm!! Each of these programs helped our students to learn more about our local environment and ways that they can make a difference for this beautiful place we are fortunate to call home!

Service-Learning programs:  Service-learning is an instructional strategy that provides opportunities for students to use their academic learning in real world ways that meet an authentic need in their community. Each of our 5th and 6th grade homerooms engaged in a service-learning project this year and students did amazing work! Projects included a mural painting project, developing our own south campus library, a student developed / run carnival (with all funds raised going to the Whidbey Homeless Coalition), projects to support students during testing, flower pots to beautify the campus, a classroom recycling program – and many more! 

New Programs: We implemented our Cougar Store this year, where the currency was Cougar bucks – earned by students for being caught living the “R.O.A.R” principles of Respect, Observing the Rules, Acting Responsibly and Be Ready to Learn. We also started our homework club this year every Tuesday and Friday, with the help of our amazing homework club team Cailyn Murray, Leslie Hensrude, Tiffany Buck, Nancy Hnat and Lisa Hunicutt. Another fun program was the implementation of our peer mentoring program – with approximately 20 of our students spending an hour a week tutoring kindergarten and 1 st grade students in math and reading. Four of our 6 th grade students were chosen as our first “self-manager” team – helping with wide range of projects around the school.

Looking Ahead!  Susie Richards will be taking on a new and exciting challenge next year, serving as principal of the K-4 elementary school – and Dr. Jeff Fankhauser will be serving as the 5-6 South Campus principal. They look forward to collaborating to help make our K-6 programs strong and cohesive.Have a fabulous, relaxing and fun filled summer. See you in September!

South Whidbey District Bands
Upcoming Dates:
June 1- SWMS Jazz Band SW Schools Foundation performance @Freeland Hall
June 1- SWHS Jazz Combo SWHS Art Exhibit @SWHS 4:00 pm.
June 8- SWHS Jazz Band performance @ SWHS graduation
June 12- SWHS Jazz Band performance @Bayview Street Dance
Come out and get some sunshine, some exercise, and go home with some fresh produce and a good feeling in your heart for helping . Every Thursday at 3pm. Once school is out we will move the time to 9-noon, still every Thursday. 


See these links for the latest and greatest from the School Farm!

Latest news on classes etc.

Frijole Friday

High on the list would be to publicize the Tuesday and Thursday work parties.
News from SWSD Human Resources:
New Staff to welcome! We are so glad to have you on board!  
  • Paraeducator - Deanna Dodge
  • Assistant Cook - Joseph Ricks
  • Bus Driver - Kristofer Hansen
  • Head Boys Basketball Coach for the High School - Greg Turcott
Interested in becoming a part of our South Whidbey School District Team? Are you a positive, energetic and kind person with a passion for helping children and young adults reach their potential? Do you love science? Do you love Football? I know some middle schoolers who need a coach! Now is your chance!  If you are interested in learning more about any position reach out to Amanda Fisher in HR at 360-221-6808 ext. 2222 or email  afisher@sw.wednet.edu . I look forward to hearing from you!
  • Teacher - Special Education - Behavior Support Classroom - Elementary School
  • Teacher - Biology and Math - Middle School/High School
  • Head Coach - Football - Middle School 
  • Assistant Coaches - Football - Middle School
  • Substitute Bus Drivers - Transportation is offering a Driver Training Class after the 4th of July!! 

South Whidbey Schools Foundation
A record year for funds donated to our local school district! The South Whidbey Schools Foundation is honored to have been able to grant over $40K towards education enhancement programs and grants, as well as funds to be used towards professional development for teachers this school year. Our annual Gala and auction, on June 1st, was a huge success with continued support enabling us to continue our good work. The Foundation plans to more closely collaborate with the District Admin team and the School Board to increase the potential impact for students. We will be updating our strategic plan to focus on current needs as well as looking into the future. Thank you for supporting our efforts as we strive for excellence in all we do! Easy ways you can support include Amazon Smile when you order - designate the Foundation to receive a donation just for shopping, you can make a one time gift on our website, consider planned estate giving, or adopt a grant! Thank you for your support!
Have a wonderful summer everyone!
SWSF
South Whidbey Community Center:

South Whidbey Community Center is full of life serving both the school district with enrichment programs and the community with enrichment, activities and services. Come visit the SWHS 60's display to see photographs and displays from the school district and Langley Archives Research Center.


SW Family Resource Center

 Happy Summer from the Family Resource Center!
We will be open this summer! Stop in to see us T, W, Th from 9 to 5. 
The Family Resource Center is located at the South Whidbey Community Center, for more than 10 years we have fostered better lives for kids and families by increasing access to fundamental services and supplies-free of charge. Stop in a see us to find out more!

We will once again be offering our Back to School program to ensure all children have the supplies they need when school starts in September. Our no-cost store for families facing financial barriers will be open at the end of August. Email  rtlfprograms@readinesstolearn.org  or call 360-221-6808 ext 4321 to find out how to schedule an appointment in August. 
SW Store Dates          Hours:  
Tues, Aug 20 Time: 10:00 - 2:00
Wed, Aug 21 Time: 12:00 - 4:00
Fri, Aug 23        Time: 10:00- 2:00
Sat, Aug 24       Time: 10:00 - 2:00
Mon. Aug 26     Time: 12:00- 4 
Tues, Aug. 27    Time: 12:00- 4:00
Thur., Aug 29 Time: 10:00- 2:00 
Fri, Aug 30    Time: 10-2


SWEPTA - K-6 PTA
We're looking forward to hosting the Orca/Cougar Night BBQ again this year! All items are only a dollar-including 6th grade "Pay it Forward" bake sale items, and treats from the school farm! The BBQ will be from 5:00 to 6:00-don't miss out! Besides yummy food and fellowship, the BBQ also serves as a time for members to vote for our 2019/2020 budget, our revised Standing Rules and to vote for the slate of officers for the next school year-we'll see you there!

Thank you for a tremendous year, have we said lately how proud we are to have received the 100% Staff Membership award from Washington State PTA? And that we earned the Platinum Award because of our high increase in membership. It’s all because of you! We love working in partnership with parents, families, teachers and staff to make school a place that kids and families LOVE!

We do have a few open positions for the 2019/20 Board of Directors and we’re looking for help! Our Executive Board is going to stay the same, but it’s never too soon to start identifying replacement leaders for those roles too. We promise to guide and support people, have fun and work together! Your are always welcome to come check it out and see where you can make a difference! 

I highlighted the open positions, they can be done by two people.
Executive Board (pending approval by membership during the Orca/Cougar Night BBQ)
President-Cailyn Murray
Vice President-Amy Stamatiou
Treasurer-Kymy Johnson
Secretary-Jessica Kirmo

Board of Directors
Fundraising Chair-Kelsy Kruegar
Legislative Chair
Membership Chair
Volunteer Coordinator
Family Engagement Chair

If anyone is interested, or would like to find out more please have them get in touch with anyone on the current board-we’re all nice! My phone number is 360-632-7470, my email is  cailyn_m@hotmail.com , or people can message our SWEPTA Facebook page.

Thank you so much!
2018/2019 SWEPTA Executive Board

Have a safe, fun and restful summer!!! See you on September 3rd!