Dear South Whidbey,
Many thanks to those of you who contributed to the Growing Our Potential Campaign through the South Whidbey Schools Foundation (SWSF) this past spring! We truly appreciate your generous support of our schools, and firmly believe that these funds have already made an important difference in the lives of our kids.
The money we raised together has been used to implement three important programs.
The first is our Music Program, which will see our K-4 students doing everything from playing marimba or ukulele to singing songs from the Sound of Music or The Greatest Showman, depending on grade level. These classes–instructed primarily by professional musicians from South Whidbey– began in late October, and will culminate in a Community & Family Winter Concert on Thursday, December 19th at 6 pm. Please save the date–we hope you will attend!
The next is a robust Community and Parent Volunteer Program, helmed by our new and wonderful Volunteer Coordinator, Brooke Cornwell (whom some of you may know from her continued efforts as founder and primary dynamo behind Go Blue). Brooke has been busy creating partnerships with community organizations and individuals, parents, grandparents, and other relatives, to bring more and more support into our schools. Her own parents have even become regular fixtures in SWES classrooms!
Lastly, Growing our Potential funds help to support an Environmental and Sustainability Program for our K-8 students. A No Child Left Inside State Grant also supports a piece of this program, specifically for middle school girls. Environmental and Sustainability Coordinator Lori O’Brien has been hard at work bringing educators from the Orca Network in to our schools to educate all K-8 students about orca whales, coordinating opportunities for older students to spend time on a scientific research vessel with Salish Sea Expeditions or aboard the historic tall ship the Lady Washington, and connecting with the local Audubon Society to enhance the First Graders’ annual owl studies. Lori is also in the process of forming SWSD green teams that will focus on reducing waste and composting throughout the district.
We hope that these enrichment opportunities will continue to grow into the near and distant future with the support of parents and community partners, but they are currently funded just through this first semester. We ask for your continued support, and would be thrilled to see you all at our upcoming FUNdraiser…A pajama-clad morning screening of Sing at The Clyde Theatre on Saturday, November 9 at 10:30 am.
For more information about Growing Our Potential, please like the South Whidbey Schools Foundation’s Facebook page.
Sincerely,
Sara Kelly and Katie Shapiro
Growing Our Potential Co-Chairs
