Island Guardian

Thursday, January 24th

Bullying, & What You Can Do About It

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A Community Meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 29th at 6:00 p.m. at the Friday Harbor Elementary School will be devoted to “Keeping the Peace, a discussion on bullying”

Childcare will be provided and light refreshments will be served. SJI Prevention Coalition is sponsoring the event, and have extended an invitation to come to the meeting and discuss how the community can provide a more positive environment for our kids, at home, in school and in our community at large. Dr. Fishaut as school physician and local pediatrician will help facilitate the meeting. Jody Metzger, Principal is also involved in the meeting.

For the child that is bullied, there can be additional consequences beyond the expected ones of, for example, the child not wanting to go to school, or when at school being distracted and inattentive due to anxiety and fear of being bullied. For some, the reaction to being bullied, can result in overly defensively aggressive responses, and a child may then become aggressive in inappropriate situations; or even become a bully themselves.

Following are some facts about bullying, which lay out some of the negative consequences of being a bully, but it is also important to understand the negative impacts on a child who is the subject of being bullied.

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Monday, January 7th

Friday Harbor S-p-e-l-l-i-n-g Bee Winners

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( 2008 spelling bee winners:Fiona Small, finalist, Michael Barsamian, 1st Place winner -Mary Kalbert photo)

The 2008 Friday Harbor Spelling Bee was held at the San Juan Community Theatre on Tuesday, January 15, at 3:30 p.m. (Read related Mary Kalbert Column)

The annual contest is sponsored by the Rotary Club of the San Juan Islands, and features 4th through 8th grade classroom champions from local schools, including Friday Harbor Elementary School, Friday Harbor Middle School, Paideia Classical School, and Spring Street International School.

This year, the 1st place winner received a personal award of $75, an award to their classroom literacy program of $150, and an award to their school literacy program of $300. The second place winner received a personal award of $50, $100 to their classroom, and $200 to their school.

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“Open Campus Days”

ig_SSIS_SchoolBld-1 (43k image) Spring Street International School is opening its campus to prospective families and to everyone in our island communities on Wednesday-Thursday, January 9 - 10, 2008

The “open campus” offers families a convenient opportunity to experience the remarkable environment of SSIS first-hand. Families may drop by for a tour, meet with staff or teachers and visit classes. The campus will be open each day, all day from 8:15am to 5:00pm. Lunch, snacks and drinks will be provided.

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