GOOD NEWS
May 15 - Liz Theirbah received the "Educator of the Year" award presented by the Lynden Masonic Lodge.
May 3 - Comcast Cares - Comcast employees, family and friends met at Irene Reither and Ten Mile Creek for a work party. Though it was a rainy day the energy was high and many improvements were made to our school grounds. Click on the following link to take a look at the many people hard at work. www.kaelar.com/gallery/comcast_cares_2008
April 21 - JUMP ROPE FOR HEART
Thank you again to those of you who supported the American Heart Association with your Jump Rope for Heart participation. We are still adding to our total amount, but so far the total from our school is now over $6,000.00!! Wow!! That is truly wonderful!! The top fundraiser from our school was Leo Mullen in room 4. He raised $360 for the American Heart Association. Congratulations and a big thank you to Leo!! Our other top fundraisers were: Lindsay Eldred - $321.60, Emily Kirkman - $210.00, William Holland - $175.00. These students will be entered into a drawing for a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. Way to go!!
April 1 - The preschool children are benefiting for the second year from a program that Andy Griffiths has in place. Each week he serves all of our students who receive OT services. In addition, he also sets up three stations in each of the three preschool sessions. The children have the opportunity to work in a sensory center, fine motor center and gross motor center. It is a wonderful experience for all of our children that allows the children who are not eligible for services to have the necessary experiences they need to get ready for success in kindergarten. He also prepares take-home kits for individual children so that parents have an easy reference guide of things they can do at home to benefit their child's development. Just another of those 'above and beyond' examples that Andy (and many others) does.
March 31 - We have had wonderful attendance at our Friday play group all year. EXPLORE meets Fridays in room 2 from 9:15-10:15. This year we have had a wonderful group of parents, grandparents, aunts and children (generally around 20 each week). The parents and children are making friends and it is a wonderful experience for children to get ready for school. We have children ages 0-5 attending.
March 26 - Sixty-two students from the COMPASS After-school Program enjoyed a field trip to Mt. Baker Lanes on our early release day, 3/26/08. Five parent volunteers assisted staff in supervising the outing. We received compliments from bowling alley employees about how smoothly everything went with the large number of young children that participated in this outing.
March 19 - The Kindergarten gathered over 100 food items during their 100 celebration and donated them to a local food bank in time for Easter. Social Action at work!
THANK YOU VOTERS!
March 3 - We extend a warm welcome to our new librarian Mrs. Holland. Each student at IRPS has had an opportunity to meet and share books with Mrs. Holland. We look forward to having her at our school each day to instill in each child a love of books and the importance of reading.
February 11 - A Read-a-thon was held on January 25 at IRPS, TMCE and MMS. All the pledges are in and the money counted. The students at IRPS raised $6,066.00 during this event. This money will be used to purchase software used in the STAR reading curriculum. Books for young readers, nonfiction books and replacement volumes will also be purchased for the library. Hurray for our good readers!
February 11 - PE Dance Performances!!!
The second and third grade students have been learning to folk and square dance. They put on a spectacular performance for their families and classmates during the week of February 11th. Click HERE to see some pictures of this special event.
January 14 - Whatcom Museum of History brought their Native American Workshop to IRPS. The students learned about woodworking, steaming wood to make a hook, processing cedar bark to use for clothing, twining, spinning and weaving, and bentwood box cooking. Workshop Photos
January 10 - Approximately 225 people enjoyed the 6th annual PTA "Snuggle Up and Read" The children and families had a wonderful evening listening to stories read and told by our guest readers Sheriff Bill Elfo, North Whatcom Fire District, Miss Whatcom County Alli McComas, Superintendent Tim Yoemans and Storyteller Brian Flowers. The children had their passports stamped as they moved among the different theme rooms and heard the stories. When they had all their stamps they went to the cafeteria and choose a free book. This year we gave books to 168 children, which is our largest turnout ever. Click HERE to see photos of this fun event.
December 18 - The Kindergarten classes made Christmas cards for the residents of A wing at St. Francis Nursing Extended Health Care.
December - The radio station Soft Rock KAFE visited Mr. DePeralta's class to talk to the children about "Heroes" Visit their web page to hear what they had to say.
October 31 - During the Early Release afternoon, the teachers were engaged in Open Court Reading protocol and effective reading strategies. Kim Barnes, Open Court Trainer, was the original trainer when the school district adopted this reading series.
October 29 - Welcome to Jane Holland, Student Monitor. Mrs. Holland was recently hired to supervise students during the lunch periods. She can be seen in the cafeteria, on the playground and in the hallways. Mrs. Holland is an active parent and PTA officer in our school district.
October 10 - The IRPS Jogathon was a huge success. The students, parents and teachers ran and ran and raised $14,133.05. It was a fun and successful day!! Click HERE to see some photos of the jog-a-thon.