Happy Fall Orcas,

With October around the bend, I wanted to highlight our SEL focus around bullying awareness and prevention. In honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, we will have our annual Unity Day on Wednesday, October 15th. What does this entail?

On Oct. 15th, students are invited to join national efforts and wear ORANGE, sending one, large, universal representation that we are united against bullying and united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion. The color orange provides a powerful expression of solidarity for bullying prevention. In the morning, students will participate in watching a Taproot Theater production sponsored by our generous PTO. This assembly is always a hit with kids, and coordinates well with my SEL classroom lessons teaching on recognizing, reporting & refusing bullying behavior.

Stopbullying.gov is a great resource to check out for useful information to augment your at-home discussions around the topic.

Best,

Katie Brase

We are looking for volunteers to help in the library! Volunteering is a wonderful way to connect with students and support a love of reading.

Library volunteer jobs include:

Classrooms that have requested support are listed in the Sign-up Genius. All volunteers must be an Approved BISD Volunteer.

Thank you for supporting our readers and keeping our library a vibrant place for learning!

Did you know that you must OPT-IN to share your contact information with other families in the Skyward School Directory? Families are defaulted out, until you OPT-IN. 

This is not a requirement, but If this is of interest to your family, please refer to the OPT-IN guide linked HERE on how to add your contact information to the school directory.

You only have to do this ONCE - so take the time to do it today, so that others can find you on the directory!

Our health room provides dry clothes for students who need a change of clothes. With the recent wet weather. We are requesting sweatpants and leggings only. All soft pants of any size would be a great help!

If you have any gently used clothing you are no longer using, please consider donating them to the health room. We would appreciate it! 

Bainbridge Island School District offers services to students who have been identified as highly capable. Highly capable students are those who perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels. Services are provided for students in grades K - 12.

Fall Referral Window: September 29–October 10, 2025. Highly Capable (HC) referrals are welcome during our fall window for students new to our district (since February 2025) in grades 1–11. (Referrals for Kindergarten and currently enrolled BISD students will open during our spring window.)

If you’d like your student considered for HC services, please visit our BISD Highly Capable page for the timeline, program details, and the referral form.

Please complete the BISD referral and email documentation (e.g., assessment scores, grades, placement letters) to Whitney Skarbek at wskarbek@bisd303.org.

Deadline: Submit the referral (and any supporting documents, if applicable) by end of day Friday, October 10, 2025.

Questions or need assistance? Contact Whitney Skarbek at wskarbek@bisd303.org.

9: School Board Meeting @ 5:45

10: PTO Meeting @ 9:00 am in Halilts Library

10: Kick-off for Move-a-thon Fundraiser

15: Unity Day - Wear Orange

21: Picture Retakes

24: Move-a-thon!

30: School Board Meeting @ 5:45

30-31: Conferences - No School

Looking for things to do around town? Visit our Community Events page for local happenings, classes, and family activities—updated regularly.