Tuesday’s general election was a memorable experience for many middle-school students, most of them four to six years from voting age. A mock election, which mimics the national election, was held Tuesday at Friday Harbor Middle School. Throughout the school day, students took the opportunity to vote for a presidential candidate, as well as candidates for local and state offices.
Retired Friday Harbor High School art teacher Pat Speer died in her sleep Sunday evening in her brother’s home in Plattsmouth, Neb. She was 62. Speer retired from teaching in June after a 35-year career in the San Juan Island School District, beginning in September 1973.
A cauldron of Halloween fun is brewing, with live music, a teen dance, games and, of course, trick-or-treating in local neighborhoods. The annual Halloween Parade featuring Friday Harbor Elementary School students will begin downtown at 1 p.m., as eager spectators await the arrival of children dressed in their Halloween finery.
Turns out, there are only 10 fewer students attending San Juan Island public schools right now, compared to the same time in 2007. There are 858 full-time-equivalent students (a kindergartner counts as .5 FTE, and some home school and private school students take only a class at a public school). In October 2007, there were 868 FTEs. An earlier version of this story compared the current FTE to last year’s head count, which is higher because the head count includes part-time students and kindergartners. The district receives per-student funding from the state — currently $5,411.70 per student — based on its annual average FTE enrollment.
Roller skaters, prize fighters, an abominable snowman, and root-beer floats served up on a ’50s-style diner rolled down the streets of downtown Friday Harbor in the annual Homecoming parade Friday. Enthusiasm rang high among the crowds of students on a rainy afternoon as they proudly displayed their eagerness to dominate the Nooksack Valley Pioneers, the opposing team in the Homecoming football game.
The economy is weighing heavily on future and hopeful members of Congress, Legislature, County Council. About 70 islanders attended the candidates forum Oct. 11 at Friday Harbor Middle School, hosted by the League of Women Voters of the San Juans.
In the high school halls, Wolverine pride is running deep as students gear up for two days of Homecoming events — beginning Friday, with the ever popular parade of floats, and ending Saturday, with a traditional Homecoming dance. King and queen will be crowned during the pep rally at Turnbull Gym Friday afternoon. Wolverine spirit spreads into the evening at a local church, Friday Harbor Presbyterian, where high school students will gather for a tasty bowl of chili, card games and more.
