Halilts Newsletter: May 11, 2026

Dear Orca Families,

What a wonderful evening at Orca Splash—thank you for your patience with parking and for celebrating with us!

In the weeks leading up to the event, students worked hard to put the finishing touches on projects, art, songs, and writing pieces. They were so proud to share their learning. Isn't the growth amazing?

It’s hard to believe we’re winding down to the final month of school. As routines begin to shift and “summer is coming” energy sets in, this is a great time to stay consistent with bedtime, healthy habits, fresh air, and physical activity. As you witnessed at our Orca Slash, we still have important learning ahead, along with classroom, district, and state assessments.

Our 3rd and 4th graders will begin Smarter Balanced Assessments next week. While these are just a snapshot in time, we encourage students to do their best and show what they’ve learned. At the same time, we don't want our Orcas to come to school feeling anxious on testing days. Please stress the students doing the best they can is exactly what we hope!

Have a great Orca week!

Rhonda Walton

Many thanks to the PTO who organized a truly extraordinary staff appreciation week. We felt so celebrated and cared for all week long.

The snacks, coffee cart, and burger truck for lunch were incredible treats, and the personalized gift cards, decorations, and kind messages meant even more. Every detail reflected the thought and generosity you bring to our school community.

Special thanks to Teresa Yette, Melissa Korb, Tracy Harrah, Lisa Sipprell and Annalisa Alberti for all the time, effort and love you poured into the week. We are so grateful for your support—it makes a real difference for our staff to feel seen and appreciated.

The x̌alilc (Halilts) Staff

x̌alilc will be celebrating Bike & Walk to School Day on Friday, May 15! 

Let's celebrate the beautiful weather and practice other ways to arrive at school that promote health and help the environment. So get outside, get out of your car, and get your kids off the bus for the day!

The x̌alilc PTO in partnership with Squeaky Wheels is organizing this event!

We are looking for a few bike-riding, volunteer-approved adults to help lead the rides from each location - sign up below! It's super easy: all you'll need to do is arrive by 7:10 at your designated parking lot, and signal your crew to get on the road at 7:20! Naturally you'll also make sure the coast is clear when the ride begins, and check that no unaccompanied kids are left behind.

   

Bike to School Day Parent Leads Sign Up 

Parents of riders: be sure to give your kiddo’s bike a safety check before the day of the ride: check brakes, tires, and gears. Classic Cycles has used trade-in bikes and they are able to pump up tires and check helmets for right fit. 

Please help us ensure a smooth testing environment by avoiding appointments on the dates below.

Testing will be begin in the morning.

Questions? Contact Katie Brase at kbrase@bisd303.org.

Join us for our May PTO meeting on Friday, May 15 at 9:00 am in the Halilts Library.

We will be talking about all the fun events at the end of school and start talking about the plans for next year!

We are looking for to fill our Communication Lead, Website Coordinator, Grade Level Representative positions and more! Let us know if you are intersted!

Questions? Contact halilts.president@bainbridgeptos.org

Annalisa Alberti & Lisa Sipprell

x̌alilc (Halilts) PTO Co-Presidents

Learn more at: https://bainbridgeptos.org/halilts/

Come volunteer at the Halilts library!

Bring a book to read aloud and help students find a just right book. Any help shelving returned books is very appreciated!

Volunteers need to be approved by BISD. Sign up here to help!

Questions? Please email PTO Library Coordinator, Heather Tartar, at heathertartar@gmail.com.

Do you like seeing kids joyfully smiling and the smell of freshly popped popcorn? Then this is the gig for you!

Sign-up for a time to help pop and serve popcorn at lunch recess - but don't dawdle, this is a hot ticket!  

Student placement is a thoughtful and intentional process at x̌alilc, and we dedicate a great deal of time and care to ensuring each child is placed in an environment where they can thrive. Our goal is to create balanced, supportive learning communities for all students.

To ensure a fair and consistent process, the following steps are used:

We value the important perspective that families bring and invite parents/guardians to share information that may help us create the most supportive placement for their student. This may include:

REQUESTS FOR INDIVIDUAL TEACHERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.  Please include ALL information that you believe may be relevant to placement, even if the same information has been shared in previous years. Please remember that teachers, specialists, principal, and counselor will be reviewing this form.

Parent/guardian input should be submitted in writing using the electronic Google Class Placement Input Form.

Thank you for partnering with us in this thoughtful process.

As we head into the final weeks of the school year, it’s very common for children to feel tired and a bit less motivated—especially as summer gets closer! While the end-of-year slump is normal, coming to school each day still makes a big difference for your child’s learning, routines, and confidence.

A few simple ideas can help make mornings smoother and support strong attendance through the finish line:

Thank you for partnering with us to help your child push through the last stretch of the school year and finish strong. Your support at home makes a big difference!

BIEA (Bainbridge Island Education Association) and BISD Bargaining Teams met last evening and reached a tentative agreement to adjust the day of the week for release days in the upcoming school year.

Taking to heart the perspectives shared by our staff, students, and families, we have moved all full and half-day releases to Mondays instead of the previous mix of Mondays and Wednesdays. We heard clearly that having a consistent day of the week makes it much easier for families to manage childcare, work schedules, and family time, and we are glad to make this shift to support that.

Please save the following finalized release dates for the 2026–27 school year:

September 28

October 26

January 25

March 22

May 17

November 30

April 26

June 7

Please note that we will be continuing with the half-day conference schedule for the upcoming year.

We appreciate the patience and partnership of our staff, students, and families as we worked through this process to best support our school community.

13: SBA Testing Begins

14: School Board Meeting @ 5.45 pm in Board Room

15: PTO meeting @ 9:00 am in Library

15: Last day to submit Class Placement Input Form

28: School Board Meeting @ 5.45 pm in Board Room

9: School Board Meeting @ 5.45 pm in Board Room (Special Day!)

15: Ice Cream Social 6:00 pm

16: Last Day School - School out at 10:50 am

19: Juneteenth Holiday - No staff in building

25: School Board Meeting @ 5.45 pm in Board Room

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