2001 IN REVIEW
Point Roberts Primary School

By Nancy Bakarich

The start of the new school year welcomed two new staff members. Dr. Mary Edgley, who will job share with Mrs. Rita Zimbelman in grades kindergarten and first; and Mrs. Lynn VanBuskirk, who will be working with a variety of students as a paraprofessional. One of the many changes for this year was our daily schedule, now starting at 9:10 a.m. and ending at 2:50 p.m., coinciding with Blaine primary school.

The students have welcomed many Blaine specialists that join us on a regular basis. Our counselor, Ann Balfour, is here weekly. The other specialists that visit our school include: school nurse, Mary Baker, reading specialist Kim Duff, speech therapist Kari Rader, special education Patty Babcock, and librarian/technology Joan McIntyre.

With the horrific events of September 11, our students and school needed to make many changes as did everyone worldwide. Access to Point Roberts primary school and the Blaine main campus became limited due to the heightened security at both border crossings. Our district and community pulled together to improve access and make available benefits to all students and parents.

The many activities throughout the year keep the students, staff, and parents very busy! Our annual open house welcomed family and friends to view the school, meet the teachers, and most of all, see all the wonderful work that each and every student does throughout their school days. We are also very thankful for all the support that the many parents supply on a regular basis as volunteers!

Thanks to the help of Leaf Schumann’s Rising Tides Grant our school continues to offer homework center twice weekly, along with a wide variety of enrichment classes taught by many dedicated community members.

Thank you all! The Rising Tides Grant also enabled our school to host its first family fun night entitled A Night of Magic last spring. This proved to be well received by the entire community.

In the classrooms a great balance of fun and work takes place. The students participate in trail walks, pond explorations, and grasshopper observations. We take field trips to Delta Museum, surrounding beaches, and the community library. Along with the field trips we are also very grateful for the many special guests. The Point Roberts fire department and chief Mike Campbell brought a visit from Smokey Bear and furnished a tasty lunch too! Another guest, deputy Dahl from the Whatcom County Sheriff Department, traveled here to share the importance of safety. In May we held our Cinco de Mayo celebration and in June we held our annual Field Day with an Olympic theme.

In November we had our first set of conferences for the 2001/2002 school year. It was exciting as we had 100 percent parent participation!
December brings our calendar year to an end and we will be closing up with our annual play. This year we are performing The Little Gingerbread Man on December 19. These are just a few of the many highlights of this past year.

Thank you for your united support and have a wonderful winter break. See you in 2002!.

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