HOOD CANAL

We’re excited to welcome you to our upcoming Indian Parent Committee (IPC) meeting at Hood Canal School! This is a wonderful opportunity for families of Native students and anyone who serves or supports them to come together, share ideas, and strengthen our community.
🗓 When: Wed., September 17 at 5:15PM
📍 Where: Hood Canal School Library
🍕 FREE pizza and childcare will be provided!
Feel free to invite other families and supporters to join us. We can’t wait to see you there!
You can also join us remotely! Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82500230490
Meeting ID: 825 0023 0490
❓ Questions? Reach out to our Chair, Amber Hanson, at amber@skokomish.org.

📸 Here are just a few of the many smiling faces we saw on the first day of school! Do you have a First Day photo of your own? Send it our way—we’d love to share it with our Orca family! 💙🐋✨ #FirstDayOfSchool #OrcaPride #HoodCanalSchool

🎶 We’re continuing our three-part series honoring the incredible community partners who were recently recognized by Washington Association of School Administrators and ESD 113 with Community Leader Awards. Today, we’re celebrating Hoodstock - Hood Canal Music & Arts Festival and its cofounder, Kelli Kohout! 🎶 Through her vision and leadership, Hoodstock raised and donated $7,500 last fall to launch a brand-new music program at Hood Canal School—a huge step forward for a school without a music teacher. Thanks to their generosity, we were able to: 🎸 Purchase new guitars 🎸 Hire guitar instructor Chris Eakes, a Hoodstock veteran performer 🎸 Offer an engaging after-school choir class for students Kelli has also helped secure additional donated instruments and has been a passionate advocate for the arts and for Hood Canal students every step of the way. Beyond music, Hoodstock supports outdoor education programs at Hood Canal and other area schools through their partnership with The Salmon Center, helping students learn through meaningful, hands-on experiences in nature. We’re incredibly grateful to Kelli Kohout, Chris Eakes, and Hoodstock for their creativity, commitment, and unwavering support of our students. 💙

👨‍🍳 Guest Chef at Hood Canal! 🍽️ We had a special visit from Chef Kent, who brought his culinary expertise to Hood Canal! He provided hands-on training for our child nutrition team and helped prepare an incredible lunch for our summer school students. The entire building smelled amazing! On the menu: fried rice, chicken, roasted vegetables, an egg roll with sweet & sour sauce, and a fresh fruit salad. 😋 It’s a taste of the delicious things to come in school meals this year at Hood Canal. Check out the photos of the food—and the smiling faces that say it all!

🚍👏 We’re excited to share that Hood Canal School District has received a Letter of Achievement from the Washington State Patrol and Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for outstanding results on our annual school bus inspection—two years in a row!
This recognition celebrates the incredible work of our transportation team in keeping students safe every day, whether heading to school or off to extracurricular events.
A huge thank you to our drivers and support staff whose hard work and attention to detail make this possible. 🚌💛

🏆 We’re excited to kick off a three-part series celebrating our incredible community partners who were recently honored by Washington Association of School Administrators and ESD 113 with Community Leader Awards!
First up: The Skokomish Indian Tribe and CEO and Tribal Council Vice Chair Tom Strong 🎉
ESD 113 Superintendent Dr. Flip Herndon came to Hood Canal to present this well-deserved award, recognizing the Tribe’s deep and impactful partnership with the school, including:
🌿 Monthly leadership collaboration
🤝 Ongoing partnership between the school and the Skokomish Education Department
📚 Time, talent, and funding to support the Since Time Immemorial curriculum, including training training for staff
🏀 Sponsorship and recognition for our boys basketball team’s trip to state
🪶 Skokomish history and culture assemblies for students
🌎 Co-planning and sponsoring our Earth Day celebration
🗳️ Public support in passing both our EP&O and Capital/Technology levies
🏗️ Ongoing collaboration in planning for school renovations and campus expansion
📰 Regular coverage and support for the school in The Sounder newspaper
… and so much more.
Their leadership, generosity, and commitment to our students and community continue to inspire and make a lasting impact.
Stay tuned as we highlight the other two incredible partners in this special series! We’re grateful to be the only district in the entire ESD region—out of 44 school districts—to have three community partners recognized. 💙

More summer smiles at Hood Canal! 😎 Thanks to SUN Programs, our students can stay fueled all summer long with free meals, grocery benefits, and easy pick-up or delivery options—even when school’s out. Learn more at: www.fns.usda.gov/summer

🎉 Congratulations to our retiring staff members and those moving on to new adventures! We send a heartfelt thank you to long-time teacher Tressa Padgett and bus driver Peter Owen on their well-earned retirements. We also wish the very best to kindergarten teacher Tiana Warren and 2nd grade teacher Lisa Shell as they take on exciting new opportunities. All four were honored at our end-of-year staff potluck, where they received custom drums signed by the entire staff—a Hood Canal tradition! In addition, Tressa was gifted a beautiful Hood Canal–branded plate, and Pete received a fantastic branded cutting board to celebrate their many years of service. You will all be deeply missed! 💙🖤 Thank you for the lasting impact you’ve made on our students, families, and community.

🌟 At our last School Board meeting, Amber Hanson was honored by the Hood Canal Education Foundation with this spring’s Volunteer Award! 🌟 Amber wears many hats in our community, including chairing the Hood Canal Indian Parent Committee, where she’s helped bring families together to support Native students and all students—whether it’s through championing the Since Time Immemorial curriculum, staff trainings, or hands-on projects like the recent 3rd grade drum-making experience. 🙌 She played a key role in the successful passage of both our Capital and EP&O levies, and she’s always ready to lend a hand or a voice when needed. In her official role as the College and Career Coordinator for the Skokomish Indian Tribe, she continues to empower our students—recently helping several attend the College and Career Fair at the Skokomish Community Center. As part of the award, Amber received a $50 Hood Canal Market Fresh gift card for herself and a $500 donation from the Foundation to support any school program she chooses. 🎉 Thank you, Amber, for your heart, leadership, and the many ways you make a difference for our students every day. 💙

What an unforgettable adventure to close out the year! 🛶🌲 Thank you to Jeremie and the amazing crew at Kamilche Adventures for hosting a fantastic canoe trip for our 8th graders this past Friday. Students paddled to Hope Island and back, spent time playing on the shore, and enjoyed a fabulous lunch together. It was the perfect mix of fun, teamwork, and natural beauty to celebrate the end of middle school. We’re so grateful for this special experience! 💙

🎓 Huge congratulations to the Hood Canal Promoting Class of 2025! 🎉 We had a wonderful ceremony honoring this incredible group of students and celebrating their many accomplishments. From academic growth to leadership and creativity, these students have left their mark on our school. We’re so proud of each and every one of you! 💙🐋 Here are a few photos from this special day thanks to Tony Herrera. Find more photos here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16aZPHqdNN/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Our staff had a blast wrapping up the school year with our students—and some expressed themselves in a way only middle schoolers could truly appreciate! 😎😂 #LastDayVibes #HoodCanalOrcas #BruhWeOut

🎶 Honoring a longstanding tradition: With the support of Skokomish Indian Tribe volunteers and many proud family members, our 3rd graders built traditional drums in the style of this region. These drums will stay with students throughout their time at Hood Canal, and one day, they’ll paint and take them with them as they move on to high school—carrying both their learning and their culture forward. Thank you to everyone who made this special experience possible!

🎉🍼 SURPRISE SUCCESS! 🍼🎉 For weeks, Hood Canal’s 2nd–8th grade small group students had been secretly planning a surprise baby shower for Mrs. Neal—and this week they pulled it off! She was completely surprised and overwhelmed with love. Each student learned how to sew and created a handmade woodland creature for baby Thomas. They also designed and painted one-of-a-kind onesies, each as creative and unique as the student who made it! The celebration was packed with fun, including: 👶 Estimating Mrs. Neal’s belly size 🍽️ Baby food taste-testing and guessing 🧠 A baby-themed word search 📜 Sweet and silly baby advice (“Don’t drop the baby” was a standout) 😂 Baby jokes 📅 Baby predictions—due date, height, weight, hair & eye color 🎯 Diaper pong (yes, it’s a thing!) There were lots of laughs, smiles, and heartwarming moments as students celebrated Mrs. Neal and baby Thomas. The Hood Canal community is so excited to welcome a new little Orca to the pod this September! 🐋💙

For weeks, our talented Hood Canal students poured their creativity and effort into designing and carving a giant print block—and this weekend, their hard work paid off in the most incredible way at the 2025 Wayzgoose Kitsap Art Festival in Bremerton! Using a steamroller as the press, our students took part in the full printmaking process—from inking and registration to pulling prints and showcasing their work in the Artist Alley. Fellow artists and festival-goers were amazed that such detailed, beautiful prints were created by students! The day ended with a well-deserved treat—juice, snacks, and ice cream at Evergreen Park—made even more magical by a surprise visit from a breaching orca right offshore. A truly unforgettable experience for our Hood Canal artists!

☀️ W is for Water! 💦 Our kinders are soaking up the sunshine and having a splash-tastic time playing with water in this warm weather. Learning and laughter go hand in hand—especially when it’s this fun! #KindergartenJoy

We had a fantastic Reading Awards Assembly today led by our wonderful librarian, Melanie Lankford! Students were recognized for their achievements in AR and other reading milestones. A huge highlight—six brand-new bikes were given away, thanks to the generosity of Union City Lodge No. 27 F. & A.M. of Valley Junction. Special thanks to Leonard Chavez and WB David Pierik (pictured) for supporting our students and encouraging literacy. We are so grateful for community partners like the Masons who invest in the success and joy of our kids!

Something special is coming!!

🏗️ Paper Tower Challenge! 🏆 Our creative engineers put their design skills to the test in the Paper Tower Challenge—using only paper and tape to build the tallest freestanding structure. 🎉 Congrats to Hazel and Olivia for taking the win with an impressive 50-inch tower! Their teamwork and problem-solving paid off in a big way. 💪📏 Way to go, students! We love seeing your curiosity and collaboration in action.