Community Foundation Funds Computers   By Beth Helstien, volunteer/outreach coordinator, San Juan Island Library People without computer access will want to give a huge shout-out to the San Juan Island Community Foundation for supporting the Tech-to-Go pilot program. The San Juan Island Library now loans kits that include a Windows laptop computer with current Microsoft  Continue Reading

By Alexis Hauck, Primary Intervention Program Coordinator, Friday  Harbor Elementary School Thank you, United Way of San Juan County! The Primary Intervention Program, also known as “PIP” or “Special Pal Program” at Friday Harbor Elementary School, would like to thank the United Way of San Juan County for their continued support. The program works with  Continue Reading

The Award is the ‘Highest Honor’ in the Field   From San Juan Island School District Friday Harbor High School teacher Kevin Cullen has been nominated for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. The award is the highest honor for K-12 STEM teaching and bestowed through the U.S. government. STEM stands  Continue Reading

From San Juan Islands Community Network The number of vacation rentals in the San Juans has been a contentious issue in the county over the past few years. Letters to the Editor of local news outlets presented a divided community on the viability, use and number of vacation rentals throughout the islands. In an effort  Continue Reading

By Hayley Day, San Juan Update The Friday Harbor Elementary School principal resigned after being arrested for suspicion of indecent exposure. Caspar van Haalen was taken into custody by San Juan County deputies May 23 and released, according to San Juan County Sheriff Ron Krebs. No charges have been brought against him. San Juan Island  Continue Reading

From San Juan Preservation Trust The San Juan Preservation Trust is pleased to announce this year’s Climate Leadership Scholarship winners. Congratulations to Izabela Janecek of Friday Harbor High School and Ayla Ridwan of Orcas Island High School. A committee of Preservation Trust board members selected Izzie and Ayla from an impressive group of applicants from  Continue Reading

From San Juan School Island District Last September, San Juan Island School District’s Griffin Bay School grew from a handful of students to almost 100 students, K-12th grade. Griffin Bay School may now offer online access to anyone and everyone across Washington state. In May, Griffin Bay School was designated by the Office of the Superintendent  Continue Reading

From San Juan Island Library Starting Tuesday, June 8, the San Juan Island Library will reopen its doors for limited services and hours. The library will provide simultaneous indoor browsing and curbside services on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with a 65+/high-risk population hour on Tuesdays from 10-11 a.m. Patrons are  Continue Reading

From The Whale Museum Registration is now open for a summer virtual session of The Whale Museum’s Marine naturalist training.  This program will be six sessions and run July 19-24. The objective of this program is to provide a learning experience that assists adult graduates in becoming qualified regionally as professional or volunteer naturalists. The  Continue Reading

From Island Rec Join Alchemy Art Center staff and guest artists for fun and free community art days in John O. Linde Community Park. Professional artists will lead an exciting roster of activities including indigo dyeing, sun prints, clay planters, funny faces, printing on t-shirts, and more. Due to safety precautions, space will be limited.  Continue Reading

From Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor is pleased to announce its 2021 educational award winners. The Educational Opportunity Award is for a woman enrolled in an undergraduate degree or vocational skills program. This year Soroptimists were able to give out three $2,000 awards. The award winners are Halley Byrne, Megan  Continue Reading

From Skagit Valley College Up to 250 juniors and seniors in Skagit, Island and San Juan counties can take up to five credits at Skagit Valley College this summer, thanks to a new summer program affiliated with Running Start. Running Start is a dual credit program that began in the early 1990s and allows high  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Economic Development Council The San Juan County Economic Development Council invites community leaders, legislators, entrepreneurs, and business owners to join in a free, two-day course in sustainability management, led by world-renowned expert in corporate sustainability and social entrepreneurship, Nikos Avlonas. The course will cover in-depth, the topic of community and business  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Economic Development Council The San Juan County Economic Development Council invites entrepreneurs, business owners and community leaders to join in a free, five-week, intensive course in regenerative business design. Led by renowned permaculture designer and educator Patty Love, the course will guide participants through the steps necessary to build – or  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Economic Development Council Those seeking to build their career or business in construction are invited to learn construction project management in a free online class offered by the San Juan County Economic Development Council. Nationally recognized project management expert Jeff Hunt, founder and president of Heritage Construction Services and NAHB accredited  Continue Reading

From San Juan Public Schools Foundation San Juan Public Schools Foundation and Banner Bank are leading a fundraising effort to ensure learning programs are in place to manage the cascading effects of a year in isolation for students in the San Juan Island School District. Programs are ready to deploy, but supplemental funding is needed.  Continue Reading

From San Juan Island Library The San Juan Island Library presents the next Know Your Islanders event at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 5 over Zoom. Join Pearl Schuman as she shares her personal health journey, which began on her small family farm on San Juan Island. She will define “food as medicine” and discuss why  Continue Reading

From the Joyce L. Sobel Family Resource Center In November 2020, the Joyce L. Sobel Family Resource Center received a Childcare Partnership Grant from the Washington Department of Commerce to conduct a community-wide assessment of child care needs and create an action plan to improve capacity. Options include infant and toddler care, longer child care  Continue Reading

From Skagit Valley College Skagit Valley College invites all adult learners to attend Skagit Valley College Achieve Week April 19-23. Achieve Week is designed for individuals who may be considering starting at Skagit Valley College for summer or fall quarters, and who are interested in high school completion or certificate or degree completion. Whether you  Continue Reading

From the League of Women Voters of the San Juans The League of Women Voters of the San Juans is holding its membership meeting, which is open to the public, at noon, Monday, April 19 over Zoom. We have an exciting and informative speaker: our own Susan Martin, who is a league board member. She  Continue Reading

From Twisted Orca Twisted Orca released “I am 99” April 6, the latest in a series of books designed to encourage a love of marine conservation in children. “I am 99” brings children from all over the world to Friday Harbor, Washington as they join Sailor-Lyn’s mission to save the endangered orcas she loves so  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Economic Development Council Kids from all over San Juan County have a chance to do a free, fun masonry project put on by the San Juan County Economic Development Council and Washington State University Extension’s San Juan County 4-H Program. Dave Koch, retired stonemason, is donating his time and labor to  Continue Reading