HOOD CANAL

🎄✨ Join Us for a Holiday Treat this Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 5PM! ✨🎄

Our Hood Canal Drama Club students are excited to present an original, humorous twist on the classic ’Twas the Night Before Christmas—you’ve never seen it quite like this!

This fun, family-friendly performance is sure to bring lots of laughs and holiday cheer. 🎅🧝‍♂️🦌

Fun for the whole family — and admission is FREE! 🙌

Students from our Kiwanis Builders Club stepped up once again—this time helping distribute food at the Hoodsport Food Bank ahead of this holiday. We’re proud of these young leaders for giving their time, energy, and hearts to support our community. 💙🤝🛒 Special thanks to advisors Mr. Max and Ms. Queen for making these opportunities possible. Great job, Orcas!

A huge thank you to our amazing community partners!Last weekend, we delivered 29 uncooked holiday meal kits—generously donated by Hood Canal Market Fresh plus another 16 fully cooked meals prepared by New Community Church of Union, all for our Hood Canal families. 💛 A special shout-out to our counselor Monica Carlson who coordinated this amazing project and to the volunteers, students and staff members who helped her organze and deliver meals. Thank you especially to staff memebrs Lisa Queen, Marcia Johnson, Max Cowdery, Suzanne Close, and Payton Herdman. Your kindness and service make a real difference. We are grateful for our caring community and the way everyone comes together to support Hood Canal families. 🌟 #HoodCanalSchool #CommunityPartners #HolidayGivingi

On this Thanksgiving Day, we’re especially grateful for the people and partnerships that make Hood Canal School such a special place. To our students, families, staff, Tribal partners, and the many individuals and community organizations who support our work—you make a tremendous difference. Your generosity, collaboration, and care help our students learn, grow, and feel connected. We are also grateful for the place we call home—the land, waters, and rich cultural traditions of the Skokomish Indian Tribe. This connection grounds our work and reminds us of the generations who have cared for this land long before us. As we each celebrate in our own ways—sharing meals, reconnecting with loved ones, or taking time for reflection—we hope today brings peace, warmth, and moments of joy. From all of us at Hood Canal School, Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃🌊 We are thankful for you.

Our Builders Club (service club) students really stepped up today! 🙌They jumped in to help our Drama students build their sets and even painted a fantastic “brick wall” that will be featured in the upcoming holiday show. Love seeing our students collaborate across programs and put their creativity (and elbow grease!) to work! 🎭🧱✨

Our 3rd graders dove into similes today in ELA! ✏️📚 Using our interactive whiteboard, students explored different feelings and expressions while learning how similes bring writing to life. Love seeing their creativity shine! #HoodCanalSchool #ELA #InteractiveLearning #OrcaPride

🍽 Today’s Homemade Lunch Special! 🍽 Our kitchen team is serving up homemade beef goulash paired with toasted garlic French bread, fresh veggies, salad, and fruit. It’s hearty, delicious, and made with love right here at Hood Canal! 💙🍎

🇺🇸 Honoring Our Veterans at Hood Canal School 🇺🇸 A heartfelt thank-you to the VFW of Shelton for joining us at our Veterans Day assembly and presenting the colors with such dignity and respect. We’re especially grateful to Retired Master Sergeant Denis Leverage for serving as our guest speaker and sharing his inspiring message with our students. It was a meaningful assembly and powerful learning experience—helping our students understand the importance of service, sacrifice, and gratitude. ❤️🤍💙 #VeteransDay #ThankYouVeterans #HoodCanalPride

🐟 Exploring the Estuary! 🌿 Our 7th and 3rd graders teamed up for an awesome field trip to the Bayshore Preserve and estuary! Students got to see salmon in action—spawning, breeding, and completing their life cycle—while exploring the ecosystem up close. They also played the food web game and discovered how every creature plays an important part in keeping the environment healthy. Hands-on learning, teamwork, and lots of curiosity made it a day to remember! 💚

🐟 Salmon Experience at Bayshore Preserve! 🐟 Each year, thousands of chum salmon return to Bayshore Preserve to spawn — and you can see this incredible natural event up close! It’s a perfect fall outing for families and anyone who loves the Pacific Northwest. 📅 November 8, 9, and 11 🕙 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. 📍 3800 WA-3, Shelton, WA 98584 🎟️ FREE to the public! Enjoy fun and educational activities including: 🔭 Spotting scopes 🐠 Underwater cameras 🧒 Kids activities 🐦 Bird walks 🧭 Salmon docents For more info, visit CapitolLandTrust.org/salmon or call (360) 943-3012. Hosted by Capitol Land Trust and Puget Sound Estuarium, with support from South Sound Bird Alliance and Shelton Timberland Library.

📚💙 Reading Buddies! Our 4th graders had a wonderful time reading with their kindergarten buddies today! It’s always amazing to see older students sharing their love of books and helping our youngest learners grow. Such a great way to build friendships and a love of reading! 🐋✨ #HoodCanalOrcas #ReadingBuddies #TogetherWeGrow

⭐ Congratulations to our superintendent Dr. Lance Gibbon, on being named WASBO’s 2025 Leader of Distinction! This statewide honor recognizes superintendents who create positive, collaborative environments that empower school finance and operations teams. Dr. Gibbon’s servant leadership has strengthened trust, innovation, and teamwork across the district—ensuring every voice is valued and every effort centers on student success. Dr. Gibbon credits this award to the dedicated Hood Canal staff and school board who share his vision and commitment to serving students.

🎃 Halloween Costume Fun at HCS! 👻 Our students showed amazing creativity with their Halloween costumes and spirit week participation this year! From spooky to silly, every outfit brought smiles throughout the halls. Thank you to everyone who joined in the fun and helped make Halloween such a memorable celebration! 💜🧡🖤 More pics here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BTA3dxD81/?mibextid=wwXIfr And even more pics here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16jcR2ziib/?mibextid=wwXIfr #HoodCanalSchool #OrcaPride #HalloweenSpirit #CreativityInAction

🎃🕸️ Spooky & Delicious Fun in Ms. Cindy’s Class! 👻🍪 Our students had a blast getting creative this week! Ms. Cindy’s class whipped up some frightfully fun Halloween treats — equal parts spooky and delicious! 🧙‍♀️🩸🕷️ Great job showing your Halloween spirit (and sweet tooth!)! 💀🍬🧡 #HoodCanalSchool #HalloweenSpirit #SpookyTreats #CreativeKids

🌟 Acts of Kindness in 6th Grade! 🌟 We’re so proud of our 6th graders for showing kindness and integrity in everyday ways. A big shoutout to Izzy Womac, Alexus Semmens, and Chris Balcom for their thoughtful leadership! These three students consistently volunteer to hold doors for their classmates as they head to and from break—no one asked them to, they just saw a need and stepped up. Their small acts of kindness make a big difference and show what it means to “Be Respectful” and “Be Accountable.” 💙🐋 Way to go, Orcas! Keep spreading that kindness!

🎃 Our Kinder Pumpkins Are the Cutest! 🎃 Our kindergarteners got hands-on with pumpkins this week—cutting, gluing, painting, and creating the most adorable fall masterpieces! 🍂✨ Their smiles say it all… these little Orcas are having a “gourd” time learning and creating together. 🧡

🎃 Middle school creativity in full swing! Our artists had a blast carving and decorating pumpkins in Mr. Max’s art class today. From spooky to silly, the designs were incredible—and the teamwork was even better. Huge thanks to Mr. Max for sparking the creativity!

Good morning, Hood Canal! #fallvibes

🎉 Congratulations to Hood Canal alum Cedar Wily! 🎉 Cedar was crowned Shelton High School’s Homecoming Queen last week! 👑 We’re so proud of you, Cedar—once an Orca, always an Orca! 💙🐋❤️ 📸 Photo by Shawna Whelan Photography - Thank you, Shawna!