The following was submitted by Salmonberry School.

It’s been 15 years since Salmonberry School opened its doors. That means it’s time to celebrate a crystal anniversary.

And crystal seems to be an appropriate metaphor for the school at this stage of development. Crystal is a material with luster and sparkle. This summer Salmonberry was proud to offer 17 thematic camps for children age 3-12. Together these accounted for almost 200 enrollments including kids who are home-schooled and enrolled at the public school, Salmonberry, Orcas Christian School, pre-schools and off-island schools. This was by far Salmonberry’s biggest and broadest palette of camps to date and topics included farming, sewing, survival skills, music, art and more. Salmonberry would like to thank all of those who joined in, even if just for a week.

For the 2016-17 academic year, our three multi-age classrooms are each either full or approaching capacity. Parents report that their kids are happy and engaged and genuinely look forward to school. And kids echo this sentiment.

Webster’s Dictionary also says that “crystals are organically growing substances with many faces that are formed as the substance solidifies.” Salmonberry too continues to organically grow and solidify and this year will even be adding a couple of new “faces.” Salmonberry welcomes new faculty members Andrea Lavezzi and Jessie Gonzales. Lavezzi joins the first-third grade class. She has been a lead K-12 teacher on Salt Spring Island and spent several years as a lead art and English teacher in Oroville, Calif. She currently holds a Washington state teaching license. Lavezzi is the mom of five-year-old Kingston. Gonzales will join the preschool-Kindergarten class. She has been working in early childhood education for several years. She has taught at Children’s House and Orcas Montessori School’s summer camp program and works at the Funhouse.

Returning teachers Linda Ellsworth, Linda Henning, Kari Van Gelder, Emmy Gran, Paul Freedman, Tom Rawson and Laura Black say they are delighted to be back for another year to “create magic with our kids.”

When teachers love school, kids love school. And when kids love school, amazing things can happen! Happy crystal anniversary, Salmonberry. May the next fifteen years continue to witness growth and excellence, as you provide a quality holistic educational option for our island’s young people.