Big Lagoon School Weekly Updates for Families and Staff-Week 8!
Dear Big Lagoon Families and Staff,
What a wonderful week at Big Lagoon School! We have enjoyed inspiring presentations, opportunities to learn from our community partners, and another exciting season of Cross Country. I am so grateful for the people who help make our school such a special place to learn and grow!
📚 Visiting Author Dawn Quigley Inspires Our Readers and Writers!
Today, we were delighted to welcome visiting author Dawn Quigley to Big Lagoon School! Dawn, an Indigenous author from Minnesota, presented to both of our classrooms and shared her love of reading, writing, and telling stories, especially stories featuring Native characters. Her visit was a wonderful opportunity for our students to see the power of storytelling and the importance of having Indigenous voices and experiences represented in literature.
Thanks to the generosity of Blue Lake Rancheria, every student received a set of books! Dawn personally signed a book for each student today, and the remaining books will be sent home tomorrow.
A heartfelt thank-you to Blue Lake Rancheria for this generous gift and to Dawn Quigley for sharing her time, talent, and love of literature with our students. We are so fortunate to have community partners who invest so much into our students and school!
🔬 More Amazing Physical Science with Dr. Elliot Paravar!
Our upper-grade students also enjoyed the second day of physical science presentations with Dr. Elliot Paravar! His presentations have been fantastic, sparking curiosity and giving students opportunities to explore scientific concepts in engaging and memorable ways.
I am going to see if we can arrange for Dr. Paravar to return a few more times this school year, including visits with our lower-grade classroom. Thank you, Dr. Paravar, for sharing your expertise and enthusiasm for science with our students!
🏃 Cross Country Championship Meet!
Today is the final Cross Country championship meet at the Arcata Community Center! We are so proud of all the students who represented Big Lagoon School on our team this year: Tasahce, Aurelia, Serafina, Sebastian, Marzo, Zephan, Oliver, Gunner, and Kai!
Congratulations to each of you for your hard work, perseverance, and commitment throughout the season. Running takes determination, practice, and courage, and we are proud of the effort you have put forth. Way to go, Prey-go-neesh runners!
👀 Thank You, Trinidad Lions Club!
Earlier this week, our students participated in vision screenings on Tuesday, generously provided by the Trinidad Lions Club. We sincerely appreciate their continued support of our students' health and well-being. Thank you for helping us make sure our children have the resources they need to succeed!
As we head toward the end of another busy week, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week and find a little time to slow down and enjoy the beautiful world around us.
Keep reading with your children, share stories together, and enjoy every minute! These small moments build connections, nurture curiosity, and create memories that last a lifetime.
With gratitude and warm wishes,
Cathie Shermer
Principal-Superintendent
Big Lagoon School
Home of the Prey-go-neesh!
BIG LAGOON SCHOOL
Week 7 Updates - October 8, 2026
Dear Big Lagoon Families and Staff,
We are already into Week 7, and there is so much wonderful learning, growing, and connecting happening at Big Lagoon School! Thank you to our students, families, teachers, and staff for making our school such a special place to learn together.
🌿 Our Mission
At our recent Staff/Safety Meeting, we revisited our school mission:
The mission of Big Lagoon School is to educate, empower, and prepare students in an environmentally connected and culturally responsive learning community.
This mission is visible in so many of the things our students experience every day-from outdoor learning and environmental education to Yurok language and culture, academic competitions, the arts, athletics, and the relationships we build with one another.
🛡️ Safety and Student Support
Student safety continues to be one of our highest priorities. Our staff recently reviewed our Comprehensive School Safety Plan and discussed ways we can continue to support students in being safe, respectful, and responsible.
We are also continuing our morning recess support schedule (in addition to Ms. Lily who does yard duty):
Monday: Nancy
Tuesday: Olivia
Wednesday: Rebecca
Thursday: Cathie
Friday: Mandy
Thank you to everyone who helps make recess a positive and safe part of our school day!
Cross Country Team
Our Cross Country Team has been enthusiastic and growing!! This week we had a Willow Creek meet and it was 90 degrees!! Today we will travel to Rohner Park in Fortuna to compete! Thank you to the dedicated athletes and families for supporting great physical exercise and our school community of athletes!
👀 October 13 - Vision Screenings
The Trinidad Lions Club will be at Big Lagoon School on Tuesday, October 13, beginning at 9:00 AM to provide vision screenings for our students.
We are very grateful for their continued service to our school community!
📚 October 15 - Author Festival with Dawn Quigley
We are especially excited to welcome author Dawn Quigley to Big Lagoon School on Thursday, October 15!
Students will have opportunities to hear from Ms. Quigley, ask questions, and participate in a book signing. We will also welcome students from Orick School for this special event.
We are grateful to everyone who has helped coordinate this wonderful literacy experience for our students including Blue Lake Rancheria for donating books for each student! :)
🏫 October 20 - School Board Meeting
Our next Big Lagoon School Board Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 20 at 4:30 PM, both in person and via Zoom.
Families and community members are always welcome to attend.
October 21st Parent Teacher Organization Meeting: All parents and staff are invited to attend!! Last year we supported an ice skating field trip for the whole school, a trip for the upper graders to San Francisco, and swag for our school community! Our PTO needs you! We need a President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Please come to the meeting and see how you can get involved! We need you!
Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75571312737?pwd=g9ZQiSOLRnaUJfIvQsMPWH9I2bVI5S.1
🍂 October 28 - Fall Harvest Dinner
We are looking forward to our Fall Harvest Dinner on Wednesday, October 28 hosted by Two Feathers Native American Family Services!
This is a wonderful opportunity for our school community to gather, share a meal, and celebrate the fall season together.
Thank you Two Feathers!
🎃 October 30 - Halloween Afternoon
We are planning a fun Halloween afternoon for our students on Friday, October 30!
Activities will include:
🎂 Cake Walk featuring Yurok Language
🏃 Sack Races
🎨 Arts and Crafts
We will need adults to help at each activity station. If you are available to volunteer, please let us know. We would love to have families participate!
🎨 Looking Ahead
We have many wonderful experiences already on the calendar:
November 18: Jessica Cherry Mural Painting - Afterschool, all grades.
December 7: Winter Express for all grades at Dows Prairie Grange, 10:10 AM
January 14: GATE Academy at Cal Poly Humboldt, for 4th–6th grade students.
January 27: Peking Acrobats at Cal Poly Humboldt at 11:00 a.m. We currently have 24 students, and we are excited to take our students to this special performance!
February: Whole School Science Fair/History Day!!
🏃 Spring Track and Field Coach Needed
We will be looking for a Track and Field Coach for the spring season. The position includes a $500 stipend.
If you or someone you know would be interested, please see Cathie!
❤️ Thank You, Big Lagoon Community!
One of the things I appreciate most about Big Lagoon School is the way our small community comes together to create opportunities for our students. Whether it is helping at recess, supporting an academic competition, volunteering at an event, sharing a special skill, coaching a sport, or simply cheering our students on, every contribution makes a difference.
Thank you for being part of our Big Lagoon family. We have a lot to look forward to, and I am excited about all the learning and adventures ahead!
With appreciation,
Cathie Shermer
Superintendent/Principal
Big Lagoon School
