As part of your daily routine please check with your student each morning regarding how they are feeling. If students are exhibiting COVID like symptoms please keep them home. In the event that your student exhibits COVID like symptoms here at school your student will be assessed by our school nurse who will then make the decision on whether or not your student can continue their day at school or if we need a parent/guardian to pick them up. Staff will also be expected to follow this daily protocol regarding self-assessment for their health.

It is a district policy that we ask for parent/guardian ID when picking up a student from school.This is not intended to be inconvenient but it helps assist us in providing a high degree of student safety.

Spring has finally sprung and what a welcome sight it is. I hope everyone is able to enjoy the warm temps and sunshine, and that your snow is melting quickly. Speaking of quickly, the end of the school year is quickly approaching, less than four weeks away and with that comes a variety of information that you and your student will need.

COVID Update:

With the recent community increase of positive covid cases we are seeing a few more student cases as well. Please remember to keep your student home if they are feeling ill and if they have any covid like symptons (see updated decision tree) and if your student has come in contact with someone who has been diagnosed as positive please keep them home as well and inform our school nurse. We sincerely appreciate your cooperation as we near the end of the year.

Last Student Day:

May 20th, with the additional snow day a few weeks ago an additional student contact day was added.

Library Books:

The last day for student check out of library books from North Pole Middle School is April 30th. If you have library books at home please bring the by the school to have them checked in.

Device Collection:

We were happy to be able to loan out chromebooks to students during this school year and it is now time to think about their return. In-person students should have their chromebooks returned on May 18th and our remote and eLearning students should have their chromebooks turned in on May 19th. Please have your student locate the following items as each one plays an important part for future chromebook use and distribution.

• chromebook in good working order
• charger, if somehow your student has more than one school charger at home please bring them all in
• the pouch that the chromebook was issued in

Fines will be created in individual student PowerSchool accounts for missing/damaged chromebooks and chargers. Please help us reduce the number of fines having to be created by returning all items in good working order.

In years past one of our end of year incentives has been a walking field trip lunch. Kids have earned the right to walk to NP and have lunch at a fast food restaurant of choice, with chaperones in tow, of course. This year because the local establishments aren’t able to accommodate us in large groups we’re taking a different approach to getting at the same goal, students earning C’s and above and no discipline referrals.

On May 14 we have three local food trucks who have agreed to come to North Pole Middle School during our lunch time to reward students who have no D’s or F’s and no discipline referrals. A big thank you goes out to:

• Wild Wings and Things
• Hot off the Press
• Roaming Wolf Grill

who have all agreed to be a part of this incentive for students. Each vendor has agreed to put together a small menu (2-3 items) that are kid friendly and create a “meal” for them consisting of an entre’, chips and drink for $10. Students are by no means required to participate even if they meet the conditions and our regular free school lunch will be offered that day for students to partake in. As the date gets closer look for more information.

Help us celebrate May 3-7 all of the staff members who keep North Pole Middle School up and running.

Due to the shortages that First Student is experiencing with their drivers expect to see routes being combined and occasional late buses. If you ever have any questions regarding a late bus in the morning or afternoon you can call the Bus Barn at 907-488-4477.

• A BIG SMILE and WELCOMING ATTITUDE
• MASK!
• Chromebook and charging chord
• Water bottle, all of our drinking fountains have been turned off but we do have two filling stations available.
• School supplies, if you have a binder that’s fine, if you just bring pencil and pen for now that’s fine too. We’ll figure what we need as we learn to balance electronics with real life learning.
• Lunch if you bring lunch from home.

A bus deviation is a request for your student to ride a bus that they aren't registered for and that they don't usually ride.

A few helpful hints on how to request a bus deviation:

• It MUST be requested in writing via notes, email (contact-npm@k12northstar.org) or fax. Students may NOT write their own notes.
• If you send one by email, you will get a reply saying we received it. If you don’t get a reply please call 488-2271. Please have it turned into the office by 2:00 pm. If you submit an email after 1:00pm, please call to confirm receipt.

-Your request needs to have the following information on it:

• Your student's name
• Bus number (route) and the name of the street it stops at
• How long the deviation is good for(just that day or for the whole school year)
• Parent's name and contact information
• Our fax number is:(907)488-9213
• Email requests to: contact-npm@k12northstar.org

The district has indicated that masks are required both on the bus and throughout the day in the building. As I mentioned in a previous newsletter the proper wearing of masks is a deal breaker. If students are not wearing their mask the classroom teacher will make several requests for them to do so and educate them on why wearing their mask is important. If the student continues to not wear a mask the student will be referred to the administration and we will follow the same process with the student and notify the family. During that notification administration will be requesting the family's assistance in helping the student comply with the mask requirement. During that call we may or may not discuss other learning options for your student if compliance with wearing the mask is not possible. Our intent is not to punish kids for not wearing masks but to also maintain the safety of the entire building so we can all come to school for as long as possible.

In order to provide students with multiple opportunities to stay involved in school activities, we are hosting the following activities after school in 2-week sessions:

April 26 - May 7

• Track & Field
• 7-8 Girls' Volleyball

The following forms are required to participate in a sports activity:

• Sports Physical
• Activity Consent & Emergency Medical Info form
• Concussion Information form
• Covid-19 "opt-in" form

The following forms are required for non-sports activity clubs:

• Activity Consent & Emergency Medical Info form
• Covid-19 "opt-in" form