The Lion Pride Press
#LionPride
There are a lot of pieces of information in this edition of The Lion Pride Press. Things may change as we adapt to the challenges around us! Thanks for being flexible as we maneuver all things school during these unprecedented times!
Hello Lions! We’re all so excited to begin another school year here at Lewis and Clark Elementary School, but most of all, we’re excited to see all of you! We hope you’ve had a wonderful summer and have enjoyed the nice weather, time with family, and being outside with friends.
I'd like to introduce myself as the principal of Lewis and Clark Elementary School. I'm Loren Hoheisel, and I've been in the Grand Forks Public School District for 14 years. Throughout my time in the district, I've been privileged to assume many roles. I've been a special education teacher, Building Resource Coordinator, and Associate Principal. Another hat that I am privileged to wear is dad. I have four children who are also in the GFPS school district, more specially, all four are in elementary school.
What I'm most excited about this year is getting to know you and your families, seeing growth in every student, and fully embracing and supporting the the strong family we have here at Lewis and Clark! I look forward to chasing the adventure with the Lion Pride! As we continue to sail on uncharted waters, a collective agreement that I ask for our school, families, and community is that we problem-solve together, be flexible together, and show compassion together. We are all in this together!
If there is anything I can help with as our Lion Cubs return to school this fall, please reach out to the office or email me at lhoheisel160@mygfschools.org. Take care, and we'll see you soon!
Mr. Hoheisel
(PS - Hoheisel is a really hard name for some, so you might hear me referred to as "Mr. H" by students, teachers, and families. Otherwise, Hoheisel is pronounced Ho-Hi-Zull. Either is fine by me!)
Notes from the Office
Online Registration:
- Every student at Lewis & Clark Elementary School needs to be registered in the PowerSchool Parent Portal for the upcoming year. If you did not complete this over the spring/summer you will need to do it immediately. Go to https://grand-forks.ps.state.nd.us/public/home.html. Enter your access ID and password and then click on the “Registration 2021-22” link.
- Most of you should have already received your access ID and password. If you have questions, please call the office at 746-2285.
Class Assignments:
- If your PowerSchool contact information is completed correctly with updated addresses, emails, and phone numbers, you'll receive an email with your child's classroom teacher assignment during the week of August 16th. To ensure you receive this information, use the above registration link to update your families' contact info if you haven't done so already.
Our teams pride themselves in working collaboratively so students have the opportunity to work with other students and teachers throughout the school. If your child is not in the same class as one of their friends, it’s ok! Students will have opportunities to work collaboratively throughout the school year, enjoy lunch together, and play outside together. Scheduling classes for students is a complex task, and for this reason, we ask that you do not request any changes to your child’s classroom teacher assignment.
Supply lists can be found here.
Open House: Tuesday, August 24th 4:00-6:00 pm Stop by to meet your teacher, bring your school supplies, and walk around the school. You can use door #1 to enter and exit the building.
COVID Safety Protocols & Procedures
GFPS School Calendar
Title 1 Info
- Lewis & Clark is a Title 1 school that receives government funding to support the academic advancement of our students. The amount of funding we receive is determined by the percentage of our students who qualify for free or reduced priced meals. In order to ensure that Lewis & Clark continues to receive Title 1 funding, I am asking all families, regardless of your income, to please take the time to fill out the application for free and reduced meals. The application will be sent home with your child and can also be found here: Link to Free & Reduced Priced Meals Information
Breakfast & Arrival Info
Morning Options:
- Breakfast: 7:40-8:20 (door #1 or #4)
- Waiting Outside: supervision will be provided at 8:00 am for students waiting outside their assigned arrival doors.
Breakfast:
Students eating breakfast may arrive no earlier than 7:40 AM and can enter through the main entrance, Door #1 (if walking or biking), or if you will be dropping your children off in a vehicle, please use our drive-through lane and drop them off at Door #4 in the parking lot.
* Door #2 will be utilized by staff only. When families use this door, it often causes congestion in the parking lot. So please pull all the way forward using the drive through lanes and use door #4 for breakfast.
If your child will not be eating breakfast at school, plan to arrive as close to 8:20 as possible. We will have designated spaces for students to line up outside of their assigned doors:
- Door 1: Hagadorn & Storbakken
- Door 2: Gierszewski, Lovelace, & Muus
- Door 3: Barandi, Mattice, Torgerson, Eriksmoen, & Ellingson
Dismissal Info
Dismissal Doors:
- Door 1: Hagadorn & Storbakken
- Door 2: Gierszewski, Lovelace, & Muus
- Door 3: Barandi, Mattice, Torgerson, Eriksmoen, & Ellingson
Parking Options:
Our parking lot has two lanes of traffic. Lane 1, closest to the building on the right, is for drop off and pick up only. The left lane, Lane 2, is a lane for continuous drive-through traffic; vehicles in Lane 2 are not allowed to stop. In order to ensure traffic flows safely in all lanes, PLEASE REMAIN IN YOUR VEHICLE. If you wish to exit your vehicle, you will need to park at Elks Pool. Safety is always our first priority.
NOTE: Families CANNOT pull up and stop by our main entrance on 13th Avenue South to drop off or pick up students. Stopping on 13th Avenue South blocks the crosswalk, causes congestion, and puts our students in danger. If you choose to park on 13th, you must park on the south side of the street, remain in your vehicle, and have your child utilize the crosswalk.
Siblings:
- Older siblings will not be able to walk through the building to meet younger siblings at their classroom doors. Please arrange and discuss an outdoor meeting spot for your family prior to the first day of school.
- If you would like to drive through our parking lot to pick up your child, please plan to use our pick-up lane along the north wing of the building. School staff will be on hand to assist our students to safely get into their cars at the end of each school day.
Signing a Student In/Out
- Please call the office at 701.746.2285 or buzz at door #1 (flagpole).
- In the office, please sign your child out and check the box if they will be returning for the day.
- When arriving late, you will sign your child in and the office will provide your student with a late slip to give to their teacher, as well as may be marked tardy (dependent on the reason for being late).
- When informing a teacher about an absence, please also check in with the office to ensure your child is coded correctly in PowerSchool. (Attendance Line: 701.746.2287 or Main Office 701.746.2285)
Snacks & Allergies
School Snacks:
Some teachers schedule a snack time during the school day. You are not required to provide a snack for your child. However, if you do, please send snacks in accordance with the following Nutrition Standards outlined in the Grand Forks Public School District Wellness Policy.
Snacks should include a nutrition label
Sugar is not the first ingredient (Different names for sugar: brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, honey, fruit juice concentrate, high fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, lactose maltose, malt syrup, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose, syrup)
- Candy is not allowed
All snacks are peanut and nut free
Any fruit or vegetable is allowable
Yogurt and cheese are allowable (with freezer pack to keep cool)
Plain water in any size is allowable
Snacks that contain or may contain peanuts or other nuts (for peanut and tree nut restricted schools), do not fall within the nutrition standards listed above, and/or do not have a nutrition label, will be sent home with your child.
Peanut/Nut Free School:
- When sending a snack or packing a lunch, please remember to check labels to make sure it does not contain or have traces of peanuts/nuts.
Birthday Treats & Invitations:
Due to food allergies, we no longer celebrate student birthdays with a “birthday snack” in our schools. Parents are welcome to find other non-food items to send to school if they wish. Please discuss with your child’s classroom teacher for ideas or preferences.
Teachers will not assist in the distribution of birthday invitations in the event that a student would be left out. If the classroom teacher creates a classroom directory, please utilize that for sending invitations through the mail.
Don't forget to bring a water bottle each day!
Attendance Policies
- STAY IN SCHOOL Program - There is a positive correlation between regular attendance and academic success. The Stay in School Program is a collaborative effort of community agencies with the purpose of reducing excessive school absence and tardiness. This is a joint venture between school, family, and community, which offers assistance to parents and students at an early intervention point in order to reduce time away from the classroom.
- ATTENDANCE POLICY - As per North Dakota state law, all students enrolled in the Grand Forks Public Schools are expected to be in school on time and ready to learn each day. To accomplish this, a child needs proper nourishment, sleep, and support from the home. Regular attendance patterns develop a positive daily routine that supports learning and requires the members of the school community, including parents, students, teachers, and support staff.
- North Dakota State guidelines state: “Students shall miss no more than 20 days per year.”
- Parents are expected to call the school attendance line
- Child will not be in attendance.
- Medically excused absences do not count against a student's twenty days IF a note is provided by a doctor, dentist, orthodontist, optometrist, therapist, etc.
RECORDING ATTENDANCE
The following guidelines are used to record attendance if school is in session for a full day.
- Whole day absent – If a student is absent four (4) or more hours, they are reported absent for one (1) school day.
- Half day absent – If a student is absent two (2) or three (3) hours, they are reported absent for one-half (1/2) school day.The following guidelines are used to record attendance if school is dismissed at 11:20am.
- Whole day absent – If a student is absent three (3) or more hours, they are reported absent for one (1) school day.
- Half day absent – If a student is absent two (2) or less hours, they are reported absent for one- half (1/2) school day.
1:1 Student Devices
- Students at Grand Forks Public Schools will be issued a student learning device. Kindergarten–2nd grade students will receive an iPad, while students in grades 3-12 will be issued a Chromebook.
- With these digital learning tools comes a variety of information for our families. Please carefully review the attachments for information on: the Acceptable Use Policy, Receiving, caring for, using, and returning the learning device,the Device Use Pledge, the Device Protection Plan (DPP), and Internet connectivity.
MySchoolBucks
- This online portal can be used to purchase chromebook cases, device protection plans, and Chromebook cases. Check out this link for more information www.myschoolbucks.com.
Family Supports
- School Social Worker: Mrs. Logan Kassa (lkassa100@mygfschools.org)
- School Counselor: Mrs. Tracy Lawler (tlawler010@mygfschools.org)
A Note from Lewis & Clark's PTO
The Lewis and Clark PTO would like to welcome everyone to a brand new school year! All Lewis and Clark Lion families are welcome to participate in the PTO - the more the merrier. Please find us on Facebook to keep up with PTO happenings throughout the year. Our first meeting of the year will be on Monday, September 13th at 6:30 pm. This meeting will be held virtually over Zoom.
Questions? Please contact PTO chair Maura Ferguson at mauracferguson@gmail.com. We look forward to another great year!
Notes from the Nurse
Notes from the Child Nutrition Program
The USDA extended the universal free breakfast and lunch initiative through the 2021-2022 school year! Check out the attachment below.
With that being said, PLEASE...PLEASE...PLEASE fill out the appropriate documents needed for your student/family:
Link to Free & Reduced Priced Meals Information
Special Dietary Needs Form
Wellness Policy:
- In accordance with the Grand Forks Public School Wellness Policy #6175 we strive to be superior in our nutrition standards. This means that no fast food or other restaurant food is allowed in the lunchroom for either student or parent.
Notes from ENCORE
ENCORE-After School Program: The ENCORE program is made possible through federal 21st Century funds, which are available for schools whose number of families that qualify for free or reduced-price meals as 40 percent or higher. Registration is required (including re-registration if enrolled last year).
- This is an academic-based program,
- We are mandated to provide two hours a day of academics, regardless of grade level,
- Not all spots are guaranteed,
- Some locations may have a waiting list due to space and staffing,
- ENCORE is not offered on 11:20 a.m. dismissal days or non-school days.
If you have questions about ENCORE, please call Kayla Erickson, Director at (701) 215-8041 or email at kerickson250@mygfschools.org
ENCORE Early-out Club:
- The program operates from 1:30-3 p.m. on Early Out Wednesdays.
- Early Out Club provides participants with organized and active after-school activities, arts and crafts, computers, and various STEM activities.
- This program is free and is being offered in cooperation with Grand Forks Public Schools.If you have questions about ENCORE Early-out Club, please call Kayla Erickson, Director at (701) 215-8041 or email at kerickson250@mygfschools.org
Dates to Remember
- August 24th - Open House
- August 25th - First Day of School
- August 31st - Picture Day
September:
- September 6th - Labor Day - No School
- September 22nd - Early Release (1:30)