Pella High School Newsletter
December 2023
Dear Pella High School Students and Families:
Hello and happy December! The Pella High School students and staff have been working diligently to finish the semester successfully. We are so proud of all of them! Soon, we’ll be preparing for semester exams, and during this time, we cannot stress enough the importance of students maintaining engagement and using good time-management skills in order to maximize their efforts throughout the first semester. We want them to finish strong!
In closing, we would like to thank you for your continued support and wish you and your family a wonderful winter season and a happy holiday. We are thankful for you and your partnership in this high school journey!
Respectfully,
Josh Manning, Principal
Derek Schulte, Assistant Principal
Matt Fouch, Activities Director
First Semester Calendar of Events
December
6 - Professional Development: 90-Minute Early Dismissal
13 - Professional Development: 90-Minute Early Dismissal
22 - Holiday 90-Minute Early Dismissal - NO PD
22 - End 2nd Quarter - Start of Winter Break
January
3 - Teacher Work Day
4 - Classes Resume - Begin 2nd Semester
10 - Professional Development: 90-Minute Early Dismissal
15 - No School -MLK Day
24- Professional Development: 90-Minute Early Dismissal
31-Professional Development: 90-Minute Early Dismissal
Semester Assessments December 20th through 22nd
Semester assessments will be given in all classes. The students will be assessed in multiple ways by high school teachers. A student may be evaluated with a standard semester test, a project, a portfolio, a presentation, or an essay, etc.
There will be 80-minute assessment sessions on December 20 - 22.
Students are only required to be in school if they have a test. Students should be in the commons, the library, or may leave campus if they do not have an assessment. Students are not to be in the academic areas of the building during semester assessments. **They should not go to the Pella Middle School to visit former teachers either because they may be testing as well.
All students will eat during the same single lunch period.
Students who cannot take their assessments during the scheduled semester test days will be expected to make-up assessments. All make-up assessments must be coordinated with teachers. Students are not allowed to move any semester assessments without administrative approval.
Students will not be dismissed early from assessment sessions.
ISASP Incentive - Finals Opt Out Opportunity
As a result of all grade levels being proficient on ISASP assessments last school year, all students have the opportunity to opt out of one final. Students may opt out of any course except the following:
Classes with a failing grade
A college credit class
A class in “Danger” of failing. If your student is currently at a D in the class, they may not be able to opt out due to the potential of failing the course.
SEMESTER FINALS SCHEDULE
2nd Semester Class Schedules, Course Drops or Adds
Through the Infinite Campus portal, students and parents are able to view and print class schedules from the Documents tab. Second-semester schedules may have changed since the first semester, so please review student schedules on the campus portal. Also, please encourage your students to review their second-semester schedule before winter break.
At the beginning of each semester, students will be allowed five school days in which to add or drop a course. After the tenth school day, dropping a course will result in an “F” for the class, unless an extreme circumstance exists.
Future Ready Conference Make-ups and Survey
Overall, we have 82% of our FRC conferences completed at this point, and our goal is still 100% completion. Seniors must complete their FRC as part of their graduation checkout process.
If you were unable to attend your student’s Future Ready Conference, please reach out to his/her iLead teacher or to one of our counselors, Jessica Manning or Rachel VanZante, to set a date for a make-up conference!
*Please take a moment to complete the feedback survey, so we can work to improve our next round of FRCs. FRC Parent Feedback Survey
1st Semester Report Cards & GPA
Grades for Semester 1 are due January 4, 2024 by 3:30 PM. By the end of that week, report cards will be made available on the Infinite Campus Parent Portal under the DOCUMENTS tab which will include the student’s term and cumulative GPA from the end of the first semester.
Senior Release Information
Thank you to those who have made attendance and grades a priority in the first semester. So far this year the senior class’ attendance rate is around 96% and as a group, the seniors are passing roughly 98% of all their classes! Both of those numbers are outstanding and are both determining factors in senior release privileges. At the end of this semester, student records will be reviewed. Semester grades and attendance reports will determine whether a student is granted senior release to begin the second semester.
Again, thank you for a great first semester, and encourage your students to finish strong.
School Closing or Dismissals due to Weather
It is that time of year again where we have the possibility of closing school, starting late, or dismissing early due to weather issues. We will continue to notify parents/guardians by phone, text, and email. Below lists other avenues to see if school is delayed or canceled.
Pella Community School District Website
KNIA/KRLS
KCOB/KRTI
KBOE
KCWN
WHO Radio
WHO TV: Channel 13
KCCI TV: Channel
LOCAL abc5 - We Are IOWA : Channel 5
To update your phone number and email address, log into the Infinite Campus Parent Portal and click on the MORE tab. Your change request will sit in a queue until our staff can process your request.
Senior Bulletin
Please continue to check the Senior Bulletin for important dates for seniors and for local scholarship opportunities; the bulletin can be found on our school’s web page under the ‘Counseling’ link.
LEADER IN ME: Habits to Home
As we near the end of our first semester, we are taking a look at some of our organizational habits. We want students to achieve their goals this semester. On December 6, iLead teachers will be checking in with their students and having conversations about how they will reach their goal this semester. They will be revisiting how these habits will help us:
Habit 1 - Be Proactive: take responsibility for my life - my actions, my words, my reactions.
Habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind: define my mission and goals for life.
Habit 3 Put First Things First: prioritize the most important things for my life.
You can continue the conversation at home with your students. You may want to consider the following:
Habit 1 is about initiative and responsibility. Each night, help your student determine what they will need for the next day. To start, writing a list may be helpful.
Habit 2 is about visualizing how you would like something to turn out before it happens. Maybe at your home, a smooth morning is the goal. You could brainstorm with your student how that will look and feel. Your student may actually have time to do something extra in the morning if they are organized, and you will all have a happy start to the day.
Habit 3 means focusing on the task when there’s something else you would rather be doing—the hardest part of all! Help your student learn how to avoid distractions by reminding them that, if they stick to it, all the fun things can come right after!
Remember, it takes time to teach our students these skills. Sometimes, it will seem simpler just to do all the things for them, but using Habits 1–3 is a life skill that will benefit them their entire lives.
Transcript Requests
If you need an official transcript sent to an educational institution, you must submit a request. Transcript Request Form
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