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.

Hello Parents and Families:

I hope you had a terrific Easter weekend, it was certainly one to remember. The promise of a snowstorm always brings a sense of angst at our house but in the end it results in laughter, snowball fights and the wonder of what huge piles of snow actually look like and the tunnels that can be built within them.

I wanted to take a moment to recognize two groups of people in this newsletter; students and teachers. We’ve recently completed our MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing, which is a three times a year assessment that we give as a district. This assessment is a terrific tool to use with kids for goal setting and to give us an updated read on how they’re progressing and learning throughout the year instead of just once a year like the State Assessment, PEAKS.

I’m happy to tell you that through looking at the MAP assessment results, your kids are learning and have learned throughout the last year. We’ve seen many students that have shown growth, we’ve seen kids that have maintained a steady score and a few who dropped a point or two but when you consider the conditions under which we’ve asked kids to learn over the past year, even a small drop in score is a “win” in my book. Your student’s teachers have worked very hard to adapt their teaching, learn new tools and provide your students a robust learning experience even when I gave them permission “to do a little less” at times. I am very proud of the commitment they have shown to your student's success and I am proud of the commitment the two groups have shown to one another. If/when you have a moment I would encourage you to thank your student and their teachers.

Below is a variety of information as we speed towards the end of the year, it’s only 7 weeks away, I know that sounds like a lot of time – it’s really not.

As always if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

Richard Smith, Principal

Students who have no D’s or F’s at the mid-quarter will receive a rootbeer float at lunch. Please encourage your kiddo to get that worked turned in, often times D’s and F’s are the result of work not being turned in versus poor quality.

In the past we have been able to make an academic incentive a “walking field trip” for kids to earn the opportunity to leave campus and go have lunch in North Pole with a small group and chaperones. This year we won’t be able to do that because businesses can’t necessarily house us so an alternative we’ve come up with is to bring the food to us – FOOD TRUCKS!

We have commitments from the Hungry Robot, Hot Off the Press and Roaming Wolf Grill to participate in this event which is scheduled for May 14 and I could really use 1 more vendor to participate. I’ve reached out to a couple but haven’t heard back and a few didn’t express interest. I know we can deliver 300+ people that day so I would hope it would be worth their while and we’re using this as an opportunity to reward students for good grades and good behavior in addition to supporting local businesses. Any suggestions you have would be great or you can refer venders to the school directly.

We will be holding an eighth grade celebration this year but it will not be a ceremony like we’ve done in the past. This year we’ll be hosting a “drive thru” celebration where families can bring their eighth grade student through to pick up a gift, their certificate and a cupcake. Look for more details in the next few weeks.

Each year the counselors at NPHS meet with incoming 9th graders for their PLCPs (Personal Learning and Career Plan). During this meeting counselors meet with students, and if possible parents/guardians, to discuss coming into North Pole High School. We answer questions about classes, activities and anything and everything high school related. This year the meetings will be occurring at North Pole Middle School during the school day. We would love to be able to meet with parents/guardians as well as student so if you are able to attend that is fantastic. If you are unable to attend we will see your student during the scheduled time and work with you to make sure that you have answers to all your questions.

To make a scheduled appointment for your student please fill out the appointment request form found here . If you have any issues with the form please let us know. If you have any questions please reach out.

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.

• 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:

March 29 - April 9

• 7-8 Girls' Volleyball
• Coding Club

April 12 - 23

• Boys & Girls Basketball (All Grades)
• Cupcake Making Club

April 26 - May 12

• 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