Lake Agassiz Back to School
August 2021 Newsletter
Are you ready for school??
Open House- Tuesday, August 24th
4 pm - 6 pm
Wednesday, August 25th
Breakfast 7:40 am ~ DOOR 12
First Bell 8:20 am ~ Grade Level assigned Door (see map below)
Tardy Bell 8:25 am
Message from Mrs. Jonasson
With our return to learning this fall, there is much new information for everyone and it builds and changes as the number of COVID cases change in our county. Please know that our district has continued its commitment to bring students back to learning in a safe environment. Our Superintendents, Directors, School Board members, teachers, and other administrators have been meeting weekly to build a comprehensive plan for a safe return to school on August 25th. This newsletter will contain a lot of important general information for the new school year so keep this link handy (or saved in your email) so you can always refer back when you have a question. It is our goal for our families to have the answers to all their questions in this newsletter, so please take the time to review it in its entirety.
Some "assignments" for families will be noted in the links below-- completing these before August 25th will make for much less stress and chaos at Open House or that first morning of school.
Thank you!
Mrs. Jonasson
FAQs
Class Assignments:
Classroom assignments will be emailed to families by the end of the day Friday, August 20th. Teachers, specialists, and administrators thoughtfully drafted class lists and have since reviewed and revised these lists. Much time and effort have gone into making class assignments, therefore once class assignments have been posted, changes will not be made. Thank you in advance for not calling to request that changes be made after class lists have been completed.
OPEN HOUSE
The Open house for Grades K-5 will be held on Tuesday, August 24 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. You will have the opportunity to visit your child's classroom, meet their teacher, and drop off school supplies at that time. You will also be able to deposit money in your child's lunch account. Students in Grades 3 - 5 will be able to pick up their new planners in their classroom and purchase a Chromebook case. You can pay for your Chromebook case and insurance ahead of time! Click this link to get that taken care of: http://bit.ly/2Z3UiUe
MY SCHOOL BUCKS: You can pay for all of your child's extracurricular fees, device insurance, bus tickets, and lunch fee through the My School Bucks app. Using this app saves you a great amount of time and prevents loose cash or checks from getting lost between home and school - It is definitely worth the time of setting up the app! *My School Bucks links to Powerschool, so your fees are adjusted for free/reduced status and also gives your access to pay for all of your children in the GFPS school system, regardless of school.
2021-22 SCHOOL SUPPLY LIST
Grand Forks Public Schools is using TeacherLists to share the 2021-22 school supply lists!. This free internet tool allows families to find and shop for their child's supply list easily with the convenience of one-click shopping or in-store pickup from several national retailers, including Walmart and Target. Click this link to get started: http://bit.ly/2GWbyAz
FAMILY SUPPORT
If you have needs for your child, please visit with Alisa Bowman, our School Social Worker (abowman260@mygfschools.org). She is here to help make school a successful place for your child. For more information, check in at the office or talk to Mrs. Bowman directly.
We are eager to have your child(ren) back in the building for a wonderful year full of learning and growing! We look forward to seeing you all at Open House! Please take the time to read this newsletter...it is lengthy but full of valuable information for new or veteran families of Lake Agassiz School.
Wednesday, August 25th
School begins Grades K-9
Wednesday, September 1st
ENCORE Begins
Monday, September 6th
NO SCHOOL - Labor Day
Wednesday, September 22nd
1:30 pm Early Release
Arrival & Dismissal
SCHOOL ARRIVAL
School doors do not open until 7:40 am, when we have staff available to supervise students. Students safety is of great importance to us, so please do not drop your kids off or allow them to get to school before 7:40 am.
Breakfast begins at 7:40 am
First Bell - 8:20 am
Tardy Bell - 8:25 am
SCHOOL DISMISSAL
Students are dismissed at 3:00 pm and must be picked up promptly, walk straight home after school, ride the bus, or go to Encore. Students will meet parents and guardians outside at their designated door (see map below). Older siblings may meet their youngest sibling at their assigned door for dismissal. Due to safety concerns, students should not stay and play on the playground. The safety of our students is a top priority. As per district policy, schools will have parents meet their child(ren) at a designated location outside the school at dismissal time.Door Assignments:
- Kindergarten - Door #1
- 1st grade - Door #12
- 2nd grade - Door #11
- 3rd grade - Door #10
- 4th grade - Door #9
- 5th grade - Door #2
- Older siblings meet the youngest sibling at the youngest sibling’s assigned door.
- Bus/Daycare van students will walk through the school to Door #2 to board their bus or van.
- Please follow the directions as painted on the North parking lot as you maneuver through this lot at drop-off and dismissal. The two lanes closest to the door are for pick up and the farthest lane is for looping around the parking lot. Car should not be stopped in the far left lane, nor should parents leave cars unattended in the middle or outer left lane.
- Check out the document below for a map of our dismissal plans.
SCHOOL SECURITY/PARENT AND VISITOR SIGN IN
All doors will be locked by 8:30 am each day. If you would like to visit or pick up your child, please use door #1 located on Stanford Rd by the flagpole. All schools in the district have a "Push to Talk" security system. After 8:30 am, all visitors will need to be "buzzed" in by the Main Office.
Communication
Getting important information to you...
GETTING IN TOUCH WITH YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER
Teachers do not always have time to check email throughout the day, so you may not receive an immediate response, but you are welcome to email them or message them in SeeSaw.
If you need to visit with your child's teacher, please call and make an appointment or request that the teacher call you when they are not teaching. Your child's education is our number one priority!
DIGITAL NEWSLETTERS
All monthly newsletters will be sent out electronically to each parents' email on file. Please make sure we have your most current email address on file in the office. We will have paper copies of the newsletter in the office for families who need a paper copy.
"SUNDAY NEWS"
Each Sunday, families will receive an email from the Lake Agassiz office with any reminders for the upcoming week. We will only update you on things for that week. It will be short and sweet, but hopefully helpful for busy families.
PARENT/GUARDIAN AND EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
Please keep the school office up-to-date on any address, phone number, and email changes. It is very important that we have all the current and correct information on file. We need updated contact information in the event of an emergency. It is also required that parents give us an Emergency contact in the case that we are not able to reach you during an emergency situation with your child.
SCHOOL EVENTS
Don't forget to visit our Lake Agassiz website for calendar information. Important dates, as well as intramural and chorus schedules, will be posted on our online calendar. Hopefully, this helps families review dates whenever they need to. We will add a link to the calendar in our Sunday News as well. Calendar
COMMUNICATION FOLDERS
Every student at our school will bring home a purple communication folder. Please help your child build the skill of having a routine each day to check their folder at home, complete any homework, give any letters to you, and return necessary items back to school the next day. This is a great skill for students to learn and a habit that can begin in Kindergarten and strengthen each year after.
BLACKBOARD CALLS/E-MAILS/TEXT MESSAGES
Grand Forks Public Schools uses a program called Blackboard for mass communication. This is a communication system that allows principals or the Grand Forks School District to relay information to families in a timely manner. If you see a call from GFPS on your caller ID, please pick it up and listen to the message. This is especially important if you don't have voice mail or an answering machine. Oftentimes parents do not answer our call and then call our school to find information about the message. This overloads our phone lines which causes us to miss other calls coming to our office at that time.
TELEPHONE CALLS
Our office receives many telephone calls from parents who want to leave messages or make different after-school arrangements for students. We ask that you limit these calls to emergencies only. As a school, we limit announcements and interruptions so student learning is not interrupted. Please remind your child in the morning before they leave for school about rides, appointments, etc. If you do need to make changes to your child's after-school arrangements, please call before 2:45 pm as our phone lines and office needs are very busy from 2:45 pm to 3:00 pm. This makes it hard to answer all calls and get the information to students before they are dismissed. The sooner you can let us know, the better! Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Stay tuned for upcoming PTO meeting dates and time!
Attendance Counts!
LAKE AGASSIZ ATTENDANCE LINE 701-746-2277
If your child will be late or absent from school, please inform the school office by calling the attendance line number above before 8:25 am. You will not speak directly to anyone, it is a message line only (so you can call at any time). Please leave your child's name, teacher, and reason for absence. All students absent or arriving late because of an appointment of any kind will need to have a written excuse from the doctor's office in order for the absence or tardy to be excused. Medically excused absences do not count against a student's absences if a note is provided by the medical provider. Communication between home and school ensures students' safety. If the school does not hear from you, we will give you a call to make sure your child is safe.
Attendance is very important. If your child is not in school, he/she is missing out on very important learning. We monitor student attendance closely and follow the Grand Forks Public Schools "Stay in School" policy.
School Lunch and Wellness
- Download and use the MySchoolBucks app-- it will save you time and it can be used to pay for all school expenses- device insurance, intramurals, not just lunch!
- All meals are free for students again this school year.
- Milk is included with a meal but is $.50 if chosen to purchase separately or in addition to what is provided with a meal.
- 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.
With our automated system, it is necessary that students have money in their lunch accounts when they come to lunch. For those new to Grand Forks, lunch I.D. numbers will be available at Open House. Deposits can be made each school day until 10:00 in the lunchroom. They should be in a sealed envelope with the child’s name and I.D. number on it. You may also deposit money online at https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/login/getmain?requestAction=home. Checks should be made payable to GFPS (Grand Forks Public Schools).
FREE/REDUCED MEAL APPLICATION - PLEASE FILL IT OUT!
Students may be eligible for free or reduced-price meals according to income guidelines. An application will be available at Open House. Additional applications can be picked up in our school office. After the application has been reviewed by the Child Nutrition Department, you will be notified by letter of your status. If you qualify for free or reduced meals, you are helping Lake Agassiz's School Title 1 program. Our Title 1 classification is dependent on our free and reduced ratio. If you are certified, you are indirectly helping our school secure staffing and services for students. All information is confidential. Names are never disclosed. Thank you, in advance, for taking the time to complete the Free and Reduced form!
- *Note that in order to receive reduced rates for school extracurriculars and other fee-based opportunities, you will need to complete the Free and Reduced Lunch application to determine your fee rate.
PEANUT AND TREE NUT RESTRICTED SCHOOL
All Grand Forks Public Schools are peanut and tree nut restricted schools.
BIRTHDAY SNACKS
Due to an increased number of students with food allergies, we no longer celebrate student birthdays with a "birthday snack" in the Grand Forks Public Schools. Parents are welcome to find other non-food items to send to school if they wish. For example, a book, game, pencil or school supplies may be donated to your child's classroom.
INTRAMURALS
Intramurals are offered to 4th and 5th-grade students throughout the school year. Before your child may participate, you are required to read the concussion information, sign the form indicating you have read the information, and return that to our office. Schedule for upcoming intramural 'seasons' will come to our gym teachers, Mr. Capes and Mr. Pederson.
- There is a fee for participating. There is a sliding fee scale according to a student's free and reduced status. By paying with the MySchoolBucks app, your reduced fee will automatically be configured.
- Intramurals run from 3:00 to 4:00 pm.
- A schedule will be sent home with students as well as posted on our LA website.
MEDICATION PROCEDURES
If your child will be taking prescription medication during school hours, you will need a Medication form from the office. This form needs to be completed and signed by the physician and parent. If your child is taking over-the-counter medication (Tylenol, etc.), the form needs to be completed and signed by the parent only. You may turn the form into the office during our Open House or when the time arises that your child needs to take medication during the day.
PETS AND ANIMALS AT SCHOOL
Pets or animals are prohibited on school grounds during school hours due to potential safety and health concerns.
Encore Registration Information
Encore Early Out Wednesday Club Registration
The deadline to register for Encore Early Out Wednesday Club is Wednesday, August 25th. Please register by completing the form at: Early Out Registration
Or you may fill out the paper copy and return to Encore at 500 Stanford Road or scan it to kerickson250@mygfschools.org
Click here for the paper copy.
EARLY OUT DATES - 1:30 DISMISSALS
School dismisses at 1:30 on the following dates (please mark these dates on your calendar):
Sept. 22nd
Oct. 13th
Oct. 27th
Nov. 10th
Dec. 1st
Dec. 15th
Jan. 12th
Jan. 26th
Feb. 9th
Mar. 23rd
Apr. 6th
Apr. 20th
May 4th
May 18th
Annual FERPA Notice
District Safety Procedures
Emergency Response Guide
Early Childhood Selective Screen
In order to identify students between the ages of 3 to 5 who have a disability, the Grand Forks Special Education Unit holds a selective screen one time monthly throughout the school year (September -April).
The purpose of the screen is to identify children who have a disability that may affect their school performance when they are of school age. Data collection in the areas of early intervention has demonstrated the benefits of providing services early in the life of a child to significantly reduce the impact of a disability during the school years.
Screenings are completed based on a referral to the screen due to concerns about a child's development in one or more of the following areas:
- Speech/language,
- Cognition,
- General development,
- Social/emotional,
- Fine and gross motor skills,
- Vision,
- Hearing.
If you have questions about the screenings or have a child you would like to refer to the screen, please contact the Grand Forks Special Education Unit office at 701-746-2230.
Early childhood selective screenings require pre-registration and will be held on Wednesday mornings at the Phoenix Elementary School (351 4th Ave. S) on:
- September 8, 2021
- October 6, 2021
- November 3, 2021
- December 8, 2021
- January 19, 2022
- February 16, 2022
- March 30, 2022
- April 27, 2022
Lake Agassiz Elementary
Email: cmomerak140@mygfschools.org
Website: gfschools.org/Domain/1047
Location: 605 Stanford Road, Grand Forks, ND, USA
Phone: 701-746-2275