Pella High School Newsletter
September 2019
Dear Parents & Guardians,
We have had a very exciting first few days of school as we welcomed over 700 students. The first day of school opened with a pep assembly to celebrate students returning to school. The assembly was filled with great music, introductions and learning the fight song! The band set the tone by showing their skills, and students responded with great enthusiasm and school spirit. We feel that this was a solid start to what will surely be a great school year.
Thank you,
Adam Beckel, Principal
Derek Schulte, Assistant Principal
View High School Grades, Attendance, Lunch Payments, and Report Cards on Infinite Campus from Home, Work, or your Phone!
Parents and students have individual access to view grades, attendance, assignments online via the Infinite Campus portal. This link also allows parents to print report cards for insurance purposes (under the Reports tab), deposit money for school lunch (under the Food Service tab) and other items (under the Optional Payments under My Account button), and update demographic information (under the More tab).
Download the Campus Parent app from the App Store and use the district name of PELLA. Enter your Infinite Campus parent portal username and password to log in. This app allows you to view lunch balances, grades, assignments, and student schedules. See all your students in one app!
If you have forgotten your Infinite Campus portal username and password, please contact Allissa Grandia at 641-628-9539 or allissa.grandia@pellaschools.org.
Homecoming
Homecoming week is the week of September 23. The Homecoming theme: Play to Win. The kickoff starts with decorating areas of the building on September 20 after school. The first day of the week starts with coronation during the school day followed by Jungle Volleyball and Powder Puff that night. Class competitions and lip syncs will be on Thursday, September 26. The pep assembly, football game and dance will be on September 27. We are looking forward to the week of activity.
Upcoming College Planning Events
- Sunday, September 29th - Golden Circle College Fair @ Prairie Meadows Conference Center (Altoona)
- Wed/Thurs, Oct 2 & 3 - ZAPS ACT workshop @ Pella HS (details below)
- Wednesday, Oct 16 - PSAT (see info below)
- Thursday, Oct 10 - College Fair @ William Penn University in Osky (more details to come)
If you are interested in more details on the College Fair in DesMoines, please click the link. College Fairs are a great way for families to explore college options for future planning with students. Many different institutions will be in attendance to share information, 2 year community colleges and 4 year colleges - local and out-of-state .
An ACT workshop is planned at Pella High School for October 2 & 3. An instructor from the ZAPS company will lead students in a classroom setting with tips and strategies for the ACT standardized test. It is encouraged for juniors to take the ACT test in April or June if they are anticipating attending a four year institution. Visit the Doorway to College website for registration, study tips and stats on the ZAPs workshop benefits. Another ZAPS workshop will be offered in March for ACT preparation closer to Spring testing dates. The ACT registration website has all testing dates and deadlines for the 2019-20 school year. There is also a free online ACT test preparation ‘academy’ on this website.
PSAT Testing Information
The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) is co-sponsored by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The PSAT/NMSQT is administered to students in grade 11 and grade 10 and is a great practice for taking the SAT. This year’s test will be administered on Wednesday, October 30th. Students wishing to take the PSAT/NMSQT must sign up in the Student Services Center in the high school beginning today. The deadline for signing up is September 10.
Transcript Requests - Online
Applying to college? Please follow these steps on the Pella District website for any official transcript requests:
http://www.pellaschools.org/schools/high-school/counseling/transcript-requests/
High School page > Gray box on right hand side > Counseling > Transcript Request Form
Important Dates for Semester One
September
2 - No School – Labor Day
6 - 9-12 School Pictures
11- 90 Minute Early Dismissal
13 - 3-Week Grade Check
18 - 90 Minute Early Dismissal
23-27 - Homecoming Week
25 - 90 Minute Early Dismissal
October
2 - 90 Minute Early Dismissal
7 - 6-Week Grade Check
9 - 90 Minute Early Dismissal
14 - Parent Teacher Conferences: Open Forum
15 - 2 hour dismissal
16 - PSAT Test
17 - 2 hour dismissal
18 - No School - P/T Comp. Day
23 - 90 Minute Early Dismissal
25 - Midterm - End of first quarter
30 - Professional Development: 90-Minute Early Dismissal
* Go to www.pella.k12.ia.us and click on the calendar tab to see all events/activities. You may also access the calendar by going to www.littlehawkeyeconference.com