Hello Community,

I’m happy to report Sandpoint High School is off to a good start. Running a full day schedule with all classes occurring basically as normal has been refreshing. Staff and students seem happy to be back with only a few bumps so far.

Homecoming is just around the corner! The Homecoming Game will be October 1st while our Homecoming Dance will be October 2nd. PowderPuff will occur on Monday, September 27th due to Memorial Field availability. We hope this year will bring a lot of excitement and one more dose of trying to get back to normal.

We do have very large class sizes this year. Enrollment is up from last year with over 150 new or returning from a year's absence students. Compared to last year’s small classes, this year seems like we are overflowing with students and it seems hard to find places to put everyone. With this in mind, schedule changes have been extremely difficult and we are no longer attempting to change schedules due to being at capacity.

Covid is still a concern and having an impact on our operations. We have had many students and some staff test positive which still creates a disruption of the educational services we are providing. Along with education being affected, sporting events and other activities have also been disrupted by having to change game times or in some cases postpone or cancel some events. Please be patient as we try our best to reschedule and get information to you as quickly as we can about changes in events and activities.

All in all though, SHS is on track. I appreciate all the nice comments I have been hearing from the community and as always I will continue to be available for comments, questions, and suggestions.

Go Bulldogs!

Hope everyone’s new school year is off to a great start. Getting back into the rhythm of school can certainly be a challenge for students and parents alike. I wanted to take a moment to inform you of some new things we have this year and a couple key reminders to be aware of.

• We have a new program this year to recognize SHS staff members for their hard work and dedication. In addition to our Student of the Month Program which is sponsored by C.A.R.E., we are adding a Staff Member of the Month. To nominate a staff member who you think goes above and beyond please use this link: SHS Staff Member of the Month

You can fill out the form at any time and we will be reviewing these monthly to select winners.

• When a student is absent for at least one class, parents should receive an automated call at the end of the day. Please call or email Patsy (patsy.sletager@lposd.org, 208-263-3034 ext. 4010) at the attendance office to either excuse the absence or to report it as truant. Truancies will result in disciplinary action. Students may have up to 5 excused absences in each of their classes in a term unless the absence is a school activity, medically excused, or a Covid related situation. Students may be assigned recovery time for going below 90% attendance in any class.

• We appreciate your partnership in helping us maintain an appropriate dress code here at SHS. The key pieces of the SHS dress code are-

• No clothing items which depict drugs or alcohol

• No clothing items which depict violence or are sexual in nature

• Clothing items should appropriately cover the stomach, chest, and buttocks

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions. Thank you for your support!

Derek Dickinson ~ Assistant Principal

Hoco and Powder Puff, are upcoming events!! Our Junior class stuco members have come up with the theme for homecoming. They have decided on a Red Carpet theme for this year's dance! Also, our Freshmen and Sophomore class members will be in charge of PowderPuff. There are four practices before the set date down below. All practices will be 6:00-7:00pm. Lastly, our Seniors have decided on a Senior Sunrise, similar to the end of the year's sunset, but this will be a great social event to start off Senior year!! Lastly, the Seniors are going to be in charge of Homecoming Royalty. All information is down below.

Places and Dates:

• Homecoming Dance: October 2nd. South/Teacher parking lot @7:00-10:00pm

• Dress up days:

Monday- 9/27: Class Colors

Seniors: pink

Juniors: black

Sophomores: red

Freshman: grey

Tuesday- 9/28: Toga for seniors/Greek for others

Wednesday- 9/29: Walt Disney

Thursday- 9/30: Tiki/Hawaiian

• PowderPuff: Monday, September 27th, Memorial Field @ 6:00-9:00pm

• PowderPuff Practices:

1. Tuesday Sep. 21st

2. Wednesday Sep. 22nd

3. Thursday Sep. 23rd

4. Saturday Sep. 25th

Yearbook information for the class of 2022!

Sandpoint High School Esports is back at it again this year with an even bigger incentive to win at the national level. Each team that places top 4 in each game each season will be invited to participate in the national event May 13-15 in Arlington, Texas at North America's biggest dedicated esports facility and attended by college, semi-pro, and pro team scouts. Players are welcome to join the Esports Club at any point in the year however the earlier players join the stronger the chance of qualifying for playoffs. Students interested in joining should contact club advisor Mr. Hawkins at dalton.hawkins@lposd.org for more information.

Hello, I am Amy, your school photographer and new owner of All-Star Photo. I am so excited to meet your kids on picture day and hopefully start learning all their names! Most kids are happy when I do, and some wonder how I could possibly know them already. Hmm.. Maybe PE? Dance? Parks and Rec? I have photographed a lot of kids in the last decade! Either way, they make me smile, and I try to do the same.

All-Star Photo has been serving LPOSD for 32 years. Wow! Rebecca and I have both worked hard to make sure the transition from retiree to rookie is a smooth one. And we are all already used to changes, right? Good! The first and biggest change is online PROOF ordering where all parents receive a secure link to view and order pictures. The second change is having multiple poses to choose from and multiple backgrounds (how cool is that?!). And finally, digital downloads are available immediately. This is where we all say, "Yes!"

Paper order forms with online access instructions go home on picture day, and you will get an email when your pictures are ready to view. Need to do order offline? No problem. The default yearbook picture on a gray background can be ordered on paper and sent with a check to the school office no later than Friday, October 8th.

More information is on our website www.allstar7b.com
I look forward to serving you! Amy Henderson