There are several pieces of information that I know you will all be interested in and the first one is with regards to the school calendar. The District will end the school year one day early for Kindergarten through 8th grade students. This matches the closing date for high schools. The last day of school for all students will be Wednesday, May 28, 2009.
The change has been made for the following reasons:
May 29th will be a moving day for teachers who will move with 6th grade classes to middle schools, a record day for all teachers, and a 9-11th grade make up day. Also May 29th is graduation for all three high schools and this allows younger students to attend graduation ceremonies if they have siblings, other family members or friends who are graduating.
The last day of school for all students will be Thursday, May 28, 2009.
The schedule for the last day of school is as follows:
Monday, May 25 - Memorial Day, no school
Tuesday, May 26 - Regular school day
Wednesday, May 27 - Regular school day
Thursday, May 28 - Last day of school for students
Friday, May 29 - Last day of school for teachers, moving and record day, graduation day and grade 9-11 make up day.
Field trips have been on the minds of students and staff as the district looks at cuts.
There has been a considerable amount of discussion regarding the freeze on field trips due to the constraints on the current and next year's budget. Having reviewed this issue in depth due to equity and fairness, and understanding how closely it ties to the curriculum, the District will allow field trips under the following condition:
Schools wishing to continue with field trips the remainder of the year will be required to pay the 15% portion of transportation not reimbursed by the State of Idaho. The 15% must be paid by way of donation from PTA, PTO, Student Activity Funds or other organizations, and may not come out of District funds. We will be looking at those field trips that we can keep in place under the new directive. We have secured funding to continue the fourth and fifth grade ski and snow shoe trip, and the symphony, rodeo and water works trips are paid by outside groups so they are still on.
The fifth grade parents were invited to an informative session regarding issues related to the move to sixth grade next year at the middle school on February 12th. Patti Mortensen, Doug Reader and Howard Peck were on hand to answer questions. The students created a list of the Top 10 Reasons We Want to Move to the Middle School. An informational sheet regarding the specifics of the move was handed out to parents. If you were not able to attend and would like to have one of these sheets, please stop by the office.
The children are working hard and continue to amaze me on a daily basis. Thanks you for continuing to work with us to enhance the educational process!
