North Pole Middle School
Principal's Update - February 22, 2021
Personal Health Check Each Day
Hello Parents and Families:
I hope this email finds you well. Things at North Pole Middle School continue to move along smoothly. Students and staff have both found a rhythm to their day and we continue to welcome new kids back to the building almost daily.
We’re excited to be able to offer school pictures to students this spring. Your student was given a picture packet on Thursday, if they haven’t shown it to you, please ask to see it. Extra packets here at the school if you need us to send one home with your student. Any student that is in remote learning or e-Learning will have the opportunity to come to the school on March 3rd from 2 – 5:30 p.m. to have their photo taken as well. Please come in through the front doors, turn to the right and head to the auditorium just beyond the cafeteria, picture packets will be available at the door.
The State is currently requiring schools to participate in and plan for standardized testing. The Performance Evaluation for Alaska Schools (PEAKS) is scheduled to take place in April. North Pole Middle School will be planning for ALL students to participate in the assessment in person. Any student who is in the Remote Learning or E-Learning setting are expected to participate in testing physically at North Pole Middle School. Look for more information to come in March as this plan develops.
There are two more weeks remaining in the third quarter. The quarter will officially conclude on March 5 with Spring Break beginning the week of March 7th, look for report cards to arrive the week of March 21st. The fourth quarter begins March 15th and then it’s seems like a sprint to the last day of school on May 18th.
We would like to express our thanks once again for doing your part as a family to send your students to school healthy. We completely recognize the challenge it creates when your student has to stay home when feeling ill as we face the same challenge as faculty. I am not only impressed by but very thankful for how everyone is working together to keep North Pole Middle School open and functioning as “normal” as possible. The kids really are doing a great job, please relay our gratitude to them.
As always, if there are any questions you have please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Regards,
Richard Smith, Principal
NPM DAILY BELL SCHEDULE
Picture Day Is Coming!
**eLearners & Remote Learning Students**
Photos on March 3rd 2-5:30 p.m.
Picture Day Schedule
Parent Volunteers - Picture Day
Volunteers will get a voucher for $14.99 off a package of their choice if they volunteer for the full picture day.
Please call 907-488-2271 to let us know if you're interested.
Items to Bring to School Daily
- 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.
Parents In the Building/Morning Drop Off
Student Pick-Up
- Call the school ahead of time to let the office know you are picking up your student 488-2271.
- PLEASE BRING YOUR ID
- Sign your student out via the Off Campus pass before leaving the school with your student.
Student Drop Off (after 9:35 a.m.)
- Call the office and let us know your student is arriving.
- Let us know during that call if the absence is excused.
ALiCE Training taking place in Advisory classes.
A – Alert
L – Lockdown
I – Inform
C – Counter
E - Evacuate
Important Note - School Pickup
Bus Deviations
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
Mask Requirements
Transportation
Please remember that if your student needs to ride a bus to and/or from school that you need to register for the bus through the school district website. Here is the link for that to take place. https://www.k12northstar.org/domain/1087
When students arrive at the school our plan is to allow two busses to dismiss kids at a time. We will have staff available to help escort student groups in to the building using two separate doorways. Students who are dropped off by parents or families are welcome to use the main entrance. Once in the building students will either go to the cafeteria to get their breakfast or immediately to their first period classroom.
At the end of the day we will be allowing students to use three different front doors to exit the building and dismissing class a few minutes apart to provide some degree of separation.
Breakfast/Lunch Time
Reminder that both breakfast and lunches are free for ALL STUDENTS for the remainder of this school year, no paperwork and no strings attached. If you have traditionally applied for Free/Reduced Lunch benefits we encourage you to still do that as it will get your student set up for the fall of 2021. The link for our Nutrition Services Department is here, https://www.k12northstar.org/nutrition and the on-line version of Free/Reduced Lunch program can be found on this page.
When kids arrive in the morning if they need/want breakfast they can simply go to the cafeteria to “purchase” it and then they will go to their first period classroom to eat. Students will still punch in their student number even though they will not be charged. Any “a-la-cart” items that the cafeteria may sell will be sold to students and that money will come out of their lunch account. Information about the cost of items can be found below. This link, https://k12northstar.nutrislice.com/menus-eula will take you to a list of all schools in the district so you can see each schools’ breakfast and lunch menu if you are interested.
The building will have two lunches, A and B. We have divided the building in half so about half of the building will be at lunch at one time. We’ll stagger dismissal times to lunch to help alleviate kids waiting in lines with their peers. Kids will again, “purchase” their lunch and then return to their classroom to eat. After lunch ends each student will wipe down their desk area and discard their trash.
During the lunch period kids will stay in their classroom and be able to remove their masks to eat. Some classrooms have teachers that will be eating with their students and we are thankful for that. Other classrooms will have an adult that circulates between them to help monitor students.
After School Activities
February 18 - March 5
- Girls' Basketball
- Coding Club
March 15 - 26
- 6-7-8 Boys' Volleyball
- 6th Girls' Volleyball
- Cookie Making Club
- Chess Club
March 29 - April 9
- 7-8 Girls' Volleyball
- Coding Club
April 12 - 23
- Boys' Basketball
- 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
District Technology Resources
The district has put together a list of technology resources that may be helpful for parents. As always if you need assistance you can call the school as well and we will do our best to assist you.
Misc Dates
March 5: End of 3rd Quarter
March 8-12: Spring Break, No School
March 15: Beginning of 3rd Quarter
April 1: PEAKS Testing
Contact Us
School Hours 9:35 a.m. - 3:05 p.m.
Email: contact-npm@k12northstar.org
Website: https://www.k12northstar.org/northpoleM
Location: 300 East 8th Avenue, North Pole, AK, USA
Phone: 907-488-2271
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/North-Pole-Middle-School-143414512397583/?scrlybrkr=0eca0abe