North Star News - August 2024
What's inside?
- Back to School Resources
- ParentSquare Communications Tool
- Free & Reduced Meal Applications
- Fall Activities Calendar
- and more!
Video: Superintendent Dr. Meinert welcomes families and staff back to school.
Dear district families and staff,
Last year we saw many successes, such as improvements in attendance and school climate. We launched our reading initiative with the Alaska Reads Act and saw an impressive 23% boost in reading skills among our kindergarten to third graders.
This year, we’re focusing on three key areas: Literacy, Growth for All, and Family Engagement.
For Literacy, we’re committed to early literacy, aiming to build on last year’s success and continue growing our students' reading skills.
Growth for All means supporting every student to reach their full potential. We’ll offer extra help and resources for those who need it.
Family Engagement is key. We're all about partnering with families to support our students' education. By focusing on family involvement we’re making sure our partnerships between school and home are strengthened to ensure our students can be successful.
Thank you to our wonderful students, families, and staff who make this school district great. Here’s to a successful and inspiring school year ahead!
Sincerely,
Dr. Luke Meinert, Superintendent
Video: Watch the parent/guardian overview for ParentSquare
ParentSquare | Communications
FNSBSD has adopted ParentSquare as the new district and school-to-home communication tool! This unified communications platform is designed to keep parents and guardians informed and encourage greater engagement and connection between the school, district, and home. Invitations to sign up for
ParentSquare invitations were sent last week to all parent or guardian email addresses on file with the district. If you did not receive the invitation, click here and register your account using the phone number or email address on file with the district.
Families will receive district communications via robocall, email, and text regardless of whether or not you register for ParentSquare. Learn more about ParentSquare here.
Free & Reduced Meal Applications | Nutrition Services
If your child received free or reduced price meal eligibility during the 2023-2024 school year and was enrolled on the last day of school, the grace period will expire on September 26, 2024. On September 27, 2024, students receiving meal benefits due to the grace period will revert to full pay status. Submit a completed meals application for the 2024-25 school year as soon as possible as it can take up to ten (10) days for application processing. Complete a new application online here or you can get a paper application from your child’s school.
Update Contact Information | Technology & Information Systems
With the start of a new school year, make sure your family contact information is current in Powerschool. In the case of emergency, inclement weather, or other district and school communication, it's important the district has your contact information. Learn how to update contacts in Powerschool.
Immunization Requirements | Nursing Services
The State of Alaska requires all children who attend Alaska public school (Alaska State Law 7 AAC. 57.550 and 4. AAC 06.055) be immunized or have religious or medical exemption on file. Please note that all students must be in compliance by the start of the school year, 2024-25, or they will not be able to attend classes. Learn more about immunization requirements here.
Career & Technical Education Summer Programs
Over summer, CTE students students were actively involved in hands-on experiences and gained valuable skills through the like Girls Who Weld and the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital SHIP programs. Girls Who Weld empowers young women in welding and metalworking, providing technical skills and exploring career opportunities in a male-dominated field. The Fairbanks Memorial Hospital SHIP program offers students a glimpse into the healthcare field, including shadowing professionals and interactive workshops.
Whether your child is interested in advanced manufacturing, digital media, culinary arts, or health sciences, we’re dedicated to providing them with the resources, mentorship, and experiences that will set them up for success. Learn more about CTE.
Facilities Summer Project Accomplishments
Facilities Management Department (FMD) has had a productive summer! In addition to FMD’s ongoing maintenance & regular summer projects, several major projects were completed while others made great strides in a multi-year process.
- Tanana Exterior Renovation
- Hutchison Steam to Natural Gas Installation
- Lathrop Boiler Rebuild Project
- Midnight Sun Fire Pump Transfer Switch Replacement
- Weller Playground Installation
- University Park Parking Lot Restriping
2024-25 Academic Calendar | Back to School
Bus Routes | Transportation
Flag week will be from August 15 to August 23. During this time, if a student is along the route, they can flag the bus down. We will get them to school and ask their parents to contact our office to set up or find the closest bus stop.
Make sure your student knows their bus number and bus stop! If you have a younger student, please make sure their name is on their backpack (or name tag) so drivers can identify. Our goal is to deliver safe, consistent, and reliable transportation to support families in getting their children to school. For concerns, please contact Durham dispatch at 907-206-7789 or the Transportation office at 907-452-2000 option 4.
Wellness Check | Attendance Matters
Regular attendance means missing 18 days of school or less throughout the whole year. We’ve created an updated wellness check, combined with an attendance tracker, to monitor how many days your student misses this year. Learn more about when to stay home.
Meal Prices & Insufficient Funds Policy | Nutrition Services
If your child qualifies to receive meals at the reduced price, breakfast is free and lunch is $.40. Free and reduced price meal benefits do not extend to additional milk or milk only purchases or partial meal purchases. All portions of a meal can be purchased by paying the ala carte prices. Milk comes with breakfast and lunch but if your child purchases additional milk with his/her meal or one to drink with his/her lunch from home, the cost is $.1.00.
SchoolCafe Online Meal Payments | Nutrition Services
Set up an account in SchoolCafe to complete your meals application, make payments, view breakfast/lunch menus, and see what your child is purchasing.
Visit https://www.schoolcafe.com and select your state (Alaska) and school district (FNSBSD)
Click “create a new account,” add your enrolled child(ren) to it.
Add your child(ren) to your account using student s#.
Learn more about account setup.
If you have any questions or need assistance, call (907) 451-1004.
Interested in Volunteering at Our Schools? | Human Resources
Volunteers help foster strong school/community relationships by creating shared ownership in the success of our schools, as well as demonstrating the importance of community service to our students. All school and activity volunteers must submit an application to the district. Submit a volunteer application today!
Student Activities | Athletics
Click the google sheet links below for activity calendars.
Learn more about student activities.
Hutchison: https://www.arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=10685
Lathrop: https://www.arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=12446
North Pole: https://www.arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=16328
West Valley: https://www.arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=25400
Upcoming Events
AUG 14 | Teacher Work Day
AUG 15 | First Day of School
Board of Education Meetings
AUG 21 | 5:30 p.m. Board Diversity Committee
Photo: Jump Start Music Camp students at Ryan Middle School this summer
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
Email: publicrelations@k12northstar.org
Website: www.k12northstar.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/fsdk12/
Instagram: @fsdk12
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@northstar907
THE FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY INSTITUTION, AS WELL AS A TOBACCO AND NICOTINE-FREE LEARNING AND WORK ENVIRONMENT.