Pella High School Newsletter

Dear Pella High School Families:

Happy December! As we enter this festive season, the students and staff at Pella High School have been working diligently to wrap up the semester on a high note. With semester exams just around the corner, we want to remind everyone of the importance of staying engaged and using effective time-management skills to finish strong. Our students have made tremendous progress, and we’re excited to see their hard work pay off as they close out the year!

As we look ahead to the holidays, we’d like to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support. We wish you and your family a joyful winter season filled with peace, warmth, and celebration.

Thank you for being such an important part of our school community!

Sincerely,

Josh Manning, Principal

Derek Schulte, Assistant Principal

Matt Fouch, Activities Director

Suzi Jones was recently inducted into the Iowa Thespians Hall of Fame during the Thespian Festival at the University of Northern Iowa. Pictured here is Suzi with family, friends, current students attending the festival, and alumni who were able to attend the ceremony.

Congratulations to Katie who was chosen by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association as the state’s Class 4A volleyball player of the year! Katie was chosen out of 683 Class 4A volleyball players in Iowa.

Congratulations to Garrett, who was chosen as the recipient of the Iowa Bankers Student Athlete Achievement Award in Class 4A Football. Garrett was chosen for excelling on the football field, in the classroom, and in his community. Garrett will receive a $1,000 scholarship as part of the award!

Pella High School would like to extend its congratulations to Mr. Derek Schulte for being named the 2025 Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year by the School Administrators of Iowa (SAI)!

"Selected by a group of his peers, Derek stands out as a dedicated leader whose influence and efforts have made a lasting, positive impact. He is truly deserving of the Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year award, and we are honored to recognize his achievements and contributions to education,” said SAI Executive Director Dr. Lisa Remy.

Reflecting on the recognition, Schulte said, “I am honored to receive this award from SAI. I am fortunate to work in a school district and community that values both education and continuous improvement. This award reflects the collaboration with an excellent Pella High School staff and leadership team. Thank you to SAI for the continued support and professional development opportunities provided to school leaders.”

Read the full press release here: https://www.sai-iowa.org/news/derek-schulte-is-secondary-assistant-principal-of-the-year

We are excited to again partner with the WorkSMART Connector program to host a Career Fair for our high school students. The event will take place during our iLead time on December 11, but we have extended the iLead time a bit to allow for more time for our students to interact with our 70+ Career Fair guests. For more information or to find out how you can be involved, please contact our Director of Work Based Learning & WorkSMART Connector Coordinator Teri Vos teri.vos@pellaschools.org or Pella High School Instructional Coach tanya.bouma@pellaschools.org.

Will students still get to opt out of a final first semester? Yes, students that are proficient and/or show growth on the spring ISASP tests will be able to opt-out from one semester final of their choice. This is not a class-wide opt-out like it was in the past; it is based on the individual student’s score.

We had a great turnout for our Future Ready Conferences in November! Overall, we have 81% of our FRC conferences completed at this point, and our goal is still 100% completion. Seniors must complete their FRC as part of their graduation checkout process.

If you were unable to attend your student’s Future Ready Conference, please reach out to his/her iLead teacher or to one of our counselors, Jessica Manning or Rachel VanZante, to set a date for a make-up conference!

As the year continues into second semester, we will continue to work on the essential components of each student’s ICAP (Individual Career and Academic Plan). The next essential component is all about career exploration. As a part of this unit, the students will have an amazing opportunity to engage with local individuals during our 2nd Annual WorkSMART Career Fair. Later in the year, students will also learn about their post-secondary training options as well as the financial planning it takes to pursue those options.

And that’s just the information they will get out of iLead! Everyday, your students are engaging with all of their teachers in ways that prepare them for and inform them about their future options. As parents and guardians, you are also having those same kinds of conversations at home. Again, we thank you for partnering with us as we engage and empower the learners at Pella High School this year!

Grades for Semester 1 are due January 3, 2024 by 3:30 PM. By the end of the following week, report cards will be made available on the Infinite Campus Parent Portal under the DOCUMENTS tab which will include the student’s term and cumulative GPA from the end of the first semester.

Through the Infinite Campus portal, students and parents are able to view and print class schedules from the Documents tab. Second-semester schedules may have changed since the first semester, so please review student schedules on the campus portal. Also, please encourage your students to review their second-semester schedule before winter break.

At the beginning of each semester, students will be allowed five school days in which to add or drop a course. After the fifth school day, dropping a course will result in an “F” for the class, unless an extreme circumstance exists.

Thank you to those who have made attendance and grades a priority in the first semester. At the end of the first semester, student records will be reviewed for second semester senior privileges. Semester grades and attendance reports will determine whether a student is granted senior release to begin the second semester.

Again, thank you for a great first semester, and encourage your students to finish strong.

December

4 - Professional Development: 90-Minute Early Dismissal

11 - Professional Development: 90-Minute Early Dismissal

18-20 - 1st Semester Finals

20 - Holiday 90-Minute Early Dismissal - NO PD

20 - End 2nd Quarter - Start of Winter Break

January

3 - Teacher Work Day

6 - Classes Resume - Begin 2nd Semester

8 - Professional Development: 90-Minute Early Dismissal

15 - Professional Development: 90-Minute Early Dismissal

20 - No School -MLK Day

29- Professional Development: 90-Minute Early Dismissal

It is that time of year again where we have the possibility of closing school, starting late, or dismissing early due to weather issues. We will continue to notify parents/guardians by phone, text, and email. Below lists other avenues to see if school is delayed or canceled.

• Pella Community School District Website

• KNIA/KRLS

• KCOB/KRTI

• KBOE

• KCWN

• WHO Radio

• WHO TV: Channel 13

• KCCI TV: Channel

• LOCAL abc5 - We Are IOWA : Channel 5

To update your phone number and email address, log into the Infinite Campus Parent Portal and click on the MORE tab. Your change request will sit in a queue until our staff can process your request.

Twitter - @pellaschools and @pellahigh

Facebook - Pella Schools

Instagram - @pellaschools

Website

www.pellaschools.org