I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are energized for the busy month of December. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to those families who were able to join us for parent/teacher/student conferences. It is one of the highlights of the year to get to share progress and work together in support of our students. I am also very grateful to have such a talented staff who has a tireless commitment to students, supportive parents, and an involved community which we could not do without. If you missed conferences or have any follow up questions, please feel free to reach out to teachers, counselors, and/or administrators at any time throughout the year.

The end of the semester will be here in January before we know it, so it is as important as ever for students to remain focused and make the most of the first grading period. Progress reports will be emailed around December 15, 2023. Please make sure students are taking advantage of the wide-range of ways that they can get academic support—whether it is taking advantage of in-class learning opportunities, Bulldog Time, checking Schoology, emailing a teacher, or attending after school ACCESS. Attendance and punctuality are also essential to learning success.

Throughout December and January, please be alert for information shared in classes and via messages emailed, Schoology, School Messenger, and shared on our website (https://sh.lposd.org/). I hope you and yours have a wonderful Holiday Season and a joyous New Year.

Sincerely,

Principal Jacki Crossingham

Hello Wonderful Activities Parents,

We are officially in full swing with basketball and wrestling. Please join us in creating ways to “inspire” a winning mentality with your athletes. Grade checks are starting this week and winning on and off the court will always remain our focus. We are in the running for winning the “School of Excellence” award with the IHSAA and I challenge all of us to remain high level sportsmanship at all games. It has been a great year, so keep up the wonderful work. This positive approach will increase Bulldog pride and I am proud of all of our programs. Please invite your friends and families to our games. Our players work hard each day and our crowds have been low. I love seeing a full house at games, so let’s go Bulldogs.

We are incredibly busy right now, so please help your athlete with healthy living and a focus on sleep and diet. Also, please be aware that there are games over Christmas break. With activities, we have band and choir concerts coming up in the next two weeks. Please be on the look out for those and join in the holiday fun.

I want to send out a quick shout out to Kelcee Tompco for providing snacks and drinks for our refs at our last Friday night basketball games. Our refs really appreciated it. Also, a shout out to the team parents helping our coaches. We would not be able to win without this support.

I look forward to this wonderful time of year and I appreciate the feedback from everyone when it comes to Sandpoint Athletics and Activities. Happy Holidays,

TJ Clary, Athletic/Activities Director Sandpoint High School

Thank you to all the parents and guardians who are calling in and communicating with us when your student needs to be away from school. We have seen a great increase in students who are coming to school consistently and it is having a direct correlation to increasing students' grades! It is our hope that you are seeing this positive impact at home as well. Additionally, teachers do hold "Access" hours from 2:50-3:20 every day (minus Friday). This is a great time to get extra help if needed! Just a reminder that you can monitor your students' attendance through PowerSchool! Please let us know if you need any assistance.

For any families who might need an additional tool for motivation and school attendance, here is a link to Idaho Code 49-303A, which details the suspension of drivers licenses or approval of driving permits to students under 18 who are in violation of attendance state policy.

Kari Granier, Assistant Principal

This award is a tribute to work in and out of the classroom. Students are selected based on characteristics of Scholarship, Service, Leadership, Character and Citizenship and recognized by current and past teachers at Sandpoint High School as well as former recipients of this award.

Saige Smith was chosen as the November CARE Student of the Month. Saige was nominated by social studies teacher, Mr. Leiss. He said Saige is an excellent student with an amazing attitude. She has excellent attendance. Her academics are high and she is involved in the school and community.

Other students nominated were: Lucas Otterson, William Bomba, Vivian Keefe, MacKenzee Donnenfeld, Briar Williams, Joseph Carson, Sydney Carlson, and Weston Smith. We also celebrated Sara Hogue as the Coka Cola Athlete of the Month and teacher of the month Mr. Barton.

The students and staff have voted and the results are in...Our November Teacher of the Month is Mr. Barton!

Here are a few of the things that students are saying about him:

• "Mr. Barton willingly invests time in providing additional support.... He strives to instill a lifelong love for learning and a sense of responsibility for the natural world."
• "Oh, Mr. Barton, you're the Shakespeare of science, a poetic thrill, Your passion, a sonnet that dances on the windowsill. In the classroom, you wield the magic wand of clarity, Transforming confusion into a ballad of sweet simplicity."
• "Mr.Barton is a phenomenal teacher and shows great courtesy and respect for all of his students."

Pictured from left to right: Ashton Clark, Nate Pugh, Isaac Schmit.

Five SHS Choir Students auditioned to be considered as members of this year’s all-State Honor Choirs. In addition to Orchestra, Band, and Jazz Band, the All-State Honor Groups consist of Jazz Choir, Treble Choir and Mixed Choir. They only take 24 high school singers from the entire state of Idaho in the All-State Honor Jazz Choir. The Treble Choir consists of about 150 Sopranos and Altos from Idaho high schools. The All-State Honor Mixed Choir is made up of about 250 Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Basses from Idaho high schools. Over a thousand music students throughout the state of Idaho auditioned for a spot in these prestigious ensembles. They all had to record themselves singing through some difficult vocal drills as an audition. A panel of judges chooses who will be accepted into these ensembles from these recordings.

The five Sandpoint High School singers who will be participating in these honor groups are Leah Clark, Bennett Moran, Ethan Barcklay, Megan Dixon and Sidney Meshberg.

Leah Clark will be singing as a Second Soprano in the All-State Honor Treble Choir.

Both Bennett Moran and Ethan Barcklay will be performing with the All-State Honor Mixed Choir.

Bennett sings Tenor and Ethan sings Bass.

Both Megan Dixon and Sidney Meshberg will be performing with the All-State Honor Jazz Choir. Megan sings First Soprano as Sidney sings Bass. This is very cool that 2 of the 24 members of this ensemble come from Sandpoint High School.

These music students will perform on campus of Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) in Nampa, Idaho on the weekend of January 30th through February 3rd.

Our student art show was a hit! Thanks to everyone for being so courteous around the art and for coming to check it out.

Mrs. Mullen's Everyday Physics & Chemistry class is looking for guest speakers/activity leaders in our community! They will be studying materials and chemical reactions important to human civilizations, past and present. Mrs. Mullen would like to connect with experts knowledgeable in arts such as leather tanning, flintknapping, traditional fire starting methods, homemade dyes/inks/paints, glass making, metal forging, paper making, and other "traditional crafts" that involve chemical reactions. Mrs. Mullen is also looking for an expert in gems to discuss the variety of mineral crystals and the physics behind gem "cutting". An expert in the chemistry of concrete/cement is also desired. If interested in sharing your knowledge with SHS students, please email leticia.mullen@lposd.org.

Members of the varsity & JV girls basketball teams volunteered at Bonner Community Food Bank the week before Thanksgiving. The SHS hoopers helped sort 1,500 pounds of food during their visit before a practice.

Upcoming home games - We appreciate your support!

• Dec. 5 vs. Coeur d'Alene
• Dec. 8 vs. Post Falls
• Dec. 16 vs. Lewiston
• Dec. 19 vs. Kellogg

The 2023/2024 Academic Decathlon team participated in their first meet of the season over the last Saturday in October. This year the theme is Technology and Humanities. Students tested over the topics of science, social science, literature, math, economics, art and music based around this year’s theme, as well as wrote an essay, and competed in speech and interview. Unfortunately there are no other AcaDeca teams in northern Idaho and students competed only against each other this meet, but even so, our Bulldog decathlete’s scores were high and on the current trajectory we are on track for another stellar year at the state and hopefully national level as well.

We have quite a few new team members that have been putting in hours of studying and practicing and as the new coach, I have gained a new appreciation for the effort involved in excelling in Academic Decathlon. Our next meet is December 16th, and we are always looking for volunteers to judge speech and interview as well as students to volunteer as timers. If you are interested in getting involved with the program that took third place in Nationals last year and want to help propel us this year, ask a decathlete!

Winter in North Idaho can be a really exciting time, especially if you enjoy the outdoors and snowy adventures and sports. Winter can also be a difficult time for many of us, with the shorter days or complications that can come with the holidays or various life stressors. Taking care of yourself mentally and physically can help you manage these challenges or just keep yourself healthy and in tune.

Here are a few self-care tips that might help!

• Get outside (no really!) for some sunshine (vitamin D) and fresh air
• Move your body- join a gym or get outside for a walk, snowshoe, or skiing. Exercise has many benefits both physically and mentally
• Surround yourself with good people- spend time with family, friends, or even your dog!
• Take up a hobby or or pursue a passion- read a good book, learn a new skill or take up a hobby
• Keep a Gratitude Journal- take time to focus on things that you are grateful for and that bring you joy
• Slow Down- give yourself permission to rest, drink tea, be cozy and maybe take a nap on the weekend. Like bears and trees, sometimes we just need to hibernate for a bit.

Adapted from: https://selecthealth.org/blog/2020/01/winter-got-you-down-boost-your-mood-with-these-self-care-tips

If you are struggling and need someone to talk to, please reach out to your school counselor. We are here for you!

Last names A-G (9th-11th grade) and A-F (12th grade): Shannon Kerrigan

Last names H-O: Jessica Lippi

Last names P-Z and 12th grade G: Jenay Moore, Counseling Intern

Post-secondary Transition Counselor: Jeralyn Mire

Idaho LAUNCH contingent offers will be emailed to students mid to late December. Please remind your Senior to check their email regularly- contingent offers will have a 14 day deadline once offers are emailed. After those 14 days the offer is rescinded.

When the temperatures reach extreme lows, we will open the doors earlier.

Please dress warmly.

You may have found yourself wondering what is the difference between these two sites. Hopefully this can help!

PowerSchool - is our student management platform where all the important documents, schedules, and attendance are housed. It keeps track of the organization for student records across our district. You can use this site specifically to check your students' attendance! This is where the information comes from if you get a call about a missed class. You can log in and easily check to look for unexcused absences.

Schoology - This is our “Learning Management” site. This is where teachers post assignments and communicate grades, due dates, and also where they comment on assignments. You can log into this site and see a schedule of upcoming assignments, get links to course information, and monitor grades.

***Both of these sites are incredibly helpful to check in frequently with your student. Please contact the office if you need login information, or let us know if you have any questions!

The Rotary-sponsored “Mini-RYLA Weekend Leadership Experience” for local teens was

presented November 3-5 at the Western Pleasure Guest Ranch. In its fourth year here in

Sandpoint, Mini-RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) provides an opportunity for students in

grades 9-12 from four area high schools to come together and discover their unique leadership

gifts. The weekend is valued at $400.00 per student. All expenses are paid by the two local

sponsoring Rotary Clubs. This year 33 students gathered to engage in leadership learning

activities. Self-awareness, team building, public speaking, and peacebuilding were among the

leadership themes explored. Students worked on a service project in their small groups to

create holiday centerpieces which will be auctioned at the upcoming Festival of Trees event.

Proceeds will benefit the Community Resource Envision Center to help those in need in our

community. The food at the Ranch received great reviews, and there was plenty of time to

socialize and build new friendships inside and outside around the campfire. Many Mini-

RYLArians expressed interest in returning next year as Junior Staff and applying to “Big RYLA”, a

weeklong post high school leadership development summer experience for those 18-25 years

of age. We look forward to seeing many more Mini-RYLArians from Sandpoint High School next

year!

Email: beth.dean@lposd.org
Website: sh.lposd.org
Location: 410 South Division Avenue, Sandpoint, ID, USA
Phone: 208-263-3034
Facebook: facebook.com/SandpointHighSchool