Welcome Back to School

We are so excited to have our students back in our building again! We have a lot of events happening the first month of school with sporting events, pictures, and Homecoming week. Students will be able to get into all home games for free again this year, so we are hoping to see them there.

Our school will continue to follow our Gobbler Pride expectations of Respect, Responsibility, and Character in the building and after school events.

Our cell phone policy will continue to be enforced this year and follows the new guidance that is required by MN legislation. You can find the policy in the student handbook on page 19 found on our district website at https://home.isd1.org/high-school.html

Students will be asked to turn their cell phones off when they enter each of their classes. There will be no cell phone use during class time, this includes going to the bathroom during class time. Students will be able to use their phones before and after school, between class periods, and during lunch. If you need to reach your child during class, please call the high school office at 927-2115 ext. 3500 and we will get a message to your child. Discipline will continue to follow the policy if there is misuse of the cell phone.

The school schedule is below so you know when your child has breaks between classes and when they have lunch. If it is important that you reach your child, please call the high school office.

In conjunction with the cell phone policy the cell phone discipline will be the following:

First Offense: Teacher takes phone and keeps it until the end of the school day or turns into Dean’s office for collection at the end of the day. First offense does not warrant a referral but MUST be reported to Dean so that it may be tracked.

Second Offense: Teacher takes phone and generates a referral. Phone gets taken to the Dean’s office for pickup by parent or guardian. The student will receive ONE HOUR of after school detention.

Third and Fourth Offense: Teacher takes phone and generates a referral. Phone gets taken to the Dean’s office for pickup by parent or guardian. Every offense and those after this will result in TWO Hours of after school detention.

Fifth Offense: Teacher takes phone and generates a referral. Phone gets taken to the Dean’s office for pickup by parent or guardian. This offense results in TWO HOURS of detention along with the student turning the phone into the front office daily for the remainder of the school year. The student can choose to not bring the phone to school but if the student has the phone on them during the school day further discipline will apply.

A missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn. We understand that students are sick or need to miss school for certain events/activities. If your child is going to be absent, make sure to call 218-927-2115 ext. 3500 or email tfoss@isd1.org

Attendance letters are sent out once students have missed more than 3 days of unexcused absences, reminder that 5 unexcused tardies will result in 1 unexcused absence. Students are allowed 10 parent excused absences a year and then students must provide a medical note after the 10 parent excused absences are used

There are a few things in the attendance policy that I want to make sure you are aware of.

If you want to read the full policy, you can find it here.

1. If you are going on a vacation, a completed and signed “PreApproved Absence” form must be filled out and in the office 3 days prior to the absence. The student must be passing all classes in order for this to be considered an Excused Absence. (Limit of 5 consecutive absences a semester) Students will get 2 days upon their return to school to make up missing work for pre-arranged absences.

2. Work missed because of an excused absence must be made up within 2 days from the date of the student’s return to school.

3. Students with unexcused absences: Read the policy here to know what is an unexcused absence.

* The parents/guardians will receive a 3, 5, 7, and 10 day letter letting you know you have unexcused absences.

Just a reminder that In MN a student in grades 7-12 is considered truant if they miss one or more unexcused class periods on seven days of school in a year.

* After 10 cumulated unexcused absences in a semester, the administration may impose the loss of academic credit in the class or classes from which the student has been absent. However, prior to loss of credit, an administrative conference must be held among the principal, student, and parent.

If your child is struggling with attendance, please reach out to Sammy Croatt, Meredith Sander, Jim Henrickson or Lisa DeMars for help.

All students in grades K-12 will receive one free breakfast and one free lunch each day. If students would like to purchase an additional meal the cost is $3.00 for breakfast and $5.25 for lunch.

To keep all of our students safe, we ask that you do not bring in any items that contain nuts or peanuts.

Lift-Up Attendance is a program from Harvard University that will be sending attendance awareness messages to all of our families about once a month from the principal. Families will get a welcome message in September and then families will receive a message once a month from the principal informing them of their child’s attendance. If you have any questions, please call Tharcia at 218-927-2115 ext. 3500 or email at tfoss@isd1.org

Reminder that 5 unexcused tardies will result in 1 unexcused absence.

The Tardy discipline (these will be cumulative through all periods) will be as follows per quarter:

4 tardies = 1 hour of after school detention

8 tardies = 2 hours of after school detention

12 tardies = 1 half day of in school suspension

16 tardies = 1 full day of in school suspension

Aitkin Public Schools uses a variety of digital tools to support student learning. Technology vendors and software are utilized to support work as we help all students develop the skills necessary to succeed in an ever-changing world.

We have an inventory of our curriuclum, testing, and assessment tools posted https://home.isd1.org/. and include an outline of the student data elements within each tool. This list is maintained and communicated annually to all families at the start of the school year.

Please reach out to Jason Roos (jroos@isd1.org) for additional questions regarding specific digital tools used in classrooms.

Please contact the high school with any questions you have.

Tharcia Foss - High School Secretary - 218-927-2115

Kelli Crowther - District Nurse - 218-927-2115

Jim Henrickson - Dean of Students- 218-927-7125

Lisa DeMars - Principal - - 218-927-7113

Jason Cline - Athletics/Activities Director - 218-927-7120

Alan Hills - Assistant to Athletics/Activities Director - 218-927-7122

Michelle Alcox - Transportation Director - 218-429-0241

Email: ldemars@isd1.org
Website: https://home.isd1.org/high-school.html
Location: 306 2nd Street Northwest, Aitkin, MN, USA
Phone: 218-927-2115 -3500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AitkinPublicSchools/