Sandpoint High School

The month of February ushers in an opportunity to continue with the successes of the school year as well as new beginnings for our students and staff at Sandpoint High School. The start of the second semester allows us to assess what we have accomplished so far this year and to look forward to what lies ahead. I am proud to say that our students have excelled in every area of our school. Academically, athletically, and artistically, our students had an impressive fall semester. While there is always room for improvement, we are proud of our students and their accomplishments during the first half of the school year. We look forward to the second half of the school year and the opportunities which will present themselves. The information in this newsletter, as well as messages from individual teachers, departments, and programs is intended to keep you informed of the myriad of opportunities for students and families this spring semester.

Last fall, the staff at Sandpoint High School worked together to develop a focus and mission for this school year. We choose the single word of “inspire” to drive our intentions along with a monthly theme. This month our intention is to inspire connections. As such, I would like to take this opportunity to connect with the parents and families at SHS and invite you to a partnering with parents meeting on February 6th at 8:30 am in the Sandpoint High School library. This will be an informal meeting with our administrative team to discuss the progress of this year and look forward to what’s ahead. If you are interested in joining, please call the SHS office at 208-263-3034 to RSVP. If you are not able to attend, please know that I, along with the office, counseling, and teaching staff, continue to remain available to you and your students and encourage you to reach out.

Sincerely,

Principal Jacki Crossingham

Welcome to the final days winter sports. With regional competitions starting next week, I encourage everyone to look at our calendar and come support our Bulldogs. Bigger crowds have proven to bring better games. Our girls' basketball is 18-3, boys' basketball 9-10 and both boys and girls wrestling is collecting hardware from all over the Northwest. We are winning and we need you here. Please join us!

Also, with spring sports just around the corner, announcements of tryouts and team meetings are posted on Schoology and daily announcements. Please call our office if your athlete has any questions and we will be happy to add clarity.

In addition, if you have a child participating in spring sports, please attend our parent meetings. I will be there to explain expectations and our coaches will set everyone up for success. Dates will come out during tryouts. I look forward to getting outside and let’s hope our fields are ready for play.

Lastly, we are still in the running for winning the school of excellence award, so please keep that in mind when attending games. We are looking for behaviors which encourage winning on and off the field including cheering for our teams and not against refs and opposing teams. Sandpoint High School athletics is trying to set a new standard of excellence while at sporting events. Please rise to this expectation so we can establish a winning mentality for everyone. I enjoy seeing everyone, so please find me and say hello.

Go Bulldogs!

TJ Clary, Athletic/Activities Director Sandpoint High School

Hello LPOSD Families,

For those of you who don’t know me, I am Officer Don Little with the Sandpoint Police Department and I am the School Resource Officer for Sandpoint High School and Sandpoint Middle School. I wanted to share with you a dangerous new form of fentanyl which has been located in the surrounding areas. Its street name is “Pink Rose” and as you can see in the picture below, it is pink and shaped like a candy heart. This new form of fentanyl is extremely dangerous and one pill contains an amount of fentanyl equal to three of the more common blue or rainbow colored pills known as “M Blues” which are stamped with an M on one side and a 30 on the other side. It is important to remember that fentanyl can be transdermally absorbed through your skin, so do not attempt to pick up, move, or transport any unknown pills or powder without proper protective equipment such as latex gloves. If you come across any of these pills, please report it to your local law enforcement agency and as always stay safe.

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.

Noah Roark was chosen as the January CARE Student of the Month. Noah was nominated by Mrs. Dillon, her art teacher. Noah has a very good eye for detail. She is always putting her best foot forward. Noah helps in the studio daily without being asked. She takes a leadership role in maintaining and cleaning the studio as well as helping with tasks like loading the kiln. She comes in after school to work often. She is kind and has a very positive attitude. She is so generous. Her efforts are appreciated.

Other students nominated were: Giovanni Dunn, Emma Chapin, Lillian Meyers, Cody Buster, Etta Francis, Zeb Evans, Elliot Kees, and Harald Bergen. We also celebrated Caiden Gion as the Coca Cola Athlete of the Month and staff of the month Meagan Hofmeister.

Mrs. Hofmeister is the kindest, most supportive person I have ever met. She is passionate about her work and lights up every room she's in. I will nominate her every month until she is recognized for the fun, compassionate, and beautiful person she is.

She is the most understanding, non-overwhelming teacher, she helps me when I'm stressed out, and always puts her students first and loves taking time out of her day to help students in need.

She's so understanding and always makes learning enjoyable.

We all know that plastic waste is awful for the environment. So much of what we buy contains plastic that does not decompose and usually ends up in the ocean. Some statistics suggest that every minute of every day a truckload of plastic is dumped into the ocean! Yikes. It may seem like there is nothing any one single person can do to address this problem, but here at SHS in the Life Skills program, we decided to create a work of art out of plastic and trash to bring awareness and keep some of our plastic waste out of the landfills. We collected all this waste in just 2 days from households and walking around the school. Our inspiration came from the Washed Ashore Project where they educate people about plastic and create large amazing sculptures out of plastic waste found on the shores. We talked about ways we can each take steps to lessen the amount of plastic in the environment and here is what we came up with:

1. Instead of buying plastic jugs of laundry soap, consider the cardboard ones with powder
2. Use reusable shopping bags and water bottles
3. Clean and recycle the plastic you use
4. Search for environmentally friendly products

Our Bulldog will be on display soon for you all to enjoy and hopefully inspire change!

Mrs. Mullen's Everyday Physics & Chemistry classes learned traditional fire starting methods from community member Shaun Deller as part of their "Materials of Civilization" unit.

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

Local Scholarship Time! Counselors will be going into Senior English classes next week to give instructions and details on the Local Scholarship process. Please email jeralyn.mire@lposd.org with questions.

That's a wrap! For the first time ever, the SHS Counseling and College/Career team partnered with PAFE to offer a brand new class, College 101.

College 101 is a class for seniors who are intending on entering college next year. This class supports students through the college application process, navigating financial aid, expectations for freshman year and so much more!

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!

Thanks so much Sandpoint High School National Honor Society students, for volunteering January 27th at the Ready! for Kindergarten workshop…hosted by PAFE at no cost to families!
These workshops equip families with young children to be their child’s first teacher, and they are fueled by volunteer power! NHS students at SHS contribute thousands of hours per year of community service to Bonner County! Way to go!

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