Kalispell schools ready to roll

 School is back in session next week for roughly 6,108 students in the Flathead Valley who will be attending Kalispell Public Schools.

Monday, Aug. 31 is the first day of school for first through ninth grades. Tenth- through 12th-graders start school Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Alternative Attendance Center classes also start Aug. 31. Classes at Linderman Education Center start Sept. 3.

Parents/guardians of kindergarten students should check with schools for back-to-school schedules.

Regular daily class times are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for kindergarten through third grade. Fourth- and fifth-graders now start school at 8:25 a.m. and are dismissed at 3:30 p.m. Middle-school students attend from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. High school students attend school from 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Linderman Education Center “early bird” classes will start at 7:25 a.m., a change from last year.

Hot meals will be served on the first day of school. New this year in the food service program is that free breakfasts and lunches will be offered to all students attending Elrod, Hedges, Russell and Peterson elementary schools through the federally funded Community Eligibility Provision.

The Community Eligibility Provision is a component of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

The purpose of the provision is to provide students attending schools that have high populations of low-income families access to two nutritious meals a day without application requirements.

To be eligible, schools must have a minimum of 40 percent of students from low-income families. These include students whose families participate in federal assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Medicaid or students who are homeless, runaways, migrants, live in foster care or participate in Head Start early childhood education programs.

Not all the schools met the requirement as individual schools, but did when they were averaged together. Individually, Russell had 50.71 percent of its student population identified, 43 percent at Hedges, 36.79 at Elrod and 33.97 at Peterson.

Participating schools will be reimbursed by federal funds based on the percentage of identified low-income students. Kalispell Public Schools Food Services Director Jenny Montague said 65.79 percent of meals will be reimbursed at the federal free rate and 34.21 percent at the paid rate.   

The four elementary schools follow in the footsteps of Evergreen School District, which began offering free breakfast and lunches districtwide under the provision last school year and saw an increase in participation.

For Edgerton Elementary, Kalispell Middle School and Flathead and Glacier high schools, breakfast costs $1.50 for kindergarten  through 12th grade. The reduced cost of breakfast is 30 cents for eligible students. Lunch for grades kindergarten through fifth costs $2.50 and $2.75 for sixth through 12th. The reduced lunch price is 40 cents for eligible students. Parents or guardians must fill out applications to establish free or reduced meal eligibility for schools that do not qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision.

Students riding the bus must be registered with the district every year.

To register, visit the Transportation Office at its new location on 514 E. Washington St., Kalispell. For more information, call 751-3404.

The district welcomes new staff members Purchasing Agent, Joe Biangone; Accounting Technician, Delia Biangone (who moved from activities/payroll) and Shannon Kvaalen in student activities.

In district-wide facility improvements more than 900 door locks are being replaced by Kalmont Distributors at no cost to the district. The locks are being replaced as a security measure after it had been discovered that some staff keys were opening multiple locks on different buildings throughout the district.

For more information visit www.sd5.k12.mt.us.

The following is school-specific information provided by the district.

Edgerton

Elementary

• An estimated 675 students will attend Edgerton this school year.

• Edgerton welcomes new third-grade teacher Jess Hensley and kindergarten teachers Shila Schreiner and Carrie McHugh.

• Parents/guardians and volunteers may now digitally check in when visiting the school and are asked to bring drivers’ licenses to use the new system. Other new updates include a conference room at the front entrance.

Elrod Elementary

• Enrollment is projected at 320 students.

• Over the summer, a staff parking lot was established on a section of the playground and the west alley entrance.

• New staff members joining Elrod include Tim Anderson, fifth grade; Andrea Rossman, counselor; Luci Stafford, first grade; Halle Wilson, fourth grade; and Kate Wilson, third grade.

Flathead High School

• An estimated 1,425 students will attend Flathead this school year.

• A couple of upgrades have been made to the facility including additional parking. Inside the school, the auditorium has been freshened up with a new coat of paint. Improvements have also been made to the girls locker room.

• Students can look forward to several new courses and programs. Students in a House Construction class will build an 1,800-square-foot, two-story home with a groundbreaking ceremony planned at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 1 at 663 Corporate Drive.

A second course offering has been added to the school’s BioMedical Science program called BioMedical Science 2 — Human Body Systems. Two computer science courses — Intro to Computer Science and Computer Science and Software Engineering — have also been added.  Other new classes include Culinary Arts 3 — ProStart and Film Production/Motion Graphics.

Qualifying seniors who complete work in one of three areas in music, theater and visual art may receive Fine Arts Distinction.

• Flathead welcomes new teachers Dock Blastic, special services; Cody Bowman, PE/Health; Ben Butts, vocational; Colin Fuller, Academic Transition Center; Cody Hoon, art; Carla Martin, special services; Marti Paugh, business; and Matt Upham, math.

• Vehicles parked on school property during school hours must have a parking permit displayed. Permits will be issued free at the beginning of the school year. Students must bring a current vehicle registration to secure a parking permit. Permits obtained last year are valid for the current year. There is a $5 replacement fee for lost or additional permits. The high school parking permits are not valid in the city of Kalispell’s new residential parking zone.

• An open house and barbecue is planned from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 16 in the commons.

Glacier High School

• Enrollment is projected at 1,313 students.

• Five new courses have been added at Glacier. The high school continues to expand its Engineering Academy with two new courses — Computer Science and Software Engineering and Civil Engineering and Architecture. Other new courses include Contemporary Nonfiction: Political and Social Issues; Economics; and a math class that encompasses Algebra 2, trigonometry and pre-calculus over a double-block period.

• Teachers new to Glacier include Clark Begger, social studies; Abby Connolly, English; Amanda Cram, English; Mark Kessler, health enhancement; Sara Menssen, English; Stephanie Powell, special education; Cameron Rozell, business; and Adina Welsh, special education.

Hedges

Elementary

• An estimated 400 students will attend Hedges this year.

• Over the summer at Hedges, new grass was planted, rocks removed and dangerous holes filled in the field. The gym floor was resurfaced. A new power source and venting system has been installed in the school’s multipurpose room allowing a kiln to be put back into operation. Two projects underway relate to security check-in and doors by the front office.

• A kindergarten- through fifth-grade Basic Skills Class has been moved from Edgerton to Hedges.

• Hedges welcomes first-grade teacher Nicole Hill; fifth-grade teacher Rachel Hanko; and paraprofessionals Melissa Alton and Emma Kunda.

Kalispell Middle School

• Enrollment at Kalispell Middle School is projected at 1,050 students.

• Students can look forward to two new classes this year: Medical Detectives and Introduction to Computer Science

• Teachers joining Kalispell Middle School staff include Alex Cummings, English/language arts; Ben Cutler, math; Mark Fischer, social studies; Marni Kirkemo, English/language arts; Matt Larson, business and computer technology; Holley McCracken, resource; and Steven Neal, math.

• Seventh- and eighth-graders may sign up for volleyball or cross country Aug. 31 during lunch. The first practice for both sports will be Sept. 1 after school.

• Each participant in after-school activities needs to have a current physical, medical release, concussion and parent consent forms filed with the office. Forms can be picked up at the office and need to be turned in at sign-ups or first practices.

• School pictures will be taken Sept. 3-4. An open house is Sept. 10.

Linderman

Education Center

• About 175 students are expected to attend Linderman.

• Linderman houses the alternative high school, the Alternative Attendance Center directed by the Special Education Department and the Academic Transition Center, which is coordinated by Flathead and Glacier high school administrators.

• Additional classrooms has been created for Linderman Education Center and Alternative Attendance Center students following the relocation of district maintenance and transportation departments.

• Linderman welcomes new English and Family Consumer Science teacher Donelle Holderbaum.

• Early bird classes start at 7:25 a.m.

Peterson

Elementary

• Enrollment is projected at 450 students with full kindergarten- through third-grade classrooms.

• A new reader board has been installed. Crews have paved around the multipurpose room, a high traffic area, and a venting system is being installed in the school computer labs.

• Students can look forward to new technology programs that support learning. Peterson is also starting up the Watch D.O.G.S (Dads of Great Students) program to encourage male role models to volunteer at the school. A Watch D.O.G.S. pizza night is planned Oct. 6 to kick off the event.

• New staff includes librarian Shelley Pelc and fifth-grade teacher Kirsten Pevey.

Russell

Elementary

• An estimated 300 students will attend Russell.

• Russell welcomes instructional paraprofessional Michelle Morris and special education teacher Stephanie Jackson to the staff.

• School buses will drop off and pick students up on the east side of the building. Parents are reminded to drop students off at the playground on Wyoming Street. Students not taking the bus will wait to be picked up at the basketball area on the playground.  

• A kindergarten open house is Sept. 2.

— compiled by Inter Lake reporter Hilary Matheson