Kalispell Public Schools ready for new year

School bells will ring in the new year this week in Kalispell Public Schools.

First through sixth grade and ninth grade will start school Wednesday, Aug. 30. The first day of school for seventh, eighth, 10th, 11th and 12th grades is Thursday, Aug. 31. Kindergarten families should check with their child’s respective school for start dates.

Breakfast prices for kindergarten through 12th grade is $1.75 and lunch is $3. Milk is 45 cents. Reduced prices for eligible students are 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch.

Free breakfast and lunch will be offered to all students enrolled in Elrod, Hedges, Peterson and Russell Elementary schools, which qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision part of the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Schools qualify based on poverty rates.

A free preschool program is offered to qualifying families as part of a Montana Preschool Development grant. Two preschool classrooms are located at Hedges Elementary and one is located at Russell Elementary. Spots may still be available to eligible families. Enrollment applications are available at each school.

All students riding buses must register online or at the transportation office located at 514 E. Washington St. For more information call 751-3404.

For more information visit www.sd5.k12.mt.us. To contact the central district office, call 751-3400.

Edgerton Elementary

- Kindergarten students are invited to drop in between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for a meet-and-greet on Wednesday, Aug. 30. Kindergarten students will have the first full day of school Sept. 5 on an assigned A and B day schedule.

- Kindergarten enrollment is projected at 100 students.

- Families wishing to participate or continue participating in the free- or reduced-price meal program must submit an application. Applications are available online at www.mymealtime.com.

- Families also may add money and check student lunch balances at www.mymealtime.com.

- Edgerton welcomes teachers Jessie Carson, physical education; Hope Hedges, fifth grade; Anna Lureau, fourth- and fifth-grade combination; Jessica Louke, teacher librarian. Paraeducators Shelly Iten and Amanda Wehrli in special education also join the staff along with Jennifer Metcalfe, family advocate and social worker; Val Pierson, long-term substitute; and custodians Nick Gardner and Paul Jackson.

- Open houses are planned for kindergarten through second grade on Sept. 18, and for third through fifth grade on Sept. 19.

- For more information call 406-751-4040.

Elrod Elementary

- Kindergarten enrollment is full at 40 students.

- Teachers Kara Basko, fourth grade, and Ryan Streiff, second grade, join Elrod staff.

- An open house is scheduled from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Sept. 14.

- Families are reminded that students should enter through the playground and can be dropped off on the north or south side.

- For more information call 406-751-3700.

Flathead High School

- Freshman Day is Wednesday, Aug. 30. This day is for freshman only and is designed to help ease the transition from junior high. Attendance will be taken. Classes that would regularly meet off campus or at the vocational agriculture center will meet in the commons. Buses will run on the regular schedule.

- A computerized system is used for purchasing food in the cafeteria. Students may deposit money into their account at the cafeteria and then purchase food by accessing their account.

- Any student parking on school property during school hours will be required to display a school parking permit. Permits will be issued free of charge in the office at the beginning of the school year. Students must bring a current vehicle registration in order to secure a parking permit. Permits purchased last year are valid for the current school year. Permits are non-transferrable between vehicles. These parking permits are not valid in the off-campus residential parking area operated by the city of Kalispell.

- Students have a few new courses to look forward to this year:

— Biomedical Innovations: The final course in the biomedical sciences program. In this course, students will learn about topics ranging from public health and biomedical engineering to clinical medicine and physiology. Students will have the opportunity to work on an independent design project with a mentor or adviser from a university, medical facility or research institution.

— International Baccalaureate Language and Literature (year two): This is the second half of a two-year course. The course focuses on how cultural context, language and audience influence meanings in various texts and how mass communication impacts a text’s objectives. Students will examine how language changes and shapes meanings within cultures.

— Historical Geography: An exploration of how geography impacted major historical periods or events. Students will study maps, landscapes, political interactions and economic consequences as shaped by the geography. The course will start with a unit on physical geography and then focus on case studies such as a Native American unit. Case studies may include European wars, great river civilizations and natural-resource extraction.

- Flathead welcomes new teachers Jennifer Duke, family and consumer science; Lisa Fant, special education; Kirk Johnston, Spanish; Alysha Nordwall and April Williams, both English; Richard Peters, vocational; and Hawken Ruis, science. Also joining the Flathead staff is Assistant Principal Mark Fischer and Writing Center Director Wendy Taylor. Michele Pain moves up from her position as assistant principal to serve as interim principal for the 2017-18 school year.

- All students in grades 9 through 11 will have school pictures taken on Sept.13 and 14 in the auditorium foyer for their student IDs and to be included in the yearbook. Pictures will be available for purchase. Senior portraits for the yearbook are due Nov. 21.

- The Flathead Parent Group will have its first meeting at noon and at 6 p.m. on Sept. 6 in the high school conference room. This group is a volunteer organization whose mission is to encourage and support the Flathead student body, staff and families.

- An open house for Flathead families will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 13 at the school. The evening will kick off with an informal dinner in the commons.

- For more information call 406-751-3500.

Glacier High School

- Freshmen only will attend on Aug. 30. Welcome activities will be scheduled from 8:15 to 10 a.m. followed by seven periods and concluding with closing activities from 1:35 to 3:15 p.m. Lunch will be a closed campus. Buses will run on the regular schedule.

- Several new courses have been added including:

— Coding 101: An introduction to the basics of programming through computer-based and mobile platforms. The class covers computer science, computational thinking and programming.

— House Construction: Students will learn rough framing, roofing, cabinetmaking and finishing, in addition to contracting, electricity, estimating/sales, architecture, plumbing and concrete through building a three-bedroom home.

— Engineering Design And Development: This capstone course in the Project Lead the Way engineering program enables students to research, design, and test a solution to an issue, presenting it to a panel of engineers.

— AP Physics — Mechanics: A calculus-based physics class that is the equivalent to a university level introductory pre-engineering course. Laboratory work is an integral part of this course.

— AP World History: World history will be covered from approximately 8000 B.C. to the present. Students will cover six historical periods, making connections among historical developments in different times and places such as Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania by using methods used by historians.

- Glacier welcomes new science teacher Matthew Ford and social science teacher Levi Birky.

- An open house will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 13.

- For more information call 406-758-8600.

Hedges Elementary

- Projected kindergarten enrollment is 75 students.

- Brent Benkelman will serve as the new Hedges Elementary principal. Hedges also welcomes new teachers Nicole Scheibel, preschool; Bridget Lambert, resource; basic and life skills teachers Amanda Tranchita, kindergarten, first and second grades, and Chamea Bennett, third, fourth and fifth; paraprofessionals Brittany Oehrtmann and Kara Devereux, both preschool; Arica Ahart and Kelly Munson, both special education; and Brooke Nominey and Clement Hoye, both general education. Christy Bortz will serve as an instructional coach and Meghan Roe as a speech and language aide.

- An open house is slated from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12.

- For more information call 406-751-4090.

Kalispell Middle School

- Sixth-graders only will attend school on Aug. 30. The day is designed to assist with the transition from elementary to junior high. Sixth-graders will work within assigned teams for part of the day and attend classes on an abbreviated schedule.

- The middle school welcomes teachers Ashlie Fleming, sixth-grade social studies and reading; Jakob Wilson, sixth-grade science and reading; and Liz Cummings, life skills.

- Over the summer new doors and windows in old gym entry area were installed and upgrades made to technology.

- Students may be dropped off in front of the school in the morning, or in the back of the school in the bus drop-off area. Students should not dropped off or picked up in the teacher parking area in the back of the school.

- Seventh and eighth-grade sports practices start Aug. 29 for football and Aug. 31 for volleyball and cross country.

- Sixth-grade band and orchestra instrument rental night are from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Sept. 7.

- An open house will be held Sept. 7.

- School pictures will be taken Sept. 7-8.

- For more information call 406-751-3800.

Linderman Education Center

- Each student should have a scheduled orientation appointment with an adviser between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1, with the first day of school on Sept. 5. The first day of school for Alternative Attendance Center students is Aug. 30.

- New hours will be from 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “Early bird” classes will not be offered this year. Linderman students only will start Wednesdays at 9 a.m. to accommodate a seminar day. The main office will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

- Carrie Burnham joins Linderman as a new transition counselor.

- A family barbecue and open house is planned from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13.

- Parents interested in having their students enrolled at the Academic Transition Center or Alternative Attendance Center (housed at Linderman) will need to contact a counselor or case manager at a student’s assigned high school.

- For more information call 406-751-3990.

Peterson Elementary

- Kindergarten will hold an open house from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Aug. 30.

- Projected kindergarten enrollment is 76 students.

- Peterson welcomes new Principal Tracy Ketchum.

- Kindergarten students will be released in the courtyard located in the back of the building. Students who eat school breakfast may be dropped off at 7:45 a.m. All other students should not be dropped off prior to playground supervision, which begins at 8 a.m.

- For more information call 406-751-3737.

Russell Elementary

- About 60 kindergarten students are enrolled in Russell.

- The computer lab has received an upgrade with additional computers.

- New teachers are Cody Bowman, physical education; Tricia Stuker, first grade; Beth Lincoln, preschool; Zachary Mauer, music and counselor Mary Fusaro.

- Families are reminded to drop off and pick up students on Wyoming Street outside the playground.

- An open house is set from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 20.

- For more information call 406-751-3900.