The school year is off to a crazy fast and great start! It took some time to get our online courses up and running as for the first time we really opened up the course catalog for students. Now halfway through the first nine-weeks we are seeming to hit our stride. Students are taking college courses like College Algebra and Comp 101 through BSC and other electives such as Aviation, Engineering, and Health Science. Offering these courses has really had an impact on student engagement as they are able to enroll in classes that meet their interests and goals.
Our fall athletics are off and running. We absolutely loved hosting a varsity football game once again this year. Thank you to all who helped us put together a successful event and to those who attended. Our athletes cherished the opportunity to play in their hometown and the sight of the side games on the east fields was awesome to see. We have seen so many great performances in cross country, football, volleyball, and elementary basketball. We love seeing the passion and determination displayed in these events. As we move closer to playoff and tournament season, we want to wish the best of luck to all our student athletes.
Parents, please keep in mind that we are still using Power School daily. Parents, as well as students, have log in information to access grades and attendance. In addition to Power School, we are excited to have rolled out a new Scranton School Website and App. This update should allow us to continue to provide excellent communication will all stakeholders. We look forward to making sure we are all trained in the use of the program so that we can keep all of you more informed on the wonderful things happening at Scranton School.
Like last year, the USDA is no longer providing meals to our students. We will once again be charging for our student meals. These charges can be paid by stopping in the office at the school. We encourage everyone to fill out the free and reduced meal application forms. Many of our federal programs are determined by our percentage of patrons who qualify for free or reduced priced meals. It would be helpful to our school if those who qualified in the past would fill out the form and for those who think they could qualify to do the same. All information is kept confidential. Thank you!
Attendance and limiting distractions are a focus for us as administrators this year. I had always been a believer that our students needed to be taught acceptable use with cell phones in our building. Last year we allowed electronics to be used a little more, but what we learned is they were way more of a distraction for our students and created an atmosphere that we did not like in the building. As a result, Mr. Cagle and I decided to go back to no cell phones in the classrooms. This seems to be the best option for our students as we believe it not only limits distractions but also removes one more opportunity for inappropriate use of social media.
Attendance has been a large issue for us as a school. We want to make sure the education our students receive is top notch, but when students are missing a large number of days a year, most of our time is spent on catching students up instead of digging deeper into the curriculum. This policy is changing and we will have our second reading during the October School Board meeting. The law in the state of North Dakota is confusing with absences that can be labeled excused, unexcused, approved and unapproved. We are taking a tougher stance on unapproved absences and we could really use the assistance of our parents to make sure students are in attendance. If you have any questions with this issue or any issue, please contact the school and we will explain our stance as best we can.
A few weeks ago I published a letter explaining our school accountability. I have attached this letter in this publication as well. Please take the time to check out the ND Insights website and see how our school is performing.
I want to thank our community for your support. Our staff and students know what a wonderful community we have here in Scranton, and we will continue to represent this great community to the best of our abilities. Scranton School has been extremely successful in the past, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for our amazing students. SOAR NIGHT HAWKS SOAR!
Sincerely,
Kelly Pierce
Superintendent