December 2020
Superintendent’s Letter
Dear Parents/Community Members:
The holidays are such a great time to connect with friends and family. As we drive around, take the time to look at the effort put into the holidays with the lovely decorations. At this time of year it gives us the opportunity to look at how blessed we are to live in a land of freedom. A number of years ago I lived in South Africa for two years. Recently I was contemplating the life of Nelson Mandela. I was living in South Africa when he was released. Many stories have been written about the change he created in his life when he decided that others could not dictate the way he would react to life’s situations. Mr. Mandela felt he could control his reactions and that is what helped him to become a better man. I often think of his ideas when I am faced with a situation where I may feel powerless as I think that all of us, including our young students, feel at sometime in our lives. We can only control the way that we may react to the situation. If you have the time I would recommend the movie Invictus which is based on real events in South Africa. The movie is titled after a poem written by William Ernest Henley. I will quote the last stanza. “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” I believe it serves as a very powerful message to us all. I hope you all have a wonderful opportunity to share time with your students over the break. Again, we can’t say how privileged we feel to have the chance to help in the education of each of your students. Have a wonderful Christmas holiday.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments at 726-3216.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mike Perry Ed.D., Superintendent
Elementary News
Happy December,
We have made it through the first trimester of school at Arlee Elementary! Wahoo! I would like to thank all of our Arlee families for working hard to promote and enhance our students' education. I cannot sing you enough praises!
On Campus Instruction Families: We will resume on campus instruction on December 7th. Please make sure your child is 100% healthy for 24 hours before you send him/her back to school. It is amazing how fast a sniffling nose can lead to a bigger issue. We would rather you be cautious. When in doubt...please stay home. As always, call one of the elementary offices with any questions, concerns, or dilemmas that may arise.
Distant Learning Students: a HUGE thank you to all of you that continue to work hard at home! Your teachers can not thank you enough and I appreciate the fact that you are going above and beyond for your child’s education. We are structuring our distance learning attendance and grading policy differently for the second trimester. Basically, online students will be required to complete daily tasks that his/her teacher assigns in order to be marked present for the day. Also, all grading will be based on turned in work. If an online student does not turn in work that is required of them, they will receive a failing grade and could be at risk for repeating the school year over. If you are unclear about your student’s expectations, please email or call your child’s teacher.
Please continue to stay safe, healthy, and happy over the holiday season. Have a fantastic month of December.
Principal Anne Tanner
Board of Trustees News
Arlee School Board of Trustees: In May 2021, the Arlee School Board of Trustees will have one open position for a three year term. Filing of the Declaration of Intent and Oath of Candidacy opens on December 10, 2020 and closes on March 25, 2021. The Declaration can be found on the Arlee School District website at arleeschools.org under School Board/Election Forms. The Declaration can be turned into Lonnie Morin at the Administration Building on the Arlee Campus or to the Lake County Elections Office in Polson. Elections will be held by Mail Ballot again this year. If you have any questions please contact Lonnie Morin at 406-830-8180. Thank you to all who have served on the Board to date, your service is greatly appreciated.
Arlee Elementary School
Guidelines For Distance Learning Attendance & Grading:
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The updated grading/Attendance guidelines for the 2020-2021 school year starting November 23rd, 2020.
Attendance: All students will be marked present at the beginning of each school day. Students are expected to do at least one of the following:
Log on daily to Google Classroom as assigned by the teacher; or
Complete and turn in daily assignments; or
Complete assignments and packets and exchange for new packets weekly; or
Communicate with a teacher via email, google classroom or phone call.
Assignments can be turned in by: Dropping off at the office, scanning, email, taking a photo and uploading it to teacher’s email, taking a photo and sending by text, etc.
If students do not fulfill the daily classroom requirements set by the classroom teacher, the student’s status will be changed to absent for the school day. According to the Compulsory Attendance Rules and Regulations, students that have 10 absences in a row must be dropped by the district as a full time enrolled student on the 11th day unless other accommodations have been made.
Grading: Students will be expected to complete work that is assigned by the classroom teacher in order to receive a passing grade. Students that are not fulfilling the expectations by the classroom teacher can receive a failing grade and will be at risk for not being promoted to the next grade for the 2021-2022 school year.
Junior High/High School News
Dear Arlee Parents and Guardians -
This year just seems to keep picking up the pace. We are already into December! As I write this letter, we are currently on a pause and students are learning remotely. Please be sure to track all of your child's progress by downloading the Parent Portal App to your smartphone. This allows you to track in real time your child's grades and attendance. For more information, visit our school website at arleeschools.org
In Arlee sports, Senior Colt Crawford won 1st Team Running Back and 2nd Team Linebacker All Conference honors and Senior Noah Coulson won 1st team Punter All Conference honors for
Football. In volleyball, Halle Adams won 2nd team All Conference honors for Volleyball. We also have Academic All State winners. To receive this a student must have received a 3.5 GPA or
higher first quarter and lettered in their sport. Those are the following: Colt Crawford, Micah Johnson, Tommy Tanner, Charley Crawford, Jack Rodeghiero, Jake Knoll and Levi Sween, Princess Bolen and Drew Knoll, Sara Schall, Noel Johnson, Jerny Crawford, Rheid Crawford, Karli Doerr, Xaria Jacobson, Raven Parson, Addie Jacobson, Harli Kinney and Shonlea Matt. Great job Warriors and Scarlets!!!! Lastly, Emily Fiddler (graduate of 2020) is being recognized by the MHSA for her volleyball accomplishments when she was here. She is 5th in the state of Montana for the most digs for a season with a total of 625 and 7 th in Montana for achieving 44 digs in one game! Her name is now listed on the official stats page on the MHSA website.
Basketball and wrestling practice starts at the High School on December 7th. This means eligibility is a must for those players wanting to participate. Please check your child's grades as often as possible to help keep them eligible to play.
Important dates this month:
Winter Sports practice starts December 7th.
Midterm will be December 4th (ELIGIBILITY CHECK ON THIS DAY!) This date was wrong in November’s newsletter.
Christmas Break will be from December 21st through January 1st.
As always, Val, Jamie and I are here for any questions or concerns. Please call us at 726-3216 (ext. 2404 for Jamie, ext. 2301 Val or ext. 2300 Mr. Beckham). We are here to help!
Stay healthy and safe!
Mr. Beckham