November 1, 2016

School District News

From Superintendent

Robert Vian

District

Idaho Hunger and Food Security Conference

The Breakfast Program in Joint SD #171 is recognized as one of the best in Idaho.  It stands out due to the percentage of our students who qualify for Free and Reduced Lunches who also eat breakfast.  State wide 42% of the kids who could eat a free breakfast do not.  99.3% of our students who are qualified for FRL and come to school receive a FR breakfast.

I was invited to speak at the Idaho Hunger and Food Security Conference in Boise last Friday. Other conference Speakers including the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services for the USDA, Kevin Concannon who stressed that a successful breakfast program would include Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) as part of the school day and would have all students receiving a free meal.  The SD 171 BIC program features both.

I have had parents ask why we request that students take a breakfast each morning and share what they don’t want with other students.  The most frequent comment is, “I feed my kids at home.”  The fact is that many students are not that lucky. 

Teachers report that hungry students lack the ability to concentrate, are less motivated to learn, exhibit poor academic progress, have more behavior problems, and report feeling sick more often.  The phrase “Hangrey” (kind of like the Snickers candy bar commercials) is used to describe a hungry/angry student.

Completely skipping the moral imperative to feed hungry children, a hungry student requires more teacher time, time that is taken from other students.  Since we started our program four years ago, elementary administrators and teachers report fewer discipline issues.

Idaho ranks in the middle of all states for the number of students who qualify for reduced prices school meals, while SD#171 has a higher percentage than the state of students who qualify for reduced meals.

Students who qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch meals at school tend to also have a need for nutritional support for Vitamins especially Vitamin D, Potassium, Calcium, and Iron.

The last reason that a good Breakfast in the Classroom program is beneficial to the district is the financial piece.  Feeding all the district’s students breakfast actually brings more money into  Clearwater County and reduces the need for local property tax dollars to balance the district budget. 

OES News Update

Huge Thank You to Harvest Foods and IGA

Our two local food stores donated over 70 pumpkins to the OES kindergarten classes.  The students & teachers will use the donated pumpkins for their science and mathematics units over the next two weeks.  Each child will bring their decorated pumpkin home on October 31^st. 

Orofino Elementary Annual Fall Book Fair

The Annual OES Fall Book Fair will be held at Orofino Elementary from October 31^st to November 6^th.  The fair is open during the school days at specific times and for approximately 30 minutes after school.  The Book Fair Committee is always looking for parent/grandparent and community members to volunteer to work a shift during the school day at the book fair.  If you can help us out to clerk and manage the please contact OES at 476 4212.  

OES Parent, Teacher, Student Conferences

Orofino Elementary will hold the Fall PTS Conferences on November 5th & 6^th from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. OES teachers in grades K-3^rd sent home conference appointment notices last week. Grades 4^th through 6^th will hold conferences in the gym in an arena format and students will lead the conference with their parent(s) or family member in a Student Led Conference.

OES STUDENTS & STAFF Will HONOR OUR VETERANS

The OES Veteran’s Day committee under the chairperson of Deborah Schmidt is organizing our annual Veteran’s Day Assembly at OES on November 10^th. The assembly is for our local Veterans, students and staff.  The Orofino Color Guard will present Colors and lead the Pledge of Allegiance.  Local Veterans will be honored.  OES students will be sending invitations to family members that are Veterans and all other community Veterans are invited to attend.  Chairperson Deborah Schmidt is requesting that all Veterans who will attend the assembly to RSVP by November 8^th by calling the elementary school at 476 4212.

Please join and like Orofino Elementary on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/OrofinoElementarySchool

Timberline Schools

Staff have developed a new mission statement:

Mission Statement

“Preparing Students for Excellence in Academics and Distinguished Citizenship”

Vision Statement

“All Timberline Students will acquire the essential knowledge, skills, and drive to achieve their personal vision of success”

We Believe 

·         All students can become contributing members of their local and global communities.

·         Each student brings individual worth to the school community.

·         All students can learn and achieve at high levels.

·         Perseverance can overcome failure and lead to success.

·         All students deserve a safe environment conducive to learning.

·         Citizenship, service, and character matter.