North Pole Middle School

Hello Parents and Families;

We’re officially half way through the second quarter of the school year, it’s hard to believe. Mid-Quarter reports will be pulled for students on November 18th and sent out on the 19th to any student who has one or more D or F. As always if you have questions regarding your students grades please don’t hesitate to reach out to your students teachers first and then if need be please reach out to their grade level counselor, they are listed below.

Julie Held – 6th grade: julieanne.held@k12northstar.org

Jasmine Nickell – 7th grade: jasmine.nickell@k12northstar.org

Annie Sartz – 8th grade: annie.sartz@k12northstar.org

We have some short weeks coming up, specifically the weeks of November 23rd and December 14th. The class schedules for those weeks are posted on our school website and can be found here, https://www.k12northstar.org/northpoleM, below the banners you will see an orange header called, “Announcements”, the first announcement contains the schedules for each of those weeks that can be downloaded or printed out. We hope this is helpful for planning.

MAP Testing will be taking place in your students English and Math class sometime in the coming weeks. The window for testing opens November 16 and closes December 18th. Please encourage your student to do their best, we completely recognize the challenges of learning during these times, we feel them as teachers. Information regarding testing is attached.

As of this writing we don’t anticipate any changes to how our school days are structured. The community is still in the Red Zone and the district is following all Smart Start Guidelines. Information regarding those guidelines can be found here, https://www.k12northstar.org/Domain/4. As new information becomes available we will pass that along.

As you are well aware most teachers are currently teaching from home at this time. North Pole Middle School is still open from 9:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m. for meal pick up for both breakfast and lunch. ANY student in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District can pick up a lunch at the school FREE OF CHARGE, please take advantage of this great opportunity while it lasts.

There will be a staff member in the building Monday through Friday through November 30th
to answer phones and bring out paper packets or materials as needed. The exception to the above dates are Thanksgiving week where the building will close at 1:00 on Wednesday, November 25th for the Thanksgiving Holiday. As we receive updated information regarding building status we will be sure to pass it along.

Dear Students and Families of North Pole Middle,

My name is Stephanie Ferrara, and I will be starting as one of your Social Studies teachers on November 23rd, 2020. I will be taking over Mr. Lesage’s classes, which I know are big shoes to fill.

I have been a teacher since 2008, and am passionate about what I do. I am committed to student success, and to making learning both accessible and fun. I look forward to meeting all of you in the coming weeks, and to having us get to know one another. I believe we do our best work when we are connected, and that building these connections is especially essential in the remote environment.

Social Studies gives us a valuable opportunity to see the world we live in with greater depth and perspective. Given that we are living through an important historical moment right now, these skills could not be more relevant. I look forward to hearing students develop their thoughts and ideas as we progress through the curriculum.

I welcome student and parent involvement, and encourage all families to reach out to me anytime they have questions, concerns or are curious about student progress.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Ferrara

stephanie.ferrara@k12northstar.org

The district has put together a list of technology resources that may be helpful for parents. As always if you need assistance you can call the school as well and we will do our best to assist you.

Technology Resources for Parents

The school district will now be participating in the same program that we used this summer beginning on September 14, 2020. It is our intention to continue this participation through the end of first semester. There will be no significant changes to our nutrition services operations. However, families will not be charged for the meals served therefore all active District enrolled children will eat for free.

Students will be able to pick up breakfast and/or lunch until December 19 at the school free of charge as long as they are enrolled in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. Students can pick up meals at ANY SCHOOL in the district as long as they have their student ID# with them. If you have questions, please direct them to the webpage Nutrition Services or our office @ (907) 451-1004

*Please note that if your student does participate in our Free/Reduced Lunch program that last year’s documentation is only good for 30 days this school year. Please click on the button below to apply for free/reduced lunch.

In the event you keep your student home they need to remain home for 24 hours SYMPTOM FREE, without medications BEFORE returning to school. Taking this precautionary measure is far less intrusive than spending 10 days at home. Thank you for your cooperation as we navigate this challenging time. This form: COVID 19 Daily Decision Tree can assist you in making the determination to keep your student home or send them to school also.

In the event you would like to take your student to their attending physician, the following form: Return to School Following Symptoms Form can be used to help your student return to the school setting BEFORE the 10 day period has concluded.

Have you joined the Knights Library on Google Classroom yet? Code: kcb2w4r

You’ll find information on how to request (real paper!) books, ideas on what to read next, activities and more. Mrs. Troike and Ms. Thomas will also host the Library Lunch Bunch every school day via zoom, we hope we can do lunch together!

If you need help finding information, ideas on what to read next, or help with technology issues, please contact us, we’re happy to help.

Librarian office hours are from Monday - Thursday 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. during school days. Please note, you can contact us anytime via the contact information below and if you miss us we'll get in touch as soon as possible.

Mrs. Troike, Librarian • Julia.troike@k12northstar.org • 907-488-2271 ext. 40541

Ms. Thomas, Library Assistant • michelle.thomas@k12northstar.org • 907-488-2271 ext. 4054

Email: contact-npm@k12northstar.org
Website: https://www.k12northstar.org/northpoleM
Location: 300 East 8th Avenue, North Pole, AK, USA
Phone: 907-488-2271
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/North-Pole-Middle-School-143414512397583/?scrlybrkr=0eca0abe