Tonight at Cascade:  JV Girls BB vs Home School @ 4:30 Varsity Girls BB vs Augusta @ 6.  NO FORM TO FILL OUT AHEAD OF TIME FOR TONIGHT.

Apply at: https://www.cascade.k12.mt.us/District/Jobs/ 

Over MLK day last week, Cascade BPA had 13 total students competing in judged events. Of those 13 students, 11 are progressing onto State BPA.  Our Parliamentary Procedures Team, consisting of: Justin Smith, Madison Wilson, Bailee Jones, Sydney Gutierrez, Jacob Marko, and Skye Smith took 3rd overall. Our Video Production team composed of: Kayleen Mckamey, Victoria Kirby, and Madison Cope took first Overall. The Website Design Team (Cassidy Sewak & Ellie Ward) had placed fifth overall. Sadly, only the top four teams in team events move onto state. Allyson Ethridge & Madi Ward both individually competed in Computer Modeling. Allyson placed second(2) overall and Madi placed third (3) overall.  Regarding various Open events & test (Top ten advance to state): Allyson Ethridge Placed 9th in Health Administrations & ProceduresSkye Smith placed 3rd in Banking & FinanceVictoria Kirby placed 1st in Network Administration using Cisco. Zoe Mazaira ranked 5th in Intermediate Word ProcessingMadi Ward ranked 10th in Digital Communications & Design Concepts.  This year because of the Yellowstone County Health guidelines, An In-Person State conference, is impractical as well as impossible. State BPA will be held virtually March 14-16.Congratulations to Mr. Schulte and our awesome BPA team!

I would like to take a moment to update you on the School Board’s activities and actions. Please remember that the board meetings are open to the public online. The link is provided on the posted agenda and on the school calendar. Also, the minutes for each board meeting are provided on the website and in the Cascade Courier.The previous year's audit was completed and the auditor’s presented the audit to the board at the January meeting. Cascade passed the audit with flying colors and received the highest rating possible. Congratulations to our Clerk, Karsen Drury for the accomplishment.During the December Board meeting, the Transportation Committee recommended and the Board approved a $2,000 bonus to anyone who obtains a CDL and completes 80 hours of driving for the District. This bonus is to recruit new bus drivers for activities and routes.  At the January meeting, the Transportation Committee recommended and the Board approved, a bonus for any bus driver that completes the school year employed with the District. The bus drivers that meet the requirements, will receive a bonus of $3.00 for every hour of driving. The Transportation Committee is also in the process of replacing the Badger bus.  The Badger bus is 20 years old and has been depreciated out at 150% of the total purchase value. At 20 years old, the bus is now older than any of our students currently attending school. The District has been preparing for the replacement since the last administration and has been setting aside funds to accomplish the purchase of a new Activity bus. The Transportation Committee hopes to have a recommendation for the February Board meeting. More information about the proposed bus can be retrieved at this link: https://www.nationalbus.com/Ultra-Coachliner-SE-102.phpIf you would like to discuss these actions, you may contact the members of the Transportation Committee. The members include:Iain McGregorRick CummingsChris WilsonThe Facilities Committee has been active this winter as well. The Committee is considering two future projects at the moment. The first is installing a rubberized track. The Facilities Committee will receive more information on Friday, January 22nd, at 8 am about the cost of the project and review its options. The Committee will also consider building a wellness center or community fitness center. The fitness center is in the early exploratory phase. An architect will be at Friday’s meeting to discuss the committee’s vision. The Facilities Committee would like to hear from you if you have any questions. The Committee members are:Chris WilsonIain McGregorJohn Rumney2020/21 is a significant year for the community and the school district. The bond established in 2001 for the build of the new gym and addition to the school will be complete. The District would like to thank the community for the support for the project. Previously, the Technology Committee took a hard look at the expenditures from the technology fund, which is funded by the technology levy. After looking at the expenditures, the Committee prioritized technology expenditures as 1. Purchases needed to educate students, 2. Purchases needed for the safety of the students and 3. Purchases needed for the school to operate. By setting these priorities, the District was ahead of the curve on Chromebooks when the pandemic hit, and classes had to be conducted online. We already had a Chromebook for each student, while other districts were struggling to get enough devices for students. Also, the District has been able to update the networking infrastructure to handle all of the devices and is currently updating the out of date cameras in the school. Through the leadership of the Committee, the technology fund has increased savings and kept expenditures are more responsible.Through the hard work of the district's staff, Cascade Schools has been able to remain open and our students have been able to participate in activity and athletic events. We as a school staff, more than anyone, understand the frustrations of the pandemic and the rules and mandates put in place because of it. We look forward to the day the restrictions are lifted and we can return to normal operations. Until then, to do our part in ending the pandemic, we are required to enforce the mandates and ensure that all students and staff are kept safe and healthy. Remember we did not make these rules, but we are responsible for enforcing them. Please help us in our efforts by doing your part and wear a mask to ensure our doors stay open for activities. We ask you to please be respectful and cooperative. The games would not be possible without our volunteers willing to step in and donate their time so your student-athlete can compete and you can watch them compete. Please show our hard-working employees the respect they deserve by wearing your mask and thanking them for their part in today’s competitions.It was announced that Cascade was awarded the District Girls Basketball Tournament.The school has new black lockers in the JH hall thanks to the Booster Club and Jodie Campbell.On behalf of the School Board, thank you for supporting our school and our students!

Montana moves to Phase 1B of Governor Gianforte’s Montana Covid-19 Vaccine Allocation Plan. Phase 1B includes: Persons aged 70 years or older Persons aged 16-69 with high-risk medical conditions. Others at elevated risk such as Native Americans and people of colorHigh-Risk Medical Conditions include cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, down syndrome, heart conditions, severe obesity, immunocompromised individuals, sickle cell disease, type 1 &2 diabetes, and individuals identified by medical providers.If you meet any of these requirements, please get vaccinated. A vaccination is important for us to stop the pandemic. Wearing masks and physical distancing reduces your chances of being exposed or exposing others to the virus. Vaccinations will help your immune system fight the virus if you are exposed. Some estimates say that 60-70% of the population needs to be vaccinated to end the pandemic.The Cascade City/County Health Department has an update available with information on receiving vaccinations. The address is https://www.cascadecountymt.gov/462/COVID-19-Vaccination.According to the Health Department, vaccines are available to people 70 and older. This round of vaccination begins on Thursday, January 21 at 9:00 a.m. Please do not contact the vaccination centers yet; the health department and vaccination providers are swamped and need to prepare for the next round of vaccinations. The links to vaccinations will be provided on Thursday at 9 am. Additional information from the website states:Number of Appointment Slots that will Open: 1,500 total, including appointments on the following dates: Monday, January 25 Wednesday, January 27 Friday, January 29Scheduling Process and EligibilityThe Cascade City-County Health Department, Benefis Health System, Alluvion, and the Great Falls Clinic are working together to begin offering the COVID-19 vaccine to community members age 70 and older.  Who:Montana’s 1B vaccination tier has been defined to include anyone who is age 70 or older or meets certain other health criteria. However, given that the number of Cascade County residents who fall into tier 1B currently exceeds vaccine supply, we are limiting vaccine administration to only those who are age 70 and older at this time.  How: Appointment slots will be scheduled online and filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so community members who are eligible should go online to schedule as soon as possible to secure their slots. You will be required to provide a valid email address to book your appointment. The vaccine consists of two doses. You will be scheduled for your second dose of the vaccine at the time your first dose is administered. Second doses will occur 3-5 weeks after the first doses, so please anticipate your future availability when scheduling your first dose.  If you do not arrive as scheduled for either your first or second dose appointment, your appointment will not be automatically rescheduled.  You will not be permitted to schedule your second vaccine dose online yourself.Where: Vaccinations will take place at the Family Living Center of the Montana Expo Park at 400 3rd St. NW in Great Falls. You must pre-schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine. If you do not have an appointment, you will be turned away.  You must present a valid form of identification at the scheduled time of your vaccine. If your identification indicates that you are not age 70 or older, you will be turned away even if you have an appointment.Other Information:  We expect it to take four weeks to administer the first dose of the two-dose vaccine to everyone who falls into tier 1B. Future vaccination dates, times, and number of available slots will be published as they are available.   Community members vaccinated through this process will not get a choice regarding which brand of vaccine is administered. We will keep you updated as the phases change. 

As of now we have reached our maximum number of spectators.  The google link has been removed.  If you are not on the list, we cannot guarantee entry into the game. Please use the following link to sign up to attend the BB game on Monday, January 18th.  If you are already on the permanent list for our Cascade players you do not need to use this form.  JV girls 3:00; JV Boys @ 4:30; Varsity Girls @ 6; Varsity Boys @ 7:30  

The 3rd-grade ski trip has been rescheduled for this Friday, 1/22

Our new Cascade Schools website layout is coming Tuesday, January 12th. We are really excited about the changes coming, but, as with all big changes, there will be some growing pains. The 1st one is that the web site will be off-line while the company ports the new site in place of the old one. They plan to have it up and running by mid-morning on Tuesday.We will be working to smooth any other problems out asap. They tell us that no content will be lost.We hope you will like the new layout and other upcoming changes that can happen with the update. Stay tuned.

Winter Sports have begun! Please see the attached link for our Covid protocol for winter sports.  Two days prior to each event we will post a link to our website in order for spectators to sign up to attend the events.  

Here is a link to the Elementary Program from 12-21-2020. This file is still very large and you may have difficulty downloading it. Other, smaller files are in the works.Several technical challenges have slowed the process, apologies for the delay.Here is a pdf of the performers and performance order.