To join the board meeting please follow this link.  https://zoom.us/j/99208584817?pwd=enAweDhRNGpBU1BHSEttaW1ZbjB4QT09The Board Meeting will start at 6:00 as scheduled and won't be available until shortly before 6:00

There is some confusion about what the school closing means for students.  The Governor has directed the schools to instruct students through on-line means.  This means that students will still have to pass the 4th quarter. In order to meet the district’s expectations, students must complete all assignments at 70% or better. Summer school will be mandatory for any student with missing assignments or below a 70%. Failure to attend summer school will result in failing the 4th quarter, having to retake the courses, or for elementary, the grade. Summer school will begin after the last scheduled week of school and/or as soon as schools are allowed to reopen.For Seniors, this means they will not graduate and will not be able to participate in graduation if they did not meet these requirements.

April  9, 2020 Dear Cascade Families and Students, We miss you tremendously here at school. The classrooms are much too quiet, and it is very difficult getting through the day without your smiling faces. We hope to see you soon, but as of right now, we will be closed through April 24th. Please, do not hesitate to let us know if your family needs anything. This is a very stressful time for everyone. I know that many of us are not only facing economic stress but also emotional needs. If you need any assistance, please contact your child’s teacher, Mrs. Satterwhite, Mrs. Pieper, or me. All conversations are confidential, and we will do our best to help with meeting your needs.If you are having trouble accessing your child’s work, please contact your child’s teacher(s) to get personalized assistance. We are providing access to classwork in three main formats: offline packets, Google Classroom, and the teachers’ webpages. In EK-3, they are providing weekly packets that can be picked up in the entrance at the Commons. Please be mindful of others when you pick up the materials and continue social distancing by waiting for others to leave before you enter. The online sources for materials and video instructions are posted on the teachers’ webpages, so please check these frequently if you have internet access. You can visit each teacher’s webpage by going to https://www.cascade.k12.mt.us/ . Scroll down to the Cascade Public Schools left hand sidebar. Select “Academics”, “Classes & Teacher Pages”, “Elementary Classes”, and then your child’s teacher. If you should have any issues accessing the information or links provided, please don’t hesitate to contact the teacher. In the 4th-6th grades, the instruction is provided through Google Classroom and weekly offline packets, as described above for those that do not have internet access. There are also internet access sites available at the school. They are located in the elementary entrance along the alley and the staff entrance by the teachers’ parking lot. These sites are video monitored and are only wifi accessible to students and staff. Please contact the school for more information.Please understand the completion of any required assignment is very important. Our school policy of no missing assignments and all assignments requiring to be met at proficiency standards of 70% or better is still in effect. The teachers are monitoring the students' work daily and are helping the students and families that need support. If circumstances are hindering your child’s ability to complete their work, please contact us as soon as possible. We will be providing a mandatory summer school for any student with missing assignments or below a 70% in any subject area. Our goal is for all of our students to reach proficiency. Your cooperation and feedback are essential for meeting this goal.We are continuing our meal program throughout the school closure. Our kitchen staff is continuing to prepare lunch and breakfast for any child between the ages of 1 to 18 free of charge. The meals are available for pickup from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm, Monday - Thursday. I was informed that my letter from April 1st had the incorrect time. Please forgive me for the mistake. I hope it did not cause any inconvenience. When you arrive to pick up the meals, please let the staff member at the door know how many children you have at your home that day. Remember, the children do not need to be enrolled at our school to receive a meal. If transportation is an issue, please call the school to make arrangements for possible delivery. I would like to take the time to thank our teachers. They have gone above and beyond providing an education for our students during the Covid-19 closures. Each teacher is spending a large portion of his/her day conferencing with students and has created blocks of time where he/she is available to assist students. Please use these opportunities to meet with the teachers. They want to ensure their students have all of the tools they need to learn effectively, so make sure to let them know of any needs you may have. Thank you for all of the feedback and support you have given us. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you further. Sincerely,Michelle PriceElementary Principalmichelle.price@cascade.k12.mt.us(406)468-9383 ext. 106

SCHOOL ELECTION BY ACCLAMATIONUnder MCA 20-3-313, if the number of candidates filing for vacant positions or filing a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate is equal to or less than the number of positions to be elected, the trustees may cancel the election. As of the April 3rd deadline, two candidates had filed for the two vacant trustee positions. The school election has been declared canceled by election administrator, Karsen Drury on behalf of the Cascade Board of Trustees. Chris Wilson and Rick Cummings will take seat on the Board at the May 12, 2020 Annual Organizational Meeting.

Once again Governor Bullock has extended the school closure through April 24th. We will continue to deliver instruction online or by paper packets. Remember to call your teacher if you need help completing assignments. Teachers are available Monday through Thursday, 8AM-4PM via Google Hangouts Meet or phone. Please let the school know if you have other needs we may be able to help with. 

April Dear Cascade Families, Thank you for supporting your child and their education during the state-mandated school closure. While we are relying on you to provide space and time for your child to complete school work, we are still here designing lessons, teaching over video conferencing and phone calls, and providing food free of charge to any child in the home ages 0-18. Teachers have done an incredible job of teaching outside the box so our students’ education does not suffer from an extended closure. If you see your child struggling in any academic area, please don’t hesitate to contact their teacher.  As the future is unknown, we continue to meet and develop plans for what the remainder of the school year might look like, the possibility of summer school, and how to support our senior class is graduating from public school. Rest assured, we love our students and want what is best for them, and we put their health and safety at the forefront of every decision made. We are ever hopeful the school year will return to “normal” as soon as possible but are prepared for alternative situations. I hope you and your family are well. If you have needs, please reach out to the school. It is our honor to serve our community. Respectfully, Nichole Pieper

April 1, 2020 Dear Cascade Families and Community Members, Thank you for your patience and support as we have moved to distance learning due to the school closures in Montana. I know this has been a difficult and stressful time as we have all had to adjust our lives to fulfill social distancing and shelter in place. We’ve had some hiccups getting our online and offline services out to you, but with your feedback, I hope we are overcoming most of those issues. Our main priorities at this time are the education of your children and the health and emotional well-being of our students, their families, and our community members.To meet the educational needs of our students, our teachers are providing instruction online and offline. In EK-3, they are providing weekly packets that can be picked up in the entrance at the Commons. Please be mindful of others when you pick up the materials and continue social distancing by waiting for others to leave before you enter. The online sources for materials and video instructions are posted on the teachers’ webpages, so please check these frequently if you have internet access. You can visit each teacher’s webpage by going to https://www.cascade.k12.mt.us/ . Scroll down to the Cascade Public Schools left-hand sidebar. Select “Academics”, “Classes & Teacher Pages”, “Elementary Classes”, and then your child’s teacher. If you should have any issues accessing the information or links provided, please don’t hesitate to contact the teacher. In the 4th-6th grades, the instruction is provided through Google Classroom and weekly offline packets, as described above, for those that do not have internet access. There are also internet access sites available at the school. They are located in the elementary entrance along the alley and the staff entrance by the teachers’ parking lot. These sites are video monitored and are only wifi accessible to students and staff. Please contact the school for more information.All of our decisions on how to proceed with following the state laws, requirements, and waivers are made with the Montana School Board Association. They represent school districts as our lawyers as well as help us interpret the decisions being passed down. We were told by the governor that we didn't need to make up our hours as long as students were proficient, so our goal is to help all students achieve proficiency. The plan in place will require any student who does not meet proficiency standards approved by the school board and the governor to complete the required 1,080 hours of instruction unless proficiency is met beforehand. The teachers are monitoring the students' work daily and are helping the students and families that need support. The approved standard of proficiency is achieving a 70% or better using grades and classroom assessments. It is very important that the students complete the assignments provided by their teachers. If circumstances are hindering your child’s ability to complete their work, please contact us as soon as possible. Our goal is for all of our students to reach proficiency. Your cooperation and feedback are essential for meeting this goal.To meet the health and emotional needs of our students and families, our school is providing meals and additional support. Our kitchen staff is preparing lunch and breakfast for any child between the ages of 1 to 18 free of charge. The meals are available for pickup from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, Monday - Thursday. Just let the staff member at the door know how many children you have at your home that day. The children do not need to be enrolled at our school to receive a meal. If transportation is an issue, please call the school to make arrangements for possible delivery. To help alleviate some of the stress associated with distance learning, our teachers and staff are working very hard creating lessons that you can facilitate at home. The teachers miss the students terribly and are spending a large portion of their day meeting with students either one on one or in small groups using the phone or video conferencing. Please use these opportunities to meet with the teachers. They love seeing and talking with the students and have found these methods have helped reduce the overwhelming stress some of our students are feeling. I will also do my part in helping the matter by communicating more frequently with everyone. Please don’t hesitate to offer feedback on what is working and what might need additional support. Thank you, again, for your patience. Let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you further. Sincerely,Michelle PriceElementary Principalmichelle.price@cascade.k12.mt.us(406)468-9383 ext. 106

Student Guidelines for Remote Learning with Video Conferencing Tools While schools are closed your teachers/educators may provide the opportunity for virtual meetings via Google Hangouts, Google Meet, Zoom, or other video conferencing tools. Participating in video conferences is a great way to stay connected with your educators and classmates, but it is important for you to follow these rules and guidelines. NOTE: Video Conferencing is for educational purposes only. Video recordings may be recorded by Cascade Schools staff. 1.   Remember that you are on camera and live. Your educator and fellow students can see what you are wearing and your facial expression. Find a quiet place in your house. Dress appropriately, following school dress codes. 2.   You are not anonymous. Be mindful of your expressions, speaking tones, and what you say. Your voice and video are viewed by everyone participating in the conference. Other people in your house can hear what you and others in the video conference are saying.3.   Follow the same classroom rules that you would follow in real life. Listen to the teacher. Take turns to speak. Be kind and considerate.4.   Think before you speak. Stay on topic. Make sure your comments are clear and appropriate to the conversation. Don’t say anything you wouldn't say in your actual classroom.5.   Be a good listener. Take the time to listen to what people are saying. Don’t interrupt others.6.   Think before you type. If your educator enables the Chat feature you may be able to participate by typing into a chatbox. Choose your words carefully. Use appropriate spelling and grammar. Stay on topic. Don’t use sarcasm or humor that could be misunderstood. Don’t type in all caps.7.   Take it slow. Remote learning is probably a new experience for you. Resist the impulse to be silly or to say or type the first thing that comes into your mind. 8.   Video conferencing is a privilege. If you cannot use it responsibly your access to school managed video conferencing tools will be removed.Your Chromebooks are meant for educational purposes and as an educational tool.  You can lose access to your school accounts if you violate the Acceptable Use Policy, playing games or video conferencing for personal reasons.*Adapted from the Remote Learning Student Guidelines originally created by Acton-Boxborough Regional School District.  

Parent Guidelines for On-Line LearningThe new delivery of instruction caused by COVID-19 has caused some unforeseen issues.  We wish we could prevent every possible problem that arises but of course are unable to.   In order to protect your students, here are some steps you can take:1.   Limit the amount of time they are on the Chromebook. 2.   While the students are working on the Chromebook, have your child work in a common area, such as the kitchen table. The student’s screen should be visible to you.  Don’t let students hide the screen from you, they are probably hiding it for a reason.3.   Set up a safe area for the student to work and video conference.  4.   Be aware that when students are video conferencing, the teachers can see in the background and hear the conversations. 5.   Remind your students that everything they do on the internet is permanent.6.   The best practice to prevent computer misuse is parental monitoring and enforcing the family’s expectations.   

Free E-Books are available on the library resource page on the Cascade School Website.Contact Mrs. Matteson for log-in information. It's easy! (Students Must log-in Using Their Separate Destiny Account)Karen Matteson406-4689383, ext 127karen.matteson@cascade.k12.mt.us