There is nothing quite like the pride that radiates from students as they show off their artwork. Art builds confidence, self-worth, coordination, work ethic, grit, problem-solving skills, and creativity.This info is going home with your students (EK-6) so keep an eye out for your unique brochure and ordering code! Your kids have been busy creating original pieces straight from their heads and hearts, and they are amazing!Their pieces were sent off to production and now you can get your kids art on a variety of keepsakes, with all proceeds going directly to our art program’s ceramics startup.Think potholders, mousepads, nightlights, pillowcases, planners, keychains, magnets..the list goes on!  Orders are due by Nov. 26 to receive them by Christmas!

On behalf of Cascade Schools, I would also like to thank everyone who made the Divisional Volleyball Tournament held at our school a success. There are 3 ladies who went above and beyond for the school and the volleyball division. The employees who were here at the school from the start of each day through the end of the night, making the event a success are Tracy Taft, Nichole Pieper, and Becca Cooper. Sonja Mazaira deserves additional recognition for the long hours of her own time she put in before, during, and after the tournament to make the event such a success. 

Cascade Schools hosted the 2019 Northern C Divisional Volleyball Tournament last weekend.  Nine schools were represented in the double-elimination tournament. The tournament lasted three days and we would not have been able to pull it off without the support of parents, administrators, teachers, coaches, and students who volunteered numerous hours to help make this event a success.  A huge shout out to:Cascade PTA and BoostersRick Miller Nichole PieperMichelle PriceTracy Taft Karsen DruryBecca Cooper                 John Wright                               Liz Edmundson           Katie Skasick           Ethan Moss                               Nada Cummings         Bailee Jones            Mike Mahana                                            Maddison Wilson                    Mary Ann Madden                     Krista Scott                 Shaylynn EvansBryan Smith               Brenda Langenderfer               Shelly VonStein         Grace SatterwhiteTina Mann                   Misty Ayers                                 Tenella Carroll            Robbie Hall-Elmore                   Rikki Nefzger   

NOVEMBER 26th5:30 pm Pizza Dinner by donation to benefit our Juniors going to New York!6:00-7:00 pm Play games from around the world, get your passport stamped, and collect a prize when you've traveled around the world in 60 minutes or less!

Where: Cascade School CafeteriaTime: November 21 @ 6:30 pmBooster Club will be hosting a chili feed by donation from 5:00-6:30!We will play until all of the turkeys are gone!

This Friday night at 7:00 pm!This event supports your JH/HS Cheer Club.What to bring: $10 for admission (ages 5 and under are free), come ready to dance, neon clothes are encouraged!

The PTA fundraising packets should be returned no later than Monday, November 11th. If you have not returned your packet yet, you still have a few more days to help us raise money for the Missoula Children's Theater and the many other ways the PTA gives back to our students, school, and community. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Veterans Day CelebrationPlease join Cascade Public Schools for our annual Veterans Day Celebration.  There will be an assembly in the north gym on Monday, November 11, at 9:00 AM to honor all who have served in our armed forces. Please use the north entrance to the school and make sure to leave time for cake and coffee immediately following the program. We look forward to this patriotic, heartwarming event and hope to see you there.

November Dear Cascade Families, I would like to start by thanking you all for welcoming me into the community. Your children are creative, talented, smart, funny, kind, and a joy to work with every day. I’m grateful every day I get to come to work.  We have seen amazing data results in attendance and academics. The four-day week for students is addressing areas of concern. The ICU system is helping us ensure students don’t “fall through the cracks.” This system is designed to help students develop healthy habits such as asking for help when you need it, get work done on time so it doesn’t cut into your personal time, and just because work is not completed on time doesn’t make it disappear. This system of learning and accountability mimics the real world. Anyone late on your taxes? The IRS doesn’t just forget about it, you get extra time and owe extra money!   Teachers have been working so hard on PIR Fridays. We’ve been analyzing student data, discussing student supports, and examining what the state requires students to learn. I’m honored to work with such phenomenal, caring, and hard-working adults.  I would also like to thank the community for all the school supplies donated. It’s amazing how a box of fresh crayons can brighten your day. The supplies went to help many children in the school start their year positively.  Our Veteran’s Day celebration will start at 9:00 on November 11th. Please join us and help us show appreciation for those who have served our great country. We have Turkey Bingo on November 21st starting at 6:30 and ends when the birds are all gone! Come join in on the fun! Also, on the 21st, our winter sports season kicks off for basketball and wrestling. The Junior High and High School staff will be hosting Social Studies Family Night on November 26th! Bring the family and play games from around the world. Dinner will be served for a small fee to help send next year’s Seniors to New York! Again, thank you for the opportunity to serve you and your children. Sincerely,Nichole Pieper

It’s hard to believe that the first quarter has ended.  I would like to share with you some of the accomplishments so far this year. The mission of Cascade Public Schools is for all students to learn and learn at high levels. In order to accomplish this, the school has begun to work on improving the school and our students learning. Cascade is on a four-day schedule this year. The main purpose of switching to the 4-day week is to benefit our students. If you were at the community meetings last year, you know that the district identified two areas of importance: that the teachers would work the same number of hours and that the district would work on student and school improvement. According to numerous sources, teachers have the biggest effect on student learning. In order to truly improve learning in a school, the district has to work together with the teachers to improve instruction. Cascade Schools is currently doing this by providing professional development to our teachers, led by the principals. Currently, the focus of professional development is to answer the question, what should our students know and be able to do? With the guidance of the principals, the teachers are identifying the most important expectations for the school, for each grade level and for each subject. Another area of focus has been to reduce the number of absences for students and teachers. The preliminary data on absences is even better then we hoped. The chart below shows how many absences each school had in the first quarter over the last 3 years First Quarter Absences   School Year 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 Elementary 463 348.5 187   JH 110.5 107 64   HS 614 379.5 269.5   Totals 1187.5 835 520.5                     As you can see, the elementary has dropped to 187 absences in the first quarter. That is an improvement of 276 fewer absences from two years ago and 161.5 from last year. Our elementary enrollment has increased over the last 3 years as well. The comparison for the Junior High is as encouraging. The absences from two years ago has improved by 46.5 and from last year by 43. The Junior High enrollment has stayed pretty much the same over the last three years.For the High School, the numbers are even better. Our number of absences has decreased by 344.5 from two years ago and by 110 from last year. That’s an incredible decrease of 667 from two years ago and 314.5 from last year when you add all three schools together.Decreasing student absences is so important because we have to have students in class in order to teach them and allow the students to learn at high levels. Another area the district has made major improvements is teacher absences. By the end of the first quarter in the 2017/18 school year, there were approximately 165 teacher absences. In 2018/19, the district had 137 teacher absences and in the first quarter this year, the absences are 53. At Cascade Schools, we have great substitutes but nothing beats having the classroom teacher present. Decreasing teacher absences by over 80 from last year, not only saves the district money but also allows our students more time with their classroom teacher. To us, that’s a win-win. The district is also concentrating on student improvement by focusing on completion. Students are not allowed to take a zero anymore.  Every student must complete every assignment and complete it at a 70% or better. In the first quarter, through the hard work of the staff, the students turned 1386 assignments from zeros and failing grades to passing grades. Our 1st quarter GPA by class has increased substantially. Here is a comparison of this year’s GPA to the last four years. Grade 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 7th 2.5 3.3 3.1 3.1 3.6 8th 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.0 3.6 9th 3.1 3.1 3.2 2.9 3.5 10th 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.8 11th 3.5 3.5 3.2 3.5 3.6 12th 3.4 3.5 3.7 3.5 3.8  And a chart that shows the same data:As you can see, our preliminary data is very promising. This could not have been accomplished without the guidance and support of the school board, the hard work of our students and the commitment and positive attitude of our teachers and staff.