The January board meeting was inadvertently posted on the calendar for January 15th.  The date of January 22nd was set at the last board meeting and will be the date of the meeting. I apologize for any confusion or inconveniences this may have caused. If you have any questions, please call me at school.Rick Miller

FOLK DANCING IS COMING TO CASCADE!!The Cascade Schools Music and PE Departments and the Cascade PTSA is pleased to announce that we are putting on a Folk Dance Night right here in Cascade!  Folk Dance night will be Friday, January 25, 2019, from 5:30 - 7:00 pm in the school cafeteria. All adults and children are welcome to come and participate, or just watch, the folk dancing.  Although I am sure that once you see how much fun it is, you will be dancing instead of watching! The event is free and we would love to see a great turnout.The Cascade PTSA has hired a couple of folks to call and teach the dances. These ladies are from Helena and have put on an event such as this one several times in Helena.  One of them just happens to be a Cascade School alumni-Ms. Jennifer Skogley.  The other half of this duo is Ms. Abby Nyhof, also from Helena.  The folk dances will be accompanied by live music, provided by Mr. David Casey, from Helena.  He brings with him a wealth of talent and will be accompanying the dances on a variety of instruments-guitar, mandolin, and piano.The students in the elementary grades will be learning the folk dances during their PE and Music times, as well as some other times during the day Friday, January 25.  We have set the time for folk dancing so that, hopefully, as you pick your student up from school, you will be able to stay and dance with us. Refreshments will be served during a break in the dancing. We would like to thank the Cascade PTSA for sponsoring this event.  This group does so much for our school and this evening is just one of the many ways they support the Cascade Schools.I can't tell you all how much fun this evening will be!   Please put this on your calendar and plan to attend.  I can guarantee you will have an amazing evening!Submitted by Melody Skogley

 Our continued focus on getting all late homework turned in has been extremely successful with an 89% reduction in missing assignments. This is having a positive impact on our weekly eligibility list which has been decreased as well. There were just four High School and 3 Jr High students on this week.The 7/12 Math and English teachers have been going over and reviewing standardized tests scores including SBAC, Maps, and ACT scores. Mrs. Price has done an outstanding job of compiling data that is shared with the teachers. The goal is to identify weaknesses in our curriculum and work on improvement as we move forward.   All 7/12 teachers are part of this improvement plan.The JMG class held a blood drive on Wednesday as part of their continued effort to help the Red Cross and promote community involvement with the students and staff.

 The elementary school has fully implemented our new policy for missing assignments, and it has brought positive results. During our first days of the program, the elementary school was averaging about 20 missing assignments/day.  Now, after 1 month of implementation, we typically have about 5 missing assignments/per day for a 75% reduction!  The No-Missing-Assignment policy has also had a positive effect on student achievement. Mid-term reports went out last week and students with a history of missing assignments all had passing grades.  More importantly, these students are no longer missing important practice that is necessary to reach proficiency in mastering the Montana State Academic Standards.   In addition to the monthly reading and math team meetings to augment our RTI (Response to Intervention) program, we have added a behavior intervention team.  This team meets monthly and consists of 6 CPS educators and our school psychologist from North Central Learning Resource Center.  Data collected through our SWIS software program is analyzed to look at ways to improve procedures, target areas for Social/Emotional education through our counseling department and brainstorm ideas to help students whose data shows a need for intervention.  Currently, we are creating universal classroom behavior expectations to address general areas of need that is evident through our SWIS data analysis, and are developing positive individualized behavior plans for students with a high number of behavior infractions. I would like to note how much I appreciate the efforts of the Elementary School educators. They are completely committed to their work and care deeply about the education and well-being of each of our students.  Our educators go above and beyond what is required and asked of them both as far as effort and time.  If you have a chance, please thank them for all they do.  We are incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful group of educators.   

After coming up with the pros and cons of a modified school day, each person voted for the one they thought was most important.  Here are the graphs of those votes. 

The 7/12 grades are focusing on completing outstanding homework assignments during 8th-hour study skills. The students have shown tremendous improvement on students completing homework and getting it turned in promptly. The students are also being helped at lunch to complete missing work when needed. Parent Teacher Conferences that were held on November 1 went very well. The school is working on improving communication with students and parents in regard to their child’s behavior and academics. ACT test prep is being worked on during 8th-hour study skills with a focus on Math and English. There was a K-12 PIR last Friday with Jon Konen from Great Falls speaking to the staff on EPAS, which is the toolused to evaluate teachers.

On November 15-17, the Cascade FFA chapter competed at the John Deere Ag Expo. The individuals competing consisted of Kyle Evans, Kolton Lynn, Ryan Bogden, Dylan Kline, Colton Thune, Eli Schreher, Justin Smith, Preston Hastings, Jean Blackman, Carynn Fredrickson, Kaitlyn Wade, Shaylyn Evans, Riley Bricker, Taylor Brown, Caybree Ludvigson, Mattison McKamey, Elise Crago, Jessy Barger, Cassidy Sewak, Emilie Crago, Katie Skasick, Linsdsey Faldenski, Kaitlynn Lummer, Ava McKamey, and Gracie Orem. Jean Blackman placed 5th in Range. Ryan Bogden placed 1st in Sr. Ag Communications. As a team, Riley Bricker, Ryan Bogden, Elise Crago, and Kaitlyn Wade placed 6th in Sr. Ag Communications. Gracie Orem placed 3rd in Jr. Livestock. As a team, Gracie Orem, Ava McKamey, Katie Skasick, and Preston Hasting placed 9th in Jr. Livestock. Ava Mckamey, Katie Skasick, and Cassidy Sewak placed 1st in Jr. Marketing Plan. Lastly, both Ag issues teams placed first. The junior team consisted of Gracie Orem, Preston Hastings, Justin Smith, Cassidy Sewak, and Emilie Crago. The senior team consisted of Jessy Barger, Taylor Brown, Shaylyn Evans, Caybree Ludvigson, Kaitlynn Lummer, Mattison McKamey, and Eli Schreher. 

Cascade Public Schools recently added text capability to our communication and emergency contact system.  If you would like to receive text messages sent by the school, please check the Text(SMS) checkbox in your parent portal in Infinite Campus under the contact preferences tab. Note that some data rates may apply, charges are dependent on your service plan which may include fees from your carrier to receive a message. 

Robotics Club is canceled this week. Mr. Tilleman is needed to drive a bus route. Remember, students may attend XCELLafter school if needed. 

Thank you, Mrs. Strobbe and students, for the fun night at Turkey Bingo. The food you prepared was delicious. Also, thank you, Tracy, for all of your help. Congratulations to all of the winners. It was a fun evening and we hope you are able to join us next year.