One important reason is to reduce student absences.Last year our students had 5776 absences with 1155 absences falling on Friday. By going to a 4 day school week, the school should eliminate those Friday absences. That’s the equivalent of 4 extra school days per student.The 4 day week would also save on school-sponsored absences. The number of school-sponsored absences on Friday last year was 398.When all of the absences are broken down, the elementary students would gain the equivalent of about 994 absences or 6.7 additional school days per student.In the Junior High School, the students would gain 287 absences which equates to 7 additional days of instruction per student.The High School attendance numbers are even more dramatic. A 4 day week would allow High School students to save the equivalent of 1000 instruction days or 11 more instructional days per student.The bottom line is that if we want our students to learn and improve, we must maximize their time in the classroom.Another important reason is the number of teacher absences that would be saved. Last year our teachers were gone 80.5 Fridays. On top of that, our teachers were out of the classroom for 45 days to work on Response to Intervention. A 4 day week would allow the teachers to have Response to Intervention on Fridays, saving 125.5 days out of the classroom. The more the teachers are with the students, the better our students will perform.If you would like to provide your input, please fill out the attached survey and return to Cascade Schools by April 12. Thank you for your feedback.
The Cascade Modified School Week committee was formed and had their first meeting on February 26th. The committee would like to let you know that they can be contacted if you have any questions or concerns about a modified day. The members of the committee are Jodie Campbell, Rick Cummings, Tami Snyder, Sharon Stevens, Kelly Rumney, Iain McGregor, Pam Marquis, Eric Tillman, Kate McKamey, Siobhan Hathhorn, Michelle Price, Brenda Byrnes.And as always, you can contact Rick Miller, Cascade Superintendent at rick.miller@cascade.k12.mt.us and he will relay your email to the committee.
Are we tired of snow yet? I would just like to take a moment to publicly thank Damon for doing such a great job in keeping our buses running as much as possible during the severe driving and weather situations we have all faced this month. The next group that deserves a big thank you are our bus drivers. As all of you know, it has been difficult to get around and as you can imagine, it is even more difficult when you are driving a big vehicle such as a bus. Now fill the bus with students and think about how stressful this would be. If you see one of our bus drivers please thank them for keeping our students safe. Don’t forget to thank all of the people who have been responsible for keeping the roads in our area clean. This has been a difficult job that has required many additional hours of work. Thank you to all of the people on the road crews and to all of the people who are volunteering their time and equipment to help clear snow for those in need.If you live out of town, remember we are not out of the woods yet and when all this snow melts, we will have a whole new set of problems for our bus drivers to deal with.Respectfully,Rick Miller
JMG Blood Drive at Cascade High SchoolMarch 12, 20191:00pm-6:00pm in the CommonsGive more life. Donate blood.
Cascade Schools is canceling the following bus routes for Tuesday, February 26th: Adel Creek, Castner Falls, and Chestnut Valley. The other bus routes will run as scheduled and school will be in session as normal. Please check back often for updates.
The Modified School Day Committee meeting has been rescheduled from tonight at 7 pm to Tuesday at 7 pm.
At the Regular Meeting of the Cascade Board of Trustees held on February 19, 2019, the Trustees called for an election to be held on May 7, 2019. The election will be conducted by mail ballot. A seat representing Cascade School District No. 3 & B will be open, as well as a seat representing Cascade School District No. B on behalf of Ulm. Declarations of Intent to Run for Candidacy can be found on the school website www.cascade.k12.mt.us on the “Elections” page found under the School Board tab or can be acquired from District Clerk/Election Administrator, Karsen Drury. The deadline to file for candidacy is Thursday, March 28, 2019. All Declarations of Intent must be filed with the District Clerk. Regular voter registration closes Monday, April 8, 2019. For questions concerning the election, candidacy, requirements or voter information, please contact Election Administrator, Karsen Drury at (406) 468-9383 x 104 or karsen.drury@cascade.k12.mt.us.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!The 10th annual Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM) concert and turkey dinner is right around the corner-Monday March 4, 2019. The concert, which includes students in grades 5-12, will be at 7:00 in the north gym. The annual dinner will be in the school cafeteria, serving turkey with all the trimmings, from 5:00-6:30 pm. Tickets will be available from any music student or you can call me, Melody Skogley at 468-9380 or 406-600-7585. Please mark your calendars, you won't want to miss this event!!