Administrative Update
It is hard to believe that it is May! We have had an awesome year. I want to thank all of the volunteers who have helped at our school this year. Your contributions cannot be measured, but your impact will be felt forever!
Our PFA this year has been terrific. Thank you so much to our PFA president, Adrienne Seamans, and her board for all of the wonderful activities and support that was provided this year. We will miss the close association with our current board. We are excited to work with our new PFA president, Murissa Morgan, and her board!
The new camera system has been installed. We added twelve additional cameras that provide additional coverage to both inside and outside the school.
In addition to the cameras, we have also installed a system that controls access to the school. Visitors to the school will now need to press the outside call button and speak with someone in the office before entry is allowed. Please be patient as we implement this new security feature.
We want to wish everyone a wonderful summer vacation! We will provide updates throughout the summer about our progress to open a new STEM high school in the Fall of 2019 as well as other exciting changes that are on the horizon.
Happy Summer!!!!!
Parent Connection
Teacher Requests
White Pine Charter School accepts requests for classroom teachers. We ask that parents email
[email protected] and
[email protected] with the request. It is always helpful to include the reasons why this is the best fit for your child. Please have all requests sent by June 1st. We cannot guarantee that all requests will be met, but we will make every effort to accommodate.
Exciting News from our Board of Directors
As we approach the closing of the 2017-2018 school year, the Board of Directors would like to recognize our amazing faculty, teachers and administration for a fantastic year. They have worked together to create an enriching academic experience, develop new opportunities for our students and enable our children to be safe and feel safe at school. We also recognize our talented students and all of our service-oriented parents - without you there is no way this remarkable school year could have been possible!
The Board will be sending out a parent survey soon in the hopes of making next year an even better one for your White Pine student. Please take the time to complete this survey and provide us with your honest, candid feedback. We will thoroughly review all of your comments as we set new goals and make adjustments for the 2018-2019 school year.
Over the last few weeks, Board members have participated in the hiring committee. It's been exciting to help the administration team hire three new teachers and a school counselor for next year. This was a long process, and we interviewed many great candidates. We picked the best of the best to work for our school and teach your children. We believe you will be as pleased as we are in the selection of our new hires.
Our middle school retention looks strong, and based on this year's successful lottery, we expect many new students to enroll. It appears our middle school will be more full than it has been in past years. This is great news for everyone. Students will have a few more peers to work with. They will have even more technology in the classrooms. They will have a little more elbow room as the board and administration look to rearrange the existing space this summer.
A full middle school will lead us to begin the high school on the right foot. We continue to push forward with White Pine's expansion into an innovative STEM High school. Throughout the year, several board members have traveled with administration to look at some of the country's top STEM schools. We are building financial models to approach financial lenders, drafting charter documents, walking through potential facilities, analyzing curriculum options, forming strategic partnerships, and more. We believe our new high school will be a game changer for our school. Our students receive an excellent K-8
th
grade education that will enable them to achieve success in this STEM high school.
The next few months will be a critical time in this process, and we will need many helping hands. We have organized a few committees that work on key aspects of a new school. If you have interest in serving on a committee, please let the administration know.
Thank you for all of your service to our school!
Message from our PFA
While we did not have the attendance we were hoping for for the yard sale, we did have great help in cleaning up the school yard and made enough money to give all faculty members who helped $25 each. We also made $171 for popcorn sales for April.
Teacher Appreciation Week
Teacher Appreciation Week is May 7 - May 11. Every day we will have some type of food available and a school supply. We have also decorated all the teachers' doors as well as decorate for those staff members who have helped make our school great (that do not have a classroom).
As part of our Teacher Appreciation Week, we are doing teacher
"shout outs". If you have a teacher you would like to give a shout out to or want to tell others what great thing a teacher has done, please email us and we will include it on our bulletin board at the front of the school.
We also have a wish list of supplies from teachers. If you like to help purchase any of these items, please contact us at
[email protected]
and we will let you know what is still wanted.
Picnic with Parents
This event starts at 5:30 on May 11th at White Pine. We will be serving dinner, as well as holding a drawing for free passes to iJump, Battle Zone, Kids Town and Pizza Pie Café gift cards for those in attendance. We are hoping for good weather so we can eat outside at the school. Not only are current families and staff invited, but we are also inviting those families and staff members who will be new for the 2018-2019 school year. Please attend and help us welcome our new member of the White Pine Charter School Family!
As the outgoing President for the PFA, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the parents who have volunteered their time, attended our events, and supported fundraising efforts. It is through your support and generosity that we were able to do all the things that we did this year. We have had record breaking fundraising efforts and had some amazing family events. I hope that while attending you were able to get to know other White Pine families.
Thank you for allowing me to serve you and the White Pine Community. While it is hard to walk away after serving on the PFA Executive Board for two and half years, I am excited for the new board members and look forward to what great things they will plan for the next year.
Positive Behavior Supports and Interventions
PBIS Apps in the Middle School
The PBIS team felt it was important to differentiate Tier I programs between the elementary and middle schools. Grades K-5 promote positive behavior with Cougar Coupons and prize drawings every two weeks. It became obvious very quickly that this was not a motivator for middle school students. The team came across a program called PBIS Rewards. It is a reward system that students, parents, and teachers can access from a phone or computer. All mentioned can easily track Cougar Cash balances at any time.
How do students earn Cougar Cash? Students accumulate cash by adhering to school wide behavior expectations. If a student shows they are willing, positive, connected, or significant a teacher or staff member can award Cougar Cash. For instance, if Student A is ready to learn at the beginning of class Ms. Whitworth can assign him or her points while finishing attendance for 4th period.
What can students spend the Cougar Cash on? The middle school as a whole has a store where students can purchase items or privileges. Each individual classroom also has a store with differentiated items. For example, Student B can purchase the right to listen to music while working on Think Through Math in Ms. Croft's class.
After the success of the program White Pine Charter School has decided to renew it for the 2018-19 school year. If you have any questions feel free to contact middle school team members or Mr. Graham at
[email protected].
Capturing Cougars in Action
