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THE SCHOOL NEEDS YOUR PATIENCE TOO: It’s near impossible to walk into any business right now without some sort of a sign stating they are understaffed and requesting your patience. Schools are in the exact same situation as businesses. We are not fully staffed. We are still advertising for custodians, a counselor, substitute teachers, substitute bus drivers, and substitute custodians. For example, we might not be able to run our bus routes every day. We might have to carpool to athletic events. Schools are again caught in the crossfire of the pandemic both medically and politically. We get contradictory advice every other day it seems. We are adjusting to a new school calendar and 4 day week.

Kids want to be at school. Teachers want to teach. The support staff (administration, aides, cooks, bus drivers, custodians) want to help kids and want to support the teachers. School employees have their own families to care for, have daycare issues, have health issues, and have bills to pay just like everyone else. Please keep them in mind as we start the year. Please remember the sacrifices they are making to show up and do their job for you and your child. Thank them for being here.

It’s not going to be perfect. There are new class schedules. There are new bus routes. There are different people in different positions giving their best. We are lucky to have them. No doubt there will be some frustration but remember we are all being affected. We can choose to dig deep, stay positive, and be thankful for what we have in our school system. We can be thankful for having classes, having bus routes, and having school in person. We can choose to accept the changes and sacrifices we are faced with making. We can make it work! Hang in there. COVID 19: As of today we still plan on face coverings being optional. We will rely on our county health board and/or state government for direction for mask mandates. Meals will be done the same way as last year. Due to COVID 19 we will not be using the cafeteria for breakfasts. Breakfasts, lunches, social distancing, sanitization, handwashing, locker pods, increased outside breaks, and counter Plexiglas will continue to be utilized to mitigate the virus as we do our level best to avoid mandating face coverings. We will continue to ask students and staff to stay home when ill and please report positive diagnosis to our school nurse. Please consider getting vaccinated for COVID 19.

4 Day School Week: Last Spring, a 4 day school week and calendar was approved by the Board of Trustees. While this approach has been around for years, it is new to Charlo and it brings change. School will typically run 7:50 AM to 4:00 PM Monday thru Thursday but there are some exceptions so please refer to the attached school calendar. The beginning of the day is 25 minutes earlier while the end of the day is 25 minutes later. This will affect length of classes, bus routes, practice times, etc. The school doors will open at 7:45 AM for students with classes starting at 7:50. That gives students 5 minutes to be ready for class. Breakfast will be delivered to classrooms in the elementary and will be available for pick up in grades 6-12 in the same fashion as last year. This is a mitigation strategy for COVID 19. It reduces the interaction of so many age levels in the cafeteria each day. Students are used to it from last year so they will already be prepared to do it again.

FREE LUNCH: We found out on Wednesday that meals at school will be free again this year for students!

Bus Routes: Bus Routes: Please call the office if you have questions on time and places for pick up and drop points. Mr. Bartschi, Mr. Love, or Ginger can help you figure out where your route is set. With a 4 day school week there will be longer days so the School Board set a goal to reduce time spent on the bus. Pick up times and places will be much different for some riders. Several routes will have bus stops for some students to meet the bus for pick-up and drop-off. Call 644-2206 with questions.

Custodial Position Opening: Charlo Schools has a full time custodian position available. Required Qualifications: HS Diploma, Knowledge of Cleaning Techniques, Pass a Physical, Pass a Background Check, Flexible Personality. Additionally, a Boiler’s License and Bus Driving Endorsement are desirable. Salary and Benefits: Starting wage is $13/hr. Vacation and Sick Leave is earned accordingly. Work schedule is set according to the District’s needs but normally 5 days per week, 8 hrs per day with occasional weekend duties. Closing Date: Until Filled. Contact Steve Love, Superintendent at 644-2206 ex 230 with questions or to get a District Application. The District Application is also available at http://charlo.k12.mt.us/.

School Starts Aug. 23: A mandatory meeting for ALL athletes 6-12 and their parent/guardians will be held on Aug. 12 at 8 PM. The first day for high school sports practices will be Aug. 13 so please make sure to get sports physicals scheduled. Practice for JH sports will begin Aug. 18 at 4 PM. The first day of class for students will be Aug. 23. Class will begin at 7:50 AM and end at 4:00 PM Monday thru Thursday.

Substitutes Needed: As the first day approaches it is time to recruit substitutes in all areas of the school. We were able to keep going last year because of the tremendous substitutes we had on call. If you are interested in subbing in the classroom, as a bus driver, as a custodian, or as a kitchen server please contact the office for more information. In most cases, all that is needed is that the person pass a fingerprint background check.

Fees: Participation fees for athletics are $40 for HS students and $30 for JH students. Fees must be paid by the second contest in order to play. Annual passes for admission are $35 for students; $50 for an adult; $145 for a family of 5. Student athletes must pay the participation fee and the admission fee.

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