Back to school news and reminders

It's that time of year when the thoughts of back to school come upon all of us. The start of a new school year is always an exciting time, not only for students and their parents, but for our teaching staff, as well.

Hopefully you have been able to spend quality time with your family over the summer, and are excited as we are for the upcoming 2009-2010 school year.

Teachers will report back to work on Thursday, Aug. 27, with students reporting back for the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 31.

Parents and guardians of kindergarten and first-grade students will receive letters with specific information regarding reporting times and dates for their children.

An orientation for fifth-grade students and their parents and guardians will take place at Whitefish Middle School on Aug. 27 at 7 p.m.

Whitefish High School will host an orientation for freshmen and new students and their parents in the gym on Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 6:30 p.m. Administrators and counselors will be on hand. For more information, call Tina Corwin at 862-8600 ext. 463.

Last but not least, two very important dates to put on your calendar include Sept. 9 and Sept. 25. Our CARE team will again sponsor the highly successful and fun-filled evening for families with our Back to School Bash on Sept. 9 at the Smith Fields near the hospital. Our annual High School Bulldog Booster Club auction will be held on Sept. 25 at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake. More information will follow on these events.

Also, all school offices are now open. Feel free to call or stop by if you have any questions. Also, school supply lists are posted on the individual school Web pages at www.wfps.k12.mt.us.

New to the Whitefish School District family are Dave Carlson — high school principal; Josh Branstetter — middle school assistant principal; Sara Mueller — middle school behavior specialist ; Lisa Pollard — middle school physical education and Spanish ; Lacey Hoffman — kindergarten ; Nicole Sanford — high school choral ; Christina Schmidt — speech and language ; and Sarah Bilal — middle school special education.

Current employees transferring to another building or position include Megan Pepe and Ann Muth — to the middle school; and Scott Smith — to the high school.