Lunch Menu

1/11 – Beef Taco 1/12 – Mini Pancakes 1/13 – Meatball Sandwich 1/14 – Tomato Basil Soup and Toasted

Cheese Sandwich 1/15 – WG Chicken Patty Sandwich

Salad option through homeroom teachers.

Upcoming School Board Meetings: January 21st, at 5:30 pm, in the

MS/HS Conference Room

Newsletter 1-8-16

Deadline for next edition: 3 pm, 1/13/16

UPCOMING EVENTS (Click on the event for more information or to add to your calendar)

1/12 - PTO Meeting, 8:15 a.m. - 9:45 a.m., OES Staff Lounge

1/13 - Ski Day (B Group): KG (Frouny), Grades 1, 3 and LPHS

1/14 - Parent Coffee, 8:45 am - 9:15 am, OES Cafeteria, Topics: Strategic Plan Implementation and International Baccalaureate Program FAQ’s

1/15 - Ski Day (A Group): KG (Anderson, Grades 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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Dear Big Sky School District Community,

Happy New Year from the Big Sky School District. Unbelievably, the New Year is upon us and we begin preparations to resume our work after a restful holiday break. The last break of the year is really an important time in schools as it permits our school community an opportunity to achieve some balance in their lives. As you know, the traditional school year in Montana and most states is approximately 180 days, give or take a few. In those 180 days, students are in school an average of 7 hours and, in most cases, work an additional 1 to 2 hours at home. In aggregate, that is a conservative total of 1620 hours spent in or on school related tasks. Add in any extra-curricular activities and a student is then engaged in an additional 12 hours a week of activity. From kindergarten through 12th grade, we expect a lot of our students and teachers, so extended holiday breaks from school like this are necessary for a number of reasons.

Families need time to be families. Healthy family time results in healthy kids and healthy kids result in great outcomes for students and a healthy culture in our schools. Kids need time to be kids. During the school year, kids have little to no opportunity to really exist in an unstructured environment. Extended breaks from school allow for them to be flexible in how they spend their time; to choose the activities that they want to spend their time engaged in; and to have time to spend with friends free-playing on whatever they choose. Snow forts, snowball wars, impromptu ski or sled races and time just spent with peers are the activities that shape and mold relationships the kids will have for the rest of their lives. The school needs time to regroup. Our school district is a very busy place and when the students are on a break, there are many things that can be done. It is at this time that teachers are able to take a deep breath, reflect on what has been done so far and make the necessary adjustments to improve for the coming semester. This is time when administrators can really make concrete plans for moving the school forward. Our facility is busy all of the time and this is a time when deep cleaning is done, any small building projects can be accomplished and the facility gets prepared for the second half of the year.

I hope you had a great holiday season and were able to spend quality time with friends and family doing the things that you love. We here at Big Sky Schools look forward to an exciting 2016 and beyond and wish you and yours all the best.

Dustin Shipman

Important Friday Information!

Friday January 8, 15, & 29, school will dismiss at 3:30 p.m. for ski days.

School Information

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Tutoring by teachers Click here for a list of teachers who provide tutor-ing to students at school. There are no fees for these tutoring services. Please take advantage of these free services to help your child!

Wish list:

Mittens/Gloves students may bor row for recess. Bibs for recess & ski days. Small freezer for ice packs (elementary health room). Shelves for levelled book tubs (approx. 40 12” x 14”).

Weather Related School Closure

Weather related decisions will be made no later than 7:00 a.m. Please monitor the website at http://bssd72.org/, the Facebook page at Big Sky School District #72, and/or your email. If you have any changes to your contact infor-mation, let us know as soon as possible. Please email the information to administration@bssd72.org for middle or high school, or lnell@bssd72.org for elementary school, or call 406-995-4281.

School will be cancelled if the temperature is in excess of -40°F

At -20°F, school is open, however parents are responsible for transportation.

Unless the temperature is below 0°F, students will go out for recess. The weather can change during the course of the day, so please have students come prepared.

Boxtops for Education

Please snip those Boxtops and start bringing them to class. Indicate the student’s name and teacher on the baggie.

PTO will start collecting from classrooms sometime next week. Big prize announced after the February 15th collection.

School Information

Middle School Art Service Learning Update

Middle School Artists are proud to report they are a mere $76 away from meeting our $1500 goal of funding 4 wheelchairs with ROC Wheels. We will be working at the basketball concession stand on January 14th, to raise that last little bit. So come out to the game, buy some snacks, and support our Service Learning Project!

We have tentatively scheduled our wheelchair building day for January 21st. Seventh grade art students will build 2 wheelchairs in the morning and Sixth grade art students will build two wheelchairs in the afternoon. We are in search of mechanically-inclined adult volunteers to help with the build.

ROC Wheels is a non-profit organization that relies on the help of a limited number of trained volunteers. So, we really could use some extra, able hands to make this project a success. If you are interested in help-ing for a 3 hour shift, please email Mrs. Buecking at mbuecking@bssd72.org.

Thank you for supporting our Service Learning Project!

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Parent Coffee - Bring your own mug

January 14, 8:45 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. OES Cafeteria

Topics: Strategic Plan Implementation and International Baccalaureate Program FAQ’s

Attention Middle School Girls!

Heart and Sole is a 10 week running program for 6-8th grade girls

Come learn more about the Heart and Sole program on Wednesday, January 13 during PACE.

Popcorn and prizes for anyone who attends! Registration is open January 13-February 29

HATCH Storytelling Workshop

For Middle School and High School students in Big Sky, MT (#becauseofHATCH), with HATCH mentor: Elke Govertsen Assembly series and Writing contest

DATES: Monday, January 11, Friday, March 4, Friday, April 8

Storytelling is one of the most important and fundamental skills. Be it writing, branding, music, or social media– what we choose to say, how we say it and our process of creating stories is magnified more than ever. This series is an opportunity for students to explore types through a series of assemblies for the schools, an after school workshop and a writing contest. Who is Elke Govertsen? Elke Govertsen is an entrepreneur, mom, and Founder of Mamalode, which has been called “America’s BEST parenting magazine” by Lisa Stone, CEO of BlogHer. Elke has been featured in Real Simple, AdTech, Where Women Create, Forbes, and named one of Top 100 Creatives by Origins Magazine. She started her first business at the age of 16 as a welder. She now publishes Mamalode, custom publishing, small business coaching, speaking, and writing. She is on the Executive Board of HATCH. Her superpowers are naming things and storytelling.

This opportunity is provided by: Security Title with Special thanks to Big Sky Resort, and the synergy between the HATCH and Big Sky communities

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ATHLETICS Maps to away games can be found on the school website at www.bssd72.org. Click on the schedule page for the

sport you want and click on the away team name to get the map.

Lone Peak High School 2015-2016 Basketball Schedule Varsity Boys = B JV Boys = JVB Varsity Girls = G JV Girls = JVG Depar-

ture* *During the Hybrid Tip-Off Jamboree – Harrison/WC will play Absarokee in early games on December 5th and Harrison/WC will play Roberts in early games on De-

cember 12th* Jan 8 Away @ Gardiner** B5:30/G7:00 2:00 PM Jan 9 Home Twin Bridges** JVG4:00/B5:30/G7:00 Jan 15 Away @ West Yellowstone** JVG4:00/B5:30/G7:00 1:30 PM Jan 16 Away @ Lima** B2:30/G4:00 10:00 AM Jan 22 Away @ Harrison/Willow Creek** G5:30/B7:00 2:30 PM Jan 23 Home - Sheridan** G4:00/B5:30 Jan 28 Away @ Shields Valley** JVG4:00/G5:30/B7:00 12:45 PM Jan 29 Home - Gardiner** G5:30/B7:00 Feb 4 Away @ Manhattan Christian** JVG4:00/G5:30/B7:00 1:30 PM Feb 6 Home - White Sulphur Springs** JVG4:00/G5:30/B7:00 Feb 12 Home - West Yellowstone** JVG4:00/G5:30/B7:00 Feb 13 Home - Lima** Senior Parent Day G2:30/B4:00 Feb 17-20 Away @ Manhattan Christian – District 11/12C Tourney GTBA/BTBA Feb 25-27 Away @ Hamilton – Western C Divisional Tournament BTBA/GTBA Mar 5-7 Away @ Great Falls – State C Boys’ Championships BTBA Mar 12-14 Away @ Great Falls – State C Girls’ Championships GTBA TBD Home - LPHS Basketball Awards Nights TBA

**District 11/12C Basketball Games

…as of December 2, 2015 *Departure times may change as 10 day weather forecasts become available.

2015 - 2016 Ophir Middle School Boys’ Basketball Schedule

*Last updated on December 12th, 2015*

7th /8th Grade Only 5th /6th Grade Only

Jan 11 Away @Mt. Ellis 4:00/5:15 Jan 14 Home Heritage Christian 4:00/5:15 Jan 16 Away @Manhattan Christian Tournament (7/8 th only) TBD Jan 18 Home Gallatin Valley Home School 4:00/5:15 Jan 21 Away @Gallatin Gateway 4:00/5:15 Jan 26 Home Anderson 4:00/5:15 Jan 28 Away @West Yellowstone TBD Feb 2 Away @Monforton 4:00/5:15 Feb 5-6 Away Petra Tournament (5/6 th only) TBD Feb 6 Away @West Yellowstone Tournament (7/8 th only) TBD Feb 11 Away @Anderson 4:00/5:15 Feb 16 Home Mt. Ellis 4:00/5:15 Feb 18 Home Manhattan Christian 4:00/5:15 Feb 22-23 Away League Championships (7/8 th ) @ Heritage Christian All Day

TBD Location TBA Boys’ Basketball Awards Night TBD

OPHIR Mat Club 2015 season is

here. 6th, 7th and 8th graders start

January 12th here in Big Sky and

they have also been invited to

practice with the Gateway kids.

Tuesday and Thursday practices

in January.

Sign up at the front desk !

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In and Around Big Sky

Big Sky Families,

Spring registration is now open for our Big Sky teams on the Blitzz website. Prompt registration greatly facilitates club organiza-tion and is much appreciated. Please go to the following link: http://www.bozemanblitzzfc.org/ Register under Big Sky Spring 2016 U10/14 Program and select the appropriate division for your player. If your child did not play in the fall then please also pay the 15/16 club registration fee which is $60. Please have your child registered no later than January 15th as we need to submit our official team rosters to the state.

Questions regarding Competitive Soccer or Futsal? Please contact Ellie Manka, Big Sky

Blitzz FC Coordinator at ellie_peters@hotmail.com or (406) 599-4164

WINTER DANCE SESSION

Current Schedule;

Ballet 1 Wednesday 5:00-5:45 pm Ballet 2 Thursday 4:00-5:00 pm

Ballet 3 Wednesday 4:00-5:00 pm Tap 1 Wednesday 5:45-6:00 pm Hip Hop Thursday 5:00-5:45 pm

Coming Soon:

March 3-April 7, 2016 Budding Ballerinas (2.5-3 yrs.)

Thursdays 5:45-6:30 pm Tap 2 Thursdays 5:00-5:45 pm

Ask to join the FaceBook group, Dance Big Sky to stay up on the latest dance events and classes.

Contact Jennifer

at dancebigsky@gmail.com or (208)340-7724