We have had some questions regarding the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT).  

Our Lunch Clerk, Lindy Cooper, contacted the Office of Public Instruction for more information.  She was told that because we use Infinite Campus as our database, our families have already automatically been submitted for this.  

OPI was unable to give us a date by which participants would recieve this benefit.

 

The FINAL weekly meal distribution of the summer will be held on Monday, August 10th  between 10:00AM and 12:00PM.  Meals may be picked up in the parking lot below the Elementary Gym building.  Meals are FREE of charge and are available for anyone, 18 years of age and younger.

Keeping an open and honest dialogue between our school district and the community is very important to us and a necessity to ensure the continued success of Thompson Falls Schools.  The goal of our "Heard Around Town" page is to respond to misconceptions in the community about our school district.  If you have heard something about Thompson Falls Schools that you would like to clarify or need more information about, click HERE to submit and an answer will be provided below.  This page will be updated as often as possible with new submissions being added to the top.

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Heard Around Town:  When will the school be releasing information regarding the upcoming school year?

Response:  Our District is currently working out the details for the 2020-21 school year, as well as contingency plans.  We will be sharing those plans via our website as soon as they are finalized.  The board will review the plans at the August board meeting.  Unless there is an increase in cases in Sanders County, we are planning on returning to school on August 26th with in-class instruction.

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Heard Around Town:  Will Thompson Falls Schools reopen in the fall?

Response:  The Board and administration are working with the Sanders County Health Department, Montana School Boards Association, CDC, and the Governor's Office to formulate a plan based on the health and safety of our students, staff, and community to reopen school in the fall.  Currently we will have summer school starting the week of July 13th, the ACT test is July 18th, outdoor activities have started, indoor activities will start on July 6th, and Driver Education will also start in July.  

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Heard Around Town:  Has a new High School Principal been hired?

Response:  Mr. Dan Schrock was chosen as the High School Principal at the School Board Meeting on Monday, April 28.

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Heard Around Town:  Has a new superintendent been hired?

Response:  Mr. Bud Scully was chosen from among 3 interviewing candidates.  He was offered a contract and has accepted.  The Board of Trustees will vote on his official hiring at the Board Meeting on Tuesday, April 28th.

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The tragedy in Florida rekindled the national debate on gun laws and school safety. In 2013, following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Thompson Falls School District’s School Board and administration established school safety as our number one goal and declared the environment our top priority. Some of the actions taken by the District since that time are shown below.  These are a few of the items made possible with input from Thompson Falls School District staff, law enforcement, emergency services, and professional state organizations since 2013.

• Added a School Resource Officer, S.R.O., made possible due to a joint effort between the District, Frisbie-Morbella foundation, and City.
• Formed school crisis teams for each campus that review safety procedures.
• Provide annual C.P.R./ First Aid training to staff each fall.
• Installed security cameras that cover every entry and exit to the school and the main corridors of the high school and junior high.
• Installed cameras in all buses.
• Updated emergency response bags in classrooms to include defensive spray.
• Additional lighting installed on each campus.
• Installed mirrors in key locations for increased field of view.
• Installed darkening shades in elementary classrooms.
• Numbered all classrooms and posted emergency evacuation plans.
• Reduced the number of unlocked doors in schools.
• Upgraded Student Information System (S.I.S.), to allow broad messaging through multiple platforms, (text, e-mail, and phone).
• Provided two-way radios to all staff members.
• Upgraded the phone system to allow emergency announcements in each room.

The safety and well-being of the people in our schools and community is everyone’s responsibility. This is our town, our school, and these are our challenges. School and community safety is a multifaceted issue that presents a variety of challenges including mental health, staff training, law enforcement, facility improvements, and emergency response personnel. Our greatest resource is the people in our school and community that work together to find solutions and be positive. We are thankful to all those who dedicate their time and talents to public service. Many opportunities exist in Thompson Falls including; ambulance, firefighters, and search and rescue. The schools are fortunate to have access to support personnel onsite including administrators, school counselors, CSCT therapists, school psychologist, and an S.R.O.

We encourage people to report potential concerns or suspicious behaviors to law enforcement and school officials. Information that is received is investigated in a professional manner. If you have an idea about school safety you would like to share please contact our school administration and/or S.R.O. The District will continue to work on school safety and providing a great environment for our students.