Superintendent's Weekly Message

Good evening students, staff, families and community,

I want to start off by thanking all the students and families of the Blaine School District who have engaged in learning over the last week and a half to start the year. We have had reports of many good things happening in our virtual classrooms. Our staff continue to work each day at providing high quality learning experiences for our students, and they were sharing some of their own learning with each other today. Students: I want you to know your teachers are learning and sharing with each other just like you do in your classrooms with other students. 

ATTENDANCE  

Attendance is taken daily for all students in all grade levels. In order for your student to be marked in attendance they need to attend a live session, log in to Google Classroom and complete their assignment each day, or communicate with the teacher. We understand that things may come up and your student may not be able to attend for many reasons. Please continue to communicate with the office at your student’s school if they are going to be absent.

MEALS

Recently the USDA provided a waiver for all students to receive meals through December 31, 2020 or until the money runs out. Therefore, all children 0-18 can now pick up meals each Wednesday, at the rear of the high school, in the parking lot behind the grandstands with two convenient pick up times; 12:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. To assist us in planning, please complete our weekly online order form, which can be found on the new 2020-2021 School Year section of the school district website.

FREE AND REDUCED MEAL APPLICATIONS

There are funding streams the district relies on each year to support students that are based on the percentage of students that qualify for free and reduced meals. We ask for your assistance by completing an application, in hopes that we continue to meet the threshold of additional funding for student programs. Although you don’t currently need to complete the application to receive meals, the district needs you to complete it in order to qualify for funding. These applications can be printed and completed and are found online here, or you can complete the application through the Skyward Family Access using these instructions

FEEDBACK WELCOMED

As we start this year many good things have happened in our district and we continue to welcome your feedback as we get better each day than we were the day before.  We will get through this better doing it together.  We are committed to listening and learning from you.  

Please tell us how things are going, by completing the applicable survey form for your student(s) grade level. 

NEXT Q&A

We will have our next virtual community question and answer session on Monday September 14, 2020 at 6:00 pm, and we hope many of you will join us. Look for the link on our website the morning of the meeting. 

MASK UP TO PHASE-IN

We hope everyone enjoys the Labor Day Weekend and a Monday holiday from school. While you are out and about this weekend remember to wear a mask, socially distance, and practice good hand washing. The numbers in Whatcom County are trending in the right direction and we do not want to take any steps backwards. We will be spending the next two weeks communicating with families in our vulnerable populations such as life skills, homeless, access and pre-school to potentially begin our phase-in to in-building learning with those groups beginning Monday, September 21, 2020. This is the first step in our gradual and intentional progression back to the building that we will continue to monitor daily, and we will be prepared to return to 100% remote learning if needed.

If there is anything we can do for you or your family please feel free to reach out to me at the district office at 360-332-5881 or via email at cgranger@blainesd.org. It is a great night to be a Borderite, and always a great night to be your Superintendent.

Sincerely,

Dr. Christopher Granger, Superintendent

Every Student. Every Day. In a New Way!