New Salem-Almont schools and Head Start will be two hours late today due to drifting snow and ice. If your child normally gets on the bus at 7AM, the bus will be there at 9AM.
To our families out in the country, there may be some driveways the bus will not go down. It is getting difficult to distinguish the ditch from the road, also the area plowed is barely wide enough for the bus on some farmsteads. Bus drivers will contact you if this is the case or you can call the school if the bus won't make it to avoid a stuck bus in your yard.
Please direct any questions to Brian Christopherson at 843-7610.
Please click or copy and paste the link to enjoy a story by our mystery reader Deputy Tommy!
https://youtu.be/TgZYKQj80TQ
NSA Schools will run 1 hour late Friday 11/18, buses will run where possible. No breakfast will be served.
The school is looking for a location nearby where we can haul away snow in the parking lot. If you have a place, please call the school at 843-7610.
Winter Weather
With the winter season hitting us early and the large amount of snow, it is helpful to remember our protocol and process for making weather-related decisions for school.
Prior to the consideration for any type of closure, delay, or early release, the school district will first consider the type, timing, and track and likelihood of inclement weather. We also assess how the inclement weather will impact travel conditions for buses, parents with drop-offs and our students who drive to school. Last, we need to consider the ability of our staff to open up buildings prior to the beginning of the school day.
A typical weather event includes monitoring the National Weather Service and weather channels, driving on rural roads, discussions with road crews and families that live in different parts of the District to get the best possible assessment on the weather and conditions.
Depending on the track and timing of the weather event, this type of information-gathering typically occurs throughout the preceding day into the night before the event, and very early in the morning on the day of the event. Our communication plan is, whenever possible, to inform families by 9:00 pm the preceding night or by 6:30 am on the morning of the event if a closure or late start is necessary. This timeline is followed to allow the school to adequately make a decision, but also recognize the necessity for families, childcare and the workforce to plan.
While some may be frustrated by an early morning call, we use 6:30 am, at the latest, due to the pickup schedules of our rural bus drivers. If we do adjust the schedule due to weather, we will generally either start late or cancel school all together. When we start late, this may be for a few different reasons. It may be because the daylight will help those needing to drive early in the morning, such as our bus drivers, or it may be because our community needs that additional time to reasonably get to school. In some cases that a late start is used to provide the district with additional time to assess the tracking and severity of the weather impact.
When a late start decision is made, we will outline whether it is a 1-hour or 2-hour late start. While we may provide a schedule when we make the late start announcement, that schedule is as simple as it sounds. If you typically drop your child off at 8:00 and we have made the 2-hour late start, plan to drop them off at 10:00.
With all of the planning that goes into a weather-related system, we are not always “right” for the entire district. Due to our large district, each bus driver can stop his/her route for unsafe conditions and each family can make the decision whether or not they want to send their children to school. Unfortunately, it looks like it may be a long winter, so we appreciate your patience and understanding of the dynamics of making school-related decisions.
Please click the link below or copy and paste the link to enjoy "Snow Day" by Margaret McNamara!
https://youtu.be/c9xOrEpCz30
With the amount of snow on the ground already and the projected increase of wind later this week, bus families, please make sure your driveways are wide enough for our drivers. Thanks!
Please click the link below or copy and paste the link to enjoy "Snow" read by Mr. Christopherson!
https://youtu.be/ewZUfsaMaok
Please click the link below or copy and paste the link to enjoy "Snowzilla" by Janet Lawler!
https://youtu.be/I5IDLme56TI
Please click the link below or copy and paste the link to enjoy "Huggle Buggle Bear" by Katherine Sully!
https://youtu.be/8vDV_B8ajpA
Please click the link below or copy and paste the link to enjoy "The Sandwich Swap" by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah!
https://youtu.be/d8BOLLOpxV0
Congratulations to the NSA One Act!They are going to State! They placed second at the regional contest.
Reminder that we do not have school Thursday, November 10 due to parent-teacher comp day. No school Friday as it is Veteran's Day.
Please click the link below or copy and paste the link to enjoy "When Will it Snow" by Marty Crisp!
https://youtu.be/-_QD-g8CXzk
What a wonderful day of playing in the snow and building snowmen! The kids had so much fun and built very small to very tall snowmen at each recess. Please remember to send their snow pants, coats, gloves, hats, and boots to keep the kids warm and cozy while they play in the snow! Thank you so much for all your support!
With the impending weather forecast, the NDHSAA has given us permission to change the championship date of the Region 5 volleyball tournament to Wednesday, November 9. We are told Saturday is not an option due to the time needed to prepare for the volleyball state tournament on November 17-19.
With the approval from the four remaining schools involved, we will be changing the final day to the afternoon of Wednesday, November 9. We will be starting with the third and fourth place match at 2:00 central that day. Doors will open at 1:00 central.
I would like to thank all of you for making these changes. In a perfect world the weather would cooperate, and we would be able to make everything work, but we live in North Dakota, where weather dictates most of our schedules. New Salem-Almont will be holding a full day of school and will work around the tournament.
Please click the link or copy and paste to enjoy "7 ate 9" read by our mystery reader Mrs. Christopherson!
https://youtu.be/oriNkospZpo
State Football Tickets are available at the high school office until Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. These tickets are the same tickets you would purchase at the Fargo Dome.
Adults- $20
Students- $6
Please click the link or copy and paste to enjoy "Sammy the Turtle" read by our mystery reader Ty Wolding!
https://youtu.be/RJb2FGySPWY
The Region 5 Volleyball Bracket.
