April, 2025

Dear Bullpup Families,

The lengthening of the days, the nightly chorus of frogs, and the blooming of the flowers in front of the school are all signs that the most wonderful of seasons is approaching – ISAT testing season! What? You thought I meant Spring? Well, I guess that’s a wonderful thing too, but first we have to focus on the ISAT’s, which are the annual tests by which our school and your students are measured, for better or worse. We are so proud of the hard work our students have put in this year; the ISAT tests are an opportunity to show that work to the whole world, to let everyone know what a great school and community we have here in little ol’ Sandpoint.

Parents, you have an important role to play in our ISAT success! Your job is to send your student to school on testing days well-rested, focused, and prepared to do their best. The night before a test day, maybe you could have your student turn off all devices an hour or two earlier, maybe get them into bed a little earlier. The morning of the test, make sure they have a good, healthy breakfast. Then, as they leave, you might give them a little pep-talk – let them know that you believe in them and their ability to excel on the test. As always, educating the next generation of Sandpoint citizens is a team effort. We thank you for doing your part. The testing days will be:

Tuesday, April 22

Thursday, April 25

Tuesday, April 29 (8th grade only)

Tuesday, May 6

Thursday, May 8

Tuesday, May 13

We know you do your best to send us a prepared kid every day, but on those days especially, please redouble your efforts. We sure appreciate our home-school partnership! Let’s rock these ISAT’s together!

Class Trips

After the ISAT’s are finished, we’ll be nearing the end of the year, including our annual class trips on May 30th. On that day we’ll be welcoming every 6th grader to our building for their first taste of being a Bullpup, so we chose that day to send our 8th grade class to Silverwood. Some of our 7th graders will help with the orientation, and then the whole class will go see a movie at the Bonner Mall Cinemas after lunch. The cost for the 8th grade Silverwood trip is $35. The cost for the 7th grade movie is $5. Both include admission and transportation only – students will need to bring their own spending money for food, etc. If your family would like a scholarship to cover all or some of the cost, please reach out – we want everyone to go! Also, students must be in good standing academically and behaviorally to qualify for either activity, and have no outstanding fines. We’ll also need a signed permission slip from you. If your student does not qualify, we will let you know ahead of time.

Parent Input and Help

As mentioned above, we highly value the home-school partnership upon which our school is based. I’ve traditionally held “Coffee Klatches” during the school day to hear directly from parents but haven’t gotten much turnout for the last few. So, I’m going to try something different to close out the year – a dinnertime “Pizza with the Principal.” I cordially invite you to come hear about our great school and give me input as we look toward next year. It will be held at 5:30 on May 15th, here at the school. I will send out an RSVP email the week before so we can order enough pizza. I sure hope to see you there!

Finally, we also are asking for your help as we recognize our outstanding teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, May 5th through 9th. We need donations of food and materials all week. A Signup Genius link for this is below. As parents of middle schoolers, you have a good idea of how hard this staff works. Please join me in recognizing their excellence!

As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Penrose