1. We are excited to launch our new website under the same address: www.bismarckschools.org. Check out the district home page by hovering over or clicking each link or icon to see what’s there before school starts on Aug. 24. You will find your school and others under the bright red “Our Schools” tab on the top left. *NOTE: elementary and middle school calendars are not functioning yet. Secretaries will be trained in early August. Until then, you can find important school dates under Announcements.
2. Registration can be found to the left of School Board & Policies. This would be for incoming kindergarteners, new students to the district, boundary maps, and other materials.
3. BPS is now using rSchools calendars so everything is all in one place for parents. If you are a middle or high school parent, you may be familiar with these searchable calendars from our Activities pages. Now all calendars, including non-athletic events, for example, will be on an rSchool calendar, which will let you filter by your child(ren’s) activities, etc. We will post a tutorial video so you can learn how to use this handy feature! Elementary rSchool calendars will be ready closer to the start of school in late August.
4. Parents and students can now email teachers and key school staff using the Staff Directory on the top right of the district or school home pages. You do NOT need to fill in ALL of the information fields! You can sort by building, job role, title, or first or last name to find the person you need. During the 2017-18 school year, we will be adding those emails to school pages under Academics on the left. You can also see whether a teacher has a classroom Facebook page, for example.
5. Our new website has several icons that appear on the district page and the school pages. They are also easy to find on your cell phone. If you go to the Bus icon on the top right (on our home page, any school page or on your cell phone or tablet) you can see requested information, such as “Bus Delays or Changes” and “Bus Registration” info. Lunch Menus are also located near the Bus icon for easy access! There’s also a Jobs icon if you are looking for Employment Opportunities in Bismarck Public Schools.
6. Our new website has sections called Quick Links because of input we received from parents, staff, students and community members. Check out what’s posted there, such as the Elementary Facility Committee proposals & documents. If you have other ideas, email community_relations@bismarckschools.org.
7. You may not see PTO/PAC info or school newsletters posted on your school website until after school begins, but they will be there eventually!
8. If you bookmarked or had a shortcut to our website, you will need to delete or re-do those to www.bismarckschools.org.
9. The Sign In feature on the top right is only for designated staff managing our web pages.
10. If you have questions or comments about our new website, use the New Webpage Feedback Form under District Announcements. You may want to save this email until you become more familiar with our new website.
