BHS Graduates and families:

The BHS Download Gallery for Graduation Photos is up and ready for everyone to access. The gallery will prompt you with some helpful pop-up windows to help you access the images, downloads, and how to order prints.

If you click on an individual photo you'll see a download button at the top. Or you can choose to download the entire gallery. If you create a favorite list, the gallery will store your selected images for quicker access for downloads.

Thank you BHS and congratulations to this year's graduates!

Gallery Link: https://kylemartinphoto.pixieset.com/bismarckhighschoolgraduation/

Given the current situation with COVID-19 and uncertainty when students will be able to gather at schools, BPS is going to conduct high school summer sessions in a distance learning format beginning on June 1st. This style of delivery is not the format students registered for when they signed up for summer school in January and February.  Moreover, students who didn’t sign up for summer school may now opt to register since previously planned activity cancellation may no longer create a conflict.  Because of this, we are reopening summer school registration to get an accurate registration for classes beginning on June 1.  At the bottom of this message, we ask ALL students who previously registered for summer school to take the re-registration link and indicate if they are still planning to take summer and if so, which courses they are planning to take.  New registrants can skip the yes/no question regarding summer school and simply select the courses they have interest in.  It is important for every student who previously registered to go through this process so we can update PowerSchool accordingly.

The pace and scope of content for summer school will be no different than in past years.  There will be two 3-week sessions (June 1-June 19 and June 22-July 10th) with equivalent content to an eighteen-week semester during the regular school year.  This creates the scenario that each day is equivalent to a full week of class during the typical school year.  It is important for students to understand and be prepared for this pace in a distance based environment.  There will also be situations where instruction is synchronous at times and asynchronous.  Given this blend, attendance will be based upon the daily engagement and completion of assigned work, activities, interaction with instructor, etc.   If a student is not engaging with the instructor and not completing assignments, they will be marked absent.  If a student exceeds 5 absences, they will be unenrolled from the course and the course placed in their schedule for the 2020-2021 school year. 

We are asking all registrations be completed by the end of the day on Wednesday, May 6th.  Please take the link below to confirm your prior registration or to enroll if you now have the ability/want to participate. 

BHS Summer School 2020 Registration link

Senior Fees and Lunch Balances

Senior’s with UNPAID fees.  Per board policy, any senior with unpaid fees will NOT be eligible to walk through the graduation ceremony.  Please check your My Payments Plus accounts to make sure your senior has all fees paid by Friday, May 15^th.  If you do not have a My Payments Plus account, please sign up for a free account in order to get your fees taken care of or call Bismarck High School at 323-4800.  Unpaid fees consist of, but are not limited to, Chromebooks, Art Lab Fees, overdue library books, lost or damaged textbooks, negative lunch accounts.  Please call the school office if you have any questions.

A fee of $20 is in your MyPaymentsPlus account for the purchase of your Chromebook. If you do NOT want to purchase your Chromebook, bring it to BHS on Monday, May 18^th (More information will be coming out next week regarding materials being returned). If you plan to keep the Chromebook, have the fee paid for by May 15th.   

If your senior student has a lunch account balance, please fill out the form to let us know if you want a refund or if you'd like to donate to a student in need. Seniors with siblings in the district, the balance was transferred to their sibling. We ask if your account is $5 or under that you would consider donating your balance.  All requests need to be done by June 10.  After this date all balances will be donated. A reminder that if you have auto refill set in My Payments Plus, please go in and turn auto pay off.

Senior Lunch Balance Form

Although a lot of conversations are circulating around the community regarding Prom at BHS, CHS, and LHS, the current guidelines for indoor/outdoor gatherings for the NDSmart Restart plan do not allow us to have a Prom.  The three most distinct elements which define our Proms…1.  The communal gathering/picture taking prior to the event in the school; 2.  The Grand March; 3.  The Dance… often have between 1800 and 2000 attendees/spectators combined.  Again, these numbers take us well in excess of allowable gathering size and anything less creates a gathering which is not the type of ‘Prom’ our students desire to have. 

Therefore, all decisions regarding Prom are on hold as we wait to see our community and state transition through the NDSmart Restart plan. As all are aware, changes in spikes and declines are fluid and we may have a considerably different outlook in two weeks as we do today. With that said, Prom also takes time to plan and coordinate.  Therefore, we have set a date of July 6^th as the ‘deadline’ date to determine if we can proceed with planning or we have to succumb to cancellations.

Thank you for your understanding as we continue to strive for normalcy in our community and state.

Tribute to Achievements

BHS acknowledge our honors and awards that our staff and students achieve during the year.  We try very hard to catch every achievement.  If your student receives honors or an award this year, please call (701-323-4800 ext. 6006) or email Cassie Bauer cassie_bauer@bismarckschools.org with the information. This will help assure that we don’t miss anyone. Honors and Awards are also highlighted in the yearbook.

Honors & Awards

Head Start is now accepting applications for the 2020-2021 school year. Applications can be found at https://www.bismarckschools.org/Page/2616 or call BECEP at 701-323-4400 to request an application be mailed to you. There is a black drop-box to the right of BECEP’s front door to return applications and required documents. BECEP is located at 720 North 14^th Street.

Bismarck Public Schools offers a FREE summer lunch program for local kids ages 18 and under Monday-Friday through Friday, July 24, 2020. Starting Monday, July 6, there are two changes for families accessing free summer lunches for children ages 0-18 in Bismarck. Instead of school buses delivering meals, watch for a white food truck or BPS van. Also, at the Kiwanis Park and Ministry on the Margin sites only, there will be no meal service on Fridays but two meals will be provided on Thursdays. REMINDER: there will be NO MEALS SERVED July 1-3 at any of the sites, and meal service ends for the summer on Friday, July 24.

11-11:30 am: Lions Park, Centennial Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary, Solheim Elementary, Miller Elementary, and Kiwanis Park (*no meals on Friday).

11:30 am-12:30 pm: Wachter Middle School, Century High School, Bismarck High, Moses Elementary, Legacy High, Lincoln Elementary, and Liberty Elementary School.

11:45 am-12:15 pm: Will-Moore, Grimsrud Elementary, Pioneer, Myhre, and Murphy Elementary Schools, and Ministry on the Margins @ 201 N 24th St, east parking lot (*no meals on Friday).

12:30-1 pm: Sunrise Elementary School.

Simle & Wachter summer school is June 1-July 9, Monday-Thursday.
Horizon summer school is June 1-25, Monday-Thursday. 

Bismarck High, Century and Legacy High School distance learning summer school is Monday-Friday.
Session I: June 1-19
Session II: June 22-July 10

South Central High School summer school is June 1-June 26.

No summer school July 3.

1. Middle and high schools will continue into the summer in the Distance Learning Platform.
2. High School Administrators and Teachers will work with their individual classes to bring students in for small group instruction when the need necessitates. An example of this would be students needing to complete a hands-on laboratory experiment which would be done following the Facility Use Guidelines. 
3. Curbside library book checkouts will be offered at some locations

Camp Edventure (grades 1-5) is Monday through Friday from June 1 through Monday, July 13, except July 3.

1. Elementary schools will continue into the summer in the Distance Learning Platform.
2. Curbside library book checkouts will be offered at some locations

The Bismarck School Board will meet at 5:15 pm at the City-County Building at 221 N. 5th Street. The public is invited to attend the meeting or watch it LIVE on cable channel 2.

Bus Registration Reminders for 2020-21:

1. Your child will automatically continue to receive busing if they rode the bus during the 2019-2020 school year.
2. If busing is no longer needed, please contact the Transportation Dept. by email or call 701-323-4500. 
3. If you are new to busing, please fill out the Transportation Registration Form found here: https://www.bismarckschools.org/Page/655 
4. If you register AFTER July 15, it may take up to 30 days from the start of school before students can ride because our contracted vendor needs time to set up routes, line up buses and drivers, and send schedules to parents who have already registered.
5. If you have moved recently, please notify your school or the Registration office of the change. You must fill out the Address Change Form and supply one Primary Proof of Residence to complete the change.

We are asking for donations of diapers, wipes, tampons, and feminine pads. These donations will help serve children 0-18 that receive support from the BPS Students in Transition program, BECEP, South Central High School, all BPS social workers working with families in need, Healthy Families of Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota, and the Adopt-A-Block program.

We have seen an evident need to help people in our community with basic items such as diapers, wipes, and feminine hygiene products. This underlying need in our community is now exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting rising unemployment. WIC and SNAP benefits help with food, but do not help with these items or other personal hygiene items for children and families in our community. A group of organizations along with faith leaders are working with families and have come together with the goal of meeting the current above-mentioned needs and building relationships between churches and organizations to continue and increase the scope of support into the future.

Our first goal is to collect and build resources so the above organizations can distribute to families in need. Donations can be dropped off at:

Century Baptist Church (205 Colt Dr.) Monday & Thursday 11:00 am-1:00 pm.

Evangel Church (3225 N 14th St.) Wednesday 12:00-1:00 pm.

J&R Vacuum (223 E Main Ave) Monday-Friday 9:00 am-6:00 pm. Drop off at loading dock and call 258-5619 at time of delivery.

To have donations picked up, call Becky Matthews at 701-220-5271. To learn more about the Needs Nook, contact her at rebecca239@bis.midco.net or 701-220-5271.

Donate to Family Assistance Fund
The Bismarck Public Schools Foundation (BPSF) has established a COVID-19 BPS Family Assistance Fund.  Those that wish to donate may do so through the foundation website or by mail. To donate online, go to https://www.bpsfoundation.com/donate/ and click “COVID-19 BPS Family Assistance.” To donate by mail, send checks to the BPS Foundation at 806 N. Washington St., Bismarck, ND 58501 and write “COVID-19” in the memo line. Families seeking assistance are encouraged to reach out to their counselor or social worker who will connect them to established community resources as well as submit requests for funding needs that cannot be met within existing resources. The BPSF thanks those who have already reached out to volunteer and/or provide monetary donations to help those within our community who are struggling.

Donate to Student Feeding Efforts
BPS has had many kind offers to help with student feeding. If you want to make a monetary donation to help feed students in need, go to https://www.bismarckschools.org/Page/3381 and follow the instructions listed. If you are not currently a MyPaymentsPlus user, you can set up an account!