Dear LPOSD Families,

A huge “thank you!” to our parents for all the support provided this school year. It’s a blessing to have you as part of our school community. It’s hard to believe how fast this year has gone, so make the most of our last week and take time to celebrate all the big and little wins we’ve shared along the way😁!

With that in mind, we’d love to hear from you. Each year at this time we send out a parent survey so we can assess our effectiveness and (more importantly) use your feedback to make our school community even better in every way we can. The survey should take you less than five minutes to complete. Use this link LPOSD SURVEY to access the short questionnaire. Now, please enjoy this month’s LOOP💗.

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership, bwm

Dr. Becky Meyer, Superintendent

Lake Pend Oreille School District truly appreciates feedback from our parents. We're interested in what we’ve done well and where we can improve. Your input is valuable in helping us better serve your family and the entire district community.

A group of innovative Sandpoint High School students proposed an actionable plan that encourages healthy habits for LPOSD elementary kids. More time outside, less time on screens! The idea was enthusiastically approved by Superintendent Dr. Becky Meyer and will be available starting in June. Use this link "GET OUTSIDE" to access the summer activity log. The reason for this effort is outlined below.

• Fosters healthy habits within future generations.
• Ensures healthy lives and promotes wellbeing.
• Encourages health and fitness.
• Gets kids off screens!
• Encourages kids to foster a relationship with nature.

It’s staggering how generous our community is. Thank you to the donors who make scholarship nights happen at our LPOSD high schools! Eighty SHS seniors submitted over 1,600 applications for 297 different scholarships! At the annual "Scholarship Night" event, $295,000 was awarded to the Class of 2025. This total does not include scholarship winners at Lake Pend Oreille High School, Clark Fork High School or the local charter school.

To better meet the needs of students, kindergarten will begin slightly later than other grades for the 2025–26 school year, with in-person classes beginning on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. The first two days (Sept. 2-3) will be dedicated to assessments, giving teachers the ability to better understand their individual needs. Additional details will be shared by neighborhood schools.

Sandpoint Middle School brought home two trophies as the 2025 Idaho Battle of the Books Region 1 champion and runner-up. SMS’s “Book Whisperers” earned first place. They are Quinlan Bunge, Sophia Brubaker, Anne Brubaker and Anna Gronfur. The “Page Turning Turtles” are reserve champions. They are Peter Gruner, Brooke Clark, Maybelle Jensen and Fiona Naples. Their coach is Jeanne Warwick.

This year’s Special Olympics Unified Champions Field Day, hosted by the Lake Pend Oreille School District, was a tremendous success. Energetic athletes from Sandpoint High School, Sandpoint Middle School, Priest River Lamanna High School, and Bonners Ferry High School all took part in the celebration. A heartfelt thank you to the volunteers and staff who made this incredible event possible.

The Clark Fork Trap Club is preparing to compete June 14 in Boise at the Idaho Trap Shooting Tournament. The school sponsored club consists of nine students, ranging from 7th to 12th graders, plus two volunteer coaches. In its second year, the trap club is made up of kids from Clark Fork Jr/Sr. High School, Sandpoint High School, Forrest M. Bird Charter High School and homeschool students.

The SHS Chamber Choir won its division at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival last month. Later, the choir left for Disneyland, where they recorded “Gonna Take You There” from The Princess and the Frog and “The Circle Of Life” from The Lion King in a Disney recording studio. Director Jon Brownell and the choir thanked local restaurants and the community for their support. "There is no way we could have achieved this once in a lifetime experience without your help. Thank You!" Brownell said.

Randy Wilhelm’s students crafted a special retirement memento for the veteran educator. This year, his art students collectively built a scale replica of Lake Pend Oreille High School. A Glowforge laser cutter was used to make all the details. The work required meticulous effort. It was displayed at the high school art show earlier this month and then at the library. And it will spend retirement at Wilhelm’s house.

Sandpoint High School's Academic Decathlon took second place this year at the national competition in Des Moines, Iowa. In total Sandpoint, won a total of 18 medals, scholarships totaling $2,000, two overall high scorers, and ultimately second place in their division of 14 other schools. In 2023, they placed third, so this year’s team set a record with their impressive achievement. Congratulations!

PAFE is offering a special opportunity for parents/guardians of incoming Kindergarteners, who can now sign up for ONLINE workshops for FREE! Email lowman@panhandlealliance.org today to get additional information.