Prairie Rose Elementary

I am excited to welcome you to a new school year! It is a privilege to join this community and serve as your school principal. I have been a part of the BPS community for the past 17 years, raising my boys and attending hundreds of BHS Demons events.😄 My husband, Mike, (who also teaches in BPS) and I are adjusting to being empty-nesters. What an interesting time in life! I very much look forward to meeting students and families so please introduce me to your family when you visit the school. Reach out to the office if we can help you with anything as we start this great journey together!

Please help welcome an important team member, Kathy Grabowska. Kathy is the face of Prairie Rose, the administrative professional managing the front office of the school. You will get to know Kathy quickly through your visits and phone calls to the school. Kathy comes to Prairie Rose with many years of experience working in schools, most recently she has served in the front office of Murphy Elementary. Kathy and her family reside in Bismarck and she is a former BHS Demon! We are already grateful for Kathy's presence in the school and can't wait for you to meet her. Welcome, Kathy!

You should be able to access the name of your child's teacher on Friday, August 7th. You will log into the parent portal in Infinite Campus for this information. The instructions were emailed to all families, but you can get a refresher in the Infinite Campus section of the newsletter.

The Fall Open House is set for Monday, August 17th from 5:00-6:00.This is a great chance for students and families to visit the school, meet their teachers, and get ready for a fantastic year ahead.

The first day of school is Thursday, August 20th.

See the attached 26-27 school calendar to begin planning for the upcoming school year

Our school doors open at 7:15 a.m. Please do not drop students off before this time, as there is no supervision available. All students should enter through the Gym Door in the mornings. Breakfast is served daily from 7:35–7:55 a.m. Students should arrive at 7:35 if they are eating breakfast so they can be to class for the 8:00 start time.

As part of our morning routine, we will have a morning recess (weather and daylight permitting) from 7:40-7:55 a.m. so please plan accordingly for the morning chill.

School dismisses at 2:30 p.m. and all students should leave promptly at that time as there is no supervision after school. To ensure the safety of all students, please make arrangements for your child to be picked up on time or enrolled in an afterschool program. We appreciate your cooperation!

Our office hours are 7:00 a.m.– 3:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday.

7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on Fridays.

If your child needs to take medications during the school day, you must complete a Medication Administration Authorization form. This form is found on the Bismarck Public Schools website under Departments, Health Services, and then Medication on the left. We will also have these forms available in the office. All prescription and non-prescription medicine must arrive in its original container. We will not accept any medication arriving in baggies, envelopes or other types of packaging.

BPS will continue to utilize Stopfinder, an easy-to-use app that gives you instant access to your student’s bus schedule and updates!

✅ View schedules

✅ Receive push notifications for changes to bus times and routes

✅ Create GeoAlerts that notify you when buses arrive or depart from key locations

✅ Invite caregivers or family members

✅ Message the transportation office

✅Supports multiple languages

Download the app now from the App Store or Google Play. If you have not already used Stopfinder, watch for your invitation email on August 7th. It will go to the primary email on file in PowerSchool. This invitation is required to use the app.

Learn more 👉 stopfinder.com/parents

Elementary:

Breakfast - $1.95

Lunch - $2.85

Adult:

Breakfast - $3.10

Lunch - $4.60

Families are welcome to join their student(s) for lunch on an occasional basis. The cost of an adult meal is noted above. If you plan to visit, please contact the office (not your child’s classroom teacher) by 8:30 a.m. on the day of your visit so we can make proper arrangements. Payment for your meal must be made in cash (exact amount is appreciated) or by check.

The BPS meal payment platform is called LINQ Connect. This system provides parents with more control over school lunch accounts while offering many convenient features. Activity and library fees will continue to be processed with My Payments Plus. All families with students who eat school lunches must create an account for LINQ Connect.

Registering is simple, just follow these steps:

1. REGISTER at linqconnect.com by clicking on the register button near the upper right-hand corner. Next, input your name, email address, and password. Choose your language and timezone and check the I agree to the Terms of Use box. Finally, click submit.
2. VERIFY YOUR ACCOUNT by opening your email and clicking on the verification link sent to you from LINQ Connect. After doing so, please click the Back to LINQ Connect button in the email. BPS staff will need to use their personal email, you cannot use your BPS email address.
3. SIGN IN. You should be automatically signed in, but if not please click the login button in the upper right-hand corner.

To add students:

1. After logging into LINQ Connect, click the plus sign in the upper right-hand corner.
2. An “Add” menu will appear. Here, you will choose type, which will be student for student accounts. Next, type in “Bismarck Public Schools” for the district area.
3. Now you will be able to input your child’s first name, last name, and birthdate in order to add a student. Please note that the name must match what is in PowerSchool.

Adding Auto Pay

1. On your account homepage, click the Add Money to Account button.
2. You now have options to transfer balances or add auto pay.
3. Click Add Auto Pay and fill out your payment account information. The frequency option allows you to choose when payments will occur.

Download the new LINQ Connect app in the Google Play Store available now, or visit LINQConnect.com to manage all your payments in one convenient location. An Apple Store version will be available soon. Within the LINQ Connect portal, you can set up one-time or recurring payments for your students’ meals, view previous transactions, set spending limits, transfer funds between students, set low-balance notifications, and more. It’s an easy way to manage meal payments without the hassle of sending cash.

For more information and helpful resources about LINQ Connect, please visit www.bismarckschools.org/linq or see the LINQ Connect FAQ.

Applications are accepted anytime during the school year for free or reduced meals. If your household income changes at anytime during the school year and you think you may qualify for Free or Reduced Meal benefits, you can apply Online through your LINQ Connect account or submit a Free/Reduced application at Prairie Rose Elementary.

When students are approved for Free or Reduced meals, it covers reimbursable meals and does not include any Ala-Carte items. Ala-carte is an additional food item that can be purchased at full price if a student has funds in their lunch account or cash to cover the cost. There is no charging allowed for Ala-carte items.

Free or Reduced meal benefits DO NOT rollover from year to year, you must reapply every year. If you qualified for Free or Reduced Meal benefits during the previous school year, you will receive a 30 school day grace period. Your benefits will expire after the first 30 school days of new year, if a new application has not been received. Students will be charged full price for lunches if no application is received by the 30 day cut off. Charges will continue until the application is received, entered, and approved for benefits. These meal charges will not be reversed, and will become the parents' obligation to pay.

You may find the online application at our BPS Website.

Bismarck Public Schools has transitioned from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus as part of a statewide change initiated by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.

Families may now access the Infinite Campus Parent and Student Portals. The portal will eventually provide access to student information such as attendance, grades, schedules, classroom assignments, and more. Please note that the transition is still underway, and not all information will be available immediately.

Elementary teacher assignments will be available for all families in the portal by August 7.

Accessing the Parent Portal

Visit the Infinite Campus Parent Portal:

https://bismarcknd.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/parents/bismarck.jsp

You may also download the Campus Parent app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. When prompted, select:

• State: North Dakota
• District: Bismarck 1

Returning BPS PowerSchool Users

If you previously had a BPS PowerSchool parent account:

1. Enter the personal email address associated with your PowerSchool account.
2. Click forgot password to generate a password reset email
3. If you do not receive a password reset email, then proceed to the steps below for new users.

Parent Account Settings

We encourage you to update your contact preferences.

• Click on the user icon in the top right > Settings > Contact Preferences or update household information at top left > More > Address Information
• Contact information is at the top, messaging preferences are at the bottom.

Need Assistance?

If you have difficulty accessing or creating your Infinite Campus account, please call the school 701-323-4280 for assistance.

We appreciate your patience as we continue the transition to Infinite Campus.

Employing high quality teachers is a priority in our school district. Through federal law, you have the right to information about the professional qualifications of teachers and paraprofessionals at our school. If you are interested in learning this information, please contact the school office at (701) 323-4280 to receive a list of the teaching staff at Prairie Rose along with their licensing, education, and experience. You will also receive information regarding the names and qualifications of the paraprofessionals at our school.

You can order Prairie Rose gear anytime throughout the year by visiting our online store. The online store features many styles and choice and plenty of Panther pride!

Show your school spirit and gear up in style!

👉 Visit our apparel site HERE

We warmly invite all Prairie Rose families to get involved in our Parent Teacher Association (PTA)! Your participation makes a meaningful difference in supporting our students, staff, and school community.

Our first PTA meeting of the school year will be held on September 14th from 6:00–7:00 PM. Meetings are held in our school collaboration room, conveniently located next door to the office. Hope to see you there!

AUGUST

7 - Classroom Teacher Info Available in Infinite Campus

17 - Open House (5:00 - 6:00)

20 - First Day of School

27 - School Picture Day

SEPTEMBER

7 - NO SCHOOL - Labor Day

14 - PTA Meeting (6:00-7:00)

21 - NO SCHOOL - Staff Development Day

OCTOBER

9 - School Picture Retakes

12 - PTA Meeting (6:00-7:00)

19 - Parent Teacher Conferences (3:00 - 7:00)

20 - Parent Teacher Conferences (3:00 - 7:00)

22 - NO SCHOOL - Administrators Convention Day

23 - NO SCHOOL - Administrators Convention Day

To help with family planning and possible getaways, we wanted to share several upcoming long weekends during the 2026–2027 school year:

• September 5–7 (Labor Day Weekend)

• September 19–21 (Staff Development Day on Monday)

• October 22–25 (No School Thursday–Friday, Admin Convention)

• November 26–29 (Thanksgiving Break)

• December 19–January 3 (Winter Break)

• January 16–18 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)

• February 13–16 (Presidents’ Day + Staff Development)

• March 4–7 (Storm Make-Up Day + Conferences)

• March 26–29 (Spring/Easter Break)

• April 23–25 (Storm Make-Up Day)

We hope this overview helps your family plan ahead and make the most of these extended breaks! The BPS school calendar is linked here for your reference.