Kelly School Newsletter

Kelly Families~

The 2026–2027 school year is just around the corner, and we are excited to welcome both our new and returning students and families! This year is especially exciting because J. Nelson Kelly Elementary is celebrating a milestone birthday—60 years! Kelly School opened its doors in 1966, and we are proud to celebrate 60 years of academic excellence and Cougar Pride. It’s going to be a fantastic year, and we look forward to celebrating this special milestone with both past and present Kelly Cougars!

Open House

Our Open House will be Monday, August 24, from 4:00–6:00 p.m. This will be a wonderful opportunity to welcome our new families and reconnect with returning Kelly families.

During Open House, families will be able to:

• Meet your child’s teacher
• Drop off school supplies
• Add money to your child’s lunch account
• Meet our school nurse
• Visit with our PTO
• Purchase Kelly spirit wear
• Get additional information about the upcoming school year

We can’t wait to see everyone and kick off another great year together!

As we look ahead to the new school year, we want you to know that our entire staff is excited to partner with you in your child’s education. We are committed to making the 2026–2027 school year another successful and memorable year for our Kelly Cougars.

Monthly RED Events

If you are new to Kelly School, please take a moment to learn about our monthly RED events. RED stands for Read Every Day, and these special events give parents and family members an opportunity to come to school and read with their child(ren) for a 20-minute time block.

Reading together provides countless benefits for children. It strengthens language and literacy skills, supports cognitive development, sparks imagination, builds the parent-child connection, and helps foster a lifelong love of reading. It also supports concentration and social-emotional development while providing a meaningful opportunity for families to slow down, unplug, and enjoy time together.

Our students love sharing their favorite books and their love of reading with their families! Please plan to join us for our RED events. There is nothing better than seeing our classrooms and hallways filled with families reading and learning together!

PBIS: Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports

Our PBIS theme this year is… THE ENERGY BUS! 🚌⚡

Last year, we traveled back in time with our Wizard of Oz theme and learned that “There’s No Place Like Kelly!” This year, we’re climbing aboard the Energy Bus as we celebrate an incredible milestone—60 years of Kelly Cougar Pride! Our 2026–2027 tagline is: “Keep the Bus Rolling! 60 Years of Positive Energy!” We’re excited to see where this journey takes us and all the positive energy our Kelly Cougars will bring along the way. Let’s keep the bus rolling! 🚌💚

Finally, please take some time to read through the information below. I realize it is lengthy, but the information included is important as we begin the school year and covers a wide variety of topics that will help your family get off to a great start.

We are so excited to welcome you back to Kelly School and celebrate 60 years of Cougar Pride together!

Kelli Tannahill

Principal

Brian, his wife Abby, and their two sons, Wade and Kellen, relocated to Grand Forks in July and he is looking forward to becoming an integral part of our Kelly School community.

Please join me in warmly welcoming Mr. Brian Deitchler to Kelly School!

• Brooke Kossan is moving from second grade to kindergarten.
• Krista Cebula is moving from fourth grade to second grade.
• Jake Schauer is moving from physical education to fourth grade.
• Emily Dawes is returning to Kelly School and will be teaching third grade. She is replacing Amy Neppl who will be teaching English Language Arts at Schroeder Middle School.
• Kyle Knutson will be teaching physical education with Sue Ann Lund.
• Jodi Erhardt and Crystal Dvorak have been hired to teach special education.
• Lindsay Clarksean will be our new school nurse.
• We have added a third autism classroom and Casey Kelley will be joining our Kelly autism team.
• Kaylynn Campoverde will be joining us as a half time speech language pathologist.

We are in the process of hiring paraprofessionals for the 26-27 school year. We have hired Quinn Martin and are looking for a few more candidates to join us. If you have any leads, please send them our way. We are always looking for great paras to support our students.

Dear Grand Forks Public Schools Families,

As part of our transition to Infinite Campus, it's now time to begin updating your household information for the upcoming school year.

To get started, please visit the link below and complete the Household Information Update: https://grandforksnd.infinitecampus.org/campus/OLRLoginKiosk/grandforks?configGroupID=2

If you have multiple students enrolled in Grand Forks Public Schools, you can update all of your students' information within a single household submission. During the process, you'll be able to add each student to your submission, so there is no need to complete a separate form for each child.

We kindly ask that all household information be reviewed and submitted by Thursday August 13, 2026.

If you have questions, please email ICParentSupport@mygfschools.org Our staff will do their best to assist you.

We also encourage you to visit the Grand Forks Public Schools Infinite Campus Landing Page for the latest updates, resources, and information as we continue our transition to Infinite Campus. https://sites.google.com/mygfschools.org/infinite-campus/enrollment-information?authuser=2

Thank you for your continued patience, partnership, and support as we work to provide a smooth transition to our new student information system. We appreciate your help in keeping your family's information accurate and up to date.

Sincerely,

Grand Forks Public Schools Technology Department

Your child's assigned teacher will be available to view on August 21st at 4:00pm. Lists will be posted at the main entrance of the school and will eventually be visible in Infinite Campus. As we work to finalize class lists, please know that although you may be able to see them in Infinite Campus before the 21st, these lists are only drafts and changes may occur.

Note: Teachers, specialists and administrators have spent numerous hours considering many variables while creating class lists. Changes will unlikely be made once lists are posted. Each child's academic and social emotional needs, personality traits, and learning style are taken into consideration when assigning him/her to a classroom teacher. Thank you for your trust and support in this area.

School Day:

Arrival Bell: 8:20 am

Tardy Bell: 8:25 am

Dismissal Bell: 3:00 pm

Arrival:

Students utilizing the breakfast program may enter door #16 between 7:40-8:20am. Students not eating breakfast at Kelly will wait outside their designated grade level door for the 8:20am bell. Staff will provide supervision at each door from 8:00 to 8:25. If you arrive after the tardy bell at 8:25am, please check in with the office team at door #1. Contingency plans will be made in the event of inclement weather.

Dismissal:

The safety of our students and staff is a top priority for us at Kelly. As per district policy, schools will have parents meet their child(ren) at a designated location outside the school at dismissal time. Older siblings will go to the youngest sibling’s assigned door so parents can pick up all children in the same location.

Assigned Doors:

Door 1: All Kindergarten

Door 2: Schauer, Klingler, Restad, A. Johnson

Door 4: All 3rd Grade, Cebula, Sorensen

Door 5: Aubol, Pederson

Door 11: All 5th Grade

Door 13: All 1st Grade

Door 16: Special Education Bus

Early Dismissal Wednesdays-Students will leave at their normal door at 1:30. If the student stays until 3:00 these doors be used:

Door 1: Bus Rider Students

Door 6: 2nd-5th Grade

Door 13: Kindergarten and 1st Grade

Checking out your child(ren) during the day:

If you are taking your child out of school early for any reason, please call the school office 701.746.2265 and let the office team know the time you plan to pick up. Please walk up to door #1 and push the doorbell to communicate with the school secretaries and check out your child.

Absences & late check in:

If your child is absent or late, please call the attendance line by 8:30 am to leave a message. Communication between home and school ensures students’ safety!

Attendance Line:

701-746-2269

• The District does not allow snacks or treats such as cupcakes to be brought into the classroom for birthdays or classroom parties.
• Fast food (such as McDonalds) may not be sent to school and eaten by our students in the cafeteria.
• All snacks brought into the school buildings or classrooms should be considered a healthy snack in accordance with our nutrition standards found in our student handbook.
• When sending a snack or packing a lunch, please remember to check labels to make sure it does not contain or have any traces of peanuts/tree nuts. We have students with severe peanut allergies in our building.

Calls do not ring into the classroom during school hours to minimize interruptions. Messages for students can be left with the office or a SeeSaw message to the teacher.

All North Dakota public schools are required to follow a "bell-to-bell" policy that limits student access to personal electronic communication devices—including cell phones, smartwatches, and similar devices—during the instructional day. The purpose of this law is to reduce distractions, increase student engagement, and create learning environments where students can focus on academics and meaningful interactions with their teachers and classmates.

Under this policy, students may bring personal devices to school; however, they must be turned off or silenced, securely stored, and inaccessible from the beginning of the school day until dismissal, unless an approved exception applies under state law or a student's educational or medical plan.

We understand that cell phones and smartwatches have become a regular part of everyday life. If parents or guardians need to reach their child during the school day, they may contact the school office, and we will ensure the message is delivered promptly. Likewise, if a student needs to contact a parent or guardian, school staff will assist them.

Kelly School will offer the Early Dismissal Program. This program operates from 1:30-3:00pm on early dismissal Wednesdays for the 2026-2027 school year. This program is free and is being offered in cooperation with Grand Forks Public Schools ENCORE program. Registration is required and you can register your child on open house night. If you were enrolled last year, their enrollment will not carry over.

For additional information on the ENCORE program, please visit https://sites.google.com/mygfschools.org/gfpsencore/home?authuser=2

Parents are encouraged to come to school and read with their child(ren) for a twenty minute time block. Please plan to attend! It's great to see our classrooms and hallways filled with families unplugging and reading together!

Grand Forks Public Schools currently holds a service contract with Valley Bus for providing transportation services across the district.

• Due to increasing operational costs and ongoing budget realignment efforts, Grand Forks Public Schools will implement a transportation fee for general education bus services beginning in the 2026–27 school year.

• Please note that Multilingual and Special Education students whose Individualized Education Plan (IEP) includes transportation services will continue to be provided free of charge in accordance with federal requirements.

• Kelly Elementary has ONLY an after school bus route. The cost to ride the bus for Kelly students is $29.50 monthly or $262.50 for the school year.

• As Grand Forks Public Schools transitions to new transportation changes for the 2026–27 school year, we want to reassure families that financial assistance is available. Free and reduced eligibility rates will apply to transportation fees.

  
  

  Click here to access the free or reduced application form: https://www.gfschools.org/departments/child-nutrition/free-and-reduced-price-meals-information

• Additional information regarding payment procedures, registration, and transportation payment assistance options will be communicated as details become available.

• Please visit https://www.gfschools.org/link-2/resources/transportation for more information.

Contact:

Alli Hillebrand, Transportation Coordinator

ahillebrand190@mygfschools.org

701.746.2200, ext. 7235

Valley Bus Service:

701.772.0601

MySchoolBucks makes it easy to stay connected to students and parents for any of your school payments.

Create yourself an account at myschoolbucks.com to pay for a variety of school related items such as lunch accounts, after school program fees, chromebook cases, and much more!

The Child Nutrition Program looks forward to serving meals to your child/children during the school year. We serve breakfast and lunch at all schools and after school snacks at most elementary schools. The meals meet and exceed the nutritional requirements for your child's age group.

If your child has a food allergy, please complete the Meal Modification form.

More information about the Child Nutrition Program, including Free and Reduced meal application information can be found here: https://www.gfschools.org/departments/child-nutrition

Nothing is more important than the safety of our students. For those of you returning to Kelly School, you are aware that the congestion in our parking lots at arrival and dismissal time can be a source of frustration.

We are asking all families to review and follow the traffic flow procedures outlined in the maps below. They have been designed to ensure the safety of all and to expedite the arrival and dismissal process.

NOTE: TRAFFIC ONLY FLOWS ONE DIRECTION IN THE NORTH PARKING LOT. Please adhere to following this traffic flow pattern at all times. Traffic should only flow into the north lot from Oak or 29th and out onto Cherry Street before, after, and during the school day. The same traffic pattern must be also be followed on early dismissal days as well. Please do not exit the north parking lot onto Oak Street. This slows down traffic by causing congestion and puts our students who walk across the parking lot at risk.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation in advance.

Grand Forks Public Schools believes that regular school attendance is the joint responsibility of the student and their parent(s)/guardians(s), and it is essential for student success in school.

The school system shall abide by compulsory attendance requirements in state law for students ages seven through sixteen. In order to comply with and enforce these requirements, the Grand Forks School Board establishes the following attendance policy:

Students shall be in attendance a minimum of 160 days per school year to be considered for grade promotion.

In order to ensure that a student has completed what has been determined to be sufficient for course work completion towards graduation, school work missed by the student during an absence shall be made up regardless of the reason for the absence.

Students in grades K-5 whose poor attendance has caused a notable deficiency in learning may be retained at their present grade level if such a course is advantageous to the student. This decision is made in accordance with the Retention Procedure.

Building administrators are granted the right to make exceptions to this minimum standard. For more information please visit: https://www.gfschools.org/link-2/resources/stay-in-school

Main Office: 701.746.2265

Attendance Line: 701.746.2269

Fax: 701.746.2266

Main Office Hours: 7:45am - 3:45pm

Location: 3000 Cherry Street

Grand Forks, ND 58201l