August 9, 2023

Dear Manhattan Parents/Guardians,

The 2023-2024 school year is right around the corner.  The District has been working hard to prepare for another successful year at Manhattan Public Schools.  We look forward to seeing you and your student(s) at our August 24th Open House from 3:00-5:00pm.  The first day of school is Monday, August 28th at 8:05am sharp.    

This is an exciting time for everyone.  Please remember to drive slowly on and around school property, especially with the earlier start time.  Traffic flow during the peak times of 7:40 to 8:00am and 3:40 to 4:00pm will run south to north in the high school parking lot.  Vehicles should not exit the parking lot from the south entrance near the tennis courts during the a.m. and p.m. peak times.  All vehicles will exit from the middle and north entrances to the parking lot.  High school students will park in the southern half of the parking lot, parallel to the library and high school.  Please share this information with your student driver.  Remember to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalks, including the parking lot crosswalks, and please do not park or stop in the crosswalks.

The Manhattan bus service sign-up form is available on the District’s website.  Please complete the form if you would like to be considered for bus route services for your student(s).  This form needs to be filled out every year, even if you have used the bus service in the past.  Signing up for bus service does not guarantee service.  An email confirmation will be sent prior to the start of school verifying your service and bus route.  Please contact Jenni Holzworth at (406) 284-3250, or by email at jholzworth@mhstigers.org with any questions.

Beginning in August 2023, school meals will increase by $0.25 for breakfast and by $0.50 for lunch. If your family would like to submit a Free and Reduced-price meal application, you may find the application on the school website.  If you have questions about the Free and Reduced-price meal application, please contact Mrs. Jenni Holzworth at (406) 284-3250, or by email at jholzworth@mhstigers.org.  We do encourage families to fill out and submit an application for Free and Reduced-price School Meals, as this benefits multiple programs within the district, including but not limited to academic support, food services, and funding for internet and electronic devices.  The students who do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals must pay full price for breakfast and lunch.  Those prices and lunch menus can be found on the District’s website. If your child brings a cold lunch from home and would like to purchase milk for their cold lunch, their account will be charged $0.50. Please make sure to deposit money onto your children’s lunch accounts before the beginning of the school year. You can bring a check or cash to any of the two administrative assistants (Mrs. Holzworth or Mrs. Grievous) or you can deposit money online through the Infinite Campus parent portal which is on the District’s website at www.rollontigers.org.

The district is reducing spectator and participation fees for activities in the 2023-2024 school year.  General admission for single events (fall events) will decrease to align with other districts in 5B.  The goal in offering spectator passes is to save our families and students money when attending events.  Therefore, a reduction in our general admission costs will decrease the overall cost of the spectator passes.  Because participation fees include the cost of a spectator pass, those costs are reduced as well.  All senior citizens' general admission will be free.  Please contact the high school office at (406) 284-3341 with any questions about spectator and participation fees, or reference the district website under activities.

Amanda Dyksterhouse will serve as the District’s Registrar and Executive Assistant to the Superintendent.  Please contact Mrs. Dyksterhouse for facilities use requests.  Mrs. Dyksterhouse may be reached at (406) 284-6460, or by email at adyksterhouse@mhstigers.org.

In closing, we are looking forward to a great year!  Please do not hesitate to reach out to your building classroom teacher, principal, and/or the District Office if you have any questions.