Orchard School Calendar At a Glance 26-27

First day of school is September 2nd

September 7 No School/Holiday Vacation

October 15-16 No School/PIR Days

November 20-24 Parent/Teacher Conferences. Dismissal for all students at 12:00pm. 

November 24 End of First Trimester

November 25-27 No School/Thanksgiving Break

December 23-January 1 - No School/Holiday Break

January 18 - No School/PIR Day

March 4 End of Second Trimester

March 22-26 - No School/Spring Break

April 12 - No School/PIR Day

May 7 No School

May 10 No School/Snow Makeup Day

May 31 No School/Holiday Vacation

June 3 Last Day of School/End of Third Trimester

Family Engagement Night

September: TBA

October: TBA

November: TBA

December: TBA

January: TBA

February: TBA

March: TBA

More information will be sent out regarding these events

Click Below for Seesaw:

We are a Seesaw School.
Connect to your student's digital portfolio today!

Look for information to be sent home with your student.

Click Below for ParentSquare:    

Stay Connected!

We use SeeSaw and ParentSquare for all student/family communications.  Information will be sent home with all students at the beginning of the year.  Please contact your child's teacher or the main office if you need help getting connected!

Billings Public Schools uses ParentSquare for school communication, primarily with email, text and app notifications. ParentSquare automatically generates an account for each parent, using their preferred email address and phone number. We encourage parents to access their accounts so they can download the mobile app and update their preferences on when and how they are notified.

Here’s what you can do with ParentSquare:

●        Receive messages from the school via email, text or app notification

●        Choose to receive information as it comes or all at once with a daily digest at 6pm

●        Communicate in your preferred language

●        Comment on school postings to engage with your school community

●        Direct message teachers, staff and other parents

●        Participate in group messages

●        Sign up for parent-teacher conferences

●        Send payments, sign forms & permission slips, receive report cards, sign up to volunteer and more all from your desktop or mobile device

Orchard Elementary School participates in the free and reduced price meal program for all students. Families can also apply for benefits through the Billings Public Schools Nutrition Services portal or directly  apply online via the School Lunch App

BPS Nutrition Services

Special Dietary Needs:

Billings School District 2 makes every attempt to accommodate students with medical or special dietary needs. Special dietary requests should be confirmed and supported by a statement by a recognized medical authority such as a Physician, or Registered Dietitian. The medical statement should include:

• Student’s name and the date special request is to begin
• An identification of the medical or specialty dietary condition which restricts the child’s diet;
• The food(s) that should be omitted from the child’s diet, severity of reaction; 
• Acceptable alternatives

The Nutrition Services Department may make food substitutions, at our discretion, for children who are medical certified as having a special dietary need. These determinations are made on a case-by-case basis. This provision covers those children who have food intolerances or allergies without life-threatening reactions but when exposed to the food(s) have an adverse reaction. 

Below are some options we have available for commonly special dietary requests:

• Gluten Free: A separate gluten free menu is available for students who have a medical authority statement requiring a gluten-free diet. We offer options for both lunch and breakfast. A gluten-free specialty foods order form should be filled out on a weekly basis, and is due to the kitchen staff by Monday (or the first day of the week) by 10 am. 
• Tree Nuts/ Peanuts: We do not offer products or foods that contain tree nuts or peanuts. We substitute sunflower butter (Sunbutter) for peanut butter. However, we cannot control what foods are brought in from outside. For a specific item or concern, please contact the school Kitchen Manager and/or School Secretary for information. 
• Lactose/Dairy: We are able to accommodate a lactose free diet easily by omitting or substituting dairy from certain dishes. We typically do not stock lactose free dairy products due to a short shelf life and availability with our food distributor. If requested we will provide a suitable substitute at our discretion for students with Lactose Intolerance. 

Currently hosted at Bench, McKinley and Orchard Elementary Schools

Click here for KinderReady Website

The Billings Public Schools KinderReady program offers early literacy classroom-based instruction for PreK students. This free program is for children 4 years old and above who have not yet entered or completed kindergarten. 

• Eligibility: Children must be 4 years old on or before September 10th. Students must attend an Early Literacy Screening and meet the criteria for acceptance into the program. Placement is not guaranteed.
   
• Our Program: KinderREADy offers half-day sessions (morning or afternoon) Monday-Friday throughout the BPS school year, aligning instruction with the Montana Early Learning Standards. 

This program is offered free to qualifying students thanks to Montana’s Early Intervention Act (2023).

Pre-Registration for New and Re-Enrolling Students

Please register for the school your address is zoned for. If you are unsure of which school you are zoned for, please click on the link below to locate your home school.

School Locator

Once you have located the school that your student will be attending, please click below to start the registration process.

Enroll Now

PowerSchool is used by the Billings Public School to enroll new students, to keep schools up to date with current demographic, contact information, and it is used for parents/guardian's to access student grades and attendance in school. Below is the information on how to access into PowerSchool for Parents.

PowerSchool for Parents

Mobile App Download
PowerSchool Mobile can be downloaded from the Apple Store or the Google Play Store

Note:
1.  You can also open the Apple Store app on your iOS device and search for "PowerSchool".
PowerSchool apps should be the first results that appear.

2.  You can also open the Play Store app on your Android device and search for "PowerSchool". 
PowerSchool apps should be he first results that appear.

You can find the most current district handbook at the link below

District Handbook