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Character word for September: Respect- Treating others with courtesy and honor.
Welcome Back to the 09-10 School Year!
We are off to a roaring start here at the elementary for the 2009-10 school year. All the kids seemed very excited to get going again at school. I was too…but obviously my energy level doesn’t match theirs. I am exhausted, and we are only eight days into the new year! I guess I will get back into “school shape” very soon.
I hope you have seen your student(s) excited about the school year and the learning that lies ahead of them for this year. Please remember, if you need to contact me for anything, don’t hesitate to do so. My email is esickels@nodholt.k12.mo.us if that is convenient for you, or of course stopping by or a phone call is great too.
The newsletter will once again come out towards the end of each month, usually on the last Friday. If you have anything you would like to put in the newsletter that pertains to the school community, please send me the info and I can include it.
I hope this is a great school year for not only your student(s), but for you as well. Here’s to fun times and lots of learning during the upcoming school year!
---Mr. Sickels
New Webpage Design
Our new webpage for the school looks great and is easy to use. Make sure you check it out regularly to keep up-to-date with information, pictures, etc. for both schools. The address is www.asde.net/~nodholt/
SKIP Meeting
Our first meeting of SKIP (Special Kids with Involved Parents) will be on Thursday, September 24th at 7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria. We welcome any parents to attend, whether you are a veteran or new to the group. SKIP helps plan activities for the students during the year, and this opening meeting is important to attend as it helps us plan for the entire year. If you can make it, we would love to have you there!
HyVee “Smiles for Education”
Attached to the back of the newsletter are a couple of entry forms for the HyVee “Smiles for Education” promotion. There is no purchase necessary, and the entries are pretty simple. Once a week, you may fill out an entry form and turn it in at HyVee. Every week, 10 winners are picked from the states the HyVee is established in… with the student receiving a laptop computer and the school receiving $5000! This promotion runs for eight weeks, so you may enter eight times. There are also entry forms at HyVee if you use up the ones attached to the newsletter. Since there is no purchase necessary, you might as well give it a shot and see how lucky you can get. Good Luck!
Trivia Night & Silent Auction…
Mark the Date!
The Nodaway-Holt Elementary Faculty and Staff hope you will save the date of Friday, November 13th on your calendars for our first ever Trivia Night. We have decided for this to be our FUNdraiser for the year (clever, huh!) The money we raise will be used to purchase the Weekly Readers, Time for Kids, etc. for the 2010-11 school year. We also use those funds to help pay for the United Streaming that we use in each classroom.
Many more details will be in upcoming newsletters, but the simple facts are that it will be teams of up to 6 people, and is open to all adults and students in grades 7-12. Entry fee will be $30 a team. There will be snacks, prizes for the top teams, and door prizes as well. We will also be having a silent auction with lots of awesome goodies to bid on. As of now, it is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. and should end by 9:00 p.m. at the latest. The questions will be on a wide variety of topics, so anyone will have the background knowledge needed!
We hope you will join us on this evening for a good time and to help raise money for our school for the next school year. Grab your friends and plan on having a great Friday the 13th in November!
Reading First News
Parent involvement is strongly connected to reading success!
Research shows a strong link between parent involvement and kids’ reading skills. Some important reading-related activities include:
-Read stories with your child.
-Make reading time pleasant.
-Help your child practice reading and writing
-Use unusual words in conversation with your child.
Kindergarten News
I am very excited for the school year! I have enjoyed the first week of school, getting to know each child. We have been doing some activities to help us learn about each other. The students have discussed favorite foods, toys from home, and what they like about kindergarten. The students have impressed me with their manners while we have been spending much of our time learning the rules of kindergarten and Nodaway-Holt.
--- Mrs. Greenlee
First Grade News
We have had an exciting week and a half of school so far. There are so many routines and expectations to learn and review from kindergarten. The students have remembered many things that Mrs. Greenlee has taught them. I’m so glad they remembered so much!
We are working on number writing in math. We have also enjoyed songs to help us remember the days of the week and the numbers to 100. We have many more songs to help us remember different concepts.
Our reading time has been filled with reviewing letters of the alphabet (Aa, Cc, Ff, Hh, Mm, Nn, Pp, Ss, Tt) and high-frequency words (the, see, we, like, can, I, to, go). Please start making flashcards of these letters and words at home to help your child review.
I’m so excited for our year together. Thanks for all you do.
--- Mrs. Leeper
Second Grade News
The new school year is in full swing in the second grade. After reviewing rules and procedures last week, students played a game of charades. They are already learning about continents and maps in theme. Of course, we have done lots of reading, too! They did a great job getting their math homework completed on time last week. Keep up the good work! We will begin the reading logs the first week of September. Be looking for these in their homework folder on Monday, August 31. These first few days have been great! I am looking forward to a fun and exciting year of learning!
--- Mrs. Shamberger
Third Grade News
Third grade is off to a great start! The students are very attentive and have worked hard to learn all the new routines. These routines help us function so that we can get the most out of each day.
Students have read First Day Jitters in their Treasures book. It is a great story about Sarah, who doesn’t want to go to school. It has an interesting ending. Ask your student about how the story ends. We worked on the story structure which includes the characters, setting, and plot.
I appreciate all the parents that came to the parent meeting. It was nice to meet you and fill you in on what is in store for your child in third grade.
--- Mrs. Jones
Fourth Grade News
We are off to a busy start in fourth grade! We are adapting to life in a new hallway and being more involved with the fifth and sixth gradesJ I have gone over many procedures and rules with the students so far as well as put incentives in place. Ask them if they have received any stickers on the chart! Our reading theme these first two weeks has been on mysteries. We have read a whole group story about a missing lunch as well as small group readers on the same topic. Our comprehension strategy was on making inferences. The other skill we focused on was identifying problem and solution. Vocabulary words were mastered and we reviewed using a dictionary for unfamiliar words.
The concepts we have reviewed/learned in math included missing addends, sequences and place value. Students will have homework most nights and will need to bring their textbooks home to complete it. Please practice basic facts with your child. Let me know if you need a set to use.
Our first unit of study for theme is soils. We have studies many different soil samples and recorded everything that was found in them. Students are learning that soil is made up of broken rock, dead plants and dead animals. It has layers and is constantly changing. We will continue to learn all we can before our field trip to Conservation Kids Day at the Nodaway Lake on September 2nd!
--- Mrs. Tubbs
Fifth Grade News
Thanks to all the parents who attended the parent meeting this week. If you ever have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. I’m looking forward to an outstanding year.
Fifth graders need to read a Mark Twain award-winning book and pass its quiz by Monday, August 31 to fulfill the requirements for their August book report. Also, students need two “C” batteries, a pop can with the top removed, and one 2C flashlight bulb for our POI unit on electricity. Please have those supplies here by August 31.
Objectives that have begun include short and long vowels in spelling, maps and geography in social studies, inquiry and scientific terms for science, patterns and review in math, writing a personal narrative for language, and the novel A Taste of Blackberries in reading. Please refer to the class web page for assignments and other important information.
--- Mrs. Lemar
Sixth Grade News
The first week with the other sixth graders and Mrs. Ingram has been awesome! In spelling we started Unit 1 and did word activities. In reading we did an Inspiration on Gary Paulsen and started reading Hatchet. In writing we are doing All About Me power points. In math we took a placement test to see where we are at. Then we covered the first lesson and had an easy worksheet. The girls have volleyball practice Thursday, September 17 instead of Sept. 15. All in all the sixth graders have had a great first week!!
By Samantha Shipps and Cassidy Saxton
Notes from the Nurse
There are just a couple of things that I would like to mention as we get this school year off to a start. If you give your child any medication prior to school, please send us a note to let us know what was given and when. Often children come to the nurse’s office with complaints and say something like, “I took medicine at home.” When I ask what it was and what time they had it, I often don’t get a clear answer! This can help us avoid giving something too soon after the first dose, etc. Also, remember that if you send any type of medication to school, a signed form from the parent must also be sent. These forms are provided on the front of the handbook. Prescription medications must be sent in a prescription bottle that is clearly labeled, and over the counter medications must be sent in their original package.
As always, please don’t send your child to school if they are ill. We also ask that you not allow your child to return to school until they have been fever free for at least 24 hours. Please remember that fever is not the only indicator of illness! If your child is showing any signs or symptoms of illness, please keep them at home. This is recommended by the CDC this flu season. Encourage your children to practice good hand washing techniques to help protect them against flu and illness.
The children will be involved with several holiday parties as we go through the year, in addition to birthday celebrations. If you bring treats to school, they must be store bought treats, or purchased from a state inspected bakery. No homemade treats are allowed due to school board policy. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Finally, I would like to touch on the subject of food allergies, or special diets. If your child is allergic to a food, or a physician has recommended avoiding a certain food, we must have a signed note from your physician in order to change what is placed on the food tray. I also have special dietary forms for this if you need one. Our food services activities are regulated by the Department of Agriculture and procedures must be followed in order to comply with regulations. If you have questions, please contact me at the school.
---Mrs. DeVault, RN, BSN
School Nurse
Calendar of Events
Aug 31- Summer Reading Reward- 3:15-4:30
Sept 2- 4th Grade to Nodaway Conservation Day 8:30-3:00
Sept 3- Character Assembly- 2:15
Sept 7- NO SCHOOL
Sept 8- Homework Club begins
Sept 9- Early Out- 1:00
Sept 10-K-6 @ Freedom Fest1:00-3:00
Sept 11- Homecoming
Sept 15- NO SCHOOL
Sept 16- Mark Twain Club- 3:15-5:15
Board Meeting- 7:00 at HS
Sept 18- 6th Grade to Peace Unlimited- 8:00-3:00
Sept 23- Early Out- 1:00
Sept 24- K-3 Literacy Night- 6:00-7:30
SKIP Meeting- 7:00
Sept 25- Newsletter goes home