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Character word for December: Compassion- Caring for others with kindness.

Thanksgiving Vacation
            We have a short week for school coming up.  We will have a regular dismissal on Tuesday, and will be out of school on Wednesday-Friday, November 25-27.  We will resume school on November 30th.  Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving vacation.

First Quarter Honor Roll
We are very proud of our Fifth and Sixth Grade students who made the Honor Roll for the First Quarter!
They are:
High Honor Roll: Fifth Grade- Zachary Abrams, Nicole Albertson, Macie Bohannon, James Chestnut, Maddie Clement, Chase Culp, Brody Day, Rachel Farmer, Randy Harrison, Samantha Keith, Maddie Lance, Marisa Law, Dakota Leeper, Alexandria Shewey & Kaiden Vance.
Sixth Grade- Jaylee Holmes, Kristen Keith, Francesca Lemar, Brandon Newton, Skyler Peter, Cassidy Saxton, Samantha Shipps, Kennedy Sportsman & Bobby Thacker.
Regular Honor Roll: Fifth Grade- Jakub Johnson & Eli Sloniker.
Sixth Grade- Ashley Brashears, Kendal Lance, Kevin Lance, Jordan Long & D.J. Walker.

Literacy Night
            Our next K-3rd Grade Literacy Night will be held on Thursday, December 3rd from 6:00-7:30 p.m.  We hope to see you there!

SKIP Meeting
            Our next SKIP Meeting will be the same night as Literacy Night, December 3rd, 7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria.  We need as many people there as possible to help plan for the Holiday Bowling Party on the 16th, SKIP BINGO Day on the 18th, and our upcoming 5th/6th grade basketball tournament in January.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Lee Ann Alberston at gochiefs@grm.net.

Winter Concert
            Our first concert of the year is for Grades 5-12 and will be held on Monday, December 7th at 7:00 p.m. in the High School Gymnasium.  There will be both vocal and instrumental performances by our fifth and sixth graders, as well as performances by the junior high/high school band and choirs.  This always is a tremendous event…we hope you enjoy this year’s edition!

Holiday Bowling Party
            Instead of a movie this year, we have decided to try something different and take the entire school bowling.  We will travel to Bearcat Lanes on Wednesday, December 16th, and will go in two shifts because the bowling alley cannot accommodate all of us at once.  The cost will be $5 per student.  We will be sending home more information closer to the date.

Santa Shop
            We will be holding our annual Santa Shop on Wednesday, December 16th as well.  The kids will do their “shopping” when they aren’t up in Maryville bowling.  If you have any donations that would make great Christmas presents for our youngsters to buy for their families, please bring them by the school.  We will be appreciative of any of these items for our shop. 

Winter Parties
            Our winter parties will be on the last day before Winter Break, which will be December 18th.  For grades K-3, the parties will begin at 12:15 and end at 12:45.  For grades 4-6, the parties will begin around 12:20 (when lunch is over) and go until 12:50.  We will dismiss at 1:00 that day.  Thanks in advance to all the room parents who always make our parties and enjoyable time.

Trivia Night/Silent Auction
 a Huge Success!
            A huge thank you to all for the donations, trivia players, and silent auction participants we had last Friday night for our first ever Trivia Night and Silent Auction.  Thanks to your generous support we raised over $2500, which was $1000 more than our goal!  We hope you had fun that evening, as the faculty and staff sure did.  We had 18 teams in our Trivia Night contest, and over 30 auction items that were purchased.
            We hope to do it again next year, and will work on determining a date.  We hope you will come back and team up again, and if you couldn’t make it this year, we would love to have you next year!  The results of the Trivia Night were: 
1. Knights- 92 points
2. In the Nick of Time- 87 points
3. Denominators- 85 points
4. B & R- 83 points
5.(tie)  Super Dynamite Hip Hop Flamingos & Hoof Hearted- 82 points
7.(tie) Trivia Angels and Boy
& BDOA- 81 points
9. Biscuit Eaters- 77 points
10. Who Knows- 75 points
11.(tie) Clevoda &
 Gallagher/Bucy- 74 points
13. Night Stalkers- 73 points
14. Smarties- 71 points
15. Team Lucky- 69 points
16. Raging Wookies- 66 points
17. Lawn Rangers- 64 points
18. Could Have Been Sleeping- 60 pts.

Kindergarten News
November has been a busy month in kindergarten.  We welcome three new children to our class:  Breanna, Byron, and Caitlin George!
Math’s focus the last few weeks has been on ordinal position:  first, second, third, fourth.  We also work a great deal on writing our numbers.  The most recent is the number six.  Curve around and curl it up!
We are nearing the end of our Transportation unit in reading.  The children have really enjoyed this theme.  They shared ideas about ways we travel, where we travel to, and forms of transportation in different parts of the world.  This unit’s vocabulary words are transportation, vehicle, travel, journey, wheels, and adventure.  The sight words, or high frequency words introduced were see and go.  And new letters and sounds are Pp and Tt.
The children have enjoyed learning about science and social studies each week.  Topics we have explored are weather, day and night, waterways and the water cycle.
                        --- Mrs. Greenlee

First Grade News
Hello everyone!  In math we have been concentrating on adding zero, adding and subtracting one, and the doubles facts.  Your first grader is learning these very quickly!  We started counting by ten and two.  Reading and showing time to the hour is another lifelong skill we are learning.
Our reading lessons have concentrated on the long /a/ sound this week.  We have covered all the short vowel sounds and are very excited to work on a long vowel sound!  Summarizing and retelling a story is a comprehension skill we’ve practiced.  Please practice the high-frequency words that were sent home at conferences.  This will help to build fluency.
We have added many songs to our days together.  Some of the songs help us learn the days of the week, months of the year, counting up to 20 and back again, what we do when we come to a word we don’t know, and many more.
Our snack shelf is running low.  Thank you to those who consistently contribute to our snack supply.  The first graders greatly appreciate your generosity!!      
                                    --- Mrs. Leeper

Second Grade News
Second graders are learning what good readers do as they read.  The past few weeks they have practiced making inferences.  Each student brought an unusual item from home for the rest of the class to make an inference about what it was used for based on what they already know.  The students enjoyed practicing this skill with all the unusual items.  Please remember to have your child read at least 60 minutes a week.
            Check out the habitat posters on the wall by our classroom.  After learning about different habitats, students chose one to make a poster.  Each poster had to include three animals and three plants from that habitat.  Our next theme is Native Americans.
            During math students continue to practice addition facts.  They are learning to count money, measure, and add two-digit numbers.  Students created symmetrical designs using paint to learn about lines of symmetry.  These designs are also hanging in the hallway by our classroom. 
            Students enjoyed the Veteran’s Day assembly presented by Mrs. Calfee, her students, the Girl Scouts, and the Boy Scouts.  What a great way to learn about this holiday! 
            As the weather turns colder and snows, please remember to dress your child appropriately as we will be going outside for recess as much as possible.  Have a great Thanksgiving break! 
                        --- Mrs. Shamberger

Third Grade News
The third graders did a great job on their Earth, Moon, and Sun test.  We are studying economics now.  This will prepare us for the Popcorn Factory.  Hopefully we will be able to have it right before Christmas.  There is a lot to be done before we produce popcorn.
            We have just begun our third unit in reading.  The students are working so hard on the new skill of inferring.  It is a difficult comprehension skill.  In our current story we are working on story structure.  The students are learning about thirty new vocabulary words on each reading unit.  When they bring home Unit 2 vocabulary words please keep them so that they can review occasionally.
            This week the students will be introduced to the sevens in multiplication.  Try to practice them so that they are memorized.  It will be helpful if we get them memorized as we go.  We are also working on adding 2-digit numbers to 2-digit numbers.
            Thanks for all the contributions to the third grade chocolate basket.  I think we were pretty successful! 
                                    --- Mrs. Jones

Fourth Grade News
We have had a busy November in the fourth grade room.  A reminder I would like to mention is that each student is responsible for turning in a non-fiction book report this month. Some have already completed this requirement – ask your child if they have. J
In reading, we just took the Unit 2 Week 2 test.  We have been learning how to make inferences in a story as well as about the author’s purpose.  Your child will not have a reading log to turn in on Monday, November 30th due to Thanksgiving break.
We have been learning about fractions in math.  Students are beginning to understand equivalent fractions as well as mixed numbers.  We have played a couple of fraction games using dice.  Ask your child to tell you all about them!
In Social Studies, we began our unit on the state of Missouri.  Students are learning all about the geography of the state as well as some of the background history.  We will continue to study Missouri over the next couple weeks.
Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your break!
                        --- Mrs. Tubbs

Fifth Grade News
Congratulations to the fifth graders who have already passed their November reading counts quiz and finished their book reports.  All new covers for the books are due on Monday, Nov. 30.  December is a short month, so please encourage students to finish their book early and write their friendly letters. Scoring guides will go home on Nov. 30 and a link is available on the class web page to view this guide.  Many students are on track to earn the sleepover in April and to attend the Literature Festival next year.  Keep up the good work.
            Thanks to all the generous cash donations and items for our successful tailgate basket at Trivia Night.  The winning bid was $105.  Please ask Maddie C. and Rachel for the team standings!  Way to go, Super Dynamite Hip-Hop Flamingos.
            In January, the reservations will be made for our overnight field trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha on May 6, 2010.  I anticipate the cost to be about $25 per person.  Please plan your budgets as that money will need to be turned in by Feb. 1, 2010.  I know that is a lot of money so close to Christmas and taxes, but I do accept payments and will work with anyone so that everyone may enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  It is always a goal to have every student have a parent attend with them.
            Students continue to master objectives in all subject areas.  Science skills include vertebrates and invertebrates, while explorers are the topic in social studies.  Students are almost finished with verbs in language and will proceed to compound sentences. Much more complicated division and multiplication will be covered in math and students will continue their study of Richard Peck’s A Year Down Yonder.
            Parents in charge of the Winter Celebration to be held on Dec. 18 are Donna Crawford, Kevin Volner, Jessi Keith, and MeMe Walker.  Please contact one another to arrange a snack, drink, activity, and a treat bag to go home.
                                    --- Mrs. Lemar

Sixth Grade News
Week of Nov. 2-6:  In 6th grade we have been having fun. We had a great time at the I-Can club trip, and everyone loved going bowling. In Art we are making weavings. In math we are going to have a test 8 on Monday, we just were doing our lessons and problem solvings. In the beginning of the week we had a test on buoyancy in science and will start social studies chapter 2 next.
In reading we have finished our book Misty of Chincoteague and we have been working on Chincoteague Island brochures. We have been taking a sample of an Ohio map reading test, everyone thinks it’s easy. In spelling, we finished a test 8 on Friday.                      
                        --- By: Skyler and Kevin

Week of November 9-13:  In 6th grade we have been very busy. In Language Arts we have been creating poems for a contest that could get us published into a poetry book. In Math we have been learning how to multiply and divide decimal numbers, and we had test 9 on Tue. In Social Studies we have been taking notes on Social History and are creating timelines to compare our life to world events.  Timelines are due Nov. 24.  In Reading we have finished the Misty of Chincoteague movie, our brochures of Chincoteague, VA, and will be taking a quiz soon.  Don’t forget about November oral book reports due Nov. 30.   As you can see we have been very busy here in 6th grade!
---Kevin Lance

Notes from the Nurse
As we fast approach the end of the year, I want to remind kindergarten parents of the new law that requires all children entering kindergarten to have a comprehensive vision examination.  The exam must be performed by a state licensed eye doctor (optometrist  or ophthalmologist) or physician.  The doctor will send results of the examination to the Department of Health and Senior Services, and a copy of the results will be given to the parent/guardian to provide to the school.  The cost of the exam is the responsibility of the parents.  Students must have the exam completed by January 1, 2010, or we must receive an opt out statement from the parent by that date.  I have passed out eye exam forms and many opt out forms to most parents already, but you must return them. If you have questions or need forms in order to comply with the law, or need help finding a vision care specialist, please let me know.
     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 foor, we must have a signed note from your physician in order to change what is placed on the food tray at meals.  I also have a special dietary form for this if you need one.  Our food service 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.
     Finally, with H1N1 still on everyone’s mind I must mention that vaccinations are being given now in both Nodaway and Holt counties if you are considering vaccinating your children.  If you have questions about vaccinating your children, please contact your physician or your health department.
                        -Mrs. DeVault, RN, BSN

Calendar of Events
Dec 1- Character Assembly- 2:15 p.m.
Dec 3-  Literacy Night- 6:00-7:30 p.m.
            SKIP Meeting- 7:00 p.m.
Dec 7- Gr. 5-12 Winter Concert-7:00 pm
Dec 16- Santa Shop; Holiday Bowling