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Character word for October: Self-Control- Having control over one’s actions, words and emotions.

Activity Calendars
            The Booster Club has been hard at work collecting all the dates of activities planned for the school year. These dates are for both the elementary and junior high/high school buildings.  They will have calendars for sale at the beginning of October, and we will have some to sell here.  Please support the Booster Club and be better informed by purchasing a calendar.

Trivia Night Donations
            We are asking for help from the parents in each of the classrooms in creating our Trivia Night baskets.  Each classroom has a different “theme basket” that we will be auctioning off.  The teachers will let the students know what the theme is, and if you have any items you want to donate towards that basket, it would be appreciated.  If you do not have an item, but would want to send a monetary donation to help fill the basket, that would be greatly appreciated too! 
            Remember, we are using this activity as our fundraiser this year.  Hopefully this will be successful and we will not have to rely on selling magazines, etc. in the upcoming years.  Thanks for helping us provide a fun and entertaining event for the community, as well as raising money for our school. 

Missouri Parent Information and Resource Center
            There is a great website that parents can take advantage of that is sponsored by the state of Missouri.  The website provides resources and information to parents of all children.  The website address is www.missouri-pirc.org.  Please check it out if you get the chance.

Parent/Teacher Conferences
            We have our first quarter Parent/Teacher Conferences on Thursday, October 22nd from 2:00-8:00 p.m.  Teachers will be contacting you to sign up for a conference time.  If you think you will need more time than the normal 15-20 minute slot, please talk to the teacher so that it can be arranged into the schedule or on another day. 
            We always have a great turnout for conferences, and encourage you to make every effort to attend.  Thanks for all of your support in helping your student(s) receive a quality education!

Fall Parties
            We will have our Fall Parties on Friday, October 30th from 1:50-2:30 p.m. Our parade of costumes will begin at 1:50 and will end with all of the students in the gym.  The classroom parties will then begin and be over at 2:30 p.m.  The teachers will be sending home more information as the date gets closer to fill you in on what the classroom plans are.  Thank you in advance if you signed up to be a Room Parent for our Fall Party, we appreciate your time and your help in providing a fun time for the kids.

Title One Family Night
            Those families whom have a student receiving Title I services are invited to a fun and informational night on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009.  The meeting will run from 6:00-7:30 p.m. and will include a supper (pizza, chips, desert and drink).  We will then discuss what our Title One program has to offer your students, as well as some take-home activities for reading and math.  Flyers will be coming home soon with your student to explain the meeting in more detail, as well as ask you to RSVP. 

Collecting Pop Tabs
            Mrs. Degase’s advisory team has challenged each classroom Pre-K through the Seniors to collect as many can tabs as they possibly can.  Each class will be in competition with each other, beginning the week of Homecoming through October 16.  Tabs will be weighed and current standings will be posted (in both buildings) a couple times per week.  The advisory team will be working hard to raise money to provide individual prizes for the winning class.  Bake sales are set for the Homecoming football game and at some of the home volleyball games as well. Following the competition, the tabs will be hand-delivered to The Ronald McDonald House in Madison, Wisconsin.  Although the competition will be over, the tabs will be collected throughout the year as a service project for the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City, so keep those tabs!
            -Mrs. Degase’s Advisory Team 

Parent Surveys Coming Home Soon…
            The 2009-10 school year is a MSIP Review year for our school district.  This review comes every five years, and every school district in the state goes through the process.  One of the things we need “help” on is the parent survey.
            We will be sending home the parent surveys on October 13th.  I am almost certain that you have to fill one out for each child you have in school, but that information will be included in the instructions.  Please take the time to complete this survey, and have your child bring them back to school.  The sooner you get them back to school, the better, as they have to be to the state department by November 6th.  Thanks so much for your help!

Book Fair
            The Book Fair is coming soon!  It will be during the week of Parent Teacher Conferences, which is Oct 19-23.  A child's life can be positively influenced by exposure to quality books, and the Book Fair has many titles which have been reviewed and approved for elementary students.
            Thank you for your past support and we hope to see you at the fair!
            ---Mrs. Taylor & Mrs. Derr

Reading First News
Show your child that reading for information can actually be fun:
Children ask a lot of questions. Helping them find answers to those questions is a great way to encourage their curiosity. So be sure to add some nonfiction books to your child’s reading list. Reading these books can help your child learn more about subjects that interest her.
Here are some fun activities to get your child reading more nonfiction:
• Look for books in the library about how things work. How does the wheat in a field end up in the pasta or bread on her plate? How does the football game get onto your TV screen? Books can help your child learn the answers to these questions.
• Read nonfiction books yourself. Help your child see that learning takes place everywhere and at anytime—not just in school.
Source: West Bloomfield (MI) Township Public Library

Kindergarten News
            September has been a month full of new adventures in kindergarten! 
We have created our September calendar using an AB pattern.  This leads us into our daily math lesson.  The children are doing a wonderful job learning to write numbers using a number song to the tune of “Skip to My Lou”.  During math the children have also been working very hard on creating graphs.  We graphed the number of boys and girls in our class, as well as males and females in our family.
Ready for Reading!
The kindergarteners have learned all the letters of the alphabet and are now learning the that each letter makes its own sound.  We’ve started with Mm, mmmm.  Ask your child to name five words that begin with M!  The students are also extremely excited about the high frequency words they are able to read:  I, can, and we.
            These few weeks have gone by quickly.  It has been fun getting to know each child’s personality.
                                    --- Mrs. Greenlee

First Grade News
            Our days have been filled with so much learning!  Here are a few things we have concentrated on.
We studied triangles in math and created triangles on geoboards.  What is a triangle?  What are an angle and a side?  How many angles and sides does a triangle have?  Do all triangles look the same?  See if your child can answer these questions.  (Answers: any shape with 3 sides, (angle) a corner, (side) the long straight line, 3 angles and sides, no)
We finished the Start Smart portion of our reading series.  Now that we’re so smart we started Unit 1, which is All About Us.  Please continue to study the high-frequency words; I, can, we, like, see, the, go, to, have, a, play, you, he, is, she, and, said, are, do, this, what, for, here, little, was, my, look, has, where, with, me, down, jump, not and up.  You may want to make a set of flash cards to use at home.
            Please help your child think of their favorite day of the week and why it’s their favorite day.  They may bring something to show their favorite day for share and tell next Friday.
            Thank you for everything you do to help your child feel successful at school.
                                    --- Mrs. Leeper

Second Grade News
            Second graders are looking forward to the field trip to Kaleidoscope on October 9.  If you haven’t returned the permission slip, please do so as soon as possible.  Also, remember to pack a lunch for the trip.
            The second graders enjoyed the Homecoming activities.  They were excellent during the parade and the making of the human flag!  I am very proud of them!  They also enjoyed KC Wolf who visited our school a few weeks ago.  He had some great tips for character building and he was funny, too!
            It has been a busy month reviewing skills from first grade.  We have read several interesting stories in reading and are reviewing the vowel sounds.  We are currently reading about firefighters.  During math students are learning about patterns and shapes as well as practicing addition facts. 
            Construction on the second grade community began this week.  Using boxes and construction paper, students are making buildings to put in a model of a community.  If you have any small, empty boxes (bar soap, toothpaste, Tylenol, etc.) please send them to school with your child to be used in our community. 
                        --- Mrs. Shamberger

Third Grade News
Third graders are adjusting well to life in the third grade classroom.  In reading, we are just about to finish our first unit.  The students have worked hard on the many strategies and skills we covered this month.  The comprehension skills covered include story structure, main idea, and summarizing.  Students have learned many vocabulary words and strategies.
            We are winding up the matter unit and will be testing next week.  Third graders have completed several small writing projects learning about the writing process.  We will practice the writing process all year in preparation for the MAP tests.  There is one project currently on their lockers.
            The third graders have handled themselves well on both of their outings outside of the elementary building.  We visited The Wall in Skidmore and participated in Homecoming Festivities.
On September 14th we celebrated Hershey’s birthday.  The students enjoyed writing about eating Hershey Kisses and working on some math GLEs during math period.  We measured the length, width, and mass of chocolate.
                                    --- Mrs. Jones

Fourth Grade News
            Things continue to be busy in the fourth grade classroom.  We are learning all we can!  Procedures and routines are reviewed on a daily basis. We have some incentives in place such as earning bubble gum in a jar if we are well behaved during lunch and individual stickers on a chart if we don’t have to turn a card.  When they get 10 stickers by their name they get to choose extra recess or a treat. Ask your child if they have met that goal J  We are working at a nice pace through our reading series. We have been learning about nature in our last two units.  Skills we have worked on include main idea and details, context clues, vocabulary, summarizing and compound words.  I am saving their unit tests in their conference folders to show you in October. 
            In math, we have had three tests over the first 15 lessons.  Students have been reviewing adding and subtracting two and three-digit numbers as well as finding missing addends.  These tests will also be shown to you at conferences.  Continue to practice basic facts with your child. Let me know if you need flashcards!
              In theme, we have switched to Social Studies and are doing a geography unit on maps/globes.  We have learned the 7 continents, 4 oceans and how to use a compass rose.  We are learning about the lines of latitude and longitude this week.  A study guide will come home soon for this unit and you can quiz your child!
            I have been very pleased with the reading logs so far.  Please continue to read with your child and sign their log J
                        --- Mrs. Tubbs

Fifth Grade News
            By now, all fifth grade parents should have had the opportunity to look over their child’s progress reports.  If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.  Overall, most fifth graders have adjusted to the fifth grade climate, and are doing amazing!  Please continue to look at the web page for daily assignments and for information about long-term projects and upcoming tests.
            The September book report (advertisement) is due on Wed., Sept. 30. Students will have some time to work on these at school next week.  Video or audio commercials should be completed at home.  October’s book must be read by Fri., Oct. 16.  Students will be creating a collage.  Scoring guides will be posted on the website and a hard copy will go home next week.  Remember:  every student is required to read one book per month and complete its report, but if they want to earn their pizza for the Book-It program, they need only to read an additional book per month and pass its quiz.
            Upcoming objectives include the Native Americans of North and South America, tools and equipment used in scientific experiments, plants, various types of nouns and verbs, multiplication and division, and finishing up our novels.
            The fifth graders are putting together a “tail gate” basket for the elementary fundraiser on Nov. 13.  Information was sent home today.  We are excited about this project and look forward to seeing it all put together.  Thanks, in advance, for your help and cooperation in assisting with this.
                                    --- Mrs. Lemar

Sixth Grade News
Well we made it through another wonderful week in the sixth grade classroom. The sixth grade has started the second unit in spelling, and has been doing activities over it each day this week.  We read chapters 5-9 in the book Hatchet and did skill sheets on them. In math we have been working on reviewing basic skills and on Friday we will have a test over them. In English we have been finishing up our All About Me power points which are due this Friday. Every other day we have been doing lessons in our English books over different kinds of nouns. We have been working on our swinger labs over the pendulum in science. In band we have been practicing the school song and The Star Spangled Banner. In music and PE we have been doing the usual exercises and vocal practices. Last, in POI we have been working on geography, organizing the room, and working on assignments.
-- By Jaylee & Cassidy

Sept 8-11
            This week the sixth graders have had a very busy week. In math we have been working on various things such as problem solving, math lessons, and practice problems. In English we have been working on many different types of nouns. Reading has mainly been about Hatchet. We read a chapter a day, then do a skill sheet over that chapter. We have just finished up a lab in science and can’t wait to start social studies! In spelling we have just started unit three and we have been working on making different word forms out of our spelling words. In POI we have been working on making pop can flashlights with Mrs. Lemar. This week has been an awesome week and we hope for next week and this year to be just as great.
                        ---By Kristen and Jaylee

Week of 14 – 18:
The 6th grade class has had an extremely fun week. We worked on finishing All About Me Power Point in language. In reading, we have read and done worksheets for chapters 13 – 15 in Hatchet and are working on book reports that are due Sept. 30. Many of the 6th graders went to Mark Twain Club last night.  In science we just took our test on the Swingers lab we’ve been working on. This week, we have done Lesson 15 and 16 plus a math test. During spelling the class has done our Unit 3 with word forms and the suffixes ful and less. 6th and 5th grade girls had volleyball practice.  Please be watching for mid-terms to coming home with your child.   Our class is doing an amazing job collecting the pop and soup tabs we will be collecting until October.  Our class created an awesome banner for the parade to carry in front of the Freshman class float of the American flag.   We hope our Trojans do well at homecoming! Go Trojans!
---Written by: Kristen and Frankie
           
Notes from the Nurse
             H1N1 flu seems to be on everyone’s mind these days, so I thought it would be beneficial to some to go ahead and discuss this in my notes this month.  I have been in close contact with the Nodaway County Health Department, and have been keeping close track of our illnesses here at school for them.  It is crucial that parents let us know if any or our students come down with the H1N1 virus, as we must report this to the health department, as well as take precautionary measures here at school.             
            If a child becomes ill at school, we will be contacting parents to pick up the child as soon as possible.  Please have alternate arrangements in place if you are unavailable on any given day, so all children have someone to pick them up as needed.  You may also want to consider who you can get to care for your child if they become ill and you must continue to work.  Sick children cannot return to school until they have been fever free for at least 24 hours and symptoms have resolved.  Also, please do not be offended if an ill child is asked to wear a mask before they are picked up.  Staff may also be wearing masks.  It is vital that we protect other persons in the area from exposure.  We have many children in our school who are high-risk for complications because of age or medical conditions.
            Median age for hospitalization with H1N1 flu is 12 years of age.  Median age of mortality is 37.  This is alarming because it is dangerous for younger people, including pregnant women, whereas seasonal flu tends to be more deadly to older members of the population.  Last year we had several young children come down with seasonal flu.  It happened in just a short amount of time and affected many families.  I did a mini survey and found that of the ill children I inquired about, none had obtained a seasonal flu shot.  I have heard some experts think that it is possible that a child may come down with both seasonal flu and H1N1 flu at the same time. Immunization clinics for seasonal flu are being held now in most areas.  I would recommend checking with your physician or health department regarding questions about immunizing your child.  As always, please encourage your child to practice good hand washing techniques, and cover their mouth if they sneeze or cough to help prevent the spread of disease causing germs.
                        -Mrs. DeVault, RN, BSN

Fifth Grade Comic Strips
            The fifth grade has been working on Animation- making objects seem alive and moving in their P.O.I class the past two weeks.  Some of their comic strips about school life are included in the next couple of pages.
                                    --- Mrs. McIntosh

Calendar of Events
Oct 6- Character Assembly- 2:15
            Title I Family Night- 6:00-7:30
Oct 8- Pre-K Pumpkin Night- 6:00-7:00
Oct 9- 2nd Grade to Kaleidoscope
Oct 14- Mark Twain Club- 3:15-5:15
Oct 15- Early Out- 1:00
Oct 16- 1st Quarter Ends
Oct 20- Vision Screenings
Oct 21- Board Meeting- 7:00 pm at HS
Oct 22- Early Out- 1:00
             Parent/Teacher Conf.- 2:00-8:00
Oct 23- Early Out- 1:00
Oct 27- Literacy Night- 6:00-7:30 pm
             SKIP Meeting- 7:00 pm
Oct 28- Early Out- 1:00
Oct 30- Fall Parties- 2:00-2:30
             Newsletter goes home