Elementary Principal Newsletter Report
October 2015
We are in the process of organizing a 1st Quarter Awards Assemblies where we will honor
students for honor rolls, perfect attendance, AR points (Accelerated Reading) and MAPS
(Measure of Academic Progress) scores.
Mr. Blauvelt, Janice Reynolds, and I attended the School Wellness Policy Training on October, 5
in Kearney at the ESU. A School Wellness Committee will be formed to be involved in the
development and implementation of wellness policies that will include eating healthy, and having a
physically active environment. School board members and parents are welcome to be on the
committee.
An Early Childhood Advisory Committee will be created to meet the requirement for rule 11
(regulations for Early Childhood Programs). The purpose of an advisory committee is to help a
provide high quality early childhood education program and be a vehicle for coordinating and
conveying community interests and concerns related to the early childhood program. Parents, and
community agencies are welcome to be on the committee.
The October, 7 In-service/Late Start consisted of SIP (School Improvement Plan) teams meeting
to work on our School Improvement Plan. We are in the 4th year of a 5 year cycle of the school
improvement process which consists of an audit/visitation from the Department of Education next
year. The SIP Steering Committee Members are Mrs. Russell, Mrs. Poland, and Mr. Franzen.
Teachers were also given time to complete a self-reflection and to set a professional goal that is
connected to the Marzano Instructional Model we have implemented. We are moving away from a
status model of teacher evaluation to a growth model.
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“I'm thankful for being able to go to school;
I'm thankful for the teachers, staff and the janitors
because they do a lot.” –Rebecca Mostek
“I am thankful for God and all the little
things he puts into my life. I am
thankful for the sound of crunching
leaves, the smell of homemade bread
made by the cooks, the random
messages of support and
encouragement that I receive from my
co-workers. I am thankful for my
students and the little things they do
that puts a smile on my face. There are
so many things to be thankful for
because every day is a blessing and
every day there is something to smile
about!” –Miss Heyden
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Homecoming week was a blast with the different activities every day. It was nice to have the
elementary students involved this year. The pep rally in Mason City was a great place for the two
schools to meet. The games and teacher student kickball was a great team building experience.