secondary newsletter 11/11
DESCRIPTION
Secondary Newsletter 11/11TRANSCRIPT
Seco
ndary Sp
ectrum
November 2011
Mission Statement The Grundy Center Community School’s “community” will empower its individuals with the attitudes, skills, and knowledge to become responsible, productive, and fulfilled citizens.
Calendar Highlights for November:
Nov 4 & 6 – Fall Musical ‘Wizard of Oz’
Nov 8 – MS Vocal Concert Nov 11 – End of 1st Trimester Nov 14 – 2 Hour Late Start
Nov 14 – MS/HS Band Concert Nov 22 – 2:00 Dismissal
Nov 23-‐25 – No School – Thanksgiving Break Nov 28 – 2 Hour Late Start
Go to the School Calendar at www.spartanpride.net for a complete schedule of events/activities.
What should we do to prepare for this flu season? Flu seasons are unpredictable and the timing, severity, and length of the season depends on many factors, including what influenza viruses are spreading and whether they match the viruses in the vaccine. Flu activity most commonly peaks in January or February, but can begin as early as October and continue as late as May.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends these preventative measures:
• Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands.
• Clean surfaces and items that are more likely to have frequent hand contact such as doorknobs, phones, keyboards, etc.
• Stay home if you or your child is sick for at least 24 hours after there is no longer a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine). Keeping sick students at home means that they keep their viruses to themselves rather than sharing them with others.
• Get vaccinated against the flu. CDC recommends a yearly flu shot for everyone 6 months of age and older. The flu vaccine is designed to protect against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season.
Notes from the School Nurse, Gloria Dielschneider
12TH STREET NEWS! by Mrs. Murra, Superintendent
November is here and so is the end of the first trimester! The time has gone quickly and much has happened this fall. We are proud of all of our Spartans both in the classroom and on the fields/floors/stage!
Congratulations to our Girls Cross Country Team for placing 12th at the State Meet on October 29! This is their best finish in history. We are proud of you! We are also proud of our GC Football Team for making the playoffs! Best wishes to our Volleyball Team as they continue the road to the State Tournament as well!
Please come support our incredible thespians as they perform “The Wizard of Oz” on Friday, November 4 and Sunday, November 6. It is sure to be MAGICAL! The 1st & 4th Graders will also be presenting “I’ve Got That Autumn-ish Feelin” on November 7, and the Middle School will have their vocal concert on November 8. The band will once again host the NICL Band Festival on November 15, too! The auditorium will be alive with music this month!
Our Fall MAP scores indicate we are still above the national and state norms, but we did see the same “summer dip”. Our spring scores are always very strong, and then the fall scores decrease. This continues to be a concern because teachers and students then have to spend time reviewing past material instead of moving on to new learning. There is a good chance you will hear conversation about making changes in our school calendar in the near future. The Governor has unveiled his “Blue Print for Educational Reform”, and now school leaders are looking for ways to help improve student learning. Taking a full 12 weeks off over the summer is hindering learning for many of our students, and test scores make this pretty clear. My prediction is that we will have a 6-7 week summer break and spread the other 5-6 weeks out between the trimesters—making longer fall, winter, and spring breaks. We currently have 180 days of school each year, and I do not foresee that changing. As new ideas are shared regarding the Reform Plans, I will keep you posted!
On a financial note, I am excited to share that our official certified enrollment is up 27.2 students! The .2 comes from partial weighting for our students that are home schooled but dual enrolled to participate in some academic or extra-curricular activities. This certified enrollment count is what generates our funding for the 2012-2013 school year. Grundy Center is a wonderful community in which to live and raise a family, and that word must be spreading! It is a GREAT time to be a Spartan!
Mrs. Murra
Former student comes back to share college experience with art students
by Ronda Sternhagen You can never be quite sure of where the conversation will end up when you answer the phone, but sometimes you get the nicest of surprises. Recently, Levi Ross (Class of 2010) contacted me with great enthusiasm about wanting to come back to share a drawing technique he had learned in a drawing class as a sophomore at Central College. That's an exciting call to receive!
On Thursday, October 13, drawing students were treated to learning a charcoal drawing technique in which they blackened their paper, and then drew with a kneaded eraser removing charcoal to draw with light. This forced students to think about drawing in reverse. Typically when we think of drawing, we think of laying down value or color with a drawing tool, leaving the light parts untouched. It was great to have a former student come back to share a passion with current students. We have so much to be thankful for in Grundy Center, and so many former students to be proud of!
What About Bob?
Bob Munson was recognized this month at ITEC for the Technology Local Leadership Award. This is an annual award given out to local leaders for their outstanding work they do to promote and be a leader regarding technology. Bob Munson is the Technology Coordinator and Physics Instructor for Grundy Center Community Schools in Grundy Center, Iowa. In his twenty-one years of working in education, nineteen of them have been in Grundy Center. He is an alumnus of Northern
Iowa and Iowa State University with a Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Grundy Center is a very innovative district and technology integration is highly valued. An example of valuing technology is the district’s one to one laptop initiative in grades 6-12. The community is very supportive of the district, and the laptop initiative is allowing students to stretch the boundaries of their own learning. Bob truly sees technology as a critical tool in improving the learning process. When not working with students and teachers with technology, Bob also enjoys coaching and spending time with his wife, Patricia, and son, Mitchell.
Spartan Spirit By Johna Ash Being a cheerleader at Grundy Center High School really makes the experience of school spirit greater than what the majority of the other students and faculty get to experience. We get to lead the students in fun activities throughout the fall, whether it is the week of homecoming, or for an even better example, the week leading up to the first play-off game in seventeen years. School spirit is something that makes our school come together as a student body, and the support is strong enough to move a mountain. The atmosphere in the building of GCHS is particularly enjoyable. There are hallways bombarded by cheerleaders and lots of streamers and balloons, and we always have many posters and signs, of encouragement located all around the building, which help enhance school spirit. Being able to walk around and see everything helps the students as a whole to remember that we are each a part of something special. It doesn't matter if it is regarding volleyball, football, cross-country, dance, cheerleading, the fall musical, Ac-Dec. Anything at all that is happening is a part of GCHS' history and seeing the signs of encouragement all around makes it easier to be reminded of that concept. Some people may think that the decorating that happens throughout the building could become distracting and possibly a little too exciting and get in the way of focusing on school work, but it almost the opposite effect. The decorating is a reminder that we have work to be done in class first, and if we stick with it and strive to succeed, then all the sports and extra curricular activities will continue to be possible. Schoolwork can often become a heavy load on the shoulders of someone who is actively involved in school activities, but as I have seen become a change in the past couple years, schoolwork provides discipline and time management skills for students. Since a lot of hard work goes into the different activities that students participate in, it is more than appreciated when there are lots of people attending the games, meets, or performances. Being a football cheerleader, I have been most affected by the turnout of the crowd at the Grundy Center football games. We have always had a large and supporting crowd, which makes it very easy to want to get the crowd excited to get our team "fired up." The support is greatly appreciated by the football team and possibly more by the cheerleaders. I have cheered a game with twenty people in the stands - it is definitely a challenge. Having the fans cheer along gets everyone into the game and again, it goes back to being a part of something important. The crowd is one of the most important parts of a game, because they are the most encouraging. I believe that the success that has been displayed from the Grundy Center teams has a strong foundation, which is teamwork. From the coaches mentoring the students into becoming great athletes and wise young people to the students who show up and represent our school to the best of their ability - we are all a team. The long and tiring practices are definitely a factor in the success that we seen so far this year, but even more than that, it truly is who we are as a school. The support is outstanding and the belief in one another is the best that there is. Being a Spartan is a privilege and definitely something to be thankful for.
NOTES FROM THE PRINCIPAL
We had a great month in the halls of GC. Lots of exciting projects in the classroom that ask for students to show understanding of the knowledge they have learned in their classes. We have had a number of visitors in the halls from area Superintendents and AEA personnel to come and observe what students and staff are doing with the technology in the classrooms.
We have had a couple of new job shadowing / career exploration opportunities for high school students. Students are able have work experience and explore career opportunities at the Grundy County Hospital. Currently we have a student shadowing Chef Woody and another student who will be helping in the maintenance department of the Hospital. These experiences are important and can help students focus on what they need to do in the future in the careers of their choice.
I mentioned that we have had a number of visitors and one of the groups complemented our students by saying how friendly, helpful, and considerate they were. The visitors appreciated walking the hallways with the students and feeling safe and not threatened. Sometimes the small things make the biggest impact on others. We do have great students. Speaking of neat things – in case you missed the K – 12 schools and Community Pep rally held on Wednesday, Oct 26th. I want to tell you, the students were absolutely unbelievable. The students were dressed in maroon and white and were cheering on each other and having fun. Watching everyone do the interlude was an absolute riot, but it’s these small things we can do in a community that values the whole child.
Homework / Homework completion -‐ Much has been written and published about homework and doing quality homework. Research has proven that students should have 45 min to 90 minutes of homework at night. Homework should not be busy work but work that will help reinforce important concepts and skills that students need. As a staff we talk frequently about homework and busy work. I am concerned that some students continue to struggle with homework completion after many accommodations, strategies, and opportunities to complete the work do not change the behavior. Students are always told that they are responsible for their learning and the doors to a teacher’s classroom are open before and after school for help. We want students to feel that’s it’s “OK” to stay after school to complete homework. We have students assigned to detentions, worktables, and study tables after school but some still do not get their homework completed. We need to improve the completion of student work so students can get “caught up” and move on to the next important concepts without going backwards to finish up the work that is not completed.
The middle school students raised over $3500 from the middle school fundraiser campaign. This money allows for the many field trips that the middle school students take. The 6th grade students went to the Living History’s farm this month and the 7th grade went to the Science Center in Des Moines to take in the Body World Exhibit. The field trip for the 7th grade students cost approx $1000.
Sophomore and Junior parents need to be reminding your son or daughter to take the Compass tests if they are planning to take “concurrent” college classes in the future. Students need to have met the compass cut scores before the end of April 2012.
Starting 2nd trimester, Chorus will begin at 7:50 each morning. If students ride the bus they will get to chorus as soon as possible. Other classes start at 8:05 but Chorus and Band split a 75 min block of time so students can have more flexibility with their schedule. The reason we switched to this starting time was so the students can participate in Band and/or Chorus with fewer class conflicts. Thank you for understanding and if you have questions please give me a call.