Weekly Update: March 23, 2018
Dear Grinnell-Newburg Family and Friends,
Happy Spring! Spring Break is upon us! Let’s hope the weather follows too. Spring break is a time to rejuvenate while spending time reading a captivating book, enjoying friends and family, and finding some down time before the end of the year hustle and bustle. We will begin our Spring Break this afternoon and staff will return for professional development on April 2 (see details below). Students will return to school on April 3. April and May will go by very quickly and before you know it we will be saying goodbye for the summer.
I wish everyone a wonderful week ahead. I want to especially thank all of our Grinnell-Newburg Staff for your dedication to our students and families. We had some exciting news this week!
Golden Apple Award Recipient: Ashley Wolfe
It was a surprise announcement as Ashley Wolfe, our FFA teacher at GHS, walked across the stage to accept her award. Students and staff cheered as her name was announced. Channel 13 was filming the announcement. Congratulations Ashley!
Correction from last week’s update: Congratulations to Emma Harrington as a National Scholastic Medalist winner! She is the first GHS student ever to receive this award. She received it for her Flash Fiction "Aftermath". I just learned this week that as a Freshman, Emma was also a National Scholastic Medal winner for her collection of poems!
Administration Team Meeting: April 2 Professional Development Day
This past week we hosted a phone conference call with the Marzano Group to finalized our plans for the Professional Development Day on April 2. The Elementary Staff PreK-4th grade will begin their session at 8:00 with the Marzano Group at the Harris Center. Secondary staff grades 5-12 will begin their session at 12:30. Please be sure that when you arrive that you sit in your PLC groups. Your building principals will be sending out the schedule for the time that you are not in this training.
Pagliai's is helping us raise money for Non-Fiction Books at Davis!
Paglia's has graciously informed us that they will assist with our non-fiction reading effort at Davis Elementary. We have received grants for our K-2 schools and middle school, and this donation will complete our need for non-fiction resources in our classrooms. Please see this informational flyer for details on how you can participate.
Above and Beyond Nominations
I am looking for nominations for our April 11 board meeting. We have so many wonderful people who make our school and community better. Nominations can be submitted for students, staff, or community members who have gone above and beyond to support our students. Please send a nomination email to aboveandbeyond@grinnell-k12.
Iowa Character Awards
I would like to invite you to submit your nomination for the Iowa Character Award. Who do you know that shows good character by being trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, caring, and being a good citizen? You can nominate an individual (youth or adult), school, educator, business, non-profit organization or community. For more information, or to nominate someone, visit IowaCharacterAwards.org. Nominations are due May 1, 2018.
Legislative update:
Please know that I am deeply concerned about a bill, HF 2369, that has passed the House and is now circulating to the Senate. This bill would only allow a school districts to host a bond referendum election would in November of each year. Currently we are able to host a bond referendum four times a year. I have contacted Senator Kapucian (tim.kapucian@legis.iowa.gov) and asked him not to support this bill. If a bond does not pass later this year, this would cost the district more money in construction costs as we would have to wait a year before we could go back to the polls. Please consider sending your own message to Senator Kapucian.
Virtual Backpack
There are a TON of new opportunities posted on the Virtual Backpack, including summer sports camps, PTO events, contests, and activities involving the fine arts. I am thrilled to see so many wonderful opportunities for our students!
Upcoming events: Please visit the Calendar page on our website for further details
March 26-30 - Spring Break
April 2 - No School, PD Day
April 6 - Meet the Composer Choir Concert
April 10 - Davis Elementary Concert
April 11 - Meeting of the Board of Education
April 12 - Bailey Park Elementary Concert
April 19 - Fairview Elementary Concert
Have a safe, fantastic spring break!
Sincerely,
Janet
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Dr. Janet M. Stutz
Superintendent
Grinnell-Newburg Schools