Weekly Update: April 13, 2018
Weekly Update: April 13, 2018
Dear Grinnell-Newburg Family and Friends,
Happy Friday! We have had a little taste of Spring this week. Let’s hope we see more days like we did this past Thursday in the weeks to come. We have had some wonderful activities this week. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to see an amazing performance by our Davis students, spend time with our 6-8 grade students talking about education as a career, and had an opportunity for professional development at the Policy Leadership and Legal Issues conference. Our Board of Education approved the teacher (GNEA) contract this past week following the negotiations process. I want to thank the negotiations committee for their coming together and working through this process together. It is a wonderful team!
Trip to Montezuma for Urban Renewal Hearing:
This past week I attended a hearing hosted by the County supervisors to learn more about the Urban Renewal project. There will be seven wind turbines that are projected in our area for this project. The County Supervisors held a hearing to discuss the TIF that they would like to approve that will generate the necessary dollars for them to rebuild many of our country roads in the county.
PD Meeting with Instructional Coaches
This week I met with our principals and instructional coaches as we continued to plan for Professional Development for the 2018-19 school year. This collaborative effort enables us to align our PD across the district. We value our teachers and want to ensure that PD is carefully planned and pertains to our district goals and initiatives. This planning, as aligned to our literacy goals, will have a profound impact on the learning and development of our students. I’m looking forward to what next year has in store!
Career Day
I had the privilege of participating in the Career Day at the Middle School, where I held presentations about the career as an educator and the job of the superintendent to our 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. It was great to see students thinking about their futures and imagining what career paths they might want to take. A huge thank you to all the community participants who came out and spoke to our students. Thanks also to all who organized the event, and to all the Middle School staff who assisted in orchestrating such a big endeavor.
Davis & Bailey Park Spring Concerts
Congratulations on another successful Spring Concert year. Elementary students sang their hearts out during this past week’s spring concerts. Their performances were wonderful, a testament to the hard work and great enthusiasm of our music teachers.
Board Meeting
At the Board Meeting this week I had the opportunity to discuss the Fire Marshall’s recommendation for new fire doors that are required for our buildings. I also shared updates from a county supervisors meeting I attended, as well as legislative updates. The Board approved the GNEA teacher/para contract agreement. Also the Board approved the server needed in order to support our devices. The Board also approved to move forward with our same auditors for the next three years.
Above & Beyond Recognitions
Community Member Keith Briggs was recognized for his volunteer work at the Middle School helping students with reading and language skills. Sophomore student Dani Ford was recognized for her many years volunteering with Christmas Share program. Middle School teacher Jill Harris was recognized for her creative and energetic choir program, and the impact it has had on students. Congratulations to all three, we are a better community because of your efforts!
Leadership & Policy Conference
Yesterday I attended a conference in Des Moines to learn about legislative updates and implementing various policies, such as the new policy related to school safety. These sessions are always very informative and assist me in collaborating with our policy committee to implement any of the new mandates that are required.
Grinnell College Event
Grinnell College hosted, in partnership with the Grinnell-Newburg School District, “Teaching Diplomacy for the Next Generation,” an interactive Free Workshop on Model Diplomacy hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). CFR has never hosted an event like this in the Midwest and were thrilled to host such an important and relevant theme for our Iowa educators (35 middle school and high school teachers from across the state as well as college and university faculty). I want to thank our GMS and GHS social studies staff for participating in the event.
Rotary Reads Non-Fiction Donated books to Fairview and Bailey Park Students
I would like to that the Grinnell Rotary and Rotary 6000 for their generous donation of non-fiction books for student classrooms this past spring. Today, Rotarians had an opportunity to read those books to students!
LHC Math Contest
Congratulations to all our math contestants who competed this week at the Little Hawkeye Conference Math Contest, winning the overall contest for the second year in a row! Bravo!
Snapshot of upcoming events: Visit the Calendar on our website for further details
April 19 - Fairview Elementary Concert
April 21 - Prom
April 25 - Meeting of the Board of Education
May 7 - No School, PD Day
May 15 - All-City Band Concert
May 23 - Fine Arts Awards Night
May 26 - Honors Night
May 27 - Commencement
May 28 - No School, Memorial Day
June 1 - Last Day of School
Don’t forget to visit the Virtual Backpack for new events!
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Janet
--
Dr. Janet M. Stutz
Superintendent
Grinnell-Newburg Schools
Weekly Events
Please view the events for the coming week as listed below for Grinnell High School & Middle School If you find a discrepancy in this information; please contact Tracy Neighbors at (641) 236-2717 / tracy.neighbors@grinnell-k12.org or Chris Coffman at (641) 236-2717 chris.coffman@grinnell-k12.org
Monday 4/16
Boys Golf @ Lincoln Valley Golf Course (State Center) 2:00 - bus noon
Prom Decorating Kriegel Gym 3:15
Boys Soccer Togetherness Meal 6:00 HS Cafeteria
Tuesday 4/17
Prom Decorating Kriegel Gym 3:15
Girls Golf (Home) Oakland Acres 4:15
Girls Tennis 4:15 @ Pella Christian HS -bus 2:45
Middle School Boys T&F 4:30 @ Williamsburg - bus 3:00
Middle School Girls T&F 4:30 @ STC - bus 3:00
JV/V Girls T&F 4:30 @ DCG - bus 2:30
Boys JV/V Soccer 5:30 @ Newton - bus 4:00
Girls V Soccer 5:30 vs Newton (Ahrens Park) - Scoreboard Baumgartner / Admissions M. Hunter
JV/V Boys T&F 5:00 @ Ballard - bus 2:30
Wednesday 4/18
Active Shooter Training @ GMS
Thursday 4/19
Prom Decorating Kriegel Gym 3:15
Fairview Music Practice 12:15 HS Auditorium
Boys Golf 4:15 @ Oskaloosa Golf Course - bus 2:45
Boys Tennis 4:15 @ Indianola HS - bus 2:30
Girls Tennis 4:15 vs Indianola
Boys T&F 4:30 @ Newton - bus 2:45
Girls T&F 4:30 @ Newton - bus 2:45
Middle School Boys T&F 4:30 @ Knoxville - bus 3:00
Middle School Girls T&F 4:30 (HOME) @ Grinnell HS - see link to help https://tinyurl.com/yahgscsk
Boys JV/V Soccer 5:30 @ Pella HS - bus 3:45
Fairview Music Concert 7:00 HS Auditorium
Friday 4/13
Prom Decorating Kriegel Gym 3:15
Girls Soccer 5:30 vs DCG (Ahrens Park) Scoreboard- D.Conway / Admissions Needed
Saturday 4/14
Boys Tennis 9:oo am @ Pella - sub 7:00am
Use the following link to volunteer for events at GHS or GMS https://tinyurl.com/yahgscsk