I hope this newsletter finds you all doing well. With the decline in evening temperatures, you can certainly tell that Fall has arrived. Time seems to have flown by very quickly since the start of school. There are only two weeks until the end of the 1st quarter. Once the quarter ends, we will have parent/teacher conferences. Parent/teacher conferences are scheduled for Monday, October 24th, from 12:30 to 7:00 p.m. If at all possible, please take the time to come to parent/teacher conferences. The turnout for these conferences in 7-12th grades can only be described as very poor. In regard to academics, tutoring is available for students who are struggling academically. If your student is struggling, please contact their teacher to arrange tutoring or reach out to me and we will get something arranged.

The Board recently voted to place a fence around the elementary playground. This work is now in progress, with all the fence posts being set. The fence will be a 6 ft. chain link fence with a gate on the north and south sides. This project should be completed very soon. Another item we have been able to fix is replacing the chairs in the band room. The chairs in the band room were very worn and tattered. We were able to purchase a set of 24 chairs and a rack through MVE.

Our Fall sports seasons still continue, Junior High basketball will be starting soon, and in about a month varsity basketball will get underway. I want to encourage you to come out and support our athletes as they compete.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about anything in regard to the district, please call or stop by the office.

Go Rockets!

Dr. Mitch Barnes

I am very excited to be bringing back our class lunch days. Each month, one class will be able to invite a special guest to our school to eat lunch with them. We will be starting with Kindergarten on October 11th. Information will be sent home by the classroom teacher as their day approaches.

Amazingly, the end of the first quarter is very close - Friday, October 14th. Parent-teacher conferences will be held on October 24th from 12:30-7:00 PM, and we will be reaching out in the very near future to schedule conference times. Please keep an eye out for information to schedule your individual conference time.

We have completed our beginning of the year assessments. I take pride in the "Response to Intervention" process that we have at West Nodaway Elementary School. It is our goal to provide the best education that we can to all students. This begins with our RTI process. If you have questions regarding the assessments your child is taking, or what the scores mean, please reach out to the classroom teacher for details. We regularly track student progress and use this data to drive our instruction and intervention plans to assist students.

If you feel your student could use extra help or tutoring, please reach out to your classroom teacher. We can, and will, provide after school tutoring to students.

Once again, I would just like to express the extreme pride I have to be the principal at West Nodaway. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the elementary office and I will do my best to help you.

Thank you,

Mr. Conn

Wellness screenings are wrapping up. We still have a few elementary classes to complete. If I have contacted you for a referral, please get those completed as soon as possible! A special thank you to the Kiwanis Club here in BJ for their donation to provide a student in need with some new eye glasses. The donation will be enough for a new eye exam and glasses too! We love our community support!

Mark your calendars for our annual flu shot clinic. Nodaway County Health will be here on October 24th (parent teacher conference day) from 3-7 pm. She will be in the elementary nurse's office. This is for staff members, students and their families. Bring your insurance card, or $20 if no health insurance.

Our illness seems to be improving. We've already been hit hard early. Please remember students must be fever-free without any fever-reducing medications for 24 hours prior to returning to school. We consider a fever to be a temperature greater than 100 degrees.

Thank you!