ENSC Family Notes
September 8, 2015
School Lunches and Balance Reminders
Most of our students pay for their lunches by having money placed electronically into an account and then using their student ID for payment. This process makes it easier for families to have money available for students as they need it and easier for students to pay for their lunch. The challenge for families is knowing when the account is getting low. When students go through the line, they are able to see on the computer screen the balance of their account daily, food service staff remind students as their balance nears zero, and the system is also able to send electronic reminders to families when a student's balance gets low.
East Noble School Corporation uses MyPaymentsPlus as a way for parents to electronically transfer funds to a student's lunch account. This system allows families to use credit, debit, and eChecks to place funds into a student's lunch account. It also provides reminders when a balance is getting low and can automatically transfer funds based on a parent's preferences set in the computer. The website to set up your account and change preferences is: www.mypaymentsplus.com. If you have any questions on setting up or changing your account, feel free to call Cynde Barkley, Food Service Director, or Tracey Gray, Food Service Secretary at 347-2502.
Technology Notes
East Noble Middle School
1. Will taxes increase? The school taxes will not increase. The district is retiring debt from North Side Elementary, Wayne Center Elementary, and renovations to East Noble High School, and Rome City Elementary. This debt will be paid off about the same time new debt for the middle school would begin. If the budget passes in November, the Debt Services taxing fund will go from 54 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to about 34 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
2. Where is the building going to be built? There are 27 acres plus an additional 15 acres of donated land located at the corner of Drake Road and Ohio Street. This land is next to the Kendallville Fire Station and is located is within the city limits where many students will be able to walk to school.
3. Why does the building cost so much more than Wayne Center Elementary and North Side Elementary? This building is designed to accommodate 1,000 students which is more than double the elementary buildings. Secondary buildings require more square footage for dedicated science rooms, two gymnasiums (one as a competitive gym), band room, choir room, family and consumer science, industrial technology, art, and other areas needed for secondary programming.
4. What will happen to the old facility? At this time, that is unknown; however, the School Board is committed to not leaving an eye sore for the community to deal with. This means if a group is interested in purchasing the facility and have enough funds to successfully repurpose the building, it could be sold. If that does not occur, the building will be torn down with the space made available for houses or green space. Before either of these choices can be implemented, ENSC must meet the law on vacant buildings and access for charter schools.
5. Will there be outdoor physical education facilities? The current plans and budget include a grass football with a track which can be used for daily physical education classes as well as competitions when needed.
If you have any questions or you know of someone with questions, please contact me. Also, I am always open to meeting with anyone to answer their questions.
September 9 School Board Meeting
1. Katie Craney, Art teacher at ENHS, will be giving an overview of her Lilly Teacher Creativity grant supported summer trip to Paris.
2. Steve Peterson and other leaders will be giving an overview of their STEM/SEAL early college framework.
3. The 2015-2016 Teacher Contract will be presented to the School Board for approval.
4. The 2016 Budget will be presented for approval from the School Board.
Everyone is always invited and welcome to attend School Board meeting. This week's meeting will be held at the Central office beginning at 6 p.m.
eLearning Reminder
This year, ENSC will be holding eLearning days for every canceled school day. Each day school is cancelled, teachers will post student assignments to either Google Docs (Grades K-4) or Canvas (Grades 5-12) by 9 a.m. of the cancelled school day. If a student does not have access to the internet, building Media Centers will be open several days following the eLearning day for students to complete their assignments.
It is important as parents that you encourage your child to complete their work and put as much effort into their eLearning assignments as they would with their daily classroom work and assignments. You are not expected to provide close supervision to your child during their work. A part of your child's education is helping them become independent learners. This includes eLearning days. Teachers provide assignments which do not include new technology use and is a continuation of their current lessons. If your child is able to complete their regular homework without your assistance, they should also be able to complete their eLearning assignments. The group of students who may need some assistance, is our kindergarten and first graders. However, as those students continue to take their iPads home nightly, their assignments will feel easier for them.
In the next 4-5 weeks, watch for building meetings to introduce families to the use of Google Doc, Canvas, and PowerSchool.
Did you know.....
http://wane.com/2015/09/03/throwback-thursday-new-havens-cory-jacquay/
Unsung Hero
Julie Page is in her fourth year with East Noble schools, all at North Side. Julie works in our front office and spends her day doing a myriad of jobs that all ensure the school runs smoothly. If there's ever a day that she is gone, it is felt. Her impact in our school is tremendous! On any given day she's tracking down absent students, keeping us organized, delivering first aid, providing a calming voice to a student in need, and advocating for kids. Her good humor and positive spirit is an uplifting gift each day and the North Side staff is blessed to have her as part of our team. Julie, thank you for all you do! We could not do it without you!
Curriculum and Building Notes
Curriculum
NWEA
In the past seven years we have participated in the Acuity assessment under the State’s formative assessment grant. This year the State is allowing districts to choose which assessment we will use. After listening to presentations and looking at materials, ENSC will be returning to and using NWEA in grades K-9 for its formative assessment. We are currently in the process of the implementation process and we will be setting testing windows shortly. Due to the time line set by the State, we will most likely only test twice this school year and will add 10th grade and the third test next year. We anticipate the first round of testing will occur in October of 2015 with the second round in May of 2016.
NWEA will allow teachers to see at what academic level students are performing at vs. Acuity which provided us information on the mastery level of the student’s current grade level. In other words, for a 5th grade student instead of just checking his knowledge of 5th grade standards, we will now see if that fifth grader is working at the 2nd grade, 5th grade, or 10th grade level or anywhere in between in Math and English.
NWEA will also allow teachers and students the ability to track growth throughout a student’s academic career. We are excited to return to NWEA and the information that it will provide to ensure that students are successfulNorth Side Elementary
Another busy week filled with learning and fun has passed. North Siders have walked more than 100 miles in their quest to stay active and healthy at recess during mileage club! Mrs. Getts puts in a lot of extra work for this. Two cheers for her! Elsewhere, sixth grade students are finishing up biome presentations, third graders are mastering math facts at a record pace, and fifth graders are preparing for their big Camp Potawatomi field trip next week. Also coming up, volleyball permission forms for sixth grade girls will be going home on Tuesday of this week. Students will need a signed release in order to participate.
Word is starting to spread that learning is fun at North Side. Check out the latest visitor who decided to come check us out below. This little guy was found near the front doors on the side wall.
Rome City Elementary
It was another exciting week of learning at Rome City! The third grade classes have been studying about sound. They have read information on books from Big Universe and got a bang out of Mr. Cary’s music class. Mr. Cary has been integrating science into music by giving the students first hand experiences with vibrations.
Students working on math in Miss Carpenter’s Resource Room have been very busy! 5th and 6th graders have reviewed the concept of area and applied it by playing “Area War”—playing against a partner, students roll dice and use their multiplication skills to work to get the most area on a grid. Students in 3rd grade worked on filling out tally charts and bar graphs. Based on the number of pattern blocks they received, students tallied their amounts and then transferred that data to a bar graph. Students then answered questions about the graph. Way to go mathematicians!
South Side Elementary
Families, mark your calendars for the evening of October 1st, 2015! From 6pm-7pm on this date, South Side Elementary will be hosting our first ever Family University Night! We are planning a night of informational activities to support our families as we work together to support your child’s education. Booths will include ideas for how to help your child with reading at home, setting up your Class Dojo account, working with your child on Canvas through their laptops, as well as a rotating informational session about eLearning and much, much more! We are preparing for a fun, university-themed night with refreshments and give-aways so come dressed in your favorite university colors or gear! Can’t wait to see you there!
Our grade level update this week is brought to you from our 3rd grade team: Third grade students are learning about the properties of light and sound. We read informational articles, watched videos, and completed some experiments of our own. In math, students are practicing using a number grid to solve addition and subtraction problems. We enjoyed the Number Grid partner game.
Wayne Center Elementary
This week the second graders were busy. During word work time, students used the Word Mover app to sort their spelling words by vowel sound, beginning sound, and put them into alphabetical order too.
Mrs. Jackson’s class used pull and peel Twizzlers to spell the ir spelling words. What a yummy treat! Students continued to work on their read to self procedures and read to someone procedures too.
Great things are happening in second grade!
Alternative Learning Center
It was a little crowded this week, while the back rooms were carpeted, so all programs combined in the main classroom area for four days. But it didn't interfere with learning and earning credits. Students handled the changes very well and showed their flexibility. The hard work, patience, and hackey sack success was celebrated with a pizza party to end the week.
Students who earned credits and had perfect attendance were placed in the bi-weekly drawing. This weeks winners were: Andrew Smith, Spencer Shortridge, Tristan Frick, and Gavin Herron For showing good character the winners were: Caleb Salzgaber and Andrew Mack
East Noble High School
Social Studies is often overlooked in the education of our youth, because it is “not on the test”. Many schools have been cutting back on their Social Studies curriculum so that students will perform better on the standard tests. Here at East Noble High School, it is a valued part of our students well rounded curriculum. We believe that we help students gain knowledge about the world around them, and help them to become responsible and active citizens. Here are some ways we have been working on that in the classroom.
World History A class is creating a Weebly (Web Page) to engage the students in Early Greece Civilization. Students created pages over the following topics: Greek Geography, Minoans & Mycenaean, Sparta, Greek Military, Persian Wars, Greek Mythology, & Alexander the Great – Hellenism. AP World History is using Google Sites to develop a website/virtual textbook where they gather information outside of their textbooks to supplement the material we cover in class. Links, blogs, YouTube videos are all included. Government classes have been making documentary movies of the person they believe is a Constitutional hero. They must relate what this person has done to promote the goals and principles of the U.S. Constitution. Heroes chosen include; Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Ruth Ginsburg, Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Chris Kyle, Ruby Bridges, and John Scopes. AP Human Geography students have been improving their critical thinking skills through logic games. Students have been learning the countries of the world at a rapid pace so that they have a baseline of knowledge for when they begin using a spatial perspective to study the cultures of the world. US History B classes, students are studying World War 2, creating a variety of projects aimed at understanding and honoring the Greatest Generation mankind has ever known!
East Noble Middle School
Eighth grade social studies classes have been studying early North American explorers. They are debating on who the best and the worst explorers were. Students are enjoying the opportunity to defend their explorer, and challenge other students on theirs. Language Arts classes have been reading a story by Edgar Allen Poe, The Cask of Amontillado. It is a story about a man taking revenge on another. They are learning about voice and the use of irony in the passage. Probability, real, rational, natural, irrational, whole and counting numbers are being covered in pre-algebra. Science has been learning about the different parts of the scientific method. They are defining and identifying independent and dependent variables, control group and drawing conclusions. Some of the classes are using Sponge Bob experiments to determine the different parts of the scientific method. The eighth graders will be going to Stone Trace on Friday.
Mr. Deming, Mr. Cain and Mrs. Laur got the opportunity to play Bean Boozled with Mrs. Cain’s NE time. Mr. Deming had the opportunity to taste SKUNK SPRAY!
Fundraiser forms will be due next week also.
Avilla Elementary
OUR third grade has been learning about sound waves, pitch, volume, frequency, and vibrations. The students researched information on these vocabulary terms and were able to construct an instrument made from recyclable materials. They were able to demonstrate the different pitches and volumes using their instruments. In conclusion, they were able to write sequential steps on the construction of their instrument. Students presented their instruments to the class through a video presentation. Please click on the link to see one of many cool things OUR music teacher Mr. Smith incorporates in his curriculum for OUR kids: http://youtu.be/yZpdeqdZPoI .
OUR sixth graders had a special guest this week. Mrs. Munson from the high school was kind enough to visit and discuss the aspects of a GPA (Grade Point Average). Mrs. Munson explained what a GPA is, how a GPA is calculated, and what goes into a GPA. She also talked about the average GPA’s for incoming freshmen at colleges and universities in Indiana that OUR students may attend one day. Mrs. Munson went on to explain how a GPA affects a student that would choose to learn a trade instead of going to college. This was a very valuable lesson for OUR kids and we appreciate Mrs. Munson taking the time to discuss this with us.
The week of September 14th will be Spirit Week at Avilla. Each day students will have the opportunity to participate by following the theme for the day. Monday, September 14th will be Twin Day. Tuesday is Decades Day. Please choose a decade (70’s, 80’s, etc.) and wear an outfit that would have been worn during that time. Wednesday is Wacky Dress/Crazy Hair Day. Thursday is Nerd Day and Friday will be Team Day (wear your favorite team shirt). We will be collecting donations throughout the week for OUR Honor Flight Fund Raiser. Students are asked to participate during Spirit Week and donate to OUR cause. Thank you in advance for your help with this great cause.
East Noble School Corporation
Email: alinson@eastnoble.net
Website: eastnoble.net
Location: 126 West Rush Street, Kendallville, IN, United States
Phone: 260-347-2502
Facebook: facebook.com/eastnoble
Twitter: @ENobleSchCorp