Renner Report
November Parent Newsletter
Note From the Principal
Park Hill Earns the Missouri Quality Award Again!
Interim Superintendent Dr. Jeanette Cowherd announced recently that the Park Hill School District received the Missouri Quality Award for the second time.
Park Hill was the first school district to earn this distinction when we received it in 2009, and we are now the only district in the history of this award to earn it twice.
The Missouri Quality Award recognizes an organization's commitment to meeting its customers' needs and to using the best-available processes for everything it does. This award is aligned with the exacting standards of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Park Hill’s processes align with these standards, which the Excellence in Missouri Foundation determined by carefully reviewing our district application and conducting a thorough site visit of our schools.
The Missouri Quality Award demonstrates to the Park Hill community the world-class level of excellence that our schools are achieving.
It also comes with a detailed report from the site-visit team, which will identify both strengths and opportunities for improvement. As we did last time, Park Hill will take that report and use it in our continuous improvement efforts.
Getting to the "Heart" of our Renner Staff
Mrs. Tsukioka
November is the most exciting month of the year for me because it’s National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. Each November, people from all over the world make a commitment to write a 50,000 word novel in just one month. This year, I’ve committed to make this happen for me as well. I have a story in mind that I want to tell, and each day I have planned to set time aside to write as many words as I can to make it to my 50,000-word goal by November 30th. In order to reach my goal, I have to make some sacrifices. I don’t have time to watch TV, play games, or surf the Internet, because I need to spend all my extra time on writing my words. I know some day will be harder than others, but if I just keep persevering and pushing on to my goal, I know I’ll make it. By the end of the month, I plan to have a new story ready for people to read and enjoy.
Mrs. Braun
We were having a class meeting and discussing the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of the habits is to synergize. I told my class that even though they are children, they can still synergize and have a big impact on the world around them. I asked them what they were concerned about and they were almost unanimous in their concerns for animals who don’t have homes. I contacted the local animal shelter KC Pet Project to find out what we could do. They said they are non-profit and work solely from donations. I did some research on the internet and found a knot blanket idea for the kennels. My class was so excited about it. We contacted our 5th grade friends and invited them to join us in our project. They were happy too and a big help. Parents from both classes donated almost 13 yards of fabric that I prepared for the children to make into the blankets. Students also brought in toys, snacks and paper towels for the animals. We ended up with a crate of extra supplies along with 26 blankets for the kennels. The children in my class were so excited to see how they were able to make a difference and get so many others to support them in their project.
Mrs. Herod
In October, I participated in the Kansas City Half marathon with Team World Vision to help provide clean water to communities in Africa! Just $50 provides clean water for 1 person. This link below will take your directly to my fundraising page and you can also read more about the AMAZING work Team World Vision is doing:
Encore
This quarter the Art Room has an exciting opportunity for third- fifth graders to work with Project S.N.A.P and Operation Grateful Nation to create our own artwork that will be part of a mural that will hang in THE Pentagon! Look for more information to come home about this amazing opportunity. To catch all grade levels in action and see what we are making, please follow us on Instagram @RennerArt!
Music:
3rd Grade Presents:
The Family Feud-A Musical Debate
Thursday, November 19
6:00 p.m. – Renner Gym
5th Grade and Renner Choir Music Performance:
Thursday, November 19
7:00 p.m. – Renner Gym
Students need to bring their recorder with them to this special performance.
Upcoming 5th Grade Renner Choir dates:
Wednesday, November 11 – Sing at Renner’s Veteran’s Day Program- 9:00 a.m.
Thursday, November 19 – Sing at 5th Grade Music Performance- 7:00 p.m.-Renner Gym
Friday, November 20 – Sing at Christmas on the River in Parkville with other Park Hill School District choirs. Notes have been sent home with more information.
Friday, December 4 –Community Outreach Event singing at Park Hill’s preschool and a nursing home. 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Monday, December 7 – Sing for Pride Assembly at Renner- 9:00 a.m.
Media Center
In the LMC we are all busy reading the nominated books in each grade level so we will be ready to vote on our favorites between December and March. We are also beginning to learn about good research methods in preparation for future projects. Everyone is anxiously awaiting our first BOOK FAIR of this school year coming next week in conjunction with One School, One Book and the 3rd and 5th grade music programs. See you all there!
Counselor Insights
3rd-5th grade
In 3rd-5th grades we started the year with our Second Step curriculum unit on Empathy. Empathy is our most important unit and is something we will continue to study as the year progresses. We have now learned that we can use empathy every day to reduce bullying and other mean behavior. Currently, we are finishing up our unit on Bullying. We have discussed and defined the differences between teasing, conflict, mean moments and bullying. We have read the book Just Kidding by Trudy Ludwig and watched the dvd Bullies are a Pain in the Brain by Trevor Romain. Students have learned the Olweus definition of bullying, characteristics of bullying and what they can do if they or someone they know are being bullied.
Kindergarten-2nd grade
In October we had fun discussing and identifying feelings from the movie Inside Out. This month we will continue to talk about feelings through our curriculum Second Step. We will learn the similarities and differences between feelings in people and showing care and concern for others feelings. We will also learn how to identify our own feelings and learn how to calm down our strong emotions. For more information check out www.secondstep.org or my website www.rennercounselor.weebly.com
From Nurse Toye
Our Park Hill on the Move is off to a great start! Last week we logged 4,427 minutes of intentional exercise! Barb Greenhagen logged the most with 480 minutes! WAY TO GO BARB! If every employee logged 30 minutes of exercise a day we could log 6300 minutes a week! Think we can do it???
LET’s GO RENNER!
A Glimpse of Classroom Learning for November....
Kindergarten
November is an exciting month in Kindergarten! So far this school year we’ve been learning about what readers do; from taking care of books to places that we can read. But in November and part of December we get learn about reading super powers that will help us be better readers!
First Grade
In first grade we will be very busy in November as we continue to learn about our world through reading non-fiction books, learn to write and support our opinions in writer’s workshop and add and subtract sums to 20 in math.
Second Grade
We would like to thank all the families for taking time out of their schedules last week to come by and visit with us about your students’ progress! We are excited to begin our journey with characters in our books and writing.
Third Grade
Third grade has started learning strategies for multiplication and are working to master their multiplication facts! We have also been collaborating by reading several different book series in peer book clubs. Students in third grade have been learning about the properties of solids, liquids, and gases!
Fourth Grade
Fourth graders will integrate technology, research skills, use of non-fiction text, and a bit of creativity to design a brochure on a city in MO. In addition they will create maps that display their knowledge of the characteristics of each region in MO. A question about MO, ask a fourth grader!
Fifth Grade
Fifth grade is delving deep into the wonderful world of nonfiction reading, writing and research. Students are focusing their reading and writing on a topic of their choice, researching their topic, and creating their own reports. In addition, students are expanding their digital skills as they create their reports online.
Important November Dates
11/10 One School One Book
11/11 Veteran's Day Program
11/12 Early Release Day
11/23 Progress Notes Go Home
11/24 Turkey Trot 1:00
11/25 Thanksgiving Break Begins
Email: hensleym@parkhill.k12.mo.us
Website: http://renner.parkhill.k12.mo.us/
Location: 7401 Northwest Barry Road, KCMO
Phone: 816-359-4350
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Renner-Elementary
Twitter: @parkhillrenner