PANTHER PRESS
January 24, 2020
Hello, families,
We are seeing the number of students who are ill increase at each building. We have parent reports of a variety of illnesses including strep, Influenza, vomiting, respiratory infections and fevers.
Please remember to keep your student home if he/she is sick; students may return to school when fever free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medications, vomit/diarrhea free for at least 24 hours, and feeling well enough to work, play and eat at school.
Thanks to all who have kept students who are sick at home. Your help is really appreciated.
Healthy regards,
Angie Mitchell, RN, BSN
Knoxville School Nurse
641-891-6016
Upcoming home events -
* Mon, Jan. 27: 7/8 BBB v. Pleasantville - 415 PM (@Knoxville Middle School)
* Mon, Jan. 27: JV2 GBB v. Melcher-Dallas - 700 PM (@Knoxville Middle School)
* Tue, Jan. 28: JV1/V GBB/V BBB v. E-B-F - 500 PM (@Knoxville High School)
* Tue, Jan. 28: JV2/JV1/JV2 G/BBB v. E-B-F - 500 PM (@Knoxville Middle School)
* Thu, Jan. 30: 8 BBB v. Pella Christian - 430 PM @Administration Building)
* Thu, Jan. 30: JV1/V GBB/V BBB v. Albia - 500 PM (@Knoxville High School)
* Thu, Jan. 30: JV2/JV1/JV2 G/B BB v. Albia - 500 PM (@Knoxville Middle School)
* Fri, Jan. 31: JV1/V GBB/V BBB v. Centerville - 500 PM (@Knoxville High School)
* Fri, Jan. 31: JV2/JV1 BBB v. Centerville - 500 PM (@Knoxville Middle School)
* Sat, Feb. 1: JV/V G/B BW v. Norwalk - 1000 AM (@Mustang Lanes - Monroe)
State Competitions upcoming!
Special Olympics West Central Basketball Skills contest in West Des Moines on Thursday, January 30 at 930 AM
Our Jazz Band competes at State Contest in Pella on Saturday, February 1 at 250 PM.
Wrestling competes at Sectionals in Albia on Saturday, February 8 at 1200 PM
Boys Swimming at Districts in Marshalltown on Saturday, February 8 at 1200 PM
Our Girls Basketball team is currently 12-1 overall; 6-0 in the conference! Boys Basketball is 9-3 overall; also 6-0 in the conference!
Logo Committee Update!
Our Logo Committee had our second meeting with Letterman Creative on Wednesday, December 18 where they presented to us two options for our new logo system! Both options were awesome and high quality; done with an exceptional level of professionalism. The artist took our input and will now make a few final revisions before coming back to us in a few weeks the the final product! Our group was very excited about what we were presented with and can’t wait to unveil this to the public!!
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- All home events in the Knoxville High School gym and all school concerts in KPAC will be streamed LIVE on the NFHS Network! Go to www.nfhsnetwork.com for more details!
- Get schedules for all extra-curricular middle school and high school activities by going to www.knoxville.k12.ia.us and then clicking on "Activity Calendar". You can even sign-up for email notifications so whenever we make a change to a schedule - you can be notified immediately.
- Follow the Knoxville Activities Department on Instagram! @knoxvilleactivities
Hard Surface Routes
7th Grade Math
7th grade math students in Mr. Vander Veer and Mr. Uitermarkt’s classes have been learning about percentages. This unit covered various uses of percents in our lives including markups, markdowns, coupons, sales tax, interest, gratuity, and commission. Students recently completed a project where they had to create their own store. They were required to pick a theme and then search online for items to sell in their store. The kids had to markup the prices they found online in order to resell them in their store. They also had to markdown a few items to represent a discount. The kids really enjoyed being able to pick the items that they sold. Some were very surprised by the actual cost of certain things. It was fun to see everyone's ideas and what type of items they picked to sell. Store ideas ranged from selling shoes, farm supplies, toothbrushes, pets, books, coffee, and video games.
7th Grade Language Arts
In 7th grade language arts, we recently finished a unit about theme. To discover how to find the theme of a story, students read the play version of A Christmas Carol and found evidence from the text that demonstrated the theme of the play. Students had a blast acting out the different parts in the play and, after reading, decided that some common themes of the play include, “everyone deserves a second chance” and “family and friends are more important than money.”
As a grand finale to the unit, students engaged in an online escape room based upon A Christmas Carol. Students had to work with their team to complete six tasks about the play, from deciphering word problems to piecing together a puzzle, and be the first to “escape”! The escape room was an exciting and fun way to deepen students’ knowledge of the play and celebrate the last day before winter break!
KACT's KMS Winter Theatre Experience
Carol Adkins, KACT Secretary
Panther Best at West!
Snowball Awards!
Students at West Elementary are being caught doing their Panther Best and are getting awarded Snowballs that have fun activities on them. Classes have celebrated their good behavior by having pajama day, playing classroom games, hat day, extra recess, having an adult in the building lead them in an activity, and that is just a few of the fun awards! Students at West know that it really pays off to do their Panther Best and follow our school rules!
Below: second graders enjoyed hearing Iowa author Jill Esbaum speak about her journey as a writer. The Knoxville Rotary Club sponsored Mrs. Esbaum AND gave each second grader a copy of her book “First Book of How”.
You've Got Mail!
Families of students in grades 4-12 will be receiving student results from the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP). The test was given last spring to all students in Iowa public schools. Student test results will be mailed with 1st semester report cards.
This guide can assist you in understanding how your child is learning in the areas of English Language Arts and math. Students who were in grades 5, 8, and 11, last school year will also have information about their learning in science.
If you have questions please contact your child's teacher, principal, or Allison Emery, Director of Teaching and Learning, 641.842.6551.
Driver Education Session Begins March 2
Driver Education will be offered at Knoxville High School through Triple ‘R’ Driving School again this spring, beginning on March 2, 2020.
- Mr. Tom Grimm and Ms. Paige Bolton will be the instructors for this session. Classes will run for three hours each class day. The dates and times are listed on this information and registration form.
- Knoxville students enrolling can mail registration forms to the address listed OR drop off registration form and deposit to the KHS office.
If you have any questions concerning the driver education program at Knoxville High School, please contact Ryan Rump at 319-470-6975, or e-mail triplerdrivingschool@gmail.com.
Subscribe or Update Your Notifications for Weather Alerts
Knoxville Schools utilizes GovDelivery to communicate weather cancellations, delays and/or changes to district activities. We recommend all parents/guardians sign up to receive email and/or text notifications. Anyone is welcome to subscribe, including community members interested in schedule changes for activities purposes.
If you signed up in the past for this service, you do not need to sign up again but you will need to adjust notifications if your child changed to a different school building this year.
Screenshots are pictured below of the subscription process. If you need assistance, please contact: Lisa.Willis@kcsd.k12.ia.usor 641-842-6551 opt 1.
Estimated property tax impact to fund key projects less than originally expected
The Knoxville Community School District Board of Education has approved a general bond referendum question that will appear on a special election ballot Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
The question will ask voters to approve the first phase of the district's facilities improvement plan, at a total cost of $26.25 million. If approved, the 20-year bond would have a net property tax impact of $8.79 per month on a $100,000 home, $18.53 per month on a $200,000 home and $28.08 per month on a $300,000 home.
These tax impact numbers are lower than the district and board previously expected. An approved bond would place KCSD's levy rates in the middle of comparable districts in the area—and still less than Carlisle, Melcher-Dallas, Pleasantville and Indianola.
"We are very pleased that we have found a potential solution to our facilities needs that will limit the property tax impact on our community members," said Cassi Pearson, KCSD Superintendent. "We look forward to continuing an open and transparent process that began with 20 community members on a taskforce that created the proposal to address the needs. Over 430 residents have signed the petition to call for the March 3 Referendum that could fund the necessary projects."
Phase I of the plan would include a new Knoxville Middle School building, along with air conditioning for Northstar Elementary and an HVAC system upgrade at Knoxville High School. Construction on these projects would take place between 2020 and 2022.
Phase II would be funded through the use of the one-penny sales tax (known as SAVE). It would
include an extensive renovation to Northstar Elementary and athletic facility improvements throughout the district. Construction on these projects would be scheduled for 2022 to 2024.
To learn more about KCSD's facility needs, five-year plan, and the March 3 bond referendum, please visit the Knoxville School’s website at www.knoxville.k12.ia.us.
KCSD VACANCIES
Please click the following link to apply for any of the following positions: http://www.knoxville.k12.ia.us/district/vacancies/
- FT Associate (Northstar Elementary)
- Special Education Teacher (West Elementary)
- Substitutes (Teachers, Associates, Nutrition, Bus Drivers, Custodians)
- HS Boys Tennis Coach (2019-20 school year)
- MS Baseball Coach (2019-20 school year)
- 9th Baseball Coach (2019-20 school year)
- MS Softball Asst. Coach (2019-20 school year)
- 8th Grade Volleyball Assistant Coach (2020-21 school year)
- 9th Grade Football Coach (2020-21 school year)
- 9th Grade Football Asst. Coach (2020-21 school year)
Calendar Approved for Next School Year
2020-2021 ACADEMIC CALENDAR
The KCSD school board recently approved the academic calendar for the 2020-2021 school year. Please see below for your planning needs.
Knoxville CSD Board Information
The Knoxville CSD Board of Directors is committed to Ensuring a Culture of Excellence for Every Student. Community members and visitors are welcome to attend our meetings on the second and fourth Monday each month at 5:30 p.m.
The primary purpose of our board meetings is to conduct business. An official meeting is the only means by which we, as a board can carry out our legal duties or exercise our legal powers. These meetings provide an opportunity for decision-making and offer an opportunity for the public and school district staff to establish a formal dialogue with us. Postings of these meetings are placed on the district website, www.knoxville.k12.ia.us. Please visit often to be informed.
Choose Knoxville
Open Enrollment applications: if you do not live in the Knoxville district, you can still choose Knoxville for your child's education.
Deadlines for filing for open enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year:
- March 1, 2020 for 1st—12th grade
- September 1, 2020 for Kindergarten
Please call Lisa at the District Office for additional questions @ 641-842-6551, opt.1.
Neighbor Helping Neighbor
End of the Month Meals
The End of the Month Meal program or E.O.M.M. was started in 2002 and is a not-for-profit organization and can only continue as long as generous people are willing to donate their money, time, can food items, or grocery gift cards. Any of these donations may be dropped off at New Covenant Church at 1510 West Madison Knoxville, Iowa. If you send a check please make it out to New Covenant Church and put “E.O.M.M. program” in the memo section.
We send out our deliveries from New Covenant Church 1510 West Madison. If people would like to have their meals delivered to them please call the church office at 641-842-3176 preferably the week before we start serving meals so that we can have an idea of how much food we need to prepare. The only information we need to have is your name, address, a phone number where we can reach you, and the number of meals you would like to have.
If you prefer to dine out you are more than welcome to go to the Jenkins Center on Main Street. We provide the casserole and vegetable or salad, whichever is on the meal plan and the people from Living Word Fellowship provides the dessert, coffee, and excellent service. No questions asked.
Our meals typically consist of a casserole for the entrée, a dinner roll, a hot vegetable, or a cold “salad” (these are flip-flopped each meal) , and a dessert. I also like to have a sandwich meal at least twice during the season. This would consist of a Manwich burger, scalloped corn, cole slaw, and a dessert. Our meals are “comfort food” and are good sized portions because nobody should go hungry.
These are the dates for the 2019-2020 season:
- January: 20th-24th
- February: 17th-21st
- March: 23rd-27th
If anyone has questions or would like to have someone talk about our program please E-mail shiloh1971@hotmail.com.
Marion County Food Coalition Calendar & Information
Marion County General Assistance M-F 8-4:30pm, Located in the Marion County Courthouse
IMPACT Community Action - Food Cards to Fareway/HyVee to be used every 6 months. *indicates food distribution day
Food Share Mobile Food Pantry: 3rd Wednesday of the month
Attica Mobile Pantry 10-10:30
Harvey 10-10:25
End of the Month Meals: New Covenant Church 315 E. Main St. Knoxville 5-545pm: Jan. 20-24; Feb. 17-21
March 2020- 23rd-27th 641-842-3176- Delivered Meals
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Celebrate Community Church
P: 641-828-7603
Email: bruce@celebratechurch.com
Marion County General Assistance/
Veteran's Affairs
P: 641-828-2201
Email: mkuhn@co.marion.ia.us
Helping Hands
P: 641-842-6933
Email: finanhollinrake@yahoo.com
Marion County Senior Nutrition (MCSN)
P: 641-205-3811
Email: jiworthington@marionph.org
Knoxville Food Youth Initiative (KFYI)
Email: robemai@mchsi.com
Email: vgoodykvikesfan@gmail.com
Email: knoxvillelibr@yahoo.com
Invest Vote YES
KCSD ADMIN. OFFICE
The Panther Press is a weekly collective newsletter for parents & community members. If you have an article or flyer to share, please submit to Lisa.Willis@kcsd.k12.ia.us for consideration.
Stay connected by frequenting our website or following us on social media!
- High School: www.facebook.com/KHSPanthers/ & twitter.com/KHS_Panthers
- Middle School: www.facebook.com/PanthersKMS/ & twitter.com/Panthers_KMS
- Northstar: www.facebook.com/NorthstarElementary/ & twitter.com/MrKeitges
- West: www.facebook.com/knoxvillewestelementary/ & twitter.com/pantherswest
Rate us on greatschools.org!
Email: lisa.willis@kcsd.k12.ia.us
Website: www.knoxville.k12.ia.us
Location: 309 W Main St, Knoxville, IA, United States
Phone: 641-842-6551