Maple Elementary School
September Newsletter
September 2, 2022
Dear Maple Families,
The first weeks of school have been off to a smooth start. We already have many celebrations to share! Live morning video announcements have returned to Maple Elementary. You can view the announcements daily on our Facebook page. We are excited to begin highlighting student anchors next week. All classes are participating in fun lessons and activities to learn and review school-wide expectations to support our Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS). We are proud to announce that this summer we earned GOLD STATUS with the PBIS award for the third consecutive year.
On Friday September 9th, Maple Elementary will celebrate the 5th annual Fight Like a Princess Day. In remembrance of Eowyn Maynes and to support Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, wear gold on this day and bring a new toy or art supply to donate. The donations will be delivered to Children's Mercy Hospital for patients.
We will have a short presentation about our WATCH D.O.G.S. ® (Dads Of Great Students) Program. WATCH D.O.G.S. ® is an innovative program being used by schools across America which helps them to be positively impacted by the committed fathers and father figures in their student’s life. The goal is to have these men spend at least one day a year at the school to be an extra set of eyes and ears as a positive male role model. Be watching for more information to be sent home soon.
The PTO membership drive has been extended to Friday, September 16. The winning class with the most memberships will win a popsicle party. Our membership drive is a wonderful way to help support all the programs that PTO funds at Maple. Students can have more than one membership under their name. Parents, grandparents, and other family members are invited to sign up. Being a member does not require any volunteering. Your membership supports the programs funded by PTO. Currently Mrs. Stone's 4th grade class is in the lead!
Click here: https://bit.ly/3SJiSTD to get signed up for PTO.
The first PTO meeting will be held on Monday, September 12th at 7:00 pm in the Maple library. A zoom link to the meeting will also be shared. Everyone is welcome! The PTO fundraiser is coming the first week of October and we are very excited to work with the community on raising funds for our school.
Fall picture day is Thursday, September 15th. Order forms will be coming home soon. Our first activities with our Maple GROWS (Growth Through Relationships, Outreach, Wellness, & Service) Leadership activities and school assembly will be held on Friday, September 30th.
Maple Elementary is hosting a book study for parents/guardians during the 2022-2023 school year using the book Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline: The 7 Basic Skills for Turning Conflict into Cooperation by Becky Bailey. The principles and practices taught in the book are the Conscious Discipline strategies that Maple staff is studying and implementing. Meetings will be held one time per month from October to March for 1 hour. Meetings coincide with our Maple PTO meetings, so we invite you to stay for the PTO meeting beginning at 7 PM.
Sign up to participate below by Monday, September 12, and a book will be purchased for you and sent home with your child.
Meeting 1: Monday, October 3rd from 6-7 PM in the Maple Elementary Library
- Chapter 1: From Willful to Willing
Meeting 2: Monday, November 7th from 6-7 PM in the Maple Elementary Library
- Chapter 2: The 7 Powers for Self-Control
- Chapter 3: The 7 Basic Discipline Skills
Meeting 3: Monday, December 5 from 6-7 PM in the Maple Elementary Library
- Chapter 4: Assertiveness: Saying No and Being Heard
- Chapter 5: Choices-Building Self Esteem and Willpower
Meeting 4: Monday, January 9th from 6-7 PM in the Maple Elementary Library
- Chapter 6: Encouragement-Honoring Your Children So They Can Honor You
- Chapter 7: Positive Intent-Turning Resistance Into Cooperation
Meeting 5: Monday, February 6th from 6-7 PM in the Maple Elementary Library
- Chapter 8: Empathy-Handling the Fussing and the Fits
- Chapter 9: Consequences-Helping Children Learn From Their Mistakes
Meeting 6: Monday, March 6th from 6-7 PM in the Maple Elementary Library
- Chapter 10: Why Children Do What They Do-The Development of Misbehavior
- Chapter 11: Loving Guidance in Action: Solving the Top Discipline Problems
- Chapter 12: The Loving Guidance Program: Change Your Life in 7 Weeks
We look forward to partnering with you and your students this school year.
Dr. Rena Hawkins, Principal, hawkinsr@smithville.k12.mo.us
Mrs. Ashley Doll, Assistant Principal, dolla@smithville.k12.mo.us
Important Upcoming Dates
Sept. 5: Labor Day, No School
Sept. 7: Late Start Wednesday, School begins at 9:05 AM, No EC Classes
Sept. 8: Parent Information Evening at 6-7 PM at Maple Elementary (Session 1-6:00-6:25 PM/Session 2-6:30-6:55 PM)
Sept. 9: Fight Like a Princess Day! Wear gold and bring a donation for Children’s Mercy.
Sept. 12: Maple PTO meeting at 7 PM
Sept. 14: Late Start Wednesday, School begins at 9:05 AM, No EC Classes
Sept. 15: Reed Fall Picture Day
Sept. 19-23: Celebrate You Matter! Week
Sept. 20: Watch DOG Kick-off Night at 6:00-7:00 PM at Maple Elementary
Sept. 21: Late Start Wednesday, School begins at 9:05 AM, No EC Classes
Sept. 28: Late Start Wednesday, School begins at 9:05 AM, No EC Classes
Sept. 30: MES Assembly & K-6 Maple GROWS Leaders Activity
Sept. 30: Homecoming-Early Dismissal at 1:15 PM
Oct. 3: Teachers’ Meetings (No School)
Oct. 3: Maple PTO meeting at 7 PM
Oct. 4: National Custodian Appreciation Day
Oct. 5: Late Start Wednesday, School begins at 9:05 AM, No EC Classes
News from the Counseling Office-Mrs. Hough
We are starting the school year with a focus on careers! The American School Counseling Association (ASCA) and DESE itemize career exploration as part of the school counselor’s role throughout a student’s educational journey. Students will be exploring their interests, researching new things, and getting to know themselves as a lifelong learner. This will help establish a student's "why" and ignite their passion for the school year.
To end our career study we will be celebrating with a school wide career day on Oct. 21, 2022. Each grade level will be taking a 1/2 day field trip to a business within the Kansas City area. Students will be taking a short tour and learning about different occupations. More information will follow in the next month giving specific details for each grade level. This will be a fun and interactive way to begin the school year! I look forward to sharing more in the weeks to come.
Technology and Innovation News with Mrs. Freeman
What a great first week of school! Students have been working really hard on team building, getting to know one another and learning the expectations of the Innovation Lab. In the coming weeks, we will work on having a growth mindset, teamwork, listening and empathy skills. These lessons will serve them well not only in the Innovation Lab but also in life!
Early Elementary students completed icebreaker Lego challenges.
Third Grade students played a digital version of Find Someone Who.
Sixth grade students worked as a team to construct the tallest tower they could out of their shoes.
Supplies for the Innovation Lab
We use all kinds of supplies in the Innovation Lab. Please see this flyer for our most used items. If you have items around your house that you would like to send, I have a collection bin outside my room, students can drop it off on their way into school. Thanks for supporting our learning!
You can see more by following our journey on twitter: @sara_freeman, instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mes_tech_and_innovation_lab , facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MESTechandInnovationLab
Maple Library Happenings with Mrs. Cline
Maple Library is up and running! We have several programs that kids are able to participate in this year! We are encouraging students to check out each week, so we ask families to help remind your students to return books each week so they can find new books to enjoy. We are also celebrating each book that is completed! Every time a student finishes a book- whether it be from Maple Library, their home or classroom libraries, or Midcontinent- they have the chance to fill out a star with their initials and book title and add it to our hallway bulletin board. After just a week in school, we already have so many students who have finished books! That is so exciting!
PreK and Kindergarten will read the Building Block nominees and have a chance to vote on their favorites this fall.
1st - 3rd graders will read the Show Me Nominees this year and have a chance to vote on their favorite. We will read these together in class.
3rd and 4th graders also have a new award category to read and vote on this year. The Great Kids Can Read nominees are selected by the Kansas City School Librarians Association and are a mix of biographies, chapter books, and picture books. We will read some of these in class and students will be responsible for reading the chapter books on their own to qualify for voting.
4th -6th graders will again have the Mark Twain nominees to read and vote upon. They must read 4 to vote, read 7 to qualify for a field trip in March, and read 10 of the 12 to qualify to be Totally Twain. Those students can also earn a chance at winning a Kindle Fire in May.
6th graders also have the Trumans that they can read and vote upon too. The same conditions set in the Twains count for all of our award nominees.
4th -6th graders will have the opportunity to go to a Literature Festival in Warrensburg, Missouri in March by qualifying with their GKCR, Twain and Truman reading. A special field trip will be arranged for 3rd graders who read and qualify as well. More on both of these trips will be shared very soon!
We encourage all families to set time aside to read and talk about great books!
Music with Mr. Kroeger
This is Mr. Kroeger your new music teacher! In your newsletters this year you can expect to hear about all kinds of unique musical opportunities being offered to your student.
We will be continuing our Maple Marvels choir this fall and will kick off with a welcome back barbeque on September 19th. At this event you will have an opportunity to learn about our performances and rehearsal schedule. 4th-6th grade students have been given a flyer to take home with information. There will be a QR code sent out to RSVP as well. One exciting event will be a performance with our choir singing the national anthem at a KC Mavericks game this winter!
You will also see a flyer next week with the dates for your child's grade level specific music performances or exhibitions. Each grade level will have a performance event this school year.
It has been my absolute pleasure to meet your students in these first few weeks, I'm looking forward to an exciting year full of music!
Art News with Mrs. Haddock
One week into the new school year, and we are already creating Art!
Kindergarten and First Grade drew a picture to save until the end of the year. These are really fun to look at and realize how much they have grown as an artist.
Second and Third Grade have started with patterns. Next we will add painting.
Fourth Grade students practiced choosing their own drawing materials. They used these art materials to create value. Some materials were easier to create lighter and darker shades than others. They had to experiment to discover what they preferred.
Fifth Grade students are adjusting to their new Encore schedule. Mrs. Greenfield is the first class to spend a trimester in Art. They come to Art Days 1, 2, and 3. “They get a break” as I say on Day 4 for PE, and Day 5 for Library. We start drawings with One Point Perspective this week.
Sixth Grade 3D class is moving! They had to complete tasks to earn the “Key” to unlock “The Game”. If you have an art student in the first quarter, take a look at their Google Classroom. It’s definitely still a work in progress for me, but I’m really excited to offer so many choices in Art. Each project can earn a badge with quality work. After they earn 3 badges, the next level is unlocked and they have even more art choices. I gave out my first badge this week, and it looks like I will be giving out more soon. They have mostly been choosing Clay building techniques and Soft Sculptures where they stitch into felt. I can’t wait to see what they continue to choose.
PE with Coach Anderson
Maple Elementary School
Email: hawkinsr@smithville.k12.mo.us
Website: https://www.smithvilleschooldistrict.net/Domain/11
Location: 600 Maple Avenue, Smithville, MO, USA
Phone: (816) 532-0589
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MapleWarriors/
Twitter: @MapleWarriors