Lansing Intermediate Roar
Volume 2, Edition 8, 04-02-2024
Principal's Message - Mr. Altieri
It’s hard for me to believe April is already here! It has been a fast year and there are only thirty-three more days of school left (as I am typing this). We are going to finish the year strong and dedicate time to planning to make sure next year kicks off as successfully, and smoothly, as possible.
State testing starts tomorrow and students are prepared to give their best efforts over the next two weeks. We know how hard staff have worked this year to help students learn and have fun at LIS, and we are looking forward to seeing our spring data once testing is wrapped up.
We will finish up our PRIDE assemblies this year with one dedicated to students (and staff) who have shown excellence throughout the school year. It will be great to recognize them and celebrate all the successes we have had this year at Lansing Intermediate!
Our Glow Dance is scheduled for May 10th. If you would like to help out, please use this link to volunteer in areas we need support. A printable order form is available at the bottom of the newsletter.
In addition, current Fourth Grade students will have an opportunity to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at a NASCAR race this fall (click here to register). The cost is $40 per person (tickets are required for students) and transportation must be provided by the parent/guardian. Please contact LIS or our ticket rep, Nick Darnoi, for more information. Ticket availability is limited, so get your order in promptly if interested.
Upcoming Events:
4/1 - No School
4/3 - 4/5 - State Testing
4/9 - 4/11 - State Testing
4/17 - 4th grade field trip to the Coterie Theater 4/25 - PRIDE Assembly - Excellence
4/29 - 4th grade roller skate field trip
4/30 - 5th grade roller skate field trip
Front Office Dispatch
Ride Changes: We will not send students home a different way than normal without hearing from parents/guardians BEFORE 2:45 p.m.
Attendance: If your student is going to be absent, please notify the office before 9am on the day of the absence. Office staff arrive at 730am, but the building opens at 8am. Absences can be reported by calling 913-297-0990 or by emailing lisattendance@usd469.net.
If your student will not be retuning to USD 469 for school year 2024-2025, please fill out this form:
https://businessofficeadmin.plumsail.io/f7d39418-3089-49eb-ba87-f718fdebd829
Fees: Please check your Skyward account and pay fees that are due. If you feel you may qualify for free/reduced and have not already applied, please do that. You can find the application on our website:
You can also come into our office and fill one out in person. If you have any questions please contact Jennifer Grant, bookkeeper at 913-297-0990, option 3.
Nurse News
Happy Spring!
Flowers are budding and trees are blooming = seasonal allergies.
Signs and symptoms of seasonal allergies include sneezing, congestion, watery/itchy eyes & runny nose.
Tips to nip your child's seasonal allergies in the bud:
If your child has severe allergies, encourage your child to stay indoors on high pollen count days.
Shower/Bathe and wash hair each night to keep pollen off of bedding.
Wash hands & face to rinse the pollen off skin after being outside.
Close windows and use the A/C in your home & car to help remove allergens from the air.
Leave shoes at the door so your family doesn't track allergens through your home.
When your child comes indoors, have them remove their clothing to wash, removing allergens.
If your child has a history of seasonal allergies, start medications before symptoms start.
It's much easier to prevent allergy symptoms than to relieve them once they've appeared.
Your Doctor may recommend nonprescription, allergy medications to ease & manage allergy symptoms:
Oral antihistamines
Decongestants
Corticosteroid nasal sprays
Better Health, Better Learning!
Nurse Chris
Counselor's Corner
Hello from Mrs. Farrar!
We are down to our last lesson for our Child Protection Unit, which will take place after state testing. The 5th grade tour of the middle school has been scheduled for May 9th. More details will follow as we get closer. We have also been reviewing appropriate behavior for recess and conflict resolution skills (Kelso’s Choices). Ask your child about Kelso’s Choices and see if they can share them with you!
Kindness Club identified recess as a place they felt they could help make our school a kinder place. They have provided extra recess equipment would help reduce conflict, and they even put some of Kelso’s Choices on the equipment as a reminder. Kindness Club is now planning their Earth Day clean up, which will take place next month after all testing is complete. Our next meetings are Monday April 8th for 5th grade and Tuesday April 9th for 4th grade.
New email notifications will be sent out through Skyward for students that visit with me, similar to the notifications that you receive that your child has visited the school nurse. Most of the visits I have with students are related to peer conflicts and big emotions students experience at school. As always, if there is a concern I have, I will reach out by email or phone. If you receive a notification, feel free to ask your child about the visit and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Janet Farrar, LMSW
Social worker/counselor at LIS
Fourth Grade - Laurie Holden
We are ready for state assessments! If this is not your first year on the board, you have already heard this from me. These tests both mean everything and nothing. Yes, they are incredibly important and it is a critical skill to have high stakes activities for kids to participate in, but please remember that they are truly a snapshot of that kid that day. They in no way measure everything that has happened in our classrooms this year. We do take them extremely seriously, review their previous scores, set goals, and add the data to the list of things we analyze about our students.
We do everything in our power to make the testing process fun and stress free. We get great support from our specials teachers who on testing days incorporate physical activity into their lessons.
Social Studies State Assessment - we have the unique opportunity to have our grade level participate in a project based assessment for social studies. We created our project around our most important social studies standard for 4th grade which is the regions of the United States. They will become travel agents and choose a region to send a family to for a vacation. They have to justify their decision and create an itinerary with locations to visit in that region. They will create a video advertisement for the final part of the project.
What next? This year because state assessments are so early, it is important to plan for the last month at school. Our team will focus on project based learning units. Each teacher will select projects that their classes need more practice, so we all might not be doing the exact same thing which is unusual for our team. Our last field trip of the year will be to our Capital in Topeka on April 17th.
Math - We did it! After we re-planned because of the early testing dates, we finished ALL our chapters in Go Math! that we need to cover. We will have one more week of spiral review the week that we take the Reading/ELA test.
ELA:
Writing - So thankful for iXL which has made it very easy to spiral review all the skills taught. There is an amazing feature called group jam, where we can teach a skill and everyone can answer on their own anonymously but the teacher and the class can see how many people are answering correctly. Even though this is NOT a game, they sure think it is and all are actively engaged. They love it and it gives us real time data.
Reading - We have been focusing on using the UNRAAVEL strategy for reading comprehension. It is a mnemonic we used to teach reading comprehension.
U- underline the title
N- now guess what the text will be about
R- run through and number the paragraph
A- are you reading the questions BEFORE the text! such a critical skill! A-are the important words circled
V- venture through the text
E- Eliminate incorrect answers
L- Let the questions be answered
Social Studies/Science - All our regions have been taught. We are currently in an Energy Unit in Science. One of the kids favorite classroom STEM activities is creating roller coasters with enough potential energy to get a marble to the end of the roller coaster. They only have pipe insulation tubes, tape, and marbles to work with. Their rollercoaster must have 2 loops and another hill besides the starting hill. Pictures are attached of this STEM.
SEL & BIST - We have finished all our Second Step lessons.
Fifth Grade - Sara Martin
Fifth grade is gearing up for State Assessments that start with reading next week. Reading review includes parts of speech and text structure. Students have had the opportunity to take practice KITE tests. This allows the students to become familiar with the test format and tools available during the testing.
Reading - Along with test review, students have been discussing poetry. Classes have looked at different types of poetry and the parts that make up a poem.
Math - Math testing will be the following week and students have been doing review on concepts from math – conversions, fractions, and volume. Working in smaller groups has allowed teachers to focus on the needs of individual students. To work with measurement, some classes completed a paper airplane distance measuring activity.
Science - Before spring break, Mrs. Eaton’s class used Oreo Cookies to create the moon phases. Through Mystery Science, classes have also been discussing gravity, star brightness and habitable planets, and the solar system. Students will also complete a mission plan acting as a plant pro and water wizard to explore what planets have to offer.
Social Studies - Some classes have started learning about the colonial times. Students have looked at what life was like as a colonial child and different jobs. Several classes have already made butter like the kids did back then. Colonial games have been played to further explore the times.
Science – Classes will be working on Spaceship Earth through Mystery Science. In lesson one students became the earth and showed rotations around the sun to discuss day and nighttime. Lesson two provided the opportunity for students to make their own shadow clock from a paper plate, toothpick, and glued on handout.
STEM - Suzanne Phillips and Ingrid Phillips
Our fourth and fifth graders have been learning about Structure and Function of Organism. They have gone through the engineering design process to design a device to aid an animal that has been injured. Our 4th and 5th graders are working in teams to create their devices this week and will present them in the following week after the solar eclipse.
Art - Dawn Blankartz and Libby Stevenson
Art students have begun titling their art pieces for the district art show. We created Dale Chihuly inspired sculptures for an art show installation. We've also done an art history tour (why humans made/make art and the main highlights in history), discussed our favorite parts of art history, and created non-objective pieces inspired by Kandinsky, Picasso, or Seurat. Now we are creating Egyptian sarcophagus drawings. Some students explored calligraphy and typography design.
PE - Chris Fine and Lee Matzedor
Our Jump Rope For Heart activities began March 1. We are accepting donations for the American Heart Association and practicing our jump rope skills. Between both buildings we have had 49 kids register for the fundraiser and 25 students have collected a total of $3456. We will continue with Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops for Heart through the Month of March. In April, we will begin our basketball unit. Our annual field trip to Skate City will be at the end of the month.
Field Days will be held at LIS Football Field May 6, 7, and 8. We are blessed to have fantastic kids and parents at LIS!
Music - Ryan Rothmeyer and Chris Goodlin
4th graders are working recorder fundamentals. 5th graders are working on guitar fundamentals. We are also excited to be adding a new member to our music team next fall. Stay tuned for more details next month!
Library Log - Tina Silva
This week our fifth graders along with LES first graders read a book about an upside-down garden. Afterwards, they created a Spring mural which we will be sending to LES and the first graders will send their mural to LIS. Both murals will be displayed in each other school's library.
This is one project Mrs. Kelly and I do to help make connections with our schools and our students. Students seemed to like the idea of sharing "Spring" with others.
Staff Spotlight - Patti Boe-Cackler
Mrs. Boe-Cackler works at LIS supporting students in our gifted program - challenging them to continue to grow as learners and critical thinkers. She has a positive attitude and is always willing to help out students and staff whenever needed - especially at school events! We are grateful for her passion and dedication to the students at Lansing Intermediate!
Lion Pride Pickup Patrol
LIS has implemented many new procedures allowing students to participate in the upkeep of their school and provide incentives for students to do well in and out of the classroom. In February, teachers began nominating students in their classrooms who demonstrate responsibility for our weekly pickup patrol. These students, along with Mr. Altieri and Mrs. Settles, walk the school grounds and help pick up trash. It is a great way to keep our school clean, enjoy a sunny day with friends, and have a role in maintaining our school. In addition, students receive a certificate for free ice cream and the opportunity to hold Mufasa, our school mascot.
Mufasa Leadership Awards
In April, we will have our final PRIDE assembly of the year. It will focus on students (and staff!) displaying excellence in their work at LIS. Students are nominated by staff members and are recognized in front of their grade level peers.
Students continue to be recognized for their success both in and out of the classroom. In March, our four Mufasa Leadership Awards nominees were Lincoln Brouillette from Mrs. Palikij’s class, Lucy Metzger (Miss. Wickingson), Eva Folgert (Miss Bosley), and Samantha Quintana (Mrs. Nowak). Additional MLA awards will be submitted during April and May and will be included in future of our Board of Education reports.
Students receive the prestigious Mufasa Leadership Award for showing exemplary leadership. They are nominated by LIS staff during the school year. Students who receive a MLA get to call home with the grrr-eat news, receive a customized certificate, their recognition on the LIS website and Facebook page, and an opportunity to hold Mufasa, our pet snake and impromptu mascot.
Family Engagement Survey
Standards-Based Grading
Morning Student Drop-off Procedures
LIS Parents,
We want to ensure our students arrive at school safely. Please help us by reviewing our car drop off procedures.
Do not back up traffic by turning left from Ida. Cars have been swerving around backed up traffic and it is dangerous for everyone involved.
If you plan to sit in the car with your child, and not immediately drop off, pull forward to the end of the cones to prevent traffic backing up to Ida.
Circle around the parking lot back to Ida after dropping off.
Be patient. Saving thirty seconds of time is not worth endangering our students.
Reach out to school staff if there are issues you see that need to be addressed. We are always looking to make drop off more efficient and streamlined.
Cell Phone Policy
If you need to get a message to your child, please contact the office and we can make sure your message is passed along to them. Students caught using their phone will receive a warning the first time. Future violations may result in a discipline referral for inappropriate use of technology.
Thank you for doing your part to help foster a strong learning environment at LIS!
High School Sports Attendance Policy
We're excited for the community to come out and support our band, cheerleaders, and athletes. We have a few reminders for Lansing High School events:
- Student performances are the focus of the event. No one should be on the practice football field, soccer fields, or other areas away from the stadium
- All elementary, intermediate, and middle school aged students attending this season's high school home sporting events and activities must have a parent or guardian with them for the entirety of the event.
- The middle school cheering section is on the south side of the stadium near the concession stand
- Students cannot enter the stadium from the tailgate area
- Please do not bring balls, frisbees, or other items to the game
- Spectators who are disruptive will be asked to leave.
Thank you, and we look forward to a fantastic year!
https://usd469.socs.net/vnews/display.v/ART/6310fd6b46368?in_archive=1
PTA News and Links:
Yearbooks are on sale now! You can purchase in school using the attached form or online at https://yearbookforever.com/schools/lansing_intermediate_school_buy_yearbook_324291/ymDcqPKXUimNFmUPnbQ0Afvp. Our K-5 yearbook costs $20 until May 2. The price will increase to $25 on May 3.
Did you know that you can now support Lansing PTA K-5 while you shop at Dillons? Navigate to Community Rewards and select "Lansing PTA" as your organization of choice and you can earn money for us when you use your loyalty card. https://www.dillons.com/i/community/community-rewards
Papa John's Fundraiser is April 10. Use promo code KSL003 to support Lansing PTA K-5
Next K-5 PTA Meeting = Thursday, April 18 @ LES Library (Doors open at 6:00 for social time; Meeting begins at 6:30; Free child supervision in the library provided by LHS KAYS)
Email : LansingPTA.K5@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lansing469pta/
View our webpage: https://lansingpta.blogspot.com/
Lansing Intermediate School
Website: https://www.usd469.net/vnews/display.v/SEC/Lansing%20Intermediate%20School%20%28Grades%204-5%29
Location: 509 Ida Street, Lansing, KS, USA
Phone: (913) 297-0990
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisusd469