East In Action
April 2024 Newsletter
East People of the Year Awards
Dear East Families, Students and Staff,
The Ankeny School District is fortunate to have hundreds of dedicated employees and volunteers. On a daily basis these individuals make an impact on our schools and the staff along with the students and parents they directly work with. In recent months, all Ankeny Schools invited members of our school and the broader community to help us publicly acknowledge the outstanding work of some of these individuals.
The Professional Educator and Volunteer of the Year Awards are offered to one adult at each school that demonstrates leadership and is respected by their peers as well as students. These individuals are creative, caring, innovative and/or volunteers on behalf of our school district.
Ankeny Schools received hundreds of nominations that were independently initiated by teachers, students and parents in a confidential process which were then anonymously scored on an independent rubric and identified across all schools.
East Volunteer of the Year
A summary of collective nominations of the Volunteer of the Year mentioned that:
This person has been a PTO member for several years and has recently taken on a lead role within the PTO. She is organized, timely, responsive, kind and student-focused. She is always interested in hearing what supports and opportunities are beneficial for students and staff and takes action when needs are identified. You will oftentimes find her working before or after school hours to set up for events that highlight and show appreciation for adults and students. She is a model representative as both an East parent and a PTO leader and is highly appreciated by the entire East community.
This person works tirelessly to promote the culture, staff and students at East. She is constantly working both behind the scenes and as a face of our organization. She is involved with organizing and planning our events and oftentimes donating her time as a volunteer at those same events! Without individuals like this person, our small organization (with a small number of volunteers) would be further challenged to provide important and meaningful opportunities for students and staff.
This person is kind and thoughtful. No matter what we are working on, she always brings an inclusive perspective to the table. She puts others first and wants to be sure everyone is welcome and feels included. This person is what I would call a silent leader. She has amazing ideas and a wonderful demeanor working with others. Her kindness and thoughtfulness offer anyone who is interested a seat at the table to share ideas.
East, and Ankeny, are both very fortunate to have this person as an advocate. This person has donated countless hours over a number of years volunteering. Her impact on Ankeny schools is immeasurable. A sincere thank you and congratulations to Mrs. Amanda Flotho for being selected as the 2023-24 East Volunteer of the year!
East Educator of the Year Award
A summary of the collective nominations of the Educator of the Year mentioned that:
This person embodies Ankeny School District's mission of helping every learner achieve a lifetime of personal success. On her own time, she attends every PTO meeting where she has proposed several opportunities for the PTO to help support and serve our students and staff. Our students love her classroom materials/resources and always look forward to coming to the special events that she puts so much effort into.
She goes above and beyond to create weekly technology tips and resources for all staff to use for the benefit of their students. She is constantly looking for ways to support her colleagues and create innovative solutions to areas that would benefit the students and staff. Her positive attitude and sense of humor are contagious. We value her dedication to East and the sustainable impact she has made on the community. With a much deserved retirement following the 23-24 school year, we are confident that the time, effort and passion that she has put into our system will have a lasting positive effect for years to come. Countless thank-yous to Mrs. Sheryl Dales for being selected as the 2023-24 Educator of Year for East Elementary!
March Hawks Nest Honorees
Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress Assessments - Next Week!
Next week East's students in grades 3-5 take the Reading, Math, and Language & Writing assessments. In addition, students in grade 5 will also take the Science assessment. The ISASP assessments are a computer-based (online) adaptive assessment. Adaptive testing is an approach to testing that adapts test content to the student’s performance on the test.
For students to have the best testing experience, it is important to get a good night’s sleep and eat a balanced breakfast in the morning. Students should have or bring to school corded headphones for the week of testing.
ISASP Schedule
Monday, April 1
Content area and testing start times:
Grade 3 Reading: 10:00 am
Grades 4 and 5 Reading: 8:00 am
Tuesday, April 2
Content area and testing start times:
Grade 3 Math: 10:00 am
Grades 4 and 5 Math: 8:00 am
Wednesday, April 3
Content area and testing start times:
Grade 3 Language & Writing: 10:00 am
Grades 4 Language & Writing: 8:00 am
Grade 5 Science: 8:00 am
Thursday, April 4
Testing start times:
Grade 5 Language & Writing: 8:00 am
Make-up tests will be given April 4-5 and during the week of April 9-12.
3rd Grade - Polk County Conservation Visit
Polk County Conservation visited East this month. 3rd grade students learned about weather topics such as: wind, tornadoes, clouds, humidity, temperature, pressure systems, lightning and thunder by rotating through hands-on learning stations.
Paraprofessional Appreciation Day - April 3rd
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
During the month of April students will learn about Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw.
Leader in Me - 2nd Grade
The 2nd graders have been "synergizing " during the month of March and earned a reward of having a baby pygmy goat visit us from Center Grove Orchard.
Ashley (the baby goat) loved all the attention from the students and even got some exercise by running with the students. We found out when we "synergize" as a class, we are all a part of a team.
Band
A 5th grade band concert will be held on Thursday, May 2nd at 6:30pm in the East Elementary gymnasium. The 5th grade band students have been working very hard learning new musical skills on their instruments. They are eager to showcase what they have learned!
Please bring your 5th grader to school by 6:15pm. Everyone may enter through the cafeteria entrance and go to the gym. Band students will meet with Mrs. Meinen in the gym. Dress-up clothes would be appropriate. Please contact Mrs. Meinen at tara.meinen@ankenyschools.org if you have any questions.
Tara Meinen
Band Director
East and Prairie Trail Elementary Schools
Media
Celebrate National Library Week April 7-13
“The theme for National Library Week 2024, “Ready, Set, Library!,” promotes the idea that in our always-online world, libraries give us a green light to something truly special: a place to connect with others, learn new skills, and focus on what matters most.”
The library at East Elementary is a place where students can explore, become inspired, and grow their leadership skills. From research to coding, students enjoy all the library offers. Teachers and students are especially excited about the new books that are arriving this spring. A big thank you to the PTO for continuing to support our students' love of reading!
Sheryl Dales
K-5 Digital Learning Teacher
National Library Workers Day - April 25th
Tuesday, April 25th is National Library Workers Day! We look forward to celebrating our very own East Media team. Thank you Mrs. Dales and Mrs. Engelstad for your handwork and dedication!
Reader's Theater
Mr. Vacek’s 4th grade class shared fractured fairy tales reader’s theater stories with their 1st grade reading buddies to celebrate their reading!
PTO NEWS
2023-2024 YEARBOOK ORDERS
It's time to order your East Elementary Yearbook. Yearbooks are now on sale through April 2nd for $15. All 5th Grade Students will be provided a copy courtesy of the PTO. Order here (Jostens)
Do you have pictures from the year to share? We're looking for additional yearbook content and would love to see your photos from field trips, PTO events or anything else at the school. Please email them to east.pto.news@gmail.com
Our next PTO meeting will be on April 9th.
SAVE THE DATE
April 13 - PTO Family Skate at 1pm Skateland Des Moines
April 26 - East Beast Fun Run
East Beast Challenge
The East Beast Challenge is coming! East PTO's annual fundraiser is less than a month away. Seven days of character building, challenges, and prizes lead up to the EBC Fun Run on Friday, April 26th.
All students receive a free East Beast shirt from our PTO and can earn a prize just for registering (no donation required). The EBC is our one-and-done budget builder, and allows PTO to support staff and students in so many ways such as:
- Helping to update our library books
- Back-to-School Bash
- Family Fun Night
- Books and Bagels
- Staff t-shirts and meals during those long conferences nights.
Congratulations to Miles from Mrs. Robertson's class whose T-shirt design won the East Beast T-shirt competition.
National Assistant Principal Week April 7th-14th
Important Dates
APRIL
April 1 - 5 - ISASP Assessments (Grades 3-5)
April 1 - Parkview School Supply online sales start for incoming 6th graders
April 8 - No School (Professional Learning Day for staff)
April 9 - PTO Meeting
April 13 - PTO Family Skate at 1pm Skateland Des Moines
April 16 - 5th Grade Art Field Trip
April 22 - Technology Fair (AELP students)
April 23 - 3rd Grade Science Center Field Trip
April 23 - 5th Grade Visit to Parkview Middle School
April 24 - Kindergarten Field Trip to Jester Park
April 25 - 2nd Grade Field Trip to Blank Park Zoo
April 25 - 5th Grade Family Info Night at Parkview Middle School
April 26 - East Beast Fun Run
April 30 - 4th Grade Field Trip Living History Farms
MAY
May 2 - 5th Grade Band Concert
May 6 - No School (Professional Learning Day for staff)
May 8 - 5th Grade Track Meet
May 9 - 4th Grade Wax Museum
May 10 - 5th Grade Capitol Field Trip
May 10 - Unified Centennial Track Meet
May 14 - PTO Meeting
May 15 - East's Field Day
May 17 - East Talent Show
May 23 - 5th Grade Picnic
May 24 - Last Day of School - 2 Hour Early Release
* Report cards sent home with students and "Clap Out" 5th graders
Resources
Free & Reduced Meal Applications
Free & Reduced Price Meal applications can be completed at any time of the school year. Life and financial situations can change quickly. Ankeny Schools and the USDA offer a parachute to help ensure your children have access to high quality school meals at potentially a reduced or free cost.
To complete an application please log onto SchoolCafe and complete the application. It only takes a few minutes. If you have questions about the free & reduced price meals program, please contact LeeAnna Vigor @ 515-965-9604 or email her at leeanna.vigor@ankenyschools.org.
East Elementary
Website: East.ankenyschools.org
Location: 710 Southeast 3rd Street, Ankeny, IA, USA
Phone: 515-965-9660