Longfellow Newsletter
Week of: February 9th-15th
First Bell-7:50 am / Tardy Bell-7:55 am
Every Student Counts, Every Moment Matters!
Message From Principal Webb
Hello families!
We were so close to having a full week. Let's cross our fingers for next week! As you know the district has made some changes to the school day. Please read the below message from Superintendent Murley regarding the changes.
One important date is Parent-Teacher Conferences on February 28th. This is now a school day and the conferences on that day will be moved to March 4th. If you signed up on the 28th, we will keep the same conference time and move that to March 4th, unless you contact the teacher or change your time on the sign-up genius website. Please feel free to contact your child's teacher or the office with any questions.
Sincerely,
Kelli Webb
Message from Supt. Murley- Weather Related Changes to the School Day and Conferences
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through the scenarios for making up our lost instructional time for the remainder of the school year. While these situations can be difficult to balance, we are striving to recover as much instructional time as possible while remaining respectful of family schedules.
As we communicated yesterday, school districts in Iowa are required by the State to implement calendars reflecting either a minimum of 180 days or 1,080 hours of instruction. The Iowa City Community School District has opted for the 1,080 hours of instruction model. While our 2018-19 school year calendar was scheduled to have 1,129 hours, the missed instructional time up to this point has caused us to fall below the minimum required hours if the calendar were to remain unchanged through the remainder of the school year.
We have evaluated our options and have come up with a solution that should be least disruptive to family schedules while still allowing for us to recapture that important instructional time with students. Below are the changes we will implement:
- Beginning on Monday, February 18, 2019 and running through the remainder of the school year, we will add 10 minutes to each school day. This will allow us to recapture 11 hours.
- Elementary schedule: 7:55 am to 3:05 pm M, T, W, F and 7:55 am to 2:05 pm on Thursdays
- Junior high and high school schedule: 8:45 am to 4:05 pm M, T, W, F and 8:45 am to 3:05 pm on Thursdays
- We will hold classes on Friday, April 26, 2019, which is currently scheduled as a ‘No School’ day. This will allow us to recapture 7.05 hours.
- We will add a half day of school to the end of the current calendar year on Friday, May 31, 2019. Elementary students will release at 10:55 am. Junior high and high school students will release at 12:00 pm. This will allow us to recapture 3.00 hours.
- In addition, to help balance the number of days per trimester, we will move the end of the second trimester from Wednesday, February 27, 2019 to Friday, March 1, 2019. This will move the ‘No School/Parent Teacher Conference’ day currently scheduled on Thursday, February 28, 2019 to Monday, March 4, 2019.
- This change will also move Kindergarten Registration from Thursday, February 28, 2019 to Monday, March 4, 2019.
While we are hopeful for the end of winter storms in our area, if the need for additional late starts, early releases, or full day cancellations does arise, we will be continually evaluating the need for any changes to this plan. We will be sure to keep families informed of any needed updates in a timely manner.
We appreciate your support and patience as we navigate through this process. If you have any questions, please contact the Educational Services Center at (319) 688-1000.
Sincerely,
Stephen Murley
Superintendent
Iowa City Community School District
Longfellow Talent Show Information
Seeking performers, emcees and stagehands.
Now is the time to consider your act and interest.
We have the sign up form ready for the Talent Show!! Here is the link or this: https://goo.gl/forms/e5QYrFSoTJzlzbHt2
Sign up will go on between now and February 6th! We will have “show your talent” days (for those who’ve signed up on link) on the 13th and 15th.
Thank you so much! We are looking forward to a fun event this year!
Questions email fanniehungerford@gmail.com
Resources from our Student Family Advocate- Amanda Mosley:
Also please check out the Parent Cafe flyer on meeting other Johnson County families.
Upcoming Events for Longhorns:
2nd grade concert- 2/22 at 8:15
Talent Show- 2/22
Parent/Teacher Conferences- Feb. 21st and March 4th
K-2 PJ Night- change to 3/1
Art Night- March 7th
3-4 Movie Night- March TBD
Open House- 4/2
Carnival- 4/13
Bike Rodeo- May TBD
Book Fair- May 2nd from 4-7 and 3rd from 3-5. This will be a Buy One Get One Free fair!
Orff Club
Longfellow Spirit Gear
Attendance Zones and Voluntary Transfers
- Attendance Zones
The Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors approved new elementary attendance areas for the 2019-20 school year. The new boundaries were approved during their November 27 board meeting. The updated maps can be found on the District website at the following link: www.IowaCitySchools.org/DistrictMaps. In addition, the District’s Attendance Area Look-Up links have been updated to reflect the approved boundary changes. The Attendance Area Look-Up links provide school information specific for your home address. The links can be found on the District website at the following link: www.IowaCitySchools.org/AttendanceAreaLookUp. Junior high and high school students may also be impacted by these changes. Please be sure to check the Attendance Area Look-Up link above to determine if changes to the elementary boundaries have affected your student.
- Voluntary Transfers
The Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve changes to the elementary voluntary transfer guidelines beginning in the 2019-20 school year. The updated voluntary transfer guidelines and form can be found at www.IowaCitySchools.org/VoluntaryTransfers.For families intending to request a voluntary transfer for the 2019-20 school year, the deadline to submit the form is March 1, 2019. Completed forms should be returned to the following address:
Iowa City Community School District
Educational Services Center
1725 N. Dodge Street
Iowa City, IA 52245
If you have any questions, please contact the Educational Services Center at (319) 688-1000.
Drop off/Pick up REMINDER:
follow us on Twitter- @LongfellowScho1
Longfellow Elementary School
Every student counts. Every moment matters.
ADDRESS: 1130 Seymour Ave., Iowa City, IA 52240
PHONE: 319-688-1135
FAX: 319-688-1136
Kelli Webb, Principal
Amanda Mosley, SFA
Stacia Nkumu, Principal Secretary
Non-Discrimination Policy:
It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status in its educational programs, activities, or employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact the Director of Equity, 1725 N. Dodge St., Iowa City, IA 52245, (319) 688-1000.