PANTHER PRESS
3/1/2019 Edition
Knoxville CSD Make-Up Days
In case you missed it: Here is our plan for make-up days as of 2.26.2019. All calendars have been updated on our website to reflect the schedule changes:
- Academic Calendar (one page)
- District Calendar (choose from multiple format options; view in web browser or via the Google Calendar mobile app)
If you have any questions, please contact Lisa @ the district office at 641-842-6551 opt. 1 or lisa.willis@kcsd.k12.ia.us.
Social Media Awareness: Momo Challenge
March 1, 2019
Dear Families:
This week, word of a so-called “Momo Challenge” has spread on social media. While it is unclear whether this challenge poses any sort of threat to students’ safety, we do know that children are talking about it. We wanted to share with you what we know.
The Momo Challenge is reportedly a social media dare designed to convince kids to hurt themselves by infiltrating platforms like YouTube or the WhatsApp messenger with a scary-looking woman who has the body of a bird. The challenge first surfaced about a year ago and has re-emerged in recent days.
As of today, there have been no reports in the United States of any injuries. In fact, some reports indicate the challenge is a hoax. YouTube released this statement yesterday:
“We want to clear something up regarding the Momo Challenge. We’ve seen no recent evidence of videos promoting the Momo Challenge on YouTube. Videos encouraging harmful and dangerous challenges are against our policies.”
Even if this is a hoax, however, there is still the potential for harm, as it can create serious worry and concern among students and families. We believe this situation presents an important learning opportunity for all of us in the digital age. Something like this can quickly become a social media firestorm because, as a society, many of us have an instinct to share content without first checking the source. This is especially true if the content appears to warn of us some sort of danger.
As always, it is important to keep an eye on what our children are viewing on social media. We encourage you to also discuss with them the implications of sharing content like Momo with others. In addition, Common Sense Media has some great resources and tips for parents regarding the use of social media.
Sincerely,
Ryan Klein, West Elementary
John Keitges, Northstar Elementary
Brian McNeill, Knoxville Middle School
Tracy Wilkins, Knoxville High School
Sometimes Foods: Solid Fats
Students learned the importance of limiting solid fats in their diet. Liquid fats are healthier for
our hearts than solid fats. Solid fats are solid at room temperature. Our hearts pump blood
through our bodies using little tubes (like straws) called arteries and veins, which carry blood
to the rest of our body parts. We need our heart to be healthy so that our body functions well.
Ask your child if they tried to blow butter through a straw during the lesson!
Here some tips to try at home:
Use the Nutrition Facts label to choose foods with less trans and saturated fat.
Limit foods high in solid fat (bacon, sausage, butter, margarine, and lard).
Buy mostly lowfat or fat-free milk, yogurt, and cheese.
Make lean meats, chicken, and cooked dry beans the center of your meal.
Get your oils from fish, nuts, avocados, and liquid oils such as canola and olive.
Serve smaller amounts of higher fat foods.
Make lowfat snacks (fruits, veggies, whole grains) the easy choice!
Source: Iowa Department of Education https://www.choosemyplate.gov/oils USDA is an equal opportunity provider.
Flu Guide for Parents
School Library News
KHS Musical is this Weekend
Online Ticket Sales are now live for the upcoming KHS Spring Musical Little Shop of Horrors!
The cast and crew is made up of 8th thru 12th grade KCSD students and will have a live band directed by Mr. Ben McCartney.
- Tickets are $8 and every penny goes directly into helping the Drama Department continue to produce productions for KCSD!
- Performances are March 1st 7pm, March 2nd 7pm and March 3rd 2pm at Knoxville Performing Arts Center.
Please direct any questions to knoxvillehsdrama@gmail.com and please follow us for fun pictures and updates on
Twitter @KnoxHSDrama
Knoxville Spring Musical on Facebook
Knoxvillehsdrama on Instagram
KHS Guidance Information
Senior Alert - Upcoming Scholarships
List of scholarships due in March in order of deadline:
- March 1 – Advantage Iowa Scholarship - https://diversity.uiowa.edu/awards/advantage-iowa-award
- March 1 – All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship - https://www.iowacollegeaid.gov/AllIowaOpportunityScholarship
- March 1 – American Chemical Society Scholars - https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/funding-and-awards/scholarships/acsscholars.html
- March 1 – Aureon Network Services Scholarship Program - https://pages.aureon.com/acton/media/18184/scholarship
- March 1 – Ellen Mason Persina/National Press Club - https://www.press.org/about/scholarships/diversity
- March 1 – Elevate Advance Manufacturing Scholarship - https://www.elevateiowa.com/about/elevate-scholarship-program
- March 1 – Gov. Terry Branstad Iowa State Fair Scholarship - https://www.iowacollegeaid.gov/IowaStateFairScholarship
- March 1 – Grand Lodge of Iowa Scholarships - https://grandlodgeofiowa.org/grand-lodge/awards/
- March 1 – Guardian Scholars Foundation - http://www.guardianscholarsfoundation.org/
- March 1 – Hills Bank & Trust Leadership Grant - https://www.hillsbank.com/leadershipgrant
- March 1 – Iowa Arts Council Scholarship - https://iowaculture.gov/arts/opportunities/arts-recognition/iowa-scholarship-for-the-arts
- March 1 – Iowa Automobile Dealers Foundation for Education Automotive Scholarship - http://www.iada.com/FoundationForEducation.aspx
- March 1 – Iowa Farm Bureau Scholarship - https://www.iowafarmbureau.com/
- March 1 – Jeannette Ranking Women’s Scholarship - https://rankinfoundation.org/
- March 1 – Matthew Shepard Scholarship - http://www.eychanerfoundation.org/
- March 1 – Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program - http://www.nhhsp.org/
- March 1 – Print & Graphics Scholarship Foundation - https://pgsf.org/application-information-instructions/
- March 1 – The Joe Halbur Scholarship - http://www.ianpage.20m.com/JoeHalbur.html
- March 2 – Ascentra Credit Union Scholarship - https://www.ascentra.org/resources/ascentra-scholarship-competition
- March 7 – Higher Education & Ministry Scholarships - https://www.gbhem.org/loans-and-scholarships/scholarships/list-scholarships
- March 13 – Traditional Scholarship - https://www.iacommunicationsall.org/scholarships
- March 15 – AUSA’s Rock Island Arsenal Chapter Scholarship - https://www.ausa.org/chapters/rock-island-arsenal-chapter
- March 15 – FFBC Scholarship Program - https://www.ffbciowa.org/scholarships.php
- March 15 – Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Scholarship – http://www.hooverpresidentialfoundation.org/index.php
- March 15 – Horatio Alger National Career & Technical Program Scholarship - https://application.horatioalger.org/Security/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f
- March 15 – Leonard M. Perryman Communications Scholarship - http://www.umcom.org/about/leonard-m-perryman-scholarship
- March 18 – Generation Google - https://buildyourfuture.withgoogle.com/scholarships/generation-google-scholarship/#!?detail-content-tabby_activeEl=overview
- March 21 – Islamic Scholarship Fund - https://islamicscholarshipfund.org/scholarships/
- March 22 – Southwest Iowa Foundation Scholarship - https://sites.google.com/site/swiowaef/application
- March 30 – LDA-IA - http://ldaiowa.org/
- March 28 – REACH Educational Grant Program - http://programs.applyists.com/reach/
- March 28 – Work Ethic Scholarship Program - https://www.mikeroweworks.org/scholarship/
- March 30 – Iowa Hospital Scholarship - http://www.iowahospitalscholarships.org/
- March 31 – HBA Scholarship Program - http://hbaiowa.org/about-the-hba-iowa/scholarship-information/
- March 31 – LNESC - https://www.lnesc.org/
- March 31 – LULAC 10 Scholarship - http://www.lulac10.org/?page_id=5
- March 31 – Mesothelioma Alliance Scholarship - https://www.mesothelioma.com/scholarship/
- March 31 – P. Buckley Moss Society Scholarship - http://mossfoundation.org/current_scholarships.html
- March 31 – Young American Patriotic Art Contest - https://vfwauxiliary.org/scholarships/young-american-creative-patriotic-art-contest/
If you have any questions about the scholarship process, or any other part of your journey, give us a call at 877-272-4692 or email ICAN@ICANsucceed.org.
KMS Theatre Experience Variety Show
The KMS Theatre Experience performance for family, friends, and the public is next Thursday, March 7th at 7 PM in the KMS Auditorium.
We'd like the kids to see what it feels like to perform on stage with an audience so it would be great if there were lots of seats filled with an adoring crowd.
Solar Projects in 6th Grade Science
The 6th grade Science students are just starting the "Solar Car Project Activities". The past several days they have been learning how to use a multi-meter to test 1.5 volt batteries. Soon, they will be using the multimeters to record voltage produced by their solar panels - when the panels are at different angles to the sun, when there are different kinds of days like sunny, cloudy, kinda cloudy, etc. They will use this information to help decide the best way to mount the solar panels on their solar cars. Since I could only get 40 cars this year, this became a small group project. Problem solving is a major goal of this project. Since there will be cloudy days, they will need to come up with a plan to power the car using a 1.5 volt battery. The car will go by itself with no hands touching the wires, motor, batteries, car, etc. Students are enjoying this challenging project!
News from 6th Grade ELA
6th-grade language arts students have been learning how to read for information. They read a procedural text called “How to Build a Bat House” and evaluated the instructions. The purpose of the activity was to see if students could follow instructions, evaluate the steps, and create instructions. In Mrs. Willis’s advanced language arts class, students worked in groups to create their own instructions using the information from the text. They were able to design the instructions in their own way. Linked below are some examples of their instructions:
From the Northstar PBIS Team: Panther Store
At Northstar, students earn Panther tickets when they are Being Safe * Being Respectful* and *Being Responsible*. This year, students may spend those tickets at our Panther Store, open on Wednesday and Friday mornings from 7:35-8:05. Click on the image to the right to view some of the popular choices the students enjoy. Ask your child what they have purchased from the Northstar Panther store!
Eddie Eagle
On Monday, February 18th, our 4th Graders had the opportunity to have a presentation from the Knoxville Police Department about “Eddie Eagle”. Eddie Eagle is a program that focuses on gun safety and what to do if one of our students were to find a gun while they are out in the community. Students learned a very catchy tune to remember if they were to find a gun that does not belong to them while they are out in our community. If you want any more information on Eddie Eagle you can visit www.eddieeagle.com. Thank you very much to the two officers who came to all the 4th grade classrooms, Officer Keller and Officer Rowland!
American Legion Honors 5th Grade Writers
The American Legion asked our 5th grade students to write an essay in order to develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation for the United States Flag. Another objective was to help the students gain a knowledge of flag etiquette and respect for the flag. Thank you to Curt Froyen, Jack Spaur, Conrad Nelson, and Jim Brees for presenting a certificate, an American flag, and commemorative coins to each of the pictured students on February 21 in an assembly with our fifth graders.
Pictured below are the 10 flag essay finalists from our 5th grade class at Northstar Elementary.
Kindergarteners Rewarded
On Tuesday kindergarteners were rewarded for their good choices being Responsible, Respectful, and Safe by going to the Knoxville Recreation Center. They were able to choose swimming or playing in the gym with some friends from the high school. We may not have been in school every day in February, but awesome choices regarding our behavior were made while we were there!! Something tells me that these kids are responsible, respectful, and safe both in and out of school. A HUGE shout out to the Rec Center for sponsoring this event.
Happy Bear Visits West
We thank Pam and Happy Bear for helping our students at West!
West Elementary students: The only people in Knoxville who want MORE snow! :)
Notifications for School Delays & Cancellations
In order to receive notifications regarding weather cancellations and/or delays or changes to district activities, please subscribe to the GovDelivery service. Signing up is easy at: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/IAEDU3375/subscriber/new. Screenshots are pictured below of the subscription process. If you need assistance, please contact: Lisa.Willis@kcsd.k12.ia.us or 641-842-6551 opt 1.
Information and Happenings from our Community Partners
Elementary PTO
To Purchase & Customize Your Yearbook
Must be a parent or student 13 years or older.
-
Enter your school’s passcode: 1015064502971783
Regular Price: $18.00 Deadline: Apr 9
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