Happy Friday, Lil Steamer Families!
September 13, 2019
From the desk of: Principal Hoese
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - Ernest Hemingway
This week's note is short and sweet, but is a quote that I hold dear to me. There are many times where comparisons of oneself to another in some capacity (financial, fitness, relationships, social circles, material objects, etc.) distort the view of reality. I personally believe that success is the PURSUIT of fulfilling one's potential. Let us focus on being the best versions of ourselves in every walk of our life, and in turn model that behavior for our students. We want the very best for them, but we as parents and educators should hold ourselves to that same high standard. Let us teach our kiddos to be better than they were yesterday by doing the same. Everything in life is a learning experience.
SRO Leitzen's Tip of the Week!
From the Desk of: Counselor Mrs. Meumann
This week I visited 3rd and 4th grade classrooms. We talked about the meaning of respect and brainstormed examples of how we show respect to others each day. We are helpful, polite, and fair. We follow the golden rule and treat others the way we would like to be treated. Students worked with partners and practiced showing respect and being good listeners.
Grandparent's/Grandfriend's Day
Ag in 1st Grade!
learned about Illinois specialty crops and made an apple tree.
Support the Wilkens Family in the Fight Against Cancer
My name is Michelle Hinrichs’ and I am a very close friend with Austin & Ashleigh Wilkens (parents of 5th Graders Ashtin & Keegan Wilkens). About a month ago they found out Austin has Testicular Cancer. He underwent surgery a couple weeks ago to have the tumor removed, but he has a long road ahead of chemotherapy and possibly radiation (or even another surgery).
The financial strain has been difficult for them, and I have set up a Adcraft Webstore to support them, and hopefully give them some financial help in the early days. Just really band together for a fellow FES Family that is going through a hard time. In addition, a GoFundMe page has been established as well. That link can be found below.
A Shout Out to Our District!
Why Flexible Seating? The Benefits:
- Student Centered Learning
- Increase collaboration and focus
- More movement that allows students to decide where and how they will learn
- Comfortable students are engaged
2B Welcomes Maddie Hodge!
Maddie Hodge is our Community Involvement student this year. She is a senior at Fulton High School. Maddie spends about 1½ hours every other morning in our classroom. The students really like her because she’s always got a smile, and she is always willing to help out. Some of the kiddos said that she is always nice, kind and sweet.
Maddie likes coming to the classroom to see what teaching is like. She especially likes working with the kids and getting to know them. It’s also a nice break away from school!
Maddie isn’t sure yet what college she will attend when she graduates at the end of the year, but she plans to major in education. She is thinking about special education or being a lower elementary teacher.
The students in 2B give her a two thumbs up!!!
Jackie...
Stay Up-to-Date on FES Music
Penny Wars (For The Kids)
Dear FES Parents/Guardians,
In the next couple of weeks, Fulton Elementary School is going to be a part of something very
special. Dance Marathon is a student organization at the University of Iowa that provides
support for the families of children that, unfortunately, are fighting cancer every single day. We
raise money throughout the year, all leading up to what’s known as the Big Event. For 24 hours,
we stand and dance and celebrate and cry with our families. The conclusion is the reveal of our
tote board for the year, which was a whopping $2,960,404.25 all For The Kids (FTK)!
This year, We Fight Together. Battling cancer should not be left to the child or their family. It’s
up to all of us to take down this horrible disease. That why Mr. Hoese and I decided to host a
Penny War at FES to raise money FTK! From September 16 th through the 25 th , 3 teams will
compete to raise the most money. In order to make the teams fair, the teams will be the A
classrooms (KA, 1A,.. 5A), B classrooms, and C classrooms. Whichever team raises the most
money will receive a prize at the end!
71% of this money goes to the Stead Family Children’s hospital, where we fund things such a
meal passes, parking, equipment, child-care specialists, etc. It’s hard enough to watch your
child fight cancer, we want to do our best to lessen the financial burden. 14% goes to family
support for families who are out of treatment, the siblings (who are also going through a really
tough time), and Dancing in Our Hearts families, who sadly lost this fight. 3% goes to pediatric
cancer research and only 10% goes to operating costs of our organization. But, even that
money is going directly back to our families. We do not only provide financial support.
Throughout the year, we put on family events for them to get out of the hospital, have fun, and
make friends! These events take a lot of stress off our parents and allow their kids to really feel
like the superstars they are. We also visit the hospital regularly to spread smiles and play with
the kiddos. I will never forget how grateful a parent was to have us entertain her child so she
could do something as simple as take a shower.
Being a kid is hard. Being a kid with cancer is a lot harder. We want to do whatever we can to
make it a little easier. You can be a part of that. You can join the fight. I encourage you to send some money to school with your child; this is really going to be a really fun challenge! If you would like to donate more to our cause, you can go online to https://donate.dancemarathon.uiowa.edu/detail/21444. Just make sure that if you want this to
count for the Penny War, include your child’s class with your name! I’m really excited to see
what FES can do FTK!
Thank you so much,
Abby Willging (#SteamerNation alum 2018)
Junior Family Relations Member at UIOWA
A GREAT BIG STEAMER NATION THANK YOU!!!
Volunteers Give the Time of Their Lives!
Last year hundreds of books were processed and shelved, countless stories were read, numerous math facts were practiced, and many young lives were touched by the kindness and caring of those involved in the Fulton Elementary School adult volunteer program.
We are looking for more adults of all ages who would like to spend 1-5 hours a week working in the library and/or directly with students. You might find yourself working with math flashcards, listening to a child read, reading stories, practicing spelling words, processing or shelving books, or assembling awards and materials for students. We will match your interests, talents, and time with teacher’s and student’s needs.
If you are interested, please contact Stacy Germann at Fulton Elementary School (815-589-2911) or at sgermann@riverbendschools.net by Sept. 16th. A kick-off volunteer breakfast will be held in the school library at 8:30 on Wednesday, September 18.
We will talk about the volunteer program and the responsibilities and rewards of being a volunteer. Remember…If you give a child your time, you give a child a chance! Come join us and give the time of YOUR life!
Student Behavior at Home High School Football Games
Updated September 6, 2019:
While we are excited that our elementary and middle school students enjoy coming to home football games to support the Steamers it is important that we have an understanding of the rules and expectation for student behavior. Our priority is to keep our students safe and to allow everyone to enjoy the football game.
For the home games, there will be two additional sets of bleachers on the north end of the field. These bleachers will be marked for each set of students. K-8 students should not be in the HS student section.
Students should not be in the HS building other than in the front commons by the concessions. Students caught in the building will be asked to sit with their parents or leave the premises. These students may not be allowed to return to any home football games this season.
K-5 students must be accompanied by a parent or adult at the games or in the elementary student bleachers. 6-8 students should also be in their set of bleachers on the north end of the
field that are designated for the middle school students. Students are to remain in the bleachers and behave appropriately. Students are there to watch the game. If a student misbehaves, he/she will be asked to go and sit with their parent or accompanying adult. If a student continues to misbehave after this, both the student and the parent or adult will be requested to leave.
No student is to bring any sort of sporting equipment to the game. Again, the expectation is that you are there to watch the game. To ensure that everyone is safe and able to watch the game, students will not be allowed to play any type of game. These games are distracting and could jeopardize student safety.
Finally, students will not be allowed to leave the game once they have entered the gate. Students that leave the game will be required to pay to reenter the facilities. Again, we thank you for your cooperation with helping our students understand these rules and expectations. We are very proud of our Steamers and like to provide and safe and respectful environment for everyone to enjoy the game.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Board of Education Meeting
Friday, Sep 13, 2019, 06:30 PM
Fulton High School, 12th Street, Fulton, IL, USA
Board of Education Meeting Agenda
Call to Order School Board meeting procedure
II. Roll Call School Board meeting procedure
III. Additions to Agenda and Approval of Agenda School Board meeting procedure
IV. Public Comment School Board meeting procedure
A. RBEA Communication with River Bend Education Association
B. General Public Comment Opportunity for Public Comment
V. Information and Discussion Items
A. Principal Reports and Dialogue Summary of monthly activities and opportunity for Board Member and Principal conversation
B. Board Member Communications
1. IASB Northwest Division Dinner Meeting on October 30, 2018, in Winnebago Information item and determine who will be attending
2. Annual Safety Meeting report Review of the August 29, 2019, meeting
3. River Bend Educational Foundation Meeting report Review of the September 12, 2019, meeting
4. Building and Grounds Committee meeting report Review of the September 19, 2019, meeting
5. Financial Committee meeting report Review of the September 16, 2019, meeting
C. Superintendent’s Report
1. Enrollment report Update on current enrollment
2. CTS Construction project wrap up Adam and Jeff, project managers from CTS will be on hand to provide an over view of the project as it concluding
3. Strategic Plan meeting Dates in early February will be discussed as we look to schedule for a 2020-2025 plan.
4. ISBE Data verification requirement and evidenced based funding spending plan ISBE requires the district to provide a plan how evidence based funding (EBF) will be used. ISBE also requires superintendents to validate district data.
VI. Action Items
A. Consent Agenda: Approve August 12, 2019 Regular Meeting Minutes; August Treasurer’s Report; and September Bills Recommended for Payment subject to audit School Board meeting procedure and mandated Roll Call Votes for Finances
B. Approve FY 2020 Budget Seeking approval of the FY 20 proposed budget. The budget was presented in August and includes minor changes
C. Approve Dual Credit cost reduction The following plan is a way to share revenue from Sauk with students/families to reduce cost of dual credit classes taught by FHS staff. I recommend reducing tuition of Sauk Courses taught by Fulton High School staff incrementally based on the number of students taking the course and the Sauk classification of students as full, reduced or free. As payment from Sauk is received, tuition reductions will be applied and shared with students/parents
D. Approve the District pay the Freshman Coaching Stipends -Over 7 years the River Bend Athletic Boosters have covered the cost of the freshman coaching stipends. The Boosters requested to take over the payments when the district considered dropping the freshman coaching positions when funding was significantly decreased by the state. The state has been more consistent with funding school operations, this allows the district to pay the stipends in lieu of the boosters. This may be a year to year payment and the district may need to ask the RB athletic boosters to reconsider the payments in the future.
E. Approve increase in building and grounds personnel by two hours With the increase in heating/cooling units, technology and building upkeep it is necessary to add additional help for the building and grounds manager. I recommend adding two hours for the current middle school night cleaner, Jason Foster, so that he can assist the building and grounds director.
F. Approve first reading of select policy updates The Policy Committee recommends approval of the first reading
G. Approve second reading of revision to board policy 8:20 Community Use of School Facilities Recommendation to approve revisions and adopt as policy
H. Approve posting on the webpage the 2019-20 projected administrative compensation report and the Administrator and Teacher Salary & Benefit Report for school year 2019 Annual compliance action
I. Approve Activity Fund Surety Bonds for designated employees Annual compliance action
J. Approve new activity account for the Class of 2023 New activity accounts require board approval
K. Approve bid for snow removal for the 2019-20 school year Recommendation to approve bid for snow removal
L. Accept Gifts to the District Accept gift from the Athletic Boosters in the amount of $1,998 for Huddle Sideline, $3,500
for Cheer mats, and $13,500 for Freshmen coaches. Accept gift from the Friends for Charity in the amount of $2,000
for milk. Accept gift from 1 st Reformed Church in the amount of $1460.25 for Fulton Elementary and $796.50 for Pre-K
M. Personnel items included on separate personnel report
VII. Closed session for the purpose(s) of discussing matters concerning the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body and Pending Litigation
VIII. Action following and related to closed session including possible personnel items
IX. Adjourn (Next Regular Board of Education Meeting Monday, October 21, 2019, at 6:30 P.M. at the River Bend District Office)
Volunteer Brunch
Wednesday, Sep 18, 2019, 08:00 AM
Fulton Elementary School, 7th Avenue, Fulton, IL, USA
Early Release Day
12:30 All Others Dismissal
Wednesday, Sep 18, 2019, 08:00 AM
Fulton Elementary School, 7th Avenue, Fulton, IL, USA
Progress Report Available
Thursday, Sep 19, 2019, 08:00 AM
Fulton Elementary School, 7th Avenue, Fulton, IL, USA
#SteamerNation Fridays!
Friday, Sep 20, 2019, 08:00 AM
Fulton Elementary School, 7th Avenue, Fulton, IL, USA
Fulton Elementary School
Email: jhoese@riverbendschools.net
Website: riverbendschools.org/fes
Location: 1301 7th Avenue, Fulton, IL, USA
Phone: (815)589-2911
Twitter: @FultonSteamers