Horace Mann Happenings
Message from the Principal
Hello Parents,
I hope everyone had a great spring break with the children. We are excited to have them back at school and we are ready to finish the final stretch of this school year strong!
Looking ahead to next year, we have some exciting improvements headed our way.
- We plan to expand our co-teaching practices by teaming up two master teachers in our Kindergarten and 1st/2nd grade classrooms. These teachers will work together in the same classroom to model co-teaching strategies for our practicum students and collaborate to enhance the learning opportunities for our Horace Mann children. Our new teams will consist of Mrs. Farlow and Mr. O'Neal together in Kindergarten while Mrs. Haughey and Mrs. Vaught team up in 1st/2nd grade. We look forward to our students gaining the benefit of two master level teachers collaborating in the same room to enhance these early childhood classrooms.
- Improved programming is coming to Bearcat Club. Thanks to collaborative efforts with Ms. Gina McNeese and Dr. Sue Myllkangas, our children will benefit from the addition of recreation practicum students to plan and lead our after-school program. The focus of this program enhancement is to lead children in learning about healthy lifestyles and fun movement activities. This not only enhances the children's learning but also the learning of our college students. Additionally, we plan to use this opportunity to conduct research on healthy activities implemented in the program.
- Thanks to a grant from NWMSU, our students in Horace Mann, the Leet Center, and the School of Education will benefit from a newly designed interactive learning space. This new space will be available to students of all ages to experiment with nature, technology, drama, and other creative endeavors. We hope to reveal our new space to families in the fall.
- Last, you may have already noticed some improvements to our main entry and more are on the way. Thanks again to NWMSU for another grant awarded to enhance Horace Mann by giving our entryway a facelift. So far new doors, paint, and signage are making our entry more welcoming. We will be adding some additional signage and student photos soon.
- You also may have noticed that our new handicap accessible entrance is complete. A camera and doorbell system add an additional safety element to this improvement.
- Our playground has cameras now. New cameras were installed this year along with a new monitor at the front desk allowing us to view the children while they are on the playground. This added safety feature allows us to monitor who is on the playground and provides some additional security after hours.
Don't forget, we have the Stem-a-thon coming up on April 18th. We appreciate the support of our families who sent in addresses to help us with this event. This is our biggest fundraiser and the easiest we have found to keep our children from having to sell door to door. If you still need to send in your addresses, please do so as soon as possible. You can send them to the classroom teacher, hand them in at the office, or email them to me at lmking@nwmissouri.edu. We appreciate the support!
Have a great day!
Mrs. King
Upcoming Calendar Dates
- April 11 - Taco Johns Fundraiser Night
- April 12 - HyVee Kid's Fit for 3rd/4th grades
- April 18 - STEM-a-thon 8:20-2:00
- April 22 - No School/No Bearcat Club
- April 30 - Spring Music Program 7:00 PM
- May 9 - Art Show
- May 24 - Last Day of School, Awards, and 6th grade graduation
- June 10-July 3 - Summer School (more information coming next week)
Summer School Registration
Maryville Young Players Registration
Maryville Parks and Recreation Activity Calendar
STEM Education at Horace Mann
What is STEM?
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. STEM learning is a philosophy of education that embraces teaching skills and subjects in a way that resembles real life. Instead of teaching math as separate from science, they can be taught together in a way that shows how the knowledge from those two fields pair up and support each other.
The key component of STEM is inquiry-based learning and integrating subjects. Children learn to work and solve problems through hands-on exploration and investigation. With STEM we are teaching skills the way they will be used in the workforce, and the real world. Rarely does a job require only one skill, like math alone. Picture an architect, they use science, math, engineering, and technology to do their jobs. The subjects do not work on their own. Instead, they are woven together in practical and seamless ways allowing the architect to design complex buildings.
What is STEM-a-thon?
Horace Mann is gearing up for their annual STEM-a-thon on April 18. This event is a fundraiser and a celebration of STEM learning at Horace Mann. Horace Mann is a tuition assisted school which means tuition assists but does not cover all operating expenses. Funds raised through the STEM-a-thon allow us to provide STEM materials and experiences for our classrooms.
How can I support the STEM-a-thon?
Before the day of the event, each family provides 5-10 addresses of family and friends to obtain pledges and donations in support of STEM-a-thon. Families who participated last year will be asked to resubmit their addresses to ensure the contact information is accurate and up to date. We also request families add 3-5 additional addresses to help us grow our efforts. The STEM-a-thon is a great way to avoid selling things door-to-door and takes the burden of fundraising off the families.
If you have any questions, please reach out and talk to Mrs. King.
About Horace Mann Laboratory School
Email: lmking@nwmissouri.edu
Website: https://www.nwmissouri.edu/horacemann/
Location: 800 University Drive, Maryville, MO, USA
Phone: 660-562-1233
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoraceMannLaboratorySchool/