Our Shine Award recipient for the month of November is 8th grader, Madelyn Becker! Day in and out Maddie is a sweet girl. She participates in class, often sharing thoughtful insight. She is resilient. She has a lot going on and continues to excel. Every day she has her work done and puts effort into what she does. She can always be trusted to do the right thing. In class, students often work in pairs or work together in small groups to complete projects or activities and Maddie is genuine, polite and kind to everyone she works with.

As an office aide, Maddie is always very polite, kind, and extremely helpful. She is always willing to help out and goes above and beyond in helping in any way she can. Congratulations, Madelyn, on being a student of character!

The Yearbook Club is in full swing and working to compile the memories from this school year. If you attend a school function and have pictures to share, please submit them to the following email address (jpg format is preferred): submit+1238423@edophotos.com

Plan ahead and order this year's Ankeney Yearbook below!

The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) at Ankeney Middle School held its annual Induction Ceremony on November 10! NJHS is the nation's premier organization established to recognize outstanding middle school students.

This year, we inducted 19 new members. They are:

Nathan Anderson

Ethan Avey

Julia Fauber

Rylan Firman

Michelle Goessl

Rylynn Hardman

Ryleigh Haynes

Mollie Hogan

Jett Jackson

Kayley Kovar

Natalie Miller

Analeigh Morris

Tammy Nguyen

Seamus O’Hara

Julie Pochet

William Przybyla

Paige Siglar

Wesley Stephen

Luke Yancey

More than just an honor roll, NJHS serves to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, citizenship, and character. NJHS looks to further develop these skills in our members and help the local community as well. 7th and 8th grade students who earn and maintain a 3.7 GPA are eligible to apply in the fall after 1st quarter report cards.

Did you know there is a PTO section on the school’s website? To view, go to Ankeney's Web page and on the right side of the page, select PTO. Here you can view upcoming events, links to forms/information, signup to volunteer, or make a monetary donation through PayPal to support our students and staff this year. Your donations allow us to do so much for our staff and students! Most recently we provided candy to students as an end-of-the-quarter treat.

We also have a Facebook group, Ankeney Middle School PTO, where you can post questions and get real-time information. This page exists to support school staff and students. Questions and discussions are encouraged. However, personal criticism will not be tolerated and such posts will be removed. If we feel a topic/question has been accurately answered and addressed or comments have become off-topic, we will turn off commenting. Access is limited to parents, guardians, and staff so please answer the prompts when requesting to join.

Cookie Walk

Thank you to everyone who took the time to make and donate delicious treats for our staff. Our families donated 200 dozen cookies, making it so that each staff member could take home two dozen cookies! What a treat! This could not have been done without our wonderful families and amazing volunteers! Thank you!!

PTO Board Positions

It is time for us to begin planning for the next school year! We are looking to fill the positions of President, Vice President, Volunteer Coordinator, and committee chairs. If this is something you may be interested in, please reach out to us at AnkeneyPTO@gmail.com.

Next Meeting

Our next regular open meeting will be Wednesday, February 9, 2022. Look for more information about this meeting as the date gets closer.

Be on the lookout, after the break, for information to be shared about hot pretzel days for student treats!

With cold weather here, please make sure your child is prepared to go outside at lunch recess. Our general guideline is that students will go outside when the temperature is at least 20 degrees or warmer with wind chill taken into account. Students are reminded to take what they need to wear outside prior to going to the Cafeteria as they cannot return after eating. Please make sure that your child is dressed appropriately with coats, hats, gloves, etc.

Entry forms are DUE BY Friday, January 28. Follow the link HERE for more information about project requirements and how to sign up.

To assist our families in getting information they need and communicating with our Main Office, feel free to use the following e-mail addresses:

Report Absences:

ankeneyattendance@gocreek.org

General Questions:

AMSHelp@gocreek.org

(Please allow up to 24 hours for a response.)

Students can now ask to speak with a counselor or building administrator by completing a Google Form when they are signed into their District account by going to: https://forms.gle/sio8VucDQ36tQGt67