Shimek Shark Shout-Out
Shimek Elementary Newsletter
May 17th, 2017
NO SCHOOL
Monday, May 29, 2017, 07:30 AM
Shimek Elementary School, Grissell Place, Iowa City, IA, United States
6th Grade Graduation
Wednesday, May 31, 2017, 09:30 AM
Shimek Elementary Gymnasium
All School Picnic
Wednesday, May 31, 2017, 11:30 AM
Shimek Elementary School, Grissell Place, Iowa City, IA, United States
Last Day of School
Wednesday, May 31, 2017, 07:45 AM
Shimek Elementary School, Grissell Place, Iowa City, IA, United States
Farewell, Mrs. Polfliet!
Mrs. Polfliet joined the Shimek staff beginning in August 2015 and has taught fourth and fifth grade at Shimek. It is with mixed emotions that we share with you that Mrs. Polfliet has accepted a new position as an Extended Learning Program (ELP) teacher within the District! We wish you the best of luck, Mrs. Polfliet, and we will miss your upbeat energy and love for learning at Shimek!
Consideration to Re-Establish Before-School Care with the Shimek BASP
The Parent Board believes having a minimum of 10 kids at a cost of $50 per month would be necessary to make it viable. Please complete the survey below to indicate your interest and provide feedback to the Parent Board regarding this opportunity. Thank you!
http://www.shimekbasp.com/forms/morningwait/
Any Given Child Update
Shimek PTO Meeting Minutes
SHIMEK PTO MEETING
6 p.m., Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Media Center
Present: Savannah Conlee, Brad Bolender, Sara Moninger, Jill Braun, Jenni Mettemeyer, Matt Mettemeyer, Ben Brozene, Lyndsey Brozene, Megan Chapman, Steve Sproule, Katy Bolender, Wendy Stevenson, Melissa Krishnan, Hillary Muhlenbruch, Heather Bright, Andrea Birt, Bridget Brenton, Kate Nesbett, Vikki Mueller, Jen Kirschling, Phil Hemingway, Jen Kardos, Mandi Bozarth, Alisa Meggitt, Anne Wilmoth, Brian Kirschling, Sarah Majerus, Elaine Allen
Pizza and social gathering
Minutes from the April meeting were routed and approved.
Principal’s report
- · Savannah reported that May has been very busy. The school is in the middle of the spring (reading and math) assessment window, and last week was School of the Wild for the sixth-graders. She thanked the PTO for helping fund School of the Wild. She also thanked PTO for Teacher Appreciation Week festivities. She said there will be a bike rodeo on Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m., and a track meet for the older kids at West High on May 17. On the last day of school, the sixth-graders will have a graduation at 9:30 a.m., and there will be an all-school picnic starting at 11:30. Families are invited to attend the picnic, eat lunch outside, and enjoy live music from Shimek’s very own After School Specials.
- Savannah talked about her recent announcement to the school that she will be resigning when the school year is over—and also getting married! She said the process for selecting a new principal should be underway shortly.
- Savannah invited Steve Sproule to share updates from his fourth-grade class. Steve reported that his students are finishing up their state research, making slides in Google Classroom. It is their big project of the year.
Treasurer’s report
- · On Jeff Allen’s behalf, Brad passed around a balance sheet, which included the proposed budget for 2017–18, and highlighted proposed changes made to both the current and 2017–18 budget. The board would like to redirect unused fine-arts funding to purchase 10 additional Chromebooks. New line items include a PBIS celebration, Future Problem Solvers, a Makerspace, and playground supplies. Brad asked the PTO to approve the changes for the current year and the proposed budget for next year; all voted in favor.
Executive board
- Brad thanked the current executive board—Brad Bolender as president, Jenni Mettemeyer and Jill Braun as co–vice presidents, Jeff Allen as treasurer, and Sara Moninger as secretary—for their time and service this year, noting that there were some especially challenging discussions. He also introduced the 2017–18 board: Bridget Brenton as president; Ben Brozene as vice-president; Jeff Allen and Brad Bolender as co-treasurers; and Kate Nesbett as secretary. He asked the PTO to approve the new board; all voted in favor.
General Obligation Bond
- · Brad explained that all the PTOs in the district were asked to circulate petitions to collect the necessary signatures to place the bond referendum on the ballot in September. Copies of the petition were passed around.
Flower beds
- · Brad explained the history of the school’s front flower beds and the recent discussion over whether to relinquish control of the beds to the district. There was discussion about how difficult it is to control the vigorous weeds, despite volunteer assistance over the years from both adults and students. Kate asked whether the BASP would be interested in helping; Jenni responded that while it doesn’t hurt to ask again, it hasn’t worked well for BASP in the past—and Wendy pointed out that the summer is the hardest time for weeding, and students aren’t around to help. Offering a teacher’s perspective, Hillary said it was exciting to have garden space to carry out science lessons and thought the front beds were going to be designated for such use. Jen said there had been discussion about shrinking the south garden bed (up on the hill near the entrance to the school property) and dedicating it to class work. Jen and Jenni indicated the need to schedule a workday to prepare the south garden bed; several people suggested asking high school students as well as Boy Scouts/Eagle Scouts to help build new beds on the south site. Brad suggested coordinating garden plans at the beginning of the next school year.
- Brad asked the PTO to approve ceding control of the front beds to the physical plant; all voted in favor.
Upcoming school board discussion on the playground
- · Jenni reported that the ICCSD board of directors will discuss the Shimek playground at its May 23 work session. It will be open to the public, but there will be no public discussion with the exception of invited speakers. Board member Phil Hemingway shared information about the work session, and noted that the board has received a lot of questions about the playground’s design and its accessibility. Since the playground is considered substantial investment by the school district, he said he wants to make sure “the 25-year decision” is the right one and to seriously address any issues with ADA compliance. He warned that it could be a late discussion, possibly starting around 9 p.m., since it follows a regular meeting. Heather and Savannah said they will be attending. Jenni offered to share drawings from the vendor that wasn’t selected; a discussion ensued about why that vendor wasn’t selected and why the process at Shimek has been different than those at other schools. Ben pointed out there is a signed contract (to remove the old equipment and install the new playground), which, if broken, could mean added expenses for the district. Despite some noted concern to the contrary, Phil assured the PTO that there will indeed be a playground at Shimek next year. There was continued discussion among members about whether the proposed playground is ADA compliant, and passions were expressed from various perspectives; all agreed, however, that this meeting was not the place for it, since the school board has already scheduled a discussion.
Carnival and Silent Auction
- · Brad thanked Vikki Mueller, Lori Skoff, and Heather Bright for stepping up and chairing these events this year. All agreed they were very successful. Vikki suggested deciding on a date for the events near the beginning of the school year, so that organizers can start planning earlier, possibly getting volunteer commitments at the ice cream social and back-to-school nights. Heather noted that planning gets easier every year, but said that she won’t rely on UI students to volunteer since half of them never showed up. She added that Ben’s Nerf gun game was very popular, and that the food was good—she didn’t hear many complaints. She suggested allocating more money for the silent auction; Brad said the board could adjust the allocation at the beginning of the year.
Teacher Appreciation Week
- · Sara gave a brief overview of the week’s festivities, noting there was food offered every day (arranged by Heather), including a Cinco de Mayo fiesta catered by parent contributions. Brad added that Alissa organized the BASP celebration.
Shimek PTO 2016-17 accomplishments and contributors
- · Savannah thanked Brad for serving as president for two years.
- · Brad read the names of people on the executive board and those who served on the various PTO committees. He said he thought it was a very successful year for the PTO and thanked everyone for their contributions.
Other business
- · Lyndsey asked about dates for the fall book fair since Scholastic is asking for a confirmation; there was a brief discussion, followed by a determination that a date could be selected and later changed, if necessary.
- (The meeting was adjourned at 7:27 p.m.)
Shimek Elementary
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 Kingsley Botchway II, Director of Equity, 1725 N. Dodge St., Iowa City, IA 52245, 319-688-1000, Botchway.kingsley@iowacityschools.org.”
Email: conlee.savannah@iowacityschools.org
Website: http://www.edline.net/pages/Bohumil_Shimek_ES
Location: 1400 Grissell Place, Iowa City, IA, United States
Phone: (319) 688-1160
Facebook: facebook.com/ShimekElementarySchool