The Urbandale Middle School PTO is hosting the first annual “Color Run” on Saturday, April 29, 2023. Participants can choose to walk or run a 3.5K or 5K route around Urbandale with stops at various elementary schools and Urbandale High School. The run will start and end at the Urbandale Middle School parking lot located at 7701 Aurora Avenue, Urbandale, IA 50322. Check-in begins at 9:00 a.m. with the race beginning at 10:00 a.m. and ending at 12:00 p.m. Registration is $30 per person and includes a race kit (t-shirt, sunglasses, stickers, tattoos and more!). Participants must register by April 6 in order to receive a race kit. Proceeds will support students and teachers at Urbandale Middle School. All are welcome to participate. Come out and join the fun during the UMS Color Run! Register Today

In celebration of Educator Appreciation Week, May 8 – 12, 2023, we’d like to invite UCSD students, parents, guardians, staff, alumni, and community members to share your thoughts about a current UCSD educator(s) who has made a positive difference in your life and/or your child’s life. Statements will be shared online (district website, newsletter, social media) during Educator Appreciation Week. If you'd like to participate, please complete this brief form by Friday, April 7. Thank you for sharing a statement as a wonderful way to remind educators how much they are appreciated and valued!

Karen Acres celebrated positive behavior and the completion of their KA Gives Back fundraiser with a dance party on March 8th. KA PTO sponsored a dance party for students as a way to say thank you for their donations to KA Gives Back, which is a fundraiser to support the community. This dance party was also a reward for students earning PBIS tickets for positive behavior during the month of February. Karen Acres collects the PBIS tickets as a school and works together to meet goals. Thank you KA PTO for sponsoring this fun dance party for the students! Keep showing kindness, Karen Acres students! #KApride More photos

Each year, the Rolling Green PTO designates money for Artist in Residence. This has been a time for related arts teachers to think of a special project or experience for RG students. This year, members of the Des Moines Metro Opera visited Rolling Green and performed “Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing.” Students had such a great time laughing and singing along with the opera singers while learning a great life lesson about being themselves. This was such a special opportunity for the students to get exposure to more fine arts. Thank you, Des Moines Metro Opera! #thankU More photos

At Webster Elementary, Mr. Maertens’ fifth grade students celebrated kindness month with a peanut butter drive. Students created social media advertisements, promoted their drive during morning announcements, wrote persuasive essays, and presented to multiple grade levels about why students, families, and staff should donate. The fifth graders collected over 300 jars of peanut butter for those in need, and helped box the jars up at the Urbandale Food Pantry. Before bringing the donations to the food pantry, the fifth grade students added a special message on top of each jar stating, “We 'heart' U" with a drawing of a heart. Great work by Webster students showing kindness to those in need in our community! #WebsterPride More photos

UHS offers a Field Experience in Education program which is a teacher-prep academy for students who are interested in pursuing a career in education. Students have the opportunity to go to UCSD elementary schools and the middle school every Tuesday—Friday 7th and 8th period as “cadet teachers.” They get to see what teaching is like and help out students in the classroom. This is an important program to prepare high school students for their futures! #UHSpride More photos

During Read Across America Week, the Scholastic Book Fair visited Urbandale elementary schools. Several elementary PTOs (Parent Teacher Organization) generously offered to purchase a book for each student. During their library day, students were given the opportunity to select a free book. Books were distributed at the end of Read Across America Week.

We remember how fun it is to bring home a new book from the Book Fair. Many thanks to the PTOs for providing students this wonderful gift to be enjoyed at school and at home. #UCSDpride More photos

During April 17-28, 2023, if your child is in grades 3-12, they will be invited to complete a brief Conditions for Learning Survey (Survey) online. Student participation in the Survey is highly encouraged, but is voluntary and no student is required to fill out the Survey. If you do not want your student to participate please notify your school principal. The Survey will take about 20 minutes to complete. The purpose of the Survey is to obtain information about how students feel about the culture and climate of their school and teachers, as well as the safety of their school. The information collected will help the state, our schools, and local community improve the school. It is important to ask children to tell us what is good and working about their experience in school, and what needs to be improved, in their eyes. The Survey questions are available using the links below, or you may request copies from your school:

Grades 3-5 Conditions for Learning Survey

Grades 6-12 Conditions for Learning Survey

The Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) is an assessment that must be administered to all Iowa students in grades three through eleven. To comply with the state of Iowa law requiring all school districts to conduct this test during the last quarter of the school year, Urbandale students in grades three through eleven will take the ISASP assessments from April 17-28, 2023. Specific schedules for each school building have been developed and will be shared by the school principal prior to the start of testing. Below is a table showing the ISASP assessments students in UCSD will take:

ISASP Test Name & Grade Levels

• Reading: 3rd - 11th

• Language & Writing: 3rd - 11th

• Mathematics: 3rd - 11th

• Science: 5th, 8th, & 10th

More information regarding the ISASP assessments, including practice tests, may be found by visiting the following website: https://iowa.pearsonaccess.com/test-prep/

Please make note of the following dates in April 2023 when school will not be in session.

District-Wide

• Friday, April 28: District-wide Teacher In-Service / Professional Development Day (no school)

• Reminder: Every Monday is a late start

Rolling Green Elementary (only)

• Monday, May 1 – Friday, May 5: Rolling Green Intersession (no school for Rolling Green only)

• Reminder: Every Monday is a late start

If you have already completed the Iowa Eligibility Application for this school year, you do not need to reapply. Federal law requires that School Food Authorities provide information regarding the availability of free and reduced price meals two times a year. To learn more, please visit UCSD Nutrition Services. If you believe you may qualify for free and reduced price meals but have not applied, you can visit TITAN to complete an application. No login is required. For questions, please contact Cassie Mayrose at mayrosec@urbandaleschools.com or 515-457-6911.

Throughout March, be sure to reach out to the women in your life who have made an impact on you. We're all stronger for the insight, support, wisdom & leadership of the outstanding women in our school district. https://bit.ly/30bZe8x #WomensHistoryMonth

Attention UHS SENIORS: Applications are now being accepted for the Urbandale Dollars for Scholars scholarship program! Scholarships will be awarded to graduating UHS seniors. Many scholarships will be available and students can apply for multiple scholarships with just one profile and application! Scholarships to be awarded include, but may not be limited to:

• Dollars for Scholars – Merit-based (multiple to be awarded)

• Dollars for Scholars – Need and Merit-based (multiple to be awarded)

• Dollars for Scholars – Trades

• George & Helen Newsom Scholarship – Need and Merit-based (two $2,500 awards to one male and one female student)

• Richard L Haynes Memorial Scholarship – Merit-based (one $1,000 award for (grand)child of a military veteran or servicemember)

• Urbandale Alumni Association Legacy Scholarship – Merit-based (award(s) for (grand)child of an Urbandale High School alumnus)

Students and parents can learn more about Urbandale Dollars for Scholars by clicking HERE. Last year, Urbandale Dollars for Scholars awarded $18,600 in scholarship awards to graduating UHS seniors! In addition, learn about financial aid and more scholarship opportunities by visiting the UHS Counseling site.

Are you interested in making a positive difference in the lives of Urbandale students? Do you like building relationships and helping others reach their potential? Would you enjoy hours within a school-day schedule while being a member of IPERS (the state’s largest public retirement system)? If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, we’d like to hear from you! We’re currently seeking team members for a variety of positions. Our posted positions for this school year include: Music Teacher [2023-24 School Year] Learn More

Urbandale Community Ed is excited to offer new classes in Science, Engineering, and Robotics. Your student can also learn Spanish, Chess, and Art in fun and engaging classes offered at UCSD elementary schools. Check out urbandalecommunityed.com for all of our new classes for any age. Don't forget to come back in March when the Summer Camp Series is released for all of the fun camps and clinics offered here in Urbandale!

You can find information about all activities to include athletics, the performing arts, and the Booster Club right at your fingertips. Be sure to visit j-hawks.com for all of the latest information, upcoming events, and highlights. Plus, purchase your fan gear online at the J-Hawk Shop. Let’s go J-Hawks!

The UCSD Flyer Hub is a great resource for finding information about community activities, opportunities, and services. We post flyers from our district, community education, and organizations within our community. Flyers are frequently updated so be sure to check back often.