We will be having our Grandparents/Special Friends Tea on Friday, October 20th. This will be set up in shifts like we did last year, and like we do for elementary open house, according to the last name of your student.

• Students with the last names starting with A-H will have their grandparents/special friends come at 2:15.
• Students with the last names starting with I-P will have their grandparents/special friends come at 2:35.
• Students with the last names starting with Q-Z will have their grandparents/special friends come at 2:55.

The book fair will be open during this time and each group will have a designated time to go to the book fair while they are here.

If you'd like your student to leave school with their guest after they are done, please send a note giving them permission to do so.

A flyer will be sent home with more information as the date gets closer.

It's time to get ready for our Title Reading Night on Thursday, October 12th from 5:30-6:30! There will be a fun scavenger hunt, reading games, and door prizes. There will also be hot dogs, chips and cookies at this event!!

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday, October 23rd from noon-7:00pm . Your child's teacher should be sending out a link to sign up for the conference time of your choosing. No internet? No problem!! Just reach out to your child's teacher via phone call or note sent from home indicating some times on that day that work for your schedule.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be at the school October 17th through October 24th. Students will have a chance to purchase books during Grandparents/Special Friends Tea, during their library time during the week, and the day of Parent/Teacher Conferences.

We are fortunate enough to be getting an update to our playground and I couldn't be more excited for our students! We will be getting new swings, and the new structure pictured below, along with new surface coverings under the equipment we are keeping out there now. This new playground equipment is scheduled to be installed the week of October 30th.

We had a great month of September and have been working hard on overhand throw. We have played several games that worked on stepping with the opposite foot and throwing a ball overhand. We will be working on fleeing and chasing the next couple weeks, with tag and chase activities. We will end the month with an obstacle course that will work on several gymnastic and movement opportunities.

I would like to thank the Nodaway Holt Education Foundation for sponsoring the classroom grant. I was able to purchase items for both the elementary and high school and look forward to using these items to expand what we do in the gym for Physical Education. I also received a grant from the Department of Conservation to develop a fishing unit. We received 17 new fishing poles, tackle and lures, and curriculum. I hope to get our students fishing soon and am excited to provide additional learning experiences for our students!

There are some exciting activities coming to the library next month! Sign up sheets have gone out to second through sixth grade for after-school Lego Club. Mrs. Stidd and I are also starting an after-school Board Game Club for fourth through sixth grade. Be sure to get those permission slips turned in if your students wants to be in one (or both) of the clubs. The clubs will usually meet on Thursdays once or twice a month. (Don’t worry. They will never be on the same Thursday.) All dates, times, and announcements about these clubs will be shared via Remind, so be sure you join the Remind groups when you receive an invitation.

Mark your calendars! The book fair is coming to the library October 17-23. Students will be able to shop for books throughout the week, and we will also be set up at Grandparents Tea and parent-teacher conferences. The fall book fair helps us buy so many new books for the library. Thank you for continued support of the library and for sharing the love of reading!

It’s been a busy month in our reading classroom! Using playdough to sound out words, going on an alphabet hunt around our room, doing word work activities with our new letter magnets, name just a few activities enjoyed in our classroom! It gets the kids up and moving and they love it! The students also enjoy acting out their vocabulary words for the week. The meaning of the words seem to “stick” in our brains if we get involved with the word through acting it out! Something we practice while reading our books is telling who the author and illustrator are and what their jobs are, discussing the characters and setting, and the main idea of the story. There is so much involved when it comes to reading and the kids have been working EXTRA hard and having fun with it!

5th Grade Band

We finally have instruments for all of the students! They are all working very hard to learn how to make musical sounds on their chosen instruments. We are learning the first 5 notes of the Bb concert scale, playing along with orchestral tracks, and reading notes in the lesson book.

6th Grade Band

What a mighty sound! These kids really know how to get a full sound on their instruments. We are playing out of the band lesson book and adding dynamics and articulations. They are playing warm-ups with an orchestral track to improve intonation. They have also just completed their first standards based assessment. Students will now be able to set a goal to improve their playing skills.

All Band Students

There is a great free website that provides at home private lessons on every instrument. Go to: The Practicing Musician and sign up. After you create your free account, select the instrument of choice.

This month we have been working on basic skills in the Art room. In grades two through six, we have been studying the seven elements of Art which include, line, shape, color, form, value, texture, and space. These are concepts that they will use and build upon, every year. The Kindergarten students have been working hard to earn their "scissor licenses". To earn your scissor license you must be able to have safe scissor practices, knowledge of what is and isn't appropriate to cut with scissors, and be able to cut on designated lines. It is a much-anticipated and exciting thing to earn! The first-graders have been learning all about mixing colors. They can tell you about primary and secondary colors, and they have had a great time mixing skin tones for their upcoming self-portrait mixed-media projects. Every class does a self-portrait each year. I look forward to seeing the growth in every student as their self-portraits progress.

Second and third grades are in competition to see who can read the pitches and beats the best on their music.

Fourth grade is going to town playing their recorders!

Fifth and sixth grades are doing a good job keeping their eyes on their own part while reading two-part choral music.

• October 6th - School Picture Retake Day
• October 12th - Fire Safety Day
• October 12th - Title Reading Night from 5:30-6:30
• October 17th - 24th - Book Fair
• October 20th - Grandparents/Special Friends Tea
• October 23rd - Parent/Teacher Conferences
• October 30th - New Playground Install Starts
• October 31st - Fall Parties @ 3:00