The second semester of the school year has gotten off to a great start. Students are working hard, enjoying their friends, and are a real joy to be with each day. It is amazing to see the growth they have all made. Keep encouraging them to read, practice math facts and complete assignments at home – this helps them to be successful at school.
---Mrs. Carroll
Valentine’s Day Parties
Classes will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on Thursday, February 14 in the afternoon. Teachers will notify parents who have volunteered to help with the exact time and details.
NO HOMEWORK CLUB ON VALENTINE’S DAY!
POPCORN FACTORY
The third grade is nearing completion of their economics unit. The students will be creating and working in a popcorn factory to help them understand many of the new concepts that they are learning.
Students in all grades will be able to purchase popcorn and soda on Feb. 8. Students may purchase a cup of soda for a quarter and also bags of popcorn for a quarter each. Students may purchase as many bags of popcorn as they would like, however they may only purchase
one cup of soda. Please send quarters on Feb. 7.
SKIP Meeting
Thanks to all of the parents and community members who volunteered to help make our 5th and 6th grade basketball tournament a success. Without the help of our dedicated community members, this day would not have been a success. Also thanks to both high school basketball teams for their help. This one fund raising event allows us to do many fun activities with the students. THANK YOU!
SWEETHEART SHOP
On Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, your child will have the opportunity to shop for Valentine’s Day gifts for the special people in their lives. Each gift will cost one quarter. (The items for sale were donated for Santa Shop. Due to the weather this did not happen.) Don’t forget to send quarters on Valentine’s Day – we have lots of great items for sale.
NASP:
Another great opportunity for our students
Nearly everyone can enjoy success in archery whether or not they are the tallest, fastest, or strongest person around.Our community is very fortunate that Nodaway-Holt participates in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP). This program teaches International style target archery in physical education class 4th-12th grades.Students are taught archery history, safety, technique, equipment, mental concentration, core strengthening physical fitness and self-improvement.
By participating in the NASP program, our students are able to learn a lifetime sport and be eligible for regional, state, national and world competitions. For those students that would like to learn more about the sport of archery, members of the Nodaho Bowhunters Club have volunteered to provide practice sessions at the indoor range in Maitland. No equipment is needed to participate and students are encouraged to attend even if they do not intend to compete. The state competition will be held on March 23 in Warrensburg and we currently have at least one student that will be participating.
More information about NASP is available at Anyone who would like more information about the program, practices or competitions should contact Michelle Allen at 928-3352 or .
Spelling Bee Winners
Congratulations to the winners of our spelling bee:
1st place – Sidney Billings
2nd place – Olivia Miles
Alternates: Chloe Abrams and Halle Clement
The first and second place winners will compete at the Nodaway County Spelling Bee on Feb. 12. The bee will be held at 4:00 in the new gym at Graham. Please come and support our spellers.
SCREENING
February 21 will be our preschool screening. If you would like your preschool child to participate in this screening, please call the school to schedule an appointment. (935-2515). Children will be screened in the areas of language, motor, cognitive, hearing and vision.
2NDQuarter Honor Roll
HIGH HONOR ROLL
5th grade6th grade
Chloe AbramsTarik Barnard
Dakota AllenSydneyBillings
Katie BrashearsAmanda Bohannon
Halle ClementBreanna Day
Tommy DyeJadin Messner
Madison EvansTillie Stanton
Claire GardKailey Wilmes
Kaci Billings
Sidney Leeper
Madison Murphy
Treyton Plummer
Rylie Sportsman
Madison Wilmes
REGULAR HONOR ROLL
5th grade6th grade
Christian GrastyMichael Abrams
Olivia MilesMakayla George
Will PeterAshley Owens
Skyler HeitmanSamantha Robison
Ian Sloniker
Zane Weston
Kindergarten News
Reading
New letter/ sound: Hh as in hippo
New word: are
We are reading many books about neighborhoods. We have also been learning how to read a map.
Vocabulary: neighborhood, neighbor, equipment
Math
Our newest skill in math is copying shapes onto a geoboard, which is a pegboard. This is good for reviewing shapes and for working on fine motor skills.
Behavior
After coming back from our long Christmas break, we have focused on reviewing the rules.
Writing
We have begun working on writing last names. Please reinforce this at home and continue looking for improvement with first names as well.
I have seen great improvements in the children’s’ drawings and stories. I am excited to share these with you at parent / teacher conferences, as they continue to work very hard.
Many birthdays this month! Happy January Birthday to:
Jackson and Rowdy!
Weekend fun---enjoy the nice weather!
---Mrs. Thompson
First Grade News
January has gone by so quickly! I love seeing the smiling faces of my first graders every morning. What an enjoyable group of kids to work with.
Understanding numbers and the value of the one’s and ten’s place and learning the meaning of addition and subtraction are two concepts that we have concentrated on in math.
Students are working hard at being fluent (smooth) readers. The goal we are reaching for is being able to read 47 words per minute, on the first grade reading level, by the end of first grade. Thank you for all the reading you do with your child at home!
Have a great weekend!
--- Mrs. Leeper
Second Grade News
Reading and writing middle of the year benchmark testing has been completed.I am pleased with the progress that the second graders have made. Students will continue to work on improving their reading and writing skills. Roxy the Rocker entertained the students during theJanuary character assembly. Sheplayed a tune onher electric guitar and students learned about the "Reading Rocks" incentives for the end of the year. Each student will need to work on improving their Dibels scores in order to earn a "Reading Rocks" medal. Hopefully, Roxy the Rocker will be able to visit again soon!
Now that we are past the middle of the year, the skills are getting more difficult. Please be sure that your child practices reading each day. There is also a spelling list that goes home each week. It's a good idea to go over these words a few times throughout the week so that you're child will be better prepared for the test on Friday.
Second graders enjoyed a visit from two FCCLA members this month. Alicia Brashears and Kristen Keith talked with the students about family activities. They played a game and discussed different family activities.
Courtwarming activities included a variety of dress up days, eating ice cream with the senior basketball players, and traveling to the high school for the pep assembly on Friday. Students especially enjoyed eating the ice cream!
--- Mrs. Shamberger
Third Grade News
Third graders have just finished Unit 3 in their Treasures book. We are working on the story called Cook-a-Doodle-Doo. The reading skill we covered was comparing and contrasting. We all have enjoyed the story.
We continue to work on multiplication facts. So far the students have had the 1, 2, 7, and 10 facts. Please continue to practice these facts at home in addition to the subtraction and addition facts. We just finished up a fraction unit where we did an in-depth study of fractions. The students are now all experts in that area!
Students are writing fiction stories which they will illustrate and publish in book form with Mrs. McIntosh during art. We have some really creative writers.
During our theme time we are getting ready for the Popcorn Factory on Feb. 8th. We still have lots to do to be prepared for the Popcorn Factory. We have already decided on our prices and surveyed the classes to see what pop to buy. Next week we will work on picking out our jobs and looking at work expectations. The students are excited about the Popcorn Factory.
---Mrs. Jones
Fourth Grade News
Fourth Grade in February!
This month we continue to focus on word problems, division, multiplication, fractions and place value. It is important, as parents, to check your student’s math homework over every evening making sure they show their work, have the correct labels and have completed each problem. Just by looking for these 3 simple things can help students cut down on corrections. In February we will be working hard on exploring more of Missouri’s history, weathering, and erosion. In reading we are currently reading about accepting others differences and how one person can impact those around them. The fourth graders are working really hard to promote a positive attitude through their words, actions and thoughts! Some of the reading skills we are focusing on are inferences, text clues, summarizing, and drawing conclusions.
The book report information is being sent out today (2-1-13). Please read over the information and sign the bottom of the scoring guide saying you have seen the information. The book needs to be finished and quizzed on by 2-18 and the report is due on 2-28.
Parent volunteers who have signed up for to help for the Valentine’s party are Tammy Thacker, Laura Owens, Joella Barnard, and Jennifer Wilmes. The party will be at 2:30 on February 14th
---Ms. Frueh
Fifth Grade News
The fifth graders have been feverishly reading to make their goal of 11 Mark Twain award-winning books for the sleepover at the end of March and to read 15 to attend the Children’s Literature Festival in March. Keep up the great work. The February book report scoring guide was sent home today and it will be dressing up as a character from their book. The quiz must be passed by Feb. 20 and the costume presentations will be Feb. 27 and 28.
The students have made gains in their reading and writing benchmarks. Students become better readers and writers when they read and write more. Thanks for your continued help in assuring students read every day and complete the requirements for the book report and the Book-It program.
Hosts for our Valentine’s Party will be Bet Gard, Alicia Brashears, Tisha Abrams, Leesa Clement, and Jody Brown. The party will be Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 in the afternoon. Please contact one another to arrange an activity, snack, drink, and a treat bag. Thanks, in advance, for your help.
Upcoming objectives include force and motion, fractions, fractions, fractions, English colonization and the American Revolution, adverbs and prepositions, continuing Runaway Twin, and lots of MAP practice.
---Mrs. Lemar
Sixth Grade News
Jan. 7-11
This week the sixth grade has been busy! We’ve had to present a Mesopotamian Power Point, start working on a presentation on slavery in America, do lessons 59 and 60 in math with a test on Wednesday, an Investigation on Friday on comparing geometric solids, start a unit on adjectives in English, start a famous African Americans’ research paper project on Tuesday, and begin a unit on classification of organisms in science. We have also been learning the words in unit 10 spelling. As you can tell, we sixth graders have had an eventful week.
By Tillie and Zane
Jan. 14 - 18
Sixth grade has been buzzing like bees this week. We’ve hosted an I Can Club dance that everyone enjoyed in the 5th and 6th grade who earned it for 2nd quarter. We have also been doing several benchmark tests, such as Dibels, SRIs, and a reading benchmark over Sarah Walker. On Friday we had a test in math, the rest of the week we did lessons 62-65. In reading we have read chapters 1-3 in the book about Harriett Tubman. Sixth grade also worked on a button lab throughout the week in science to learn how to classify this by color, size, and shape. All of us can’t wait for what next week brings us!
By Tillie and Kailey
Jan 21-25
For court warming we dressed up on Monday as super heroes, Tuesday was favorite sports team day, picture day was Wednesday, Thursday was Hawaiian day, and Friday was red and white day. We also made an amazing banner for the whole elementary and it’s hanging up at the high school for the game against Mound City and Nodaway Holt. Our banner says Never Fear Trojans Are Here. We also are still working on our Famous Black American research paper and in English we are studying adjectives and adverbs. In reading we are reading about Harriet Tubman’s adventures on the Underground Railroad. On Wednesday we had a test in science over classifying organisms. On Friday we had unit 11 Word Test in spelling. In math we are working on bigger words and harder stuff for 7th grade. We also did TFK (Time for Kids). As you can see the 6th grade has been very busy this week and we had a lot of fun for courtwarming and decorating the elementary banner.
By: Kailey Wilmes and Breanna Day
Jan. 14 - 18
Sixth grade has been buzzing like bees this week. We’ve hosted an I Can Club dance that everyone enjoyed in the 5th and 6th grade who earned it for 2nd quarter. We have also been doing several benchmark tests, such as Dibels, SRIs, and a reading benchmark over Sarah Walker. On Friday we had a test in math, the rest of the week we did lessons 62-65. In reading we have read chapters 1-3 in the book about Harriett Tubman. Sixth grade also worked on a button lab throughout the week in science to learn how to classify this by color, size, and shape. All of us can’t wait for what next week brings us!
By Tillie and Kailey
--Mrs. Ingram
Notes from the Nurse
We have had several ill students the last couple of weeks, some having respiratory symptoms, and some gastrointestinal. It is alarming the number of people across the country who are coming down with influenza. Influenza can be a very serious respiratory illness and immunization is still hailed to be the best defense against it. The new norovirus that has been going around is a vicious form of gastroenteritis, or stomach flu, which was first identified in Australia last spring. Now that it has made it to the United States, the “Sydney Strain” is making a lot of people sick, not only because it is a new strain and people are not immune to it, but secondly, because it is highly contagious. I read where it takes 1,000 particles of an influenza virus to make you sick, while a person can become ill with only 18 particles of norovirus. Flu virus stays alive on surfaces for 2-8 hours, while norovirus can stay alive for weeks! Symptoms of the new norovirus are stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Taking in plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration is extremely important. A report I watched said that washing your hands is still the number one thing you can do to prevent this illness, but hand sanitizer is said to not be effective against it. People should do their best to avoid sick people, and stay home if you are sick. They recommended that people sanitize with bleach if you have it in your home, and those who are ill should not prepare food for other people. As always, if you or a family member have become ill and you have concerns, it is important to contact your physician for advice. Many people become hospitalized (70,000) and die each year (800) from norovirus, so it should not be taken lightly. –Mrs. DeVault, RN, BSN
Calendar of Events
Feb. 4 NO SCHOOL
Feb. 5Pink Out – wear pink to school and the basketball game
Feb. 8 Popcorn Factory
Feb. 12 Nodaway County Spelling Bee at Graham
Feb. 13 3rd quarter midterm
Mark Twain Club 3:30
Feb. 14 Valentine’s Day Party and Sweetheart Shop
Feb. 18 NO SCHOOL
Feb. 21 PAT screening
Feb. 22 MARC meeting (6th gr.)
School Webpage
Be sure to check out the school’s webpage on a regular basis to keep informed of the upcoming events at school. This is a great place to find information about both buildings.