Do you still have questions about the FAFSA? The Iowa Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Community Outreach Committee is holding a Financial Aid Roundtable Q&A event on January 25, 2020, at 5:30PM via Zoom. Financial Aid representatives from Southwest Community College, Kirkwood Community College, Grandview University, Grinnell College, and the University of Iowa will be available to discuss FAFSA basics, professional judgments, special circumstances, etc. This event is open to students and/or parents to get their questions answered. The link to register: Register

Spring Career Discovery Days are right around the corner. Career Discover Days allow students, parents, and educators to explore different careers through hands-on activities and demonstrations. Visit DMACC Career Discovery Days for more information about career exploration opportunities. See Mrs. O’Halloran if you are interested in attending any of these events.

L-S 7th grade students are becoming more empowered to take ownership of their education through a new exploratory class called Skills for Success. Mrs. Sarah Rybkowski, 6-12 At-Risk teacher, has designed a semester-long course that is designed to explicitly teach skills in the areas of organization, time management, test preparation, communication, and self-advocacy. Each semester, half of the 7th grade students take part in the course.

Mrs. Rybkowski shared, "Skills for Success has been a wonderful opportunity to teach important executive functioning skills that will help students be successful in school and their future careers. Students are given opportunities to apply the skills taught in this class to their daily lives and reflect on them through a portfolio throughout the semester. I am looking forward to continuing to teach this class and modify it to meet students' evolving needs."

As we reach the halfway point of the school year, I wanted to take the opportunity to focus on the importance of school-family communication. With students this age and with the transition from one classroom teacher to multiple teachers, it can be difficult sometimes to know who to contact or when to reach out. As parents, we also want our kids to learn how to be more independent in communicating with their teachers when they have questions or need assistance. Sometimes that desire can lead to delayed parent-teacher communication.

Proactive communication between school and home is very important in helping our students have a successful school year. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to call or email a teacher, guidance counselor, or Mrs. Bowlin if there is a way we can help your child.

With our winter weather in full swing, we want to make sure the students are prepared for playing outside at recess. Most students are doing a great job of remembering to bring hats, gloves, snow pants, boots, etc. each day. We have been given generous donations of extra hats and gloves that students can borrow when needed. We do not have extra snow pants, boots, or coats, so it is really important for students to have these at school each day.

If your student is in need of winter weather gear and it is difficult for you to be able to provide it, please do not hesitate to communicate with your child's teacher, Mrs. Gunsaulus, or Mrs. Bowlin. We would be happy to work with you confidentially to help purchase these items for your child.

Also, it is amazing how many children have black snow pants and other clothing items that look the same. Please take a few minutes to write your child's initials in their winter weather gear so we can help get misplaced materials back to their owners. Thank you!

On Friday, January 7th, 210 students took part in playing BINGO as part of our winter reading challenge. During our winter break, the students were encouraged to read books in a variety of fun ways and keep track of their reading activities on their recording sheet. Students who completed at least one reading activity were invited to play BINGO.

The students came to the middle school gym, two grade levels at a time and listened to our BINGO Caller, Mr. Dunsbergen, announce the numbers. Multiple BINGO's were awarded before the students were asked to clear their cards in between rounds. Each student who got a bingo was able to choose an item from the prize table.

We also had 181 students who were able to choose a new book at the end of their BINGO game. Students qualified for a new book by completing at least five of the reading challenge activities during winter break. Special thanks to Mr. Dunsbergen, Mrs. Foster, Mrs. Newell, Ms. Ricker, and Mr. DePenning for organizing our reading challenge and leading the students in BINGO!