October 2021
District
Important Dates:
Thursday, October 14: 1:00 PM Early Dismissal for Teacher Professional Development
Friday, October 22: School Pictures Retakes!
Thursday, October 28: End of the 1st quarter
Friday, October 29: NO SCHOOL (Teacher Professional Development/Work Day)
Monday, November 8 - 1 PM Student Early Dismissal for Parent-Teacher Conferences
Conferences times (4:00 - 8:00 pm)
Thursday, November 11 - 1 PM Student Early Dismissal for Parent-Teacher Conferences
Conferences times (4:00 - 8:00 pm)
Friday, November 12 - No School for Students & Staff - Teacher Conference Compensation Day
School Bus Safety Week: October 18-24
Each school year, school buses find their way through our Iowa’s cities, towns and rural areas. PLEASE be extra cautious in watching students heading to and from the buses. Iowa Department of Education & Iowa State Patrol School Safety Brochure:
https://educateiowa.gov/sites/files/ed/documents/School%20Bus%20Safety%20Brochure%20.pdf
Jasper County has recently changed how they communicate community and weather alerts. Alert Iowa has provided a one-page flyer to help spread the word among our rural residents. Check it out!
Jasper Alert Iowa One Page.pdfHigh School (9-12)
Maps Testing
MAPS tests are one assessment that we use here at L-S high school to measure student growth. The unique thing about MAPS testing is that it occurs twice per year. Once in the fall, and once in the spring. As a school, we then review this data to evaluate how much students have grown between the beginning and the end of the school year. We recently took MAPS tests, and still have some of them to complete due to an unexpected internet outage. MAPS testing data can be used to determine many things such as college and career readiness, a students' ability to handle challenging coursework, and their progress from year to year. It is important that students do their best on these assessments so that we have a true picture of their skills, and can deliver appropriate interventions if necessary. Please talk with your student(s) about these and other standardized assessments.
School Attendance
Research shows that attendance is an important factor in student achievement. Here at Lynnville-Sully, we see a direct correlation between the number of days that a student misses and their connection to school and academic performance.
According the United States Department of Education, frequent absences from school can negatively shape adulthood. A study of public school students in Utah found that an incidence of chronic absenteeism in a single year between 8th and 12th grade was associated with a seven fold increase in the likelihood of dropping out.
Parents play a critical role in getting their students to school. We need your help in reinforcing the importance of attending classes. We understand there is a wide variety of reasons that a student might miss school, and we appreciate your diligence in trying to schedule appointments during non-school hours when possible.
*Please note that if a student is absent, they have a responsibility to touch base with their teachers and arrange to make work up in a timely manner.
DID YOU KNOW
That missing one block (periods 1-6, 85 min) of class time is equivalent to missing two days of instruction?
Middle School (6-8)
Lynnville-Sully 7th graders returned to Mariposa Lake early in October after a 2 year hiatus from the park. One year the park was closed for updates and improvements and last year field trips were not possible due to COVID - 19 protocols. This year the park looked significantly different than in years past due to the completion and continuation of a major restoration of Mariposa County Park. A restoration of the surrounding lake areas and dredging is complete and full investigation of the park was enjoyed by the students.
Students participated in a hands-on exploration of watershed to determine the health of the lake was completed and students also learned about the ground and habitat below the lake. The students participated in some of the same activities conducted in past years, such as pond netting, water testing, a nature hike and a bus tour of the watershed.
“It was really neat for kids to see all the things that go into protecting a watershed," said Joel Harthoorn, Middle School Science Teacher and organizer of the trip.
November 8th & 11th
Fall parent-teacher conferences are quickly approaching and we look forward to the opportunity to meet with parents and provide an update on their students' progress this school year.
6th Grade Parents - Please be on the lookout for an email from Michelle Squires with more information about scheduling a specific conference time for your child.
7th & 8th Grade Parents - Even though you will not have a scheduled parent-teacher conference time, we strongly encourage you to participate by stopping by your student's classrooms between 4:00 and 8:00PM on November 8th or 11th. Middle school teachers will be available for drop in conversations during the times they do not have scheduled conferences. You are also welcome to reach out to teachers and schedule a specific conference time if there is someone you would like to visit with.
Elementary (K-5)
MarK Your Calendars!
We are very excited to host a K-5 Family Literacy Night on Tuesday, October 26th from 5:30PM-7:00PM! All K-5 families are strongly encouraged to attend this school-wide event.
Join us for engaging hands-on activities that families can use to support their children's literacy development. We will have guest readers, snacks, free books, and an opportunity to qualify to be entered into a drawing for raffle prizes!
More information about our Family Literacy Night will be coming home soon. Please mark your calendars for this fun event. You won't want to miss it!
November 8th & 11th
The weather this week is a great reminder that fall is here and our school year is well under way. Our students have been working hard and we want to make sure parents have an opportunity to spend time with our elementary teachers to receive an update on their students' progress.
Parents - Please be on the lookout for an email from Michelle Squires regarding conferences. You will be asked to share what days and times work best for you by filling out a Google form that is linked in her email.
We value this opportunity to meet with parents and are appreciate ways to work together throughout the school year to support our students.
On a recent field trip, our 5th grade students had the opportunity to participate in planting trees at Jacob Krumm Preserve. Students also took part in a nature hike, a GPS navigation scavenger hunt, and an archery session. Jasper County Conservationists Katie Cantu and Greg Oldsen planned and led students through their various hands-on activities.