SUTTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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1 SUTTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS DISTRICT NEWS VOLUME 20, NUMBER 7 MARCH 2013 SUTTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS MISSION STATEMENT Sutton Public Schools and You Teaming up to Educate our Youth for Future Success INSIDE THIS ISSUE: SUTTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS VISION STATEMENT Teachers, Students, Parents, Community building the foundation of our future by creating an environment where students are provided the skills needed to become life long learners. SUPERINTENDENT 1/2 HS PRINCIPAL 2/3 DANA WISEMAN, SUPERINTENDENT From the desk of the Superintendent. Spring Forward With spring approaching, we can t help but begin to think about the end of the school year. Anticipating the summer months is exciting, but reflecting on the accomplishments of the school year should not be overlooked. We continue to show successes in extracurricular activities: basketball, wrestling, and speech. Sutton students are busy, busy kids, proving that they can achieve academic success while at the same time performing exceptionally on the stage, court, or mat. Not only are sports and fine art opportunities available for students, but student organizations exist for kids to take advantage of. I commend students for actively participating in activities creating well-rounded citizens of the future. Congratulations on your accomplishments! Soon kids will be registering for classes. Looking at the strength of our curriculum, students have many choices to pick from. Whether it is a child who is on course to attend a four year college or wishes to pursue a two-year degree, we have offerings that correspond. Areas such as Business, Computers, Agriculture, Industrial Technology, or Family and Consumer Sciences add diversity to the core curriculum addressing needs of all students. Annually our Curriculum Team meets to ensure that our various course offerings are aligned with national and state standards, along with discussing class material needs. This is an opportunity for staff and community members to also discuss deficit areas or gaps in the curriculum, brainstorming ways to improve. Recently, the Board of Education approved the school calendar. A copy of the calendar is included in this newsletter. School will start in August on Wednesday the 21 st. The first semester will end on the 20 th of December, with students returning on January 6 th. Again, the first two Friday s in March will provide staff and students with a break from the books. Included are four late school starts (10:00AM) to allow for staff members to address our school improvement goals with professional development. Staff members ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL KINDERGARTEN ROUNDUP CALEN- DAR 3/4 5 6 WELLNESS 8/9 CALENDAR/MENU 10/11

2 PAGE 2 SUTTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS School cancellations, check the following radio and TV stations: KAWL 1370 AM/MIX (KTMX) 104.9FM (York), KHAS/ KICS 1230 (Hastings), KOLN/KGIN 10/11 (Lincoln), NTV/ABC (Kearney), KHAS-TV (Hastings). For information fast, log on to org. DANA WISEMAN, SUPERINTENDENT CONT. learning and improving to better educate our students. Parent-Teacher Conferences are September 30 th and October 3 rd, which is a proactive approach to addressing student performance before the end of the first quarter, October 11 th. The last day of school for students is May 22 nd. Looking ahead to next year, if you are a family who does not reside in our district, but wish to take advantage of all we have to offer, option enrollment deadline is March 15 th. The paperwork can be accessed on the Nebraska Department of Education website: If you have any questions, feel free to call the Superintendent Office: BRANDY THOMPSON, SECONDARY PRINCIPAL School Safety: School safety has been at the forefront of every Administrator, teacher, parent, and community members mind lately. As parents and community members, you send us your students on a day-to-day basis with an understanding that your students are going to be educated to a level of high standards and success. Our teachers welcome your students in their classrooms and work diligently in challenging your students to think outside the box and grow as individuals. And as administrators, we open the doors to your students in the hopes of each student finding their own path as they reach that final frontier: graduation. Each group mentioned wants the best for all of our students in school and in life. What we as a whole have not had to put a great deal of emphasis on is whether or not our students are safe from the possibility of such tragedies as what Sandy Hook Elementary, Columbine, or even Millard South has faced. The scary piece for all of us is that now the frequency of these types of tragedies forces all of us to ask the question: Are our schools safe? Schools across the country are working to increase safety measures in their schools and to communicate these plans. Sutton Public Schools is no different. Both staffs from the elementary and jr./sr. high have had meetings in which safety of students has been the main focus of the discussion. As a result of those conversations, Sutton Public Schools had a drill on February 12 th to practice our procedures in case there was an intruder in our building. The elementary staff took a few days to prepare their students for the drill and had multiple conversations with their students while also working on classroom exit procedures. The jr./sr. high school teachers met with their students the morning of the 12 th and explained the procedures for their classrooms and the expectations for the students during the drill. During the drill, students in the elementary practiced evacuating their classrooms and jr./sr. high students practiced lock-down and evacuation procedures. The drill lasted about 10 minutes and provided a lot of feedback for our district. All students were also addressed on lunchtime procedures and encouraged to submit questions and concerns to their teachers and administrators following the drill. As we continue to go through our day-to-day operations, we will continue to keep this topic within our thoughts. We will continue to have these types of drills to keep our students and staff abreast of the expectations and procedures in the hopes that if we do ever encounter a situation, which requires this type of response, we will be more prepared in our response. Though as we know, no one person, staff, or community can ever truly be ready for these types of tragedies but having the conversations brings everyone together. Other safety concerns: Jr./Sr. high school parents, please encourage your students to protect their belongings. This past month we have had students that have not locked PE lockers, have shared locker combinations with other students, and have left their

3 VOLUME 20, NUMBER 7 PAGE 3 BRANDY THOMPSON, SECONDARY PRINCIPAL CONT. vehicles open to one and all. As a school, we can only help protect your students so much before they have to understand they have a responsibility to help protect themselves. It can be very frustrating to have things moved or stolen. All students have been told that they need to be sure that they have their lockers locked at all times in the halls and in the locker rooms and to be sure that they do not leave vehicles open with or without keys in them. We do our best to help protect your students by having cameras and by providing lockers and locks. I ask for your help in encouraging your students to help protect them. Thanks! Upcoming Events: Feb. 28 : 3 rd Quarter Ends Feb. 28 Mar. 2: Girls State Basketball March 1: (end of quarter) March 4: John Baylor begins March 4 & 5: Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-8:30pm 2:00pm Dismissal both days March 4 22: District MAP testing March 7 9: State Boys Basketball March 8: (pt comp day) March 11: (Hosting District Speech) March 12: Junior High Track Begins March 14: Band & Vocal 7:00pm March 19: Varsity Track opens at Wilber- Claytonia March 19: Varsity Golf opens at Geneva March 21-22: State Speech in Kearney C2 March 22 March 21: Track at Home SUTTON RELAYS March 25 May 3: NeSA testing for Reading, Mathematics, and Science March 29 April 1: Easter Break April 3-5: State FFA Convention April 7-9: State FCCLA Convention Apri 13: PROM JIM BOVEE, ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL Greetings from the Elementary Principal! I would like to start this newsletter off with a hearty CONGRATULATIONS to the students in grades five and six, as well as the staff, for their accomplishments at the Quiz Bowl contest on February 5, 2013! One team placed 3 rd and the other placed 8 th in a competition that included schools from every class (A, B, C-1, C-2,D-1 and D-2) in the Hastings area. The students practiced hard and were well prepared for the competition. As noted in the last newsletter, we are moving into that time of the year when our students in grades begin taking our state tests and our MAPs tests in reading, math and science. The state test (NeSA) measures how well our students are doing in comparison to their peers across the State of Nebraska, and the MAPs test measures how well our students are doing in comparison to their peers across the nation. We already completed our writing tests in early February. As always, we are asking that you do your best to avoid appointments and days out of school on test days. Our teachers will be meeting on February 13 to determine exact days for MAPs testing and NeSA tests. The lingo we use for communicating test dates is windows for testing, meaning that within a certain timeframe the Nebraska Department of Education requires that we complete our testing. Our testing window for MAPs is from March 4 to March 22. We will complete all of our MAPs tests during that time. As soon as we have the exact days scheduled, your child s teacher will send that information home. Our testing window for NeSA is from March 25 to May 3.

4 PAGE 4 SUTTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS JIM BOVEE, ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL We will complete all of our NeSA tests during that time. Once again, when the teachers have the exact days scheduled within the window, they will send that information home with your children. To further assist our families with this process, we have included state testing and state standards information on our school website (thank you Mrs. Stone and Mr. Reifert). If you go to the website, there is a heading titled Resources. Directly under the Resources heading, there is an item titled Nebraska Standards. If you click on Nebraska Standards, the site will link you to information about test dates, the standards, parent information, etc. We recommend that you check out the state standards as that will give you information regarding skills and content knowledge your child will need at each grade level to be successful. Even though we test standards in grades 3-6, we encourage parents of students in grades Kindergarten through second grade to check out the state standards for those grade levels as well. Again, it will help answer any questions you may have about skills and content areas taught in those grade levels. We know that many of our parents work with their children at home and buy educational books. The more knowledge you have about learning standards, the better prepared you will be to help your children learn. Here are some reminders for upcoming events we always look forward to seeing you at the schoolhouse! Please note these days and activities on your calendars! The County Spelling Bee was held on February 20 at Clay Center. On February 26 Holli Weber, County Extension agent provided a 4-H activity in the elementary library. Ms. Weber presentation was on a topic titled: Where s the Beef. We hope your child registered and enjoyed that presentation. Please note that there is no school on March 1, 8, 29 and April 1. Parent Teacher Conferences will be held March 4 and 5. We look forward to seeing our parents and appreciate the excellent turnout we have for conferences. On March 26 The York College Children s Theater will give a performance from Stuart Little for our elementary students. Our Volunteer Tea will be April 10 at 4:00 in the elementary library. We look forward to the opportunity to say thank you to the many volunteers that give their time throughout the year. April 20 is a special day for all the students from the Class of 2026! Kindergarten Round-up begins at 8:30 for the first group of new students! As you are well aware, between all of the activities and the testing windows, we are a very busy place. The days fly by and we already find ourselves deep into the planning for the school year. I encourage all of us to stop and take a deep breath of appreciation for the privilege we experience every day working with our young learners. May we be ever mindful that in all of the business and urgency we feel in getting everything accomplished, that our students are not only learning what we teach, but what we model as well!

5 PAGE 5 SUTTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS DEB OSTERHAUS-KINDERGARTEN ROUNDUP ROUNDUP WILL BE HELD ON FRIDAY, APRIL 12 th Kindergarten Roundup for the Sutton Public Schools has been set for Friday, April 12 th, For Kindergarten Roundup, we will divide into two sections according to the following: **Children with last names beginning with A through J will meet from 8:30 9:30 a.m. **Children with last names beginning with K through Z will meet from 9:45 10:45 a.m. If you are considering sending your son or daughter to Kindergarten during the school year, please call the elementary office at if you have not received a Kindergarten packet by Fri., March 15. Students are eligible if they reach the age of 5 by July 31, In addition, the Kindergarten entrance law states that students who will turn 6 before January 1, 2014 and are not yet enrolled in school, are required to enroll in school for the school year. Volunteer tea will be Wednesday, April 24 at 4:00 p.m. in the elementary library, see next month s newsletter for more details. Sutton's four seniors are all smiles as they prepare to lead their Fillies into the 2013 Class C-2 State tournament after beating Palmyra Friday night in Friend. Lakyn Mau, Stephanie Osterhaus, Maryah Calkins and Maria Van Kirk

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10 March 2013 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Chicken Fried Burritos, Rice, Chicken Strips, Steak, Mashed Beans, Corn, Carrots & Peas, Potatoes, Fruit Cocktail, Green Beans, School Bread, Chicken Nug- Nacho Bar, Chinese, Rice, Soup Bar, Pizza, Peas & gets, Green Rice, Beans, Mixed Veg- School Bread, Carrots, Fruit Beans & Car- Corn, gies, Mandarin Fresh Veggies, Cocktail, rots, Pears, Oranges, Mixed Fruit, Chicken Patty, Pulled Pork, Easter Dinner Corn Dog, Cheesy Bread Mixed Veg- Chips, Baked Ham, Cheesy Mac & Cheese, Sticks, Fries, gies, Carrots, Beans, Pineap- Potatoes, Tea Peas, Peaches, Green Beans, Pears, ple, Roll, Angel Pears, Food Cake, 24/ Tomato Soup, Chicken Faji- Turkey Hoa- French Dip, Grilled Cheese, tas, Spanish gies, Chips, Mixed Veg- Peas, Pears, Rice, Corn, Fresh Veggies, gies, Broccoli Peaches, Mixed Fruit, & Carrots, Mixed Fruit,

11 March 2013 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 End 3rd Quarter State Basketball- G/Varsity Lincoln 2 State Basketball- G/Varsity Lincoln Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00 To 8:30 Pm Dismiss 2:00 Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00 To 8:30 Pm Dismiss 2:00 State Basketball- B/Varsity Lincoln State Basketball- B/Varsity Lincoln Teacher Comp Day ACT Registration Deadline State Basketball -B/Varsity Lincoln ACT Late Fee Required :00pm Speech Open House Hosting District Speech 7:00pm FFA- Meeting FFA-District Career Development Event (CDE's) 7:00pm 7-12 Band/Choir Concert :00pm Golf-B/ Varsity Sutton vs. Multiple Schools 4:00pm Track- Varsity Wilber- Clatonia vs. Multiple Schools 11:30am Track- Varsity Sutton vs. Multiple Schools Home State Speech Kearney State Speech Kearney 24/ :00pm Speech Banquet 12:30pm Track- JH Away vs. Sandy Creek Junior / Senior 12:30pm Track- Varsity Sutton vs. Multiple Schools 4:00pm Golf-B/ Varsity Sutton vs. Multiple Schools 9:00am Golf-B/ Varsity Away vs. Superior Junior / Senior 2:00pm Actions Day 10:00pm Track- JH Away vs. Friend

12 SUTTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS DISTRICT NEWS SUTTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS P.O. Box 590 Sutton, NE Address Service Requested NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID SUTTON, NE PERMIT NO.3 ECRWSS POSTAL CUSTOMER Final score Mustangs 55 Thunderbirds 47. The win gives the Mustangs the District title and the top seed in next weeks Boys State Basketball Tournament Good Luck Fillies and Mustangs at State