E-Hawk Happenings

A little excitement!

2012-02-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

As many of you read in my email, we had a little excitement in the middle/high school on Friday. The fire alarms went off after we had a short circuit in one of our drinking fountains. The students and staff did a great job evacuating the building in spite of the freezing cold. Thanks to the fire department for arriving so quickly to help us make sure everything was safe. There never was a fire, just a lot of smoke in the hallway on the north end of the high school gym. We've ordered a replacement fixture and our electrician has already been out to check everything over. That's enough of that type of excitement for the entire year for me.

I want to congratulate Paige Naig on scoring 1,004 points during her varsity career at EHS. She scored her final 18 points on Saturday night in the regional game versus NSKAR. In addition, I want to congratulate Nick Schany, Justin Studer, Austin McCartan, Andrew Wellik, and Brady Bailey for making it to the state wrestling tournament this week in Des Moines. The first round takes place on Thursday night at 7:00. The boys basketball teams starts their post-season on Monday night when they travel to Sioux Rapids to take on Sioux Central.

It's an exciting time to be an E-Hawk! Have a great week.

Bullying and Harassment

2012-01-17T18:47:00.000-08:00

I've got a serious topic to discuss today. Specifically, bullying and harassment in our school. I want to start by saying I am committed to ending these behaviors in our school. As a start to this, I have created two web pages on the district's website I would like to share with you. First is this website with some general information about bullying and harassment. You can check this page out at anytime by using the link from the main page of the school website. In addition, I have created this page where anyone can report bullying that is occurring in our school. Our hope is to educate everyone as to what bullying is and what can be done about it, and I hope to make it as easy as possible for any student, parent, or community member to report any bullying that they know about.

In addition to setting up these web resources, I've met with my teacher bullying committee. They are a group of teachers who have helped with analyzing our bullying data and they have organized some bullying activities for our students. In addition, I've met with my student advisory group and discussed bullying. My student advisory group is made up of students from grades 9-12. We meet three times a year to discuss issues that affect our school and students. Finally, I also had a parent advisory meeting on Monday, January 16th with 28 parents in attendance. I hold these meetings two times during the year to also discuss issues that affect our school. One topic of discussion with each of these groups was bullying and harassment in our school. I heard and learned a lot, and we will be doing some things based on the feedback that was received.

Some of the feedback I received included discussion on the expansion of cyberbullying. With everyone carrying a cell phone and/or a computer the use of technology in negative ways continues to expand. I also heard concerns about the ways that bullying may start with a comment or post on a Facebook page. Then someone sees it and misinterprets it and responds with something else. It soon escalates out of control and we have a case of bullying or harassment. We also talked about bullying that occurs in the school and ways we can prevent it.

Some things that we are working on yet this semester. We will be bringing in some guest speakers to meet with our students during some of their classes to address bullying concerns. We will have people talking about empathy, cyberbullying, and the legal aspects of bullying. Based on feedback we will be working with our female students separately from our male students. All groups felt that male and female students approach bullying differently, so we felt a different approach would be more effective with each group. We will be posting some signs around the building reminding students about the consequences of bullying and giving victims and bystanders suggestions for ways they can stop it. These are just some of the things we will be working on. As the year progresses, ask your child from time to time what things they are seeing related to bullying prevention in the school.

Finally, I appreciate all of the students, parents, and staff members who have provided feedback to help improve our school. In order to make real improvement in our district, it takes a lot of effort from everyone. I say it all the time, I want to have the best school possible for our students, staff and community. If you want to know how you can help and be more involved, please contact me at any time. Thanks for listening.

Fifth and Sixth Grade Changes

2012-01-11T17:06:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe it's January 11th and there is hardly any snow on the ground. I don't know if it's the weather or what, but it's hard to believe we are into the second semester already. The first semester went well and our students are well on their way with their second semester work.

If you have a fifth or sixth grade student or if you know one, you have probably heard about some procedure changes at the middle school. Starting this semester, we are asking our fifth and sixth grade students to line up and walk quietly and orderly from class to class and to bring their materials for 2 or 3 classes at a time so they don't need to go to their lockers as often. In spite of rumors to the contrary, there have been no changes to the lunch phase, though we now ask them to walk quietly and orderly to and from lunch. Now you are probably wondering why we made the changes.

It all began with a conversation about our sixth graders academic performance. We began to notice that our sixth grade students were not making as much progress as we expected and some classes were actually losing ground during this grade. We looked at our data for a number of years and we see the pattern has existed for a long time. We have essentially the same teachers teaching sixth grade that teach fifth grade and good progress was made in fifth, so what changes during sixth grade? In doing research we found a lot of information about the "sixth grade slump". This slump is seen state and nation-wide. There are a number of reasons offered for the slump including; "sixth graders are at an especially impressionable age and their relative freedom" in the middle school environment causes this slump, the transition to pre-teen and interest in the opposite sex causes the slump, and a host of other things that could be the reason their learning slows or declines in sixth grade. It should be noted that we generally see a return to good growth in seventh grade, but because we didn't see adequate growth in sixth grade the students are still not where we believe they should be by the end of seventh grade.

So, we found a lot of "reasons" for this slump in sixth grade. In looking for solutions one solution that we found everywhere we looked was that sixth grade students perform better when taught in an elementary school or in an elementary type environment. I couldn't take them back to elementary school, so I asked the fifth and sixth grade teachers what things were they seeing that were causing distractions to learning and what procedures could we use to solve them. They talked about the "couples" that were cropping up among our sixth graders and the strong preoccupation with the opposite sex. They also talked about the times when students would come back from their lockers upset or excited because of something that happened there. We began brainstorming procedures that would minimize these distractions to learning for our students. I also visited with several elementary teachers to see how these things were handled in their building. Which is how we came up with the procedures that we have.

First, when they come to class for the first period of the day, we ask them to bring their books for periods 1, 2, and 3. This eliminates the problems associated with going to their locker after each class. This has eliminated the opportunities for drama, teasing, bullying, and other negative behaviors that happen on the way there and back. We ask them to do the same thing in the afternoon for their classes during periods 7 and 8. In between, the students have specials which generally don't require books or study hall where they take whatever books they need.

The second thing we did was to ask them to line up and walk quietly and orderly from class to class. At the end of one class period, the students line up at the door and walk quietly to their next class and take their seat ready to begin class. As they have their books already, many distractions have been eliminated. When the students are going to specials, they line up and walk to their lockers with the specials teachers. They put their books in their locker and continue on to the appropriate specials classroom.

We did not make any changes at lunch, because we know students need socializing time and we feel that lunch and recess are appropriate times for this. Overall, I've been please with the results so far. We have some kinks to continue to work out, but the students and staff have done a great job of handling this change. As one teacher said to me today, "I'm not sure why we haven't been doing this all along." because they are seeing a difference in their classrooms. Students are arriving to class ready to work. There is no wasted time as students get "settled" down from all the happenings at their lockers or in the hallways.

I know that anytime a change is put in place, it is not always popular with everyone. However, this change is already showing positive results for our students. If you want to see how it works, please feel free to stop in some time and you can see how great our students and staff are doing with this. Of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time. Have a great week!

I'm Back!

2011-10-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time since I last posted a blog entry, but as the title says, I'm Back! It's been an exciting year so far and it's hard to believe that the end of the quarter is here already. As you know we started our 1 to 1 program this year at the high school. Overall, I've been very pleased with the results. We've had some challenges with our internet use and continue to learn ways to improve our system; however, the students and staff have done a great job implementing the new technology in to their classes and lives.

Next week are conferences. They are Tuesday and Thursday from 4:00 to 7:30. The middle school teachers have scheduled conferences for each student. The high school teachers will meet with students in the student center. As the quarter is ending on Friday, we won't have time to mail out report cards. You may either check them online or please stop in the office the night of conferences and we will have them available for you. A reminder to middle school parents that the music teachers will be in the music room and the other specials teachers will be in the student center. Even though specific times are not scheduled, please take time to stop in and visit with them.

Finally, we are winding down the fall activities. The volleyball team closed out their season Tuesday night. The cross country team finished up their season tonight with the district meet in Holstein. Congratulations to Olivia Smith for qualifying for the state cross country meet. The football team has sealed up the district championship, but has one game to play on Friday against Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. We will host a first round play-off game next Wednesday night. The junior class is selling state play-off t'shirts as a fund-raiser for prom. You may place your order by completing the order form on the school website, or there will be a limited number available after the football game this Friday.

Go E-Hawks!!

It's Parent-Teacher Conference Time

2011-03-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

St. Patrick's Day is almost here. The month of March is going by quickly and it also signals the time for Parent-Teacher Conferences for the end of the third quarter. They will take place on Tuesday and Thursday night from 4 to 7:30. The high school conferences will take place in the student center. We are doing things a little different at the middle school this spring by scheduling each conference and having the students lead the conference. I've had a couple of parents contact me to inquire why we are doing this. First, we hope by scheduling the conferences parents will not have to wait as long to see their child's teacher. Second, by involving the student in the conference, we want the child to be able to share all the great things he/she has been working on this quarter and feel good about the things that have been done. In addition, we feel this will hope each student see what needs to be done to improve his/her performance for the rest of the school year. If you have a middle school student and do not know when your conference time is or if you need to reschedule you conference time, please contact the middle school office and they will be able to help you.

Speaking of conferences, I want to share a few tips for you to maximize your conference experience. First, it's important to remember that teachers want the same thing for your child as you do, they want your child to be successful. Second, conferences are a time for two way communication. You should be prepared to hear how your child is doing in school and you should also share with the teachers things you know about your child. When you share your child's interests, needs, and skills the teacher can help your child more. You can also prepare for conferences by reviewing your child's grade, checking any recent homework, and checking the student's progress using the parent access tool on the school's website. While doing these things it would be beneficial if you started a list of questions that you could ask during conferences. In addition, think about your child's strengths and challenges and be prepared to ask the teacher ways you can best help your child at home.

Finally, you should be prepared to hear about things your child is doing well and things your child could improve upon. You can find out more by asking questions such as how is my child performing compared to his/her classmates? What does the teacher see as your child's strengths? How could your child improve? Be sure to share any thoughts you may have about your child. What do you see as your child's strengths? What do you see that your child could improve on? Ask what you can do at home and also ask what should your child do if they have difficulty with a class or teacher. When you get home, discuss the conference with your child. What did you learn? Are there other questions that have come up for your child? Don't forget, you can always follow up with the teacher after the conference if you need additional information or ideas. All of our staff members are here to help.

I hope to see you at conferences. If you have any questions, please contact me or the office of the building where your child attends. Have a great week!

Study Table and More Thoughts on Technology

2011-02-13T15:42:00.000-08:00

The year continues to roll along. First, congratulations to Justin Studer, Skyler Rice, Austin McCartan, and Nick Schany on qualifying for the state wrestling tournament in Des Moines. These four young men truly epitomize the E-Hawk athlete. Through their hard work and efforts they are enjoying the success that comes with it. Good luck guys!!

Also, we've had five snow days so far and the last day of school will now be on May 27th. Our next snow day will be made up on April 25th and any after that will be made up beginning May 31st. Because of the snow day we will be moving the end of the third quarter back to March 9th. Currently it is March 4th. Conferences will be the same on March 15th and 17th. We recently completed mid-terms which leads me to my next topic: study table.

We implemented a study table at the high school on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:00 for any student who is failing any class. All students are welcome to attend, but if a student is failing a class then attendance is mandatory. In looking at our mid-term reports, we have reduced the number of students failing one or more classes at the third quarter mid-term by 36% compared to last year at this time. That's really exciting and reinforces the effectiveness of this program. All teachers are available during this time to answer any questions that may arise or provide any help that is needed. We will continue with this program for the remainder of the year. If your child is struggling in a class, I would encourage you to have them stop in to the library on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school.

On Monday night February 28th, I will be hosting a parent advisory meeting. One of the topics for that night will be to explain what we are thinking with our Anytime Anywhere learning initiative and to gather parent and community feedback on this topic. The meeting will start at 7:00 in the high school library and I encourage you to attend as your feedback is important. Beginning in the fall of 2011 we are considering purchasing a laptop for each student in grades 9-12 and having available a laptop cart for each grade level from kindergarten through 8th grade. I've talked about his before and I would encourage you to take a look at my previous post on the topic. One area I wanted to touch on though was how we would fund this. The district has a fund, called the Physical Plant and Equipement Levy (PPEL) for building improvements and the purchase of items that are somewhat expensive and have a useful life of over one year. Computers fall into this category. The school board has the authority to levy 33 cents per thousand to be used by this fund. That would generate approximately $99,000 per year. That levy along with our current PPEL reserves would allow us to start this program and maintain it into the foreseeable future. I know that whenever we talk about adding a tax, that can cause concern for some, but you show know that the district will likely be lowering taxes for next year--even with this added tax everyone's school tax should be lower than it was this year. Please note, the legislature hasn't given us our budget for next year so that could change, but based on the discussion I'm hearing I doubt it will. To learn more about the cost of this program and what it will look like, I hope you will plan to attend the meeting in the high school library on March 3rd at 7:00 p.m.

Finally, unfortunately, the girls basketball season has come to an end--but they improved in a lot of areas and will continue to improve in the coming years. The boys basketball team opens tournament play on Monday, February 14th when we host ELC. Also, girls track practice starts that day. Spring is on the way!

Anytime---Anywhere Learning

2011-01-18T05:42:00.000-08:00

First, I want to congratulate the boys and girls basketball teams on exciting wins last night over Hartley Melvin Sanborn. The girls made an incredible comeback during the second half. Congratulations to coaches Kennedy and Brennan on a great night of basketball.

Second, I had the opportunity last night to share a technology program we are looking at for next school year with the Emmetsburg Community Schools Board of Education. It involves providing a laptop computer for each student in grades 9-12 and purchasing a mobile lab for each grade in grades K-8. This initiative is something we have been working on for several years now and this program is the next logical progression in our use of technology.

Some of the reasons we are looking at doing this include; increasing student engagement in their coursework; improving student higher level thinking, providing access to additional resources of the world wide web, providing equity in computer access as some students do not have access to computers outside of school, providing students the opportunity to learn when it's most convenient for them and at a level that meets the needs of the individual students, and it will help all students develop technology skills that are necessary in today's world. Finally, it's important to note that our student's world is filled with technology. They have access to a variety of technology from smart phones to Ipods to netbooks and a host of other devices. The students are ready for expanded technology use, they are waiting for the school district to catch up with them.

There are a lot of things to do before we make a final decision on this. First, I will be hosting a parent advisory meeting in February in which I will be seeking feedback on this initiative. Second, we will continue training our teachers in ways to use technology in their classrooms. Finally, we will continue to get the word out on this initiative and what it will look like.

To close this blog, below is a video that I found interesting. It doesn't talk about technology specifically, but it does talk about change in education. I don't agree with everything in the video, but I've used it with our staff members as a starting point for discussion on some of the things we are doing here in Emmetsburg.

I will be talking more about this program in future blog posts and addressing things such as how will we pay for this and how will we make sure all teachers are ready for it; however, my purpose today was to share our basic idea. If you have any questions or comments on this program, I encourage you to contact me directly.

High School Study Table

2011-01-16T12:34:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share an opportunity that is starting this week at the high school. On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:00 we will be holding a study table in the high school library. This study table is open to any student in grades 9-12 who feels they need help in any area. In addition, any student in grade 9-12 who is failing a class will be required to come to the study table until they are passing all classes. Nearly all teachers will be present to assist students with any difficulties they may be having. The only teachers who may be unavailable will be coaches.

We tried this at the end of the second quarter with the freshmen students and the results were extremely positive. This is similar to the homework camp we have established at the middle school and we hope the results will be similar. By the way, we had no failing students at the end of the first semester in the middle school. I believe this is a direct outcome of our homework camp. We have seen the number of failing students decrease each year since implementing it three years ago. We are now at zero failures for the first semester--we've achieved a huge goal. We are working to have a similar outcome at the high school. A couple of key points to remember: 1) This is not a punishment. We are trying to create a situation where all students can be successful. It may be having some concept or idea retaught, getting help with homework, or monitoring homework completion to make sure it's getting done. Whatever the reason for attendance, this is not punishing the student but rather it is helping them succeed. 2) We are requiring students who are failing a class to attend. We will check grades each Tuesday and Thursday at noon. If they are failing, they will need to come to study table to get whatever extra help is needed to earn a passing grade. If they are in extra-curricular activities, they will need to miss practice for the study table; however, students will not miss any competitions because of attendance at the study table. I hope you will visit with your child about the importance of this and make this a top priority, especially if your child is failing.

Our teachers and staff members are committed to helping all students at EHS be successful. If your child is struggling, I hope you will take a little time to visit with your child on ways this opportunity may help them be successful.

2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders sing the National Anthem

2011-01-14T17:17:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders for singing the National Anthem before the Spirit Lake basketball game.

Snowshoeing with Sixth Grade

2011-01-14T08:57:00.000-08:00

It's good to be back from break. Though with the snow days this week, it feels like another break. Anyway, I wanted to share with you an exciting activity that Mr. Hadley did with the sixth grade students today. All of the sixth grade students went snowshoeing behind the school. Miriam Patton, the Palo Alto County Naturalist brought snowshoes for each student. It was a little challenging to get the shoes on, but once they got going they had a great time. I've uploaded a video to Youtube--it's a little cheesy, but I'm trying some new software and it has an "Instant Movie" button. I may take more time later to edit it a little more. I would also like to express my thanks to Miriam Patton for doing this and the other many activities she does with our students. She is a great resource within our school and community.

SNOW!! ...and mid-term

2010-11-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

   I don't know about you, but I was not ready for this weekend's snow. Fortunately, once things get cleaned off it will pretty much melt away yet. Though that won't last for long. It is the middle of November after all. I guess it's time to be ready for winter weather, though I personally feel pretty spoiled by how nice the weather has been. In the past, we have used SNOWCAP as a message notification service for weather and other announcements; unfortunately, it wasn't very reliable so this year we will be using Twitter, our website, and of course local media to get the word out on weather related announcements. If you have text messaging, please send the following text message to "Follow Ehawkprincipal" to 40404. We will continue to do SNOWCAP until our subscription runs out---around the end of December. There is no charge to use Twitter unless your phone carrier charges you for text messages. I will also use this account to send other school messages from time to time.

   It's hard to believe, but this Friday is mid-term for the second quarter. Fall sports and activities are wrapped up and all winter sports will be underway after tomorrow. One last event for fall is the Fall Vocal concert which will take place on Tuesday night at 8:00 in the auditorium. Mr. Fog and the students have been working hard to get ready for this show. It always amazes me how they can do a great musical like All Shook Up and also prepare for this concert. Anyway, our concerts always impress, so I hope to see the auditorium nearly full. Please invite your family and friends, the students work hard preparing and it's always more fun to have a full house to perform for.

   Have a great week!!

Weather, Football, Musical, Sportsmanship...

2010-11-10T20:37:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I've really been enjoying the weather. It's hard to believe it's November 10th already. As you may be able to tell by the title of this post, I have a lot of things on my mind. The weather has been great--though it looks like it's in the process of changing. Although I'm not complaining as it's still pretty nice for this time of year.

Congratulations to the football team on a successful season. Our athletes and coaches have done a great job this year. It's unfortunate the season ended when it did, but our coaches and athletes put forth tremendous effort. We often get focused on the wins and losses of our athletes, but participation in athletics is about so much more than that. I look at the way many of our athletes have developed leadership and character attributes that will be with them for the rest of their lives. Sure, we all enjoy it when the team travels to the dome and we get to put another trophy in the case; however, the real success is seen in the athletes themselves. As they go through coach Dunlap's leadership program, weightlifting program, and speed and agility workouts they see first hand how their hard work can transform them. In addition, they see how hard work and sacrifice today can pay off in the future---that pay off may not always be a trip to the dome but it does lead to a successful season and helps build positive characteristics that will help each student as they leave Emmetsburg High School and go on to his next stage of life.

We also wrapped up the final weekend of the musical. WOW!! What a great show. Thanks to everyone who attended a show. Friday night we filled the auditorium to capacity and Saturday night was nearly as full --what an awesome experience for the students and spectators. I know I've said it before but our students and staff did a great job putting on a spectacular show.

On Monday, I had the opportunity to accompany six of our students to a sportsmanship meeting in Spencer. This meeting is put on annually by the Lakes Conference Athletic Directors. Mr. Carter would normally take the students; however, because of the football game that evening, I took them. The purpose of this meeting is to have some of our students learn about and help formulate spectator expectations at Lakes Conference Events. The meeting started with a panel of four officials who shared their thoughts on sportsmanship. They shared how impressed they are with the Lakes Conference and most thought we were one of the few conferences who have this type of meeting. They also shared that they felt it made a difference based on the behavior that they have witnessed at Lakes Conference events. One official shared how every official wants to do the best job possible. We then broke the students into groups and a pair of Activity Directors facilitated a discussion on what is and what is not appropriate during a game. I worked with Mr. Vanderwoude the A.D from Spirit Lake.

A couple of key points that our group came up with. First, we are there to support our team on the floor. Second, some students want to bring cheers they hear at college and professional sports. Those events generally involve highly paid athletes and the spectator is paying considerably more to attend for their (the spectators) entertainment. In high school, none of the athletes are paid and most are there for the love of the sport. The spectators come to high school events to support their teams more than for the spectator's entertainment. The admission price to a high school event also supports our athletes. All of our extra-curricular program supplies and equipment are funded through activity ticket sales and admission ticket sales to the events--generally, no other school funds are used in our extra-curricular programs. Finally, our group discussed how all cheers that are done by the crowd should be directed at their own team. One of the students mentioned that he thought 95% of the cheers that are aimed at the other team are negative in nature. After the small group discussion, we returned to the large group and shared our thoughts. The big thoughts I came away with were to always cheer for our team and remember the officials are trying to do the best job they can. Finally, we saw several videos at the meeting. Below is one that touched me. It says a lot about sportsmanship.

Conferences and I'm "All Shook Up"

2010-10-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

First, congratulations to the E-Hawk Football team on qualifying for the play-offs. We will host our first game on Wednesday night at 7:00 versus Ridge View. Also, conferences are this week on Tuesday and Thursday night from 4:00 to 7:30. The Middle School teachers will be available in their classrooms during this time and the high school teachers will be in the high school student center. Report cards will be available on line or you may stop into the school office to pick up a copy for your child.

I also had the privilege of watching a preview of the fall musical "All Shook Up" this evening. I really enjoyed the show and the music is great. There's a whole lot of Elvis music in this show, but more importantly the cast is great. The show opens this Friday night at 8:00 in the high school auditorium. Everyone needs to make plans to see this show. It is a fun show to watch and the students and staff have worked incredibly hard on preparing for this show. When you watch the show, you will see many of our football players, volleyball players, student council members, and a host of other students who are working, studying, and doing all of the things that high school students do while finding time to practice for the show. I can tell you that every person in this play has given up a lot of time for this play. It takes a lot of dedication to put on a show like this and our students and staff have done a great job. A little preview for you---It starts out with the cast singing Jailhouse Rock as "Chad" played by Jake Carlson is released. He shows up in a conservative little town and turns things upside down. Soon everyone is falling for someone and the story goes on. You will want to check out the rest for yourself.

I want to make one note about the dedication and effort that is required of our staff members. First, Mr. Phillips is the pit band director and has to be at every practice and more to make sure the pit band is properly prepared. Also, Mrs. Fog is on the piano and makes every practice plus has helped out with practices when Mr. Fog has been unavailable, like when he's at a football game. As you know, Mr. Fog coaches sophomore football and also does the fall musical. He's pretty humble and would give much of the credit to his parent and community volunteers--who do a great job and are a vital part of the production. However, Mr. Fog puts in endless hours building the set, blocking out scenes, planning for practice, and making sure we all have a great show to see. I hope you will encourage everyone you know to see the show. It's a great show that will be enjoyed by all who see it.

I hope to see you at conferences, at the game on Wednesday night, and at the opening of "All Shook Up" on Friday.

Teachers Learning and other things

2010-10-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

   Again, I want to congratulate the E-Hawk Volleyball and Football teams on a successful weekend. The football team was victorious over West Lyon Friday night by a score of 17-10 and the volleyball team won the ELC tournament on Saturday. The volleyball team avenged earlier losses to ELC and Storm Lake. If you haven't had a chance to see the volleyball team yet, be sure to take time on Tuesday, October 5th as they will be hosting Spencer. Also, the football team will be traveling to Sibley on Friday for another exciting game.

   If you haven't checked out the Emmetsburg Photobucket site, be sure to check it here. There are more coronation photos posted and a lot of photos posted from Saturday Night Under the Lights. Below are a couple of photos of some of the boys.

Last week some of the teachers began book studies to help them improve reading instruction. Each year the teachers work collaboratively to improve their understanding and teaching in a specified area. This year, most middle and high school teachers are working on differentiating reading instruction. We have identified reading as an area of greatest need within the Emmetsburg School District. A child's ability to read is directly related to his/her success in school and later in adulthood. With all of the distractions in student's lives such as cell phones, video games, computers, etc.; it is increasingly difficult to motivate some of them to want to read. In addition, this past year the middle school was placed on the state department of education "watch list" because of the performance of our 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students on the reading portion of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills.

To address this need, the middle school teachers are studying the book Differentiating Reading Instruction: How to Teach Reading to Meet the Needs of Each Student

You may click on the book to read more about this book at Amazon.com. Please ask your middle schooler about some of the things they are doing related to reading in their classrooms.

The high school is reading the book Differentiated Instructional Strategies for Reading in the Content Areas.

Again, you may click on the book to learn more at Amazon.com.

In the past, we just assumed that students came to the middle and high school pretty much knowing how to read. We may have needed to work on helping them with some higher level thinking skills and ways to handle advanced material, but overall they have transitioned from learning how to read in the elementary school to learning through reading in the middle school. We now know that most students do come to us with a good base of reading knowledge; however, some students are behind their peers in reading ability and even those who are reading at grade level are in jeopardy of falling behind if they fail to continue to improve their reading skills. One of the best ways students can improve their reading skills is to read. This doesn't just mean school books, but should include a wide variety of books, magazines, newspapers, etc. This should make it easy for each child to find something of interest, plus the library has a variety of publications your child can check out.

Reading is one of the most important skills your child can have for success in school and more importantly his/her life after school. If you have any questions about reading instruction or other ways you can help your child improve his/her reading skills, please feel free to contact your child's teacher or me at any time.

Congratulations E-Hawks!!!

2010-10-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a short post congratulating the football and volleyball teams on their successful play yesterday and today. First, the football team won over West Lyon 17-10 in a hard fought game last night. Second, the volleyball team won the ELC tournament in Estherville today. Great job coaches and athletes--your hard work and perseverance is shining brightly!!!

Homecoming Victory

2010-09-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the E-Hawk football team in their victory over South O'Brien this evening. It was a hard fought game, but the E-Hawks came out on top 41-6. It was a nice end to a school spirit filled week. Before the game, many students participated in a tail gate party. They had food and games and everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun. We also had a chance to hear the middle school band. They sounded great and are well prepared for their performance at Algona Band Days next weekend. Yesterday I talked about the Homecoming King and Queen, Cory Schultes and Chelsey Rouse. Here is a picture of them.

You may click on it to see a larger view. You may also click here to see all of the pictures we took at the event.
Thanks to Mrs. Josephson and Mrs. Schany for taking the pictures. Check back to this link often for as we add additional pictures. You may save any picture you desire to your computer and print it or have it printed if you choose.
Also, today was the homecoming parade. It was well attended. I didn't get to try all of the food and treats that were available but the ones I saw and smelled sure looked great. Thanks again to all of the local businesses for making this an exciting event. Here's some short video clips of some of the parade.

Finally, here's a couple of pictures of the cheerleaders doing their routine during coronation. Again, all the pictures can be seen at this link on photobucket.

You may click on the pictures above to see them in a larger view. Have a great weekend. If you know or see any of our students, please congratulate them on a great homecoming week. See you next week.

Congratulations to Cory Schultes and Chelsey Rouse

2010-09-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the 2010 Homecoming King and Queen, Cory Schultes and Chelsey Rouse. We had a great group of candidates and attendants this year. They included queen candidates; Haley Cody, Morgan Vlasman, and Tacee Leebens; King candidates Arthur Heldt, Tyler Henderson, and Bobby Gappa; our freshmen attendants are Hannah Bird and Aaron Bird; our sophomore attendants are Miranda Vlasman and Austin McCartan; our junior attendants are Katy Degen and Ryan Kliegl. Coronation was a well-attended event. If you didn't get to see it, check out Channel 3 in town on Saturday and Sunday night at 6:30. Unfortunately, with all of the rain today, we were unable to hold the bonfire tonight. However, please let the members of the retail association know how much we appreciate their support in sponsoring this event. Hopefully next year it works out a little better.

We held out annual homeroom olympics today at 2:30 in the high school. For those who don't know what that is, student council sets up a series of events that each homeroom must complete. The homerooms earn points based on how they perform at each of the events. Below is a short highlight video of some of the activities and it ends with a few clips from coronation.

As you can see, the students get pretty excited about the activities. The junior and senior homeroom that scores the most points gets the upperclassmen trophy. The freshmen and sophomore homeroom that scores the most points gets the underclassmen trophy. It's been an exciting week. Tomorrow is the parade at 2:45. I hope to see you there. Have a good weekend.

What a great day!!

2010-09-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a lot of fun so far this homecoming week. The students have shown a lot of good spirit through the dress up days. Today we ran a one hour early out schedule and then took the last hour to decorate for homecoming. The middle school did some decorating around the building and even did some sidewalk art out front. They also prepared their spirit boards and sandwich boards for the parade. Finally, a number of students went to the tennis courts and spelled out some things with cups. Their school spirit really shows.

At the high school, we did similar things. In addition, we took some of the seniors downtown to decorate some windows on the merchants. Thanks to all of the merchants who allowed our students to decorate their windows. Of course, we had students over building floats for the parade and some were getting the auditorium ready for coronation. Below is a video with some highlights of some of the decorating.

We take time to do these activities to let the students express their school spirit. Our students do a great job and I feel fortunate to have the privilege of working with so many fine youth.

Continuing on with homecoming week. On Thursday, we will hold coronation practice at noon. The high school will have Homeroom Olympics at 2:30 on Thursday afternoon and coronation will be held in the auditorium at 7:30. The bonfire will be returning on Thursday night after coronation. The Emmetsburg Retail Association will be sponsoring the bonfire this year. It will take place at the country club immediately after coronation. Thanks to the retail association for sponsoring this event. I hope to see you there.

On Friday morning, our cheerleaders and senior athletes will be visiting the Catholic School, West Elementary and the Middle School where they will participate in pep rallies. School will be dismissed at 2:15 on Friday with the parade following at 2:45. The local businesses will be having a tailgate party during the parade. Instead of a dance this year, the students will be having their own tailgate party at the high school before the game. They will be participating in games and eating lots of food before the E-Hawks take on South O'Brien at 7:00. It takes a lot of effort to pull off a homecoming week; including the teachers, students, student council members, and community businesses and individuals who help us out in various ways. Check back each day as I will have more details to share as the week goes on. Have a great week and Go E-Hawks!!

It's Homecoming!!

2010-09-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

The weather this weekend sure feels like it's homecoming week, so I guess I shouldn't be so surprised that it's here already. We have a lot of activities planned this week. We have a variety of dress up days planned. On Wednesday, we will be doing our annual homeroom olympics. On Thursday, the middle school and high schools will take the last hour of the day and decorate the school grounds, build floats for the parade, paint windows of downtown businesses, and get the auditorium ready for coronation. Coronation will take place at 7:30 on Thursday night in the auditorium. The Emmetsburg Retail Association will be sponsoring a bonfire immediately after the coronation. On Friday, the cheerleaders and senior fall athletes will make the rounds to the elementary, Catholic, and middle schools for pep rallies. School will be dismissed at 2:15 on Friday for the Homecoming Parade. Thanks to all of the local businesses for making this an exciting event. At 7:00 on Friday, the E-Hawks will be taking on South O'Brien.

It takes a lot of people to make homecoming week a success. Leading the way is Mrs. Welander and the student council who organize the week's events. In addition, the class sponsors spend time planning and organizing the responsibilities of their students and making sure the responsibilities are carried out. Finally, the cheerleaders keep everyone energized for Friday and the band is prepared to play in the parade and the game. I also want to mention our students who work hard throughout the week decorating and participating in the many activities that are available to them. I hope you check out the many events that will be occurring this week at EHS.

E-Hawk Volleyball

2010-08-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the E-Hawk volleyball team on their victory over Laurens-Marathon tonight. It was an exciting match that came down to the final game. The girls hung in there and pulled off a victory. Great Job!!! Watching Morgan smash the ball, Nicole leaping to attack the ball, and all the girls playing together and cheering each other on was fun to see. We even had the chance to see the Choo-Choo Train. If you missed it, I hope to see you next Tuesday when they host Pocahontas.

First Full Week

2010-08-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

With the coming week, school will be in full swing. This week we have a lot of activities going on. The freshmen and sophomore football teams will be heading to Spencer on Monday night to play their first game, on Tuesday the cross country teams will be going to Spirit Lake and the volleyball teams will be heading to Laurens, and on Friday the football team will be hosting Spencer. Don't forget on Friday the band boosters will have their annual barbecue before the game. I hope to see you around this week.

Congratulations to the football team on their opening victory against Estherville. I also want to congratulate the cheerleaders on a fine performance. Our new cheer coach, Miss VandeZande has the girls fired up and ready to go. Thanks to all of the fans who made the trip to Estherville, the student athletes really appreciate your support. Have a great week.

Here is a short clip of some action from the game and also the great work by the cheerleaders.

What a Great First Day!!

2010-08-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

Today was one of the best first days in my 13 years in education. The students were excited and ready to come back. The majority of high school students were here by 8:00 in the gym and ready to get the day started. We have a great student body this year who will make this the best year ever. Below is a short video of the students this morning.

In addition, our staff is committed to helping every student be successful. In my classroom visits today, I heard many teachers talk about not letting the students fail and ways they can be successful in their classes. The two key factors I heard over and over were that students need to be in school every day and they need to complete all assigned work. These two things along with honest effort will help every student be successful this year.

One last note, when dropping students off at the middle school, please remember to pull up in front of the high school and drop them off their. This will speed up the drop-off process for everyone and ease the traffic jam in front of the school. Thanks for your help with this and have a great week.

The First Day of School

2010-08-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

I hope you're as excited as I am about the first day of school. Even though not all of the students will admit it, they are ready to come back. I saw many of them wandering through the building today getting their lockers ready, making schedule changes, or just checking out where their classrooms are. I even saw a group of senior girls this evening hanging posters on their classmate's lockers. It's the beginning of another great year and I am excited and ready to go. I've talked to a number of parents who are also excited for school to start, though I suspect their feelings are a little different than mine.

We have some new faces at the middle and high school this year. Mrs. Eischen has moved from West Elementary to teach seventh and eighth grade Language Arts, Mrs. Mueller has moved from West to teach Middle School special education. In the high school, we have four new teachers: Mrs. Fries will teach special education, Mrs. Thilges will also teach special education, Mrs. Moffitt will teach Family and Consumer Sciences, and Mr. Pickett will teach Freshmen Science and Biology. Each of these teachers bring a lot of passion to their positions and are fitting in very well with our staff.

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to work with your child. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact myself or anyone at the school who you feel may best help you. Have a great school year!

Fall Activities Parent Meeting

2010-08-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

I want to express my thanks to all of the parents and students who attended our fall activities parent meeting and volleyball and football scrimmages. The E-Hawk volleyball team has a solid group of seniors leading the way this season. They've been working hard all year and I know good things will happen for them this season. The football team looked scrappy on the field as well. I'm sure the coaches will struggle with who to put in the various starting positions. They've got a lot of talent this year which is a good problem to have. I'm sure we'll see a lot of players on the field this fall. The cross country team was also introduced and has a solid nucleus of athletes. I'm looking forward to watching all of our athletes on the course, on the gym, and on the field this fall. I hope you will join me for as many events as you can come to. Our athletes work hard preparing for the season and it makes a lot of difference when the stands are full and they know we are out there supporting them.

Mr. Carter opened the meeting with a short DVD put out by the Iowa High School Athletic Association featuring Livermore native, University of Iowa player, and current Indianapolis Colt, Dallas Clark. He talked about avoiding alcohol and other negative behaviors. He went on to say that his avoidance of alcohol has played a key role in his success. Its an important message and I encourage you to talk to your student about this. As parents, you still are the most influential people in your child's life. Make sure they know how you feel about alcohol and tobacco use. It could have a tremendous impact on your child's life. This year's IHSAA character post is of Dallas Clark. You can view it here.

Another topic presented at tonight's meeting is that of sportsmanship. Mr. Carter does a great job of sharing the importance of showing good sportsmanship by the players, coaches, and fans. When attending games, please remember a few points. First, always keep your cheers and yelling positive and directed at our team. If an official makes a mistake, it happens, our coaches will take care of it. The official is not going to change the call. They are told not to; otherwise, coaches and players will be questioning everything. They know when they've made a mistake. If everyone starts yelling during the game, they may become flustered and make another mistake. No one wants that. I'm reminded of the Armando Galarrago incident from this summer. If you don't know, he is a Major League Baseball player who was one out away from throwing a perfect game this summer; however, a blown call by the umpire cost him the perfect game. After the game, the umpire apologized for the mistake and Galarrago showed a lot of class in how he handled it. Each of our officials wants to do their best. However, part of each game is the human element the athletes and officials bring to it. Coaches and athletes must prepare for it as it is part of competition. Please come to each game and cheer our E-Hawks on as loud as you can. They've worked hard and deserve all of our support. If there are any problems, our coaches will deal with them as needed. Thanks for your help with this.

Here's a video of the interview with Galarraga after the blown call. He shows a lot of class.

Finally, a couple of reminders. Orientation for Freshmen and new high school students will take place Monday morning, August 23rd, at 9:00. It will run until noon at which time the parents are invited to join us for a light lunch of pizza. On Monday night, the middle school will hold its open house. This provides a time for parents and students to come in and find their lockers and make sure they know where they will be going the first days of school. Of course, school starts on Wednesday at 8:10 at the middle school and 8:13 at the high school. I'm looking forward to it. If you haven't signed up yet, please click on the link to the left to "Follow me on Twitter." My username is Ehawkprincipal. I will use Twitter to send out messages and information on things happening at the school. Have a great weekend.

Welcome Back

2010-08-15T13:01:00.001-07:00

It’s hard to believe that summer is over and now registration is done for the coming year. This week the teachers will start back and before long the students will be here as well. We had a great turn out for registration this year and I want to personally thank you for coming in to register your child during our registration time. If you didn’t make it to the regular registration times, please visit the office of the building where your child or children attend.

It’s been a busy summer getting the buildings ready for fall. Clint Young Construction has poured the concrete for the outside playground area/basketball court for the casino grant our students wrote. Thanks to the Palo Alto County Gaming Development Corporation (PACGDC) for helping with the funding of this project. It wouldn’t have happened without them.

We’ve also been busy getting our computers set up for our teachers. Every staff member in the district will receive a new computer this fall. Again, the PACGDC was a large contributor to this project. We will use this technology to help our students increase their knowledge and skills in all areas using the latest available technologies.

Speaking of technology, I encourage you and your child(ren) to follow me on Twitter. I am new to Twitter, but I plan on sending frequent updates on things happening in the school. It may be reminders of changes in our regular schedule or procedures related to school. It may be live updates on the many activities that go on at Emmetsburg High/Middle School or other information that may be of interest to anyone connected with our school. Signing up for Twitter doesn’t cost anything and it’s another valuable tool for parents and students to keep up with what’s going on at school. You may also sign up to have my tweets sent directly to your phone as a text message. That’s up to you, but note that regular text rates will apply, so you may want to make sure you have an unlimited plan or a lot of extra texts available each month.

This week our new teachers start on Wednesday and all other teachers start on Thursday. Friday is the girls cheer clinic and the fall sports parent meeting. If you have a child involved in any fall sports, I encourage you to attend this meeting. There will be a lot of important information shared from your child’s coaches. It is also a good time to get a preview of our volleyball and football teams. I hope to see you there. Have a great week!

I'm Back After a Loooooong Break

2010-04-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus, I'm back to blogging. This has been an exciting seven days at the middle school and high school. Last weekend the music department had a successful trip to Orlando, Florida. On Friday, the remaining high school students went to Camp Foster in Okoboji where they learned some team work and leadership skills. Yesterday, the high school students did some cleaning around town and planted some flowers in the downtown planters. Finally this evening, the fifth grade students hosted a time capsule opening event. Eighty years ago this month, the time capsule was placed behind the cornerstone of the old middle school. Last June, with the help of Dan Cooper, the time capsule was removed and placed in storage. It was opened tonight in the new auditorium. The fifth grade students had prepared a number of displays about some of the former teachers and administrators and also some history of the school. In addition, the middle school parents group sponsored a meal before the event started.

If you didn't make it to the event, you can view it on the Chamber Channel 3 at 7:00 each night next week. We will be placing the artifacts in the show case outside the high school gymnasium so that visitors to the high school may view them as well. Below are a couple of clips of some student display projects.

Thanks Michael for sharing.

Thanks Dalton.

Have a great day!!

It's Been Awhile

2010-01-24T21:07:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted. With Christmas break, I guess I have gotten out of the habit. We've had a lot of things going on since break and it's hard to believe we are almost to mid-term of the third quarter. One highlight was our community meeting on the Iowa Core Curriculum. If you didn't get to that meeting, please feel free to join us at future meetings. We are tentatively scheduling one for February 11th. Look for more details on the school website and in local media sources. I've had several people ask about the videos that were shown at our meeting. Here's one of the videos.

Below is the other video that was shown. This video is a recent update to the first video.

The purpose of this meeting was to give some basic information on the Iowa Core Curriculum and begin to gather feedback on the 21st Century Skills contained in it. We heard a lot of good things that night and look forward to gathering additional information at the next meeting. Here's a link to the Iowa Core Curriculum Website where you can find more information. We have a full week of activities this week that culminates in our hosting of the state music show choir and jazz band contest. Hope to see everyone throughout the week.

The Last Week Before Christmas Break

2009-12-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe we have five days of school until Christmas break. With semester testing this week, it will go very fast. Speaking of semester tests, we normally try to not schedule any activities during testing time, but with the short period (3 weeks) between Thanksgiving and Christmas break, it couldn't be avoided this year. I tried to take that into consideration as I made up the schedule to give those students who would be most affected, later testing times. Next year, we will likely go into the next week with classes, so we will be back to no activities during testing time.

I've been doing a lot of reading about brain development and how it affects how children learn. Here is an interesting article that talks about how "intensive reading programs can produce measurable changes in a child's brain." As you know, reading is a primary goal for the district this year and we've been doing many things to help each of our student's read better. Now it looks like we are not only helping our students improve reading, we are also helping them make connections and improve the "white matter" in their brains. This article really supports the additional time we are spending on reading in the middle school and I hope you are encouraging your child to read at home as well.

Finally, if your junior or senior child is planning on taking any college classes during the second semester, please remind them to see the counselor as soon as possible. Those classes do fill up at this time of year and once they are filled there isn't much we can do. Also, your child is not signed up for a college class until he/she gets the form from the counselor, completes it, has a parent/guardian sign it and takes it out to the college. If that hasn't happened, than your child is more than likely not signed up for a class at the college. If you have any questions on college opportunities, please feel free to contact our counselor.

Have a great week!

First Snow Day

2009-12-08T20:42:00.000-08:00

As you know by now we had an early dismissal today and we now don't have school tomorrow. With the blizzard warning that has been issued by the national weather service for Wednesday, we want everyone to be safe. I went out tonight and fired up my snowblower and cleaned out my driveway before it gets too deep. The wind has really begun to pick up. Tomorrow will be a good day to work inside and get caught up on some paperwork. Speaking of tomorrow, the 5th and 6th grade concert that was scheduled for 12:15 tomorrow will be rescheduled to Tuesday, December 15th at 12:15.

Tonight, I'm reviewing a variety of education and technology blogs that I subscribe to. I learn a lot about current topics without having to search the web. Instead, the web comes to me. Which saves me a lot of time and helps me stay current on a variety of topics related to education and technology. In addition, I find a lot of topics that really cause me to think about where we're going in education. Here's a video from a blog that I first saw a while ago, but it always leaves me thinking about the things we do in school.

Here's another video related to technology that I always enjoy. It's really about change and how we sometimes have a difficult time adjusting to change. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.

On a more serious note, we've become aware of a "game" that some of our male students are playing. It consists of physically choking another student until that person taps out or passes out. I'm not sure of the origins of this game, but I know that serious injury can occur in a variety of ways with this game. Please take a moment to discuss this with your child to make sure he understands the seriousness of this game and some of the consequences that may result.

If you didn't get out to see the girl's and boy's victories last night, there is still time to take in some games this week. We will host ELC on Friday night and we will travel to Milford to take on Okoboji on Saturday. We host Cherokee in wrestling on Thursday and our tournament on Saturday. I hope to see you at some of these events.

Speaking of events, our concert choir needs your help. KICD is holding a "Holiday Idol" contest. In this contest, our choir is competing against the choirs from Spencer and Sioux Central. You can go to this website and listen to how good our kids sound and vote for your favorite. The winner in the voting will have the opportunity to be the opening act for the Oak Ridge Boys on December 20th. That would be very exciting for our kids.

Have a great week.

Thoughts in the snow

2009-12-06T21:20:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here this evening watching the snow fall outside our home. It doesn't sound like we're supposed to get much this evening, but according to the National Weather Service Tuesday night into Wednesday may be interesting. Even if we don't get much tonight, the roads may be slick, if your child drives to school make sure they allow extra time for the icy roads. If they don't get out of the house early enough, I would rather they arrive a little late and drive safely than to rush on icy roads. Please discuss this with your child. In addition, if you haven't signed up for Snowcaponline yet, you may want to do this in the near future. When you get to the website, you will see a box on the right that says get alerts sent to your mobile phone or email. Click on school and enter "Emmetsburg" in the box. You should follow the directions from there.

As we get near the end of the first semester, I wanted to share a few reminders. First, if your child is having difficulty in a class, please encourage him or her to visit with the teacher as soon as possible. We have people in place who try to meet with students who are struggling, but there is no better skill for your child to have than to be an advocate for him/herself. If that doesn't work, or if your child is just not comfortable doing that, than you should contact the teacher directly to see what can be done to help your child be successful. If that doesn't work, you or your child should contact the counselor, dean of students, or myself. We want the same thing that you do, for your child to be successful in school. .

Second, a reminder on our eligibility policy, if a student fails any class for the first semester, he/she will be ineligible for 30 calendar days in the next season the student participates in. If you have any questions on any of this, please feel free to contact me directly. Thanks and have a great week.

Lot's of things happening this week

2009-12-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

Things are really gearing up for the winter sports season. We had a good start this week with athletic events and the seventh and eighth grade Christmas Concert. The band and vocal students did an outstanding job and it was great to see all of the friends, parents, and grandparents in the new auditorium. If you missed this concert, check the calendar as we have more coming up next week culminating in next Sunday's high school Christmas Concert. There have been some schedule changes to the calendar as the year has went on, please check this version for the latest and most accurate schedules.

As I'm writing this, I'm waiting for my email program to catch up. I just sent out an email notice to all district parents about an exciting free program from the hospital to help improve the health of your family. Here's a link for more information. As a part of the grant, feedback is needed through an online survey. Even if you don't think you are interested in this program, please take a few minutes and complete the survey so this program can be offered to any families that want it.

If you are a basketball fan, we have you covered for next week. We'll be hosting a total of 12 basketball games next week. Six of those will happen on Tuesday night. If you are a wrestling fan, don't worry, we host Cherokee in a dual on Thursday night and the E-Hawk Invitational will be on Saturday. If you prefer Christmas music, we have our kindergarten and first grade concert Monday night, our fifth and sixth grade band concert at 12:15 on Wednesday, and our high school concert on Sunday at 2:00. I hope to see you at many of these activities. All of our students work hard preparing for their performances, so I hope you will invite a friend and come and see the many things happening this week in the Emmetsburg School District.

Fourteen Days of School left this semester

2009-11-30T19:39:00.000-08:00

The first semester is quickly winding down, so I thought I would share some reminders and also talk about some things that are going on. First, we picked up a computer virus over Thanksgiving break so we are currently cleaning our servers to make sure nothing was harmed and also to make sure the viruses are all eliminated. In the meantime, parent access on the website will be intermittently available until we get this issue taken care of. We hope to have everything back to normal by the end of the day on Tuesday.

At the high school, juniors and seniors who are planning to take college classes at ILCC during the second semester should see Mrs. Mahon as soon as possible to get registered. Registration occurs when the student comes to Mrs. Mahon to get a college registration form. The form is partially completed by Mrs. Mahon and then taken home by the student to be signed by the parent. After the registration form is signed by the parent, it must be taken to the college by the student. Mrs. Mahon will explain to the student where the secondary programs office is located which is where the form is to be turned in. Until the registration form is taken to the college, the student is not signed up for the class.

Also, any students who may have schedule changes for their second semester schedule should see Mrs. Mahon as soon as possible so they have the best opportunity to get into the classes they desire. I'm in the process of revising the schedule to provide the most opportunities for our students to get into the classes they desire.

Finally, this week starts the winter sports season. Be sure to check the online calendar as it will always contain the latest schedule changes. In addition, if you sign up for Snowcap, you will receive any last minute changes that may occur because of the weather via a text message on your cellphone. Speaking of Snowcap, the weather has been great so far this year, but it is Iowa so we all know it will change. If you sign up for this service, you will receive a text message and/or an email alert as soon as a decision is made on late-starts, early outs, cancelled events, etc. These alerts will go out at exactly the same time that the media outlets are known. If you have any questions, please let me know. Have a great week and I hope to see you at the basketball game tomorrow night.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T20:47:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe we are at Thanksgiving break already. That means we have 15 days left in the first semester and Christmas will be here before we know it. We have a variety of activities planned between now and Christmas, so I feel I should share them with you. First, on the last two days of the semester, December 17th and 18th we will be conducting semester tests with the high school students. Please make every effort to have your child present during testing as we find students do considerably worse when they are not tested during the normal times. If your child is going to be absent from testing, he/she needs to make arrangements in advance with his/her teacher to take the test beforehand. We will also be doing CPR training with all of our sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This is a new requirement in the Healthy Kids Act. By 2012, each student who graduates from an Iowa High school is required to have CPR training. I know it's not required this year, but our plan is to start now as it's a valuable skill everyone should have. We will conduct the training every two years with students new to the district being trained on the off years as needed. As in the past, juniors and seniors will have open campus on these two days when they do not have tests. Freshmen and sophomores are required to stay on campus at all times. In addition, if a student arrives late for a test, the student will have to make arrangements to make up the test on Friday afternoon with the teacher. Regular testing will be complete around 11:00 on Friday. I will post the final semester schedule early next week.

Second, during the last week of the semester, we will have representatives in the district from the state department of education. I've mentioned this before, but feel it is worthwhile to mention the visit again. The purpose of the visit is to evaluate our district's accreditation status or... are we doing what the state expects us to do. The officials will be visiting classrooms, interviewing teachers, students, parents, and community members. These visits are conducted every five years in every public school district in the state.

In the middle school, the sixth grade students will be completing a cookie project in Mrs. Brugman's class. They will be learning about fractions, pricing ingredients, and food preparation procedures. This is an opportunity to take the things they've learned in class and apply it in a real world situation. We are also planning an activity for the middle school on December 18th. We're not sure what yet, but we may be looking at going to the theater for a movie or another similar activity.

Finally, I'm very thankful to be a part of the Emmetsburg Community and the Emmetsburg School District.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Athletic Parent Meeting

2009-11-23T22:23:00.000-08:00

We had our winter athletic parent meeting tonight. Here is a nice publication on the benefits of high school activities. We are fortunate to have a wide variety of activities available to our students. If athletics are not your child's thing, maybe it is vocal music, instrumental music, speech activities, Future Farmers of America, or quiz bowl. If your child is not involved in something, please consider reading this publication and talking to your child about the ways activities may benefit him or her.

I feel it is worth mentioning some of the things that were discussed at the meeting tonight. First, I reviewed attendance requirements. A student must be in school for each of the 8 periods during the day in order to practice or participate in an activity after school. There are some specific exceptions that are listed in the handbook. For example, if a student is gone in the morning because he/she is ill or has a doctor's appointment, a doctor's note must be presented stating why the student was absent and that the student may participate that afternoon. No matter what the cause of the absence, the student must be in school periods 6, 7 and 8 in order to practice or participate in that day's activities.

In addition, the requirement that all students must travel to school events via school transportation was discussed. I also reminded everyone that if a student is leaving with a parent, they must sign the student out with the coach. If riding home with someone else, a note must be presented to me before the team leaves for the event by the parent of the student and also from the parent who will be bringing the parent home. Finally, I reviewed the academic eligibility policy and the Good Conduct Policy. If our students "Do the Right Thing" there is really nothing they need to worry about.

Speaking of doing the right thing, Mr. Carter spent some time discussing sportsmanship. We have good sportsmanship at Emmetsburg, but we always want to work to be better. Mr. Carter gave some good guidelines for our fans to follow. Here is a poster from the state athletic associations that reinforce many of the things the he said. The key point is to remember to cheer for our team and not against the other team. We want loud cheering and involved fans, but please keep it positive for our athletes.

Mr. Carter also talked about the parent/coach relationship. Here's a well-written brochure from the athletic associations that really explains many of the key points that were made. I would summarize by saying, if your child is having a concern with a coach, we hope the athlete can talk to the coach about the concerns. If that doesn't work out, the parent should contact the coach to discuss the concerns in a private location. If further communication is needed, the parent should contact the athletic director. Depending on the situation, the parent may go to any step in the process as deemed necessary. If these steps have been followed and concerns still exist, please contact me for further assistance. Mr. Carter discussed things that are appropriate and not appropriate to talk about with the coach. They are highlighted in the athletic association brochure.

Finally, Mr. Carter shared the district's scheduling program, RschoolToday and our notification program SnowCapOnline. RSchoolToday contains the latest updates and changes to our school calendar. If you want to know if a change has been made to a schedule or location, all updates are on Rschooltoday. SnowCapOnline is the service we use to nearly instantly send text messages and email messages on school cancellations, late starts, and immediate activity schedule changes. If you haven't signed up yet, I would encourage you to do so before any bad weather hits this winter. Those who are signed up will learn about any changes, cancellations, and late starts the same time the teachers and staff do.

Tonight's meeting was for athletic parents, but I want to mention our fine arts. First, here is a nice poster explaining etiquette at fine arts events. This also comes from the athletic association websites. Please review it as we have a number of concerts coming up this fall and it has a lot of relevant information. We have a great group of coaches and activity sponsors at Emmetsburg. They work together to schedule practice times to allow all students to do any activities they choose. That is something that doesn't happen in every school. I know when students participate in so many activities concerns arise about them over-extending themselves. Only you and your child can determine what works for them, but participating in a wide variety of activities makes for a well rounded student who will learn valuable time management skills. Here's an article that talks about helping your child balance school and athletics. If you have any questions, about anything in this blog, please feel free to contact me via email, phone, or in person. Have a good week.

Website Problems

2009-11-19T19:38:00.000-08:00

I want to apologize to everyone who has been trying to access our website over the last couple of days. We've been trying to remedy the problem and feel we are getting closer. The primary problem seems to be with Iowa Telecom customers. As we tried to fix one problem today, we created another one for everyone else. We will continue working on this until we get it solved.

I know gaining access to GoogleDocs is a concern, so here is a direct link. You may want to permanently bookmark that site. If you have any questions please let me know. Also, if you still cannot access the website and you are not an Iowa Telecom internet customer, I would appreciate receiving an email as well. Have a great weekend.

H1N1 Vaccine will be available

2009-11-18T19:07:00.000-08:00

Next week, the school will be working with Palo Alto County Hospital to offer the H1N1 vaccination for our students. We sent out a mass email today to everyone who has email in the district with details. If you don't have a registered email account with the school, we sent you the details via postal mail. If you would like your child to have the vaccine, please complete the parent permission form and return to your child's school by Monday, November 23rd. The vaccinations will be given on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week at school.

The only type of vaccine that is available at this time is the shot, so be sure to discuss this with your child. If you didn't receive the information, please contact the school office, or send me an email and I will forward it to you. I will also be posting the forms and details on the school website in the morning. If you have any questions, please contact the school office or your health care provider.

Fall Concert and other things

2009-11-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

The fall vocal concert was last night. All I can say is WOW! the groups sounded great in the new auditorium. Mr. Fog had an excellent program planned and his students well prepared. We had two guest performers. Local resident Denise Haack did a great job on a french horn solo. She filled in on short notice as Kris Heldt, our former band instructor, was scheduled to appear; unfortunately, she has been ill recently so couldn't make it. We also had the pleasure of hearing Luke Miller perform. Mr. Miller is the vocal music instructor from Ruthven-Ayrshire and has a lot of talent as a performer. He really wowed us with his solo. I extend my thanks to both of them for taking time out of their busy schedules to perform in our concert.

Things have slowed down a little with the ending of fall sports, although it's about to speed up again. This week the high school girls started basketball practice. Next week, the boys start basketball and wrestling and the middle school boys begin their first games. Something else coming up next week is mid-term. I would encourage you to talk with your child about how things are going and review the online grades together. If you or your child have any concerns, please encourage him/her to talk it over with his/her teacher. Depending on the circumstances or age of your child, you may want to contact the teacher yourself. By working together, we can meet our schools' goal of helping every child be successful. Please contact me if you have any questions. Have a great week.

A Good Show

2009-11-03T21:48:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to preview the fall play, Just Another High School Play this evening. Mrs. Liessmann and the cast have put together a great show. It's a comedy that will provide plenty of laughs for everyone. I don't want to give it away, but it's a little bit of Shakespeare, a little bit of Dickens, and a lot of fun all wrapped together. I laughed a lot and I'm sure you will too. The opening night is Thursday night at 7:00 with additional showings Saturday night at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon at 2:30. Be sure to catch at least one of them. Be warned, it's one of those shows where subtle things will happen each night, so each night will be a little different.

On a related note, Mrs. Thompson will be starting large group speech very shortly. If you're a student reading this, large group speech is one of the most enjoyable activities you will ever participate in. If you're a parent reading this, it is one of the few activities we offer that truly has a place for everyone. More importantly, it is a great confidence builder. When I first came to Emmetsburg, I was the large group speech coach for six years. There is some category that will fit everyone. First, since it's large group, you don't have to perform alone. The only opportunity to perform alone is the category, solo mime. However, there are many other categories.

The most enjoyable category is Group Improvisation. In this category, the participants are given a situation and then they have to make up or "improv" the acting as they go. Other categories include Reader's Theater, Choral Reading, Ensemble Acting, TV News, Radio Broadcasting, One Act Play, Solo Mime, Group Mime, and Musical Theater. With all of these categories, there is room for as many students as want to participate. In addition, there is something for everyone. Speaking, non-speaking, memorized, non-memorized, or make it up as you go are all options in large group speech. Of all activities, this one has the most flexibility in scheduling practices. Like all worthwhile things, it takes practice, but it's generally not every night, so things can usually be worked out with the sponsor and work schedules as long as the student and sponsor communicate.

It never hurts to find out more information, so I encourage all students to watch for the Large Group Speech meeting that will be coming up in the near future. I guarantee it will be fun. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Thompson or send me an email. Parents, please encourage your child to consider this activity. If they give it a try, I know they won't be disappointed. Have a great week.

November is here

2009-11-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

With conferences last week, the month of October has come to an end. If you didn't get in to visit with your child's teachers during conferences, I would encourage you to make contact with them to touch base on how things are going. This can be via email, a phone call, or by setting up an appointment to meet in person. We all want the same thing, to help your student be successful, and by working together we can make that happen for all students and most importantly for your child.

Tomorrow night we will be hosting South Winneshiek in first round play-off action. A couple of reminders. Since this is a state play-off game, activity tickets can not be accepted and noise makers and banners are not allowed. Tickets can be purchased in advance by stopping into any of the school offices or they may be purchased at the gate. They cost $6 for students and adults. Also, this week the fall play will open on Thursday night. Just Another High School Play is a comedy that will have plenty of laughs for everyone. It will run on Thursday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon. I hope to see you there: I know you won't be disappointed.

I wanted to mention a few H1N1 reminders. If your child is showing flu-like symptoms or not feeling well, please keep him/her home. If a fever is present, please keep him/her home until he/she can go 24 hours without a fever. Compared to other schools in the area, we haven't had as many students affected. Hopefully that continues this week. According to this article in the Des Moines Register, things are improving, but another wave of illness may be coming. Please discuss the importance of covering coughs and sneezes with your child. Also, remind them to wash hands frequently and/or use hand sanitizer and to not share food, drinks, and water bottles. Again, by working together we can minimize the impact H1N1 has on our students and school.

Finally, the junior class held an IPOD Halloween dance Saturday night in the middle school gym. Thanks to the junior class officers and their parents for setting this up and chaperoning. It looked and sounded like they had a good time. The junior class is also selling state football t'shirts. The cost is $10 for regular sizes and $12 for extended sizes. If you would like to order one, you may stop in any of the offices for an order form. The junior class is doing these things to help raise funds for the prom next spring. Have a great week!

What an exciting night!!!

2009-10-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the E-Hawk football team in their 13-7 overtime victory against Aplington-Parkersburg. It was an exciting game to watch as both sides played with great intensity. I had the honor of awarding the Aplington-Parkersburg team their participation medals after the game. I've done this before, but tonight I could really feel the emotion on the field as I shook hands with their seniors and handed them the medals. They've experienced more adversity than any team/school/community should have to. Last year they came to town for the quarterfinal game after having endured a devastating tornado the previous May. This year they came to town after losing their coach, Ed Thomas, to a senseless act of violence. In both games, they played with great intensity and modeled the highest levels of sportsmanship and character. I've read and heard a lot of things about Coach Thomas and the values he conveyed. He would be very proud of the way the players, coaches, and fans conducted themselves as they carry on the tradition of A-P Falcon football.

I'm also very proud of our team. They have worked hard to prepare themselves for this season. That preparation pays off when you face teams like the Falcons. The victory speaks for itself, but I have a few thoughts on our seniors that I would like to share. I had the privilege of coaching this group of seniors when they were seventh graders. I never think much about their record, though they've reminded me that they were undefeated, the one thing that sticks out for me is the way they stuck together and encouraged each other. Even when the going was tough, they encouraged each other to keep going and do the best that they could. I remember many times in practice when someone was having a tough time with a drill or conditioning, the other boys would cheer them on and motivate them to keep going. In addition, they never blamed anyone when mistakes were made, they encouraged each other to move on and try harder next time. This trait of encouraging and helping each other has been a key to their success. It's hard to get up for SAQ in the morning or make weightlifting in the summer, but when you have your team mates encouraging and inspiring you, your motivation improves. I believe in this group of young men and know they have prepared themselves well for the games ahead. In addition, with the relationships they've built, they will be there for each other for anything that comes their way.

I also want to mention a few words about our head coach. It's not all X's and O's when working with our players. Coach Dunlap started last spring working with this year's seniors in Leadership Class. He really emphasizes that the key to success is your character and your efforts both on and off the field. In fact, the emphasis is on ways the athletes can be the best that they can be as a person. It's not about wins and losses, but it's about doing the right things. He really shares his philosophy that if the players do the right things in the classroom, on the street, at home, in the off season, and on the practice field the wins and losses will take care of themselves. It looks like a good philosophy to me. In addition, Mr. Dunlap and Mr. Carter put in an extraordinary amount of time preparing for each weeks game. They are at school early in the morning, stay late in the evening, and are here each weekend reviewing game video and preparing practice plans for the coming week. They, like most of our coaches, work long hours for not much pay.

We host South Winneshiek, Calmar on Monday night in our first round play-off game. It will start at 7:00. I hope to see you there cheering on our athletes. Go E-Hawks!!

Conferences

2009-10-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

We had a good night of parent teacher conferences this evening. It was good to see so many parents taking an interest in their child's education. I enjoy conferences and find them a valuable part of our education system. However, I would like to mention that you should feel free to contact your child's teachers at anytime during the year. Anytime you have a question or concern, the teacher can always give you the information you need. In addition, it never hurts to check in with the teacher just to see how things are going. Of course, you can always check your child's grades via parent access from the school website. Here's a direct link to parent access. If you don't know your username and password, please contact the school office.

In my previous post, I shared some information from my parent advisory meeting. One topic I mentioned dealt with some feedback on our school lunch program. I spent some time visiting with Deb Goeders, our food service director, on the concerns that I heard. First, the concern on portion sizes. There has been no change in the portion sizes. They have been the same for years and are given to us by the government agency that oversees school lunch programs. We talked about some of the food choices that our students are given and the items that go well and those that don't. We discussed that for some of the sides, like some vegetables, the students are free to choose or not choose what they want. In addition, they have a lot of control over their portion sizes for the side items. We wondered if the students are choosing to not take the side items, so they are not getting a full meal. We also discussed the running out of food issue. This has been minimal; however, I eat school lunch nearly every day and I have now placed myself as the last person to receive a meal. During the last few weeks since I've started this, I have never seen them run out of the main meal. One thing to note, if they do run out of the main meal for the day, the students still have the opportunity to have whatever they want from the salad bar and also the soup of the day. So, they still have the chance to eat. It's not the main item, but there is never a time when a student doesn't have access to a meal. Whether it's the main meal or the salad bar.

One note on the salad bar. We also discussed an issue that has cropped up with our fifth and sixth grade students and our salad bar. Specifically, our younger students are not always making good choices when choosing items off the salad bar, so they are not always getting a well-balanced meal. Usually, they pick one or two items that they really like and they end up missing entire food groups for their meal. We try to catch them and ask them to choose more balanced items; however, we don't catch everyone. So, today the fifth and sixth grade teachers visited with their students about the salad bar and making sure they choose a variety of foods. If you have a child in these grades, please take a minute to ask your child if they eat from the salad bar and what types of choices they tend to make. Working together, we can help our students make good choices during school lunch. If you ever have any questions about school lunch, please give Deb Goeders a call at the high school. She's an expert in her position and can give you the facts on school nutrition. In addition, if you ever want to stop in and try out school lunch for yourself, please feel free to do that. All we ask is that you call the office to let us know you're coming.

Tomorrow night we host Aplington-Parkersburg in our sub-state game. A few reminders. Since this is a sub-state game, we will not be able to accept activity tickets. In addition, the game starts at 7:00 and the gates open at 6:00. I hope to see you there cheering on the E-Hawks.

Parent Advisory Meeting

2009-10-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

I held my fall parent advisory meeting this evening and would like to thank those parents who took time out of their schedules to attend. I know it's a busy time for everyone, so if you couldn't attend but have some feedback, please send your feedback to me via email or give me a call. I started with the presentation of a short video. You may watch it below.

After viewing the video, I shared some of my thoughts on the implications of this viewpoint. Specifically that our students are competing on a global basis. When a student graduates from Emmetsburg High School, most leave for college and few return. This is largely because of a lack of opportunities in Northwest Iowa, or it may be perceived that better opportunities exist elsewhere. Either way, the education we need to provide our students is different from the education their parents needed.

I then shared some information on our main initiatives of Reading Improvement, Skills Iowa,and the Iowa Core Curriculum. The entire K-12 core staff is reading the book Explaining Reading. The purpose of this activity is to give the staff a strong background in reading instruction so that they may better help our students understand what they read. They will be working through the book in small groups and planning lessons and activities that will help our students be more successful with reading. Skills Iowa is an assessment program that we are using to help us assess what skills our students have or do not have in reading and math. After we find which skills a student is having difficulty with, we can work with that student to improve his/her skills in that area. Finally, the Iowa Core Curriculum is an initiative by the Iowa Department of Education that will insure that each graduate of an Iowa High School has a basic level of knowledge. This will be true regardless of which high school the student graduates from.

I then shared information on the district-wide assessment: the Iowa Tests of Educational Development. 87.7% of our juniors were proficient in science on the ITED's. 83.1% were proficient in math, and 78.4% were proficient in reading. These numbers are for the students who attend Emmetsburg High School. As reading is our lowest percentage, that is the area that we are spending our most time.

Next I shared the Iowa Core Curriculum Website and some information about it. Here's a link to the website. Here is a link to more information on the Department of Education website. If you have any questions on this, please let me know.

I went on to share some of the building-wide activities going on this year. These include homeroom activities to build relationships with our students and some additional activities during homecoming week. I heard from the parents that the homecoming activities were very positive and I should look at expanding them for next year. One thing that was discussed was bringing back the bonfire at school. I will be looking at that for next year.

Finally, I shared some information on open campus with all agreeing that what we are planning to do (open campus opposite college classes) is a good thing and I should consider expanding it to all year. In addition, some parents expressed a desire to see open campus expanded to more periods throughout the day. I will consider all of these viewpoints as I work with open campus in the future.

After my presentation, some questions were brought up about lunch and the procedure when a student has an appointment during school. There was a question about the amount of food served during lunch. Have we reduced portion sizes? I have been in contact with the food service director on this issue, and there has been no change in the portion sizes. We have reduced the size of cookies on A La Carte and the size of the bottles of Gatorade in response to the Healthy Kids Act which has recommendations for the amount of sugar that should be in our food items. There was also some discussion on running out of food, and I think that food service has a better handle on it. When a student has an appointment during school, the preferred procedure is to send a note with the student in the morning. At that time, a pass to leave the building will be issued and the student only needs to show the pass, report to the office, and then leave for the appointment. If the student forgets the note in the morning, then the parent may call the office or send an email to Sue Rouse or Joann Herbers. If sending an email, please allow several hours before the appointment as email may not always be checked right away. I also reminded the parents that students must be in school periods 6, 7, and 8 if they are going to participate in any after school or evening activities. In addition, they should bring a note from their appointment when they return to school.

We covered a lot tonight and I do appreciate the feedback I received from everyone. If you have any comments on anything from the meeting, please contact me directly. I hope to see you at conferences this week.

An Exciting Week!

2009-10-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

We just completed an exciting week and we have another one coming up. First, the snow really caught me off guard on Friday. I was expecting some, but didn't think I would be worrying about shoveling the field for Friday night's game. Fortunately, it warmed up and the snow was gone by game time. Of course, the E-Hawks won on Friday night and will now host Aplington-Parkersburg on Wednesday night at 7:00 in our sub-state game. Our Cross Country teams had their district meet postponed until Monday in Holstein. Good luck to both teams.

As you may have heard, we have a case of H1N1 flu in the school district. First, we are taking steps to minimize the spread of this virus by spending extra time cleaning and sanitizing all areas. In addition, we have hand sanitizer in every classroom and ask each student to use hand sanitizer before eating lunch. Finally, please take some time to visit with your child about the importance of good hygiene to minimize the spreading of the virus. Examples include not sharing food and drinks, coughing/sneezing into his/her elbow, wash hands regularly, keep hands away from face/mouth/nose, and stay home when sick. Staying home when sick is important. The Federal Government has a great website that tells about the symptoms of the H1N1 flu. Basically, they are the same as seasonal flu; chills, fever, body aches, headaches, sore throat, coughing, and fatigue. It's important that if your child has these symptoms he needs to stay home until he is fever free for 24 hours. In addition, it is important that you watch your child for complications that may arise from the infection. According to flu.gov, you should seek immediate medical attention if lips are purple or bluish colored, difficulty breathing or chest pain, any signs of dehydration, and the inability to keep liquids down. These are really similar precautions that are given to anyone with any type of flu. Of course the difference with H1N1 is that it is easily spread so more people may get it; however, we shouldn't panic as long as we all do what we can to minimize exposure and take care of ourselves if we get sick. Continue to watch the news for the dates and times the hospital will have vaccinations available.

I have a high school parent advisory meeting Monday night at 7:00 in the high school library, please attend if possible. The purpose of the meeting is to get feedback on a variety of topics related to our high school. I will post a summary of my parent advisory meeting on this blog some time tomorrow night. On Tuesday night we have conferences from 3:30 to 7:00 and Thursday conferences are from 4-7:30. We are on a one hour early out schedule on Tuesday and Thursday and there is no school on Friday. Go E-Hawks!

School Board and Conferences

2009-10-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

It's the third Monday of the month and that means there was a school board meeting this evening. They meet monthly on the third Monday at 5:30 in the middle/high school library. These seven people volunteer their time to help our school district improve and do what's best for our students. If you happen to run into one of our school board members (Karla Anderson, Kim Campbell, Laure Egland, Don Hagen, Tammy Naig, Steve Pelzer, and Linda Tienter), be sure to take the time to thank them for volunteering their time to make a difference with our district.

I mention the school board because one of their responsibilities is to oversee the district's finances and that has been in the news lately with the governor's 10% across the board cut. This amounts to $336,202 for the Emmetsburg District and is a significant amount of money in our budget (4.9%). We've all been asked to look for ways to save money this year by putting off purchases and doing without anything we can. My teachers have been great with some of them asking for assignments to be turned in electronically instead of with paper and others giving up their classroom printers and printing everything at our central printers in the main offices. This saves ink and paper costs for the district and sometimes for parents at home. It's not a lot, but at this time every little bit helps. As we continue to discuss ways to save money, we will be sharing our ideas with you and looking for feedback at various times throughout the process. If we all work together, we can get through this budget cut, just as we've gotten through others in the past.

Next week are conferences and I wanted to inform you of a small change in the conference schedule. This will also be coming out in a letter that will be sent home with report cards later this week. On Tuesday, we will run conferences from 3:30-7:00 instead of 4:00-7:30 as listed on the calendar. We are doing this because we are hosting a second round regional volleyball game that night and it starts at 7:00. Thursday night conferences will take place as scheduled from 4:00 to 7:30. If you cannot make either of these times, please feel free to contact your child's teachers directly.

We will be mailing report cards out Wednesday or Thursday, so you should be looking for them later in the week. Included with the report cards is a letter detailing the conference schedule for this fall. If you have any questions about conferences please contact the school office. Good luck to the Lady E-Hawks tomorrow night in Regional play against ELC and good luck to the cross country team as they participate in districts on Thursday night in Holstein. Finally, good luck to the football team as they play their final regular game this Friday against Lake Mills. I hope to see many of you throughout the week. Go E-Hawks!!

Second Quarter

2009-10-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

Monday starts the second quarter. I've said it before but it is still hard to believe the first quarter is complete. With the end of the first quarter comes the review of grades and also parent teacher conferences. I will be talking more about conferences as the week goes on, but I want to talk a minute about grades. We want every student to enjoy success. If your student's grades aren't where you think they should be, take a moment to visit with your child about how he/she has been doing in school. Is all homework getting done? Does your child understand what is being taught? Are there attendance issues? After you've talked with your child, make arrangements to visit with your child's teacher(s). In high school, you may want to have your child talk to his/her teacher first. This will help them become self-advocates and be more independent. Conferences are just around the corner and I encourage everyone to take time to attend them. However, you should feel free to contact and meet with any of your child's teachers at anytime during the year.

Homework is an area that can cause concern for parents and students alike. First, how much help can parents give? Generally, parents can help most by providing a quiet time, place, and expectation that homework is important. For a high school student, this may be the most important thing you can do. In middle school, you can be a little more involved. After your child completes his/her homework, please feel free to check it over. If you see something that you think is incorrect or you have questions about, please consider the following. Our first reaction is often to point out that something is wrong. However, it is usually most helpful if you ask your child some questions about the homework. "How did you work out this math problem?" "Where did you find the answer?" "Can you show me in the book or your notes where you found this?" By having them talk it out or rework the problem, they will often realize the mistake they've made and they will learn from it as well. Here's a link to a booklet on the United States Department of Education website about helping your child with homework. It's a little long, but it does have some good information in it.

Have a great week. I hope to see most of your at our volleyball game Tuesday night and our Junior Class soup supper and football game on Friday night.

Math Night at Emmetsburg Middle School

2009-10-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Brugman hosted our first annual math night for 5th and 6th grade students and their parents at the middle school. She had a great turnout and the parents learned about some math games to help their students improve their math skills. In addition, she had the parents and students meet in the computer lab for 20 minutes to show them some online resources for math improvement. These resources can be accessed from Mrs. Brugman's webpage.

It's hard to believe that fall sports are winding down. The seventh grade football team had their last game last week and 8th grade volleyball and football will be winding up their seasons next week. Middle School boys basketball will be starting up shortly after that. On October 27th and 29th, we will be holding conferences from 4 to 7:30. We will send home a letter with report cards explaining our process. It will be the same process we used last year with the middle school teachers being located in their classrooms and the high school teachers will be located in the high school student center. Because of regional volleyball, we may run conferences from 3:30 to 7:00 on the 27th. Look for details in the conference letter with report cards.

If you are the parent of a fifth and sixth grade student, please make sure you have completed the survey on conferences. This was emailed to parents approximately one month ago. You can access it here. The fifth and sixth grade teachers are looking at some alternative ideas in scheduling conferences and your feedback will help them make informed decisions.

Have a great Wednesday!--I know I will--I get to work with great students and staff members!

SNOW???

2009-10-12T22:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know about any of you, but this seems awful early for snow this year. However, this is Iowa and anything can happen. The snow had me thinking about our notification service, Snowcaponline. If you would like to be notified about weather delays, closings, or changes in athletic events; please go to www.snowcaponline.net and sign up for alerts from Emmetsburg Community Schools. This service is free unless your cell phone company charges to receive text messages. You may check with your cell phone company if you have questions about this. Those who sign up for alerts will receive a notification at the same time as the staff and radio stations. If you have any questions about snowcaponline, please let me know.

Today was a good day of professional development for our teachers. We had several topics we worked on today including; preparing for our Department of Education site visit, learning more about Skills Iowa, and starting our new book on reading.

In December, the Iowa Department of Education will be visiting our school for an accreditation visit. This is required of every district in Iowa once every five years. During the visit, the Department of Education officials will be conducting interviews, reviewing records and programs, and observing the general operation of our district. The teachers learned some of the things to expect during this visit. The teachers also learned a little more about Skills Iowa. This is an assessment program we are using to help us evaluate our student's math and reading skills. The teachers will then use this information to plan instruction in their classrooms to address student's needs. Finally, we began a book study on the book Explaining Reading. We will be going through this book as a district and using the strategies and skills to help with reading instruction in our reading classrooms and in our content classrooms like social studies and science. We are focused on improving the reading skills of all students. This is a skill that is needed by everyone no matter what career he/she may pursue. We think this book will help us better meet the needs of all students.

Finally, Saturday I was able to help out with the Middle School Quiz Bowl tournament that we hosted. Mrs. Brugman is our middle school quiz bowl coach and did a great job getting everything organized. The students did a great job with some very challenging questions.

We have another great week ahead of us. The end of the first quarter is Friday. We will be mailing out report cards early next week and conferences will be the following week. If you have any questions about any of the content of this blog or any issues related to the school or your child, please let me know. Have a great week.

Working Together

2009-10-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

Homecoming week is a memory and we are back into our regular routine. We took a little time from homeroom and a few classes on Monday to clean up. The students and staff did a great job of getting things back to normal at school and in the community. I've said this before, but it is worth restating, through the collaborative efforts between our staff members and students we were able to have a great homecoming week. I really appreciate all that they've done. Collaboration is an important aspect of education that we are working hard to improve on. In a school setting, this collaboration happens between staff and students, staff and parents, parents and students, and staff with other staff members. It takes the collaborative efforts of all of us to help each of our students be successful.

In Sunday's Des Moines Register, there were a couple of editorials in the Opinion section that talked about time for teachers to train and collaborate. The first article talked about getting back to our state-wide goal of 10 days of professional development annually. The second article talks about giving teachers opportunities to collaborate and work together like the Ankeny school district has done. I appreciated reading both of these articles because they both touched on things we are working toward here in Emmetsburg. First, last year I implemented collaborative grade level teaming in the middle school. The teachers meet each day for 45 minutes to collaboratively plan lessons, find solutions to help students learn, and study best classroom practices. We've seen many positive results with our middle school students including fewer failing students.

This year I was able to implement teaming at the high school level. Again, the teachers meet daily to discuss a variety of topics and find ways to help students be successful. Our initial data has been outstanding. At the 1st quarter mid-term, we reduced the number of failing students by 51% compared to 1st quarter mid-term last year. This is preliminary data and I will find out more and share more at the end of the 1st quarter, which is next Friday, but it looks very promising at this time.

The second thing these articles addressed was the importance of making professional development relevant to teachers and what most districts emphasize. In the Emmetsburg District, just like in 88% of the districts in Iowa, our emphasis is on improving reading comprehension in our students. We have identified this as our greatest area of concern based on our standardized test scores, Iowa Tests; plus our other assessments; Basic Reading Inventory, Star Reading, and other classroom assessments. We are using our collaborative teaming time, plus our professional development days to work on the skills teachers need to best help each student be a successful reader. In addition to our assessment data, we know that students who have difficulty reading tend to have difficulties in their other classes. Reading is a skill needed by every adult for one purpose or another. At EHS we are committed to making each student the best reader that they can be. Teaming time and professional development are some of the tools that we will use to help us reach that goal.

If you have any questions about reading instruction of any of the topics discussed in this blog, please let me know. Have a great week!

Congratulations E-Hawks on another successful homecoming game

2009-10-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to coach Dunlap and the E-Hawks as they defeated the Cardinals of Garner-Hayfield 35-8. Only one more event to close out another successful homecoming at EHS. Tomorrow night will be the homecoming dance. It will be in the high school gym. The dance will start at 8:00 and end at midnight. We ask that everyone arrive by 9:00 and remember that if you leave the dance, you will not be allowed to return. I know this seems like a lot of rules, but we do it for the enjoyment and safety of all attendees. In addition to dancing, your admission price includes a drink and a slice of pizza. Don't forget the theme is morp or prom backwards or remixed, depending on who you ask.

These homecoming activities couldn't happen without our dedicated student council members. They are in charge of organizing all of the events and making sure everything goes off without a hitch. Mrs. Welander is our student council advisor and she puts in a lot of extra time and effort to make sure it all works. In addition, she always gives a lot of credit to her student council officers who are always working on some project for our students. This year's officers are Matt B., Ellie G., Wesley L., Allory K., Blake S., Hannah D., Brian H., Jordan K., Mara L., Hillary P., Brady B., Andrew G., Arik K., Paige N., Natalie G., Chris K., Joel K., and Alyssa W. I know many students think student council is all fun and games, but I can assure you that it takes a lot of effort to pull off the many projects, like Homecoming, that our student council sponsors.

Have a great weekend, I hope all of our students make it to the dance tomorrow night. It sounds like a lot of fun!

Congratulations to Blake and Jake!

2009-10-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

I want to offer my personal congratulations to Blake Schany and Jake Morris. They were selected Homecoming King and Queen in tonight's coronation ceremony. All the candidates and attendants looked great and all are very deserving of this honor. It was also great to see the auditorium full of people for this inaugural event.

Jim Willmore did a great job as the guest speaker and really got the crowd fired up. You are probably used to seeing him on the sidelines on Friday nights. He helps with the team statistics. Coach Dunlap tells me many times the valuable job that he does and how he knows with JOW handling stats he has nothing to worry about. I was looking at some of the football pictures in the showcase recently and I recognized Mr. Willmore in quite a few of them. I wonder how long he's been on the E-Hawk sidelines?

On a more serious note, I had to make a decision today that is never easy to make. I decided to not include the dance team in the coronation ceremony. It was not something I take lightly as I know the girls have been working hard and were really looking forward to performing this evening. I had the opportunity to see a preview of them last night and I can tell they are passionate and excited about their activity. I cannot go into a lot of details of my decision except to say I believe you will have the opportunity to see the dance team in the near future at some school event.

Finally, the parade and big game are scheduled for tomorrow. I hope the weather cooperates. I know I have been watching it closely. If the weather is bad tomorrow afternoon, we may have to cancel the parade. Because of scheduling difficulties, there is no reasonable way to reschedule it. I see there is a 50% chance of rain tomorrow afternoon, so we will have to see what happens. Either way, we will be dismissing school at 2:15. I hope the rain holds out as I am looking forward to the tailgate party downtown:)

Again, congratulations to Blake and Jake for being selected as the Homecoming Queen and King for 2009. Go E-Hawks!!

What a Great Day!

2009-09-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you the great day we had at Emmetsburg Middle And High Schools. We ran a shortened schedule so the students attended all scheduled classes, but also had a chance to show their school spirit. We had high school students working on floats, decorating the school, and decorating business windows downtown. At the middle school, the students worked on their parade entries, decorated their school and painted some of the driveway and sidewalk in front of the building. It's a great day to be an E-Hawk. WE HAVE SPIRIT!!

If you're out and about, please drive by the high school driveway and also check out the fence. We decorated the fence around the football field and also on the west end of the high school parking lot. Be sure to check out the E-Hawk made out of cups that is next to the building near the entrance gate. It was designed by Megan H. one of our freshman students. The students worked hard and got a lot done--the staff did a great job of supporting the students as they worked. I hope to pack the new auditorium for coronation tomorrow night and I also hope to pack the stands on Friday for homecoming. See you then.

Homecoming Week is off to a great start

2009-09-29T20:31:00.000-07:00

The first two days of homecoming have went of well. We had a lot of superheros in the building today. It's good to see the students showing such high school spirit. Tomorrow we go about decorating the building, campus, and community in preparation for Friday night's big game. Stay tuned for an update after the decorating is done. My one concern has been the weather. I'm not sure how some of our plans will stand up to heavy rain and high wind. As always, have a great week and Go E-Hawks.

We Passed

2009-09-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

The fire marshal stopped by this afternoon and has signed off on the opening of the auditorium. We will open that entrance for tomorrow night's volleyball game, so everyone can have a small sneak preview before coronation on Thursday night. Please plan on attending the volleyball game and please use the "New high school entrance" when you come in.

Only three more days until coronation. I want to extend our thanks to Burdorf Parrot Associates for handling the counting of our king and queen ballots. They've been doing this for us for a number of years and I appreciate their handling of this task.

I hope to see all of you at the volleyball game. Please remember to use the new entrance to the high school and check out the new entrance and lobby area of the auditorium.

Homecoming Week

2009-09-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it's homecoming week already. We have a lot of things planned for the week including some things we haven't done before. On Wednesday, we will hold classes until 1:15 and then we will spend the rest of the afternoon showing our E-Hawk spirit in the school and community. We will have students around town painting windows and students at the school building their class floats, decorating for coronation, and decorating various areas of the campus. We will involve the middle school as well by having them create their own spirit boards and also decorating the middle school building. Thursday afternoon the high school students will hold their annual Homecoming Homeroom Olympics.

On Thursday night, we will hold coronation. The fire marshal is coming tomorrow afternoon to give us his final approval to use the auditorium. The custodians have some cleaning and waxing to do and then it will be ready to go for the festivities on Thursday night. I encourage each of you to come to coronation on Thursday night at 7:30. Hopefully, we will be in the new auditorium; if not, I will see you in the gym.

Friday we will be dismissing at 2:15 for the annual Homecoming Parade. On behalf of the school, I want to extend our thanks to the Emmetsburg business community for their support in hosting the tailgate party. Each of the participating businesses really goes all out to show their support for the students, school, and community. Thanks!

On Friday night, the E-Hawks will be hosting Garner-Hayfield. Let's fill the stands and support the E-Hawks. Speaking of supporting our teams, on Tuesday night the Lady E-Hawks will be hosting Storm Lake. We are hoping to fill the gym that night and we have a number of things going on to encourage attendance. I hope you can make it as well.

The Homecoming Dance will take place on Saturday night from 8:00 to midnight. The theme is MORP or Prom backwards or remixed--the students will come in their "comfy" clothes. It should be a great time for all. We have a great student body and this week gives them an opportunity to have some fun and show their school spirit. Please encourage your student to participate in the dress up days and the other activities we have planned.

If you have any questions or comments on anything, please contact the school office or feel free to send me an email. Have a great week.

2009-09-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

We just completed another good week at Emmetsburg High and Middle Schools. Activities are in full swing. If you haven't taken in football/volleyball/cross country there are some good opportunities this week. On Monday we will be hosting 9th and 10th grade football with Spirit Lake. On Tuesday, we will be hosting 7th grade football, 8th grade volleyball, and the high school volleyball girls will be hosting LeMars, and the cross country teams will be traveling to Sheldon. On Thursday, the 7th grade volleyball team will be hosting ELC, on Friday the varsity football team will be traveling to Fort Dodge to take on St. Eds. and finally, the varsity volleyball team will be traveling to Humboldt on Saturday for their tournament. I hope to see you at the games this week.

The auditorium is one step closer to being finished. If you've been by the building, you can see that they have laid sod around many parts of the building. It really adds a finished look to the facility. Last week the fire marshal came for his preliminary inspection. This visit went well with only minor details to take care of. If you have a middle/high school student you may have heard about the extended fire alarm. When he does his inspection, we have to set off the fire alarm and then go around and verify that all horns, lights, and door closers work properly. This took about 5 minutes that day. The teachers and students handled it well. At this time, it looks like we will be ready to show off the new auditorium and entrance some time during the week of homecoming. I know our fall play director and participants will be glad when it's done. They've had to hold practice in the student center and library until the auditorium is complete.

This past Wednesday was mid-term. If your child is receiving a mid-term you should be receiving it on Monday or Tuesday of this week. The staff has been working hard to find ways to help students who are having difficulties with their classes. Last week I told you about the study groups, I will let you know later how well that has been working. One thing that will help your student be more successful is regular attendance. I regularly do a comparison between student's grades and their attendance records. There is a clear relationship between a student's attendance and that student's grades. I certainly understand that some absences cannot be avoided. If your child is sick, certainly keep him/her home until he/she is better. In addition, please try to make appointments outside of school hours or during study hall times. If you have any questions about attendance or if I can help in any way, please don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email.

It looks like I better wrap this post up; it's getting a little long. I will work to post more often so the posts aren't as long. One note, I am working with a student in an Advanced Technology class and he is currently blogging for me. His blog is called Ehawk Avenue and you can view it here. Finally, thanks for stopping by to check out my blog. I hope to see each of you at some of our activities this week.

Communication

2009-09-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

   Welcome to E-Hawk Happenings. The purpose of this blog is to increase communication between school, home, and the community. I will be posting multiple times each week on a variety of topics related to the school. If you choose, you may enter your email address in the box at the left and all posts will automatically be sent to your email; otherwise, you may bookmark this page and check back often to see what is going on.

   It's hard to believe that this Wednesday, September 16th, is mid-term already. We will be sending out mid-term reports by Friday of this week. This year we've been trying some different things to help our students be successful. Our football coaches have been conducting study groups two mornings each week and many teachers have been setting up study groups before and after school to provide extra help for students who may need it. If your student is facing challenges in a class, please have him/her visit with the teacher to see what can be done to help your child succeed. If there are still concerns, please feel free to contact the teacher, counselor, dean of students, or myself. We all want the same thing, for each child to be as successful as he/she possibly can.

   All fall activities are in full swing. Tomorrow we are hosting a 7th grade volleyball game, a 7th grade football game, our cross country invitational, and 9th and 10th grade football games. This is my favorite time of year. Everyone is excited for the new school year and all of the opportunities that come with it. I enjoy attending all of the activities at different levels and watching the students progress in their skills and abilities.

   The year is off to a great start, and we have a lot of good things going on in our district. The last phase of our construction project is nearly complete. The auditorium should be complete sometime in the next two weeks. It looks great! We are thinking of holding homecoming coronation in the auditorium this year. We're still discussing if 620 seats will be enough to seat everyone.

   Remember, I will be posting updates several times a week, so check back often or subscribe to the posts. If you have any questions or comments about anything in any of my posts, please contact me directly.

Have a great week!