Schleswig Superintendent

Kindergarten Round-up

2012-02-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

If your child will be 5 years old by September 15, 2012, he/she will be ready for transitional kindergarten or kindergarten. Please call Robin at (712)676-3313 with your name, your child’s name, birth date, address, phone number, and email address.

In order to make the Round-Up process more efficient, we will again be modifying our past routine. We will pick the current Immanual Lutheran Preschool students up by bus and have them join our current kindergarteners for lunch and then afternoon activities. The Headstart students will also be invited on a different afternoon. All students will be able to ride the bus home or to the sitter’s.

No parent meeting will be held unless individually requested. Instead, we will be sending necessary documents via email along with a couple videos that discuss the legal requirements of kindergarten, a detailed description of the kindergarten and transitional kindergarten curriculums, supplies needed, and snapshot of a day in kindergarten.

Schleswig Staff Blogs

2012-02-07T04:41:00.000-08:00

Each staff member has or will have his/her own blog. There are two main goals to having blogs. The first objective is to provide instant information as it happens. In our current format of The Happenings, we are only allowed to share the great things that happen at school once a month. With blogs we can share weekly, if not daily. The second difference between the newsletter and blogs is that we can use more enjoyable formats. Currently, the newsletter restricts us to communicating in text format and black and white pictures. The blogs will allow staff members to expand from black and white pictures to colored pictures, audio clips, video clips, add interactive links, and much more. I hope the parents and community appreciate the effort.

Below are url addresses to the current staff blogs. Checking individual blogs on a daily basis can be tedious. When exploring these blogs, you can “follow by email”. Simply put your email address in the “follow by email” box, then press the submit button. Emails will automatically be sent notifying you when new blog posts have been published.

Superintendent, Brian Johnson
http://schleswigsupt.blogspot.com/

Principal, David Galvin
http://schleswigprincipal.blogspot.com/

Transitional Kindergarten, Rianna Furne

Kindergarten, Anne Abbe
http://anneabbe.blogspot.com/

First Grade, Sally Abbe
http://firstgradeam.blogspot.com/

First Grade, Jess Jensen
http://www.schleswigreading.blogspot.com/

First Grade, Cathy Meyer
http://mrsmeyersclassroom.blogspot.com/

Second Grade, Phyllis Sedore
http://schleswig-2nd.blogspot.com

Third Grade, Cyndi Larson
http://schleswig3.blogspot.com/

Fourth Grade, Danae Petersen

Fifth/Sixth Grade, Tiffany Surprenant
http://schleswig5-6.blogspot.com/

Fifth/Sixth Grade, Stacy Pritchard
http://schleswig5.blogspot.com/

Seventh/Eighth Grade, Cindy Stoppel
http://schleswigstoppel.blogspot.com/

Seventh/Eighth Grade, Jeff Boelter
http://schleswigboelter.blogspot.com/

PE/Technology, Andrea Gurney

Music, Angie Rosener
http://schleswigmusic.blogspot.com/

TAG/Guidance, Jennifer Bower
http://schleswigschoolguidance.blogspot.com/

Driver's Education Class

2012-01-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

In order to get a driver’s license or to get a school permit, one must pass a driver’s education class. Schleswig will be hosting a driver’s education course in the spring of 2012. A student must be 14 years old and have their permit by the first of day of class in order to participate in this spring’s classes which are anticipated to be the middle of March. If the student is unable to meet the age limit, another class will be held in Denison this summer starting the first part of June. There will also be classes held next year. Students will also be required to pay half of the programming costs. Each student participating will need to pay $275.

If you will be 14 by the middle of March and wish to take Driver’s Education classes in Schleswig this spring, please call Renee and add you name to the list. Tuition fees must also be paid prior to the first day of class.

Note: This is a high school course that is offered from Denison, but held in Schleswig.

Schedule (Tentative)
Classroom instruction

Each student needs 30 hours of classroom time. We will meet at the Schleswig school for class (room to be determined later) on the following dates:

March 26 5:30 April 16 5:30

March 27 5:30 April 19 5:30

March 31 8-12 April 21 8-12

April 2 5:30 April 23 5:30

April 10 5:30 April 24 5:30

April 14 8-12 April 28 8-12

May 1 5:30 (Make-up day)

Driving

Every student needs a minimum of 6 hours behind the wheel and 6 hours of observation time. The class will be divided into groups of two for this portion. While one person is driving, the other person is accumulating their observation time. Permits must be present when you are driving. Driving schedules will be arranged according to your schedules.

Open Enrollment

2012-01-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

OPEN ENROLLMENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Parents/guardians considering the use of the open enrollment option to enroll their child/ren in another public school district in the state of Iowa should be aware of the following date and rules:

1. September 1, 2012 – Last date for open enrollment requests for entering kindergarten students for the 2011-2012 school year.

2. March 1, 2012 – Last date for regular open enrollment requests for the 2012-2013 school year.

3. Applications must be sent to both districts. (Please send the application to the district you wish to attend and we/they will send the signed agreement to your resident district.)

4. Parents/guardians of open enrolled students whose income falls below 160% of the federal poverty guidelines are eligible for transportation assistance. This may be in the form of actual transportation or in the form of a cash stipend.

5. Parents should be aware that open enrollment may result in the loss of athletic eligibility.

6. For further details, contact the school superintendent at 676-3313.

Do you know how to operate your cellphone?

2012-01-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

The Schleswig Technology Club is providing a community education class on Thursday, January 12th at 6:30 at the school. The topic will be be cellphone use. Students will attempt to help anyone better operate their cellphone, no matter what kind nor how old. It is estimated that this session will last about an hour. Other sessions will be added if needed, depending on participant learning rate and topics being learned.

Some suggested subtopics:
             ** Adding contacts
             ** How to create and send text messages
             ** Sending pictures and/or videos
             ** Making groups or sending the same email to multiple contacts
   ** Identifying "texting acronyms" (lol, ttyl, 143, etc)
             ** Other topics will be addressed if necessary.

If you have any questions, please call the school. Hope to see you on Thursday.

No Child Left Behind Waiver

2012-01-09T08:55:00.001-08:00

Iowa Department of Education officials seek public input on their decision to request a waiver from specific requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). While NCLB has advanced some important reforms (including accountability for all students and disaggregation of results), it also has created some unrealistic measures. The Iowa Department of Education wants input from teachers, parents, school leaders, and community members as it works to design a new accountability system.

This input will be gathered in regional meetings via the ICN and will take place on February 9, 2012. The ICN facility at the Schleswig Community School will be one of many ICNs utilized for these meetings. Below is the schedule that will be used:

9:00-10:45 Superintendents

11:00-12:45 Superintendents/Principals/Board

1:30-2:45 Students

4:00-5:45 Teachers

6:00-7:45 Parents/Community Members/Business Leaders

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at school.

Honoring Board Member Service

2012-01-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

Phil Smith receives a plaque recognizing
his service to the school board.

Honoring Board Member Service

I am honored to be able to express my gratitude to Todd Schultz and Phil Smith for their community service as board members of the Schleswig Community School. Todd Schultz served on the board for 3 consecutive terms totally 10 years of service. Phil filled a position on the board after the position was resigned. Prior, Phil completed one term of three years. Phil’s total service on the board was just over 4 years.

Both of these gentlemen did an excellent job of thinking to the future as well as keeping the best interest of the district in mind. They both were completely honest and willing to discuss important issues. On behalf of the students and staff of the Schleswig Community School, “Thank you!”

Todd Schultz receives a plaque recognizing
his service to the school board.

Outdoor Classroom Donation

2011-12-22T05:50:00.000-08:00

Outdoor Classroom Donation

Schleswig Community School’s outdoor classroom received a financial boost this week. Danielle Henry, Construction Manager of Gamesa Wind US, LLC provided the school with a check for $2,000. This money will be used to enrich the already existing outdoor classroom. The students are very appreciative of this contribution as it will help enhance their educational experience.

If you would like to learn more about the outdoor classroom or other school events, please view my blog at http://schleswigsupt.blogspot.com/.

Schleswig Education Foundation

2011-12-01T07:43:00.000-08:00

On September 12, 2011, the Schleswig Education Foundation held its inaugural meeting to officially create The Schleswig Education Foundation. The Schleswig Education Foundation is a non-profit organization. The purpose of the foundation is to collect money that can be used mostly for scholarships for anyone that lives within the current boundaries of the Schleswig Community School District. Other uses could be allowed for academic improvements to the school’s education program. All scholarships and other uses would need to be voted on by the SEF board members.

A second meeting was held on October 18, 2011. At this meeting, it was announced that SEF could receive multiple incentives from the Southwest Iowa Endowment if we able to reach the $10,000 mark by December 15, 2011. The board knew that this would be a difficult task. It was decided to ask for donations in "rounds" instead of all at once. The first round of contributors identified would be mostly retired folks that may benefit from a tax credit/deduction because they own land in Iowa. O different group of residents would be identified for round two, an so on. This will be discussed further at our next meeting on December 1st.

Since the SEF was just created, we have minimal funds. As all non-profit organizations we are looking for charitable donations. If you or someone you know would like to make a contribution or would like to know more about SEF, please give me a call at school 676-3313 or send me an email brianjohnson@schleswig.k12.ia.us and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Outdoor Classroom

2011-11-29T14:22:00.000-08:00

Courtyard looking east

As a new addition was constructed last year and attached the north and the south wings of our existing building, an empty square was left, enclosed by our building. Therefore, we were able to create not only indoor classrooms, but also an outdoor learning area.

This outdoor learning environment has many things to enhance our science curriculum. For the classes that study weather, weather patterns, and weather related measurements, there is a weather station. This weather station collects data such as precipitation amounts, temperature, and wind speed. This data is then transmitted wirelessly to a data collection display located inside the building. This information can be utilized to graph weather trends or to predict the weather.

Courtyard looking west

There are a variety of grasses, plants, and shrubs. These plants will be labeled with a display plaque that identifies their common and scientific names. This vegetation will also show different types of plant reproduction. A variety of insects and birds should also be attracted to these plants. Multiple “garden planters” are also planned. These planters will be used to grow a variety of "fruit bearing" plants. The planters are planned to have a transparent sidewall that will enable students to see a cross section of the soil and allow them to see the roots of different plants as they grow.

The courtyard also allows for other outdoor learning activities. Currently, there is a rubberized reading mat that students can enjoy listening to a book aloud. There are also benches and a picnic table for students to sit on and study, read, or to just enjoy nature.