Math Art II

Math or art? How about both! JCSD Middle School math students used their creative talents as they studied composite area. According to Cuemath.com, “The area of composite shapes is defined as the area covered by any composite shape. A composite shape is made up of basic shapes put together. Thus, the area of the composite shape is found by individually adding all the basic shapes.”

The students in Ms. Sandlin’s 6th grade math class were tasked with the idea of using different colored Post-It notes in order to create a picture. Then, they had to find the area for each color used and the total composite area. These Post-It Note Picassos set the bar high. The images they created include a city, Spiderman, and a Siberian Tiger.

Not only did this activity tie into the curriculum, but it also allowed students to tap into their creative sides and take ownership of their work. This is the type of lesson that students will remember when they’re 90!

The Student Teaching Experience

Student teaching is a crucial component of the education process for aspiring teachers. It serves as a hands-on learning experience that takes place during the final year of college or as part of a teaching certification program. While student teaching, individuals intern in a classroom or educational setting, applying their knowledge and skills under the guidance of experienced educators. These engaging experiences provide key opportunities to gain practical teaching experience and prepare for a career in education.

JCSD currently has four student teachers in the building in various grades and curricular areas. 

Riley Kammeyer attends Wartburg College and is student teaching with Mrs. Miller in 2nd grade. She is originally from Tripoli, IA. Ideally, Riley would love to stay around the area as she lives in Waverly. Riley states, “I love spending my time in K-2 classrooms! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be at Janesville and I'm loving every minute of it!”

Keli Potter is currently working alongside Mrs. Giraud as a high school science teacher. She is a senior at Wartburg College studying to become a secondary science teacher. Keli will graduate this coming May with a double major in biology and secondary education and will also receive an all-science endorsement. Keli grew up in Iowa City with one older sister. Throughout high school, she was involved in many different sports, orchestra, and extracurriculars. Keli loves watching movies, reading, being outdoors, and spending time with friends and family. Fun fact about Keli: she was stung by a Portuguese man o' war during a trip to Florida. Keli states, “I have always been fascinated with how the world works, and I am excited to incorporate my fascination into my future career as an educator. I am grateful for the opportunity to student teach here at Janesville, and I hope we all finish the year strong!”

Kaylee Kueker is student teaching in Mrs. Bishop’s first grade class. She grew up in Denver, IA and still lives there now. She loves being close to her family and is glad to be placed at Janesville so she is close to them too. Kaylee attends Wartburg College and will graduate in May. Her favorite things to do are mow the lawn, play board games, and hang out with family and friends. Kaylee’s Ideal teaching job would be to teach kindergarten or first grade in a small school in northeast Iowa. Kaylee states, “I love how Janesville is very collaborative and is so welcoming. The community and the environment of the school have been amazing and I am so happy I could have this experience!”

Michael Goodenbour is a third-year mathematics education student at Wartburg College. He is originally from Cedar Falls. Michael runs cross country and track for the Knights. He is also the manager of the math tutoring lab on campus and enjoys going golfing and disc golfing with friends. Michael is  currently placed with Mrs. Sandlin, working with students preparing them for their Math Counts competition, as well as working with sixth grade and precalculus classes. Michael’s ideal teaching job would be somewhere in the Cedar Valley, teaching 5th-8th grades, but he also believes he would enjoy teaching higher level high school courses, such as precalculus and calculus. 

Please welcome these student teachers to JCSD.

1,000th Day

When students are in 5th grade, they hit the big 1,000th day of school. On average, students spend 180 days per year in school. By the time they complete kindergarten through 4th grade, they have attended 900 days of school. This means, on the hundredth day of the school year, 5th graders get to celebrate quadruple digits, the big 1-0-0-0!

Just like the 100th day of school is a milestone for elementary grades, upper grades love to celebrate, too. With the help of our creative 5th grade teachers, the Janesville 5th graders spent last Thursday celebrating their 1,000th day of grade school. Throughout the day, students participated in the following activities to celebrate:

Game of Spoons to 1,000: Similar to the regular game of spoons, place in a small group to try to collect a sum from all 4 cards that equals 1,000 while racing to not being eliminated when someone else collects theirs and a spoon.

 Race to 1,000: With a partner, move around a gameboard following specific skip counting directions to reach the 1,000th square first.

1,000th Day Escape Room: Complete 6 separate tasks in a small group that include puzzles, math problems, and research to collect a code that will allow you to escape.

Place Value Treats: Create the number 1,000 by placing specific cookies into each place value.

1,000 Second Break: Celebrated their hard work over the past 1,000 days with a friendship snack mix and 1,000 seconds (16 2/3 minutes) of free choice.

Janesville JCSD  teachers helped make this day an occasion to remember!

Out of the Box Thinking

Shout out to JCSD middle school math teacher, Meridith Sandlin, for her out of the box thinking. Knowing the interests of her students, she created curriculum based on the results of the Detroit Lions vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers playoff football game. Mrs. Sandlin used the statistics from the game to appeal to her students. The students completed math problems and equations based on the game’s stats.

Sixth grade parent, Brenda Schmidtke states, “Mrs. Sandlin deserves to be recognized for her out of the box thinking. My son is in her 6th grace accelerated math class and has been thoroughly enjoying her class and the content available to him. My son’s favorite NFL team is the Lions and he is used to not seeing their apparel in stores and not being featured on prime time TV. We were blown away with the out of the box activity along with providing activities that would stimulate our son’t interest and possibly help him understand a whole new aspect of the game. It was definitely a special treat for him to have someone acknowledge what’s important to him in this moment as a 6th grader.”

As the growing shortages of teachers sweep across the nation, many teachers had to accept additional daily teaching responsibilities. Many of the teachers and support staffs took on both remote and classroom preparation/combination teaching during the recent years of the pandemic. This is a most important time for schools across the world to reach out and find ways to honor and ‘recognize’ their teachers. 

Thank you Mrs. Sandlin! Your efforts are greatly appreciated and making a difference in the lives of your students.

Let's Do Better

According to Dr. Karissa Niehoff of the National Federation of State High School Associations, “From time to time, everyone needs a wake-up call to get back on course, to regain focus and to get with the program. That time is at hand in high school sports as it relates to unsportsmanlike conduct.” When appropriate behavior occurs, competitive play is more enjoyable for everyone. And for some individuals recently, the games have not been enjoyable. Around the country, the following unfortunate incidents have occurred at the high school level: a mayor of a city was ejected for threatening a referee, a volleyball official was followed off the court by a coach who was shouting obscenities, a referee was assaulted and knocked unconscious, and youth basketball leagues were forced to end the season early due to poor parent behavior. The list could go on and on. 

It is painfully obvious why there is an officials’ shortage…unacceptable behavior on the part of the parents, coaches, and other spectators. Verbal and physical attacks against officials are incomprehensible and must be stopped. NFHS director of officiating services states, “Do you really think that these individuals who are volunteers are going to take a half-day off of work, get paid less than they’re probably making at their real job to go and be unfair in a game? It doesn’t make sense. They are there to give back. They are there to be community servants.” 

Official shortage is real. The pandemic led to accelerated retirement and many new officials quit within the first three years due to fan hostility. Following each contest, officials in the Iowa Star Conference are asked to fill out a ballot to evaluate sportsmanship. They rate the team, players and fans on a scale of 1 to 3. Here is a description of the rating scale: 1 being Expected (no noticeable disrespect), 2 being Fair (some unsportsmanslike conduct), and 3 being Poor (discourtesy/disrespect were evident in several occasions). Unfortunately, the spectators of Janesville Boys Basketball currently have the worst rating in our conference (1.55) and the girls have the best rating (1.0). 

Stop being an “armchair” official. If you are interested in becoming an official, instructions can be found at the link at the bottom of the article. Janesville CSD will be happy to pay for our fans to become officials.

Our behavior embarrasses our players and school. We are asking you to do better.

https://www.iahsaa.org/officials/become-one/

On To State

Large group District Speech contests were held Saturday, January 20. Janesville CSD speech team is coached by Ms. Katie Johnson and Ms. Kimberly Cavalier. This year, we had five events go. Each event performs in front of a IHSSAA certified judge. The judges critique the performance with a I, II, or III rating. Groups who receive a I rating advance to State Speech competition.

Talan Pletz, Charlize Lindaman, Addy Oldenburger, Blayne Porter, and Cael Coffman competed in Short Film with a film titled “Coach.” Jillian Anderson, Hailey Limkemann, Ashleigh Panning, Tarynn Shepherd, and Hayleigh Heiser competed in Readers Theatre with a play titled “The Committee.” Ashleigh Panning and Hailey Limkemann competed in Group Improvisation. Jayden Butler, Parker Opperman, Daniel Britt, and Marshall Davison competed in Group Improvisation and will advance to State Contest. Kole Haan, Carlie Rupe, Gabe Meaney, Hayden Pugh, Abi Foelske, Jayden Butler, Zoey Barnes, Daniel Britt, and Carson Foelske competed in Short Film with a film titled “The Nerderer” and will advance to State Contest.

Overall, the kids had a great time competing and Janesville will bring two events to the State Contest in Dubuque on February 3rd. Congratulations to students and coaches!

Elementary Winter Dance

Before winter break, Janesville CSD 4th grade elementary lighthouse members Morgan Domeyer, Ezra Muehling and Mozzie Reed planned a winter dance for elementary students.  Students in grades K-5 attended the dance where they enjoyed snacks, played limbo and danced with their friends.  The lighthouse members asked Mr. Monroe to be the DJ and Darla Litterer to make cupcakes.  Darla made 150 cupcakes for to reward the students whose class earned their LEADER letters in November. (Each month, classes earn each of the letters of LEADER by being recognized as a leader in the hallway, lunchroom, etc. by someone other than their classroom teacher.) The students had planned to pay Darla for the supplies to make the cupcakes, however Darla surprised them by donating the money back to the student lighthouse team. 

Wrestling Returns to the Ville

After not offering our own wrestling team for over 20 years, the Janesville School Board approved the return of the program at their monthly meeting on Monday, January 8, 2024. The program revival is set for the 2024-2025 school year.

Janesville has been in a shared program with Waverly- Shell Rock High school since the program ended in 2002. After a successful start to a youth wrestling program at JCSD, many dreamed of a bigger vision….the revival of a Janesville wrestling team.

In an interview with the Waverly Newspaper, Janesville Athletic Director, Micah Monroe states, “There’s been a lot of community support from the parents. We started the Cats Wrestling Club to secure a mat for the school and they’ve done their training here at the school and that’s really picked up the excitement about wrestling and getting it back. There’s been quite a few people coming to practices and participating in tournaments and they’ve had about 60 kids that have been coming to practice. We’ve been talking for a while trying to figure out if it was the right time to get wrestling back in Janesville and with the amount of support from the community members and in the school, we felt that it was the right time. Our school board is all with it and they decided that it was time to get that process going.”

With the popularity of girls wrestling in Iowa, the Wildcats will follow suit and they will offer a girls team as well.

“The talks started a couple of years ago,” Monroe said. “Last year we had seven junior varsity girls wrestle for Waverly and we’ve had a number of students express interest that if we had our own program, they play basketball and other sports for Janesville and they would like that as an option too. With girls programs starting, there are a lot of girls that are interested in wrestling.”

Although there is a possibility that offering a wrestling team might pull players from the basketball teams, the main focus for Janesville administration is being able to offer as many opportunities for students to succeed.

“That’s always a concern,” Monroe said. “I think the main thing though is that we want to provide our students with everything possible. With the popularity of wrestling in the area and the girls being sanctioned now, we just felt that it was a good time and the amount of support from the community, we thought it was a good time to get it started and provide another great program for our students to be a part of.”

Mrs. Pugh Receives High Award

Janesville CSD Elementary Principal, Krista Pugh, has been named the 2024 Leader in Me Educator of the Year!

Individuals nominated for the Leader in Me Educator Award may serve in any capacity in any of the Leader in Me Schools. The nominees are considered champions of Leader in Me, role models for living the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and consistently demonstrate the following Leader Valley values:

Servant Leadership: We believe leadership is for everyone. Through modeling leadership, focusing on strengths, and creating opportunities for others, we empower people who will empower others.

Human Connection: We believe in the power of diverse relationships. Through fostering trust and being a resource for others, we develop sustainable partnerships. 

Integrity: We believe authenticity is best and character matters. Through responsible use of community investments and leading by example, we build a reputation of positive impact. 

Lifelong Learning: We believe education is an ongoing journey. Through investing in individual and community development, we equip people to change their own lives.

Facilitate Change: We believe challenges are opportunities to improve. Through a flexible response to change, we create better results that ripple into the community. 

Mrs. Pugh will be honored at the Leader Valley Gala on January 19th in Cedar Falls.

Congratulations Mrs. Pugh, on this well-deserving award!!

The Art of Mathematics

Many of us might have had some problems with mathematics when we were in school. However, it is surprising to see how closely art and math are linked. There is a fascinating relationship. In fact, there are many famous artworks from artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Wassily Kandinsky, that incorporated mathematical concepts in their artwork. 

Precalculus students in Mrs. Sandlin’s class at JCSD have combined the two academics. After a recent unit of study, students demonstrated their knowledge of Conics and Function Graph Transformations through an art project using the Desmos web site tools. Students from the class explained the project, how it relates to math, and what they liked best about it.

“I created a park scene using Desmos graphing calculator. I had to plot many different equations and inequalities in order to get my desired shapes and shading. I had to figure out how to move graphs based on equations and how to manipulate equations in order to create different shapes. I liked that it was creative and something other than taking a paper test. I've never used Desmos like that before.” - Hayden Pugh

“Basically what we did is we took different functions of math (for example, sin, cosine, rational function, parabolas, ellipses, etc) and changed x and y values to make a design of something of our choice. We also had to change the domain and range for some of them to fit into what we needed. It relates to math because we had to use what we knew from values of x and put them in to get the shape we wanted. Something I liked about it is that you could be creative and sort of make anything you want. It was a pretty open project that yes, had requirements, but we weren't told exactly what we had to make.” - Carlie Rupe

“I just wrote some equations until it looked like something. I sorta had an idea of what I wanted, but didn't really know how to get there, so I just experimented until I got it.”  Kole Haan

“I didn't really have anything particular in mind, but when we started messing around with the equations it just kind of came together.” Daniele Hughes

When asked “What did you like about it? What were your favorite parts?” Carson Foelske replied, “Being able to see how the equations we used changed in real time to create the pictures.”

These students have demonstrated the potential to be proficient in both math and art!

Parents and Pajamas

On Tuesday, December 19, the Janesville CSD Preschool held a Parents and Pajamas Party to celebrate the start of Winter Break. Each preschool class decorated Christmas cookies, ice skated using paper plates, made reindeer food, and sang a few Christmas songs for the parents. A fun time was had by all!!

Leader in Me Success Story

Janesville CSD has chosen to follow the Leader in Me program because we believe everyone has the ability to be a leader. Each person has unique strengths and can make a contribution in and out school by sharing those strengths. Being a leader is not about being popular or holding a position; it’s about using your strengths and encouraging others to use theirs.

The 7 Habits are the road map to become a leader. They are life skills you can use on the playground, in sports, with friends, at home, at school, and in the future. Each of the 7 Habits will help you grow, serve, and inspire today, tomorrow and as an adult.

Recently, Lennon, a 4th grade leader at Janesville CSD was highlighted by Leader Valley as part of their Stories of Success. Through Leader in Me, Lennon has overcome school-related anxiety and developed the confidence and resilience she needs to achieve her goals.

"Leader in Me has provided Lennon with opportunities to utilize and grow her leadership skills. It has developed a determination in her to become the best version of herself." - Heather Howland, Janesville Student Lighthouse Facilitator.

Click on the link below to hear more about Lennon’s Leader in Me journey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OQa8DyBym4

Ryken Takes Seat on School Board

The first JCSD school board meeting since the election is set to take place tonight and newly elected member, Christy Ryken will be sworn in. Christy is no stranger to the Janesville community but we wanted to take a moment to introduce her.

Christy’s connection to this community runs deep, as she is not only a former graduate of Janesville High, but also a proud parent of two students currently attending Janesville CSD. Over the years she has witnessed the unique strengths of our community, and she firmly believes that our school plays a pivotal role in nurturing the potential of our youth and preparing them to become responsible, informed citizens.

While serving as the President of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) for eight years, Christy has had the privilege of working closely with teachers, parents, and administrators to enhance the quality of education and extracurricular activities. This experience has allowed her to gain valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities that our school district faces. It has also reinforced her unwavering commitment to the well-being of our students and the continued improvement JSCD.

Christy’s vision for the school district is rooted in her deep-seated belief that every student deserves access to an excellent education that not only equips them with academic skills but also helps them develop into compassionate, responsible, and civic-minded individuals. She is dedicated to fostering a safe and engaging learning environment where each student can thrive and reach their full potential. By working collaboratively with parents, teachers, administrators, and the broader community, she believes the school can address the unique needs of our students and ensure they are well-prepared for the challenges of the future.

In addition to her commitment to educational excellence, Christy also places a high priority on continuing the good fiscal stewardship within our school district. Christy states, “My service in helping pass the last school bond vote helped me better understand that responsible financial management is not only about the present but also about securing a bright educational future for our community. As a school board candidate, I am dedicated to making prudent decisions that allocate resources efficiently while prioritizing the needs of our students and educators. I aim to uphold the trust that our community places in our school district, ensuring that every dollar is invested wisely and that our schools remain accessible to and sustainable for future generations of students.”

Christy also expressed her enthusiasm for the opportunity to serve on the school board in our community. She feels a deep sense of responsibility to contribute to the betterment of our educational system.

“Together, we can make a difference in the lives of our children and the prosperity of our community. I look forward to the opportunity to serve our community as a school board member and work collaboratively to create a brighter future for all,” remarks Ryken.

Friendsgiving: A New Tradition at Janesville

According to Merriam-Webster, the earliest use of the term Friendsgiving dates back to 2007. Friendsgiving is about celebrating existing friendships and making new ones. Traditionally, friends bring a variety of dishes, sides, and desserts to share while engaging in games and activities.

This year, several classes at JCSD participated in Friendsgiving. The kindergarten classes came together as a community and enjoyed their first Friendsgiving. Kindergarten teach Kaitlin Beaumont states, “It was just a community building activity that Molly and I wanted to do so that the two kindergartens could spend time together and eat a meal as a group.”

The students also made paper bag turkey costumes. The teachers would like to give a shoutout to Fareway for the donation of paper bags.

The students in Mr. Ludwig’s 3rd grade class also enjoyed a Friendsgiving. The array of food was prepared and brought in by Mr. Ludwig’s parents.

These Friendsgiving feasts are just another example of how teachers at JCSD are building community in their classrooms and providing opportunities to forge strong friendships.

Staff Shortages Plague JCSD

Like other schools across the state of Iowa, Janesville CSD is facing staff shortages. Data collected from School Administrators of Iowa (SAI) indicates several recurring issues and concerns within the education system. The SAI survey shared that there were over 500 open teaching positions in rural schools at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year and additional 600 positions filled with not fully qualified teachers. The report goes on to state, “Schools are facing challenges in finding and retaining qualified teachers, leading to vacancies and understaffed classrooms. 

The shortage not only affects teaching positions but also extends to support staff, bus drivers, and substitute teachers.” Janesville CSD is no exception. It is not uncommon to have multiple teachers out of the building every day. According to Dean Wendy Paterson of SUNY Buffalo State, “Since the COVID-19 pandemic, substitute teacher shortages have increased to the level that 20 percent of the requests for substitutes are unfilled.” These unfilled teacher absences can cripple student achievement. Schools struggle to fill these teacher absences by moving students to other classes, pulling in other school personnel to cover for the absent teacher, or moving students to the gym, cafeteria, or library. These options are less than ideal. 

That is why we need you. If you have ever considered helping in the school, now is the time. There are many reasons to become a substitute teacher. Substitute teaching is a remarkably rewarding and worthwhile career path for people in many different walks of life. As a sub, you get to work with children, set your own schedule, and experience many different opportunities in education.

As one high school science teacher says, “These are kids that need extra preparation, extra care, extra attention, just because of the world that they’re facing, but also they’re our future leaders. They’re the future scientists, they’re the future nurses and doctors, they’re the future, everything. And we need to be really tender and cautious and careful and protective over education because not only does this shape their minds, it shapes who they’re going to be as people.” 

Fortunately, you can help. Anyone with an associate's degree or 60 semester hours or higher and the completion of an approved substitute authorization course can substitute teach. For more information on substitute teaching authorization and licensure, contact the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners at 515-281-3245.

Iowa School Report Card

The Department of Education released the Iowa School Report Card last week, and here are the results…Both the elementary and the secondary school received commendable ratings! 

JCSD Elementary has moved from acceptable to commendable and the overall score is above the state average.  We have maintained 100% of students in 3rd-5th grade who took the state test.  Areas of improvement include: Average school achievement in English Language Arts, Average school achievement in Mathematics, Growth in Mathematics, Growth in ELA, Proficiency in Math, and Proficiency in ELA. We showed academic growth and proficiency in both math and English Language Arts are above the state average. 

Our secondary grades, which are made up of middle and high school, also increased the overall school performance score and maintained a commendable rating. Areas of improvement include: Assessment participation increased slightly to get to 100%, Average school achievement in ELA, Average school achievement in Math, Growth in ELA, Percent proficient ELA, Percent proficient in Math, and Postsecondary readiness. Academic growth and proficiency in both math and English Language Arts are above the state average. 

You can read more about our school and the report card in general by following the links below.

https://www.iaschoolperformance.gov/ECP/StateDistrictSchool/DistrictSummary?k=8692&y=2023

https://www.iaschoolperformance.gov/ECP/Home/UserGuide

Speech Club Builds Good Communicators

The Iowa High School Speech Association believes "good communicators equal great citizens.” In October, the IHSSA held its 51st Annual Speech Coaches Convention and JCSD speech coaches Katie Johnson and Kimberly Cavalier had the opportunity to attend. Their goal was to gain more skills as speech coaches.

This is Coach Cavalier’s second year as a coach and it is Coach Johnson’s first. JCSD offers Large Group and Individual events. The most popular events that students like to participate in are short film, group improvisation, prose interpretation, and storytelling, just to name a few examples. Altogether, there are 10 Large Group events and 13 Individual events available for students.

The coaches attended a class for novice coaches to help build the program, a keynote address entitled Communication as Connection: How Our Stories Shape Us, and breakout sessions that focused on writing or finding performance pieces for each event.

Coach Cavalier states, “I would say my main takeaway from the event is how valuable speech can be for every kid! For so many kids, speech is a fun, low pressure activity where they can come hang out with friends and express their creativity. I think it is so important for adolescents to have that space, whether they see themselves going into a creative field in the future or not.”

Cross Country Competes as a Team,

For the first time in a long time, JCSD cross country fielded a FULL high school boys team. The team consisted of: Ethan Hjelmeland (senior), Alex Oltmann (senior), Seth Gregorsok (freshman), Aidan Little (freshman), and Jason Westendorf (freshman).

There were also 5 middle school athletes who crushed it this year. They include: Maggie Heidemann (8th), Izzy Foelske (8th), Noah Gansen (8th), Nicolas DeHart (7th), and Kayla Cox (7th).

The season brought many highlights. Coach Molly Ludwig would like to give recognition to a few members…special shoutout to Seth Gregorsok for the team's best time so far this season, which he ran at conference with a 20:55, special shoutout to Aidan Little for starting the year with a 36:00 3.1 mile race, and last week beating his goal of breaking 30:00 and running a 29:03, and special shoutout to the 2 senior leaders for leading the way at every single practice, including a few practices on the trails where they ran 5+ or 6+ miles. At the conference meet, every high schooler had a Season Best time (PR), and 3 of them (the freshman) were all lifetime best runs for a 5k.

The middle school cross country team had several highlights as well. During a middle school meet we had 4 out of the 5 runners PR for their 2 mile race, and all 5 placed in the top 10. At conference, all 3 middle school girls placed in the top 10 and received ribbons.

Coach Ludwig states, “Team highlights are harder to breakdown because even though we're scoring points as a team, we're not exactly winning meets... So a celebration there is just that we've been able to score points as a team at every single meet so far this year!”

An Honor to Serve

As school board elections draw near, there is one name that won’t be on the ballot. After 20 years of service, Barb Reid is stepping down.

JCSD has always been a part of Barb’s life.  Her father served as superintendent and her mother taught at the school while Barb was a child.  She had been involved with the school through the Booster Club and other organizations. Barb’s son had just graduated and her daughter was still in school.  At the time, Barb chose to run because there was talk of merging with another district and she wanted to see if there were other options available for JCSD.

Barb says her greatest accomplishment is the passage of the 2018 General Obligation Bond which funded 12 classrooms (2 preschool, 4 elementary, 3 middle school and 3 high school), a new band room, a new competition gymnasium with locker rooms, new parking lot, new roof for the 1974 addition, and addressed air quality issues throughout the school.  Barb credits the community and the many people who gave their time for this project.

Barb hope new/future board members won’t be afraid to ask questions. She wants them to be open to new ideas and understand they aren’t going to learn all they need to know overnight.

“It has been an honor to serve on the Board for the last 20 years and I look forward to seeing JSCD continue long into the future,” remarks Barb Reid.

Collaboration at its Finest

Last week, two grades collaborated on a lesson taught during library class with Mrs. Sandlin. The 4th grade students taught the 1st grade students how to use online encyclopedias and helped them research animals using Encyclopedia Britannica and PebbleGo.  The first graders benefited tremendously from the older students' guidance as they developed their skills in using varied research resources to gather information. 

In the previous weeks, the 1st graders had researched animals with books and cited the information with title, author, and page number.  Now they are recording the article title and the online source where they found the article along with the details they learned.  As the 4th graders teach the 1st graders, they are becoming more ready for an upcoming research unit about extreme weather that will include selecting reliable sources, evaluating the reliability and usefulness of information within their sources, synthesizing information through research with multiple resources, and crediting their sources as they communicate their learning.

Mrs. Sandlin states, “Library activities like this one are a valuable part of the information literacy progression towards more formal research projects in the future years of their academic careers and generally using reliable electronic resources to get information in daily life.”