Thursday, November 9, 2023

North Nodaway Kindergarten Gets Grant for New Math Toys

North Nodaway Kindergarten teacher Angela Davison reported at the North Nodaway School Board Meeting Wednesday that she had been approved for a $500 grant from the Missouri Retired Teachers Association. She used it to purchase math toys, including floor mats, snap cubes, number lines, and sorting circles. In the future, she plans to purchase Behavior Buddies; children who are caught doing good will get to sit with Generous Giraffe, Cooperation Cat, or Listening Lion and receive a certificate to take home to families.

Fourth grade teacher Jessica Hilsabeck reported that her class was working on energy and motion. Using these principles, students broke into groups and were able to build their own roller coasters and get them to go into a cup. All projects were successful.

The board held a special meeting before the regular meeting to conduct a refresher training course.

Principal Roger Johnson reported on the latest MAP scores for the students. With these scores, the school is able to measure improvement within classes and improvement across subject areas. 

Lead testing was completed by the school. All water sources passed the test, except for the faucet at the high school nurses station, which tested at 6.9 parts of lead per billion. The faucet had not been used for the last several months. After flushing the system, the school restested it and has sent in the new sample. The school did its own testing to save money.

The school board voted to accept a bid from Sleek Creek to replace the heating and cooling system for the locker rooms. The old system quit after a pipe froze. Sleek Creek bid $11,875, but it would take them three months to get the system. Hines bid $13,065, but could get the system within one month. First Choice bid $16,575. The board decided to go with the low bid.

The board approved the purchase of a plasma cutter for $38,500 for the Ag department. The funds are paid for by a $53,000 Patterson Foundation grant. The rest of the money will be spent on metal as well as part of the schools’ vo-tech expenses. 

The board set filing dates for the 2024 election for December 5th to 26th. The school will be open from 3 pm to 5 pm on the 26th for last minute filings. The terms of Cari Cline and Vicki Riley are up. The election will be held in April.

The board received an update from the Missouri School Boards Association. ESSER funds are coming to an end and state funding is slightly lower. 

Elementary Principal Heather Townsend reported that teachers have been working on Reading Success Plans. Parent/teacher conferences were held with a 92% attendance rate. 

Students and teachers dressed up for Halloween this year. Two contests were held. The first involved writing a story using a prompt and what the students learned in English/Language Arts. Kindergarten won. The second contest involved using items within the classroom to build a monster. Fifth grade won. 

Teachers are continuing to work on LETRS training.

High School Principal Roger Johnson reported that the National Honor Society will hold a K-12 Veterans Day Assembly on November 10th. Different organizations and students will be helping. The National Honor Society will also be helping the Student Council with a Community Thanksgiving Meal.

There are 15 students out for boys basketball. There are 9 out for girls basketball, 12 out for cheer, and four out for Winter Color Guard.

Attendance for Parent Teacher Conferences was 70%. However, Middle School was attended by 38 out of 40 students. 

Eight FFA members attended the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.

The school is installing the Crisis Go App to help manage emergency situations and improve communication.

The first quarter showed an increase in student attendance, improvement in homework completion, higher numbers of students on the honor rolls, and fewer students on ineligible lists. Office referrals were down. 

Student Council members were able to attend a district meeting and learned about how other student councils operated.

Seniors are taking a Senior Seminar class. As part of the class, students are choosing a project that they are passionate about. One student, Morgan Pope, has chosen the Roxy Theater as her passion project and is raising funds for its upkeep.

Superintendent Chris Turpin reported that the school has entered into a five year agreement with ProServe for copying services. As part of the agreement, the company will bring in some newer copiers. 

There were 48 responses from parents in the Culture and Climate survey. Turpin reported that results were improved from last year. 

The second half of the school’s insurance claim for hail damage from last spring arrived.

Health inspections were done on the high school and elementary kitchens. The school needs to paint the side of one cabinet. They received compliments on the elementary changes.

Turpin recently returned from a grant writing conference. He said that his wish list includes extending the mental health program at the elementary, playground equipment, preservation money for the Pickering school building, and school security for fencing.

Mr. Turpin gave a construction update. The elementary still needs dirt for the drain tile area in the playground. Painting has been completed at the high school. Work is ongoing at the elevator shaft. Carpet has been laid in the first and second elevator rooms. The school is waiting on wash bay panels to arrive.

Mr. Marriott will be on site to remove the ventilation fans in the gym and fix the areas where they were removed.


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