Proud to be EV... Week of May 4-10, 2014

The FFA Banquet took place Sunday night. Mrs. Flander and her group did an excellent job of putting this event together. I want to thank the FFA for the Honorary Chapter FFA Degree.

On Monday, Kristin Simon came to give a "Beyond the Bin" assembly to 7-12th grade students. Each period a different grade listened to Ms. Simon talk about the importance of recycling. I want to thank Bonnie Romine for writing a PINE (Pride in North English) grant in order for Ms. Simon to be able to do this. I would also like to thank Carolyn Elwood for her assistance in making this happen.

On Wednesday it was a 1:00 p.m. dismissal for professional development.

The End of the Year Music Concert for the junior/senior high school was held Thursday night. Mrs. Wade and Mr. Dusdieker and their students were absolutely amazing. I am so proud of our music program here at English Valleys.

On Friday I had a lot of fun in Mr. Caster's class taking part as a judge in their "Shark Tank" competition (based on the tv show). Ms. Bruns, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Caster and I were the judges. We listened to Allison Hewitt and Mikala Yoss each give a sales pitch on their products. They both did a wonderful job.

The Spirit Assembly was hosted by Mrs. Brun's Advisory group. They held a peanut butter and jelly sandwich making competition. They also had a fun game of "Simon Says".

This was the seniors last Spirit Assembly (there were a few missing)...

What a great group of kids- next week will be a hard week knowing that it is their last...

On Saturday morning, I had the pleasure of speaking at the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony. Mrs. Colbert and the NHS students did a wonderful job putting this together. I am very proud of their accomplishments. What an honor for these students~

May 5-9 was Teacher Appreciation Week. The newly formed High School PTO did a wonderful job putting together gifts for the staff. They also provided snacks throughout the week. I cannot thank my teachers and support staff enough for all of the hard work that they do for the district.

Go EV Bears!

Proud to be EV... Week of April 27- May 3, 2014

Mrs. Colbert and I took a group of students to High Tech Guys Day at Kirkwood Community College.

The FFA held the Kids Against Hunger packaging all day in the old gymnasium. To see pictures from this event and any other FFA updates/events, see the EV FFA Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/English-Valleys-FFA/297562784884

Proud to be EV... Week of April 20-26, 2014

Monday was originally a snow make up day #5, so school was held.

On Tuesday, Mrs. O'Rourke's class took a field trip to Kinze & Civco.

On Wednesday, the Iowa Core team went to the Leadership for Continuous Improvement Series. It was the last session for the year. We continued our discussion and training on Competency Based Education.

On Friday, the Spirit Assembly was hosted by the FCCLA group. They had an obstacle course set up in which a teacher and student were paired up. Very fun to watch!

Go EV Bears!

Proud to be EV... Week of April 13-19, 2014

The plans for the end of the school year have begun...

I sent out a letter with end of the year plans for seniors. Graduation will take place on May 18~

The midterm for 4th quarter was Thursday~

There was no school on Good Friday.

On Saturday morning, the FFA hosted the Farmer's Share of the Harvest fundraiser. They had a breakfast, an auction, and the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey spoke at the event. They raised over $10,000. $6,000 of this was dedicated to the Terry Harriman scholarship fund. More information about this event and other FFA events can be found on the FFA Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/English-Valleys-FFA/297562784884

Go EV Bears!

Proud to be EV... Week of April 6-12, 2014

On Monday, the SIAC met at 7:00 p.m. in the high school library. Changes to the high school handbook and course description guide were discussed.

On Tuesday, we hosted a high school track meet here at English Valleys. Five teams competed in events. Our athletes did very well~

On Wednesday, we had a 1:00 early dismissal for professional development~

On Thursday I attended the Iowa 1:1 Institute with Tami Marsh, our technology director. It is always exciting to learn about the ways that technology could be utilized in the classroom.

On Friday, the second meeting to discuss and plan for next year's 9 period schedule was held. This is an exciting opportunity for students to receive RTI (Response to Intervention) during the day. Beginning this fall, there will be a 20 minute "Guided Study" held right after lunch, for all students in the 7-12 building. This will be a time for students to get assistance on homework or work on enrichment activities.

On Friday, Mr. Ellingson's advisory group led the Spirit Assembly~

Go EV Bears!

Proud to be EV... Week of March 30-April 5, 2014

On Tuesday, under the direction of Tim Garrett and Rebekah Bell and with the cooperation of many volunteers from the community, the junior/senior high school had a simulation called "Journey Unknown".
Here is a link from the Sigourney News Review that contains a few pictures of the event:
http://www.sigourneynewsreview.com/?q=content/texting-it-worth-price

On Wednesday I stopped by the Kingland's, where Mr. Fritz and his construction students are working on an addition. I am in awe of the work that they have accomplished...

On Friday, Mrs. O'Rourke and Mrs. Roberts, along with the Prom Committee, decorated the old gym for prom. They also set up promenade in the new gym. They also hosted the Spirit Assembly in which they had a "Prom Olympics" activity...

Prom was held on Saturday, April 5, 2014. The night started off with Promenade at 8:00 p.m. Amanda Fisher was crowned as Prom Queen and Trevor Frazier was crowned as Prom King~

Prom lasted until midnight. Post-prom took place from 12:30 a.m.- 4:00 a.m. The students enjoyed waffles, games, bouncy houses, and a hypnotist~

Go EV Bears!

Proud to be EV... Week of March 23-29, 2014

Skating has concluded in PE class this week, after a 3 week unit. I cannot express enough how impressed I am by the level of skill in our students while observing the PE classes.

The FCCLA students and their advisor, Mrs. Roberts, went to Des Moines for State FCCLA.  They left on Sunday and returned on Tuesday. The students did very well. Katie Kinzler received a Gold award. Amelia Koehn received a Gold award and a state champion award. She will be moving onto Nationals in Texas this July.

Parent/Teacher conferences were held on Tuesday and Thursday night this week. I would like to thank those that were able to attend and to remind those who couldn't to set up a time with the teachers and/or myself to come in and visit at any time~

Go EV Bears!