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!

Proud to be EV... Week of March 16-22, 2014

On Monday, the SIAC met to discuss various topics. Several changes to the high school course description guide were discussed. I will write about these once they are approved.

On Wednesday, there was a 1:00 dismissal for professional development. The high school teachers looked at data on the iPad usage in the building. They discussed a possibility of changes at the high school next year concerning gpa.

On Friday we held our quarterly Achievement Assembly. It never ceases to amaze me how wonderful our students at English Valleys are. Here is a list of the awards that were presented:

3^rd Quarter Honor Roll

English Valleys Junior/Senior High School

2013-14

B Honor Roll- 7-12th grades

7th- Gabrielle Ayers, Derek Dulaney, Leah Shannahan, Kameryn Tippie

8th- Margaret Anthony, Payton Gerard, Audrey Grove, Tori Harper, Autumn Higdon, Lyla Klett, Mileah Miller, Jaden Pfannebecker, Mykayla Russell, Chloe Tapken

9th- Gabriel Anthony, Adrienna Ealy, Michelle Ealy, Nathan Jackson, Jasmine Lawson, Katherine Miller, Clayton Morrison, Wyatt Olson, Holley Stewart, William Tapken, Emyle Thompson, Emily Westhoff

10th- Connor Armstrong, Dorothy Cook, Grayson Cox, Matalynn Dillon, Christopher Dulaney, Ross Fawcett, Dakota Gesling, Molly Irmen, Leah Kerr, Lexie Moore, Matt Polton, Anna Townsend

11th- Darian Blaylock, Audrey Fisher, Brennen Grimm, Adam Grove, Taylor Harriman, Luke Jackson, Adam Kerkove, Marissa Lang, Anna Ross, Sydnie Stephenson, Abby Westhoff

12th- Kyle Allie, Amanda Fisher, Trevor Frazier, Amelia Koehn, Brianna Morrow, Jessica Polton, Jessica Riegel, Dillon Sanders, Allison Voss, Zoey Wiseman

A Honor Roll- 7-12th grades

7th- Maleah Ackerman, Cooper Andreassen, Loni Anthony, Jessi Armstrong, Ella Coffman, John Fisher, Jacob Glandon, Lance Gott, Katryna Jeannette, Isabel Schneider, Maddeline Shaw, Lexi Stanerson

8th- Christina Berrier, Kathryn Clabaugh, Keely Driscoll, Mallory Hester, Lexie Miller, Sydney Olson, Maria Van Dee

9th- Zach Axmear, Alexis Berstler, Matthew Burlage, Grace Conrad, Kristen Cox, Alexa Grimm, Madelyne Jordan, Jeffery Montgomery

10th- Grace Andreassen, Anne Axmear, Casey Blaylock, Kate Duello, Aaron Gent, Kellan Horras-Coppinger, Andrew Kerkove, Claire Kingland, Kaitlynn Kinzler, Rebecca Phillips, Mackenzie Russell, Brandon Zimmerman

11th- Luke Ackerman, Davis Axmear, Tanner Icenbice, Lauren Miller, Morgan Russell, Samuel Schauer, William Townsend

12th- Paige Hester, Brian Nachtman, Dakota Olson, Madison Parmenter, Shannon Steffen, Sadie Westfall, Mikala Yoss, Bobur Yuldashov

Straight A honor roll

7th- Isabella Fisher, Jacob Jackson, Alyson Warwick

8th- Charles Axmear

9th- Jacquelyn Barney, Morgan Bruns, Mary Cheney, Jacob Glandon

10th- Taylor Gerard

11th- Rylee Voss

12th- Samantha Banes, Emma Hester, Allison Hewett, Jack Lawrence, Tempest Montgomery

“Golden Grizzly” Awards (JH):

Math- Lyla Klett

Science- Jacob Glandon

Social Studies- Maddeline Shaw

English- Kelly Hanna

“Golden Grizzly” Awards (HS)

Math- Rebecca Phillips

Science- Samuel Schauer

Social Studies-  Davis Axmear

English- Audrey Fisher

CTE-Industrial Arts- Trevor Frazier

CTE- Business- Jessica Polton

CTE- FCS- Zoey Ray

CTE- Agriculture- Matt Polton

Art- Emma Hester

Music- Bobur Yuldashov

Spanish- Mikala Yoss

On Friday and Saturday, the drama department held their production Alice in Wonderland. The performance was absolutely wonderful! I am so proud of the drama department and the time and dedication it took to present such a wonderful performance.

 Here is a copy of the program:

Go EV Bears!

Proud to be EV... Week of March 9-15, 2014

This week brought an end to the 3rd quarter at English Valleys Junior/Senior High school.

This week Mrs. Burdick and the cast for the Spring Play have been practicing daily to prepare for their big production that will take place next week on March 21-22!

Many community members are still making appointments and coming in to sign up to use the EVC Fitness Center and gym track. I really enjoy getting to know everyone in the community. The center has been kept in wonderful condition by those who use it and value it- I cannot express enough my gratefulness for all of the community interest and support in keeping our facilities clean and impressive. If you have not signed up for a membership and fob yet, please call the high school and set up an appointment to come in~

On Friday, school dismissed at 2:20 p.m. to mark the ending of the 3rd quarter.

On Friday night, the PACE group (Post Prom parents), hosted the All School Carnival in the old gym in our building. The event was very well attended!

There were many groups who ran booths at the carnival. Pictured below is the FFA booth in which participants had to get 3 ping-pong balls into glass fish bowls in order to win a goldfish...

I am very proud of the groups who took part in this event and the PACE group for organizing it.

It is hard to believe that next week marks the start of 4th quarter. This year has gone by so fast. I have enjoyed every single second of it and look forward to the things that are in store for the rest of the year...

Go EV Bears!

Proud to be EV... Week of February 23-March 1, 2014

On Monday, the students did not have school. The English Valleys and Iowa Valley teachers had a combined professional development day at Iowa Valley High School in Marengo. Jimmy Casas, high school principal at Bettendorf, was the guest speaker for the day and ran several mini-sessions. Teachers also took part in other mini-sessions on topics related to improving student learning.

On Monday night, the Varsity Girls basketball team finished their season with a loss to Lynnville-Sully at Pella Christian High School in a regional finals game. The team had a great season and I am looking forward to watching them again next year. Our crowd was absolutely amazing- I am looking forward to the continued support of our programs.

On Thursday, Mr. Hester took a group of students to Spotlight on STEM day at UNI. Mr. Hester reported that the group did a really great job.

The very first event on our new stage was held Thursday night. The junior high band and choir concert took place. They are a talented group and wonderful performers.

On Friday the weekly Spirit Assembly was held. Mr. McCulley hosted the assembly this week.

Go EV Bears!

Proud to be EV... Week of March 2-8, 2014

This week we held Iowa Assessments from Tuesday through Thursday at the high school and the junior high went an extra day into Friday.

The district football schedule was released this week. This will be the first year that English Valleys will play 8 man football. Here is the schedule that was released for this football season:

English Valleys, North English 2014 Schedule:
08/29 @Twin Cedars, Bussey
09/05 Moravia
09/12 Tri‐County, Thornburg
09/19 @Grand View Christian School 
09/26 Don Bosco, Gilbertville
10/03 @Meskwaki Settlement School 10/10 @H‐L‐V, Victor
10/17 Colo‐Nesco
10/24 @Dunkerton

This week's Friday Spirit Assembly was hosted by Mrs. Burdick's Speech & Drama group. This was also the first time that the Spirit Assembly was held in the new gym. The game this week involved students selected from each grade to stuff as many balloons into a large shirt worn over one of their classmates.

The Swing Show was held Friday night on our new stage. The choir and band did a wonderful job! The band performed "The Star Wars Saga" by John Williams, arr. Michael Story. I am a huge Star Wars fan and absolutely loved it! Mr. Dusdieker and his band students never cease to amaze me with their performances.

Mrs. Wade's choir students were a joy to listen to. The second part of the show involved various students selecting songs to sing. Each performance was wonderful; it takes a great deal of courage to stand in front of a large crowd and sing~ I am glad that these students chose to do so. Here is a picture of our senior girls performing "Counting Stars"- they were accompanied by the very talented Anne Axmear~

The HS Winter Formal was held Friday night after the Swing Show from 9-Midnight. This dance was hosted by the Student Council and was well attended. Proceeds from this event will be donated to Special Olympics.

I attended the EdCampIowa at Bettendorf High School on Saturday. I plan to talk about this in another blog post. This event was well worth the drive and time spent on a Saturday to connect with other educators and to gain ideas.

The Valley Rush Dance Showcase was held on Saturday night in the new gym. There were individual dance performances by members of the dance team. The elementary girls who attended dance camp entertained the crowd with dances that were choreographed by our very own dance students. All of those involved did a wonderful job.

Next week will mark the end of the 3rd quarter at English Valleys. This year has flown by; there have been so many wonderful things that have taken place this year. I am very excited to see more amazing things that we can do!

Go EV Bears!

Proud to be EV... Week of February 16-22, 2014

The week seemed to fly by at English Valleys~

On Monday there was no school due to inclement weather.

On Tuesday, we had a late start. Our junior high boys basketball had their last game of the season at home. The varsity basketball girls played their first regional basketball game at home. They played very well and defeated HLV.

On Wednesday our varsity basketball boys played their first regional game at Tri-County. Their season ended due to Tri-County winning that game. Our EV boys have improved throughout the season; I am looking forward to watching them again next year~

We sent three wrestlers to state this year: Zach Axmear, Sheldon Ealy, and Brennen Grimm. We held a pep rally at the end of the day Wednesday followed by a "send-off" in which the police and firemen led a caravan out of town. Zach placed 5th at state!

On Thursday, the FFA held a breakfast at 7:15 a.m. It was delicious! I am thankful to Mrs. Flander and her FFA group providing this~

On Friday, we ran on a 1 hour early out schedule in the afternoon so that the FFA could host "Ag Olympics". This was originally supposed to take place Thursday, but was pushed back to Friday due to the Kids Against Hunger Group postponing the meal packaging due to inclement weather. The FFA group did an excellent job with the olympics- everybody had a good time!

On Friday night our girls basketball team played their regional game #2. They defeated North Mahaska to advance on!

They will be playing Lynnville-Sully at Pella Christian at 7:00 p.m. on Monday night. The school will be sponsoring a student and a citizen pep bus for this event, free of charge. You will need to bring money for admission. Those interested in riding will need to call the school between the hours of 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. on Monday. If interested, you can also email me at hlightfoot@english-valleys.k12.ia.us

Go EV Bears!

Proud to be EV... Week of February 9-15, 2014

On Monday, Mr. Ling invited a Forrest Gibson of English Valley TaeKwonDo in North English to his PE classes~ he introduced students to the basics of TaeKwonDo.

 (photo courtesy of Mr. Ling)

Mr. Fritz's Construction class is currently working on two building additions. I stopped by one of the homes and took pictures of their progress on Wednesday. Mr. Fritz does a wonderful job working with and mentoring his construction students. The work that they do is immaculate. I am very proud of them.

On Thursday night I had the pleasure of giving a tour of the new gym, fitness and stage area to the Fortnightly group. This is a wonderful group of women in our community and it was my pleasure to show them how appreciative and proud we are of the new construction.

On Friday our new scorer's table arrived!

(photo courtesy of Mr. Ling)

This was National FCCLA Week. Mrs. Roberts and her FCCLA group have been holding a shoe drive for the past several months. Their goal is to collect 1,000 pairs of shoes to donate to Soles for Souls.
The Friday Spirit Assembly was hosted by the FCCLA.They had a Grammy-type award activity in which they gave out various awards to staff and students. They also had trivia questions about FCCLA.

On Saturday, our varsity wrestling boys wrestled at districts! Congratulations to Sheldon Ealy, Zach Axmear, and Brennen Grimm! They will move on to state wrestling next weekend!

This upcoming week are regional games for basketball. I wish these athletes the best of luck and I am very proud of them and all that they have accomplished this season.

Go EV Bears!