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Quarterly Publication of St. Charles Public Schools March 2018
Snow Days Royalty 2018
King Robert Jackley, Hunter Heimer, Aaron Nunemacher, Keegan Maloney Queen Elizabeth Muschler, Malina Majerus, Natalia Vander Zanden, and Cami Sternberg
Snow Days Pep Fest 2018
Leah Mundt, accompanied by her brother Justin, captured 1st place at the Snow Days Talent Show.
Jazz Band members: Paige Schiebel, Hannah Bunke, Isaac Fritcher and Tyler Fynboh represent the saxophone section!
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
April 5th: 4-8pm High School & Elementary April 9th: 4-8pm High School Only April 10th: 4-8pm Elementary Only
Alexia Flores sings her original song "A Moment".
END OF 3RD QUARTER March 27th
SPRING BREAK March 29th thru April 2nd
ST. CHARLES FOUNDATION FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE Community Support Received October 16, 2017 - February 9, 2018
letter from superintendent jeff apse Facilities Improvements and Educational Programming Continue to be Top Priorities After the May, 2016 referendum did not pass, the results of a community survey showed that our voters were most willing to support in the following order: the maintenance and remodeling of our current buildings, securing our entrances, updating the high school science classrooms, adding space to support early childhood programming, and adding space for an activity center. The district used these survey results, along with feedback from community listening sessions, scaled things back, and came back in November, 2016, with a revised proposal asking the community to consider a referendum that emphasized building maintenance, securing entrances, updating the high school science classrooms, adding space for early childhood programming, and adding a two-station gymnasium instead of an activity center. While the second referendum attempt did not pass, it was close. The district moved forward without a referendum in place, and focused efforts on addressing facility issues we could still address without a referendum. The district has spent the past two years making indoor air quality improvements to both buildings, taking care of some maintenance, and improving the security of our main entrances. The projects that we have addressed the past two years have cost roughly $6.2 million and were funded by investing a large portion of our district’s unreserved general fund balance and by issuing long-term facilities maintenance bonds. We still have a long list of facility maintenance and needed improvements that we would like to be able to make to support both the upkeep of our buildings, and the educational and co-curricular programming that exists in our schools today. In a recent survey, both district staff and our School Board have identified adding space for early childhood programming; adding gym/activity space; and updating our high school science classrooms as our district’s top three facility priorities. The School Board met in late January to discuss those facility priorities, and to make updates to our strategic plan. We have made some minor revisions to our Vision, Mission, Core Values, and Goals. We also mapped out a series of objectives that include addressing our top program and facility priorities. We believe our plan provides a good road map for what our district will strive to accomplish over the next few years. You can check out our plan by going to the district website at www.scschools.net, clicking on the District tab, then clicking on Strategic Plan. Thanks for your support, Jeff Apse, Superintendent of Schools
St. Charles Head Start Registration
Head Start is a free comprehensive preschool program for children who are three and four years of age and their families. Head Start helps prepare your child for Kindergarten. If your child will be three years of age and not yet five years of age by September 1, 2018. Head Start is a great option for your family. St. Charles Head Start offers a six hour per day program, from 8:15 am to 2:15 pm, Monday through Thursday. Breakfast, lunch, and snack are served free of cost. Busing is available through Rolling Hills Bus Service. If interested in applying, plan to attend one of the two registrations sessions listed below. • What: St. Charles Head Start Registration for Preschoolers • When: Thursday, March 8th; 3 - 5 pm OR Friday, March 9th; 10 am - noon • Where: 824 Church Avenue (lower level) • Bring: 2017 tax return or W2 and child’s immunization record • Questions: Call 932-5519
Philip & Catherine Davidson working together in Mr. Cole's first grade class.
St. Charles PTO
The PTO Spring Carnival is coming soon! Mark your calendar: Friday, March 16th 6:00-8:00 pm at the Elementary School. We have new and different games, silent auction, and a bigger kids raffle! Join us for a night of fun!
High School News
Band & Choir Concerts High School (Grades 9-12) Monday, March 12th 7:00 pm High School Gym
Washington D.C. Meeting Thursday, March 8th There will be a Packing Meeting on Thursday, March 8th at 7:00 pm in the St. Charles Elementary Auditorium
Middle School (Grades 7-8) Thursday, March 22nd 7:00 pm High School Gym Please note: Both concerts include band and choir and are located at the HS Gym.
Spring Sports begin March 12th: Baseball, Softball & Track March 19th: Golf
St. Charles One Act Team The St. Charles One Act play preformed a play this year called Hard Candy. This humorous play written by Johnathan Rand is a change from the serious plays in years past. The play placed 2nd at Conference, and placed 3rd at Sub-Sections, which ended the season. The St. Charles One Act team is saying goodbye to 6 seniors this year and is looking forward to a successful season next year.
St. Charles Staff & Students Help Ronald McDonald House 57 pounds of pop tabs (approximately 72,000) were collected!!
11th grade Human Geography students & staff collected pop tabs and donated laundry soap.
Staff served a home cooked meal and made pantry donations!
High School News ST. CHARLES FFA NEWS
St. Charles FFA Attends PEM Invitational Sophie Sevre and Shane Arnold attend the Region VIII FFA Greenhand Camp at Ironwood Springs Christian Ranch in Stewartville. They attended sessions on teamwork, career pathways, and goal setting. Overall, Shane and Sophie learned more about FFA and are are ready to dive into their roles as FFA members.
MN Track & Field 2017 Class A Boys Coach of the Year
By Emily Barth, St. Charles FFA Reporter
The St. Charles FFA sent five 8th graders to the PEM FFA Ag Challenge on November 10th. Michael Jorgenson, Kasey Schweitzer, Hunter Oldenburg, and Shane Arnold competed against other 7-8th graders from around the area. Shane Arnold made the top 20 individual and received a T-shirt. During the competition these students had to identify 100 pictures and samples. The contest consisted of all different parts of CDEs that these students will be able to partake in, over the next few years. Each of the St. Charles FFA students performed very well.
Dorian Festival at Luther College
Roni Hunder, Inga Jystad, Bianca Harris, Logan Hulshizer, Tenisha Schweitzer, & Brandon Bunke
Counselor Corner - Mrs. Rothmeier
Elementary School News Physical Education Fall Walk 2018 Kindergarten Registration Friday, April 13th Registration for those starting Kindergarten in September, 2018 will take place at St. Charles Elementary School on Friday, April 13, 2018 from 1:00-6:00 P.M. No regular Kindergarten classes will be in session on this date. This is a great opportunity to meet the Kindergarten teachers, tour the classrooms, and collect important documents such as birth certificates and immunization records. Please notify the Elementary School (932-4910) of your intent to attend Kindergarten Registration. We look forward to meeting you and your child!
Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) January was a fun and busy month in Early Childhood!
Early Childhood Screening Friday, May 4, 2018 This is your child’s first step in preparing for a successful educational journey, and this service is offered FREE of charge. Screening is held at the St. Charles Elementary School, 925 Church Avenue, St. Charles, MN. What happens at ECS? At Early Childhood Screening (ECS), children participate in an evaluation of their speech, language, social and emotional development, hearing, vision, height, and weight. Immunizations and health history will also be discussed. This is also an opportunity to learn about resources and programs in our community. When should my child attend screening? Children are eligible to participate in ECS after they turn three years of age. We encourage parents to have their children screened as early as possible. Why does my child have to be screened? The goal of ECS is to identify needs that may require special attention before a child enters school. Minnesota law requires that all children have a health and developmental screening completed before school entrance. Please contact Justine Reinhardt at 932-4910 Ext. 2109 or email jreinhardt@schs.k12.mn.us to schedule your appointment. When registering, please indicate if you will need an interpreter. We are looking forward to meeting you and your child at Early Childhood Screening!
ECFE enjoyed some open gym time in the auditorium the first week of January. Our third session of the year is about to begin as well as the 6 weeks long parenting series "Love and Logic". We will soon celebrate Valentine's Day and make a visit to the assisted living to do crafts with the residents there. Our next field trip is scheduled in April to visit Whitewater State Park. In school readiness, we are working on the music study in our curriculum and will soon start our pets study. We continue our partnership with McPhail center for music, streaming in music classes once a week. Our next field trip is scheduled in April to visit Whitewater State Park along with ECFE. More information about School Readiness and registration information for the 2018-2019 school year will be available the first week of March. More information on ECFE and School Readiness can be found at www.scschools.net
Congrats to Lego League Team!! They received 1st Place in the Head to Head Competition at the Minnesota Regional Tournament.
High School News St. Charles High School Prom - “Rustic Romance” Saturday, April 21, 2018 Here Information Grand MarchText and Prom
6:30 pm High School front doors open PROM CONTACTS: Heidi Niemeyer 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Grand March (hniemeyer@schs.k12.mn.us) or 8:30 pm – 11:00 pm Dance Katie Floerke (kfloerke@schs.k12.mn.us) 11:00 pm Dance Ends – Transition to After-Prom Party • Cost of Grand March: $1.00 per person (5 and under free) • Doors will be closed after 8:30 pm. Students may not enter the dance after this time. • Parents will be called for students wishing to leave before 11:00 pm. Students may not return to the school once they have left the building. • Students staying for the After-Prom will need to bring a change of clothes with them. Students will NOT be allowed to go home and change after the dance.
Here After-Prom andText Registration Information 11:00 pm – 11:30 pm Registration (for those that have not pre-registered) 11:30 pm – 4:00 am After-Prom Party **New - Participation Waiver Required**
Due to the activities planned this year, a waiver form will be REQUIRED for all attendees. This includes out of town guests. Any attendee under 18 must have their parent’s permission to participate. No exceptions will be made. Forms will be emailed to parents and will be available at the High School Library.
After-Prom is open to all Juniors and Seniors and their guest After-Prom party is at SCHS this year. Several fun activities have been planned: Bubble Soccer, Cash Cab, Hypnotist, GaGa Ball, Snapchat Filter, Bean Bag, Laser Tag, Color Me Mine and much more!
AFTER-PROM CONTACTS: Kris Jones (jones0018@gmail.com) or Tina Small(small.tina@mayo.edu)
Peer Helper Corner Our annual “Mini” Peer Helper Retreat is tentatively being planned for Friday evening, March 9th! Our senior members will do much of the planning with an affective focus learned/reinforced last fall at our annual weekend retreat. Our evening will include checking in with each other, refreshing our skill building techniques, and of course eating! More information will become available after our monthly meeting in February. Advisors: Mike Smith & Theresa Nunemacher
What is a CNC Router? St. Charles High School purchased a new CNC router. A CNC router is a computer-controlled cutting machine related to the hand held router used for cutting various hard materials such as wood, composites, aluminum, steel, plastics, and foam. Mr. Koestler and Logan Gall designed and created signage for the One Act Play using the new CNC router and the V-Carve Computer Program that came with the router. This new machine adds one more educational element to the Industrial Technology shop that will aid our students in preparing for the ultra-technical jobs of today.
Industrial Technology New CNC Router
Elementary School News Artist-In-Residence Program Grades 4 - 6 Elementary students in grades 4, 5, and 6 put on an Artists' Showcase Open House capping off an amazing two weeks of drawing lessons with resident artist Mary Ellen Gutknecht. This opportunity was made possible through grant funding from Southeast Minnesota Arts Council, St. Charles Area Community Foundation, St. Charles Lion's Club, and St. Charles Elementary PTO. Local donations of food and prizes from Mike's Food Center, Cabin Coffee, St. Charles Bakery, Jimmy's Pizza, Subway, and Happy Family made the open house a great success. Thank you to our local organizations, St. Charles School Board, parents, administration, and teachers for providing a quality visual arts experience for our students. We look forward to another two weeks of art with Mrs. Gutknect for Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade at the end of April.
St. Charles Elementary Spring Testing
For more information, please go to www.scschools.net
HONOR ROLL ~ FIRST SEMESTER (2017-18)
Updated 2.26.2018
Elementary School News St. Charles Elementary Library News
This past February, we had fun celebrating “I Love to Read Month” with the “2018 Reading Olympics” at the elementary school. A few activities that students had the opportunity to participate in were decorating their classroom doors, designing a bookmark, longest title, and World Read Aloud Day with guest readers on February 1st. It is important that students read at least twenty minutes every day to help improve their vocabulary and their overall performance in school. Just like any other activity, the more they practice reading the easier it will become over time.
Involve. Challenge. Achieve Scholastic "Paws for Books" Book Fair
Mark your calendar for the upcoming spring book fair in the Elementary Library. The Scholastic Paws for Books Book Fair will be here April 4th- April 11th. This fair is the buy one get one free. This is a great opportunity to get books into our students hands! The book fair will be open both Elementary Parent Teacher Conference nights which are April 5th and April 10th. Below is the full schedule of operation for the book fair. Again, during this fair we will have another activity to support Scholastic’s “All for Books Program”. Further information will be sent home with students as the event draws closer. Also, volunteers are needed to work at the book fair. Anyone who is interested please contact Ms. Perrizo at jperrizo@schs.k12.mn.us or sign up on Elementary Library webpage. April 4th 7:45 a.m.-3:15 p.m. April 5th 7:45 a.m.-3:15 p.m. and 4:00p.m.-8:00p.m. (conference night) April 6th and 9th 7:15 a.m.-3:15 p.m. April 10th 7:45 a.m.-3:15 p.m. and 4:00p.m.-8:00p.m. (conference night) April 11th 7:45 a.m.-Noon
Super Bowl Fun ~ Elementary Cafeteria Style