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• Clarke band ‘superior’ at competition
Clarke Community High School concert band received a “I - Superior” rating and placed first in their division at the Worlds of Fun Concert Band Festival in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, May 3. They were chosen as the best band out of all classes as the “Sweepstakes” winner for the entire weekend of the festival.
Clarke hurdlers shine at home meet page 6 www.osceolaiowa.com
154 YEARS • NO. 19
OSCEOLA, IOWA 50213
THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2014
SINGLE COPY PRICE: 75¢
Clarke prepares graduates with advisory program, portfolio, senior presentation By AMY HANSEN
OST news editor • ahansen@osceolaiowa.com
If the purpose of school is to prepare students for the real world, then Clarke Community High School has taken that to the next level with its advisory program and graduation portfolio. “They’re to help kids not fall through the cracks,” said Jan Rychnovsky, a Clarke English teacher. “That’s part of it. It’s about relationships.” Advisory program The mission of the advisory program is to promote and provide a strong network of support and communication led by a committed advisor. Advisory activities guide and monitor personal and academic growth, promote a sense of social engagement and foster community responsibility to help each student attain his/her potential to make a living, life and dif-
OST photo by AMY HANSEN
Clarke Elementary students dance to songs for an exercise event on the courthouse lawn Friday, May 2.
And we danced
Elementary students lead morning exercises on courthouse lawn By AMY HANSEN
OST news editor ahansen@osceolaiowa.com
Are you ready to break it down and get funky? Clarke Elementary students did just that Friday morning on the courthouse square in Osceola. The exercise dance event was planned by Lindsay Diehl, Clarke Elementary gym teacher and softball coach, and Shawn Johnson with Johnson’s Elite Training (JET). “It’s been exciting to see kids excited about bettering themselves, and it’s not about losing weight or being in shape, but it’s more about being active,” said Clarke Elementary Assistant Principal Randy Bolton. “The biggest thing Bolton is just for them to be cognizant of how important it is just to do something.” The dance workout was in conjunction with the Live Healthy Iowa Initiative and the morning “Sharpen the Saw” workouts Johnson and Diehl have been leading at the elementary school this year. Dancing A select number of students who have
been regularly attending the morning workouts at the elementary school were asked to lead the group in dancing on the stage on the courthouse lawn. The students danced to four songs — “Cha Cha Slide,” “Cupid Shuffle,” “CottonEyed Joe” and “Chicken Dance.” Every time a new song was announced, a loud cry of appreciation rose up from the students. This workout event meant there was more than 750 students ranging from kindergarten through sixth grade exercising all at the same time together. “The more people see that others are out there being active and becoming healthier, the more they’re going to have the urge to try,” Johnson said in a statement to the Osceola Sentinel-Tribune. Clarke students and staff were escorted by Osceola Police Department as they walked to and from the courthouse square. Encouraging Bolton said it was encouraging to see kids practicing their dances in school hallways, rather than shoving each other around. “It’s also setting a tone for the fact they go to a dance, they’ll feel like they can dance
What is the advisory program? Advisory is a time period set aside each day in high school. In some schools it may be called homeroom. Besides completing the portfolio pieces, the time is used to connect with a small group of students. The advisor is the “go-to” person with his/her advisees. That advisor checks grades and tries to make sure those advisees are doing what they need to do to succeed. Advisors may contact other teachers, and they are a link between school and home. Advisory teams (by grade) set up due dates for portfolio pieces, create activities for their advisories and/or among the other grade level advisories.
ference. From freshman to senior year, Clarke students work on a graduation portfolio to reflect their work throughout the four years of high school. In 2007, Clarke Community School Board voted the high school portfolio/ senior presentation as mandatory requirements for
graduation. In the 2011-12 school year, the school board voted to grade and assign credit for the advisory program. Students earn one-fourth credit for each year of the portfolio/advisory participation, which includes the Please see ADVISORY, Page 2
OST photo by AMY HANSEN
Pictured are Clarke students who received a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC). Front row, from left, are Jarrod Coe, Meghan Abraham, Whitney Olney, Erika Garcia and Nancy Sanchez Perez. Middle row are Brittany Hopkins, Elysha Eddy, Jordyn Wright, Magdaleno Lopez, Rodrigo Mayorga Landeros and Abel Salinas. Back row are Morgan Roan, Brenna Paul, Colin Morris, Holden Hewitt, Jose Contreras, Wilmert Mancia Jr., Connor Spencer and Dalton Sweeney. Not pictured is Bryan Purkeypile.
Please see DANCING, Page 4
Parents as Teachers helps prepare children By BAILEY POOLMAN OST staff reporter
bpoolman@crestonnews.com
Jennifer Mitchell of Thayer has been part of Parents as Teachers for seven years. “Parents as Teachers is an educational program for expecting parents and parents with children through age 5. We stop serving families when children enroll in kindergarten,” Mitchell said. “We provide parenting information to them, like child development information. We do age-appropriate activities, talking about they can help their children learn.” Mitchell and Sandy Eddy with Clarke County Public Health wanted to raise awareness of Clarke County Public Health’s Parents SINGLE COPY PRICE: 75¢
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as Teachers program. The educators go through training and use curriculum used throughout the nation for Parents as Teachers. “The motto of Parents as Teachers is that they’re their child’s first and best teacher,” Mitchell said. “Parents spend the most time with their child in the early years, and so we make sure that time is educational and working on the appropriate things and having ageappropriate expectations for the kids.” Parents as Teachers workers spend time with lowincome families who meet certain income guidelines. These guidelines include low income and low education. Please see PARENTS AS TEACHERS, Page 4
OST photo by AMY HANSEN
Biomes: Clarke fifth-grade students take notes on biomes in their classrooms May 2. Fifth-grade students culminated their
class biome study with a “Walk About Tour” taking notes on the various biomes of the Earth. Each room was decorated with posters and projects emphasizing the characteristics of their particular biome. Since all the biomes connect with the ocean at some point, the hallway was transformed into an ocean.
Index Obituary........................3 Editorial.........................4 Church Directory..........9 Classifieds..................11
Neighbors.....................5 Public Notices............10 Record..........................2 Sports........................ 6-7
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Don’t Forget
VFW Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament
It is Saturday at Osceola Eagles Lodge. Sign-up is at noon. The tournament starts at 1:30 p.m.
for severe thunderlowed by afternoon sun. Highs in the mid 70s and CHECK OUT OSCEOLAIOWA.COM FOR DAILY UPDATED NEWS, DEATH storms. lows in the mid 50s. NOTICES AND SPORTS.