AMBOY SCHOOL DISTRICT APRIL 27, 2015
Excellence, Every Day
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Telegraph • April 27, 2015
Amboy Schools
AMBOY HIGH SCHOOL
From Mr. Nichols’ desk – Winter Sports The Spring Musical the wind is howling and it is freezing cold outside This year Mrs. Mekeel and Mrs. Burke directed Tarzan. Principal of Amboy High School When there is nothing like walking into the gym while the Pep The musical was based on the Disney film. The cast As the weather warms up and everyone seems to be Band plays and the players are out warming up on the and crew for the musical consisted of students from all thinking of prom, college applications, graduation and court. The Lady Clippers had another very exciting post three buildings, staff members, and alumni. Spring, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect season run this year. upon what has been going on at Amboy High School.
Clippers Set, Sail!
Clippers Set, Sail! is our freshmen transition program. A group of dedicated teachers work closely with our freshmen students helping to give them a successful start to their high school career. The team this past year has taken students on tours of Educator’s of All winter sports pictures on this page courtesy of Beauty, Morrison Institute of Technology, Rock Valley Brandon Albrecht Community College, and Northern Illinois University. The team has also given both small incentives as well as a Chrome-Book each semester.
Professor Archimedes Porter and Clayton discussing the gorillas. Photo courtesy of Brandon Albrecht
Kala tries to influence Kerchak about Tarzan. Photo courtesy of Brandon Albrecht
(Left) The lucky third quarter incentive winners.
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The thrill of watching a wrestler giving it their all as they fight through a tough third period.
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April 27, 2015 • Telegraph
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Amboy Schools
HIGH SCHOOL CONTINUED The Scholastic Team has done exceptionally well this year winning both 2nd Place at the Masonic Competition and their first match at the Stateline Quiz Bowl competition.
Tarzan mimicking Jane
The STEM class gives students the opportunity to do science and they have been very active this past winter.
Tarzan leads Professor Porter and Jane to see the gorillas. A young man has been grinding this lens for a telescope he is building.
This year the Amboy FFA chapter has continued it’s strong down state performance tradition. The Parliamentary Procedure team (right) competed at the state level and the young man to the left went down to state for his exemplary work in forest products management.
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(Above) a young lady has hand built this rocket nose cone. Soon she will be launching her rocket with an egg inside. Hopefully this brave egg will come back safely.
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Amboy Schools
Telegraph • April 27, 2015
CENTRAL & JR. HIGH SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL CONTINUED From the Desk of Mrs. Joyce Schamberger, Principal K-8 and Mr. Andrew Full, Assistant K-8:
Central School Library has been blessed this year with opportunities to improve the collection of books that students have to read. There have been over 800 new titles added and many of the well-loved classics have been replaced with new copies. There have been several generous donations made to the library during this school year. At the beginning of the school year, the Amboy Depot Days Car Committee bestowed the library with a $2000 grant for new fiction. Mary Jo Zinke, District Librarian, used the money to purchase exciting new authors and titles for the library. The books were purchased during the Barnes & Noble Book Fair in November and earned another $500 for the library to spend on books through the stores promotion. The Barnes & Noble Book Fair is a great family day in Rockford; this year a total of $5400 was raised by our small community coming together to support the libraries of our school district. We can’t thank the Depot Days Car Committee enough for jumpstarting our purchasing of much needed new books. Pictured below is Amboy District librarian Mary Jo Zinke and Car Show representative Jim Phelps.
(Above) A young lady is holding up the frame for the base that will be attached to a weather balloon. Students from Central Elementary School have given the weather balloon team experiments to conduct when they launch their balloon.
Upcoming Events: May 27th – Honors Night – 7:00 May 28th – Baccalaureate – 7:00 May 31st – Graduation – 2:00
students were able to check these out before leaving for Christmas break. All the new books have been going in and out of the library and are being enjoyed by all grade levels. One last impressive donation came in early October from 4th Grade student Abby Jones, who made a donation to Central School Library in memory of her Grandma Butler. Abby wanted to do something positive for Central School and since she is an avid reader herself; helping the library purchase new books was a benefit for her and all her friends. Abby was asked to help in the selection process of purchasing the new books during Parent/Teacher Conferences. Abby did a great job selecting books for students in the fourth grade; then concentrating on books for the younger students. The books were purchased through Usborne Publishing that had an excellent program of a 50% Matching Grant under their Literacy for a Lifetime Program. We were able to turn $1000 into $1500 worth of books thanks to Abby and Usborne Publishing. This year the Central School Library also purchased new Chromebooks for the library; replacing the old eMac computers that were running on their last legs. Students have mastered using the new Chromebooks for educational games and AR test taking. Being able to keep new technology coming into the library is an important goal for our 21st century learners.
The library is dedicated to improving and growing the collection to contain the most current authors and titles that our young students like to read. There is a huge amount of time that goes into the selection process of reviewing and purchasing new books. We have 100 new non-fiction books, which should be arriving shortly, that our young readers are going to love reading. We are always open to suggestions from parents and students about what they would like to see in the library and read. Please feel free to contact the school if you would like to help in any capacity; we love recommendations and welcome volunteers any time of the day. If you are interested in making a donation to the Central School Library we are happy to have you help in the selection process. One of the best gifts you can give a child is In early September, Central School Library received a a book; we dedicate ourselves to changing children’s donation from Christopher and Sarah Hummel to be lives—one book at a time. used to purchase new books for the library. This money was also used during the Barnes & Noble BookFair to purchase books about farm animals and the farming industry. We also received at donation in memory of Kenzie Rutherford that we used to purchase princess books for our library collection. We appreciate the generosity of individuals who help the library improve the collection of books it has to offer students. Exciting news came from the Central School PTC, they earned $3100 for the Central School library during the Scholastic BookFair held in the school gym in early November. Wonderful new books were purchased from Scholastic with the money in early December and
April 27, 2015 • Telegraph
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Amboy Schools
CENTRAL & JR. HIGH SCHOOL CONTINUED Elementary Science Club
Rotation classes:
Each month 20-35 students stay after school, not because they must but because the want to. Science Club at Amboy Central School is very popular and on a given night anywhere between 20-35 students can be found digging into a science concept in the science room.
Students in grades K-4 have three specials’ classes: music, physical education and science. During this block of time, it allows for the grade level teachers to have a common team planning time. During this team time teacher’s work on common assessments, review data of students, complete Course Mason curriculum map program, discuss discipline and/or educational concerns, prepare lesson plans, and have time to contact parents. Each day each grade level team writes detailed team notes of the day’s work. Included in the team notes is teacher attendance, student concerns, updated calendar of events, etc. The notes are then shared with the rest of the staff in the building so that all staff members are aware of what is going on.
The after school club is free and meets one night for the first and second graders and then another night for third and fourth graders. This program allows students to explore topics that may not be able to be covered in class or they may expand on what was covered in class. The students have learned how to make rockets fly, learn the correct angles to fly plastic toys across the room, build roller coasters, find out what happens when you mix chemicals together, learn how to take colors apart, and use solar or wind power to make things light up or buzz. Mrs. Schnaiter, K-4 Science teacher at Central School, has been offering the after school club for over ten years and loves the fact that students want to stay after school to learn more science!
The picture above is the 3rd and 4th grade students performing their songs during their Spring Concert. In grades 5-8, students attend rotation classes by quarters. The junior high rotation classes include: 8th grade Constitution, Art, Computers, Healthy Relations and Current Events. Eighth grade students also have an opportunity to experience the Discovery Ag FFA Class. Teachers at the junior high are also expected to keep daily team notes and share the notes with the rest of the building. Grade level teams 5-8 also work on Course Mason, common assessments, review student data, cross-curricular planning, and problem solving.
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Amboy School District Empowering world-class learners and responsible citizens
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Telegraph • April 27, 2015
Amboy Schools
8th grade students at AJHS participate in Discovery Agriculture FFA Class 8th grade students at Amboy Junior High School participated in a Discovery Agriculture class that was taught by Amboy High School Senior FFA Chapter Sentinel, Mary Reglin. Students were introduced to the FFA program that is offered at the high school. Throughout the year, they had the opportunity to learn about the different career development events and supervised agriculture experiences that are offered to FFA members. During National FFA Week, students listened to a keynote address given by a National Officer and helped with the high school petting zoo. Some of the classroom instructional activities included designing and making birdhouses, learning parliamentary procedure, dairy and livestock classification and soil judging. Students were also encouraged to focus on leadership skills and goal setting strategies. This course offered an excellent introductory opportunity for students to continue their FFA experience as freshman in the upcoming school year at Amboy High School. FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for “Premier Leadership, Personal Growth, and Career Success” through agricultural education.
Common Core:
6th Grade
Adopting Common Core here in Amboy has given the teachers and students an opportunity to dive deeper into materials and subjects that they may not have been able to do in the past. Each quarter the different grade level teams come up with a common theme or “Big Idea” that is discussed and studied in depth throughout all their classes. Along with their “Big Ideas” grade level teams come up with Essential Questions that help bring the idea to each student and how it could affect their life. These questions drive discussions and projects to help bridge the materials to a students’ current or future situation. The Fourth Quarter “Big Ideas” are displayed on a bulletin bored created by the teachers in each grade level’s section of the school. The pictures below are the bulletin boards, “Big Ideas,” and Essential questions.
Big Idea- Reflecting on people’s differences makes us a more accepting society. Essential Question: - How have society’s views of diversity changed over time?
8th Grade Big Idea- Adversity has the effect of drawing out strength and qualities of a man that would have lain dormant in its absence. Essential Questions: - How might it feel to live through a turbulent time that disrupts your way of life? - What challenges have you faced in life that you had to overcome?
8th Grade Social Studies Mrs. Foster’s 8th grade U.S. History students created Revolutionary War Spy Bios on mini-trifold boards last semester. The information collected for this student driven research assignment was gathered from complex text that included the analysis of both primary and secondary sources. All information collected was backed by textual evidence and the knowledge that they obtained had to include the impact their spy had on the Revolutionary War and any spy techniques that were utilized. Students were also given a list of academic vocabulary and encouraged to include it in the final project. This project was a culmination of many previously taught skills that needed to be applied to complete a quality finished product; creating a timeline, informative writing, analyzing sources, use of technology, making inferences, planning and implementing to meet a specific goal. Students became deliberate learners, practiced great focus and did a fantastic job! Final projects were displayed in the library for the whole school to enjoy.
6th grade students read the book Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and study segregation as part of their 4th quarter “Big Idea.”
5th Grade The 5th grade team does something a little differently when it comes to their “Big Ideas.” Their theme changes with every book that they read in English class and that theme is studied over all the subjects that 5th grade students have. The latest book read by the 5th grade students was Wonder. The book Wonder is about a boy named Augie who was born with a terrible facial abnormality and is going to real school after being home-schooled his entire life. All Augie wants is to be accepted by his peers and prove to them that he is the same as them underneath it all Big Idea- When given the chance between being right and being kind, BE KIND.
8th grade students study the Holocaust as part of their 4th quarter “Big Idea.”
7th Grade Big Idea- Persevere and Success
The 5th grade students read the book Wonder and made pledge cards to change a behavior for the positive to hang up on the bulletin board.
Essential Questions: - What does it mean to be selfsufficient in the face of being lost, whether in the woods or society?
- In a culture where we are bombarded with ideas and images of “what we should be,” how does one form an Pictured above are Spy identity that remains true and authentic for her/himself? Bios done by the 8th grade Social Studies - What turning points determine our individual pathways students as part of their to adulthood? The 7th grade students learn about the Iditarod as part of Common Core Social - What is perseverance and how does this concept fit into their 4th quarter “big idea” and will actually have a “human” Studies Curriculum. your life? Iditarod race on the football field behind the school.
April 27, 2015 • Telegraph
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Amboy Schools
4th Grade - Big Idea- Feudalism 3rd Grade
1st Grade - Big Idea- Reading
Essential Question- Why do we call the earliest part of Big Idea- Biographies and how one person can make a Essential Questions- Why is it important for readers to the Middle Ages the Dark Ages, and why is there so little difference in the world. be able to know and use text features? written evidence available from this period? Why is it important for readers to be able to describe - What does the spreading of the Black Death tell us about a story? the everyday common people during the Middle Ages? How do I clearly communicate my opinion on a topic? - What is Feudalism and what would a diagram of Feudalism look like? - What were the various parts and functions of a castle in Medieval Times? - What was the role of the Knight in Feudal Society? - Who would you be in the Middle Ages and why? Pictured above is the 3rd Grade bulletin board with three influential people who changed the world.
2nd Grade Big Idea- Tell me a Tale! 2nd Grade students are learning about Folktales, Legends, Fables, Fairy Tales, Myths, and Tall Tales. 1st Grade students are working on reading and growing like the tree pictured on their bulletin board.
Kindergarten Big Idea- Learning to read. Essential Questions- Does a book need words to tell a story? How does understanding that letters represent the sounds made in speaking, help us to read? How does being able to hear the different sounds in a word help us read and write?
Above is the 4th Grade bulletin board with their examples of Feudalism and Hierarchy.
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2nd Grade students are learning about “Tales” and the picture above is their bulletin board with examples and Common Core “I can…” Statements.
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Kindergarten students are learning to sound out words and starting to read. They are happy to show off their new skills.
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Telegraph • April 27, 2015
Amboy Schools
Field Trips Amboy Jr. High School does not only focus on just learning in the classroom, we also take trips to help supplement our knowledge by visiting new places and experiencing new things. The 5th grade this year, as they have done in the past, will be going to Camp Reynoldswood in Dixon for two days of educational fun and an overnight stay. Students get to learn how to weave baskets, sing songs, make food over a campfire, hike trails, learn leadership skills, and of course have a campfire with s’mores. The 6th grade students get to travel to Chicago to visit the Navy Pier, take in a 3-D IMAX Movie, and go on an Architectural Tour along the Chicago River. 7th grade students get to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio before traveling to the Chicago Art Institute to look at countless pieces of historical art. The 8th grade students will be traveling to Springfield, Illinois to visit the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Lincoln’s Tomb. They will then go to the State Capital Building and New Salem. The last Field Trip of the year is for all students and they will be visiting Woodhaven Lakes for a day full of fun activities. Students are going to Woodhaven to celebrate the good behavior that they have exhibited throughout the 4th quarter. This trip is planned by the school’s PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports) team and students will get a chance to go swimming, play field and arcade games, mini-golf, play bingo, and participate in team building activities.
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