Thursday Announcements ~ February 9, 2012

Parent Reminders:
Please call by 9:00 a.m. if your student is sick or absent for any reason.

• Please call by 9:00 a.m. if you wish to eat with your student during lunch time.
• Please call by 2:00 p.m. if plans have changed for your student(s) after school.
• Our school nurse is only in the building Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays.
• Please remember to call the school with phone number & address changes.

Today’s Lunch:  Cook’s Choice
Tomorrow’s Breakfast:  Muffin & Sausage

Upcoming Events:
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Today: Scholar’s Bowl practice 7:15-8:00 a.m.
Feb. 13: Boy’s Basketball vs. Jeff West (There) and Scholar’s Bowl practice 3:40-5:15 pm
Feb. 14: Boy’s Basketball vs. Royal Valley (Here)
Feb. 16: Boy’s Basketball vs. Holton (There), Black History Month presentation at HHS, & Scholar’s Bowl practice 7:15-8:00 a.m.
Feb. 20: No School – President’s Day
Feb. 21: No School – Parent/Teacher Conferences at HMS from 8-11am and Noon-3pm.  (HES from 1-4pm and 5-8pm.  HHS from 8-11am and Noon-3pm)
Feb. 22: Late Start Wednesday
Feb. 23: Scholar’s Bowl at Jeff West – 4pm
Feb. 27: Scholar’s Bowl here – 4pm, and 6th & 8th Grade Social Studies Assessments begin
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mar. 1: Scholar’s Bowl at Sabetha – 4pm & 8th Grade State Social Studies/History Testing
Mar. 2: Hobby Share Friday
Mar. 5: Scholar’s Bowl practice 3:40-5:15 pm
Mar. 6: Scholar’s Bowl at Santa Fe Trail – 4pm & 5th/6th Grade State Reading Test begins
Mar. 7: Late Start Wednesday
Mar. 8: Scholar’s Bowl practice 7:15-8:00 a.m.
Mar. 9: NO SCHOOL – Staff Development
Mar. 12: Scholar’s Bowl League Meet at Holton - 4pm & 1st day Track practice
Site Council Meeting
Mar. 13: 7th/8th Grade State Reading Test begins
Mar. 15: Grade Cards distributed
Mar. 19-23 NO SCHOOL – Spring Break
Mar. 28: Late Start Wednesday
Mar. 30: HES Carnival at HMS from 6-8pm

Students should not be leaving for the early bus unless they are an early bus rider.  Students will be written up and receive detention if they leave for the early bus and are not supposed to do so.

There is an open invitation for all to come up 5th & 6th Grade hallway near the Art Room and see the beautiful mural that students are painting under the direction of Mrs. Bicker!

Snow Days may soon be coming, even though we are enjoying such nice weather.  PLEASE be sure that your student knows your plans for them in case a snow day is announced, or in case school is dismissed early due to bad weather.

Highland Community College Volleyball Clinic Info: The clinic for Grades 1-4 will beon Saturday February 18th from 9am – noon.  The clinic for Grades 5-8 will be Saturday February 25th from 9am – noon.  The cost is $25.00 per camper which includes the cost of the Clinic and a T-shirt (checks made payable to “HCC Volleyball”).  

Clinics will be held at the HCC Walters Wellness Center, 205 N. Prairie, in Highland. Campers need to bring a T-shirt, shorts, court shoes, socks, a water bottle, and knee pads (optional).  The Clinics will be conducted by Diana Gaddis, HCC Volleyball Coach and Robyn Korthanke, HCC Asst. Coach as well as the HCC Volleyball Team. They will cover all aspects of fundamentals: passing, serving, hitting, setting, and court position. Campers will also participate in team-building activities; students of all skill levels are welcome to attend!

Registration deadline for Grades 1-4 is February 13th and February 20 for Grades 5-8. (Pre-registered students are insured a T-shirt. At-the-door registration isn’t guaranteed T-shirts due to a limited supply.)

Registration forms are available in the shelf outside the middle school office. Anyone with questions may contact Coach Gaddis at 785-442-6152 or dgaddis@highlandcc.edu, or Coach Korthanke at 785-442-6145 or rkorthanke@highlandcc.edu.

Please remember that the only students who are to be riding the buses are regular route riders.

Time for Spring Soccer Sign-up! High school and middle school leagues are in the planning stages; we will be joining the Falls City Soccer League. Practices will be in Hiawatha during the week and Saturday games will be in Falls City. Please contact Brett Holladay at 742-7711 or 742-3691 with any questions.

The pile of pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House Charity is growing! We currently have 35 pounds; this year’s goal is 125 pounds. Bring them in to your activity leader!  Here are the stats:
5th Grade: 20.5 pounds
6th Grade: 6.5 pounds
7th Grade: 6 pounds
8th Grade: 2 pounds

Student Incentive Programs make for Friday fun!  One student from each grade, each Friday, is randomly selected to receive a soda from the pop machine of their choice.  To be eligible, they must be a student in good standing, have no tardies, and have no detentions.  On the last Friday of each month, those students who have met these criteria for the entire month will be entered into a drawing for a gift certificate or food or entertainment coupons worth at least $10.00.  Finally, at the end of each 9-week period, a very special SECRET event will occur for those students who have had no tardies, office referrals, or and are passing all their classes.

Over 2,600 Box Tops for Education have been collected!  Placings as of 2-8-12 are:
In 3rd place – Mrs. Taft with 267
In 2nd place – Mrs. Pethoud with 327
In 1st place:  Mr. Abeita with 477 !!

Keep collecting those Best Choice UPC’s for your activity group! The numbers as of 2-2-12 are:
6th place – Mrs. Bicker with 287 UPC’s
5th place – Mrs. Charles with 302 UPC’s
4th place – Mrs. Pethoud with 325 UPC’s
3rd place – Mrs. Taft with 445 UPC’s
2nd place – Mr. Kettler with 592 UPC’s
1st place – Mrs. Williams with 1,426 UPC’s

Hiawatha Thriftway is again sponsoring the ‘Apples for the Students’ program!  Keep your Hiawatha Thriftway cash register receipts and turn them in to the office.  They can be redeemed by our school to purchase needed educational equipment including computers, software, audio/visual equipment, and playground equipment.  These and many other items have been generously donated through this educational partnership. The program this year runs through March 30, 2012. PLEASE HELP support this program by patronizing our Thriftway and SAVE-SAVE-SAVE those receipts!

Internet Resources and Fun:
http://www.sldirectory.com/studf/cool.html
quizlet.com – user-friendly flashcard, practice, and quiz site
vocabahead.com – for building SAT/ACT vocabulary practice
wordle.net – create word clouds
www.cnn.com/studentnews/index.html (CNN Student News)