Weekly Update: April 20, 2018

Weekly Update: April 20, 2018
Dear Grinnell-Newburg Family and Friends,
Happy Friday! It has been a very busy week for our Grinnell staff and students, and it is hard to believe that it is already Friday. This past Wednesday, community police, fire, EMS, hospital,staff, administration and mutual aid responders participated in a community emergency drill at Grinnell Middle School. I want to thank all of the participants for assisting our first responders as they tested their communications, response approach and collaboration efforts during this drill exercise. I was most proud of our students and staff. At our debriefing, comments from our first responders were very positive, as they were pleased with how our staff handled the situation. A special thank you to our middle school staff for your participation, and for allowing us to use your spaces. You were very prepared! Also thank you to our student volunteers! This drill would have not been as successful without you!
We Are Grinnell Day:
Today our students and staff spent the day giving back to our community! Several activities were held throughout the community during the day, from clean up around schools and parks, to reading with community members, and helping businesses with sidewalk clean up. There were nearly 50 different community activities going on throughout the day. I want to especially thank our local businesses, city officials, Amy Harper and the committee for planning this fabulous event. Thank you to all of our volunteers from Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lion’s Club for participating too. What a great day!
Neighborhood Meeting:
This past Tuesday night I met with the 11th Avenue area neighborhood to talk about the Iowa Telecom property. We discussed the process for the sale of the property, as well as what the neighborhood would like to see done with the property. As a school district, we have the ability to indicate in a contract what should or should not be built on the property before we agree to the sale. The neighbors stated that they would like to see R1 zoning, meaning single family homes, townhomes, or a church on the site. I told them we would take all of their thoughts into consideration, and that once we have a buyer and plans are drawn, I would bring them back to view the plans. I will keep the neighborhood informed.
Wax Museum Day at the Middle School:
Congratulations to our fifth grade students on their Wax Museum showcase. Students worked on the Biography unit of study and culminated their work with presentations, dressing up and sharing about the life of the famous or local individual that they studied. It was awesome!
Superintendents Retreat:
During the past few days I have collaborated with area superintendents for professional development in Des Moines. Our focus was learning various strategies in the area of communication and public relations while working with media. It was very informative. We also had an opportunity to learn about legislative updates, the importance of teaching Financial Literacy to our youth before high school, building a solid administrative team, and building a positive climate and culture. I want to thank our AEA for hosting this event.
Fairview Spring Concert
Fairview had their spring concert last night, and it was a huge success. Bravo!
Prom:
I would like to wish our GHS students a safe and enjoyable Prom weekend. Thank you to all of the staff, parents and administrators for supervising this event! Have a memorable and safe prom weekend!
Special Note:
As I review the upcoming events it is hard to believe that on this list is the last day of school already! It has been such a wonderful year and I am truly grateful to the Board, Teachers, Staff, students and the community for making everyday like the first day I started here in Grinnell. Grinnell is a wonderful school district with many wonderful learning opportunities for our students and staff, not only at school but also in the community. I am so grateful to be a part of this community.
Snapshot of upcoming events: Visit the Calendar on our website for further details
April 19 - Fairview Elementary Concert
April 21 - Prom
April 25 - Meeting of the Board of Education
May 7 - No School, PD Day
May 15 - All-City Band Concert
May 23 - Fine Arts Awards Night
May 26 - Honors Night
May 27 - Commencement
May 28 - No School, Memorial Day
June 1 - Last Day of School
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Janet
--
Dr. Janet M. Stutz
Superintendent
Grinnell-Newburg Schools
Weekly Events
Please view the events for the coming week as listed below for Grinnell High School & Middle School. If you find a discrepancy in this information; please contact Tracy Neighbors at (641) 236-2723 / tracy.neighbors@grinnell-k12.org or Chris Coffman at (641) 236-2695 / chris.coffman@grinnell-k12.org.
Monday 4/23
FFA State Convention - @ Iowa State Univ. - Suburban 7:30
Michelle’s Dance Rehearsal- 3:30 Auditorium
Boys Golf JV/V 1:00 @ PCM - Suburban 10:45
Boys Tennis 4:15 vs Knoxville
Girls Tennis 4:15 @ Knoxville - bus - 2:45
Boys MS T&F 4:30 @ Oskaloosa - bus - 3:00
Girls MS T&F 4:30 @ Pella - bus - 300
Boys Soccer Togetherness Meal- 6pm HS Cafeteria
Tuesday 4/24
Michelle’s Dance Rehearsal- 3:30 Auditorium
FFA State Convention @ Iowa State University - Suburban 7:30
Color Guard Auditions 6:45am - Kriegel Gym
Girls Golf 4:15 @ Pella CC - bus - 2:30
Boys Golf 2:00 @ Oskaloosa (Edmundson Park) bus - 12:30
Boys Tennis 4:15 vs Norwalk
Girls Tennis 4:15 @ Norwalk - bus -2:15
Boys & Girls T&F 4:30 HOME (Senior Night) see link to help https://tinyurl.com/yahgscsk
Boys JV/V Soccer 5:00 (jv) @ DCG - bus - 3:30
Wednesday 4/25
Color Guard Auditions 6:45am - Kriegel Gym
Drake Relays
Michelle’s Dance Rehearsal- 3:30 Auditorium
Girls Tennis Togetherness 4:30-6:30 HS Cafeteria
Thursday 4/26
Color Guard Auditions 6:45am - Kriegel Gym
Drake Relays
Boys Golf 4:15 (Home) GC Golf Course
Michelle’s Dance Rehearsal- 3:30 Auditorium
Girls T&F 4:15 @ Carlisle - bus - 2:15
Boys Tennis 4:15 @ Pella - bus - 2:45
Girls Tennis 4:15 vs Pella
Friday 4/27
Color Guard Auditions 6:45am - Kriegel Gym
Drake Relays
Girls Golf 1pm @ Mt. Pleasant - bus - 10:00
Michelle’s Dance Recital 4pm- Auditorium/ Main Gym
Boys Tennis 4:15 vs Albia
Boys Soccer JV/V 5:30 @ Knoxville - bus - 3:30
Girls Soccer 5:30 vs Knoxville
MS Girls T&F 4:30 @ Williamsburg - bus - 3:00
Saturday 4/28
Drake Relays
Dance Recital 4pm - Auditorium & Main Gym
Youth Baseball Clinic 8am- 1:00 - Kriegel Gym & Main Gym
Boys Soccer 10am Urbandale Tourney @ DM Dowling HS - bus - 8:00
Use the following link to volunteer for events at GHS or GMS https://tinyurl.com/yahgscsk