Superintendent's Update: March 22, 2024
Weekly What’s Going Well:
Welcome back after Spring Break! The weather looks a little more winter-like for the next few days, however, we are in full spring mode! Spring extracurricular activities have started and we are getting in the groove of third trimester. Students and staff were celebrated across the district with different assemblies honoring academic, attendance, and activity awesomeness! Check out today’s video where Large Group Speech Group Mime All-State Critics Choice Threepeat winners Kiran Elfenbein (senior) and Cora Miller (junior) join to chat about continued success in the arts.
FCCLA Competes at State Leadership Conference
Eight Grinnell High School FCCLA members spent three days this week at the FCCLA State Leadership Conference in Cedar Rapids. Competition results are as follows:
Rylee Belcher-Teach or Train STAR Event-Gold
Izzy Boyer-interior Design STAR Event-Gold
Rhianna Raney-Repurpose and Redesign STAR Event-Silver
Lucy Skouson-Fashion Design STAR Event-Gold/1st Place Fashion Sketch
Liberty Starrett-Leadership STAR Event-Silver
Mia Starrett-Repurpose and Redesign STAR Event-Silver/2nd Place Creed Speaking
Gold Medal winners qualified to compete at the FCCLA National Leadership Conference taking place in Seattle, Washington this June. This is the fourth consecutive year Grinnell has had National Qualifiers!
All projects will be on display at Grinnell High School's Reverse Career Fair happening April 3 from 11-1 in the Kriegel Gym.
Reverse Career Fair
On Wednesday, April 3 from 11-1 in the Kriegel Gym, the Grinnell High School CTE Department is going to assemble approximately 60 of our students to demonstrate skills they've learned at GHS. It will be like a science fair, where you can wander around and engage with students about their various projects and learning. Students will be demonstrating breadmaking, photography, woodworking, hydroponics, theater tech, robotics, accounting, etc. People can come for the entire time or just drop by on their lunch hour. It will be a great showcase for the students and a great opportunity for business owners to connect and engage with potential employees. Anyone is welcome!
Robotics Team Competes
The Grinnell High School Robotics Team will be competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition Iowa Regional in Cedar Falls on the UNI campus on Friday and Saturday, March 22-23. This is a regional event, with 54 teams from several states and 2 other countries represented. The team has been working since January to design a robot from the ground up to accomplish a series of complex tasks in a large field. This year, their robot features 15 motors which operate a new complex drive system, a large arm, a 'launcher', an 'intake', an onboard camera, and much more. Students use Java programming language to develop both autonomous and teleoperated modes. The team works year round to build community connections and will be completing a presentation at the Iowa Regional to try to earn the coveted Impact Award. They have several upcoming events in the next couple weeks, including a presentation at the Iowa State Capitol on April 2nd.
Results will be posted online throughout the event at this link: https://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2024iacf or on their Facebook page at this link
7th/8th Field Trip
Thank you to the GNSF for sponsoring a field trip to the Des Moines Civic Center for our 7th and 8th graders to enjoy Beyond Earth: The Quest for Life on an Icy Moon.
Elementary Family Fun Night
Save the date for Family Fun Night!
Performance PE
High Schoolers will be able to take advantage of an exciting new option in the coming year called Performance PE. This option will allow athletes to get their strength and conditioning completed during the school day if they prefer. This individualized course is open to all students as an option to fit in all of their academic, athletic, and other extracurricular pursuits. The Weight Room will still be available before and after school for those who prefer those times instead.
Snow Make Up Days
The school board passed a motion to add two snow make up days to the end of the school year. School will be held the full week after Memorial Day with an early out on Friday May 31st as the last day of the 23-24 school year.
League of Women Voters Upcoming Legislative Coffee
This legislative season is going strong. Please join your neighbors for the opportunity to talk face-to-face with our legislator at a Legislative Coffee sponsored by The League of Women Voters on April 6th from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Drake Community Library and via Zoom. The event will be moderated by Terese Grant who will convey questions supplied by the audience before and at the event as time allows. Senator Annette Sweeney (Senate District 27) will make a brief statement regarding her views of what is happening at the capital and then answer questions on issues expected to be considered by the Iowa Legislature in the current session. Zoom registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkce-spjosGd37EM0VnFYHh1f26knrA7vh
The Virtual Backpack can be found here:
The Activities Calendar can be found here:
Have a great weekend!
Steven H. Barber