Dear Parents & Guardians,

The Groundhog predicted six more weeks I guess. As long as they stay as nice as January I will take it. Please remember with the cold temperatures and snow on the ground to send winter clothes (hats, gloves, mittens, snow boots and snow pants) if your child wishes to play in the snow. We will continue to go outside if temperatures are above 20 degrees.

We are excited to share your child’s success next week at Parent Teacher conferences. Conferences will be Wednesday, Feb.9th and Thursday the 10th from 2-8 p.m. School will be dismissed at 12 p.m. both days and no lunches will be served. K-5 conferences are scheduled individually with your child’s classroom teacher. Please contact them if you have not set up a time. 6-8 conferences are not scheduled for specific times. Parents can come anytime between 2-8 p.m. Mr. Sybrandts and Mr. Snyder will be available on Wednesday at 1R. Mr. Pearson and Mr. Musil will be at 1R on Thursday.  There will be NO School on Friday, Feb. 11th. 

I would like to remind parents and legal guardians of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). We cannot share academic information with anyone other than biological parents or documented legal guardians. While we value and recognize it takes a community to raise a child, we cannot share academic information outside these parameters (including stepparents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, boyfriends or girlfriends etc.) We thank you for your cooperation with meeting these requirements of the law. If you have not accessed your child’s report card it is in your parent portal in PowerSchool. If you have questions please contact our office or Stacey Pawling in the district office.

ROW– We continue to implement and highlight our District-wide ROW expectations. The R=Respect. Our staff continues daily to teach and instill Respect in our school. Teachers in K-8 discuss what respect looks like in the classroom, hallways, bathrooms, lunchroom etc… Our goal is to develop the whole child, not just the academic and social needs. Respect and being respectful is a lifelong skill to become a good citizen. Teachers taught lessons at the beginning of the year providing examples. Being safe is a form of respect so that everyone at school can function without worry or harm (hands, feet to ourselves). How do we respond to our peers and teachers through our voices, reactions and tones? We respond by raising hands, not talking over others or blurting. Do not become frustrated, emotional and angry when things do not go our way or exactly how we thought. Frustration and emotions are forms of communication but how can we as individuals shape our responses appropriately? Practicing the Golden Rule, “Treat others how you wish to be treated!” Our world and the students’ world has been spun upside down these past two years. Social Media and the media are not always providing great examples for our students. We as adults have to model and teach respect at all times in our lives. I believe Respect is one of the most valuable life characteristics we as individuals develop and hope to instill in our students. I hope this gives you a little idea of what the “R” in ROW stands for. Each week we try to celebrate those students who exemplify these skills. We encourage you to discuss, share and model what Respect looks like with your child. Our goal is a continued partnership with you to build the whole child.       

Have a Reluctant reader at home? Three types of reluctant readers: 1. Those who can’t read- struggle with basic skills and it is a challenge. 2. Those who won’t read- can read but may choose other interests, 3. Selective Readers- choose only certain topics and are not open to trying other genres. Does this sound like your child? Here are a few tips you can try to help engage them in this lifelong skill. Discuss and find topics of interests they enjoy. Be sure the reading levels are age appropriate, teachers and our librarian can always help you with this. Be a role model at home, model reading for them, share why you chose to read and how you choose what to read. Make sure there are no eye impairments or vision issues. Try activities: pair reading, read a sentence or paragraph taking turns. Look for shorter books, use technology tools that may have different graphics or even read to them with voice over, audio books. Please encourage your child to pick up a book for 15 minutes instead of 15 minutes of screen time once a day. The best intervention is just practice reading. Reading is a lifelong adventure!    

The second trimester with Mr. Spiehs in Careers will end on February 10th. Students have explored many different careers this trimester. They took career/interest inventories to find areas of interest and explore future plans. Mrs. Amen will join us for the third trimester. Students will get to explore their creative sides in Art.

Patience, Patience, Patience is the key to a safe driveway and parking lot. Our first priority is that everyone is SAFE!! When entering the driveway from the North please adhere to the right and be respectful of each other trying to pull in. During drop off in the morning please pull forward beyond the crosswalk, students in the North lane exit to the North safe zone. If you are in the South lane please have your child go to the Cross Walk and not dodge in and out of cars. Please take a second look before pulling ahead.

On Wednesday, February 16th all 6th-8th grade band members will be involved with a district-wide band clinic being held at Northwest High school. Students will be transported to the high school, provided lunch and will perform a concert at 3:15 p.m. in the auditorium. All parents are invited to attend the concert. A letter from Mr. Meyer concerning this event will be sent home with kids as well. (tmeyer@ginorthwest.org)

Digital Citizenship: On Wednesday, February 23 all students in grades 4-8 will participate in a presentation given by Karen Haase.  Karen is a school attorney in the state who regularly presents on digital citizenship and using technology.  Karen will share valuable information regarding digital communication and device responsibility.

All 8th graders in the district will spend Friday, Feb. 25th at Northwest High School They will be involved in an 8th grade Mural Competition put on by the High School Art teacher, Beau Studley and Mrs. Amen. (kamen@ginorhtwest.org) A note will be sent home as the date nears. 

We are now looking for August 2022 kindergartners. If you have a child who is 5 years old on or before July 31, 2016, they are eligible to attend kindergarten. Please call the office (308-385-6352) and let Mrs. Bachle know. We will add them to the list and begin sharing important information with those families. Introduction to Kindergarten will be on Tuesday, April 5th at 6:30 p.m. at One R.

There will be a PTO meeting Feb. 7th at 6 p.m. PTO will have a Papa John’s dining night out on Tuesday, Feb. 8th from 5-8 p.m. They are also seeking board members for the 2022-23 school year. If you would like to serve in some capacity please reach out to President Lisa Allan at lisa_allan04@yahoo.com

On behalf of the staff and myself, we thank you for your continued support. Please follow our 1R Google calendar for the most current events and check out our 1R  Facebook page. If you have questions regarding your child’s education, please do not hesitate to contact the office at 385-6352.

Sincerely,

Mr. Retzlaff, Principal