August, 2015 From the Desk of Tom Wood, Superintendent Welcome Back! It is nearly time to start another school year. After an exciting summer with both softball and baseball we are anxious to have students come back to the building. Everyone at school has been busy readying the grounds, rooms, and facilities for a new year. We also have several new faces and some changes in staff assignments that you will notice. Wade Gibson has taken over has our head of maintenance. He hit the ground running this summer, and along with his staff, has made some noticeable changes to the exterior and interior of the building. The facilities look great thanks to this crew. Please thank them when you see them. They are a dedicated group loyal to the serving our students and living up to the MStM mission and vision. Our students will have a safe, comfortable, and nice looking building to learn in. Beth Happe has also joined us as the new elementary principal and elementary curriculum director. She comes to MStM with a wide variety of experience including building leadership and school improvement within the Iowa Department of Education. The elementary and secondary both have several new teachers that Ms. Happe and Mr. Moser will be introducing you to. Each year brings its own set of challenges, and the 2015-2016 school year will be no different. We continue to receive new mandates, changes in law or Iowa Code, and rulings from the Department of Education that guide our practice from instruction to accounting. One of the biggest disappointments from the legislator and governor was our lack of funding for the upcoming year and the continued uncertainty of school funding by our state. These changes will not affect the quality of MStM or the instruction your children receive. We will meet these challenges head-on and continue operating as normal as possible. School begins on August 31. I invite you to come in to open house on August 27 from 6:30-7:30; meet new people, reconnect with others, and see what we are proud of at MStM. Please continue to share your feedback with us as we value your input and appreciate ideas for continual improvement. Thank you for your continued support; the families of MStM make this school a great place to be! From the Desk of Josh Moser, Secondary Principal “I just kept hoping, I just kept hoping The way would become clear I spent all this time tryna play nice and Fight my way here. “See, I’ve been having me a real hard time But it feels so nice to know I’m gonna be alright” -Alabama Shakes, “This Feeling” These summer months have given me a lot of time and a lot of reasons to ponder the idea of thankfulness. There have been things I was able to experience in a few short weeks that have become some of the most memorable times in my life (visiting Mexico and seeing ancient ruins, meeting one of my favorite authors, watching my daughters’ senses of awe and wonder ignite during a trip to the Omaha Zoo). As I reflect on these experiences, my sense of thankfulness becomes more and more evident. In doing so I realized I have much more to be thankful for on a day-to-day basis than I have realized. I am thankful to be the secondary principal at Martensdale-St. Marys and the many opportunities and relationships it has provided me. As a community, we have a lot for which to be thankful: A passionate and knowledgeable teaching staff, a patient and dedicated support staff, talented artists, driven athletes, and many people working in often difficult and thankless roles to make the school a better place. The start of the 2015-2016 school year is imminent, and I hope that we all take the time to not only be thankful for what we have, but also recognize, celebrate, and perpetuate the things that make MStM a great place to be. The lyrics posted above (which come from a band I was lucky enough to see in concert this summer as well) illustrate a common feeling in
12
Embed
August, 2015 From the Desk of Tom Wood, Superintendent ... _Newsletter.pdf · August, 2015 From the Desk of Tom Wood, Superintendent Welcome Back! ... instruction to accounting. One
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
August, 2015
From the Desk of Tom Wood,
Superintendent
Welcome Back!
It is nearly time to start another school year. After an exciting
summer with both softball and baseball we are anxious to have
students come back to the building. Everyone at school has
been busy readying the grounds, rooms, and facilities for a
new year. We also have several new faces and some changes
in staff assignments that you will notice.
Wade Gibson has taken over has our head of maintenance. He
hit the ground running this summer, and along with his staff,
has made some noticeable changes to the exterior and interior
of the building. The facilities look great thanks to this crew.
Please thank them when you see them. They are a dedicated
group loyal to the serving our students and living up to the
MStM mission and vision. Our students will have a safe,
comfortable, and nice looking building to learn in.
Beth Happe has also joined us as the new elementary principal
and elementary curriculum director. She comes to MStM with
a wide variety of experience including building leadership and
school improvement within the Iowa Department of
Education. The elementary and secondary both have several
new teachers that Ms. Happe and Mr. Moser will be
introducing you to.
Each year brings its own set of challenges, and the 2015-2016
school year will be no different. We continue to receive new
mandates, changes in law or Iowa Code, and rulings from the
Department of Education that guide our practice from
instruction to accounting. One of the biggest disappointments
from the legislator and governor was our lack of funding for
the upcoming year and the continued uncertainty of school
funding by our state. These changes will not affect the quality
of MStM or the instruction your children receive. We will
meet these challenges head-on and continue operating as
normal as possible.
School begins on August 31. I invite you to come in to open
house on August 27 from 6:30-7:30; meet new people,
reconnect with others, and see what we are proud of at MStM.
Please continue to share your feedback with us as we value
your input and appreciate ideas for continual improvement.
Thank you for your continued support; the families of MStM
make this school a great place to be!
From the Desk of Josh Moser,
Secondary Principal
“I just kept hoping, I just kept hoping
The way would become clear
I spent all this time tryna play nice and
Fight my way here.
“See, I’ve been having me a real hard time
But it feels so nice to know I’m gonna be alright”
-Alabama Shakes, “This Feeling”
These summer months have given me a lot of time and a lot of
reasons to ponder the idea of thankfulness. There have been
things I was able to experience in a few short weeks that have
become some of the most memorable times in my life (visiting
Mexico and seeing ancient ruins, meeting one of my favorite
authors, watching my daughters’ senses of awe and wonder
ignite during a trip to the Omaha Zoo). As I reflect on these
experiences, my sense of thankfulness becomes more and
more evident. In doing so I realized I have much more to be
thankful for on a day-to-day basis than I have realized. I am
thankful to be the secondary principal at Martensdale-St.
Marys and the many opportunities and relationships it has
provided me. As a community, we have a lot for which to be
thankful: A passionate and knowledgeable teaching staff, a
patient and dedicated support staff, talented artists, driven
athletes, and many people working in often difficult and
thankless roles to make the school a better place.
The start of the 2015-2016 school year is imminent, and I
hope that we all take the time to not only be thankful for what
we have, but also recognize, celebrate, and perpetuate the
things that make MStM a great place to be. The lyrics posted
above (which come from a band I was lucky enough to see in
concert this summer as well) illustrate a common feeling in
the human experience: taking for granted the great things we
do have in our lives – especially the people. This will be my
16th
year in the District, and each year helps me realize how
much we have going for us. In people-centered professions
like education, all too often those in it (teachers, students,
staff, parents, and administrators) take focus away from the
many positive and enriching experiences and point it toward
those small, infrequent negative experiences. It is human
nature to do so, I suppose, yet knowing how many wonderful
things happen in our school on a daily basis gives me pause to
avoid focusing so much time, energy, and attention on the
negative.
This is not to say there aren’t things we can do to make the
MStM community better, stronger, and more accessible to all
students and learners. I know that personally I must make
improvements in my community outreach practices and efforts
to create culture and climate that allow all teachers to be able
to reach all kids. Rather than focus on how much work might
lie ahead, I see this as another reason to be thankful – thankful
that I have the opportunity to continue to help others make
improvements for the greater good and benefit of our students.
I hope your summer months were filled with great times with
great people, and that the upcoming school year will give you
the opportunity to be thankful you are a Blue Devil. As the
excitement and optimism of the school year inevitably begin
to fade, I challenge you to remain thankful for the
opportunities you have while seeking the means to revitalize
your excitement and expand your optimism. If I had to
quantify a single element of our school district that makes us
stand out, it is that there isn’t a single person in this
community who hasn’t been willing to help someone else in
their time of need. In spite of the disagreements, challenges,
and strained relationships that are a natural part of the human
experience, we overcome it with our Blue Devil Spirit. We
support each other, we encourage each other, and we help
each other grow. It’s what we do here at Martensdale-St.
Marys, and that’s why, for me (and hopefully for you), “it
feels so nice to know I’m gonna be alright.”
From the Desk of Beth Happe,
Elementary Principal
Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year! Let me begin by
introducing myself. I am Beth Happe, your new elementary
principal. I come to you with 25 years of experience:
seventeen as a social studies teacher (Grades 6-12), four as
assistant principal (Grades PK-8) and four as school
improvement consultant at the Iowa Department of Education.
I am a mother of three adult children, and recently celebrated
my oldest daughter’s wedding on August 7th
. It has been a
very busy and exciting summer!
I am anxious to begin the new school year among great staff
and eager students. I look forward to getting to know you, so
please feel free to stop by and introduce yourself. As we
begin this journey together, I want to share with you my
beliefs about the collective work we will do as the
Martensdale-St. Marys community. I believe:
We will all work together for the common good.
Human diversity is a gift, and the human spirit, a
blessing.
We can solve unsolvable problems together.
Trust and caring make everything possible.
As leader of the elementary school (and the very reason I
wanted to be in a school setting again) I hold in highest regard
the success of the students - academically, socially and
emotionally. I value the commitment of the staff to make
every day one of abundant learning opportunities for all
learners. I appreciate the support of parents and families of
our school. We are ALL in this together. Not to sound cliché,
but I believe it does “take a village.”
As we look forward to starting the new year, please join me in
welcoming the following new members to our staff at the
elementary school:
Dana Smith – School Counselor
Ashley Cupp – Special Education
Abby Foster – Special Education
Tacy Vogel – Preschool
Enjoy these last few weeks of summer with your families and
friends! Get ready for a great school year!
Go Blue Devils!!
From the Desk of Amy Sowder,
Talented and Gifted/Yearbook
Senior Parents/Yearbook Information: The time to get
your senior photography session scheduled is now, as turn-
around time is often four to six weeks. A senior photo
(vertical poses only) and a clear and easily reproducible baby
photo (5x7 or smaller) are due in to Mrs. Sowder or the
yearbook staff the first week of second semester. The earlier
you can get them into the yearbook staff, the better. Photos
may be originals, on CD’s, or sent as jpegs to Mrs. Sowder’s
e-mail. Other digital formats are often too small to reproduce,
including photos from Facebook or cell phone
cameras. Original baby photos will be returned.
If there are financial circumstances, the yearbook staff will
take your senior’s photo for the yearbook for free. Please
make an appointment.
Also, if you would like to congratulate your senior with a
personal ad in the yearbook, the message (30 word limit),
photo, and payment of $35 are due by fall parent/teacher