Inspire 199 - September 2016
Published on Sep 30, 2016 17:26
SCHOOL BOARD NEWS
The Inver Grove Heights School
Board met on Monday, Sept. 26, with the following items on the agenda:
• District highlights
o Transportation Department earns perfect vehicle inspection score for the
4th year in a row
o District introduces communications and marketing manager, Katie Sheridan
•
Consent agenda
o Minutes from previous School Board meetings
o Cash disbursements
o Personnel transactions and donations
o Gifts and grants
•
Information items
o Salem Hills/Atheneum Elementary staff (Joe Melde, Rachel McLaughlin,
Jessica Swanson and Tina Willette) share makerspace learning
o Board committee reports
•
Action items
o Certify proposed levy for taxes payable in 2017
o Approval of Apple Lease Agreement to replace outdated iPads with the latest
version
o Approval of Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Bond refunding. This
refunding will potentially save ISD 199 taxpayers a minimum of $1,800,000 for
over 10 years
o Approval of Intermediate School District 917 Facilities resolution
o Approval of the Paraprofessional Agreement
o Approval of Non-Bargained Salary Increases
o Approval of the 55+ Adult Service Agreement with the city of Inver Grove
Heights
The meeting video and supporting
documents are available on the district website. Future School Board meetings
include a Work Session on Monday, October 10, at the District Office and a
regular meeting on Monday, October 24, at Pine Bend Elementary. Both meetings
are at 5:30 p.m.
DISTRICT NEWS
District Discusses School
Start/End Times
The ISD 199 School Board has requested
a team of community members and district staff to review school start/end
times. This request is due to research conducted on the sleep patterns of teens
and the impact on student achievement. There are two community meetings to provide
information and talk about some options under consideration. Those able to
attend will have the opportunity to provide input on the discussions.
The information sessions will be held:
Monday, October 3, at
6:00PM at Simley High School IMC (2920 80th Street East)
Thursday, October 6,
at 6:00PM at Hilltop Elementary School Gymnasium (3201 68th Street East)
If you are unable to attend, an online
survey will be available after the community meetings.
Before attending the community meetings or completing the survey,
you are encouraged to view the research presented to the district review team
last summer. The presentations and notes were provided by University of
Minnesota director of sleep medicine, Dr. Conrad Iber, and College of Education
and Human Development senior research fellow Kyla Wahlstrom.
Click here to see the full presentations.
·
Click here to see highlights
of the presentations.
·
Click here to see Dr. Conrad
Iber’s research notes.
·
Click here to see Kyla
Wahlstrom’s research notes.
For more information about
the review, click here to see the full article.
Inquire, Inform, Inspire Community
Talks
During the 2016-2017 school year, Superintendent Dave Bernhardson
will be available at locations throughout the community for informal community
talks. ISD199 invites you to visit with him and ask questions about the
district. Join the October 20 talk for a tour of Simley High School’s new
facilities, including the Performing Arts Center, and a chance to ask
questions.
*Thursday,
October 20
|
10:30AM
- 11:30AM
|
Simley Performing Arts Center (2920
80th Street East)
|
Thursday,
November 17
|
10:15AM
- 11:15AM
|
Cahill Diner
(6504
Cahill Avenue)
|
Monday,
December 12
|
8:30AM
- 9:30AM
|
Caribou Coffee
(9008
Cahill Avenue)
|
Thursday,
February 16
|
10:15AM
- 11:00AM
|
Timber Hills
(6307
Burnham Circle)
|
Monday,
April 17
|
8:30AM
- 9:30AM
|
Cahill Diner
(6504
Cahill Avenue)
|
Monday,
May 15
|
8:30AM
- 9:30AM
|
Caribou Coffee
(5763
Blaine Avenue)
|
*The October 20 talk will also involve a tour of Simley High
School’s new facilities, including the Performing Arts Center.
|
Two Simley Students Selected
as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists
Every year, the National Merit Scholarship Program awards thousands
of scholarships to high achieving students across the U.S. Less than one
percent of high school seniors qualified as semifinalists this year. Two of the
qualifiers are Simley High School seniors Moriah Elkin and Annika Herdtle who
earned outstanding PSAT scores.
The National Merit Scholarship Program will hold finalist and
winner rounds to determine which students will receive scholarships. Students
will be judged on their academic record, school and community activities,
leadership skills, employment, and honors and awards. Judges will select
winners based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in
college.
Finalists will be announced in February, and scholarship winners
will be announced starting in April. Congratulations and good luck to Annika
and Moriah!
Nearly 50 ISD199 Students
Earn Spots at WE Day Minnesota
More than 70 ISD199 students earned a spot at
Minnesota’s WE Day at the Xcel Energy Center on September 20. WE Day celebrates
young people making positive local and global change through community service.
Tickets to the event can only be earned through demonstrated volunteerism, and
this year, 26 Salem Hills Elementary School 5th graders, 23 Inver Grove Heights
Middle School 8th graders, and 27 Simley High School juniors and seniors earned
the opportunity.
“WE Day was awesome!” Salem Hills 5th grader
Jaidyn said. “I learned about ways to help people so we can make the world a
better place.”
The ISD199 students joined 18,000 students from
across Minnesota to celebrate service learning with musical performances by
popular artists like OMI and to hear from student speakers and famous figures,
such as Buzz Aldrin and Paula Abdul, about the importance of helping others.
“It is important for students to build a sense
of empathy and work for the common good,” Simley Student Council advisor
Rebecca Ney said of the WE Day opportunity. “Service learning provides students
with an opportunity to learn and grow from the people in their local community
and around the world.”
Simley Alumnus Returns to
Hoist the Stanley Cup
Simley High School alumnus and Pittsburgh Penguins scout, Scott
Bell, brought the Stanley Cup to Inver Grove Heights on Wednesday, September
28. Simley hockey players, students, and staff joined the more than 1,000
visitors who came to the Veterans Memorial Community Center to take pictures
with Scott and the Cup. Thank you for sharing your exciting accomplishment with
Inver Grove Heights, Scott!
Salem Hills Introduces New
Outlets for Student Innovation
At the
September 26, 2016, school board meeting, Salem Hills Elementary School talked
about its new makerspace and Genius Hours, which will encourage student
innovation. A makerspace is an area with everyday materials, such as craft supplies,
and new technology, such as 3D printers, that allows students to explore and
innovate. Students do projects, test their own ideas and inventions, and learn
to use technology at their own speed.
“A
makerspace is basically a place where students can come in and experiment,”
Atheneum Gifted Magnet Program teacher Jessica Swanson said. “They can use the
foundation they’ve built in the classroom as a springboard into developing
their 21st Century Skills, such as creating, collaborating,
analyzing and innovating, in the makerspace.”
Mrs.
Swanson also said the students will use the scientific process to come up with
ideas, test them and refine them on their own.
“Their
teachers will act as mentors and guides, especially for the younger students,” she
said. “But we really want students to come up with their own questions and find
the answers.”
Salem Hills
teacher Joe Melde added that a makerspace is a safe place for students to fail
and try again.
“They’re
not improving if they’re not at least trying something that’s really hard for
them,” he said.
Classes
will start using the makerspace in coming weeks for their Genius Hours, which
are held at the end of every Friday. A Genius Hour gives students time to
pursue their interests through a project. Students must think of a question
they want to answer and gather research on the topic. The result of their
project must also help someone, whether it has a community service component or
a lesson that they can teach to other students.
Though many
students were unsure of what they wanted to learn at the beginning of the first
Genius Hour, everyone had an idea by the end.
Principal
Tina Willette said, “At the end of the Genius Hour, when Mr. Melde asked
students what they wanted to explore, every hand shot up and the room was
filled with energy.”
Salem Hills
Elementary School will accept donations of items to stock their makerspace.
Needs include items such as knitting needles, circuitry sets, robotics, patterned
duct tape, Scotch Tape, craft sticks, pipe cleaners, beads, elastic cord,
potholder looms and fabric loops, but the school will accept a range of
donations.
For more District News, visit
www.isd199.org and click the “News and
Events” tab.
Check out the Inver Grove
Heights Community Schools Facebook page for photos, updates, and more!
-This month, see photos of Link Crew, 9th Grade
Orientation, the district in the IGH Days Parade and Simley Soccer’s food
drive, Hilltop’s Cinnamon Bun Breakfast, the Atheneum and Salem Hills teamwork
field trips and Simley’s Homecoming.
IMPORTANT DATES
- Monday, October 3, at Simley High School IMC (2920 80th
Street East) and Thursday, October 6, at Hilltop Elementary School (3201 68th
Street East) at 6:00PM: Start/End Time Community Informational Sessions
- Friday, October 7: Early Release (11:45AM for Elementary Schools,
11:05AM for Secondary Schools)
- Monday, October 17-Wednesday, October 19: K-12 Conferences (evening conferences on October 17 and 18)
- Wednesday, October 19-Friday, October 21: NO SCHOOL
- Thursday, October 20, 10:30AM-11:30AM at Simley’s Performing Arts
Center (2920 80th Street East): Community Talk with Superintendent and tour of Simley's updated facilities
- Monday, October 24, 5:30PM at Pine Bend Elementary School (9872
Inver Grove Trail): School Board Meeting
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