Bucket Drumming in 5th Grade Music

5th grade students are learning to bucket drum! Ms. Spears is teaching students about correct hand position and sticking with rhythms on percussion instruments. Through this lesson, students are taught cooperation and team building skills in addition to 21^st Century Skills. After the preparation of holding sticks, reading and recreating the rhythm, students are able to play the rhythms together. The goal is to have 22 students playing together to make it sound like one. The process takes a lot of discipline, patience, and cooperation by the students and Ms. Spears. 

National Music and Arts Standards: 

Students can read and perform steady beat, equal, long, and short sounds all the time and with different meters. Students can work together creating and re-creating rhythms. Students can explain connection to specific purpose and context. Demonstrate and perform technical skills and interpret articulation, genre, and style.

Teacher Leadership at MVCSD

In December, 2015, Missouri Valley Community School District received state funding to implement a teacher leader program during the 2016-2017 school year.  The goal of Iowa Teacher Leadership and Compensation System, created by the Iowa Legislature in 2013, is to improve classroom instruction and, in turn, boost student learning and achievement.  Missouri Valley’s Teacher Leadership Program includes two instructional coaches, 11 teacher leaders, and eight mentor teachers.  ​

Missouri Valley teachers applied and interviewed to be part of the Teacher Leadership Program last spring. Two of the positions that have stemmed from the Teacher Leadership Program are Instructional Strategist Positions.

What is an Instructional Strategist?

An Instructional Strategist is a person who partners with teachers to look at student data to determine what instructional strategies will work best to help students meet learning goals.  Jenny Stessman and Kim Arbaugh, Missouri Valley’s Instructional Strategists, use a Student-Centered Coaching model and are currently training with Diane Sweeney, who developed this model.  

How do Strategists collaborate with teachers to increase student achievement?

Jenny and Kim will meet with teachers to develop student learning targets based on content standards.  They will then work with teachers to design instruction that aligns with those targets.  Student learning will be closely monitored and adjustments in instruction made so all students achieve at the highest levels.

Professional Development will be ongoing as the year progresses.

Jenny Stessman and Kim Arbaugh

Here is what Jenny had to say about her new role: “A big part of what I have done has been organizing classroom interventions by looking at student data to find areas where growth is needed. I have then worked with teachers to implement interventions.”

Kim stated: “As a former Special Education teacher, my favorite part of my new role has been visiting classrooms to better understand how all students learn in the general education setting.”

Author and consultant, Diane Sweeney, writes that Student-Centered Coaching introduces a new way of looking at and delivering school-based coaching that puts the needs of students’ front-and-center. 

ELP (Extended Learning Program) Publishes Poetry

MVE ELP (Extended Learning Program) students recently became published authors in the 2016 Edition of the Young American Poetry Digest. 

National Schools Project

The purpose of the National Schools Project is to encourage student writing and provide an audience for student poetry.

Each January, schools across the nation are invited to participate in the project. The poems submitted by schools are reviewed by teachers/educators who select the best poems for publication.

Taking in mind the student’s age and grade level, the overall quality of the poem is determined by the following criteria:

• Creativity
• Age-appropriate language
• Sensory/figurative images
• Structure
• Poetic techniques

MVE Published Poets Include:
Back Row: Gabby Regina Rylie Cleek, Corrighan Grimes, Carlyn Christensen, Jacob West
Front Row: Savannah McDonald, Toben Lasater, Brian Derengrowski, Dylan Davis, Kate Graeve,
and Layton Maason (Not Pictured: Trinity Konsbruck)

Student haiku poems: 

Trees are really big.

Animals eat off of them.

Trees are really green.

Yellow, black, honey!

Honey bees in honey hive

Yummy honey, sweet!

Savannah McDonald and Rylie Cleek---ages 8

-------

Bees buzz by their hive.

Making Honey all the time

Yellow, black, black stripes

Fish swim back and forth.

Never sleep and stay awake

They live in the sea.

Kate Graeve and Corrighan Grimes—ages 8

---------

Elephants are gray.

They live in the grasslands.

African mammals

Dolphins have blue eyes.

Dolphins live in the ocean.

Dolphins can be trained.

Carlyn Christensen and Trinity Konsbruck—ages 8

-------

Trees are green and brown.

Bees live in them sometimes.

Trees are beautiful.

Brian Derengrowski and Gabby Regina—ages 6 and 7

--------

The pond is dark blue.

The pond is full of creatures.

Frogs are in the pond.

Eliot Birks and Jacob West—ages 7

-------

Lions are so cool.

They like to roar at nighttime.

They love to eat meat.

Dylan Davis, Layton Maasen, and Toben Lasater—ages 6 and 8

Not pictured: Savannah McDonald

There is a complimentary copy of Young Poetry Digest in the MV Elementary Media Center.

First Graders Read “Good Fit” Books

Each morning, after a shared reading lesson that focuses on a specific reading skill, students are given the opportunity to read from their "good fit" book box and practice that specific skill. These boxes provide a safe way to keep numerous books that are specific to each individual child's interests and needs as a reader. Each book is a "good fit," meaning it will still be challenging enough for the student to use skills to solve words, but not too 
difficult to be frustrating.

Reading Strategies: 

Reading strategies students have talked about so far include: 

• Checking For Understanding: Stop and check for understanding. If you don't understand, go back and reread.

• Cross Checking: If the word doesn't look right, sound right, or make sense, go back and reread.

• Tracking print with your finger: Use your finger to track the words across the page.

Reading Standard

1.RF.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

The pictures below show students using some of the reading strategies they have been learning!! 

This student was working hard at checking for understanding. If she came to a word she didn't understand, she would go back and read it again.  

This student was using her tracking skills to track the word across the page. 

This student is tracking print with her finger.

This student is also using his finger to track print.

A Day in the Life of A Kindergartner

For some of us, it has been a few years since we have stepped foot into a kindergarten classroom. Have you ever wondered what these young learners do throughout the day? 

Let's take a look into their world! 

These students are reading during literacy station. They have been working on reading to self. Students are learning that they can read a book by looking at the pictures, the words, or telling the story in their head.

                                                                        

Students also work on fine motor skills by sorting pom-poms by color using a clothes pin. 

This student is working on Starfall, a literacy app, for their technology integration.

This student is doing word work. She is tracing the alphabet based on the letter and color she drew out of the pile.

These students are working on writing.They are working hard on their strokes to help them write the alphabet.

Students have been learning their letter sounds and writing those letters in an ABC journal. The letter formation has special words that are used when talking about the shapes the letters make. Teachers may say "this letter has a big line down and it curves." Kindergartners work hard on recognizing capital and lowercase letters when they write. They also learn where letters begin on a line. 

These students are working hard during their Literacy Centers. One student is working in Explore Tubs while the other friend is working on reading to self. They have been working hard on building their stamina. 

These two students are doing a GREAT job of working hard during Literacy Centers! They are working in the Word Work center. During their Word Work they practice matching uppercase and lowercase letters and identifying letters sounds.

 In this picture there is one student working on Word Work. Word Work is where students practice matching uppercase and lowercase letters and letter sounds.

 Two students are working on writing. During writing time they have a writing folder where students practice writing/tracing lines, letters, and words. This picture also displays a student working on reading to self. 

This student is working comfortably in their classroom library on read to self. The students LOVE to spend time reading in their classroom race car. 

These boys are also working in Explore Tubs. Explore Tubs are a place where students are able to manipulate items to build their fine motor skills.

Miss Petersen, Miss Leonard, and Mrs. Granatowicz collaborating and planning! 

MV Football, More Than A Game

A Behind the Scenes Look at MV Football

“ Football is like life -- it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.” ~ Vince Lombardi

Missouri Valley Big Reds Football Mission Statement:

To continue to become the best team we can possibly be; physically, mentally and academically.  We will uphold the traditions set before us on the field.  We will work our hardest to be successful off the field.  Teams will know that they played a physical, hard-nosed football team that has respect and class.

Missouri Valley Big Reds Football Vision Statement:

The vision of the Missouri Valley Big Reds Football Program is to create individuals who are hardworking, respectful, responsible, and disciplined leaders for today’s society. Players will understand what it takes to be a member of a team and the level of work it takes to be successful in all avenues.

MV Football Coach, Ryan Victor, has shared some powerful insight into MV football and what happens both on and off the field. Let’s take a look behind the scenes into the hard work and commitment it takes in the classroom and on the field to be a Big Red!  

Enjoy the Q & A with Coach Victor!

Q: What do the coaches do to ensure your players are eligible and what are the students required to do as well? 

A: During the season we send out grade check sheets every other week. This process makes the players be proactive about their grades.  During the off-season when the “F list” comes out we make contact with the guys that may be on it and talk to them about continuing to be proactive about their grades. A lot of our athletes are multi-sport athletes so it’s nice to have all the coaches in our school pushing for maintaining good grades.

Q: What are some of your expectations that you have for your players?

A: I think the most important thing that we push is being champions as people.  One part of that is making the right decision even if it’s not the popular one.  That’s a tough thing to do as an adult, let alone a teenager.  We also push multi-sport participation.  That’s big in a small community like ours.  All sports have their certain qualities that not only make them more well-rounded athletes, but well-rounded people.   

Q: Football is more than just showing up on Friday nights. Talk about what happens behind the scenes and how are your players growing as students, as athletes, and as soon-to-be men? 

A: We ask a lot of our kids in terms of commitment.  We ask that they take a weights class year round, play multiple sports, attend Mobility and Injury Prevention training if they’re not an in-season athlete two times a week during the year.  During the summer we ask that they come to the weight room and train at 7:00 am.  We feel like asking them to commit to these things, we are putting them in situations that will help them build the qualities (time management especially) needed to be successful in life.  Being successful in life takes hard work and commitment to that success.

Q: What does it take mentally, to get your players ready for practice and games, and how do you prepare them as a coach? 

A: During practice we are constantly pushing their limits so that the games come easy.  Football is a tough sport and preparation is very important.  There is some thinking involved in football and we throw a lot at our kids, so that puts a lot on us as a staff to be great teachers.   

Q:  What is something we don’t know about MV football?

A: Our players are expected to do service projects throughout the year, not just during our season.  We’ve done a number of things, from helping people move to filling up sandbags when we thought it was going to flood.

As you can see, there’s much more to Big Red football than just sports. Teamwork, character, and service are served right alongside game strategy and athleticism to promote the positive growth and development of our youth. Thanks to Coach Victor and the Missouri Valley Football program for their hard work and dedication to the game! Go Big Reds!

aimswebPlus Testing Begins At Elementary

aimswebPlus Testing Begins At Elementary

As part of our goal to ensure that our students receive the best instruction possible, aimswebPlus testing has begun at the elementary. Assessments will take place three times per year in September, January, and May.

The aimswebPlus reading and math assessments are used for two main purposes:

1.      Universal Screening, to identify students likely to struggle or be academically at-risk in reading and math. Through the assessment, identified students can receive extra instruction in a timely matter.

2.      Progress Monitoring, to track the progress of students receiving extra instruction to ensure that they are on schedule to meet year-end reading and math goals.

Who will be tested?

aimswebPlus assessments will be given to ALL elementary students in September, January, and May. For students identified as needing additional instruction, teachers will monitor their progress frequently, testing at least once a month and as often as once a week.

How much time will the testing take?

The tests are very brief- most take only one to three minutes to complete.

What does it mean if my child is identified at “at risk” and receives extra instruction?

We want to get students extra help early. This tool will help our teachers do this in a timely manner before students have a chance to fail. This tool also allows teachers to target instruction and monitor your child’s progress.

Early Literacy Implementation Law (ELI) requires schools to assess ALL students every fall, winter, and spring. Students who score below the target for two consecutive testing windows are considered to be Persistently at Risk and the school is required to provide targeted interventions and monitor progress of these students weekly.  The end goal is that all students will be learning at grade level because of these interventions.

  

Assessment began on 9/8/16

ELP at MV

MV Extended Learning Program (ELP) 

All professions seem to have their own acronyms. Education may have more than most. One of the many acronyms in education is ELP. 

Mrs. Christensen is MVCSD’s ELP teacher. 

The Extended Learning Program or ELP is designed to enrich student learning across the core content areas. Currently, Mrs. Christensen works with students in grades K-7. Student groups range in size from seven to 14 students, depending on the grade level. ELP gives students the opportunity to help design projects, avenues, and curriculum based on their interest inventories and areas of high academic performance.   

ELP students are selected using a combination of assessment pieces and/or teacher recommendation. Students scoring 95% or above on Iowa Assessment core components, "Advanced" in Aimsweb testing pieces (preferably two testing periods in a row), teacher recommendations, and a Renzulli rating scale are all pieces that are looked at when putting ELP groups together.

This school year, ELP groups will be focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and literacy across the content areas. Students will also be delving further into the area of coding and computer "language".  A secondary focus is always vocabulary and language/writing development. Mrs. Christensen also looks closely at 21st century skills/standards when creating units of study.

At the Middle School level, Mrs. Christensen meets daily with sixth and seventh graders. Junior High students compete annually in The Thinking Cap Online Quiz Bowl. New this year, students will begin ‘A Future Problem Solving  Team’.  

Mrs. Christensen is given the opportunity to attend the Iowa TAG conference each October in Des Moines, IA.   

Last year, the ELP students created this video: 

For more information on the ELP program, visit the ELP BlogSpot:  elpmovalley.blogspot.com.