I'm dating myself with this one......

The start of every school year gets me thinking back to my youth and getting ready for

that first day of school. Buying the school supplies. The new lunch box and ther-

mos. And those new gym shoes! I remember when I was in elementary we were re-

quired to have shoes just for Physical Education. Our "gym" shoes. And there was noth-

ing like having a pair of Red Ball Jets!

Every kid wanted a pair of Red Ball Jets because of the advertisement. It showed kids

leaping over wagons, hurtling tall bushes and outrunning big dogs. I still remember the

tagline: “Red Ball Jets. They make you run faster and jump higher.” The shoes had super-

natural powers. I had to have a pair! The anticipation of school starting grew exponen-

tially at thought of getting wear these shoes in gym class. I was going to be so cool!

Now I get to prepare for the start of school from a whole different vantage point, but no

less exciting. This school year marks our first as Alta-Aurelia Community Schools. Ever

since the start of the whole grade sharing, we have called ourselves Alta-Aurelia but in

reality, there was no legal entity or school district named "Alta-Aurelia." There was the

Alta Community School District and the Aurelia Community School District. The two sep-

arate districts had simply agreed to share students and activities.

Now, as of July 1st, we are Alta-Aurelia Community School District. A new, legal entity.

Pretty exciting! Not as flashy as a new pair of gym shoes, or a new backpack, or the lat-

est trapper-keeper, but exciting none the less. A big pat on the back goes to all involved

in making this a smooth transition. Students, staff, parents, and school board mem-

bers. From the very beginning of the sharing, the positives have far outweighed the few

nay-sayers. And even though, unlike the Red Ball Jet ad, we can't proclaim that this new

school district will make us more successful, or provide a better education. But we can

confidently state that the new opportunities this new reorganization allows for are only

limited by ourselves and our imaginations.

I am looking forward to a great start of a new school year and the great start of a new,

outstanding school district. It's a great day to be an Alta-Aurelia Warrior!

Red Ball Jets - Lynn Evans, Superintendent

Show Your Support of the Alta-Aurelia Warriors!

The High School Student Council will be painting logos on

driveways or sidewalks as a fundraiser this fall. The cost is

$10. If you would like to have a Warrior logo on your property,

please fill out the following form online:

http://bit.ly/WarriorDrivewayLogo

Alta-Aurelia Community School District

School Newsletter

September 2018

Stacy Mueller is our new Alta Elementary Principal. Ms. Mueller received her

Bachelor’s degree from the University of Dubuque and her Master’s degree

from Iowa State University. Other work experience include East Des Moines,

Waukee, and Algona.

Stacy is originally from Lakota, IA. She has a son, Trevyn, age 6. He will at-

tend Kindergarten this year. He will be in Mrs. Dicks’ class. They are also

hosting the foreign exchange student, Chrissy age 15, who will be a Sopho-

more in HS this year. She is from Austria. Ms. Mueller enjoys being outdoors,

time with family and friends, and reading. “I look forward to working in the

Alta-Aurelia Community Schools.”

New Elementary Principal

Page 2 School Newsletter

New Teachers

Joe Heiberger will be teaching special education at Alta Elementary. Mr. Heiberger

graduated from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA with a Bachelor's degree in

History Education. He has his Masters of History degree from Western Illinois Uni-

versity in Macomb, IL. He is currently finishing up a Special Education endorse-

ment at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, IA. Joe has worked the past school

year at the Cherokee Mental Health Institute as a teacher and the year prior he

worked as a paraprofessional at Camelot Education's Northwest Center for Autism

in DeKalb, IL. He has also worked in many different school districts as a substitute

teacher. During his time as a student, he worked as a tutor for the Upward Bound

program at St. Ambrose and was a graduate assistant at Western Illinois.

Joe Heiberger was born and raised in Dubuque, IA and most recently moved from

Sycamore, IL in the summer of 2017. He and his family are living in Alta. His wife

works at Buena Vista University. Their children, Chelsea and Tate, are students at

Alta Elementary School. Joe loves soccer! He played recreational leagues since he

was in kindergarten. After a few years, he started to play competitively. He played

for the Dubuque Soccer Club, Dubuque Senior High School, and St. Ambrose Uni-

versity. He doesn’t play much anymore, but he has been volunteering to coach

youth teams. “I am very excited for the opportunity to join the staff at Alta-Aurelia

schools. The caring and welcoming atmosphere is inspirational and is very condu-

cive for learning.”

Our new Kindergarten Teacher at Alta Elementary is Paula Dicks. She is originally

from Storm Lake and graduated from Buena Vista University with a B.A. in Elemen-

tary Education along with a Coaching Endorsement. Ms. Dicks has taught at Newell

-Fonda and WACO Community School Districts.

Paula and her husband, Jeff, have three children. Brady (son) is a senior at Buena

Vista University, Taylor (daughter) is a sophomore at Buena Vista University, and

Mason (son) is an 8th grader at Newell-Fonda. Paula enjoys spending time with her

family and friends, attending her children’s activities, traveling, and boating. “I'm

very excited to be a part of the Alta-Aurelia School District!”

TJ Schaefer is originally from Aurelia and will be teaching high school Social Studies

which include American History and Geography. Mr. Schaefer earned his Bachelor

of Arts in Social Science Education at the University of Northern Iowa. He taught

five years at Exira-Elk Horn Kimballton and three years at MMCRU.

TJ and his family have lived in Alta for the past three years. His wife, Josie, is the

Jr. High Vocal Music Teacher at Storm Lake. They have three girls, Jackie 9, Jocelyn

4, and Nora 1½. TJ enjoys coaching football and baseball. Occasionally he enjoys

playing slow pitch and announcing for the Northwest Iowa Bulldogs semi-pro foot-

ball team.

Stacy Mueller

Joe Heiberger

Paula Dicks

TJ Schaefer

Jamie Haugen will be teaching Agricultural Education for the Alta-Aurelia School

District. She will be teaching 6th & 8th grade Ag, Plant Science, Agriscience, Ani-

mal Science, Intro to Ag Business (Dual enrolled through ICCC), Small Engines, Prin-

ciples of Crop Production (Dual enrolled through ICCC), Vet Science and Ag Leader-

ship. Along with that Ms. Haugen will serve as the FFA Advisor. Jamie graduated

from Iowa State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in 2013, majoring in Agricul-

tural Studies with a minor in Animal Science. She received her Master’s Degree

from ISU in 2015, with a major in Agricultural Education. Ms. Haugen has three

years of teaching/advisor experience.

Jamie Haugen is from Dows, Iowa where her parents reside on the family acreage.

Her mom is a registered nurse and her dad is a machine operator. Her sister and

brother-in-law live by the quad cities. Jamie is presently living on an acreage out-

side of Aurelia. Ms. Haugen enjoys running, sporting events, spending time with

family and friends. She has always had an interest in just about all things medical.

“Even though I graduated from ISU, I have always been an Iowa Hawkeye fan, so

when the two schools play it's "go hawks" all the way!”

Our new Biology and Physical Science teacher at the Alta-Aurelia High School is Dan

DeGroot. Mr. DeGroot is originally from Hull, Iowa and graduated from Northwest-

ern College in Orange City in 1988 with majors in Chemistry and Biology. He

earned a Master’s degree in Science Education from the University of Northern Iowa

in 2006. He has taught at several different schools including Hartley-Melvin-

Sanborn for the last 18 years.

Dan and his family moved to Alta this summer. His wife works for an insurance

agency in Hartley. They have three daughters: Morgan who is in college, Faith a

10th grader, and Jaclyn a 7th grader. Dan enjoys camping, geocaching, gardening,

and cooking.

The chance your child will use alcohol gets higher as he or she gets older.

About 10 percent of 12-year-olds say they have tried alcohol. By age 15, that number jumps to 50 percent. The sooner you talk to

your children about alcohol, the greater chance you have of influencing their decision not to drink.

Some kids may try alcohol as early as 9 years old.

Most 6-year-olds know that alcohol is only for adults. Between the ages of 9 and 13, kids start to view alcohol differently. Many

begin to think drinking is OK. Some even start to experiment. It is never too early to talk to your child about alcohol.

What You Can Do

Be a positive adult role model.

Be aware of risk factors.

Support your kids, and give them space to grow.

Be prepared. Your child may become curious about alcohol; he or she may turn to you for answers and advice.

Use “natural” opportunities, such as dinner time or while doing chores, to start open, honest conversations about drinking.

Work with schools, communities, and civic leaders to protect children from underage alcohol use.

Serious Consequences

Over the last few decades, experts have learned much more about the dangers of kids drinking alcohol. Underage drinking has

many serious risks. Kids who drink alcohol are more likely to:

Use drugs; get bad grades; hurt themselves or someone else; have unwanted or unprotected sex; make bad decisions; and

have health problems.

Say Something

What you say to your child about alcohol is up to you. But remember, parents who do not discourage underage drinking may have

an indirect influence on their children’s alcohol use.

SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

#talktheyhearyou

Brought to you by: Compass Pointe Behavioral Health

New Teachers

Start Early

September 2018 Page 3

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Reminder: According to the IDPH guidelines, your 7th or 12th grader might need an additional Tdap &/or meningococcal

vaccine prior to school starting. Proof of an update is helpful when turned in. Emailing to sgalvin@alta.aurelia.k12.ia.us or

faxing to 434-2053 are other options.

Kindergarten Parent reminders, 4 year old vaccines are requested to be submitted to your child’s school. Proof of a vision

check if not done in preschool is suggested. The IDPH Dental Screening form is due as soon as completed for auditing pur-

poses. If it is a financial burden to visit the Dentist, please let Mrs. Galvin know.

9th grade Parents, the same dental requirement pertains to your student. Please submit the completed IDPH screening form

to Shawna. An actual visit is not required if done within the last 12 months.

3rd grade Parents, please turn in the IDPH Vision Screening form as soon as possible. Distance vision checks will be done for

TK-4th grade students early in the school year for those who still have a need. Alta preschoolers will be screened by the Li-

ons Club for those who return the signed consent form. Aurelia preschoolers were given the green vision card for comple-

tion of the requirement.

If your child develops head lice, please make Mrs. Galvin or Mrs. Hinkeldey aware. This will help minimize the potential

spread.

With other communicable conditions, please keep your child home till no longer contagious. This is especially true for those

who are in a classroom with an immunocompromised student. One guideline is staying home fever free for at least 24 hours

WITHOUT the use of an OTC Med such as Tylenol. (See School Med Policy.) Another safeguard is the use of antibiotics for at

LEAST 24 hours before returning to school, i.e. strep throat, “pink eye.” Improvement is also needed in order to prevent the

spread of these highly contagious conditions!

All elementary parents/ guardians, please check the school’s website for complete guidelines of the Peanut Aware Policy. A

couple grades such as Aurelia’s 2nd & Alta’s 1st-2nd will be Peanut/Nut FREE zones. Your child still has the option to bring

items in their cold lunch, & sit at the cold lunch table. The peanut free rule pertains to all birthday & holiday parties in the

designated rooms. Please consult with your child’s teacher when in doubt in order to keep ALL students safe, thank you!!

When you have any health related questions or concerns, please contact the District School Nurse, Mrs. Galvin, or Mrs. Hin-

keldey, RN who is available in Alta after 11:30.

Hoping for a healthy 2018-19 school year, S. Galvin, RN

Nurse’s Notes

101 West Fifth Street

Alta, IA 51002

Phone: 712-200-1010

Fax: 712-200-1602

E-mail: levans@alta-aurelia.k12.ia.us

Alta-Aurelia Community

School District

www.alta-aurelia.org