The E-ConnectionA biweekly publication of the Johnston Community School District

June 12, 2017

Johnston Community School District

www.johnstoncsd.org

BOARD OF EDUCATIONMark Toebben,

PresidentBrad Ortmeier,

Vice PresidentMarci CordaroGreg Dockum

Deb HenryJill MorrillMatt Stahr

Dr. Corey Lunn, Superintendent

OUR MISSIONWe commit all district resources to guide the

learning of each student, to graduate as confident learners with character,

knowledge and the skills to excel in any endeavor they

pursue.

VISIONCreating a culture of

excellence where students come first.

This newsletter is a publication of the

Communications Office for the parents and staff in the Johnston Community School District. Call 278-

0470 with questions or concerns.

JHS Grand Opening Event Draws Hundreds of Johnston SupportersAn estimated 1,500 parents, students, staff, and community members celebrated the opening of the new Johnston High School on Monday, June 12 during the official ribbon cutting and open house. Attendees were then able to explore the building on their own, watch student performances, and learn more about the building from staff.

Thank you to all who came out in support of our beautiful new learning facility!

Highlights from the June 12 board meeting are reported here. For full minutes, go to the eBoards website.

Superintendent’s ReportAcknowledgements: Angie Butler and team T.H.O.R. of the (FIRST) Tech Challenge (FTC) presented a summary of their learning and season to board members.

Building Update: Construction crews are now working in the new JMS and Wallace buildings on the respective renovations projects. Thank you to all who attended the JHS Grand Opening - it was great to see so many community members excited about the facility.

ReportsElementary Parent/Teacher Conference Proposal (Eric Toot, Lindsey Cornwell): Currently all five elementary schools hold conferences on Thursday, November 16 from 1:30 to 5:00 and from 5:30 to 8:00. All five schools also hold conferences on Thursday, March 1 from 1:30-5:00 and from 5:30 to 8:00. This has been the past practice.

Principals Toot and Cornwell presented a proposal to have the other half day of conferences held in a flexible fashion in the fall and spring. Teachers will schedule another 3.5 hours of conferences between November 9 and November 17 in the fall and between February 27-March 5 during the spring. These conferences could be held before school or after school, outside of contract hours. It is also possible that conferences in another location if appropriate for that school. For example, Beaver Creek teachers could choose to hold conferences at the Johnston Public Library as several families live across the street from the library. Each school will keep track of when and where the flexible conferences were held to help study effective ways to share student progress with families. Teachers will be required to document the additional 3.5 hours of conference time in the fall and spring, as the time spent conferencing outside of the contract day leads to the comp days the day before Thanksgiving and the day before Spring Break.

Transportation Update (Jan Miller Hook, Laura Kacer, Katie McBride): A summary report of transportation services after the completion of one full year of outsourced transportation services with Student Transportation of America was presented. Ms. Miller-Hook discussed the budgetary implications; Ms. Kacer highlighted the district collaboration with STA staff; and Ms. McBride (STA operations manager) talked about service provider updates and safety features.

First Reading of Policies: 408.3 Licensed Employee Tutoring, 411.3 Classified Employee Contracts, Classified and Licensed Family and Medical Leave Policies, 704.6 Online Fundraising Campaigns, Transportation Drug and Alcohol policies, and 903.1 School Community Groups.

Action ItemsApproval of the Facility Manual, Fee Schedule and Hold Harmless Agreement (Kayla Badtram): The Co-Curricular Committee and Administration, where applicable, recommended the revisions to the Facility Manual, Fee Schedule and Hold Harmless Agreement. The manual, fee schedule and agreement will also include the New High School. The first reading was at the May 22, 2017 Board meeting. The board approved the manual as presented.

Approval of Welding Equipment (Ryan Woods): Quotes were requested for 10 new welders, eight Lincoln welders and two Miller welders for the new high school. Quotes were received from Praxair, Airgas, and Matheson. The lowest quote is from Matheson on both types of welders: Matheson $54,360.00 Praxair $55,394.00 Airgas $61,985.94The board approved the quotes from Matheson for eight Lincoln welders and two Miller welders for $54,360.00 at the new high school.

Publication of Notice of Hearing and Posting of the Notice to Bidders for the High School Greenhouse Project (Jan Miller Hook): Authorize publication of a notice of hearing and of the posting of the notice to bidders in accordance with all legal requirements for the High School Greenhouse Project; set bid date of June 26, 2017 at 10:00 A.M. and hearing date of June 26, 2017 at 6:00 P.M. for the High School Greenhouse Project. The board approved.

Board Highlights from June 12

Approval of Series 400 (Marci Cordaro): Board Policy 209.6 Review and Revision of Policy states: “If a policy is revised because of a legal change over which the board has no control or a change which is minor, the policy may be approved at one meeting at the discretion of the board.” The attached polices were recommended by the Board Policy Committee to renumber and/or moved to another series to match the IASB system that we are following. The board approved the polices from the 400 series as presented.

Approval of Policy Primer Updates (Mark Toebben): The Board Policy Committee, IASB, Administration and Legal, where applicable, recommend the revisions to the polices from the policy primer updates to reflect changes or clarifications in federal and/or state law. First reading was at the May 22, 2017 Board meeting. The board approved the updated policies to reflect changes or clarifications in federal and/or state law as presented.

Approval of Policies: 408.1 Licensed Employee Professional Learning, 409.8 Licensed Employee Unpaid Leave, 414.8 Classified Employee Unpaid Leave, and 711.1 Transportation Policy. The board approved the new and revised policies as presented.

Approval of Omitting Policies: The Board Policy Committee recommends omitting the following policies as they are already referenced in another updated policy and/or are no longer needed. Policies 702.1 Local and State Transportation Regulations, 702.2 Student Eligibility for Bus Service, 702.3 Special Education Bus Service, 702.4 Curricular and Co-Curricular Bus Service, 702.5 Summer Program Bus Service, 702.6 Transportation Insurance Program, 702.7 Regulation for Students Riding Buses, 702.8 Bus Usage By Nonresident or Private School Students, 702.9 Special Convenience Bus Stops. The board approved.

JHS Math ClubMembers of the JHS Math Club competed in mathleague.org’s Mathematics Championship against teams from AZ, CA, MO, IA, and the country of Saipan on May 20 in Kansas City, MO. Participants were Anh Tran, Chris Yao, Haley Dostalik, Marianne Aldrich, Matthew Ding, and Stella Zeng. Congratulations to Chris Yao on his 6th place finish in the 10th grade division! The Math Club is coached by Julie Probst.

Iowa Youth Straw PollCongratulations to Karla Brockman from Lawson Elementary School and Patrick Hennes from Johnston High School who were recognized for organizing the district’s participation in the statewide Iowa Youth Straw Poll for the 2016 general Election. Students voted on their choice of the 2016 general election candidates. The results were then totaled with results from other Iowa schools and reported on Secretary of State Paul D. Pate’s website https://sos.iowa.gov/youth/polI/resuIts.aspx. As a result of their efforts, their students received a unique civic education experience.

All-Iowa Coach of the YearThe Des Moines Register has selected JHS teacher and cross country coach Patrick Hennes as one of three finalists for the All-Iowa Coach of the Year award. Hennes was named the Register’s All-Iowa Cross Country Coach for the 2016-17 season this past fall.

JMS Students Participate in NY Times Editorial Contest Two Johnston Middle School students – Gordon Hu and Ryan Freidoff – submitted editorials. Hu’s “It’s Time for an American Popular Vote” and Freidoff’s “Lower Student to Teacher Rations Equals Higher Test Scores” were both named third-round finalists in the contest. The NY Times picks 10 winners, 15 runners-up and 45 honorable mentions in the contest; there are 58 students who made the cut to the third round of judging. Congratulations to Gordon and Ryan!

Odyssey of the Mind World FinalsFive teams of Johnston Community School District students competed at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University, May 24-27. The Johnston teams were among the 800 teams representing more than 20 countries at the 2017 World Finals. A team of fifth graders representing Horizon Elementary School was awarded the most prestigious award at World Finals, the Ranatra Fusca award for exceptional creativity and risk-taking. The team was one of only seven teams in the World to receive this honor and the first team from Iowa to earn the award since 1989. The team received the award for the creativity and engineering of “an entire intricate system of tracks for their vehicles with a series of pressure sensitive pads that started a cascade of motors and springs.”

More accolades on the next page!

Accolades

JHS Entrepreneurship ClassStudents in the new JHS Entrepreneurship class have been dreaming up ideas for new businesses, services, and products. For incoming senior Julia Cavanah, all that dreaming has paid off. Cavanah submitted her business, “Octo-Punk Fiber Arts.” As the school year wrapped up, Cavanah finds herself $1,000 richer for earning second place in the spring semester Biz Innovator contest. Her prize money will go toward business costs for Octo-Punk.

National Merit ScholarshipsNational Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced more than 3,200 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the Finalists in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. Congratulations to:• Peter Beebe: Probable career field in International Relations; Scholarship from American University (Washington,

D.C.)• Nicole Hobson: Probable career field in Surgical Medicine; Scholarship from the University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa)• Justin Hu: Probable career field in Biology; Scholarship from the University of Southern California (Los Angeles,

Calif.)

Additional High School Tours Offered June 17 via Johnston Green DaysTours of the new Johnston High School will be offered from the Johnston Green Days site on Saturday, June 17. A bus will leave the Johnston Public Library at 1 and 2:30 p.m.; the tour is first come, first serve. The bus will take people out to the high school site and then return to the library/Green Days location. Anyone wanting to attend the tour should come to the Johnston Public Library shortly before 1 or 2:30 p.m. to get on the bus.

Free Summer Lunch Program at Chapel Ridge Apt ComplexThe Johnston Community School District is participating in the USDA Summer Food Service Program. Meals will be provided to all children without charge and are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals will be provided, at a first come, first serve basis, at the sites and times as follows:Chapel Ridge Apartment Complex; 6200 Clark Lane, Johnston IA 50131; 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm; June 5th – August 18th

Summer Library Hours @ Timber RidgeThroughout the summer, teachers at Timber Ridge Elementary will be offering weekly library time for families.Each Thursday – with the exception of July 6 – families are invited to come to the school from 9 to 11 a.m. to visit the library, check out books, and work on reading skills.

New Immunization Required for Enrollment in Iowa SchoolsThe Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), Bureau of Immunization, has completed the administrative rules process to require meningococcal vaccine for students enrolling in 7th and 12th grades. The change was effective January 11, 2017, and will be implemented at the beginning of the upcoming 2017-2018 school year.

The new requirement for enrollment in Iowa schools is a one-time dose of meningococcal vaccine received on or after 10 years of age for students in grades 7 and above, if born after September 15, 2004; and 2 doses of meningococcal vaccines for students in grade 12, if born after September 15, 1999; or 1 dose if received when students are 16 years of age or older.

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Digital BackpackBe sure to check the digital backpack portion of the website for community organization happenings. Click on the category links below for more details. Fill out this online form to submit a flyer or event.

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