355 18th Street SE • Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52403 • (319) 558-2174

November 2015

JSA MUSIC STUDIO UPDATEWe’ve been having fun learning in music class this fall. In the new music studio we’ve been

working hard at learning and demonstrating all of the music class procedures, including being good audience members as well as performers. We’ve liked showing that we’ve “Got Rhythm” through movement games and dances, playing instruments and singing! Our school-wide STEAM theme song this fall has been “The Rhythm of Life” so we’ve been making connections and learning about rhythmic patterns in music, as well as rhythm in our artwork and the rhythm in nature (life science: systems, cycles, etc.). Our favorite activity is playing the drum set. We also like all of the exciting fall music events and performances that highlight our learning! Be sure to mark your calendars with these December events. We look forward to seeing you there.

December 7—Select JSA students perform at PTA Barnes and Noble nightDecember 9—Orchestra Iowa Woodwind Quintet performance for JSA 3rd GradeDecember 9—JSA 5th Grade study trip to TCR for play performanceDecember 12—Cocoa and Carols at Washington High School December 15—Orchestra Iowa String Quartet performance for JSA 2nd GradeDecember 15—3rd Grade (Rozendaal and Heiderscheit ) Musical Learning CelebrationDecember 18—Annual JSA Holiday Sing-a-Long

Can you find the rhythm in this photo? Mrs. McCullough’s Kindergarten students are demonstrating through marching, clapping and playing drums!

FULL STEAM AHEAD!Actually, this article is very appropriately named as we have hit the ground running since our

grand opening as Johnson STEAM Academy. It is hard to believe that it is November already, con-ferences have been held, and another Iowa winter is upon us. We have had an outstanding start to the school year and are thrilled to share with you some of the things that have been going on at Johnson STEAM Academy since the beginning of the school year. Read all about some of the amaz-ing experiences that have occurred so far this year!

Academic Achievement: Our focus every day remains on helping all students meet high levels of academic achievement. This means meeting our students where they are at, getting to know their learning styles, and helping them to move forward as far as they can go. This is achieved through high expectations, working to help students believe that hard work and effort can take you far, a belief that risk-taking in learning is OK (sometimes we learn through trial and error), and a creative staff who continue to look for the best ways to help each child learn. We are continuously looking at progress of students and making adjustments to how we teach to help each child be successful at school.

Social – Emotional – Behavioral (SEB Achievement): A very important job for all schools is to support students with their academic learning as well as learning to be good citizens of Johnson and the surrounding community. Our B4 (Be Responsible, Be Respectful, Be Safe, and Be Ready) Guidelines are alive and well at Johnson as all members of our learning community strive to reach high levels in these areas. You will see B4 tickets distributed when kids are recognized for doing the right thing, classroom celebrations for meeting goals, doing our PARRT and Zones of Regulation lessons being taught on a daily basis around respect, conflict resolution, being a good friend, and managing emotions.

Enrichments, Enrichments, Enrichments!: Johnson STEAM Academy has a huge offering of before and after school enrichments. JSA students can participate in things like Green Team, School Store, Steppin’ Up!, Origami, Lego League, and Writer’s Workshop to name just a few. Study after study points to the fact that kids who are engaged in their school, stay involved, and participate in the arts make better gains academically and feel more successful at school. Thanks to our dedicated staff, parents, volunteers, and community members who make this happen.

Magnet School Journey: You will find more details inside this edition of the Spotlight, but there has been lots going on at Johnson STEAM Academy (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). There has been continued planning and professional development, STEAM Team Days, project-based learning opportunities, integrated instruction which combines several content areas, an amazing STEAM lab, and highly engaged students. We are on the right journey and all the possibilities that come along with it – the most positive being even greater things for our students as we continue to look at and refine the most powerful teaching and instructional practices.

Thank you to all of you for your part in making Johnson STEAM Academy the very special place that it is!

Candace Lynch

KINDERGARTENKindergarten has been busy learning what it

means to be in school. We spent the first few weeks learning school and classroom procedures. Jolly Phonics and basic numbers have filled up most of our time at the beginning of the year. It is important to develop a firm foundation in these areas to build on future learning. Our science unit focused on trees, the parts of a tree, and leaves. We have been on several nature walks to look at the schoolyard trees and collect leaves. The local Fire Department brought their fire truck and talked to us about fire safely during fire preven-tion week. We are also looking forward to our first field trip to Bloomsbury Farm. We encour-age parents/families to read to their child nightly!

Research shows that by doing this you can improve children’s ability to read in the future. The local library is a great resource for this. Thanks for your support!

Kindergarten has been learning about trees and the fall season. We made apple structures, tasted apples and graphed our favorite kind.

Kindergarten students are learning about community helpers and had a visit from the fire department.

Kindergarten took a field trip to Bloomsbury Farm.

Making Up Instructional Time Lost to Weather

The District is required to make up all instructional time lost when classes are delayed or cancelled because of weather. Options include using a make-up date as identi� ed on the District calendar, adding time to the beginning and end of a school day starting after spring break, or tapping into hours in excess of the state minimum requirement of 1,080.

Make up decisions for weather events are decided on a case-by-case basis. Families will always be made aware as early as possible following a weather event through the School Messenger call system and the District website.

SAFETY CONCERNSCedar Rapids Community School District

takes your safety seriously and welcomes your input. Please contact your building principal/administrator and report any safety concerns that you may have. Thank you for helping us keep staff and students safe.

PLAY THE GRAY!Students are working hard practicing

their math skills using our new STEM program, Spatial-Temporal (ST) Math. The ST Math software uses a game-based software that improves math comprehension and proficiency through visual learning. With interactive, graph-ically-rich animations students use to improve conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills. Students play as Jiji the Penguin as they complete levels. Student’s practice at least twice a week in the computer lab and can also play at home. Go to www.stmath.com and let your student show you more. Logging in with their picture password, students can practice levels they’ve already com-pleted or homework assigned by their teacher. Ask your student’s teacher for more information.

Be Part Of the fOOd and nutritiOn team

help feed Our future it’s easy!

Go to: www.cr.k12.ia.usClick Link: Employment, then

How to ApplyComplete: Food and Nutrition General Application

Follow the District on , @crschools, and

SECOND GRADE NEWSMrs. Dorrance’s team 109 is having a great

start to the new year as the Johnson STEAM Academy. We have been learning about a vari-ety of life cycles and loved hav-ing the meal-worms/darkling beetle, caterpil-la r/but ter f ly , and brass ica plants living in our classroom. We have en-joyed learning like a scientist and connecting our science with our reading, writing, and math. We are so lucky to have Jennifer Borcherding come in to work with small reading groups every Tuesday and Wednesday in the STEAM Lab. We learned about volcanoes. Jennifer brought a volcano in and the class made predictions, tested their predic-tions, shared ideas on how they would change

the experiment, and then retested the vol-cano eruption. We look forward to do-ing many more excit-ing Science and En-gineering projects in the Lab. We learned a lot on our Wickiup Hill field trip. It is a great place to visit with your family and

I encourage you to explore it on your own. They are open daily and there is no entrance fee. They also offer special programming for a very small fee. You can get more information by calling (319) 892-6485 or visiting http://www.mycountyparks.com/County/Linn/Park/Wickiup-Hill-Learning-Center.aspx for upcoming events and hours of operation. Please continue to read and work on basic math addition and subtraction facts with your child at home. I am looking forward to a great year!!

NEWS FROM SPANISH CLASSWhat we are learning right now:

1st grade- We are learning about things we use in school every day such as mochila (back-pack) or lapiz (pencil).

2nd grade- We are learning about the geog-raphy of Puerto Rico. We also just learned how to tell time in Spanish to the hour. Ask your child to sing you our time song (Es la una, son las dos, son las tres – clap clap!).

3rd grade- We are working on using the al-phabet and spelling some words. We are also talking about transportation and how that looks the same and different in Spain. Ask your child if they can ‘march’ out the alphabet song for you.

4th and 5th grades- We are just finishing a unit of pastimes and hobbies. Next we will be learning some foods and putting them into food groups.

Why study Spanish?A recent article in the New York Times explains

that current research on bilingualism shows that the “interference” of learning another language promotes a strengthening of brain function that results in heightened skills and improved learning in a variety of situations.

*One study demonstrated that bilinguals were faster at solving mental puzzles.

*A number of studies have shown that speak-ing more than one language advances one’s ability to ignore distractions in order to stay fo-cused, switch attention willfully from one thing to another, and hold information in the mind for longer periods of time.

*Researchers believe bilinguals have a stron-ger ability to monitor the environment.

*Research has shown that learning other lan-guages as an adult has cognitive advantages, such as the lessening of dementia and Alzheim-er’s disease.

*The more proficiency one has in another language, the stronger the resistance to ailments that cause a loss of memory.

Check it out online:Señora Saxton’s YouTube channel- www.

tinyurl.com/SaxtonYouTubeSalsa (a sesame street like program all in

Spanish)-www.gpb.org/salsa

MORE SECOND GRADE NEWSMiss Witte’s class has had a fabulous start

to the new school year here at Johnson STEAM Academy. We have been learning about living/non-living things, life cycles, plants, insects, the history of Cedar Rapids, and our commu-nity. We have enjoyed becoming entomologists to study deeper into insects with the help of our Title 1 Reading Teacher, Mrs. Bailey. We are so fortunate to have her work on our insect projects with us every morning. It has been interesting to learn more about make makes an insect an insect while connecting our reading, writing, and math into the process. The students

are excited to start making clay models, iMovie presentations, and research projects on their insect. We have also found many examples of these insects to house in our classroom. We look forward to experimenting with Science and En-gineering projects in the STEAM Lab and around the school during our STEAM Team days. I am looking forward to a great year with such a great community of learners!

FIRST GRADERS ARE MOVING FULL STEAM AHEAD!

S – First graders are finishing up a fabulous unit on plants. We have integrated our reading and science time, and have had the chance to read lots of nonfiction stories about plants. We practiced picking out the main idea and details. As we are reading our stories, we are also doing investigations to help us better understand how to grow plants and different ways to grow plants.

T – Camera, lights, action! The first graders are learning how to use iMovie during our tech integration time. They are working in small group settings to create a movie about important pro-cedures and routines we do in our classrooms.

E – For at least one hour a week, we have been using the STEAM Lab to practice the Design Process. Students have done several activities that have them ask a question, imagine, plan, create, improve and share. We have also done read-alouds about being an engineer, architect, and so much more!

A – First graders have had various experiences with art, but our big one was performing “The Little Red Hen” reader’s theatre for an audience. In science we planted wheat, so it was only fitting to perform a reader’s theatre about a hen who also planted wheat!

M – Math, math everywhere! We have been doing some very hard work with addition and subtraction which can be used in all places! First graders have been solving real world story prob-lems and what they know about addition and subtraction.

THE MAGNET COORDINATOR’S

CORNER

I am so excited to provide you an up-date for the exciting things happening at Johnson STEAM Academy Magnet School! What an exciting school year it has been.

STEAM Team Days- We have had two STEAM Team days this year. STEAM Team Days happen five times a year on early dismissals. On these days, teachers choose a theme that sparks their interest and teach a series of lessons and activities for the day to a small group of students. Students have a choice and voice in what group they sign up for. Teachers did their best to provide students with their first or second choice of topic.

MAKING EVERY DAY COUNT MEANS:

• only allowing missed school days due to illness or other excused reasons

• ensuring a student has arrived by 8:45 a.m. • communicating with the school regarding

illnesses, family emergencies and make up work

• asking the school for help when issues arise that get in the way of consistent at-tendance

Iowa has joined the effort to Make Every Day Count as part of Iowa’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. Learn more about the importance of attendance on student success at http://grade-levelreading.net/our-work/chronic-absence

Make a difference in Iowa, at JSA, and with your student, by having them here, ready to learn, all day, every day.

-Ms. Conyers, Transition and Attendance Spe-cialist, 319-558-2174 or aconyers@cr.k12.ia.us

WELLNESS POLICYPolicy 610

The Cedar Rapids Community School District supports a healthy environment in which students learn and participate in positive dietary and lifestyle practices. By facilitating learning through the support and promotion of good nutrition and physical activity, schools contribute to the basic health, academic achievement and quality of life of students. The District:

The “Wellness Policy Committee” will plan for, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of wellness initiatives as guided by the Board Policy and Procedures and inform and update the public about the content and implementation of the policy.

• Will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion. Will develop a wellness approach to physical activities that meet applicable federal and state guidelines.

• Promotes activities and policies that support staff members’ efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

• Supports parents’ efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children.

• Will base menus on Dietary Guidelines for Americans, National School Lunch and Breakfast meal pattern requirements, and the Recommended Dietary Allowances.

• Recommends that foods and beverages offered on campus and for school activities meet applicable federal and state guidelines.

WELLNESS POLICY- TWO NEW PROCEDURES

Policy 610

Procedure 610.1aSnacks – Nutritional GuidelinesIt is the responsibility of each building to ensure all snacks meet District Nutritional Guidelines for foods and beverages, including vending, a la carte, school stores, celebrations and fundraisers. This applies to all foods offered, made available or sold during the school day, defined as the period from midnight before, to 30 minutes after the end of the school day.Each building shall do the following:

• All foods offered in school must meet guidelines; either selected from healthy snack lists or determined to meet guidelines using SMART Snack calculator.

• Daily snacks in the classroom or those provided for brain-based learning activities are optional (allowed); implementation determined at the discretion of individual building teams.

• If food is brought from home to be shared, it must be prepackaged and prepared by vendor with the exception of fruits and vegetables.

• Foods provided that do not meet guidelines will not be served and will be returned to provider.

• Recognize that provision of a snack is meant to fuel the student’s body and provides opportunity for engaging in nutrition education and promotion.

Procedure 610.1b

Wellness Fundraising Guidelines - It is the responsibility of each building to discontinue using unhealthy foods for fundraisers. Each building must ensure all snacks meet District Nutritional Guidelines for foods and beverages, including vending, a la carte, school stores, celebrations and fundraisers. This applies to all foods offered, made available or sold during the school day, defined as the period from midnight before, to 30 minutes after the end of the school day.Each building shall determine a school-wide plan and do the following:

• Include if/what healthy foods or non-food items/activities will be offered and how physical activity will be promoted.

• Consider that foods/beverages used as rewards for students participating in fundraising activities must meet District Nutritional Guidelines.

• The sale of competitive foods, including foods of minimal nutritional value, may not occur one-half hour prior to, during, or one-half hour after the meal shifts of food service programs unless permission has been granted by the Manager of Food and Nutrition Department. (Board Regulation 902.2)

• This procedure will be communicated to parents/students/staff through student handbooks annually.

DISTRICT WELLNESS GOALSvImplement elementary health education

curriculum, including nutrition.

vDiscontinue using unhealthy foods for fundraisers.

vEnsure all snacks meet District Nutritional Guidelines for foods and beverages for schools, including vending, a la carte, snack lines, school stores, celebrations and fundraisers.

vDiscontinue using food/food coupons as rewards or incentives.

vRequire that students are physically active during the majority of time in physical education class.

vEnsure physical activity is not used for or withheld as a punishment.

vCelebrate birthdays and other events involving food once a month only.

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The District offers an online Virtual Backpack site to support the efforts of community orga-nizations wanting to share information about educationally-based programming.

Individuals or organizations wishing to post material on the Virtual Backpack submit items electronically and approved materials will ap-pear online for families to access.

Organizations will � nd a link to submit � yers for consideration on the District homepage at www.cr.k12.ia.us . Families can access th e Virtual Backpack from their school Web site.

VIRTUAL

BACKPACK

CARDBOARD ARCADE COLLABORATIVE STEAM PROJECT!

We (the JSA 5th grade students) had the chance to play cardboard Arcade games outside and in the STEAM lab. The Metro High School students used the design process to create the games modeled after the famous film about a kid and his project, “Caine’s Arcade”. You can stop by the STEAM lab and learn more about design process. We figured out that the projects incorporated STEAM because for SCIENCE the Metro students used physics to create games & we learned about it to play the games. TECHNOLOGY was the computers that were used by the high school students to research arcade games & they used equipment such as a leaf blower & spinner. The Metro students were ENGINEERS because they created and built the arcade games. Art was included because the games were decorated by the high school students with paint, markers, etc. (We think they are good artists!) For MATH they used measurement, adding & subtracting, and other math skills to design the games. We had to use our own math skills to play the games and add up points/tickets. We had so much fun learn-ing that we want to use the DESIGN PROCESS to create our own Arcade games for younger classes at JSA now!

By the “JSA News” 5th grade students: Alexis, Jackson and Mia

THIRD GRADE NEWSThird grade has been learning about structures of life

in Science. We have grown plants and learned about what plants need to grow. We grew plants using hydroponics. We have crayfish in the room and are learning about what each structure of the crayfish does. Next, we will be learning about the structure of the human body by focusing on bones and fingerprints. In Social Studies, we have learned about slavery and are now learning about segregation and the people who played an important role during that time.

STEAM STUDY TRIPS! This fall JSA students have been having fun learning about the sciences and the arts out in the

real world. Third grade students visited the Cedar Rapids Public Library in September, as they ex-plored wonderful learning resources available in our community. In October, second grade classes went to Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center to investigate the life cycles and habitats of the insects and animals in the woods and ponds. They got to use nets to catch water bugs and went on a walk where they heard the rhythmic sounds of birds, like the woodpecker, and insects, such as the crick-ets. Fifth grade classes also studied the Native American mounds and the Iowa prairie at Wickiup. First grade students researched the plant and animal life in the woods first hand when they went for a guided hike at the Indian Creek Nature Center. Kindergarten visited a pumpkin farm as they studied what happens in nature during the autumn season. In November, JSA fourth grade students attended an awesome concert by Orchestra Iowa at the Paramount Theatre. They even got to see some of our Johnson 4th and 5th grade students on the stage singing in the Discovery Chorus with the orchestra! We love going on study trips and doing hands-on STEAM learning! Johnson STEAM Academy is an awesome school!

FOURTH GRADE NEWS4th grade has had a busy month learning

about the different systems! We have had the chance to study about the nutrient system and digestive system and have done a research project on how snakes get the nutrients they need. Students were able to choose a snake to research with a partner and then create a visual poster that we presented to 2nd and 3rd grad-ers! We have also grown our wheat plants and discussed how the plants grow without soil. The most current thing that has happened is our but-terflies have come out from their chrysalis! The students are very excited about this as we have been observing the different stages of the but-terflies. This week we have been studying about the Circulatory System and had fun creating the heart model and learning about the right and left ventricle and where they pump the blood to. We are coming to an end with our science unit in the next couple weeks and will be ending with looking at the Respiratory and Sensory System! These kids are having a blast exploring all of the different systems that make up our body!

We are beginning to dive into different strate-gies we can use to solve a multiplication problem. Knowing our facts will be super important for these fourth graders so we are working really hard to master these!

FIFTH GRADE NEWSTime has been flying by in fifth grade this year

as the new Johnson STEAM Academy. In Social Studies fifth graders have been studying Native Americans and how they survived in different parts of the world. Part of their study included a field trip to Wickiup Hill in early October!

During the trip students got to become Ar-cheologist for a short time to try and figure out how people lived and survived. In this simula-tion of an excavation, students got to follow archaeology procedures,

such as removing soil layers, one at a time and recording measurements to uncover buried arti-facts representing different time periods.

Many years ago, Native Americans had their own shopping center…that walked on 4 legs. Stu-dents learned why Native Americans depended on large animals such as bison for food, clothing, shelter, tools and toys. They also learned the uses of many parts of the bison that sustained the Na-tive American tribes of the prairie for thousands of years.

Finally, the fifth graders got to enjoy a fun way to understand the historic lives of American Indians. Students got to play a few games that heightened the sur-vival skills young people needed as adults. The skill of throwing darts with an atlatl, a spear throwing tool that was invented by hunters over 10,000 years ago. They also practice true teamwork skills when playing the Buffalo Robe game.

We have been very busy with math, reading, writing, science and social studies. As you can see it was nice to get outdoors and let the students experience some of these things first hand! Mr. Frette and Ms. Ernst

Special DietsIf your student has a special diet form on file from a previous year

and something has changed, please contact the

Food and Nutrition Office at 558-2305.

Low Fat Dairy/Protein: • String Cheese or Cheese Cubes• Yogurt • CottageCheese• DeliMeat• SunflowerSeeds• Pepita/Pumpkinseeds

Whole Grains:• Crackers• LowSodiumPretzels• PitaChips• Popcorn• LowFatGranolaBars• BakedCornTortillaChips• AnimalCrackers• GrahamCrackers

Drinks:• Water• LowFatorFatFreeMilk• 100%Fruit/VegetableJuice

HEALTHY SCHOOL SNACKS

Cedar Rapids Community School DistrictThe provided list is not all inclusive. Reference CRCSD Nutritional Standards for specific guidance.

Snacksplayamajorroleinachild’sdietandprovideavaluableopportunityfornutritioneducation. Healthysnacksareimportanttoprovidinggoodnutritionandsupportinglifelonghealthyeatinghabits.

Fruits:• Freshfruit-wholeorsliced• Assortedfruitsalads• DriedFruits• Applesauce• Individualfruitcups (packagedinjuice)• 100%FruitJuice• 100%FrozenFruitBars

Vegetables:• RawVegetables

Simplekid-friendlyexamples:BabyCarrots,Broccoli,Cauliflower,SnapPeas,SlicedPeppers,Celery

• DehydratedVegetables• VegetableChips,

Chickpeas• Edamame(Soybeans)

Snack tips:• Snackonfruitand

vegetableswheneverpossible.• Selectappropriateportionsizes.• Forfoodsafetyselectsealedand

prepackagedsnackitems.• Combineproteinandfiber

forasatisfyingsnack.

Dip Ideas: Hummus,Salsa,Beandip,HoneyMustard,Yogurtbaseddips

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TIP

Non-Discrimination PolicyIt is the policy of the Cedar Rapids Community School District not to illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (employment only), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status (students/program only) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. District employees with questions or a grievance related to this policy should contact Jill Cirivello, Director of Human Resources, 319-558-2421; jcirivello@cr.k12.ia.us. Students and others should contact Ken Morris, Manager of Student Equity, 319-558-1504; kmorris@cr.k12.ia.us. The District mailing address is 2500 Edgewood Rd NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405-1015.

STEAM Team Days STEAM Team Days on September 16 and No-

vember 4. Teams of Johnson teachers worked to-gether to provide exciting learning opportunities for all the students during this early dismissal day. Each grade level team worked on special STEAM-related projects such as 5th grade Catapults, 4th grade Toothpick Towers, 3rd grade Space Design, 2nd grade Structures, 1st grade Paper Engineers and Kindergarten Scientist Fun! Students utilized their knowledge of the “Design Process”. These are the basic steps they incorporated: ask, imagine, plan, create, improve and share. A second grade group was excited to explain that they were mak-ing a section of a community out of Lego blocks. They pointed out to get it accomplished they had to work together and share ideas. One of the students was supposed to make the hotel but didn’t know how so two others stepped up to show him. It is called “teamwork” they proudly exclaimed! They also described the difference between an engineer and architect. Both are important in the building process. Ev-eryone is excited about STEAM Team Days!

Using the design process during STEAM TEAM day