Pekin CSD - Packwood, Iowa

The fourth graders have been working hard this quarter. Thinking more outside the box and writing more detailed works have been the focus in Mrs. Scholtus’s class this quarter. Context clues, main idea, making inferences, and analyzing text have been strategies that have been focused on in reading class. Using clues from the text, text evidence and a student’s own background knowledge are the keys to many of the skills the students must incorporate within the fourth grade Common Core components for reading. Reading for Accelerated Reader allows the students to practice these advanced skills for reading. The students see this more now that they have two goals for AR. Each student not only has her/her points goal as in the past, but they now also have a comprehension goal of 85%. This is also the goal for their Skills Iowa Assessments to ensure the students meet the standards for comprehension work. The students have also found out how reading and writing go together in fourth grade. Many of the stories that the students have read, they have also been writing about in different ways. They have written character descriptions and summarizing paragraphs. The students will soon be working on writing a narrative story using dialogue. The focus of this is to understand the narrative writing process where characters talk back and forth to each other as in a fictional book. We are also including the use of technology as stated in the fourth grade writing standards for Common Core. Students also have Daily Grammar Practice for homework like the Home Links in math to practice grammar and spelling skills needed to become a better writer. In Mr. Marlay’s math class the students have been perfecting their use of multiplication and division facts. Our math series has given the students a great review of decimals, the metric system, and customary measuring system during the last few weeks. We presently have many different computerized programs that are enhancing the math program. The use of Math Playground, IXL, and Everyday Math Online have allowed the students to find different ways to work on their math skills. One of the great things about these programs is that the students can use these web based programs at school or at home. In Mrs. Strupp’s Science class, we ended our unit on Energy by completing a S.T.E.A.M activity. S.T.E.A.M stands for science, technology, engineering, art, and math. In the activity, students worked in teams as they went through the engineering design process. Their task was to create a secret code to transmit a message containing locations of beryllium deposits. They sent their codes using a telegraph key. This was a great opportunity for my students to show off their engineering skills and work together as a team. Mrs. Strupp kicked off Social Studies with Civics/Government. Students are working on their note taking skills while watching videos and reading various articles, to help them learn how the Iowa Caucuses impact our elections. Students have been practicing coding once a day each week for the last several weeks, and it is something they look forward to. Each week’s lesson challenges them more and more. It is so great to see the students problem-solve to complete each level’s task. Coding helps students prepare for 21st Century jobs and for jobs that aren’t even created yet!

Once again, Pekin PTO, and all their volunteer elves, pulled together a wonderful day of shopping for our K-6 students at Santa's Workshop. A huge "THANK YOU!" to parents and community members for their donations. This day is not made possible without the help of many people who are generous with their time and talents. We even had a special appearance by Mrs. Claus! Happy Holidays!

Second Graders have been very busy this past quarter. We are working on being responsible, organized and better listeners in the classroom. We recognized Veteran’s Day by having an assembly and doing different activities in the classroom. Students have been busy in Math, working on Math facts, counting money, addition and subtraction, counting up and counting down, tens frames and turn-around facts. These are all areas you can work with your child. Your child does have daily homework, so please check with them each night. Our class had our first goal party for students who met their goal in Accelerated Reading for the first quarter. Students are continuing to read and take quizzes to reach their second quarter goals. Please encourage reading each night at home. As the weather changes, please be sure your child is dressed appropriately. When weather permits, the students go outside three times a day for recess. We will be having a gift exchange on Wednesday, December 22nd. More information about the Christmas Party will be sent home at a later date. We hope you had a good Thanksgiving and enjoyed some extra time with your families. Mrs. Bradshaw Mrs. Brown Mrs. Neff

1st Grade Newsletter We would like to thank everyone who attended Parent Teacher Conferences. We enjoyed being able to share the progress that is being made by each student. We appreciate the time you have spent working with your student on Home Links, Rainbow Words, and spelling words. We can see the benefits here at school. We also encourage you to have your student read the take home books that they bring home. Please read these books with your first grader and have them practice reading smoothly. We have been working on students being better listeners, more responsible, and doing their work independently. These are life skills that are necessary for success. We look forward to our next Come Read With Me Day on Friday, December 17 at 2pm. We will send home an RSVP closer to that date. Thanks for supporting your first grader! We are seeing great progress already! Mrs. Brisby Mrs. Heisdorffer Mrs. VanDerHorst

Pekin Families, We wanted to make available a few documents to guide you in helping your child deal with a death. These documents were made available from the mental health counselors serving our building and helping our staff and students deal with the loss of Dixie Chapman. Please know that your child will continue to have access to counselors should they need extra support. Please reach out to your child's teacher or the office to request support. Mrs. Ledger

Pekin Schools is announcing a special school closing for Tues., Nov. 23rd so staff may attend the funeral of colleague, Dixie Chapman. The Pekin Child Care Center will also be closed. We apologize for any inconvenience to families, but know you also understand the circumstances that make this necessary. The family visitation will be held at Grace Family Church on Mon., Nov. 22nd from 1:00-4:00 PM. The funeral will also be held at Grace Family on Tues., Nov. 23rd @ 10:30. I would also like to remind families there is no school on Mon., Nov. 29th due to professional development. Even during these difficult times, we wish your family a restful and peaceful Thanksgiving break. Thank you for your support of Pekin Schools.

Dear Parents, staff, students and members of the community, We regret to inform you of the unfortunate passing of elementary associate, Dixie Chapman, late yesterday. All students and staff supported each other, along with the help of mental health providers and school counselors today. We want parents to know that the additional support will be available in the upcoming days. Please contact your child's principal, school counselor, or teacher if you feel the need. Once final arrangements are made those details will be shared with the community, along with any possible changes to the school schedule. With a heavy heart, Mr. Hatfield and the Administrative Team

Basketball flier

Midwest Wrestling flier

EMAP wrestling flier

We are preparing for Santa's Workshop on Dec. 3rd. Please see the attached fliers for more information.

Pekin Elementary attended the Veterans Day Assembly, and truly enjoyed the HS Chorus, guest speaker Zac Wise, and honoring the many veterans in attendance. Some of the elementary students participated by creating art work of "thanks" to display.

Wishing all veterans a wonderful Veteran's Day. We thank you and are grateful for your service. The students of our TAG program have made some Google Slideshows in honor of this day. Please feel free to click the links below and view their projects. Hailey Pedrick, Maggy Dickey, and Kenneth Moore https://bit.ly/3krR5HE Killian Ribble https://bit.ly/30krCco Carson Comstock, Henry Eubanks, Hayden Miller, Nolan Glick https://bit.ly/3C89tew Emma Bayliss, Brinley Phillips, Mikayla Schuttlefield https://bit.ly/3n6aRKF Ava Owens, Bree Earnest, Rylie Nelson https://bit.ly/3qJ3awj Johnathan Delaney, Kalley Brown, Killian Ribble https://bit.ly/3c85GmU

The 7-12 Pekin Panthers!!! What a wonderful group of students and such a caring staff! We are proud of each and everyone of you! Pekin Administration

Pekin Community, This morning students reported unfounded threats from social media made against Pekin students. The administrative team began responding immediately. The Jefferson County Sheriff Department responded and has been in and out of the building throughout the day. Deputies will continue to assist in monitoring our building throughout the day. Again, no credible threats were found. Our buildings are secure and safe. We plan to continue our day as planned and will provide updates as necessary. NOTE: Practices and conferences will go on as scheduled. Thank you, Mr. Hatfield Pekin Admin Team

Pekin Schools will dismiss at 1:30 on Tues., Nov. 9th and Thurs., Nov. 11th for parent/teacher conferences. Conferences are from 3-7 PM those evenings. Please note there is no school on Fri., Nov. 12th. We also encourage all staff and students to wear orange & black on Wed., Nov. 10th as a show of support for Fairfield Schools as they mourn the loss of their HS Spanish teacher. As a neighboring school district, we extend our support.

Online registration for parent/teacher conferences was open from Oct. 20th-29th. We have heard from some parents that we need to extend registration. So, we have re-opened it until Nov. 4th @ 5:00. Please register through your PowerSchool account. Conferences are Nov. 9th & 11th from 3:00-7:00 PM. School will dismiss those days at 1:30.

It was wonderful to be part of the National Honor Society induction ceremony at Pekin High School! Special thanks to our students, Ms. Lane and all the families that attended. NHS 4 Pillars: Everyday Scholarship, Everyday Service, Everyday Leadership and Everyday Character.

We have had a fun time in elementary music class so far this year. Students are back to singing, learning new concepts and playing new music games along with their favorites. Talk Like a Pirate Day is always a hit and students enjoyed hearing their new pirate names. 6th grade has been studying the History of Rock-n-Roll and discovered they have heard many of the featured groups through parents, grandparents, movies and tv commercials! 5th grade has started playing their newly acquired instruments and off to a good start. 1st-4th grade have been working on finding a steady beat and Kindergarten has been learning the difference between soft and loud sounds in music. Hopefully students are sharing what they have been learning with you. If not, please ask them to share :0) Here are the Concert Dates for 2021-2022. Mark Your Calendars! Dec. 7th - K-2nd and 5th/6th Grade Bands Concert @ 6:00 pm March 24th - 3rd & 4th Grade Music Concert @ 6:00 pm March 31st - 6-8 Grade Solo/Ensemble Contest (All 6th grade band members will be involved) April 28th - 5th & 6th Grade Music & Bands Concert @ 6:00 pm Mrs. Utterback

November 14th Wrestling Camp for 3rd - 12th Graders in the HS Gym. Contact Al Chapman for more information - al.chapman@pekincsd.org