All-Star October Newsletter

Friday, October 2nd - Homecoming

Friday, October 2nd - National Custodian Day

Monday, October 5th - Level 3 Special Education Field trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Tuesday, October 6th - National Coaches and Instructional Coaches Day

Tuesday, October 6th - PTA Meeting 6:00 pm at Delaware

Wednesday, October 7th - Healthiest State Walk

Tuesday, October 13th - Parent-Teacher Conferences and Book Fair

Thursday, October 15th - Parent-Teacher Conferences and Book Fair

Friday, October 16th - No School

Saturday, October 17th - Chipotle Spirit Night!

Monday, October 19th - No School - Staff Development Day

Tuesday, October 20th - Bus Evacuation Drill

Wednesday, October 21st - Unity Day! Wear Orange!

Thursday, October 22nd - Picture Retakes

Friday, October 23rd - PK Field Trip to the Environmental Learning Center

Friday, October 30th - Fall Parties

Friday, October 30th - 5th Grade Field Trip to Jester Park

We’re excited to share our Delaware Wish List featuring items that help support our students and staff throughout the school day. If you’re ever looking for a way to support our Delaware community, this is a great way to make a direct impact!

Items on our list include snacks for our Nurse and office staff to provide to students who may be hungry, extra supplies such as headphone/expo markers/pencils, treats for student rewards and incentives, Kleenex/hand sanitizer to help keep classrooms and shared spaces stocked and ready for our students.

We’ll continue to update the list throughout the year as needs arise or supplies run low.

Thank you for supporting our students and staff! Your generosity helps us provide the little things that make a big difference each day at Delaware, and helps take the financial strain off of our teachers who typically purchase these items. 💛🖤

Delaware Wishlist

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday, October 13th, from 4:00-8:00 PM and Thursday, October 15th, from 12:30- 7:30 PM. School will be dismissed at 11:35 AM on Thursday, and there will be No School on Friday, October 16th and Monday, October 19th. School will resume on Tuesday, October 20th.

Please click this link to sign up. If you are unable to sign up, please contact Jill Koch (jill.koch@southeastpolk.org)

Some of our special teachers share buildings during conferences, so we've included their contact information below if you'd like to reach out to them.

Band: Ben Varner: ben.varner@southeastpolk.org

Tag: Lori Nelson: lori.nelson@southeastpolk.org

Media: Christy Bartels: christine.bartels@southeastpolk.org

Art: Meriel Hall: meriel.hall@southeastpolk.org

Parent-Teacher conferences are an opportunity to learn about what your student is learning and to reflect on their growth. In order for them to run smoothly, we ask that you stick to your scheduled conference time(s). Thank you for taking the time to meet with our teachers.

We encourage you to stop by the Book Fair before you leave after conferences!

Did your child mention the Ram Rally video they watched in class recently? If not, be sure to ask them as they’ll love sharing! Our Ram Rally has replaced most traditional assemblies, giving students more ownership and a chance to shine. During the September Ram Rally, students were celebrated for their achievements, leadership, and positive contributions to our school community. While we’ll still hold a few traditional assemblies throughout the year (we have a club for this), the Ram Rally lets us spotlight students more often and in meaningful ways. Watch the September Ram Rally here—even better, watch it together with your child(ren)! September Ram Rally Virtual Link

We are also looking for the next students to be highlighted in our "Student Spotlight" for the October Ram Rally! Any student who wants to "show their genius" in our next Ram Rally video can submit an application using the linked document. It doesn't have to be anything big! Our instructional coach is so good at putting it into a slideshow, so even just sending pictures, with the form filled out would be great! We can do the rest.

Does your child have a talent, skill, or passion they love and want to share? Encourage them to apply for our Student Spotlight! Students can submit their own photos or videos to highlight something they do really well—whether it’s art, music, sports, dance, tumbling, coding, cooking, gardening or any other special skill or hobby. This spotlight will be featured in our Ram Rally virtual assembly each month, celebrating the amazing things students achieve and participate in outside of school.

Last year examples: baseball, gardening, tumbling, dance, hockey, and so many more! This is a great way to show leadership as well!

Student Spotlight Application | If you would like a hard copy, please email elaina.douglas@southeastpolk.org.

We held our first round of clubs on September 30th, and it was such a great morning of Sharpening the Saw! It was so much fun walking around our building and seeing students engaged, excited, and making a difference in so many different ways.

This year, students will participate in three club meetings during the 1st trimester and three during the 2nd trimester, with each club meeting for one hour on designated Wednesday mornings. We are especially excited that every club this year is connected to service learning, community partnerships, and/or giving back to our Delaware community. 💛🖤

Students will remain in the same club throughout the first trimester and will have the opportunity to choose a new club for the second trimester. Students who participate in Student Lighthouse Team, Best Buddies, or Welcome Ambassadors will remain in their clubs for the entire school year.

Some of our clubs this year include:

⭐ Leadership Events & Assemblies

🤝 Best Buddies

🥪 Rams Cafe

🌱 School Garden Club

💛 School Service + Kindness Club

🙏 Gratitude Club

🎨 Fine Arts Club

📦 Community Care Packages Club

🐾 Pet Pals — Connecting with the ARL

We are so proud of the ways our Delaware Leaders are learning that leadership isn’t just about what we can do for ourselves—it’s about how we can serve and make a difference for others.

Our next round of clubs is Wednesday, October 28th! We can’t wait to see our leaders continue to learn, serve, and lead! ⭐

Families can apply for free/reduced meal benefits at anytime throughout the school year. If you need assistance paying for meals, please submit an application. If you have a change of income, you can always reapply. We encourage families to submit an application as this also helps us continue to receive Title support in the building. Note: A new application is required each year.

The easiest way to submit an application is by going to the Food and Nutrition page on our Southeast Polk Website. Once you are there, click into "Free and Reduced Meals at SEP." This will give you step by step directions. If you want a paper copy, or need support applying, please stop in and see Jill at the front office. She can help you!

Consistent attendance is the foundation of your child's success, our All Star leaders are proving just how dedicated they are! Our building wide Mystery Attendance Challenge of hitting 95% students attending every day is almost complete - we are only 1 piece away from revealing our next school wide activity! Thank you for your daily effort in building strong attendance habits. Keep an eye out to see what our amazing leaders earn just by coming to school and taking ownership of their learning!

Ashley Tabor, Building Improvement Leader - ashley.tabor@southeastpolk.org

Megan Davenport, School Counselor - megan.davenport@southeastpolk.org

Chelsea Clark, Building Principal - chelsea.clark@southeastpolk.org

Eat at Chipotle in Altoona on Saturday, October 17, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM and 25% of sales will benefit Delaware. Good news! There are two ways you can order, including an online pickup option!

Dine-In: Show the school flyer (students will bring one home the week of Oct. 12) or tell them you are with Delaware Elementary when you order at the counter.

Order Online for Pickup: Enter promo code XRR8T86 in the Chipotle app or website before checkout

25% of all sales benefiting Delaware is one of the biggest spirit nights that we have participated! Don't plan supper on Saturday night, let Chipotle do that for you, while also giving back to our school!

In PE our students have been busy moving, learning, and building foundational physical skills. Across all grade levels, students recently wrapped up units focused on underhand throwing and underhand striking standards.

Here is what our grade levels are working on right now:

• Grades K–2: Our youngest movers are mastering fundamental locomotor movements (skipping, galloping, sliding) while building spatial awareness through high-energy chasing and fleeing games.

• Grades 3–5: Students are currently completing their Presidential Physical Fitness Assessments, measuring strength and endurance while learning how to set personal fitness goals.

Looking Ahead: All grade levels will begin our overhand throwing and catching unit. We will be focusing on proper form, accuracy, and choosing the correct throwing speed for the activity.

The art room is "Falling" with leaves! Kindergarten began painting in the art room this month. Kindergarten and First grade learned about texture and applied it to a leaf project based on the book, The Leaf Thief.

Second grade is creating a beautiful Fall collage project by tracing, printing and painting leaves. Third grade studied Georgia O'Keeffe and is creating a still life of apples. 4th grade attended the art center and sculpture park. 5th grade is busy paper macheing squirrels constructed from toilet paper rolls. Students created leaves and pumpkins for a collaborative tree mural in the hallway--check it out during conferences!

Exiting News in Reading! 🎉

Our young readers are so excited to practice their reading skills with our new CKLA decodable readers! These books allow our readers to apply phonics skills we are working on and help to boost their confidence and their love for reading! Thank you for continuing to encourage and celebrate reading progress at home!

Guidance Update

We are working on our self-regulation unit to start off the school year in Guidance! During this unit, we spend time talking about the Zones of Regulation. Students also will be learning about our brain and how to have a growth mindset. Use this link for more information and tips for following up at home!

Library Update:

September and October are the perfect time for library norms to be established at school and reading norms to be established at home. If you don’t already have a set reading time for your child at home, please consider setting a routine this school year. I promise it will benefit all that join in! If this is a struggle at your home, please reach out to me, christine.bartels@southeastpolk.org. I would be happy to listen, suggest ideas and collaborate with you.

K-2 graders enjoyed hearing stories about books that were damaged so then we discussed all the usual ways books get destroyed. If you are around a dog, toddler, water bottle or eat food while reading library books, chances are you could return a book damaged. 1st graders were even given the chance to become detectives of the damaged books and solve the who-did-it crime!

3-5th graders enjoyed a Starbooks Cafe with their “book-ista,” Mrs. Bartels, to help introduce the different genres of chapter books. We are finishing the month of September with a first-page-fire! I read the first page of a chapter book and they rate the book. Of the books I read to them so far, all were checked-out by the end of the Library with me. I am doing my best to encourage your child to find a chapter book they enjoy reading. If you have any questions/suggestions for me with your child, please reach out.

Check out the linked video, where Mrs. Bartels thanks Prairie Meadows for the grant we were awarded to help fill our Library with $10,000 worth of new books and close to $10,000 on new furniture!

Principal: Mrs. Chelsea Clark – chelsea.clark@southeastpolk.org

Building Improvement Leader: Mrs. Ashley Tabor – ashley.tabor@southeastpolk.org

School Counselor: Mrs. Megan Davenport – megan.davenport@southeastpolk.org

School Nurse: Mrs. Kara Grochala – kara.grochala@southeastpolk.org

Administrative Assistants:

Mrs. Jill Koch – jill.koch@southeastpolk.org

Mrs. Tracy Elings – tracy.elings@southeastpolk.org

School Website: Delaware Elementary

Facebook: @sepdelawareelementary