The Rocket Review
Monthly Newsletter Update - February 2026
Greetings All,
February is shaping up to be an exciting and busy month at West Nodaway Elementary, and we are looking forward to many opportunities to celebrate our students and school community.
One of the highlights of the month will be the PTO Basketball Tournament, which will be held on February 14th and 15th. This is always a great event for our school and community, and we appreciate the continued support from our PTO and families. Leading up to the tournament, the elementary will celebrate Spirit Week, complete with fun dress-up days for students.
Saturday, February 14th is also Valentine’s Day, and we would like to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day. We will have classroom parties on Friday, February 13th at 3:00PM. We would also like to remind families that it is district policy not to accept deliveries for students. Please do not have items delivered to the school or bring items to be given to students during the school day. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in helping us maintain a smooth and safe school environment.
As we say nearly every month during the winter season, please be sure to send students to school dressed appropriately for the weather. We will go outside as much as possible, including recess when the wind chill is above 25 degrees. Students should come prepared with coats, hats, gloves, and pants to ensure they can safely enjoy outdoor activities.
Lastly, we would like to once again stress the importance of bus safety. Winter weather can make roads more hazardous, and it is critical that our bus drivers are able to stay focused on driving. Students who are yelling, moving seats, standing, or causing disruptions will be given an assigned seat. Continued behavior issues may result in removal from bus privileges. All students have been taught bus expectations, and we will continue to hold students accountable to those expectations to ensure everyone’s safety.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the school. Thank you for your continued support of West Nodaway R-I School District. We look forward to a great month ahead!
Dr. Barnes
Hello Rocket Families:
Another month down! I can’t believe its February and Mid-Term is just around the corner! Teachers continue to work hard and prepare our students for the end of year assessments!
There is a lot of sickness going around. So please make sure your student(s) is getting plenty of sleep and drinking lots of water!
Some of our January highlights:
- The HS boys basketball team won the Fairfax Tournament. Jax, Braxton, and Gracie made the All-Tournament Teams.
- We had 19 students with perfect attendance first semester so we treated them to lunch at Pizza Ranch.
- Courtwarming was held Jan 22nd @ WN. Both girls and boys brought home wins!
- We held our MAP/EOC awards night before the game on Jan 22nd and had a great turnout!
- The JH scholar bowl has had a great season so far-going undefeated in one of their meets
- JH wrestling has started practice and have 9 kids out. 8 boys and 1 girl.
- We had several football and volleyball players earn Academic All-State honors.
- Our new record boards came in and are displayed in the commons area.
Make sure to mark your calendars for these important dates:
- February 6-Mid-Term/grade check
- February 14-15-PTO elementary basketball tournament
- February 20-grade check
- February 23-basketball districts begin
Please continue to check the school calendar for additional important dates such as grade checks and activities.
In addition, it's important you stay current on your students’ grades thru the parent portal
in Infinite Campus. Grade checks will occur every two weeks. Below are the tutoring
hours that are available for the JH/HS students.
Tutoring Hours:
- Math - Daily 7:15am-7:45am, Wed/Thurs 3:45pm-4:30pm
- Science - Daily 3:45pm-4:30pm
- Social Studies - Tues/Wed/Thurs 7:15am-7:35am; 3:45pm-4:25pm
- Music/Band - Wed/Thurs 3:45pm-4:45pm
- College Apps & Scholarships - Daily 7:00am-7:30am, 3:45pm-4:45pm
Finally, if you have any questions or concerns, please give me a call, email, or stop in the office.
Mrs. Livengood
Happy National Heart Month! February is a time when we are all encouraged to focus on our cardiovascular health. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Now more than ever is a great time to commit to a healthy lifestyle and make small changes that can lead to a lifetime of heart health.
We are still seeing some illness but our overall numbers have improved and we’ve had great attendance for January. I hear there are several cases in our community with an expected late Influenza to come, so please remind all to use extra precautions to keep us healthy here at school. Spring is near!
We have already started working on immunizations for our next school year. The Spring immunization clinic is scheduled for Wednesday, April 8th at 1:00 pm. This clinic is where the county health nurse comes to West Nodaway to give immunizations to our current 6th graders, 7th graders and 11th graders. I will be mailing home letters that are individualized for each student letting you know what is needed along with permission slips to send back. Our goal is to get all students immunized this spring, ready for our next school year. All students must be fully immunized prior to the start of our school year per Missouri state law. Pre-K and Kindergarten students will also need updated immunizations. We have mailed letters home for these as well. It’s a good idea to get these started now! Thank you to those that have already completed these!
February is beginning and I’m not sure if January was really long or very short?? Either way, as we bounce between freezing temperatures and warmer days, it’s important to try to maintain consistent schedules. Dual credit students have deadlines for coursework as established at the beginning of the semester, scholarship applications are due on a specific date even if it snows, etc. It is easy to put items on the back burner but in short time days have passed.
This month the Elementary will be focusing on the character word “honesty” during their Character Strong lessons. We will also take some time to learn about famous African-Americans such as Ruby Bridges and Claudette Colvin who were both school-aged children during the 1950s and 60s. Upper elementary students will work with a partner to conduct research each week during counseling classes and in March they will present their findings. Several students have already inquired about what person they get to research!
8th Grade students are working on career exploration each Friday morning. By the end of the quarter, each student will have their 4-year plans in shape and have an idea of what classes and activities they want to take in high school in order to be prepared for their future.
Several students have inquired about College and Career Monday trips. There will be a couple more this semester, however, the exact schedule has not been finalized. To increase career exploration opportunities beyond these trips, Mrs. Jones has been taking juniors and seniors to various college activities to explore specific majors such as education and health care.
Job shadows are being focused on this semester for juniors and seniors. All juniors will complete a 3-4 hour placement to explore a job of interest. This will take place during the school day and transportation will be provided. The time will not count against attendance. This experience will count towards A+ hours. Several seniors have completed a full job shadow this year with a couple more students currently in the process of getting something scheduled. One senior took the initiative during Christmas break to complete 12 hours for their job shadow opportunity at a collision repair location.
Over 300 scholarship options have been given to seniors so far this year. This list encompasses a variety of career fields and post-secondary opportunities such as 2-year, 4-year, and tech programs so not every student will qualify for each one. There have been several seniors completing scholarship applications, however, many of them are rushing through instead of taking their time to fulfill the requirements. Think of these applications as a job and being paid for effort instead of hastily filling out the forms. I am here to help students search for scholarship opportunities, proofread essays, collect necessary documentation, etc. so don’t hesitate to ask for assistance.
Students involved in the A+ program are helping in the elementary with tutoring hours and being teacher assistants. The morning mentoring program has 17 high school students involved. It is exciting to see high school students being positive role models for the elementary. As a reminder, A+ students need to turn in their completed hourly logs each quarter.
Please let me know if there are any concerns or questions you may have.
Mrs. Clayton
lclayton@wnrockets.com
District Information
Email: mbarnes@wnrockets.com
Website: wnrockets.com
Location: 17665 US Hwy 136, Burlington Junction, MO 64428, USA
Phone: 660-725-4613
Facebook: facebook.com/WestNodaway
Twitter: @WNrockets