Bear Necessities

Good Afternoon Iowa Community!

What a truly fantastic week of learning and growth we've had here at Iowa! Our hallways were buzzing with engaged students, and it was a joy to see so many great things happening in every classroom.

A huge shout-out to our 4th graders who had a successful and exciting field trip this week! They were wonderful representatives of our school, and we hope they brought home lots of fun facts and memories to share.

As you will see in the flyer further down in the newsletter, our Food Drive is officially underway! This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to practice compassion and support our local community. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Thank you for your continued support in making our school a wonderful place for every child to learn and grow. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! If you have any questions or concerns, please free to come to the school or call the main office at 303-751-3660.

Sincerely,

Jason Smith

Principal

Iowa Elementary

Looking for a great way to stay connected with your child's math learning? Check out the Bridges Home Letters! Bridges is the name of the Math Curriculum we use at Iowa Elementary.

These letters give you a quick peek into what your student is working on in their Bridges in Mathematics class. They cover the main concepts and strategies your child is learning, so you can see exactly what they're doing in school. It's a fantastic resource to help you talk with your child about their math work and understand the methods they're using to solve problems.

You can find the Bridges Home Letters for your child's grade, and the current unit they are completing, in either English or Spanish, linked below. Just click the link for their grade level. We hope you'll find them helpful!

Unit 3

• Kindergarten English
• Kindergarten Spanish
• 1st Grade English
• 1st Grade Spanish
• 2nd Grade English
• 2nd Grade Spanish
• 3rd Grade English
• 3rd Grade Spanish
• 4th Grade English
• 4th Grade Spanish
• 5th Grade English
• 5th Grade Spanish

As Winter approaches, we will have several days when the temperature may not get up to even 30 degrees. Please help your student plan for these days appropriately. Our students will continue to go outside for recess as long as the temperature (including wind chill), is above 20 degrees. If/when our students are outside during these times, we want to ensure students are protected from the cold. Please ensure your student has the following:

• Winter coat
• Winter gloves
• Warm hat
• Warm shoes

These items will help your student feel more comfortable when they are outside during cold weather. If you need assistance with any of these items, please reach out to our Family Liaison, LaTyra Crowder, at lcrowder@aurorak12.org.

The Community Compass is a community advisory group who will meet with Mr. Smith to review school data, the school budget, school programs, etc., and provide advice and/or suggestions to Mr. Smith to help guide Iowa Elementary. Iowa Elementary is the school for OUR community and we want feedback, conversations, and collaboration with our community to help guide us in our journey.

During our first Community Compass meeting, we reviewed our school performance during the 24-25 school year. Our second Community Compass meeting will be on Wednesday, December 3 from 5:00pm-6:00pm. Please complete the form linked below to provide any suggestions for topics you would like to see discussed at this meeting. There is an English version of the form and a Spanish version of the form. You only need to complete one form.

Suggestions for Topics - 12/3 Meeting (English version)

Suggestion for Topics - 12/3 Meeting (Spanish version)

The meeting will be available virtually, as well as in-person in our Media Center. All parents/guardians of students at Iowa Elementary are welcome to attend in addition to any members of our community. If you plan to attend the meeting virtually, a link to the meeting will be included in the community newsletter prior to the meeting and will be sent in an email the day before the meeting on November 4. We look forward to seeing those who are able to attend.

Support Iowa Elementary by purchasing school spiritwear. Iowa Elementary receives a portion of the proceeds from all spiritwear purchased. The flyer below shows special promotions occurring now. However, for a list of designs you can personalize for Iowa Elementary, please click on the following link:

https://iowaspiritwear.com/

Even though all students eat free, we still need all families to complete the Free and Reduced Lunch Application. Iowa Elementary can receive additional funding, Title I funding, if enough students qualify for free and/or reduced lunch. In order to receive the additional funding, we will need at least 75% of our student population qualify for free and/or reduced lunch. If you have not done so already, please click on the link below to complete the Free and Reduced Lunch Application.

Please complete the form, even if you don't believe it applies to your family. Schools receive funding based on our free and reduced lunch count. Every application completed will benefit Iowa Elementary. Please click on the link below to complete the form. If you need support completing the form, please contact our main office.

If a family needs help completing the application, please contact Allison Quinn or Isela Cortes in the main office, and they can assist.

• November 26-28 - Thanksgiving Break, No School
• December 3 - Community Compass Meeting, 5:00pm-6:00pm (Media Center)
• December 19 - January 6 - Winter Break, No School
• January 19 - No School

School Hours and Contact Information

Main Office Hours - 7:30 am - 4:00 pm

School Hours - 9:00 am - 3:30 pm

Students may enter the building at 8:55 am.

Telephone: 303-751-3660