The Rocket Review

January

3rd: No School: Staff Development Day

4th: Classes Resume, 7:55 AM
4th: Northwest Technical School: No Classes
6th: Junior High Scholar Bowl at North Nodaway, 4:30 PM

7th: FFA Greenhand Motivational Conference at St. Joseph

8th: After Prom BINGO Night

12th: West Nodaway Board of Education Meeting
13th: Junior High Scholar Bowl at West Nodaway, 4:30 PM

15th: FFA Area I Trap Shoot at Smithville, 9:00 AM
17th: No School [Martin Luther King, Jr. Day]

21st: Soup Supper Hosted by Farmers' Fall Festival Committee at Basketball Games
21st: Courtwarming - JV/V Basketball vs. OHSH at West Nodaway, 5:00 PM

22nd: Courtwarming Semi-Formal
24th: 3rd-5th Grade Winter Music Concert, 6:30 PM
25th: 6th-12th Grade Winter Band Concert, 6:30 PM
25th: FBLA District Leadership Conference at Missouri Western State University
27th: Junior High Scholar Bowl at Jefferson, 4:30 PM

You can access the athletic calendar and view upcoming contests by clicking here.

• When your child is unable to attend school, please notify the appropriate school office by 9:00 AM. When your child is seen by a physician, please ask for a doctor's note so we can verify attendance. Thank you! (Elementary: 725-4126, High School: 725-3317)
  
  
• If you would like to be added to West Nodaway's "Rocket Alert" list, please contact the high school office. Parents and guardians are automatically added to the system. It's a great way to keep updated with current happenings!
  
  
• If you know of anyone that would like to sign up to receive this monthly newsletter, please send their email address to Tayne at tfast@wnrockets.com, or call the high school office at (660) 725-3317. We look forward to sharing this information with you all each month!
  
  
• Make sure you "like" and "follow" us on Facebook (@WestNodaway) and Twitter (@WNRockets)! We send out lots of information about upcoming events, cancellations, and fun school activities.
  
  
• We have started a "Student Spotlight" at West Nodaway, where we will regularly highlight our great students! If you see any of our students doing something positive, and you believe they should be acknowledged, please let us know! We would love to give them some recognition!
  

Greetings All,

I hope you were able to enjoy the break and the new year is treating you well. Last month, I told you I would provide testing data from last year. Provided below is the most recent data we have. Specifically, if you look at our tested categories, we tested in 2019, skipped 2020 because of the pandemic, and tested in 2021. If you look at the graphic I have provided, in 2021, we exceeded our 2019 scores, as well as the state 2021 scores in all categories but two. This took place during a time when we missed five consecutive months of school, as well as a full year when we had several online students and many out for quarantine. I applaud our staff for their hard work and am proud of the fact they have continued that work into this year. While almost all tested areas declined across the state, West Nodaway scores were on the rise! Please see attached charts.

Happy New Year Rockets!

I hope everyone had a fantastic break and enjoyed some time with loved ones. As 2022 begins, I look forward to a new year and a fantastic second semester. I have enjoyed getting to know the students and staff at West Nodaway, and I believe I have opened a can of worms with the STAR reward for challenging your Principal. I already had one intense game of basketball, and we will see what the students come up with next.

We were extremely lucky before break with the weather. We seemed to have unusually warm weather, but its winter, and we are in Missouri. Please be sure to send your student to school with winter clothing including coats, hats, and gloves.

Recently, I have been accepted to the District Leader Academy in Character Education. I will be traveling to St. Louis, Missouri once a month during the second semester and bringing back information for Character Education development for the entire West Nodaway School District. I look forward to this process, as I truly feel Character Education is a critical component in the educational process.

Lastly, I would just like to say "Thank You" to the West Nodaway family. We continue to try to find a balance between normalcy and safety. Toward the end of the first semester, we had a large increase of Covid-19 cases that definitely impacted the learning environment. I am impressed by the efforts of parents, students, and teachers to push forward and work together to continue the educational process. Via virtual instruction, and regular communication with the classroom teacher, we have managed to keep pushing on. I would be lying if I said I knew exactly what 2022 would bring us regarding Covid-19, but I can say that I am confident we will continue to press forward and do our best to educate students.

Lets have a great second semester, Rockets!

Mr. Conn

Happy New Year!

Hoping the new year brings us lots of health! Here's a quick reference chart for cold vs. flu vs. COVID. Unfortunately, we've seen all of these here at West Nodaway this past month. As we make it through our winter months, please remember students need to be fever free, without any fever-reducing medications, for 24 hours before returning to school.

We are looking forward to February, warmer temperatures, and National Heart Month with our Kids' Heart Challenge!

If you are like me, New Year's Resolutions are not something that always stick. This quote spoke to me, though, because really every single day is a fresh start. We don't have to wait for a whole new year. Goals for improvement or learning can be made at any time. Below are some tips for helping children practice setting, tracking, and achieving goals. These skills are ones that will benefit kids in their future.

1. Be specific: Talk to your child about what they would like to accomplish. Whether it is to get better grades or becoming better at a sport, it is important to narrow it down to specific targets. To get better grades, for instance, a targeted goal could be to turn in all assignments on time, or to keep their classwork and locker more organized.

2. Map it out: Breaking goals into smaller steps make them more manageable. They could even make a visual guide such as a winding road broken into segments that they could color in, or a calendar that has small steps written in each day.

3. Check in: Support your child in sticking to their goals. Remember to ask how it is going, and if he/she falls behind, you can help to make a plan for them to get back on track. It is very important to stay encouraging and positive so that your child knows you are in their corner.

Email: mbarnes@wnrockets.com
Website: wnrockets.com
Location: 17665 US Hwy 136, Burlington Junction, MO 64428, USA
Phone: 660-725-4613
Twitter: @WNrockets