Dent-Phelps R-III School Bobcat News Volume 15, Issue 3 Mark Your Calendar: 03-R-3 v R-4 (H) 6:00 04-R-3 v R-2 (A) 6:00 November 2014 As Winter Weather Approaches... By Mrs. Victoria Brooker, Superintendent 05-$ Library Grab Bags $ Basketball practice 06-Tutoring 3:30-4:30 Chess Club 3:30-4:30 PTO Meeting 4:00 R-3 v Edgar Springs (A) 5:30 07-$ Hat Day $ EYH Field Trip to Missouri S&T PTO Pie/Basket Auction 5:30 10-R-1 Girls Tournament 11-Veteran’s Day Assembly 1:30 Cheerleading practice 3:30-5:00 R-1 Girls Tournament 12-$ Library Grab Bags $ AR Night 3:30-4:30 Boys Basketball practice 13-Tutoring 3:30-4:30 Cheerleading practice 3:30-5:00 R-1 Girls Tournament 14-$ Hat Day $ Fluoride Treatments K-8 17-R-3 v R-2 (H) 6:00 We have extended the access to our electronic parent notification system, Bright Arrow, for another year. With this system, parents are directly notified of school closings and other events by phone, text, and/or email. This eliminates the need for parents to listen to the radio or watch the news to get school closing information. We can send other messages as well which can be intended for the whole student body or just specific groups (i.e. sports game changes, after school activity reminders, etc.). Please ensure with the office that we have correct telephone numbers for you to receive these messages. For clarification – if your house phone is listed as the primary phone, the call will go there first. If there is no answer there, the system will then call/text cell phones. If someone answers the house phone, the system will not notify the cell phone listed, so please ensure that the primary phone is the phone that you wish to be contacted through. As for School Closing Procedures, the five area school district administrators agreed to the following when it comes to closing school due to road/weather conditions: 18-R-4 Boys Tournament 19-$ Library Grab Bags $ * If possible – close school the night before so that everyone has ample time for notification. * If possible - school closings need to be made prior to 6 am to prevent buses from starting their routes. * Administrators of each district check the roads. If it is a morning check, administrators need to be on the roads around 4 am to ensure there is plenty of time to coordinate a closing before 6 am. * If two of the five administrators feel conditions are unsafe then all five schools close. This is because of the Junior High and High School students being transported from four of the schools. contacted as soon as the decision to close is made. Always listen/watch for DENT-PHELPS R-3; there is Phelps County R-3 School in Edgar Springs so we are very specific to eliminate confusion between the two schools. During the cold weather season I implore all parents to please send your child/ren to school with a COAT. I know that sweatshirts and hoodies are popular with the kids; however, there are times when a warm coat is necessary. Teachers take students outside for recess for as long as the weather permits and if there is a problem with a bus breaking down, there is always the possibility that there will be very little or no heat until the replacement bus arrives. * In the event of weather only affecting a few gravel roads or only sections of gravel – implementing modified routes. (This is the same as with issues with low water crossings). Television and radio stations are WOW Assembly 2:30 Girls Basketball practice 20-Tutoring 3:30-4:30 Chess Club 3:30-4:30 R-4 Boys Tournament School Board Meeting 7:00 21-$ Hat Day $ S&T NASA Team 12:30 R-4 Boys Tournament 24-R-3 v R-1 (H) 6:00 26-No School 27-No School “Happy Thanksgiving” 28-No School PTO News By Mrs. Alisa Brookshire, PTO Secretary PTO is off to a great start! The Quilt Raffle was once again a great success. The winner was Mrs. Carol Carmack. Congratulations also goes out to kindergartner, Carlnez Inson Head, for selling the most raffle tickets. He received a $25 cash prize for his efforts. We would also like to thank Mrs. Hausner’s mother, Mrs. Pat Davison, for her donation of the beautiful, hand-made quilt. The next PTO event will be held on November 7, 2014 - the PTO PIE AND BASKET AUCTION. We still need donations!!! Please send in your classroom donation ASAP. Donated baked goods will be auctioned off throughout the evening. Baked goods will be accepted up until the auction begins. Dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. and Auction begins promptly at 6:00 p.m. Please come and help support the DentPhelps R-3 PTO. PTO has two other fundraisers planned before the holidays. Uncle Jerry’s catalogs will be sent home in early November. This ever-popular fundraiser feature’s fun and practical items, perfect for holiday gift-giving. Then, just before Thanksgiving, students will bring home order forms for interchangeable magnetic jewelry featuring inserts with the Dent -Phelps R-3 logo. These will make wonderful keepsake gifts for students. The next PTO meeting will be held on Thursday, November 6, at 4:00 p.m. We hope to see you there! PAGE 2 B O B CA T NEW S V OLUME 1 5, ISSUE 3 Internet Safety By Mrs. Mikki Raulston, Computers The internet is a wonderful thing. It’s full of information at the tip of our fingers. Unfortunately, predators also like hiding behind the internet. Here are some internet safety tips from Parenting.org. The following tips are excerpts from 20 Internet Safety Tips for Parents provided by Lynette A. Battaglia, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland: * Become computer literate and be actively involved in your children's online experiences. * Place computers in high-traffic areas, not a child's room. * Use screening software. * Read unfamiliar e-mails. Monitor telephone and modem changes. Check out unfamiliar phone numbers and e-mail addresses. * Don't allow children to spend long periods of time on the computer, especially at night. * Help children understand that online users may not be who they claim to be or who they seem to be. Get to know your children's Internet friends. * Tell children to report anything they come across online that seems strange or makes them uncomfortable especially if they are ever asked personal questions or invited to personal meetings. * Tell children to report to you suggestive, obscene or threatening e-mail or bulletin board messages. Forward copies to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and insist they help deal with the problem. To further stress the importance of safety measures to your children, post these Internet Safety Rules for Kids by your computer: 1. Never give out personal information, such as your name, address, school name or address, or parents' or teachers' names or addresses. 2. Never create online profiles. 3. Never visit chat rooms or join an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) without permission. * Be concerned if children mention adults you don't know, become sensitive, or appear to have inappropriate sexual knowledge. Reading Tips By Mrs. Sara Heithold How can I help my child with reading? Helping your child develop a love of reading can be a wonderful experience for a parent. Here are a few useful tips for you to use to encourage your child to read. * Try not to pressure your child into reading if they have no interest. This will quickly turn reading into a chore. Instead share the reading, read a page or sentence each. * Find out what interests your child has and aim to find reading material that will “hook” him or her into reading more about the topic. * Don’t limit reading to only books, use the internet, signs around you, magazines, comics. Anything that has a text on it and your child finds enjoyable to read will be beneficial for your child. by themselves as well as to share a book with someone. * Be patient! No one learns to read overnight and for some it takes a little longer than others. Persevere and continue to make reading an enjoyable activity. * Create a space for reading, somewhere comfortable and with minimal distractions. Encourage your child to use this space both Hard-working Fourth Graders By Mrs. Kathy Seabaugh, 4A Class 4A has been busy learning lots of great things this year. Math is filled with lessons on measurement, multiplication, and geometry. Memorizing their multiplication facts is always a big deal in fourth grade and my students are working hard to accomplish this goal. In Social Studies, we are studying Missouri state symbols and what it means to be a Veteran. The students had the chance to make some beautiful acrostic poems and letters dedicated to our Veterans. Non-fiction articles have been our focus in Reading with the students enjoying some great stories about animals. We’ve read about guinea pigs, komodo dragons, and snakes so far. Along with grammar, the students have been writing letters in English. Each student will have a pen pal to write all year long. I’m so proud of my students. They’ve been working hard to succeed in school. It’s not all work in 4A though. We enjoyed going to the 2 P’s Pumpkin Patch last month. The students participated in a teacher carwash after earning 200 “pawsitive” tickets. They really enjoyed making their teacher get wet and cold. BRRRR! Finally, our Halloween party was loads of fun with costumes and snacks. I can’t believe the year is zooming by so fast. We’ve been staying busy that’s for sure, but there’s still a lot more to come. V OLUME 1 5, ISSUE 3 B O B CA T NEW S PAGE 3 We would like you to join us as we honor Our Veterans! Where: Dent-Phelps R-3 Gymnasium When: Tuesday, November 11, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. Classes will be performing patriotic numbers and light refreshments will be served in the cafeteria following the Veteran’s Day Assembly. Students will also have patriotic writings on display in honor of Veteran’s Day. We hope that you will be able to join us as we honor those who have given us so much! For more information, please contact the school office at (573) 729- 4680. DENT-PHELPS R-III SCHOOL 27870 Highway C Salem, MO 65560 Newsletter Editor: Trina Straub Phone: 573-729-4680 Fax: 573-729-8644 Email: [email protected] We Want Your Input… We’d like to hear from you regarding our programs, schedules, yearly calendar, activities, etc. We value your opinion and want to make the best decisions possible in meeting the needs of our staff, students, and community. Please email your comments and/or suggestions to ad- [email protected]. If you don’t have access to a computer, feel free to drop us a note or give us a call. If you would like to be placed on our newsletter mailing list, please call the office at 729-4680. "Pursuing Excellence" We’re on the web! www.dentphelps.k12.mo.us Dent-Phelps R-3 School 27870 Highway C Salem, MO 65560 The Administration