March 2023 District Update 

UPCOMING NO-SCHOOL DAYS

• April 7 (Teacher Professional Development)
• May 8 (Teacher Professional Development)

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Click the link above for current openings in the Central Springs School District

ISASP (formerly Iowa Basic Skills) testing will take place during the mornings of April 18-28.

We hope you enjoyed Spring Break week!

End of School Year Update

We have used our 5 e-learning days and have had 3 snow days.

As of now, and watch for updates, the last day of school for students will be June 1.

The Board of Education recently approved several bids for facility and grounds improvement projects. Here are the planned projects:

• Roof repair/replacement of the Nora Campus Media Center
• Repair of the baseball field warning track
• Softball infield resurface and installation of irrigation
• Replace the Nora Springs gym bleachers
• Resurface the Manly Track

The HVAC system at the high school (previously approved) will be completed over the summer as well.

Thanks to funding by the NS-RF Education Foundation and DonorsChoose.org, this school year the Nora Springs kindergarten teachers began implementing “Secret Stories.”

Secret Stories is a well-researched, brain-based approach to phonics instruction that provides logical explanations for letter sound behavior that the brain craves.

These logical explanations are shared in the form of “secret” stories, which are the secret reasons WHY letters make the sounds that they do when they get together in words.

Students sure enjoyed many “surprise classroom visitors” and the secret stories they shared!

Just a reminder that we have began a "virtual backpack" on our website! You can use it as a resource to see what community events are available.

If you have a community event to promote, please share a pdf or jpg of the flyer. You can email them to:

lmarino@centralsprings.net or

kheidemann@centralsprings.net

Mrs. Miller and the 7th/8th-grade science students finished up their unit on Ecosystems, Diversity & Dynamics by conducting a Town Hall meeting to discuss whether or not to reintroduce the wolf to Isle Royale. 

The debate included: Ecologists who support the reentry of wolves, Ecologists who do not support the reentry of wolves, Isle Royale Park Rangers, Wolf Biologists, Moose Biologists, Plant Biologists, and Representatives from the Timber Industry. 

Each group of people had a chance to present their claim and defend it. The students demonstrated a Science & Engineering Practice of Arguing from Evidence. The students showcased their level of understanding by using the information to challenge competing thoughts and designs for the overall benefit of the Ecosystem!

Background

The wolves and moose on Isle Royale, in Lake Superior, have been studied continuously since 1959. Isle Royale is usually only accessible by boat (an ice bridge sometimes forms during especially cold winters), making it an ideal place to study the interactions between species, because none of the changes in population are due to immigration, emigration, hunting, or deforestation. Since 2009, the population of wolves has been declining on Isle Royale. In 2015, the annual survey of wolves showed that there were only three wolves remaining on the island. Ecologists disagree about what to do about the wolf population.

As part of a community outreach program, the North Iowa Bulls came to the middle school to participate in PE with 5th graders. 

The hockey players participated in kickball and demonstrated good sportsmanship and positive attitudes as they interacted with the intermediate school students. 

The students enjoyed the competition. The North Iowa Bulls have been coming to the campus for the past several years.

Teresa Stehn, Worth County Farm Bureau Outreach Coordinator visited our Central Springs 3rd graders at the start of their embryology unit. 

She put 6 eggs in the incubator and talked about the incubation period of 21 days. They were left with a growth chart to see how the chicks would develop every day until they hatched. Students were given a journal to keep track! Every day they opened a new growth egg to see what was happening inside of the incubating eggs.

In February, the Central Springs Middle School team continued the focus on the well-being of students. As Valentine's Day approached, the staff saw a perfect opportunity to encourage students and staff alike to give a friend or classmate a “note”. Each Homeroom class created a Valentine's Box that would be the collection place for heartfelt messages.

There was also a competition held for the best Valentine's box. Our voting panel consisted of Elementary and Intermediate Students. We feel that there is never a wrong time to give students an opportunity to reach out and warm someone’s heart!

Second-grade students at the Nora Springs campus celebrated Dr. Suess’ Birthday/Reading Across America week by participating in a slew of fun activities. They participated in dress-up days with the elementary. One day, they dressed up like their favorite Dr. Seuss character. On another day, they worked on adjectives by describing some beautiful hats they created.

Congrats to the Middle School Spelling Bee champion - 8th Grade student Ryder Bailey!

2nd place went to Jayla Ruth (6th)

3rd place Kinze Nuehring (8th)

4th place/Alternate to Scarlette Mraz (7th)

The top 3 places competed at the North Iowa Regional Spelling Bee on March 30!

On Friday, March 3, we held a sendoff assembly for our Special Olympians. They competed in the Northeast Region’s Spring Games on March 5. Eleven of the participants will advance to the Summer Games state competition, which will be held at Iowa State University in May. Congratulations to our student-athletes!

Future Problem Solving teaches critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Students solve real-world problems called Future Scenes, which take place 20-30 years in the future. Students collaborate with their team to solve the Future Scene through a rigorous six-step problem-solving process.  

The 5th-grade team, comprised of Reese Trousdale, Amber Coe, Abby Coe and Delaney Driksen, placed in the regional qualifying bowl and will move on to FPS State in Pella, IA on April 14!