Greetings from the Superintendent's office!
As I write this newsletter, I am thinking back to what we have learned in education over the past few months. Online learning, remote learning, social distancing, and contact tracing are just a few of the new terms we use freely these days. We know this has been a stressful time for everyone. These challenges have truly brought out greatness in our community.
Our families have taken on roles that we never would have imagined. Remote learning was the first challenge, followed by making sure the students were prepared to come to school. Increased hygiene, physical distancing, and being ready to wear a mask for large portions of the day are just a few hurdles families helped us to overcome. We appreciate all of your efforts to educate our students safely.
North Fayette Valley staff has worked diligently to provide an education for all of the community's students. They are teaching students in class, at home on quarantine, and a group that are receiving their education exclusively online. Supporting the education of these groups has been a huge undertaking. They have put their hearts into this work and their effort is a testament to their dedication to our students and our community.
On top of all this, amazing things are happening at NFV!
Valley Elementary and NFV Middle School collected 1800+ items to help the families affected by Derecho. All 1800 items are being delivered to the food shelf in Tama to help families who are in need. The food drive is a true testament to our Leader In Me initiative as it was organized and run by 7th grade leaders at NFV Middle School with the support of teachers. We couldn't be more proud of all of the kids who found a way to show that #NFVCares.
The North Fayette Valley Spark program is a high school elective course which focuses on project-based learning stemming from community-needs. Students evaluate community needs to build potential partnerships with community entities which tackle real-life issues. The course focuses on building employability skills for career readiness after high school. The students currently enrolled in the Spark program are establishing impactful projects which focus on a wide variety of content areas including construction, graphic design, website development, and financial literacy. Students are focusing on communication and collaboration in the early stages of each project. They are excited to start providing deliverable projects to the school and community. Additionally, a workspace for the Spark program is being established to emulate a modern 21st century work environment with collaborative furnishings and communication technologies. If you are a community partner with a potential project idea, please feel free to reach out to the students in the Spark program by emailing spark@nfv.k12.ia.us.
The new playground equipment installed this summer by the NFE PTO is very exciting for the students at West Union Elementary. This meant that students were able to play on it on the very first day of school. The playground features 4 slides, 8 swings, a merry-go-round, and a 10 foot climbing wall. The rubber matting is a wonderful addition to this playground, it makes this playground ADA Accessible and allows the students a soft rubber cushion if they fall or trip. The rubber matting also drains the rain really well, so the students are able to play on the playground immediately after a rain event. A combined effort from the NFV School Board and the NFE PTO really worked well to fund this project. This was only the first phase of this project as Phase 2 will include some natural playground areas adjacent to the new playground equipment.
Leadership continues to strengthen and build momentum at NFV. The Leader In Me program starts with habit one: Be Proactive.
During these uncertain times, it can sometimes seem difficult to be proactive because things change so suddenly. There are a few key concepts of being proactive that are so important right now.
1) Understand the concept of "circle of control"
While there are many things we can't control, we can control our choices, responses, and attitudes. Focusing on what we CAN control provides an overall sense of control.
2) Choose your own weather
Proactive people choose their own weather. Whether it rains or shines makes no difference to them in choosing their moods and actions. Happiness, like unhappiness, is a choice. This allows one to choose to be pleasant in control of their own emotions, regardless of their circumstances.
This first month of school, elementary classrooms are buzzing with Leader In Me learning. Middle school and high school classrooms focus more on reinforcing these habits.
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Sincerely,
Joe Griffith, Superintendent
