For those who are new to our school community, I want to extend a warm welcome! We are so happy you chose Greenwood, and it's an honor to educate your children! My name is Jenny Inman and I am Greenwood's principal! This is my third year leading as the Head Woodchuck, and I am grateful for the opportunity! My newsletter this month is pretty lengthy, packed with all you might need to know to get the school year started. Read more below to learn about our Meet the Teacher Night Event, First Day of School procedures, arrival/dismissal procedures, Zoo Night, school supply lists, and staff lists. Additionally, some of you have reached out to ask about additional items our classrooms might need, so this year, I've asked teachers to create Amazon wish lists highlighting some items they would love for their classroom and students. If you are interested in supporting our classrooms and students in that way, feel free to browse the lists.

I hope you and your families have enjoyed all that summer break had to offer. I am moving into the school year with a brand-new hip and a pep in my step! Thank you to those of you who reached out to see how I was doing or send well wishes! Recovery went well, enabling me to return back to work more quickly than I had originally expected. I was fortunate to be back in time to catch the last part of summer school and it filled my bucket to get to check in with students over the summer.

This summer we've been hard at work planning for the new school year. Mrs. Hughes and Ms. Kelly redesigned the main office, our custodial crew thoroughly cleaned our learning spaces, and the finishing touches were done on our HVAC system. We visited several students during their weeklong Y-Camp experience near Boone, sent several students to Fred Jackson Football Camp, and stopped by a few other community events to cheer on our Woodchucks! While we weren't able to finish all of our landscaping projects, we are hoping to do so yet this fall, so hopefully you'll notice a continued improvement in our school grounds in the coming months. My mom recently retired and is working on her Master Gardner certification, so she is hoping to adopt our school for her community project.

We are looking forward to welcoming a full roster of 60 new preschool students to all-day programming! They will begin their Woodchuck adventures on their first day of school, Thursday, September 7th. The first day of school for Kindergarten through 5th grade is Wednesday, August 23rd. The doors will open at 7:30am and school will begin at 7:45am. Breakfast will continue to be offered to students daily, free of charge, at the front doors as they enter. Preschool students will be served breakfast in their classrooms.

If you ever have questions, concerns, or feedback, please don't hesitate to reach out via e-mail: jenny.inman@dmschools.org or phone 515-242-8410. I am typically in classrooms during the school day, so Kelly, our Office Manager will take a message if I am unavailable, and I will get back to you within 24 hours.

Your Kindergarten-5th grade child should have received a Welcome Postcard in the mail this week with their teacher information and important back to school dates. In the event that it hasn't arrived, you can view your child's teacher on Infinite Campus. Pre-K students will receive their postcards around August 18th.

We have done our best to include only the necessary supplies this year and the addition of a ream of paper. Please let Ms. Kelly, our office manager, or myself know if your family needs help with purchasing school supplies for your child and we can assist. You can also view the supply list for each grade level HERE.

We are so excited to see all of you on the first day of school! The front doors will be open for student entry at 7:30am and school starts at 7:45am. Dismissal is at 2:40pm.

Staff members will be helping students get to their classrooms. There are opportunities for photos out front by the Greenwood Elementary sign and the front of the building. We will provide additional information about drop off/pick up procedures via e-mail and Snap!Connect on August 22nd, they remain unchanged from last year's procedures as long as road construction is complete.

Construction on Grand Avenue is scheduled to be completed at the intersection of 37th Street and 38th Place by Monday, August 21st, with the road opening in time for Meet the Teacher Night. In the event it is delayed, I will need to change our arrival and dismissal procedures. I will keep you posted!

This year, we hired several new staff members, due to newly created positions and a few staff changes. We have recruited some great additions and are fully staffed as we start the year! The staff members in bold are new to our staff.

We are excited to have the following staff members serving our Greenwood students:

• Preschool: Elisha Crow, Angela Hermann, Kathleen Leopold
• Preschool Associates: Jennifer Baker, Jennifer Benna, Kristen Maahs
• Kindergarten: Lissa Iles and Carrie Motter
• 1st Grade: Amanda Moore and Molly Petersen
  
• 2nd Grade: Anna Brousard and Kaitlin Clough
  
• 3rd Grade: Kristie Lamphere and Nathan Murphy
  
• 4th Grade: Laura Haider and Missy Hughes
• 5th Grade: Ryan Burke and Denise Meredith
  
• Art/Music/PE: Alyssa Moll, Kate Hargrafen, and Tanner Wheeler
• Associates: Kristen Engle, Kevin Smith, Erika Morales Munoz, and Kathryn Diaz
  
• Community Schools Coordinator: Jennifer Walker
• Custodians: Todd Newell, Jerome Austin, and Phoeun Chey
  
• ELL/Academic Interventionist/Intern AP: Kara Cox (Haugen)
• Instructional Coach: Amanda Gomes
• Instructional Strategists: Lauren Kluver, Brenda Wise
• K-5 Academic Interventionist: Jill Lowery
  
• Library Associate: Jennifer Smith
• Metro Kids Coordinator: Anie Woods
• Nurse: Melissa Stalvey
• Office Manager: Kelly Moeller
• School Based Therapist: Alexis Lively
• School Counselor: Tamma Howe
• SUCCESS Case Manager: Tiffany Taylor

To access the district calendar click HERE.

School hours are 7:45am-2:40pm Monday through Friday.

August 21: K-5 Meet the Teacher Night 4:30pm-6:00pm

August 21: Kindergarten Parent Meeting 5:30-6:00pm *Gymnasium

August 23: First Day of School for Kindergarten-5th Grade, 7:45am-2:40pm

August 25: Roosevelt Football Game-Students get in free with their Rider Wristband or School Shirt

September 4: No School: Labor Day

September 5: Pre-K Meet the Teacher Night 4:30-6:00pm Pre-School Parent Meeting 5:30pm-6:00pm

September 7: 1st day of School for Pre-K Students 7:45am-2:40pm

September 12: 1st Girls on the Run Practice 2:45-4:00pm

September 12: Family Night @ Blank Park Zoo 4:30-7:30pm

September 22: No School, Staff Professional Development

September 23: DMPS OneRun @ WaterWorks Park

September 25: No School, Yom Kippur

October 10: Fall School Pictures

Some of you have reached out to inquire about materials and supplies that might be needed in addition to things on the school supply list. Several of our staff have created Amazon Wish lists highlighting some enrichment materials, supplies, etc. that could be useful throughout the year in their work with students. The materials will ship directly to Greenwood and be distributed to the staff member who it was purchased for.

Mrs. Crow-Pre-K

Mrs. Iles-Kindergarten

Mrs. Moore-1st Grade

Mrs. Petersen-1st Grade

Mrs. Brousard-2nd Grade

Mrs. Clough-2nd Grade

Mrs. Lamphere & Mr. Murphy-3rd Grade

Miss Haider-4th Grade

Mrs. Hughes-4th Grade

Ms. Meredith-5th Grade

Mrs. Hargrafen-Music

Mrs. Moll-Art

Mrs. Kluver-Special Education

Mrs. Cox-ELL

We will be utilizing SNAP!Connect, a web-based platform, as our primary communication method to share important updates, school news, and announcements in real-time to all Greenwood families. This app/website provides direct access for parents and school staff to communicate instantly through a text messaging feature. You also have the capability to message other families for coordinating activities, playdates, etc. The best part about the app is that messages and information can be translated into several different languages, allowing all families access to their preferred communication language. You can download the app in the Apple or Android store for free, or access it via the web at https://cloud.schoolcnxt.com

If you don't already have an account, you should have received a text or e-mail with a code to sign-up and link to your child's classroom. If you deleted the message or missed it, I will be sending out weekly invites for the next two weeks as we work to get families connected.

If you've created an account in past years, but don't recall your username, please e-mail jenny.inman@dmschools.org and I will help get you connected. Additionally, if you've forgotten your password, but know your username, you can click on the FORGOT PASSWORD link on the sign-on page to reset it.

We look forward to our family and community partnerships this year! If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering at Greenwood, please visit this link for more information and to complete the Online Volunteer Application. We would love volunteers to assist with library inventory, reading with students, practicing sight words and flashcards, mentoring, assisting on field trips, homeroom parents, etc.

Your volunteer application status is valid for one year, so if you completed the application process last year and want to check on when it would need to be renewed, please let us know.

We are so excited to bring GIRLS ON THE RUN back to Greenwood for it's second year! Girls on the Run is a female empowerment program that will be coached by myself, Mrs. Cox, Mrs. Lamphere, Mrs. Hughes, and Mrs. Garnaas. This program is open to girls in grades 3 - 5 and begins on September 12, with practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:45pm-4:00pm. The season ends with a celebratory 5k event with all the bells and whistles in mid-November.

Twice per week, for ten weeks, girls will have fun, make friends, increase their physical activity levels and learn important life skills. Our trained and caring coaches with lead participants through interactive lessons and movement activities . Registration is limited to 40 participants on a first come first serve basis. Financial assistance is available, if needed, reach out to jenny.inman@dmschools.org.

For more information or to register, please visit www.gotrcentraliowa.org

Email: greenwood@dmschools.org
Website: greenwood.dmschools.org
Location: 316 37th Street, Des Moines, IA 50312, USA
Phone: (515)242-8410

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