Maize Intermediate School
March 1, 2024
Hello Eagles!
We are down to less than 7 full weeks of school left for this school year, where has time gone! Even though there isn’t much time left in the school year, we have a lot going on at MIS. There are a variety of both academic and non-academic activities taking place and we would love it if you and your family are a part of all of them. The most important thing that is happening over the few weeks is the Kansas Assessment Program Summative State Assessments. Our 5th Grade students are kicking things off in our building by taking the Science State Assessments on Thursday and Friday of this week. Things will kick into full gear, as we both 5th Graders and 6th Graders prepare to take the English Language Arts State Assessment next week, April 7- 11. The following week, April 14 - 18, our students will be taking the Math State Assessment. Their performance on these assessments will help us make data driven decisions on how to best support your students academically. Setting your students up for success is extremely important. Please see a few tips and tricks below on how to set your students up to perform to the best of their ability.
There is a lot of information below on a variety of special events happening at MIS. Please don’t be shy, reach out to me if you have any questions! We have so much fun ahead - Family Bingo Night, MIS Color Run, 6th Grade Field Day, Beanstack Whole School Party and the MIS Eagles Got Talent Show are just a few of the fun and exciting events happening at MIS. Be sure to make your calendars now!
Thank you all for a great school year thus far, let’s finish strong and show that Eagle PRIDE, GO EAGLES!
Have a great weekend,
Kevin Roulhac
Windsurge Reading Challenge:
On April 14th, our school will be participating in the Windsurge reading challenge. Each week, students will have the goal to read for 100 minutes. Each week they reach that goal, they will receive a prize! See attached for more details!
Book Fair - Buy One Get One!
Our school will be having a BOGO book fair this month from April 24th to May 1st! Students will be able to shop during their regular library times. We will also be open from 5:30 to 7:30 on April 29th during the 4th-grade open house.
Beanstack:
Our school is excited to be using Beanstack. This is a reading program that will help motivate students to read with prizes, reading streaks, top 10 lists, badges, and more!
We have two different challenges:
Monthly challenges - Students who complete the monthly challenge will receive Mr. Roulhac’s secret monthly surprise! Challenges end on the last day of each month.
Year-long challenge - This challenge has prizes at different numbers of minutes, with the end goal being 1,600 minutes in May. Students can collect their prizes from the library before school starts (7:20 - 7:45) or during their weekly scheduled library time.
End of the year reading party!
To celebrate our amazing students, we will have an end-of-the-year reading party! For students to attend, they must have read 500 minutes by the beginning of May. We want everyone to be there!
Get the Beanstack app!
Students can get the Beanstack app on their phone! See Mrs. Lehner’s Google Classroom for more information!
Students are doing an amazing job! Talk with your child at home about the books they are reading, the minutes they are logging, and the prizes they are receiving!
Books:
Students can check out two books at a time for two weeks at a time. Check-out is open in the library before and during school. Students will come to the library every week for class!
Damaged or lost library books:
Please let Mrs. Lehner know as soon as possible about any damaged or lost books. We will let you know the replacement cost and have a new one purchased and shipped to the school. We will not accept replacement books purchased outside of the school at this time. Any books that are damaged but still able to circulate in the library will be charged 25% of the replacement cost.
Chromebook Policy/ Reminders:
Students may only borrow a Chromebook from the library five times a quarter (9 weeks). After the fifth time, students will have to keep their chromebook at school. All students have restarted at zero at the start of the third quarter.
If a student has a damaged Chromebook, it must be repaired by our tech department. Students will also receive a loaner chromebook when their device is getting fixed. These will not count toward the 5 per quarter.
IDs and Lanyards:
From the Board of Education Student Handbook:
8.1 Student Identification
Students are required to wear their District-issued student identification card at all times during school hours. ID cards shall be affixed to a District-issued, school-specific lanyard and worn so that the ID card and lanyard are visible. Principals may excuse the use of lanyards for articulable safety reasons for specific situations. No ID card or lanyard shall be concealed from any school personnel. Students will incur the cost of $3.00 each for replacing lost or damaged ID cards and lanyards.
Students who need a replacement lanyard or ID can come to the library to get a new one. Students can pay with cash or have the fine charged to their Skyward account.
Spring is here!! STEAM couldn’t be more excited to pack in as many projects as we can before the school year ends. Looking forward to all the creative and collaboration we will experience during this last quarter!
Highlights!
Out of 45 designs, the student choice winner of our 6th Grade March 3D Design challenge is Alijah from G hall! She won the votes and a large slush from Sonic! Congratulations, Alijah!
Donors Choose is a great way to support future projects for STEAM!
Mrs. Hatesohl’s Donor Choose: https://www.donorschoose.org/maggie-hatesohl
Mrs. Kempf’s Donor Choose: www.donorschoose.org/samantha-kempf
Looking Ahead:
5th Grade:
In March, 5th graders designed and created their own science review board games! They used TinkerCAD to design and 3D print custom game pieces, wrote review questions with an answer key, and created unique, themed game boards! We got to play them this month as review for the science state assessment. It was a lot of fun!
This month, students will be completing an engineering design challenge, exploring gravity and air resistance. Students are building a “Mars lander” with a parachute that could be used to safely carry cargo to astronauts! We will use PocketLabs as our cargo to measure and graph how smooth the landing is. Pocketlabs are a small, wireless science tool that helps you measure things like temperature, light, and motion in real time. We will use Pocketlabs again at the end of April to measure temperature and air pressure while we go outside and fly kites!
6th Grade:
Before spring break, students worked on their precision and accuracy by partnering up and dropping pens onto targets from various heights. This activity helped them analyze their ability to maintain precision and accuracy while experimenting with different variables.
Currently, 6th grade students have been fully immersed in the excitement of March Mammal Madness! They’ve learned how to fill out tournament brackets, making their best predictions, and cheering (or sighing) as they watch the thrilling wins and tough losses of each round. The competition has been fierce, but at the end of the tournament, each class will celebrate their Ultimate Winner, who will receive a trophy and a treat. And let’s not forget the Most Busted Bracket champion, who will also earn a special prize for their unpredictable picks!
In the midst of the March Mammal Madness craze, sixth graders are taking on an exciting new engineering challenge! They are putting their creativity and problem-solving skills to the test by designing prototype roller coasters for Silver Dollar City! This hands-on project allows them to explore physics, engineering, and design. I can’t wait to see the innovative coasters they create!
Mrs. Hatesohl & Mrs. Kempf
5th & 6th Grade STEAM
