We have had a wonderful start here at Maple Elementary for the 2024-2025 school year. It has been wonderful getting to know all of the amazing students and seeing their learning journeys begin. Thank you for all of your support getting students back into the routine of school and helping to make this start such a successful one. Mrs. Meyer and myself are looking forward to a great year at Maple!

Dr. Taylor Jahn, Principal, jahnt@smithville.k12.mo.us

Mrs. Abbey Meyer, Assistant Principal, meyera@smithville.k12.mo.us

It’s been a fun and busy start to the year! We have been busy working on getting to know each other, establishing procedures and expectations. I’m looking forward to working with these amazing students this year!

Looking ahead …

Warrior Preschool/Early Childhood

We will begin looking at patterns, building patterns, and continuing the pattern.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten students will be learning about how to use our ipads safely and we will talk about what an open mindset is and how it can help us not only in Innovation lab but in all that we do!

First Grade

First grade students will be reviewing programming with our Ozobots and we will jump into technology skills with the chromebooks. They are so excited to start using them!

Second Grade

Students in second grade will be reviewing technology skills learned in first grade and work on collaboration skills.

Third Grade

Third grade students will start working on a Google Slides Stop Motion Animation that is a celebration of Dot Day!

Fourth Grade

Students will begin a programming unit with our Sphero robots.

Fifth Grade

Students in Mrs. Hensley’s class are starting to work on our first big project where we design and build a prototype house for a family that students researched.

Sixth Grade

Programming students have started working on our choice projects and will continue to see how many projects they can complete this quarter!

You can see more by following our journey on twitter: @sara_freeman, instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mes_tech_and_innovation_lab , facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MESTechandInnovationLab

Pre K - We will continue to introduce new equipment so our students can find more confidence and get comfortable while playing with their classmates.

K - Our classes will continue to learn different ways our body moves. We have been having so much fun finding out what equipment does what in our big room.

1st - We are starting to play recess games in our classroom. Our friends love finding new games to play and this will allow them to feel comfortable when we are outside during recess.

2nd - We are starting to play recess games in our classroom. Our friends love finding new games to play and this will allow them to feel comfortable when we are outside during recess.

3rd - This group will continue to learn our warm up routine and learn the correct way to do some of our workouts. We are also starting volleyball next week. These students start off by rotating through stations, where we perform certain skill sets for this activity.

4th - This group will continue to learn our warm up routine and learn the correct way to do some of our workouts. We are also starting volleyball next week. These students start off by rotating through stations, where we perform certain skill sets for this activity.

5th - Our 5th grade students are also starting volleyball next week. We will be splitting up into stations to continue to work on our skills for this activity. They will move on to more group activities and team games after the first day of volleyball.

6th - We will be moving into team oriented games revolving around certain volleyball skills. They will also get to show their skills off in a class volleyball tournament in the next couple of weeks.

Warrior Preschool/Early Childhood -

We will be practicing our steady beat skills by moving, playing new instruments, and singing.

K -

Kindergarten students are taking a pretend field trip to the farm! Each week, a new animal will visit us in the music room and bring a new classroom instrument for students to play. We are also working on identifying the 4 different voice types: speaking, whispering, shouting, and singing.

1-

1st graders are going to be creating “steady beat art” to show that they can feel the steady beat. We are also working on singing the pitches “So” and “Mi”. Students will be reviewing musical opposites this month including: high vs low, fast vs slow, and loud vs quiet.

2-

2nd graders are finding different ways to move and play to the steady beat, we will incorporate different movement “levels”: high, medium, and low. We are also reviewing quarter note, quarter rest, and eighth note pair. Students will start to label different dynamic markings such as piano and forte.

3-

3rd graders are reviewing quarter note, quarter rest, eighth note pair, half note, and half rest. We are going to be working hard on singing with a healthy and supported tone. Students will also be singing the pitches “So”, “La”, and “Mi”, and will have an opportunity to compose a song using those three pitches.

4-
4th graders are reviewing the different instruments in the music room. They will have the opportunity to sing and perform with classroom percussion, including our new xylophones. We will begin learning a new rhythm pattern that will be labeled as “Sync-O-Pa”. Students will also be identifying and demonstrating different tempo markings such as allegro, andante, largo, and presto.

5-

Students in Mrs. Ray’s class are jumping into our Ukulele Karate unit. They have the opportunity to learn how to play the ukulele at their own pace, and as they achieve new levels, they will earn a virtual karate belt. Eventually, they will be composing their own song with the chords they have learned, for the ukulele.

6-

Our current Music Composition 6th graders are learning how to use digital creation platforms. They will be using BandLab to create custom loops and lo-fi tracks in several different genres of music.

Warrior Preschool/Early Childhood- Warrior preschool & Early childhood will begin reading stories about Fall and how we can take care of our books.

Kindergarten Kindergarten students will be listening to stories about Fall and all of the fun things that go along with it, while working on station time and building creations.

First Grade First grades will be listening to Building Block book nominees as well as fun Fall stories. They are excited to start checking out their very own books.

Second Grade Students will be listening to Building Block book nominees, and reviewing how to check-out books, and how we take care of our books.

Third Grade Third grade students will begin listening to chapter books, and practicing finding “just right” books.

Fourth grade Students will become familiar with the new Mark Twain book nominees and start reading a few in class.

Fifth grade Fifth graders are also being introduced to the Mark Twain book nominees and we will start reading a few. Students are encouraged to read the Mark Twain books to go on a field trip in March. More information to come.

6th grade - Sixth grade students voted to read our first Truman book called, The Fort, by Gordon Korman. We are enjoying the story and once finished reading, we have several more on our Truman book nominees we will begin. So far the first Truman book has been great!

Kindergarten Students have been learning about the Art Room. Students have been learning about lines. So far we have learned the names of lines, moved like lines, drawn lines, and paint lines.

Students will move on to turning lines into patterns, and creating art made with shapes.

First Grade Students have been also working with lines and shapes, but they are learning how there are different studios located in the art room. Their drawing studio is starting out small, and will be expanding with more options. The collage studio is opening, and the painting studio is starting to open.

Second Grade Students are focusing on adding more craftsmanship into their work. Some multi-step projects will take more than one week to complete. Soon they will be working on landscapes showing foreground, middle-ground, and background.

Third Grade Students are very eager to begin working on their choice of artwork. I am trying to focus on the curriculum goals early so we can soon have that choice available in our schedule. They will choose from drawing, painting, and collage. This group is very eager to build, so we will also spend a little time to learn what is appropriate for art, and how those goals may be different from Technology and Innovation.

Fourth Grade Students have started with color wheel order, and printmaking. They are jumping right into making great art and cleaning up thoroughly. This will be a good transition into tempera painting. We will move on to mixing colors, tints and shades, and inventing new colors.

Fifth Grade students are moving right along with their trimester class. They began with Value drawing showing different tints and shades of colors. They used a self paced packet to learn the concepts and vocabulary of 1 point perspective drawings. They are working on collage and discovering the variety of items available. (I accept lots of items families might be interested in purging from their home collections.)

Sixth Grade Students have a self paced curriculum. They enter as a level 1 with 10 to 12 different choices on projects. They fill out a contract to promise they properly use the materials and supplies. When their project is complete they fill out a reflection and earn a badge. Once they complete 3 projects from level 1, they receive a whole new level of options. There are 4 different levels in total, and they come up with great ideas!

Our Growing up Maple Fundraiser is halfway through! This fundraiser is our donation based PTO fundraiser where every penny donated goes straight to Maple teachers and students. This fundraiser will continue through September 20th, so there is still plenty of time to get those donations in!

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far! Currently we have raised about 10% of fundraising goal, but we have a lot of time left to earn our building prizes. Those goals and prizes are:

$8000=Mystery Prize-Each teacher will choose a prize for their class.

$10,000=Prize above + Popsicle Party

$12,000-Prizes above + Trip to Heritage Park

$14,000-Prizes above +Inflatable Recess

AND, the class that raised the most money gets to be "assistant Principals for a Day" and silly strong Dr. Jahn at a school assembly. Your student will be bringing home another information and donation page, so be on the lookout and share with others. Funds from PTO have helped to purchase many beloved items here at Maple included the rock wall in our gym, drums for the music classroom, math manipulatives in 5th grade and help to fund our amazing class parties!

There are many ways to donate to this fundraiser. You can scan the QR code below and donate via the @MaplePTO Venmo account. You can also send in cash or check with your student labeled with the student's name and that it's for the PTO fundraiser. Let's keep those donations rolling in!

Maple Elementary Store 2024. Fall online ordering for Maple Elementary ends on Monday, September 9th (11:59 PM CDT).

Principal: Dr. Taylor Jahn

Assistant Principal: Mrs. Abbey Meyer

Administrative Assistants: Mrs. Alison Camacho and Mrs. Heather Waters

Nurse/Health Room: Mrs. Annie Frazier

Counselor, Room 122: Mrs. Christina Hough

Part Time Counselor: Ms. Emily Johnson

Behavior Interventionist, Room 119: Mrs. Ashli Ellis

EC, Room 101: Mrs. Genna Cornelisse

Warrior Preschool, Room 106: Mrs. Heidi Uptegrove

Warrior Preschool, Room 102: Mrs. Jeanie Martin

Kindergarten, Room 113: Ms. Syndey Goss

Kindergarten, Room 115: Mrs. Sarah Claytor

Kindergarten, Room 114: Mrs. Sarah Madden

1st Grade, Room 139: Mrs. Rhonda Henshaw

1st Grade, Room 141: Mr. Aaron Bowlin

1st Grade, Room 140: Ms. Makenzie Kelly

2nd Grade, Room 136: Mrs. Autumn Marriott

2nd Grade, Room 138: Ms. Jenna Spence

3rd Grade, Room 135: Mrs. Emily Callahan

3rd Grade, Room 134: Mrs: Amber Medley

3rd Grade, Room 133: Mrs. Abrielle Bartley

4th Grade, Room 129: Mrs. Cortney Saxton

4th Grade, Room 131: Mrs. Jennifer Stone

5th Grade ELA, Room 147: Ms. Loren Ray

5th Grade Science and Social Studies, Room 149: Mrs. Hannah Hensley

5th Grade Math, Room 151: Mrs. Sheri Greenfield

6th Grade ELA, Room 146: Ms. Taylor Broleman

6th Grade Science and Social Studies, Room 148: Mrs. Amy Elliott

6th Grade Math, Room 150: Ms. Amanda Bradberry

Art, Room 125: Mrs. Jenny Haddock

Music, Room 117: Mrs. Reba McNair

PE, Gym: Mr. Zack Anderson

Library: Mrs. Brea Sissom

SLP, Room 105: Mrs. Heather Peterson & Stephanie Simon

SPED, Room 126: Mr. Greg Chastain, Mrs. Jina Arellano

Essential Skills, Room 130-Jessi Smith & Marci Riley

Process Coordinator: Mrs. Amanda McClusky and Mrs. Kristen Gromacki

OT/PT, Room 104: Mrs. Susan Holden & Mrs. Natalie Lloyd

Quest, Room 103: Mrs. Paige Scheibe (Grades 5-6)

Quest, Room 128: Mrs. Kassie Reade (Grades 1-4)

Technology and Innovation, Room 116: Mrs. Sara Freeman

Title I Reading, Room 120 & 124: Mrs. Lesa Quinn & Kim Roske

Custodians: Sarah Parks, Jack Green, Willie Kerley

Instructional Assistants-Essential Skills Classrooms: Mrs. Courtney Matthews, Mrs. Randa Blakeslee, Mrs. McKenzie Simmons, Mr. Lance Helton, Mrs. Carmen Williams, Mrs. Janelle Nelson, Ms. Elizabeth Edwards

Instructional Assistants-Resource Classrooms: Mrs. Kim Miller

Instructional Assistants Early Childhood: Corrie Cox, Dannel Blackwell, Sara Woolery

Instructional Assistant-Reading, Room 124: Mrs. Josie Benedict

Recess/Cafeteria Aides: Ms. Carolyn Steenrod, Mrs. Jessica Chetto, Mrs. Jessica Thomason, Mrs. Ashleigh Dunlap

Kitchen Staff: Ms. Anna Curtis (manager), Ms. Marisol Morena, Ms. Desiree Renz

The 2024-2025 Student Handbook and Technology Agreement form have been uploaded in PowerSchool and can be found under forms and enrollment . Please take a moment to review and acknowledge the 2024-2025 Student Handbook and Technology Agreement form with your child(ren).

3rd-6th grade students will be in a take-home 1:1 program which means they will each be assigned a specific Chromebook. Devices will be handed out at back-to-school night. Students will only be permitted to take their device home if they have purchased insurance.

Insurance

Insurance is offered to families as a part of student enrollment and fees. It is $15 per student to register. This fee is waived for students who qualify for the free or reduced meal plan. If a device is broken, there is only a $25 deductible. If insurance has been purchased, you will be charged no more than $25 to fix the device unless the damage was intentional. Chromebook insurance sign up is now a part of your enrollment and fees when you register your student in PowerSchool. Insurance from the 23-24 school year expires on September 20th, 2024.

The Smithville School District follows the SmartSnacks guidelines for student treats and events. Any snacks provided for birthday treats and classroom events need to follow under these guidelines. The district has information regarding these guidelines as well as an approved snack list available on our website.

September 10th-Fight Like a Princess Day-Wear Gold to School

September 13th-Warrior Community Tailgate at the Football Field

September 18th-Monthly Board Meeting 7:00 at Central Office

September 20th-Homecoming-Early Dismissal at 1:15

September 23rd-No School-Staff professional development day

September 24th-Fall Picture Day