Maize Intermediate School
March 1, 2024
Hello Eagles!
I can’t believe we are already a couple days into the month of February! January flew by and it feels so good to have a small preview of Spring weather this past weekend. Your students have done an exceptional job getting back into the groove of things after the Holiday Break. I know this transition back into a regular schedule can be difficult, but I commend your work for helping your students get right back to it! Please see below for some important pieces of information as we move into February.
MIS Spring Picture Day - February 12th
Interstate Studios will be in our building taking Spring individual pictures on February 12th. Please follow ordering instructions that are outlined on the materials that students have brought home. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Student-Led Parent Teacher Conferences - February 12th and February 13th
Student-Led Parent Teachers will take place on February 12th and February 13th. You should have already received a Sign Up Genius link and information from your students' Eagles Landing teacher. This format for Parent Teacher Conferences looks a little different. Your student will be putting together a work portfolio that they will share with you and they reflect on their academic experience and progress this school year.
Beanstack MIS Reading Challenge
We started a new whole school reading initiative this school year using the web based platform called Beanstack. The students have been doing incredible and have read close to 650,000 minutes so far this year! We will have a whole building party to celebrate their efforts. Students must have read and recorded 500 minutes of reading to attend the whole school party. Students are given a number of opportunities to read during the school day, but please continue to encourage your student to read and record the minutes that they are reading!
Student Chromebooks
We have had an uptick in a couple issues with the students' Chromebooks. We have had an increase in students coming to school with Chromebooks that aren’t adequately charged. Please remind your students to charge their Chromebooks every night. We have also had an uptick in inappropriate use of Chromebooks, which violates the Acceptable Use Policy. Just a friendly way to help promote good decision making on their Chromebooks and their Chromebooks should only be used for academic purposes.
6th Grade Transition to Maize Middle School
Parents of current 6th Graders, please be on the lookout for more information coming from us about important dates and meetings in February. Counselors from Maize Middle School will be coming over to give an informational presentation to our 6th graders on February 27th. We want to make sure our 6th Graders and families are as informed and prepared as possible for the transition to Maize Middle School next year. More information is coming soon!
Dress Code
As the weather gets warmer, please make sure your students are wearing appropriate clothes to school everyday. If students do wear clothing that violates our dress code, they will be asked to put on something different that they may have or they will be provided a piece of clothing from our school supply.
Have a great weekend,
Kevin Roulhac
Spring Picture Day
Inter-State Studio will be here on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 for Spring Pictures! All students in attendance will be photographed. Yo will receive a printed proof and/or email to preview before you purchase. There will not be a retakes if your student is not here on February 12th.
BOOK FAIR!
The book fair is coming!
February 6th to 11th - Students will be able to shop the fair during their regular library class time.
February 12th - The book fair will be open for purchases all day during school for anyone to shop.
February 12th & 13th - The Book Fair will be open during conferences.
Wednesday the 12th from 4:00 - 8:00
Thursday the 13th from 8:00 - 4:00
Click the link below to learn more about e-wallets, the newest book pre-order, conference raffle basket/ guessing jar, digital book flyers, and more.
If you have any questions, please email Kim Lehner at klehner@usd266.com
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.
Happy 2025 Eagles! We hope everyone had a warm and relaxing winter break. We have really enjoyed getting to build some new skills with our students this month, including problem-solving, 3D design, and creativity!
Highlights!
Thank you MIS PTO for our new 3D printers! They have been running non-stop to print our 6th grade name tags & Egyptian cartouches and our 5th grade game pieces!
Looking Ahead:
5th Grade:
In January, 5th graders dove into 3D printing and built some new design skills on Tinkercad. Students created a board game piece of their own design to use when we create our Science review board games later this spring. We also started on a spring Lava Lamp art project, learning about geometric/organic shapes and analogous colors. They’re groovy! Be sure to check them out at spring conferences!
6th Grade:
Just before winter break, your students were diving into learning how to design 3D printables on TinkerCAD. Upon returning to school, in January, students had the fun option to print their positive word tag or a fun Egyptian cartouche. With our snow and cold day, a few classes were able to look at and experience some new tools before we dove into our Impressionist art project. VanGogh’s style of unblended brush strokes and his sunflower series have been our inspiration and I hope you’re looking forward to seeing them at Parent/Teacher conferences!
Mrs. Hatesohl & Mrs. Kempf
5th & 6th Grade STEAM
