Blue Jay News

Greenwood Students and Families:

The Bluejay Bash is tonight! Thank you to the Bluejay Bash Committee for their hard work: Michelle DuMontier, Elisha Jayarao, Skylar Davis, Amber Musgrave, Reesha Adamson, Abby Lowe, Michelle White, Brooke Evans, and Jennifer Seversen. See you at Pythian Castle!

A reminder to parents that full tuition is due at the end of the 1st semester, December 13. Please plan to meet this deadline. If there are circumstances that prevent you from meeting this deadline, please email Dr. Snodgrass so we are aware of your situation. Students are not allowed to attend the 2nd semester (starting January 13, 2025) if full tuition is not received.

We will have a formal assembly this year to commemorate Veteran’s Day, November 11th sponsored by the History Department and Rho Kappa Honor Society. Parents are welcome to attend, which will occur at 9:15 AM.

Please check the lost and found table in front of the office. All unclaimed items will be donated after Thanksgiving break.

Go Blue Jays!

Ron & Jeni

Seniors: Turn in your Diploma Verification form and Endorsement Documentation to Mrs. Ewing or Mrs. Mueller before leaving for Thanksgiving Break, November 22. Speak with either counselor to address any questions you may have before the due date. You may also direct questions to specific departmental teachers.

PSAT: Please remember to pay the PSAT fee on Storefront. Students who took the PSAT last week will be notified with their scores by Nov 7. Students who provided their mobile number during digital exam setup will receive a text message when their scores are available. They will need their phone number to securely access the app, but no password is required. In addition to their scores, they will see a sample list of growing careers in Missouri that connect the math, reading, and writing skills they demonstrated on the PSAT. Students who did not provide their mobile number can request their scores via a PDF report from Mrs. Ewing after Nov 7, or by logging into their College Board account. Contact Mrs. Ewing with any questions at CoyeatteEwing@MissouriState.edu or 417-836-5950. Click on the following link to view a video to help with interpreting score reports.

Understanding Your Digital PSAT/NMSQT Score Report video

JUNIORS: Girls and Boys State 2025

· Applications for Girls and Boys State 2025 are live! Early admission deadline is Jan 31. Follow the links to each program page:

The American Legion Boys State of Missouri, Inc. - Missouri Boys State

Landing Page | Missourigirlsstate

· A Zoom Presentation for any juniors interested in attending Girls or Boys State will be provided on Nov 12 during lunch in Mr. Pfeil’s room. Sign up to attend this presentation outside the Counseling Office November 4-11.

· Also, interested juniors are invited to participate in a virtual open house. Find the four open house dates listed below along with a separate registration link for each meeting. Students must RSVP using the link. They will then receive a Zoom link to the meeting.

11/12 @ 8:00 pm – https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3LsEecWsTvScLG5UQ7l3jQ

12/18 @ 6:30 pm – https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_x2Ya31YpTu6CKbn9fM3XiQ

1/20 @ 12:00 pm – https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FVhtadjDQQu60OGpc6J5SA

2/27 @ 7:00 pm – https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ys0JJVMxQxmj4otDyFtPsg

MSU Pre-college Registration: Students wanting to register for spring pre-college courses at MSU will open on November 20. Students should begin scheduling appointments to discuss their plans with one of the pre-college advisors in the next two weeks. Making these plans early will help your registration process. Here are the appointment booking links for the pre-college advisors: Academic Advising and Transfer Center Staff - Academic Advising and Transfer Center - Missouri State

After your pre-college advisement meeting, see Mrs. Ewing or Mrs. Mueller to make arrangements with your Greenwood S2 schedule.

Dual Credit – The Dual Credit office emails billing notices to students and parents monthly with the first statement arriving at the end of Sept or first of Oct. Here is the link to the “Paying Your Tuition” page: Paying Your Tuition - Missouri State University Dual Credit - Missouri State

Upcoming College Rep Visits: Representatives from colleges/universities and other special program opportunities will be available in the Science Wing during lunch (12:37-1:27). They will be happy to provide information about their school/program and answer any student questions.

o Nov 19 – OTC Career Center

ACT and SAT Reminders:

Register for the ACT at ACT | College and Career Readiness Solutions.

Register for the SAT at The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board.

Enter Greenwood’s School Code (CEEB): 263285; Pay close attention to specific testing policies. SAT and ACT scores have historically been key to the college admissions process, but that has changed. Over the last few years, many schools have adopted test-optional or test-blind admissions policies. In fact, more than 80% of schools will not require applicants to submit scores for fall 2025 admissions, according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing. However, some top colleges and universities – as ranked by U.S. News – still require applicants to submit test scores.

Class101: Students and families will gain excellent 1:1 preparation through working with Laurie Goslee at Class101. Visit her website for specific program details. College Planning & Test Prep | Class 101 Southwest Missouri

Scholarship Opportunities

· Bold.org is the largest independent scholarship provider in the US. Visit the links below to learn more about many scholarship opportunities: https://bold.org/scholarships/ or https://bold.org/scholarships/by-year/high-school/seniors/

• Fastweb.com
• Salliemae.com
• My.appily.com
• Scholarships.com

• https://scholarships.us22.list-manage.com/track/click?u=55fe33249f57941bc21c358e7&id=a1498d334b&e=dcf102ab0d
• High School Senior (Class of 2025) Scholarships - Scholarships.com

Last weekend Greenwood Debate competed at the Republic High School Invitational Tournament with 26 schools from across Missouri. The team returned with 4 tournament championships! Ilyaan Khan won TWO first place awards – Novice International Extemporaneous Speaking and Novice Informative Speaking! Tristan Khoshyomn was the tournament champion in Varsity International Extemp – for the third tournament in row! Tristan and Mary Gabriel were also tournament champions in Varsity Policy Debate!

We are especially proud that the Greenwood team set a goal and then worked together to win the Ethan Hansen Traveling Extemporaneous Trophy. The trophy is awarded at the Republic tournament each year to the school attending the tournament that earns the most points in Extemporaneous Speaking. Greenwood’s name will be forever engraved on this traveling trophy as a permanent reflection of this amazing performance.

Other Greenwood finalists included: Laila Ozturk (2nd Place Varsity Informative Speaking and 4th Place International Extemp), Ethan Duff (4th – Varsity International United States Extemp and 4th Varsity Policy Debate), Taaha Khan (3rd Place Novice International Extemp and 4th Place Novice Informative Speaking), Mary Gabriel (2nd Place Informative Speaking), Connor Manzardo (2nd Place Novice United States Extemp), Gyan Grewal(4th Varsity Policy Debate),and Tristan Khoshyomn (4th Place Original Oratory).

Top 12 semi-finalist awards went to: Ethan Duff and Mohan Grewal (Varsity Original Oratory), Karamjot Singh (Novice International Extemp), Gyan Grewal (Varsity International Extemp and Varsity Informative Speaking, Mary Gabriel (Varsity Informative Speaking), Connor Manzardo (Novice Informative Speaking).

Congratulations, Blue Jays!

First grade students wrote a book report after reading a favorite book. In class students have worked on characters, setting, plot, point of view, and writing a synopsis. Pumpkin Characters were created to represent the character that the student liked best from the book. Students presented the book report and characters to their classmates. The first grade fall tradition encourages academic and creativity!

This Halloween, our Algebra 1 students brought math to life in a fun and spooky way! Students shared their math-themed Halloween pictures featuring mathematical expressions, equations, and even theorems spelled out with candy or carved into pumpkins. From equations crafted with candy corn to pumpkins displaying algebraic formulas, the creativity was incredible!

These festive photos didn’t just show off Halloween spirit—they highlighted our students' ability to think outside the box and find math in the world around them. A huge thank you to our Algebra 1 students for combining creativity with problem-solving skills in such a fun, seasonal way! 🎃📐

Our 6th-grade students are kicking off an exciting new unit with LEGO Education robots, thanks to the generous support of the Greenwood Parents Association (GPA)! With these LEGO Spike Prime kits, students will be building, coding, and operating robots, gaining hands-on experience in programming and engineering. This immersive unit allows them to develop problem-solving, collaboration, and critical thinking skills—all essential for today’s tech-driven world.

A huge thank you to GPA for providing these incredible resources! We’re thrilled to see the creativity and teamwork our students will bring to each project. Stay tuned for updates as they bring these robots to life!

Congratulations to Elif Benzer, Olyvia Beach and Egan Asay for their top rankings in the South Central Missouri District, earning spots in the All-District Band. Elif ranked 14th clarinet, Olyvia ranked 9th clarinet and Egan ranked 8th saxophone. They will meet with other top ranking musicians to perform a concert on January 18 at Nixa High School.

First Grade students today were invited to the Cybersecurity Lab in Glass Hall. Dr. Guo and Yingying Li, Victoria and Olyvia’s parents, organized the field trip. Professors and Graduate Assistants assisting were Dr. Zhiguo Yang (Daniel 2nd graders dad), Dr. Peng Zhang (Eli’s dad), Dr. Andrew Albritton (Hudson’s uncle), and Amber Granberg (ITC department GA). Students got to see the room where students learned about trading stocks, the board room (they loved the cushy chairs), the balcony where they had a discussion about communication, and the cybersecurity computer lab. In the lab students were able to see inside of a computer and were introduced to the various components that are required for a computer to function properly. Thank you to Yingying Li and Dr. Albritton for walking with us over to Glass Hall and back.

Congratulation to one of Greenwood’s 3rd grade students Arjun Amritphale for being a recent qualifier at Math League! Arjun will be going to districts in a few months and then (hopefully) state level which is held at St. Louis.

The test consisted of four rounds (number sense, sprint, target, and team.) The test was a timed three-hour long test online. He tested with students up to fifth grade. Parents can find more information about Math League on the link below.

The Greenwood swim team finished 12th at the SWMO Championships this past weekend. The Medley relay of Nathan Wu, Jacob Putty, Leif Neill and Joseph Whitaker Qualified 1st in the Consolation finals improving their State Consideration time. Leif Neill made finals with state consideration times in both the 100 Fly and 100 Back. The Greenwood relay team of Nathan Wu, Daniyyel Fong, Jacob Putty, and Leiff Neill was third in the consolation finals improving on their state consideration time. Nathan Wu won the 200 IM and the 100 breast. He broke his school record and meet record in the 100 breast. Improving his state consideration times in both.

November Practice Schedule - "Perfect practice makes perfect."

Tuesdays, November 12, 19

7:20-7:40 AM - 4th and 5th grade

7:40-8:00 AM - 8th and 9th grade

Wednesdays, November 13, 20

7:20-7:40 AM - 8th and 9th grade

7:40-8:00 AM - 6th and 7th grade

Thursdays, November 14, 21

7:20-7:40 AM - 6th and 7th grade

7:40-8:00 AM - 4th and 5th grade

Fridays, November15 (No practice November 22)

7:20-8:00 AM - 3D shooting

For all the practice dates above, anyone who would like to get in extra practice or an earlier practice may come from 7:00-7:20 AM. Siblings may choose the same two practices for the week. We will not practice during Thanksgiving break.

Wednesday, November 13, 4:00-7:00 PM, "Get Bows" kick-off tournament at the Archery Complex (5780 S. Farm Rd 141, Springfield, MO 65810).

For this season we have decided that archers will bring give their $8 entry fee for each tournament to Coach Ewing, cash or check written to 'Greenwood.' The following are the entries I have so far:

4:00 PM - Adelaide Cimino, Hanna Coutchie, Gwendolyn McQueary, Grayson Steiro

5:00 PM - Alex Cimino, Asher Glenn, Lily Johnson, Grayson Thomas, Louise Zimmerman

6:00 PM - Bennett Kester, Katelyn Matz

If your son or daughter would like to enter this tournament, please let me know as soon as possible by text or e-mail and let me know what 'flight time' you would like, 4, 5 or 6 PM? They can bring me their $8 Tuesday or Wednesday morning when they come to practice. Thanks to Amy Francka and her Staff who have graciously provided the Archery Complex for us.

Students and Parents - Please become familiar with the Bullseye and 3D Rules. We practice according to the rules so our students will be prepared for the tournaments.

Microsoft Word - 2025 NASP Bullseye Rules (final)

naspschools.org/download/national-rules-3d/?wpdmdl=2391

For anyone interested in participating in the '2nd Annual Shoot for the Moon' tournament in Willard Saturday, December 7, please let me know by November 15, and bring the $8 entry fee to me. I have the following so far: Adelaide Cimino, Alex Cimino, Lily Johnson, Bennett Kester, Kaitlyn Matz, Gwendolyn McQueary, Cora Shaw, Grayson Steiro, Grayson Thomas, Emmett Tummons, Louise Zimmerman.

We will set the rest of the schedule for January and February and communicate that before Thanksgiving. By next week, you will receive an 'invite' to the TeamReach app to help us communicate.

Those that are interested in continuing archery as part of our team may attend practice after completing the permission form and turning it into Coach Ewing. You may pick up a permission form from the Main Office or the Counseling Office. Note there are two sides to the form.

As we think of our team shirt/uniform for this season, we ask for your ideas/input. We will begin with a design. See the design with this article and let me know what you think.

As we await the arrival of our three new targets and curtain, our next goal is to purchase two more targets ($177 each) and a bow rack ($354). If you would like to donate money to help towards adding additional equipment, please give that to Mrs. Roben Tebbenkamp and let her know it's for Archery.

"Iron Sharpens Iron" - We will have students working in pairs as we help each other improve. Let Coach Ewing know when you have your partner. Both students must be in agreement. It is okay if you do not know others well enough and are not ready to do that at this time. Those will be extra practices. We will have our first one in December, TBA.

Contact Coach Jon Ewing if you have any questions - j.e.ewing@att.net or 417-569-8698. Thank you!

Thank you to all of our wonderful Jazz Age and Roaring 20s Sponsors. We're ready to celebrate this SOLD OUT event tonight!

We are a laboratory school for students in Kindergarten - 12th grades. We are part of the College of Education at Missouri State University.

Email: Greenwood@Missouristate.edu
Website: https://education.missouristate.edu/greenwood/
Location: 1024 East Harrison Street, Springfield, MO, USA
Phone: (417) 836-5124
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenwoodlab

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenwoodlabschool/

Counseling Website: https://www.greenwood.missouristate.edu/page/counseling-department

Greenwood Blue Jays YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@greenwoodbluejays4814/featured