After our extended winter break, Mrs. Meyer and myself are so excited to see our Maple Warriors again! Thank you to all of our families who partnered with teachers to help students learn during our AMI days. We couldn't do it without your support. Let's start this semester off strong! Take a look at the December highlights down below.

1. December brought with it our 12 days of holiday cheer! Students participated in holiday dress up days and fun games and activities to celebrate the festive time of year.
2. Students completed their winter iReady testing. We saw tons of growth in math and reading!
3. Our 4th grade students and 1st grade students performed amazing music concerts for friends and families. Thank you Mrs. McNair for preparing our students and putting on a great show!
4. The high school choir visited Maple and serenading our students during arrival with holiday carols. We love when our high school students visit Maple!

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

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

I’m excited to start our learning again in the Innovation Lab for semester 2! Here’s a few pictures of our learning in December.

Looking ahead …

Warrior Preschool/Early Childhood

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

Kindergarten

Kindergarten students will begin working on digital citizenship skills, 2D and 3D shapes and technology skills this quarter.

First Grade

First grade students will start working on an engineering project where we design and build a house for a classmate. We will also continue our digital citizenship lessons.

Second Grade

Students in second grade learned about using loops in our code and we will start by continuing our practice with this. We will also begin our engineering project this quarter.

Third Grade

Third grade students will be starting to work on our stop motion projects this quarter.

Fourth Grade

Students will be looking at digital citizenship and we will also learn about our 3D printer and how to design for it using the CAD program Tinkercad.

Fifth Grade

Students in Mrs. Greenfield’s class have completed work on our tiny houses and we will move on to digital citizenship.

Sixth Grade

This quarter is Game Lab in the Innovation Lab! We will learn all about game mechanics and use that knowledge to apply to games we will make electronically and physically.

Your student will be bringing home a Screen Free Bingo card, help them practice good media balance by completing as many activities as they can on the card. Turn back into Mrs. Freeman by January 10 for a prize!

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 - Our Preschoolers will continue to learn more about our station work and learn new routines for our class!

K - We will be finding new ways to work as a team in small groups and our Kinders will start to work on movement stations as they continue to learn different ways to move our body.

1st - We will be finding new ways to work as a team in small groups and our Kinders will start to work on movement stations as they continue to learn different ways to move our body.

2nd - Our 2nd grade students will start off with team building activities and that will lead into more group/team oriented games!

3rd - Our 2nd grade students will start off with team building activities and that will lead into more group/team oriented games!

4th-6th - These students will also begin team building activities for the first couple of weeks. Throughout these activities, they will also be introduced to our fitness testing. We will learn the proper way to complete certain exercises and continue to learn why we do them. After that happens, they will then get to track their own fitness progress throughout the remainder of the school year.

Warrior Preschool/Early Childhood -

We will be practicing our steady beat skills by moving, playing instruments, and singing. We are going to continue doing winter music activities and explore new types of movement with classical music.

K-4th Grade -

We will be diving into our “Mallet Madness” Unit. Each grade level has a different set of skills and notes to practice on our xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels in this super fun mallet unit.

5th Grade-

5th Graders are continuing their Ukulele Karate unit. Students are working at their own pace to complete different belts, each belt focusing on a specific ukulele skill. Once students reach their black belt, they will be creating their own composition for the ukulele.

6th Grade -

We are so excited to welcome a new group of 6th graders this quarter to our Instrumental Pathways class. These students will get the opportunity to explore some new and more advanced instruments this quarter at their own pace.

Warrior Preschool/Early Childhood- Warrior preschool & Early childhood will be doing Polar Animals unit. We will be learning songs and dances that go along with our theme.

Kindergarten Kindergarten students will be listening to books about polar animals and winter themed stories.

First Grade First graders will be listening to polar animals and winter themed stories along with projects to go along with each story.

Second Grade Students will be learning about the author Adam Rubin and his popular story called, Dragon Loves Tacos. Students will be learning about problems/solutions and how to rate a story. Students will also learn and listen to other books from this author.

Third Grade Third grade students will learn about the author Mac Barnett and listen to his stories called, First Cat in Space. Students will then create their own cartoon set and stories of their own.

Fourth grade Students will gain background knowledge about the author Matthew Swason and illustrator Robbi Behr and preview the featured book Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom. Students will be learning about all of the fun books from this series, and end with a ‘How To’ writing project.

Fifth grade Students will gain background knowledge about the author Stuart Gibbs and preview the featured book Spy School. Students will listen to a book preview as well as other books in his series. Students will then learn about spies and create their own secret code using a decoder wheel.

6th grade - In Books VS. Movies we will start out by reading the book Holes or The Tale of Despereaux, once students vote. Once we finish the books we will compare the stories to the movies.

This quarter we will focus on The Studio Habits Observation and Express. We will begin with Observation and discover many ways to carefully look at objects as we draw them, different techniques and activities to allow students to draw what their eyes see, and following step by step directions to complete a drawing.

Kindergarten Students completed winter paintings before we left in December. They know the sky is above them, but they had to observe that the sky actually touches the ground. I will have many different objects for them to observe as they draw them the way they look. This is not easy, and many are tempted to trace. I will have them focus on noticing things with careful observation rather than accuracy.

First Grade Students will also observe objects and look at images of dragons for drawings for the Lunar New Year.

Second Grade Students will start with exercises allowing them to carefully look at what they are drawing. Then they will set up their own still life, and amaze themselves with what they can do!

Third Grade Students focus on symmetry and they will receive half a drawing and try to match their work with the image given.

Fourth Grade Students will draw items with observation. Please Bring one pop can to draw. I can start collecting these right away, but we should have a week or two before we begin. The can needs to be school appropriate (no energy drinks), it can be empty, and if you do not bring your own, you will have to use a donated can or tin can.

Fifth Grade students have had a great start to their trimester. We will start one point perspective drawings when they come back to school. It is a self paced assignment that will require their chromebook and headphones. They will move on to clay as soon as the weather becomes more stable, and create a collage with cereal and snack boxes. Please send in some snack boxes as well.

Sixth Grade Students are starting a brand new quarter. I can’t wait to see my new group for 2D art. They will choose their own drawing and painting projects.

1. If your student(s) is going to have a change in dismissal, please let the office know prior to 3:00 on the day. This helps to ensure that we can properly notify the teacher so that the students get to the proper dismissal location.

2. If you have a student who is going to be absent for the day, please let the office know prior to 9:00. If there is a prolonged period of absence that is planned (vacation) you can notify the office about the entire length of the absence with one communication.

** Communication can come via email or phone call. Please email both Heather Waters at watersh@smithville.k12.mo.us and Alison Camacho at camachoa@smithville.k12.mo.us with your changes in attendance or dismissal. You can also call the Maple front office at 816-532-0589.**

On Monday, January 27, the SSD Board of Education will be recognizing students for curricular and co-curricular accomplishments. Students are recognized based on the attributes in our Smithville Portrait of a Graduate.

• Well-Rounded Learner
• Innovative Thinker
• Compassionate Advocate
• Resilient Achiever
• Confident Leader

The Maple Elementary recognition will begin at 7:40 pm in the Performing Arts Center. You will be notified by your child's teacher if your student is one of honorees. If you are invited to attend, please enter through the PAC doors. You will be dismissed through the Smithville High School main entrance to allow for the families of the next school to enter.

There are lots of exciting things beginning in January! Here is some information on an upcoming book study beginning January 14th from 5:30-6:15. This book has recently been featured on CBS Mornings. To further support the concept, Maple Elementary will begin a "Let Grow Play Club" on January 13th, 2025. Please see the flyer for details. The club is available to anyone who attends Maple at no cost. There will be a limited number of slots to ensure safety and supervision. The club will available to the first 30 students who register. Please see below for registration details. This will also come home in paper form and can be returned to your child's classroom teacher. Please reach out to Mrs Hough with any questions.

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: Ms. 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: Mrs. 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

SPED, Room 126: Mr. Greg Chastain, Ms. 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, Willie Kerley, Samantha North

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

Instructional Assistants-Resource Classrooms: Mrs. Kim Miller

Instructional Assistants Early Childhood/PreK: 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.Jennifer Russell, Ms. Kat Neal, Ms. Holly Peterson

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.

January 13th-Middle School Improvement Project Event 7:00 PM at MS Cafeteria

January 14th-High School Improvement Project Event 5:30 PM at HS Cafeteria
January 15th-Board Meeting 7:00 PM at Central Office

January 21st-No School Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 27th-Board of Education Recognition Night

January 29th-Softball/Baseball Improvement Project Event 6:00 PM at HS Cafeteria

January 31st-Maple Building Assembly 9:30 AM

February 3rd-February 7th-School Counselor Week