The Woodchuck Word

Wow, here we are with just four weeks until we close our 2023-2024 school year! This has been an incredible year for our students as they've blossomed through enrichment clubs, made academic gains, taken on leadership roles throughout the building, and supported their peers in their learning and development.

This past weekend, I was invited to give a presentation to members of our neighboring Central Presbyterian Church as part of their "Who is my Neighbor" series. I originally thought I might be a bit nervous, but as I began to put pen to paper and note all of the amazing things I wanted to share about Greenwood, my nerves went away and the pride I felt for our school, our students, our staff, and our families radiated. We have come so far this year! From the addition of three sections and 60 amazing preschool students to the full launch of student enrichment clubs, plus the immense support from our families, volunteer tutors, mentors, and community partners, we've created and will continue to build a solid foundation from which our students can grow and develop academically, socially, and as kind and caring human beings. Thank you so much for choosing Greenwood and supporting your child and our school!

I want to send a huge congratulations to our Battle of the Books competition team: Drew F., Monroe F., Emmeline J., Liam M., Tait S., Lilly S., and Jasen W. and their volunteer coaches Greg Jackson and Christine Sand. While they didn't quite make it to the top of district level competition, they finished with a 3rd place score in our region, which is the highest our team has scored in recent years. We are so proud of their hard work, along with the rest of our BOB members who participated in the weekly meetings, practiced their book knowledge, and continued to feed their love of reading! Together they read and studied forty books, the characters, settings, and all of the details to compete in a competition to answer questions about each one of the books. Thank you to Greg and Christine for their time, coaching weekly meetings throughout the year, preparing students with author studies, flashcards, book talks, and so much more!

If you didn't get a chance to check out the DMPS Art Show, our Greenwood featured artists have their work displayed in the main office. Congratulations to the following students, whose work was displayed at the art show: Maxine H. (Kindergarten), Paul R. (1st Grade), Max Chavez (2nd Grade), Crosby C. (2nd Grade), Charlie P. (2nd Grade), Everett J., (3rd Grade), Lyric D. (5th Grade), and Zach S. (5th Grade).

With just four weeks left in the school year, we are making the most of every day! While May brings a lot of year-end celebrations and field trips, it is also a time to celebrate growth and achievement. We will begin our end of the year assessments over the next couple of weeks, along with a celebration of learning as students chart their final progress and achievement over the year. Students will receive an ice cream treat from "D Ice Cream Man" and his ice cream truck on Thursday, May 9th, courtesy of our Greenwood PTA and in conjunction with the Math Challenge Celebration. Additionally, all 3rd-5th grade students will receive a certificate for a free ice cream cone from McDonald's and a free kid's meal from Raising Cane's in honor of their hard work and effort on ISASP testing. A big thank you to Mrs. Walker for connecting with those two restaurants and getting donations for our students!

Please take some time to read through the newsletter for information on upcoming events as you plan your schedules for the month of May. Parents are welcome to attend field day as spectators. Additionally, we have Spring Music Concerts next week and a school-wide inflatable party at the end of the month. We will also celebrate 5th graders at promotion on the last day of school. Just a reminder, the last day of school is Wednesday, May 29th and we will dismiss at 11:40am.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions. Thank you for your continued partnership as we work to ensure your children feel loved, supported, heard, and engaged in their learning and development.

With gratitude,

Jenny Inman

Principal

Each student received a blank thank you card in their Math Challenge Packets. If you wouldn't mind, we would love to shower our staff with messages of appreciation during staff/teacher appreciation week next week-May 6th-10th. If you haven't already, please feel free to write messages of gratitude to any staff member and return it to the office by Friday, May 3rd. Thank yous will be distributed to staff throughout the week next week to show them they are appreciated by our students and families!

Mrs. Hargrafen is in the process of planning and preparing students for their spring performances and you are invited! Each grade level will have a 20-minute concert on their designated evening in the gym. Families are encouraged to attend! Each student has a part in the performance, so we hope you can prioritize this event for them to showcase their musical talents! Please plan to enter through the external doors to the gym on the upper playground. The doors will be opened five to ten minutes prior to the start time of each concert to allow for the entrance and exit of guests. Your child will need to be in the cafeteria ten minutes prior to their concert start time to get into position and warm up. Please access the lunchroom from the Metro Kids entrance on the West side of the building/back parking lot. Students can choose to dress up or wear casual clothes.

Tuesday, May 7:

6:00pm-6:20pm Kindergarten (Seating available at 5:50pm)

6:30pm-6:50pm 1st Grade (Seating available at 6:25pm)

7:00pm-7:20pm 2nd Grade (Seating available at 6:55pm)

Thursday, May 9:

6:00pm-6:20pm 3rd Grade (Seating available at 5:50pm)

6:30pm-6:50pm 4th Grade (Seating available at 6:25pm)

7:00pm-7:20pm 5th Grade (Seating available at 6:55pm)

We are so grateful for the ideas and recommendations our students have about creating opportunities for enrichment clubs. What started as a brainstorm on how to bring about a fashion club, has turned into the reality of offering nearly 20 clubs for our students to participate in on Fridays. From sewing, coding, chess, hairstyling, baking, to comic books, song writing, sports, broadcasting, and bracelets (just to name a few), these clubs have created opportunities for students to engage in new hobbies, collaborate with staff and students throughout the building, and learn new skills! Students are looking forward to showcasing their activities during Spring Concerts on May 7th and May 9th.

The showcase will be displayed in the 2nd floor hallway, and will feature interactive activities, photos, and information about each club this year. Please plan to allow a little bit of extra time to check out the showcase before or after your child’s performance. They’ve worked hard to create their displays! The showcase will be open for viewing from 5:30 pm to 7:00pm on both concert dates.

The Scholastic Bookfair will be in the library from 5:30-7:00pm on May 7th and May 9th. If you would like to purchase any books, please feel free to shop. You can enter the fair through the front entrance or through the library patio on the backside of the building.

The online bookfair website will be open beginning May 6th through May 19th. If you'd like to order online for home delivery, you can do so at the following website:Book Fair Homepage (scholastic.com)

We are participating in Walk-Bike-Run to School Day, Wednesday, May 8th. If your schedule allows, please plan to drop your child off at our temporary drop off location at Des Moines University anytime between 7:10am and 7:20am. Please use the 35th/Grand Entrance for drop-off. Myself, Mrs. Walker, and several other staff members will be there to gather with students and walk or run to school! Additional details will be shared on Snap!Connect and Infinite Campus as the event nears.

Please take some time this month to complete online registration for your enrollment at Greenwood for the 2024-2025 school year. We are closely monitoring our enrollments, planning for building spaces, and classroom rosters.

If you have an incoming Kindergarten student and haven't registered them yet, please contact Kelly Moeller, kelly.moeller@dmschools.org or the school office so that she can get you started.

Additionally, if you have moved out of our attendance area and would like your student to continue their learning at Greenwood, please make sure your complete the Open-Enrollment (out of district) or Within District Transfer paperwork as soon as possible, and contact the office with any questions. Class sizes reach capacity at 23 students, and once that number is reached, open-enrollments and Within District Transfers will not be approved. Neighborhood enrollments do not have a registration cap. Please plan ahead and get your registration paperwork in as soon as possible.

Our district website has all of the information about enrollment and the forms you will need to submit for open enrollment or within district transfer HERE.

If your child will not be attending Greenwood next year due to a move or other circumstance, please let the office know so that we can update our expected grade level rosters.

Our 31st Annual Greenwood Challenge and fourth year of the Greenwood Math Facts Challenge is back! The challenge has a history of involving the children in raising funds for the school by participating in a learning-focused competitive fundraiser. Math facts have been selected by the teachers to support their classroom goals while making learning fun. As a reward for improving their math skills and contributing to the school community, all students will participate in a challenge celebration at the end of the fundraiser. Funds raised through the Math Challenge will go toward PTA projects including the year-end celebration and field trip transportation.

This year our goal is to raise $2,000!

What is the Math Facts Challenge?

· Students received a custom list of math facts on April 13th, along with flash cards to prepare for the Challenge Finals. Each student in 1st -5th will be studying their addition, subtraction, or multiplication facts and will be quizzed on a five-minute fact fluency assessment. Kindergarten students will write their numbers from 0-20 and then identify numbers up to 100.

· Students reach out to friends and family for pledges through the two weeks of the challenge - per math fact they get correct OR just a flat donation. Example- $.10 per math facts pledge X 100 correct facts= $10.00.

· Students return the pledge envelopes by May 2nd, prior to the Challenge Final.

· The Math Facts Challenge is a written test taken on Friday, May 3rd. The student’s goal is to get the most math facts correct. Scores are then sent home along with the pledge envelope used to collect the pledges. All money is due back by Friday, May 10 th, 2024.

Field Day will take place on Friday, May 24th. Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students will participating from 12:25-2:25pm. 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will participate from 8:45am-10:45am. Please send students with running shoes and comfortable clothes. There will be a few water events, so if they would like to bring an additional set of clothes to change into, that is ok. Additionally, depending on the weather and UV strength, please consider applying sunscreen on your child. Parents are welcome to attend the event to spectate. The format will be station rotations and each class will get to participate in all of the activities.

We've made so much growth this year and we can't wait to celebrate our students' hard work and achievement! PTA is graciously providing a day of inflatables for our students and staff. Each grade level will have an hour jump time where they can race their classmates or teachers, jump around, and have lots of fun to end the year. The inflatables will stick around and families will have the opportunity to race and jump at Family Fun Night on Tuesday, May 28th from 4:30pm-6:30pm. This event is free for our families and will include inflatables, gaga ball, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, pizza, and popsicles! We hope you are able to join us as we celebrate another amazing year!

Our building will be under construction this summer for the remodeling of several of our restrooms, windows on the west side of the building, and a fresh coat of paint in the library and office area. We will not have any summer programming here at Greenwood, but our playground area will be open for public use. Ms. Kelly and I will be working throughout the summer and will be accessible by e-mail or through our school phone 515-242-8410.

To access the district calendar click HERE.

School hours are 7:45am-2:40pm Monday through Friday.

May 1st: 5th Grade Field Trip to Callanan Middle School

May 2nd: 2nd Grade Field Trip to Neil Smith Wildlife Refuge

May 3rd: Math Challenge Test

May 6th-10th: Staff Appreciation Week

May 7th: K-2 Music Concert 6:00pm-7:20pm

May 7th: Enrichment Clubs Showcase & Scholastic Bookfair 5:30pm-7:00pm

May 8th: Walk/Run to School 7:10-7:20am @ Des Moines University Campus Lot

May 9th: D' Ice Cream Truck Math Challenge Celebration

May 9th: 3-5 Music Concert 6:00pm-7:20pm

May 9th: Enrichment Clubs Showcase & Scholastic Bookfair 5:30pm-7:00pm

May 10th: 3rd Annual Greenwood Neighborhood Clean-up 12:30pm-2:30pm

May 10th: Battle of the Books Pizza Party

May 10th: Math Challenge Donations Due

May 16th: 4th Grade Field Trip to Art Center

May 17th: 1st Grade Field Trip to Jester Park

May 23rd: 5th Grade Class Party at Urban Air

May 23rd: Senior's Come Home 3:15-4:15pm

May 24th: Field Day (3-5 8:45-10:45am) (K-2 12:25-2:25pm)

May 24th: Last Day of Pre-K

May 27th: No School-Memorial Day

May 28th: Family Fun Night 4:30pm-6:30pm

May 29th: Last Day of School-Early dismissal 11:40 am

May 29th: 5th Grade Promotion 9:00am

Email: greenwood@dmschools.org
Website: greenwood.dmschools.org
Location: 316 37th Street, Des Moines, IA 50312, USA
Phone: (515)242-8410