Eagles' Voice Newsletter

Mrs. Renae Kraus, School Nurse

The Keystone AEA audiometrist will conduct hearing screenings for students in 7th grade and any new student in grades 6-12 on February 11th. Students who do not pass the initial screening will be rechecked on February 25th.

If a student fails the second testing the parent/guardian will be notified via a letter from the audiologist. Notification is not sent out for students who pass the screening.

All other MS and HS students are tested on a request basis. Please contact school nurse Renae Kraus if you would like to have your child’s hearing tested.

Mrs. Sara Lawrence, 5th grade teacher

Mrs. Lawrence’s 5th graders enjoy reading and they enjoy the rewards from Brown’s Ford each month!

Students read each night and record their chapters for prizes. Thank you Brown’s Ford for sponsoring this reading program.

Mrs. Tami Palmer, 3rd Grade Teacher

3rd graders in Mrs. Palmer’s class had a great time playing a game to determine which gift they would end with for their class gift exchange!

Mrs. Kathy Connelly, 3rd Grade Teacher

The elementary enjoyed “Grinch Kabobs” today for the Taste Testing, promoted by our school nurse, Mrs. Kraus.

Pictured are preschool students enjoying their “Grinch Kabob”. And also thanks to the cooks for making this healthy snack!

5th Graders are spreading Holiday Cheer by helping the younger elementary students wrap their treasures. Students are able to spend their PBIS Gotcha Tickets at the PBIS Eagle Store every month. Students earn gotcha tickets with good character and behavior at school! At Christmas time, the store features lots of Christmas decor and gifts for students to purchase for loved ones or themselves. After their purchases, they are head to Mrs. Lawrence and Mrs. Stannard’s classrooms to partner up with a 5th grader and wrap up their treasures.

Students and staff at all Clayton Ridge buildings dressed up the last week before winter break. Each day offered a different holiday dress-up theme.

Mrs. Bilden received her Masters of Educational Leadership and K-12 Principalship from Drake.

CRMS students (Landon, Christopher, and Seth) worked hard to define Clayton Ridge's Eagle Pride PBIS goals and to create an instructional presentation to share their understanding with others. Please learn more and enjoy their hard work!

Mrs. Nicole DeGidio, HS English/ESL & Instructional Coach

Middle school and high school teachers started the school year actively engaged in professional development. in the first days of the school year, staff learned the foundations of Kagan Cooperative Learning, instructional approaches that will help them boost engagement and achievement levels of all students in their classrooms. As we enter the new semester, teachers will receive a poster (seen in the image attached) for their classrooms. We will also begin another round of recording the practices to create a digital library of the structures in use in different content areas.

Kagan Structures, simple, step-by-step instructional strategies, teach small groups of students with various learning abilities and styles how to work together to achieve a common goal. The structures help students with team-building, class-building, critical thinking, information sharing, and communication skills. In a traditional classroom, some students simply do not participate. When Kagan Structures are being used, all students become engaged!

One example of a great structure that teachers are using is a Timed Pair Share. In this structure, partners take timed turns listening and sharing. There are four steps to this structure.

Step One: The teacher asks a question (Example: You will have one minute to explain the process of the scientific method.)

Step Two: One student (Let’s call this student – Student A) shares while the other student (Student B) listens without interrupting.

Step Three: The teacher tells Student B how to respond.

Step Four: Students switch roles.

In using Timed-Pair-Share, students learn respectful listening. They practice elaborating their responses. Students also practice appreciating the thoughts of others and taking turns.

Another example of a structure that teachers love to use is Quiz-Quiz-Trade. Each student stands up with a question-answer card with a question on one side and an answer on the other and finds a partner. Students walk around the classroom with their hands up until they pair up. The pair takes turns quizzing one another. One student reads the question on his or her card and praises his/her partner if the student got it right or coaches if the partner needs some help to find the correct answer. Each student gets an opportunity to read his/her card as well as being asked a question. Then they trade cards and raise their hands to find a new classmate, repeating the process numerous times with new partners. The benefit of the Quiz-Quiz-Trade structure is that students master the content and learn to coach or tutor other students. A major bonus is that students always love when they are up moving around the classroom. Many teachers love this structure because it is great to use as a review for a quiz or test.

Parents, as you sit down for dinner or drive your child to practice take a moment to ask: Did you do any Kagan today? I bet his or her response will be full of excitement!

Check out CRHS students in Mr. Mueller's Power Technology Industrial Tech class learning and applying the properties of aerodynamics! #CreativeDesign #HandsOnLearning #EaglesAtWork

Mrs. Nicole DeGidio, HS English/ESL & Instructional Coach

Mr. Radcliffe and Mrs. DeGidio teamed up to do “Music through the Generations” with the middle school choir classes.

Sixth and seventh graders created digital Rolling Stone magazines using a template on Google Slides. Students worked in groups of three to research a given year and create a cover, articles, interviews, advertisements, and reviews based on major musical moments from that year.

Eighth graders learned about the power of music by conducting a survey about music on the residents of the Guttenberg Care Center. They then learned a song from each decade beginning with the 1930s through the 1980s based on the survey results, wrote introductions, and performed a concert for the residents. Both the students and residents had a great time and were able to hold conversations after the performance.

Nancy Ruzicka, Assistant Librarian

Here is a list of the Library's January events.


Teen Night Out - January 3 at 6:00 p.m.
Stop by for pizza, board games and a movie!!

Toddler Time - January 10 at 10:30 a.m.
Join Miss Nancy for stories, songs, crafts and playtime.
Program is suitable for 2-4 year old.

CRHS Art Exhibit - January 13-31

Creation Station - January 17 at 2:15 p.m.
Arts,Crafts and games
Open to K-5 grade

Teen/Adult Trivia Night - January 17 at 7:00 p.m.

After School Matinee - January 24 at 2:15 p.m.
Movie will be rated G or PG
Movie to be determined

Clayton Ridge Community School District has both a north and south campus. The northern campus is located in the midst of the rolling prairie of Garnavillo, Iowa and currently serves students in grades PK-5. The southern campus is situated among the picturesque Mississippi River bluffs and boasts a magnificent view of the mighty river and Lock & Dam 10 in Guttenberg, Iowa. The south campus serves middle school (6-8), and high school (9-12).

Email: ndegidio@claytonridge.k12.ia.us
Website: http://www.claytonridge.k12.ia.us/
Location: 131 South River Park Drive, Guttenberg, IA, USA
Phone: (563)252-2341
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Clayton-Ridge-Community-School-District-1669852486604559/