Blackhawk Newsletter

I hope this Blackhawk Newsletter finds you well. I wanted to first give you an update on how the school is doing health-wise. Like other schools and businesses, we saw a big increase in illnesses in early January. Illnesses included Covid, Influenza A, and Strep Throat. We had quite a few staff absences as well, which made covering everything a challenge. Our staff was amazing in working through the struggles and we thank them for their continued efforts and teamwork. Thankfully, we have seen a decline in Covid for the time being.

Needs Assessment Survey

The Hinton Community School District is conducting a needs assessment to help us determine how we can continually improve on behalf of our students, families, and community. This process is being led by a committee made up of parents, staff members, students, alumni, and community members.

Now, we would like to invite you to take a survey to help us identify our most pressing needs. You may do so by clicking on the Needs Assessment Survey button above.

The survey is anonymous, takes a few minutes to complete, and will be open through the end of the day on Friday, February 18.

The State of Iowa requires school districts to take part in the needs assessment process every five years. For HCSD, it represents an opportunity for us to seek the feedback of our community members as we plan for the future.

Thank you in advance for your participation!

February 18

Reminder: We will not have school on Friday, February 18, since we have a professional development day for our teachers on that day.

Activities:

Winter activities are in full swing right now and our Hinton Blackhawks have been excelling in all. It's an exciting time of year as they all begin their quest in regional competitions and post-season tournaments. Come on out and cheer on your Blackhawks. We are excited to see Show Choir and Jazz Band back in action competing with audiences again. It has been a long two years for them not having that opportunity.

Congratulations to the Hinton Soundwaves Show Choir for receiving Division I ratings from all three judges at the Iowa High School Music Association Show Choir Festival on January 31 in Sioux Center.

Hinton Advisory Committee:

We will have a Hinton Advisory Committee on Monday, February 28 at 5:30 pm in the high school library. We will discuss the Needs Assessment Survey, discuss next year's school calendar, and review our Wellness Policy at that meeting. If you are interested in serving on the committee, please email me at ken.slater@hintonschool.com.

Convenience Fees:

The school board decided to stop paying convenience fees for SchoolPay charges. For example, in the past, if you paid $100.00 for lunch funds the convenience fees would be $3.40 and the school would pay $2.40 of that and users would pay $1.00. Over time, that has cost the district approximately $20,000.00. Please remember that we accept checks or cash as well so this can save you the convenience fees.

Rounding Up our Future Kindergarten Students

Children who are new to Hinton Elementary and who will be 5 years old by September 15, 2022 are encouraged to contact school to get their child on the 2022-2023 Kindergarten list. Once we have contact information, families will receive an information packet with forms to complete, descriptions and purposes of our transitional kindergarten and traditional kindergarten programs, and information about Hinton Elementary. Students already attending preschool at Hinton do not need to contact school to get on the list; we have your contact info. Preschool parents will meet with their child’s teacher at March 22 and 24 parent-teacher conferences to discuss the most appropriate and beneficial program for their child. Those new to our district are welcome to contact school to set up an in-person meeting, virtual meeting or phone call if they would like more information on making the decision between TK or Kindergarten.

We no longer have a spring round up day, however we are available to answer questions and give building tours upon request (call 947-4327 or e-mail our administrative assistant kim.jauer@hintonschool.com or principal Kathy.rhodes@hintonschool.com)

Preschool Openings

We are taking applications for our 3 year old preschool for the 2021-2022 school year. The 4 yr old program is full, however your child can be placed on our waiting list. Along with preschool, we offer wrap around child care for our 3 and 4 year olds. Parents will find the application on our district website (www.hintonschool.com). Click on the “Students & Parents” link on the left and select “Preschool”. The application is available under the “Information” section on that page. If you have questions that are not answered with the information available on our preschool page, please call Stacy Boeve at 947-4339 or the elementary office at 947-4327 and speak with Kim Jauer.

Open Enrollment

Students living outside of the Hinton district who are currently attending preschool or will be new to Hinton Schools during the 2022 – 2023 school year need to complete and open enrollment form. Forms can be downloaded at https://educateiowa.gov/pk-12/options-educational-choice/open-enrollment#2022-23_Open_Enrollment or contact the superintendent’s office to obtain forms. March 1 is the deadline for students entering grades 1 – 12. The deadline is later for those entering kindergarten, however, we encourage parents to complete these forms ASAP to ensure we have enough space at that grade level. Open enrollment only needs to be completed once for each child, but must be approved and on file prior to the child attending our school.

Presidential Wax Museum

Second grade students are looking forward to presenting their presidential research on February 17. The students will research a president during late January and early February. From 9:15-10:00 on February 19, students will dress as their president and share the contributions and interesting information they discovered regarding their president of choice. Families are welcome to join us in the elementary commons for this come and go event.

Therapeutic Classroom

In January, we completed our mid-year assessment of our Therapeutic Classroom. Using the rubric that was designed by the state of Iowa for the grant, we identified the steps we have taken to make growth in the areas of Support for Qualified Committed Professionals, Development of Therapeutic Classroom Supports, Family/Community Supports, the Therapeutic Intervention System, and Program-Wide Components. We were very pleased to see the evidence of the immense growth we have made since we first started dreaming of how a therapeutic classroom could benefit our students. We have found success serving the students who qualify for the classroom after being referred, having a Functional Behavior Assessment completed, and eventually a Behavior Intervention Plan written and in place. We have also helped the general student population through staff development and the continued use and emphasis on building wide mindset of the month, morning meetings, and PBIS. Our goals for the remainder of the year are to continue what we are doing, select and implement an assessment for student SEL competencies, and survey families regarding their most pressing needs related to social-emotional well being and their child.

PBIS Frequently Asked Questions

What is Positive Behavior Support?

PBIS is a process for creating safer and more effective schools. It is a research-based, school-wide, and classroom behavior support system. The process focuses on improving our school’s ability to teach and support positive behavior for all students. PBIS is not a program or a curriculum. It is a team-based process for systemic problem solving, planning, and evaluation. It is an approach to creating a safe and productive learning environment where teachers can teach and all students can learn.

What is PBIS at Hinton Elementary?

We have adopted a unified set of expectations called, The Blackhawk Code. The Blackhawk Code defines our expectations for behavior in our school. Students and visitors will see the Blackhawk Code posted throughout the school. Your child was introduced to these expectations on the first day of school and practices and reviews the expectations on an ongoing, continuous basis. Our expectations, found in every classroom and non-classroom setting in the school, are as follows:

o Be Respectful

o Be Responsible

o Be Safe

o Be Prepared

As part of our PBIS process, teachers and other staff members use evidence-based practices to increase student learning and decrease classroom disruptions. To keep students on the rules in a positive manner, we do the following when teaching academics and behavior:

· Constantly teach and refer to our school-wide expectations.

· Provide students with more praise than correction.

· Talk to students with respect using positive voice tone.

· Actively engage everyone in the class during instruction.

· Use pre-correcting, prompting, and redirecting as we teach.

· Look for the positive first and provide positive, immediate, frequent, and explicit feedback.

How do we know if PBIS is working?

Staff members collect data on behaviors. Students are acknowledged for positively following the expectations with Buddy cards. When a class earns 100 of these cards, a classroom celebration is held and our building Buddy is moved one space. When the building Buddy makes it back to the nest that promotes our schoolwide expectations, the entire building earns a celebration. Our approach keeps the focus on the positive and reward students for their success.

On the other side of the coin, a team looks at the data each week and notes the locations, days, times, behaviors, students and the perceived reason a rule or expectation was not followed. The team identifies important data that needs to be passed on to grade level teams and identifies students that would benefit from additional praise, reteaching of an expectation, or additional attention. This information is passed on to the teaching staff who analyze their grade level data every couple of weeks to determine interventions. Maybe an expectation needs to be retaught, maybe we need more supervision in an area, maybe we need to add a brain break in at a certain time or on a certain day that is troublesome, maybe we need to adjust a child’s goal. This data collection, analysis, and problem-solving help us determine how well our system is working, suggests areas for continuous growth, and tells us when we need to celebrate.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Research shows that student achievement increases when parents, students and teachers work as a team. A parent-teacher conference is an opportunity for you and your child’s teachers to engage in conversations about student learning at home and at school.

Hinton Schools will be holding virtual spring parent-teacher conferences from 5:00-8:00 p.m. on March 22 and 24 and from 3:30-7:30 p.m. Parents will schedule their own conferences on-line, in the same way the process worked last fall.

When the time comes for your parent-teacher conference, the teacher will share how your child is performing academically, information on your child’s work habits, how your child behaves at school and how your child has adjusted socially. Parents are encouraged to ask questions, provide feedback on whether or not they are receiving adequate communication, and share information on their child’s perspective, interests, hopes, and dreams. Parents know their children best, so it is important to share information that will help the teacher understand your child and his or her needs and interests. Remember, you don’t have to wait until conferences to communicate concerns or information. Communication about changes in the home that could affect school performance, any difficulties your child may be experiencing in school, or questions about the best way to help your child should be addressed in a timely fashion. Parents are always welcome and encouraged to e-mail, call, or schedule a time to meet with the teacher to ensure the home-school connection is strong.

Visualization to Improve Comprehension

Good readers form mental pictures as they read. You can help your child improve comprehension by reading a book without letting him or her see the illustrations. Ask your child to describe what he or she sees in their mind. What does the setting look like? How are the characters dressed? What do you think the characters look like? You can also read a short story and have your child draw what he or she saw in their mind.

Another way to do this is to read the first page of a book and ask the child to visualize what is happening. After the child has had time to describe the mind picture, show him or her the illustration from the book and ask how the book illustration

Spring Pictures

Every child will have their picture taken on March 30. Packages will be sent home and parents will have the opportunity to purchase all of the package, purchase individual pages of the packet, or return the package without purchasing. Any pages not being purchased must be returned. An envelope will be included for payment of pictures being purchased.

Mark These Dates

Feb. 7 – TK-3 Dental Screenings & Fluorde Application

Feb. 9 – 8:40 PK-3 Assembly

2 hr. Early Dismissal for Staff PD

Feb. 17 – 9:15-10:00 2nd Grade Presidential Wax Museum

Feb. 18 – No School for Students: Staff PD Day

Feb. 21 – No School for Students or Staff

Mar. 9 - 2 hr. Early Dismissal for Staff PD

Mar. 22 – 1 hr. Early Dismissal for Parent-Teacher Conferences; P-T Conferences 3:30-7:30

Mar. 24 - 1 hr. Early Dismissal for Parent-Teacher Conferences; P-T Conferences 3:30-7:30

Mar. 25 – No School for Students or Staff

Mar. 30 – Spring Pictures

Apr. 6 - 2 hr. Early Dismissal for Staff PD

Apr. 14 - 2 hr. Early Dismissal for the holiday

Apr. 15 – No School

Apr. 18 – No School

Apr. 20 - 2 hr. Early Dismissal for Staff PD

Apr. 29 – HPA Glow Run

May 11 - 2 hr. Early Dismissal for Staff PD

4-6

Staff has been busy planning celebrations for students and positive behaviors that have been on display over the last two months. We have a very high percentage of students following the Blackhawk Code and the teachers have been busy planning special days for the students.

Congratulations to our January Students of the Month.

ATHLETICS:

With the state sponsored tournaments approaching this is a friendly reminder that if you attend you will need to purchase tickets online at either the IGHSAU or IHSAA. Information on that procedure is on those respective websites.

2-5-22 Sectional Wrestling at Moville

2-12-22 District Wrestling at Onawa, West Monona

2-17-19 State meet at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines

Girls and Boys basketball tournament pairings will be released soon. For these games online tickets will need to be purchased.

Local and Regional Scholarships -

We are entering the window of many deadlines for local and regional scholarships. The scholarship list is on the 7-12 Counseling page.

Last Dollar Scholar Clarification -

There has been some confusion regarding the Last Dollar Scholar scholarship application. There is not an application. The Last Dollar Scholar will automatically be awarded to a student who completes the FAFSA and is entering a program listed under the eligible programs criteria. For the WITCC list of free programs go to www.witcc.edu/freetuition. Other community colleges also have different programs since it is based on their local labor shortages, so students need to each check their specific school program lists.

Award Letters -

Award letters are just starting to trickle in from smaller colleges. Students need to carefully read through what is being offered and how many loans are listed in the offer. Also, you should call financial aid offices to advocate if you think there is an error or to check on other scholarship options within that college. If you have a couple of award letters, treat this like a car deal and negotiate. Larger division I schools will typically send out award letters starting in late March - May. Students will have to either sign the award letter to accept for go into their online admissions account to accept the award letter. Student loans are distributed through the financial aid office as well as the Parent Plus loan if this is something for which you are needing.

On Thursday, February 3rd the Relay for Life Team “Hinton Hope” will be hosting their annual coaches vs cancer event at the home basketball game versus the South O’Brien Wolverines. This year the team chose the color orange to raise awareness for leukemia.

We encourage the community to come to the game wearing orange. Let’s pack the gym!

In between the girls and boys varsity games, a slideshow will be shown with pictures and names of loved ones who are currently battling cancer or have lost their brave fight. If you have a loved one you’d like to honor or remember, email krista.nelson@hintonschool.com and provide their name, type of cancer, and attach a photo if possible.

The year started off with lots of math and converting for the chemistry students. Hopefully they recognize the importance of including labels in their work. Next they started in with the (sometimes dreaded) significant digits which will continue all year. We worked with how to graph information on a computer and turn it in digitally. After a quick review of properties of matter we moved on to atomic models. The class simulated Rutherford’s famous gold foil experiment, which lead to the idea of the nucleus being “in the middle” of an atom. They are currently studying the orbitals where electrons can be found, and the math behind topics such as electromagnetic radiation and photons. The students got to look at emission spectrum tubes to compare different elements’ spectra. They also burned splints soaked in different chemicals to see what color was produced by that specific metal, which is how “fireplace crystals” you buy at a retail store work.

The pictures of the kids in the lab do not do justice to how pretty the flames were that day in the room.

Fourth graders recently had the opportunity to have Ms. Brigita Rasmussen come into the classroom to learn about Iowa’s pork production. They watched a video about how most pigs are no longer raised outside, but rather inside in clean and climate controlled barns. They also learned that Iowa leads the nation in hog production. After their lesson, they had time to build their own barns for their pig erasers using marshmallows and spaghetti noodles. Students had a great time with this steam activity! To end the lesson they played a game called “True or Hog Wash” using some of the information they learned. Hinton fourth graders are excited to have Agriculture in the Classroom come visit once a month the rest of the year.

The freshmen started out the year learning how to convert between metric and US standards. Next they reviewed maps, and learned about topographic maps, which was all new information for them. The class studied the topography of Hinton in some detail. We spent several weeks on basic chemistry topics, and they learned how to build and identify atomic models of some basic compounds. Minerals were the next chapter, which are the building blocks of rocks. We created crystal gardens using charcoal briquettes, ammonia, bluing solution, and table salt. They followed up minerals by studying igneous rocks, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. They learned how to use a dichotomous key (fancy name for a special chart) to identify certain rocks in our collection. We even got a movie day in (thanks Bill Nye) about rocks & soil. Hopefully we finish up the time periods just before semester tests and can enjoy a relaxing holiday break!

The kids did a nice job on their crystal gardens

Last year, a few members of the staff did a book study on a new approach to teaching and learning called personalized learning. This approach emphasizes giving students a voice and choice in their learning. I saw my creative writing class as a good place to try personalized learning because of the flexibility in pacing. Being an upper-level class, many of the students already have the base knowledge needed to complete the coursework. However, I can’t see personalized learning in all my classes where more direct instruction is required to ensure students receive a foundational understanding of the standards. Through the book study, we found many teachers are already using aspects of personalized learning in their classrooms. I couldn’t adopt the style completely, but took things I liked and thought would work in my classroom to develop my own style of personalized learning.

Like any instruction in a traditional classroom, state standards still drive the content. However, with personalized learning, students determine how they are going to meet those standards and demonstrate their learning. At the beginning of each unit, I post the standard they are to work towards as well as some essential questions to help guide them. There are certain required readings and assignments within each unit, but most of the work in demonstrating their mastery of the content and standard is left up to the students. In just the beginning few weeks, I have students create presentations, begin portfolios, write letters, and record videos as ways of answering the essential questions as they work towards becoming competent in the standard.

This approach allows the students to work at their own pace, within reason of course. Once students feel they have answered all the essential questions and can prove their mastery of the standard, they meet with me individually, and together, we fill out a rubric assessing the work they completed for that standard. Students must score at least an 80% in order to move on to the next unit. As students work on their own through the units, I am allowed the time to meet with students individually or in small groups to help anyone who may be struggling with a concept or falling behind.

As mentioned above there are definitely advantages and disadvantages to this approach. We have only been doing it for a month and an advantage I’m seeing is the amount of one-on-one time I get to spend with each student as they go through the planning, execution, and grading process of each standard. However, the amount of freedom allowed in deadlines and projects has created a feeling of confusion and anxiety in some. The students are used to being told what to do, how to do it, and when it is due. This approach requires a change in mindset, and we’re not quite there yet. I’m curious to see how it will all unfold throughout the rest of the semester.

The Biology students have completed a “create your own lab” where students were able to design a lab relating to photosynthesis and cellular respiration. They got to utilize their creativity and interests to further their understanding of how plants and humans are in a cycle, producing food and resources for each other. During the second semester we are learning about cellular replication, the basics of genetics, DNA and RNA.

During the first semester, Human Anatomy and Physiology students have shown their understanding of the skeletal system with a bone Rice Krispies lab. Building and modeling a bone, a bone fracture, and the layers of the skin with Rice Krispies and other foods. We are excited to take a trip to Briar Cliff University to observe and interact with a human cadaver during the second semester. Students will get to see and be hands on with human muscles, bones, ligaments, lungs, heart and other organs. We will also learn about the nervous system, cardiovascular, and respiratory system throughout the second semester.

For the past few months, the Intro. to Art students have been constructing, molding, wedging, and glazing various clay pieces using these 3 main ancient hand-building techniques: Coils, Slabs, and Pinch Pots. Each technique comes with their own challenges and requirements but many of the concepts are the same which makes creatively adapting these “rules” to create more sculptural pieces very easy to accomplish. However, the true challenge is whether or not you are willing to take on that creative risk… and I have to say, the Intro. to Art students were up for the task!

Pinch Pots

Pinch pots or “Thumb Pots” are one of the earliest forms of pottery methods known to man. It has been utilized by many cultures throughout human history and is a versatile enough method that even modern potters still use it today for both functional and decorative clay pieces! The technique: mold a ball of clay, press your thumb into its center, and in a circular motion (with the ball of clay in your other hand) press your thumb and hand together to get a bowl or pot shape. These Pinch Pots can be altered, connected, and changed into other forms- there is no limit to your imagination!

Coil Pots

A slightly more complicated ancient technique of developing clay vessels are Coils Pots. The clay coils are by definition “long pliable cylinders” or, in not so artistic terms, rolled out tubes of clay that look like a snake. Believe it or not these snake-like babies provide potters with the ability to create larger, taller vessels and when done correctly (with scoring and applying slip) these pieces are structurally sound and unlikely to collapse. Another cross cultural technique, these coils are used for a variety of hand-built pots and provide the artist multiple creative options. The process is to roll out coils (of a standard thickness), and “coil” them around a coil or slab base, while continually placing more coils on top. As you layer you must score and apply slip (which is essentially like clay glue). As you attach each coil you have the option of molding each coil internally or externally- this is why some coil pots are super obvious to spot if the coils on the outside are left exposed.

Slab Containers

The last and final technique we used- Slab Containers. Slabs are basically rolled out pieces of clay to a standard thickness (with rolling pins) and cut into various shapes. Image making and rolling out a pie crust or pizza dough, it is very similar to that. These slabs are then attached using coils, slip, and scoring. Slab containers provide you with a variety of functional and decorative options as well, but the majority of the pieces we created in class were either boxes or cylinders. Another great hand-built ceramic technique, but with a plethora of options!

Not only did these 1st period art students create some beautiful pieces, they successfully recycled and used up all the really, really, REALLY old clay left in the art room! If you ask any of these brave Intro. to Art students what it was like to reconstitute and wedge the old clay they will tell you how difficult, messy, and disgusting it really was… I am so proud of them being up for the challenge!

Hello! I am LaDonna Deavers! I am excited to be teaching here at Hinton. This is my first year here. I moved back to Iowa in June of 2021 following my divorce. Before that I lived in Maryland for the last three and a half years. I had previously lived in the Sioux City area since 1993. I now live in the Morningside area of Sioux City with my dog, Lovebug. I graduated from University of South Dakota (USD) with my Master’s in Special Education K-12 in 2004 and from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in 1993 with my Bachelor’s in Political Science & Philosophy.

This is my 21st year in education. I LOVE teaching! I am endorsed in Special Education K-12 as well as 5-12 social studies. In all my years in education, I have taught: In an after school program, In Youthbuild, an alternative high school and every grade level from K-12. I have taught in behavior classrooms, as well as autism programs. I have coached softball, been a class sponsor, sponsored many clubs and done many proms.

I have an amazing family! I have twin daughters who are 21 and 2 stepsons who are 18 and 16. My oldest daughter, Toni lives in Newcastle, NE with her Fiance and works in Vermillion, SD at a bank. My younger daughter, Tori lives in Sioux City with her boyfriend and works at a bank in Dakota Dunes. My oldest stepson, Reese, graduated from Rockville High School last year and is working to save money this year. He is planning on attending Montgomery College this fall in Rockville, Maryland. My younger stepson, Brendan, is a senior at Rockville High School in Maryland where they both live with my ex husband, their father.

Here at Hinton, I teach high school special education. I teach a homeroom class for seniors, as well as a study hall and a general math class. In my classes, I have my students set goals for each quarter and reflect on how it went at the end of each quarter. I have them check their grades each week, if not more often. If they are missing work, then I require an assignment planning sheet. This is a tool to help teach them how to be organized.

My class expectations are as follows:

• Be Respectful - to your teachers and fellow classmates
• Be responsible - Participate in class by asking questions, participating in discussions, and being an active member during small group discussions
• Be prepared - Complete in-class assignments, quizzes, and homework assignments
• Be safe - Make good decisions

I encourage students to advocate for themselves by asking questions and asking for help either in person or by email. I am always happy to hear from parents. I am more than happy to help any way I can. Please reach out with any questions or concerns. You can reach me by email at ladonna.deavers@hintonschool.com or by phone at (712)947-4328 X141.

We are excited to announce that Hinton Community School along with Northwest Iowa STEM Region will host a first-of-a-kind event for our students, titled Blackhawk STEM Fest. On 3 March 2022, we will have multiple state and regional companies or organizations in the gym for some awesome hands-on, experiential activities for our 8th - 12th grade students. About two weeks before the event, students will sign up for their preferred exhibitors to attend. Students will visit three exhibitors for 15 minutes each during a one-hour session. The event will start at 8:20am and conclude at 2:10pm.

Currently, we have 11 exhibitors confirmed to attend and we are working to get a total of 15. The companies/organizations attending to date are: Iowa Flood Center, ISU Extension - Plymouth County, Peoples Bank, Wells Enterprises, AgriVision Equipment, Central Valley Ag, 185th Air Wing, Department of Homeland Security, Interstates, Masaba, and State Fire Marshal. Each exhibitor has planned some fun, engaging, and informative activities for students to learn about the organization and experience a little bit about what they do. We are very appreciative of their support and efforts to expose our students to STEM-based career opportunities. As a thank you for their support, lunch will be provided for our exhibitors and volunteers.

Stephanie Bolinger, the school district’s ag teacher and FFA Adviser said, "The STEM Fest is an opportunity for students to experience careers related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. We hope to engage students in career fields they have not yet considered. Students shouldn't feel pressured to pick a career as soon as they graduate high school, with little to no knowledge of what interests them. Instead, high school should be an opportunity for them to explore as many careers as possible so when they graduate, they have a better understanding of their future career goals. We hope this results in increased numbers of individuals filling open positions within Iowa's workforce, especially in careers related to STEM."

We would also like to invite our parents, community members, and community businesses to consider supporting the event in any way they would like to contribute. We would love to have some volunteers for morning setup or afternoon breakdown, or perhaps some other ideas to contribute. If you have any questions or would like to offer support or to be a volunteer, please contact the event coordinator, Chad Sussex, by phone (712-947-4328) or email (chad.sussex@hintonschool.com).

If you would like to order a Yearbook, please see Mrs. Clabaugh or any of the Yearbook Staff.

You may also order online via the following link:

https://yearbookforever.com/schools/hinton_high_school_buy_yearbook_3570