Weekly Newsletter
FOR THE WEEK OF: Jan 13, 2025
Mon. Day 3/ Tues. Day 1/Wed. Day 2/Thur. Day 3/Fri. Day 1
Weekly Update:
- Jan. 13 - 2Hr Late Start
- Jan. 14 - PTA Meeting at Central Library at 6:00PM
- Jan. 16- Sweet Swirls Rolled Ice Cream and More/4:00-9:00PM ( North Polk After Prom Fundraiser)
- Jan. 20 - MLK Day/No school
Message from Principal
During the month of January our TK-5th grade teachers are giving several universal screeners that deepen our understanding of student progress, strengths, and areas of growth. Our TK-1st grade students will be given the one on one assessments called earlyReading and earlyMath. Our 2nd-5th grade students will be given the one on one assessment called CBM Reading and the computerized MAP reading and math assessments. Our team reviews individual student progress as well as progress for each classroom, grade level, and our building as a whole to see what instructional celebrations and shifts need to be made. These assessments will also be discussed with families during conferences in February. For additional information about how educators assess students from the Iowa Reading Research Center please follow this link.
If you would like to celebrate one of our staff members please complete this survey. Any celebrations received will be given to staff on a Central Celebrates certificate!
Whitney Longtin, Central Elementary Principal
Winter Dance Clinic
Is your student interested in dance? Join the North Polk Dance Team for a Winter Dance Clinic on January 17th and 19th at Big Creek Elementary from 4:00-6:30 PM. Dancers (K-5) will learn a jazz routine to perform at the Winter Showcase on January 19th at 6:00 PM at North Polk High School. All skill levels are welcome. Register by January 1st to guarantee a shirt.
We look forward to dancing with you!
Register HERE!
Fundraiser for North Polk After Prom
- Sweet Swirls Rolled Ice Cream and More, 303 SW School St. Ankeny IA
- Thursday, Jan. 16, from 4:00-9:00PM
PTA News
Next Central PTA Meeting is January 14, Central Library at 6PM.
PTA Hot Shot Contest
Join the North Polk Elementary PTA for their Hot Shot contest! The Hot Shot contest will take place at Big Creek Elementary in Polk City on Sunday, January 12 from 1-3 pm. Each student will need a parent or adult to partner with them. There's no need to register ahead of time! You can simply come when it works for you that day. We will have a girl and boy winner in each grade bracket that will join the Varsity teams for their Friday, January 17th game.
PTA Reflections
Do you enjoy art, music and dance or have an interest in writing, producing films and taking photos? Then join us and have fun unleashing your inner artist with PTA Reflections! For additional information visit https://ptaourchildren.org/
2024-2025 PTA Membership
Become a member and enjoy various levels of involvement including PTA meetings, join a committee of choice, come to family events, support fundraising efforts, and opportunities to volunteer! Click here to sign up.
Central 5th Grade Band Families,
It is so good to be back working with the 5th grade band! Here is a quick update of our next performance .
Next Performance: "Parade of Bands" Concert March 6th in the High School Auditorium.
-Be there at 5:10pm
-Perform at 5:30pm. Students will be done around 5:45pm. Feel free to stay and watch the 6-12 bands perform.
-Make-up date is March 7
What to listen for when students practice:
-Lesson Book: Students receive band karate ribbons for passing benchmark songs. Each circled song in their lesson book should get 5 tally marks for practicing it 5 times. Students can go to the Essential Elements Website on the back of their lesson book (access code is on the first page of their book) to listen to recordings of each song and play along. Encourage your kids to count and clap, say the note names, and practice just the fingerings before attempting to play a new song.
-New music for our concert: Mechanical Monsters
Please reach out with any questions!
Hanna Hoversten - Central 5th grade band
STEM News
Mrs. Dougherty has started a new engineering unit with the students TK-5th grade. All students in grades K-5th grade will be participating in an Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) program. ACE is designed to engage and inspire elementary students toward an interest in aviation, space, and other STEM-related careers. The ACE program is designed and provided by the Civil Air Patrol. Central is the only school in Iowa (out of 500 schools nationwide) that is participating in the program. The TK students will be participating in similar engineering activities as well.
The 3-5th grade students will also be participating in an online simulation as they learn about roller coasters. They will be learning about the various forces that go into roller coaster design as they design a roller coaster online. The students are very excited about these hands-on activities.
Recess Clothing Guidelines
It is that time of year again. Please follow this guide to know what to wear for recess.
- In the 50s? - Wear a sweatshirt or jacket
- In the 40s? - Wear a winter coat
- In the 30s or below? - Wear winter coat, hat/hood, and gloves/mittens
- Snow on the ground? - Wear winter coat, hat/hood, gloves/mittens, snow pants, and snow boots. If you do not have snow pants and snow boots you will stay on the blacktop.
Preschool on Early Out Days
There will be a change to our preschool schedule when the district has early outs. In order to see both classes and have equal time with each section the times will change for these days.
AM Classes- 8:15-10:15
PM Classes - 11:15-1:15
This schedule change will be on the following planned dates this year. (Red Boxes and Blue boxes on the school calendar). These fall on conference days and the day before Spring Break.
Dates: 2/25, 2/27 and 3/13.
School Lunches
Utilize Infinite Campus to manage your student’s lunch account and access the daily menu listed on our website. Be sure to add funds to your student’s lunch account today! The updated meal prices may be found here. For further questions please contact Anita Turczynski at anita.turczynski@northpolk.org.
Order your Elementary Yearbooks Now
Yearbooks $20.
Order Here For All 3 Buildings!
The North Polk Elementary Yearbook includes all three elementary buildings: Central, West, and Big Creek. All orders go to Central, where they are sorted and distributed to the classroom teachers at all three buildings.
From the Nurse
When to Stay Home From School - Illness Policy
As we navigate the seasons throughout the year, our school nursing staff regularly encounter various illnesses. To uphold a safe and healthy learning environment, please adhere to these guidelines:
-
Health Priority: The well-being of our students is our foremost concern. We strongly recommend keeping sick children at home.
-
Impact of Illness: Illness can weaken the immune system, making children more susceptible to infections. This can result in increased absences and disruptions in the classroom.
-
Symptoms to Monitor: Please monitor your child's health and consider having them stay home if they are going to be uncomfortable at school with any of these symptoms:
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny nose
- And then students must stay home if they have any of these symptoms:
- Fever(above 100 degrees per NPCSD guidelines)
- Vomiting or diarrhea
-
Return to School: Children should only return to school once they have been symptom-free for at least 24 hours. This precaution promotes a complete recovery and prevents illness transmission.
We appreciate your continuous cooperation and support in maintaining a healthy school environment throughout the year.
Register at INVENT.ORG/CAMP
- Grades: K - 6th
- Location: Big Creek Elementary 340 East Vista Lake Drive, Polk City, IA 50226
- Date: June 23 - 27, 2025
- Time & Cost: 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM | $275 (before discount)Save $25 with code FUN25 at invent.org/camp Payment plans available.
- Camp Director: Katelyn Swearing | katelyn.swearingin@northpolk.
org
Absence/Dismissal changes
If you have any changes to your students daily attendance or dismissal plan (vacations, ill student, appointments, etc), it is very important to inform the school of those changes by 2:30pm each day.
If you are emailing this information to the school, please include the teacher and the office secretary. sharon.knapp@northpolk.org
If you would like to call the office with this information, our phone number is 515-984-3400. Please select option 3, for North Polk Central Elementary.
We appreciate your help with this.
Events & Activities
Check every week for new sign-ups. Here are the latest North Polk events and activities!
https://www.northpolk.org/our-
Looking Ahead ....
- Jan. 13 - 2Hr Late Start
- Jan. 14 - PTA Meeting at Central Library at 6:00PM
- Jan. 20 - MLK Day/No school
- Jan. 27 - 2Hr Late Start
- Feb. 3 - 2hr Late Start
- Feb. 10 - 2Hr Late Start
- Feb. 17 - No School
- Feb. 24 - 2Hr Late Start
- Feb. 25 - Teacher Conferences/ 1:15 PM early Dismissal
- Feb. 27 - Teacher Conferences/ 1:15 PM early Dismissal
- Feb. 28 - No School/Professional Development