Duncombe Elementary Newsletter

Duncombe Elementary

Newsletter

TOGETHER

WE R

I

SE: Raising the Bar, Closing the Gap,

Believing All Kids Do Well If They Can

February

2021

Duncombe Elementary

Principal

Secretary

Main Office

FDCSD Main Office

Superintendent

Director of Special Needs

Pam Strangeland

Director of Education Services

Stephanie Anderson - Elementary Kirsten Doebel - Secondary

Important Dates

Monday, Feb. 1st NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, Feb. 2nd Booster Club meeting 7 pm

Tuesday, Feb. 9th Hearing screening for Kindergarten Monday, Feb. 15th NO SCHOOL

If school must be cancelled, delayed or dismissed early due to weather conditions, announcements will be made via:

Infinite Campus Phone Calls & Texts FDCSD Facebook and Twitter

www.fdschools.org

TV Stations: WHO, KCCI & WOI

Radio Stations: KWMT, KKEZ, KXFT, KZLB, KIAQ, KVFD, KTLB

The Messenger website and social media

If you currently do not receive phone calls/texts from the District and would like to, please log into your Infinite Campus Parent Portal and change your Contact Prefer-ences.

School Nurses Facebook Page

The FDCSD school nurses have a Facebook page to keep families up to date with important medical information. Please like and follow Fort Dodge Community School Nurses on Facebook!

Our 1st semester is completed, we are back in session with face to face instruction happening and we have some great things to celebrate!!

Ms. Hatton’s 4th Grade Class: Ms. Hatton, a 4th grade teacher at Duncombe applied for a grant early in the year and we recently found out in this cool video that she was awarded her grant!! Check out the video

and look for some interesting and innovative things to come from her classroom.

Ms. Grossnickle’s 3rd Grade Class: The 3rd Grade students in Ms. Grossnickle’s class took their learning to a new level. In their ELA class they were reading stories and studying about making a difference and they wanted to make a difference in their own community. They created their own Hot Chocolate stand and sold hot chocolate and some donated baked items to family and friends of the class. The line was all the way through the front driveway for a full 45 minutes and the students were able to raise $816 to benefit Dodger Academy, the school sponsored after school program. A special thank you to the Duncombe Booster Club for sponsoring the blue t-shirts all of the kids wore during the event!

Learning Kits: Look for some learning kits to come home in the next 4-6 weeks. The teachers are working on putting together materials and instructions so that we can partner with you better to help students learn at school and at home. The kits will be designed to have

Honoring Dr. King: In an effort to honor the work that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did for our country and to celebrate February as Black History Month, we have a speech contest any student is encouraged to

participate in. Here is a quick video to describe the contest and with February starting Black History Month, we will extend the deadline an extra couple of days.

Love, Serve, Care Mr. Flaherty

Duncombe Elementary Principal

Student practicing her Duncombe’s Dream speech

Know Someone Who Wants to Be a Dodger?

Open Enrollment Deadline for 21-22 is March 1

Our mission at the FDCSD is to provide quality learning experiences and build relationships that develop productive citizens ready for their futures. A child’s educational experiences including coursework, activities and relationships, will prepare him for his future; what his post-secondary experience will be and the ca-reer choice he will make. With our variety of classes and activities, we truly offer something for everyone!

If you know someone whose child currently does not attend our schools but who could benefit from what we have to offer, please share this information with them. The open enrollment deadline for the 2021-22 school year is March 1, 2021. The application can be found at http://www.fdschools.org/en/student_registration/ or is available in the superintendent’s office at the FDCSD Central Office.

At the Fort Dodge Community School District, we are professional, high-performing team players focused on delivering the best

possible learning experience for each one of our 3600 students. We respect diversity, value integrity, reward competitively, celebrate success and support employee growth and development. We aim to attract, develop and retain the best people as part of our Dodger family.

We are currently looking for substitute teachers, paras and bus drivers. If you or someone

you know is interested please visit the FDCSD website to apply. Equal Opportunity Employer

Students in Mrs. Grossnickle’s 3rd grade class started a project where they designed their

own hot chocolate stand. The students decided to put their learning into practice and have

their own actual hot chocolate stand with the proceeds going towards Dodger Academy.

The students had a long line for over an hour and they raised over $800 for Dodger Academy.

WAY TO GO DUNCOMBE 3RD GRADERS!

FD School Food Service Facebook Page

The FDCSD food service department now has a Facebook page. Please like and follow https://

www.facebook.com/FD-School-Food-Service-106695827917265 on Facebook for more info and many

deli-cious looking photos of student meals!

School Libraries Facebook Page

The FDCSD school libraries have a Facebook page to share with families the fun learning that takes place in our libraries and makerspaces. Please like and follow Fort Dodge School Libraries on Facebook!

Duncombe Students Explore the Science Behind Music

The science behind making music can be challenging. Students at Duncombe Elementary found out it can also be fun. Third and fourth graders in math and/or reading extension groups participated in a lesson called

“STEAM Investigation: Instruments and Science” to dive deeper into the math and science behind music and sound.

“Not many students take instrumental lessons outside of school, so they all come in with the same amount of background knowledge,” said Karine Feddersen, elementary talented and gifted teacher. “This provided an ex-cellent opportunity to challenge and extend the learning of some of our students beyond the core curriculum in their classrooms.”

The students learned about the families of instruments: brass, percussion, woodwind and strings, by sorting pictures into groups. For this lesson they then focused on the string family. They learned how shapes and ves-sels make different sounds, the purpose of different parts of the stringed instruments, how to change the pitch of a stringed instrument and the difference between acoustic and electric instruments.

Jason Drew, paraeducator at Duncombe Elementary, played the students a song on his guitar. When asked how he changed the notes in the song, the students responded with, “by moving his fingers to change the combina-tions” and “by moving one hand while pushing down on the strings with the other.”

Jeremy Pearson, FDCSD Director of Technology and local musician, talked about acoustic and bass guitars. He explained the acoustic guitar does not need plugged in and is hollow with a hole which lets the sound echo so it can be heard. In contrast, he explained the bass guitar does need plugged in, is not hollow or have a hole and must be used with an amplifier for the sound to be heard.

The students learned that the length and thickness of the strings, along with how tight they are pulled deter-mines how high or low the sound is. They also learned that vibration forms the sound wave so the music can be heard.

To demonstrate their learning, the students worked together using their new knowledge to problem solve how to play the tune “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on the ukulele, xylophone and boom whackers.

“This lesson helped challenge the thinking and build on the learning of our students,” Feddersen said. “They enjoyed the struggle of determining how the instruments worked and figuring out how to play the song on the various instruments.”

It is the policy of the Fort Dodge Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, ancestry, age, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, physical attributes, religion, political party preference, political belief, socioeconomic status, veter-an’s status, actual or potential parental, family or marital status in its programs, services, and employment practices. If you have questions or grievanc-es related to this policy, please contact Dr. Stephanie Anderson (Director of Elementary Education), and Dr. Kirsten Doebel (Director of Secondary

Education), Central Administration Office, 109 North 25th _{Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501, (576-1161) or contact the Civil Rights Midwestern Division for}

U. S. Department of Education Office, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661-4544. (Alternate for Section 504 is Pamela Stangeland, Director of Special Education/Special Needs, 515-574-5675).

The District’s Compliance Coordinator for Affirmative Action is Kimberly Whitmore, who can be reached at 576-1161 or 109 North 25th _{Street, Fort}

Dodge, IA 50501.

The District’s Designated Investigators of Physical/Sexual Abuse of Students by School Employees are Dr. Stephanie Anderson (Director of

Elemen-tary Education), and Dr. Kirsten Doebel (Director of Secondary Education). They can be reached at 576-1161 or 109 North 25th _{Street, Fort Dodge, IA}

50501. The alternate is Pam Stangeland. She can be reached at 574-5675 or 109 North 25th _{Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.}

The District’s Officers for Harassment Complaints and Allegations are Dr. Stephanie Anderson (Director of Elementary Education), and Dr. Kirsten

Doebel (Director of Secondary Education). They can be reached at 576-1161 or 109 North 25th _{Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.}

Virtual Learning Snow Days

We recently announced that virtual learning will be required on days when our schools are physically closed due to winter weather. Here is information regarding what these days will look like.

Elementary Students - direct instruction will take place between 9 - 11:30 a.m. This will include Morning Meeting, Reading Modules, Foundational Skills or Writing, Math, Science/Social Studies and exploratories. These direct instruction lessons will be provided via live lessons on Google Meet with recordings available. Students should spend their afternoon completing independent practice of reading, writing, math, social studies and labs and ELA for TK-2 graders and Type to Learn for 3-4 graders. The morning and afternoon combined should be about 5 hours of instruction. Students who do not join the live instruction or log on to watch the recordings will be counted absent and will be required to make up all work for the day. Students who normally learn At Home will continue their lessons in Edgenuity. Questions about virtual learning days for elementary students should be directed to Emma Lampe at Central Office 515-576-1161.

Students who do not have internet access at home may check out a hotspot from the Central Office between 8-4:30 Monday through Friday beginning anytime. They will be available on a first come, first serve basis. Hot spots will need to be returned to the Central Office at the end of the school year.