December 2018/

January 2019

Produced by: The Big Sandy Yearbook Staff

Elementary Principal Notes:

Kathy Tucker

1-3

Secondary Principal Notes:

Sammi Swennes 3-6

Superintendent/Board Notes:

Steve Wilson

7

Counselor’s Corner:

Chad Thieman

8-9

Girl’s Only Movie Celebration 9

Book Fair Results 10

Yearbook Order Form 10

Santa Picture Order Form 11

December Lunch Menu 12

December Calendar 13

January Calendar 14

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Tucker Tidbits for Elementary Kathy Tucker, Elementary Principal

It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is already here, and soon it will be time for Christmas

break. Students, remember to continue to make learning a priority as we bring the first semester

to a close, and thank your teachers for all they do for you on a daily basis.

If you have walked into the hallways of our school recently, I am sure that you have noticed the

beautiful holiday decorations in November and now December. Chris Hamacher spends a great

deal of time making sure that our school is festive and bright. Thank you, Chris, for making our

learning environment the best in the state! We appreciate you!

Math Month

Fifty-seven elementary students took advantage of a learning opportunity and participated in

math month. Thank you students! Remember, Writing Month is just around the corner!

Veteran’s Door Decorating Contest

In honor of our veterans, a door decorating contest was held in conjunction with our Veteran’s

Day activities. First place went to Mrs. Thieman’s first grade class, second place to Mrs. Stanko’s

third grade, and third place to Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Townley’s second grade. Congratulations!

A big thanks to all classes and teachers for making this a memorable day for all.

Tucker Tidbits continued on page 2...

Simla Junior High School is in need of a Junior High

Wrestling Coach in February. Please contact Al Snyder,

asnyder@bigsandy100j.org or at 541-2291 if interested.

Backstage Tour

On November 5th, the fourth and fifth grade

students attended a Backstage Tour in Denver

at the Performing Arts Complex. Students

were taught about all aspects of a theatrical

performance including stage craft, fight

choreography, makeup/wigs, costumes, and

professional singing.

The elementary Matchwits team has had an extremely

successful season so far. They have competed in two

matches this year placing first both times while competing

against fourteen other teams. The team is looking forward

to two more matches this year: Friday, February 1st at

Miami-Yoder and Monday, March 4th at Calhan. The team

will have a Christmas party on December 11th from 4:00 to

5:00 p.m. Practices will resume on January 8th. Other

scheduled practices will be on January 15th, 22nd, 29th, and

February 12th, 19th, and 26th. All practice times will be from

4:00 to 5:15 p.m. The elementary team is coached by Mrs.

Jones and Mrs. Jenkins. Congratulations!

Santa Claus is coming to our

school on December 6th! Thank

you to our National Honor

Society for making this possible.

See flyer on page 11 for more

information and to order

pictures.

The K-12 Parent/Teacher Conferences have been changed

from February 18th to February 21st. Monday, February

18th will be a normal day of school. On Thursday,

February 21st we will dismiss school at 1:30 p.m. and then have Parent/Teacher Conferences from

3:00-8:00 p.m.

Page 2 The Cub Reporter ...Tucker Tidbits continued from page 1

Santa Claus to Visit Elementary Students

Santa Claus is coming to our school on December 6th! Thank you to our National Honor Society for making this possible.

First Semester

Our first semester ends on Thursday, December 20th. Report cards will be sent home after we return

from our Christmas break. If a teacher has a concern about a student’s progress, then parents will be

contacted. Please make sure to have your child read and complete his/her homework on time while

making quality work a priority.

Elementary Basketball Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Cox, coaches, and officials for making this program possible. Students, remember to apply the TrueSport principles.

Extended Kindergarten Day It is with much excitement that our school will offer an extended day to our current kindergarten students. Beginning in January, kindergarten students will attend school until 2:00 p.m. Extending the day will offer more educational opportunities as well as providing an improved transition into first grade next year.

TrueSport Celebration

On Thursday, December 14th from 2:30-3:50 p.m., High School TrueSport athletes will be working with our first

through fifth grade students on developing skills and practicing TrueSport behavior. Awards for the first semester

TrueSport athletes will be handed out. Riley Maranville and Kegan Hamacher are co-presidents of our TrueSport

organization. Thank you, Riley, Kegan, and all High School TrueSport athletes!

Tucker Tidbits continued on page 3...

December Student of the Month

Dakotah Lazor is a second grader in Mrs. Cox’s class. She was nominated by her teacher for being such a hard worker and succeeding in making huge gains while working

independently. Mrs. Cox stated that she is very proud of Dakotah for rising to high expectations and striving to meet her academic goals. Congratulations Dakotah!

Elementary Christmas Program

Elementary students, along with some special junior high “actors and

actresses”, will be presenting “A Beary Merry Holiday” and “Karaoke

Christmas” on Wednesday, December 12th at 7:00 p.m. under the

direction of Mrs. Hass. All elementary students, K-5th, will be

participating in this Christmas celebration. “A Beary Merry Holiday”

will be performed by K-2nd students followed by the 3rd-5th graders

presenting “Karaoke Christmas.”

Before the program, FBLA will be serving an all you can eat chili supper

with all the fixins’ for all students and their families beginning at

5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria for $5.00 a bowl/plate.

Come support our students!

Page 3 December 2018/January 2019 ...Tucker Tidbits continued from page 2

Girls’ Night Out!!!! All girls are invited to celebrate their Book Fair victory with a movie night on December 18th from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Bring a pillow and blanket and come prepared to have fun! Thanks to Mrs. Montague for hosting these fun and friendly competitions.

Coming up… The elementary will be hosting a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) night at the end of January. This will be a great night of fun learning in math, science, and the arts for all students and their families. Letters containing more details will be sent home in January.

Thanks to… All veterans for serving our country Mrs. Stell, Mr. Tucker and Chris Hamacher for the memorable assembly in honor of our veterans All parents for being a support for your children and our school All elementary students for a great first semester of learning

Have a wonderful holiday season! May it be filled with lots of laughter, hugs, and time spent with family and friends!

From the Principal’s Desk Sammi Swennes, Secondary Principal

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

― Benjamin Franklin

Year-to-Date We have had a very successful school year thus far. A big WOOHOO to our football team for qualifying for the first round of the state playoffs! Congratulations to our volleyball team on their successful season advancing to the regional tournament. Basketball season is well under way for our junior high teams. The High School basketball season starts on November 30

th with a home opener against ECA. I encourage all of you to come watch our

student-athletes in action.

Student Involvement We want to encourage our students to participate in as many activities as possible. We believe that even though academics are a high priority, student activities, including athletics, can be of great benefit to the student.

Extracurricular and co-curricular activities represent an exceptional opportunity for the student to develop a spirit of healthy competition, understand the value of sportsmanship, create constructive relationships with peers and adults, increase physical fitness, and appreciate lifetime leisure activities. They also allow the student an opportunity to practice leadership, goal-setting, communication, citizenship and organizational skills. Being flexible, patient, a good team member, and a person of character and integrity are all positive outcomes that can be gained from participating in sports and extracurricular activities at school. Research has also shown that students, who participate in activities at school, achieve higher grades and miss fewer days of school than students who do not participate in any activities. Encourage your children to participate in some of the many activities offered at Big Sandy Schools.

Lost and Found We have a number of items in our lost and found bins. Please stop by the school and check for any items your child is missing. In the near future, all unclaimed items will be donated to a local charity.

Attendance The season of sicknesses has started. If your child misses a day of school due to illness, please be sure to either call the school or send a note to let us know if the absence is excused. Please encourage your child to wash their hands throughout the day and not to share food and drinks with each other to avoid the spread of germs.

If your child has had excessive absences this semester they may be required to attend a Monday School in December. If your child has over 8 daily absences/8 or more absences in one class they will need to attend a Monday School to make up the time missed, so that they do not lose credit for the class.

From the Principal’s Desk continued on page 4...

Page 4 The Cub Reporter ...From the Principal’s Desk continued from page 3

The Princess King!

I hope you all had the chance to come see the drama performance, The Princess King, on November 14th. It was a

spectacular performance by the drama students, and a big thank you to Mrs. Bauer for all her hard work! I have a

feeling we may be seeing some of these kids in the spotlight in their future!

From the Principal’s Desk continued on page 5...

C.U.B.S. CREW

The Simla Junior High has started a leadership group this year called the C.U.B.S. Crew. The mission of the C.U.B.S. Crew is to Care about our peers, Unite in our mission, Be a leader, and Serve our

community (C.U.B.S). Their first community service project of the school year was Operation Warm. This project consisted of a contest with the preschool through 12th graders bringing in warm winter gear. This last Saturday some of the members of the C.U.B.S. Crew were able to hand deliver and donate the warm winter gear to the RJ Montgomery Salvation Army Homeless Shelter in Colorado

Springs. Through their actions they were able to deliver 86 pairs of gloves, 139 winter hats, 145 pairs of socks, 33 scarves, 90 handwarmers, 204 hoodies, 14 pairs of snow boots, 48 blankets, 52 winter

coats, 4 tarps, 10 sleeping bags, and 6 tents.

Christmas Break

We hope that Thanksgiving was a restful time for you and your family. We all look forward to the Christmas Season and the end of the first semester. The winter break will begin on December 21

st

and we will return to school on January 8th.

Page 5 ...From the Principal’s Desk continued from page 4

December 2018/January 2019

Junior High Incentive Trip

We had a great time at our 1st quarter Junior High Incentive trip. Students were invited to a

movie night at the school if they met the qualification criteria. They watched Mall Cop on the big screen, ate lots of snacks, and then participated in Minute to Win It games in teams.

December Incentive Trip In December the Incentive Field Trip for junior high students will again be by invitation only.

Junior High Students must qualify to earn attendance on this fun-filled trip! For students to qualify they have to have a 70% or above in every class, AND they must

qualify in all of the following categories of: 3 or less tardies in each class, 4 or less absences in the 2

nd quarter, and no office referrals that resulted in an in school suspension or out of school suspension.

From the Principal’s Desk continued on page 6...

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Reminder of ½ Day Policy Secondary students participating in extra-curricular activities (sports and clubs) must be in attendance a ½ day in order to practice or play in an event for that same day. The definition of a ½ day is 4 hours of attendance in a school day. If a bus is leaving after 12:00 p.m. the student must be in attendance for 4 hours of that school day. If the bus is leaving earlier that 12:00 p.m. the student must be in attendance for all hours in that school day. If a student is going to be gone more than 4 hours during a school day and would like to participate in practice/game/event of that day their absence must be pre-excused. Pre-excused absences have to be approved by an administrator, and must be done at a minimum of the day before the expected absence.

The administration and staff would like to wish you and your family a

Happy Holiday season! We are blessed to work with your kids every day

and appreciate everything that you do to support your child’s education at

Big Sandy Schools!

SENIOR RETREAT

In October, Mr. Thieman and Mrs. Swennes took the senior class on their annual senior retreat. It is a day of bonding for the senior class. We took them to lunch at Pueblo Viejo in Colorado Springs where we met

Simla Alumnist, Trey Pinyerd, and he spoke to the class about planning for their future as adults. After lunch we went to Dart Warz to continue our bonding time. This is one of my favorite days of the school year,

getting to visit with the seniors outside of school and to discuss their future.

Page 7 Superintendent/Board Notes Steve Wilson, Superintendent

Veteran’s Day

The Veteran’s Day remembrance was great! We had over 20

veterans be our guests for an all school assembly and then lunch.

Thank you to those who serve and who have served us and our

country in the United States military. Thank you also to Mr. Tucker,

Mrs. Stell, Mrs. Hamacher, Mrs. Maranville, Mrs. Warnecke, and

Mrs. Salazar for organizing the day, and thank you to the students

and staff that decorated and prepared for our veterans.

Way to Go…

Our Student Council organization is off to a fantastic start with their many activities and

competitions that promote student interaction and school spirit.

Our junior high C.U.B.S. Crew leadership group is off to a great start.

Our volleyball teams had a great fall with the junior high and high school volleyball

teams becoming Black Forest League champions and the football teams also winning

most of their games.

Good job to the drama students for a great production and to the matchwits teams for

their successes so far. And thank you cheerleaders for a good fall season.

We look forward to the many school activities this winter. We are very thankful for

the good start to our school year and thankful for our students and staff at Big Sandy

Schools!

Governor’s Budget

The Governor’s Preliminary Budget was introduced this past month. Revenues for the state

are projecting favorably. The legislative session will take the current Governor’s Budget as a

starting point and then will be working on it throughout the legislative session which will start

in January.

Winter Caution

Please be careful when driving and walking around the school as we begin to get into the snowy

season. Although our custodians do a great job with snow removal, please let your children

know to use extra caution on inclement weather days.

We hope you and your children have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Contact Information

Please also let Alisa

Easler in the office

(541-2291) know of any

contact information

changes in phone

numbers or e-mail

addresses so that we can

keep in contact especially

with short notice

communications such as

school late starts or

cancellations.

Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences

The K-12 Parent/Teacher Conferences have been changed from February 18

th to

February 21st. Monday, February 18

th will be

a normal day of school. On Thursday, February 21

st we will dismiss school at 1:30 p.m.

and then have Parent/Teacher Conferences from 3:00-8:00 p.m.

December 2018/January 2019

Junior High Wrestling Coach Needed

Simla Junior High School is in need of a Junior High Wrestling Coach in February.

Please contact Al Snyder, asnyder@bigsandy100j.org or at

541-2291 if interested.

Counselor Notes Chad Thieman, Counselor

Page 8 The Cub Reporter

SENIORS

It’s the first of December! Hopefully seniors have applied to at least three of their top choices

for college and have been receiving notifications of acceptance. I encourage all of our seniors

to work hard in the weeks before Christmas to get their applications submitted.

Senior Seminar

In Senior Seminar, our Senior Projects are wrapping

up! 10-page research papers have been handed in!

Based on their research, each student is also creating

a PowerPoint presentation to give before a panel of

judges from our community during the week of

December 11th – 14th. The senior who is judged to have

the best overall presentation will win a gift card! This

year we again required a job shadow experience for

each senior. I hope that this was a valuable time in

helping our students get a first-hand and practical

look at the day-to-day requirements of their career

choice. Parents – thank you for helping your student

complete this requirement! In January we will begin a

Career Success unit as well as continuing to work on

scholarship applications.

FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available now online at

www.fafsa.ed.gov. Financial information needed to complete the FAFSA comes from your

family’s completed 2017 tax forms. This is a free process so if you encounter any charges being

requested then you have accessed the wrong site. In order to sign your completed FAFSA you

will need a FSA id. The process for obtaining this is found at www.fsaid.ed.gov. I am always

willing to help you go through these applications and provide as much guidance as I can!

ALL HIGH SCHOOL GRADES

ASVAB

The ASVAB (military aptitude assessment) will be offered at the school on Monday,

January 28th at 9:00 a.m. This is a non-school day so students will need to make transportation

arrangements on that day. Any high school student is eligible to take this assessment and

students need to sign up in my office if they would like to take it.

ACT

The next test date for the ACT is February 9th. The regular registration deadline for this test is

January 11th. Register at www.actstudent.org. The test fee for the ACT is $50.50.

Counselor Notes continued on page 9...

ALL SECONDARY STUDENTS –

CHANGING YOUR SCHEDULE

December 20th marks the end of the

1st semester! If you would like to

change your schedule for the 2nd

semester, you must pick up a

schedule change form from my office.

4 signatures are required: Teacher

from the class that you are dropping;

Teacher from the class that you are

adding; Parents; and Counselor.

Forms will need to be handed in by

Friday, December 14th.

Page 9 ...Counselor Notes continued from page 8

SAT

The next test date for the SAT is March 9th. The regular registration deadline for this test is

February 8th. The test fee for the SAT is $47.50. Register at www.sat.org. All juniors will be

taking the SAT at Simla on April 9th at no charge.

In your holiday traveling, make time to stop and visit some college campuses along the way.

One of the best ways to learn about a college is to set foot on campus.

Remember that my office is always open to talk about whatever that you would like. Stop by

anytime!

May you all have a Merry Christmas and I am looking forward to a great New Year!

December 2018/January 2019

It’s time for an Enchanted Forest Book Fair Celebration Movie Party!

~For GIRLS ONLY!~

The GIRLS were the winners of the Loose Change Battle at this year’s Scholastic Book Fair. The girls raised $134.70, while the

boys raised $66.20. Together, we raised a total of $200.90 for All For Books. What a great contest and great participation from

elementary-junior high students! Thank you! This money was used to immediately put books back into our classroom libraries right after

the book fair. Through this All For Books Contest, Scholastic matched what we raised and donated the amount money we raised to a

non-profit reading organization just to help other kids get their hands on great books!

There will be a GIRLS-ONLY movie, popcorn, and ice cream party on Tuesday, December 18th, right after school in the cafeteria. This is

for any of the girls in our school preschool-8th grade. Girls can bring a pillow to sit on or lay on for the movie! The movie night will be held

from 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Please plan to pick up your child promptly at 6:00 p.m.

The permission slips for this movie night will be sent home the week of December 10th. There will be extra forms in the office.

These permission slips will be due Friday, December 14th by the end of the school day!

Page 10 The Cub Reporter

Book Fair Results— 2018 Scholastic Enchanted Forest Book Fair

Thank you to all who made the 2018 Fall Scholastic Book Fair a huge

success! This year, we were able to add books to home libraries and

classroom libraries through our Enchanted Forest Book Fair.

In addition, we held a very successful Grandparents’ Day, where

elementary students were able to shop with their grandparents and adopted

grandparents at the book fair. This was so much fun! A special thank you

to our teachers and administrators who support the love for books in our

classrooms and push for every child to love books and become better readers.

According to Scholastic’s final totals, we put 859 books into the hands of our

students, which equals a grand total of 154,588 reading minutes! WOW!

Yearbooks are on Sale!

The 2018/2019 yearbooks are on sale now!

These will be on a pre-order basis, so be sure and reserve your copy early.

The High School Journalism/Yearbook classes are hard at work on an 88-page, High School-only yearbook and a 40-page,

soft-cover, Preschool through Eighth Grade yearbook. Both books are cover-to-cover color. We know you will not want to

miss getting your copy! Please fill out the form below and return it to the school with your check made payable to

Big Sandy School Yearbook.

Please reserve a 2018/2019 Yearbook in my name:

Name:_________________________________________________________________________________

Address:_______________________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip:_________________________________________________________________________

Phone Number:______________________________ Grade: ______________________________________

HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK PRESCHOOL THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE YEARBOOK

Please Check One: Please Check One:

_____ $50.00 by December 10, 2018 or _____ $30.00 by December 10, 2018

_____ $60.00 after December 10, 2018 or _____ $35.00 after December 10, 2018

_____ $30.00 now and $30.00 when the

yearbook is delivered.

**Yearbooks will be available for pick-up in August 2019**

Page 11 December 2018/January 2019

November 30, 2018

Dear Elementary Parents,

Santa Claus is coming to Big Sandy School on Thursday, December 6, 2018. Your child will have the privilege of visiting with Santa. To remember this special time in your child’s life, the NHS chapter is offering to take pictures of each child with Santa Claus. If you wish to purchase a 5 x 7 picture, please attach $5.00 per picture and return this to your child’s teacher.

Thank you,

National Honor Society

Big Sandy School Chapter

———————————————————————————————————

NHS Santa Pictures

Your Child’s Name:

_____________________________________

Child’s Grade: _________

Number of pictures: _________

Total Cost ($5.00/picture): _________

Please make all checks payable to Big Sandy School.

(Families may pay in one check.)

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