Hello! We are glad you are here reading the Wolf Way Wednesday. This publication will come out every other Wednesday with the goal of informing stakeholders of what is going on in the IKM-Manning School District. Feedback is always welcome and can be directed to Rachel Merkel, school communications, at rmerkel@ikm-manning.k12.ia.us

Emma Reginato is the foreign exchange student this year and we are so excited to have her at IKM-Manning! Emma is from a smaller suburb in Italy. She is living with host parents Aaron and Abbey Stangl and host siblings Aden, Anna, and Arthur. Emma chose to be part of a foreign exchange program to learn more about the American culture and to improve her English. She is involved in cross country and hopes to join the basketball and track team later in the school year. She has really enjoyed the smaller feel of the IKM-Manning community. The things that have surprised Emma about America are that we eat a lot of junk food and our portion sizes are much bigger than what she eats in Italy. If given the choice, she prefers food from Italy. She is also surprised that you can get a learner's permit to drive at such a young age. In Italy you have to be 18 to drive a small car and then at 19 you can drive bigger vehicles. So far for fun, she has enjoyed going to Carroll with friends to eat. IKM-Manning has been lucky to continue to have families that are willing to host students so that we can learn more about life in other cultures.

Pictured Below (from left to right): Emma Reginato, Arthur, Aden, Aaron, Anna Stangl

The IKM-Manning Elementary building has big goals when it comes to the reading skills of their students. By May 2024, the goal is to have 80% of TK-3 students proficient in reading based on Fast Bridge Assessments which are given three times a year.

To support the teachers in this huge endeavor, IKM-Manning and the Green Hills Area Education Agency (AEA) have teamed up together to bring LETRS training to our staff. While you might think LETRS is misspelled, it actually stands for Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling.

“LETRS is a very intense and time consuming professional development (PD) on the science of reading. This training provides us with a deep knowledge to become more informed about literacy and language from experts in the science of reading. This program focuses on reading, spelling and language skills,” said Principal Shelly Christensen. “Preschool is taking Early LETRS and I am also taking the administrative training as research shows that if an administrator participates in the learning process alongside the teachers results and implementation increases.”

Teachers are spending their early out Wednesday PD time either working through the online modules together as groups or getting face to face training from AEA reading consultants. This training is the main focus of learning for the elementary teachers for the next two years.

Pictured Below: Second grade teachers Katie Greving and Sydney Wegner work with the AEA on a LETRS coaching session.

IKM-Manning added a new bus to the fleet last week and this is the first of its kind. The 2023 Bluebird Vision is the first electric bus for the district. In early 2022 the City of Manning approached the school about applying for the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebate Program. IKM-Manning was one of 13 districts in Iowa chosen to receive the $375,000 for the bus plus additional money to be matched by the district for the charging station. Coon Rapids-Bayard was also a surrounding school that was awarded a bus.

The new bus has a maximum capacity of 71 occupants and plans are to utilize it for both regular and shuttle routes. When fully charged, the bus can be driven approximately 120 miles before needing to be recharged. The charger has not yet arrived but when it does, it will be placed near the bus barn. With the charger purchased, it will only take three to five hours for the bus to be fully charged after use.

“Going down the road, you will not be able to tell the difference between this bus and our others,” stated Transportation Director Clark Halbur. “ The differences are all underneath the bus in the mechanics.”

Since this is a new transportation experience for the district, the bus drivers are interested to see the pros and cons of the new bus compared to our non-electric buses. These evaluations will help inform the transportation director what options we have for future bus purchases.

Vote for IKM-Manning!

IKM-Manning made it to the semi-final round of voting for the School Mascot Challenge put on by the Healthiest State Initiative. Use the link below to vote for IKM-Manning and don't forget to put your name and e-mail in to submit your vote.

Visit https://woobox.com/2tgtce to vote!

💙BLUE OUT💙

Grace Pauley, an AHSTW 10th grade student, was involved in a serious car accident on September 18. She is battling injuries at UNMC in Omaha and we want to show our support to the AHSTW community and Grace! Thursday's night game against AHSTW will be a BLUE OUT! We will also be passing a bucket to collect donations for Grace's family throughout the night. Help us support a great cause and please spread the word!

Save the Date!

The Manning Regional Healthcare Center will be offering flu shots to staff and students in both locations on October 19. More information will be coming out soon via parent e-mail.

The After Prom Committee is currently taking entries for Kid Captain Round 3.

NOTE: This is the final round of Kid Captain for both football and volleyball!

Volleyball night 10/05 (Senior night) entries taken until 8:00 AM 10/04

Football night 10/06 (Senior night), entries taken until 8:00 AM 10/05

Don't forget to get your entries in for our final round of football and volleyball; your kids don't want to miss an opportunity to be the IKM-Manning Wolves Kid Captain!

$5/entry or 3 for $10. Venmo link in the pictures.

NOTE: Due to a lot of interest, the drawing is now open to PreK-8th graders!

Email: rmerkel@ikm-manning.k12.ia.us
Website: www.ikm-manning.k12.ia.us
Location: 209 10th Street, Manning, IA, USA
Phone: (712) 655-3771
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikmmanningschools