January Newsletter

Happy New Year! I am so happy to be back. I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing break. It is hard to believe we are already half way through the school year. I can't wait to see what great things our students do in the new year. I look forward to the many adventures we will take at Colby Grade School in 2023!

This semester we will experience a new testing platform called FastBridge. FastBridge will be our school district's monitoring assessment for Math, Reading and Social/Emotional. The kindergarten and 4th grade classes piloted FastBridge in the fall with positive practice results. We look forward to sharing more about FastBridge with all grade levels at our spring conferences.

Jan. 4th- Back to School

3rd Quarter (2nd Semester) Begins

Jan 7- National Play Outside Day

Jan. 19th- National Popcorn Day

Jan. 20th- Spelling Bee!

Middle School Auditorium 9:00am

Jan. 20th- Birthday Lunch

January & July Celebrations

Middle School Cafeteria

Jan. 23rd- Board of Education Meeting

USD 315 Board Room 7:00pm

Jan. 24th - 3rd Grade Musical

7:00pm Auditorium

Jan. 26th- Kansas Day Activities (First Grade)

8:45-12:30 Oakley

Jan, 26th- Little Eagles Family Night

Grade School Gymnasium, 5:30pm

Jan. 27th- Prime Time

3:30-5:30pm Auditorium- Grades K-4

Movie- TBA by student vote

Jan. 31- National Hot Chocolate Day

Please welcome Maggi Nieman! Ms. Maggi graduated in December from Fort Hays State University majoring in Early Childhood. Ms. Maggi will be teaching in Mrs. Schnider's classroom until she is able to return and baby Rowan is healthy. Upon Mrs. Schnider's return, Ms. Maggi will serve as a Grade School Student Advocate.

All about Ms. Maggi:

• Dream vacation: I would love to go to Greece
• When I was in middle school: I was very shy.
• Who inspires me the most: The person who inspires me the most is my dad.
• Favorite restaurant: My favorite restaurant is Martinelli’s in Salina.
• On weekends I like to: On the weekends, I love to read, but in the summer, I love to go to the lake.
• Favorite movie: My favorite movie is Christmas Vacation.
• Hidden talent: I am good at baking.
• I cheer for: The Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas State Wildcats

Hello families and welcome to the New Year! Most of us set some sort of New Year’s Resolution around this time, and for many people that involves exercising more. Exercising frequently is a great thing for everyone to be doing, including your children! This is a great time of year to help your child find ways to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.

Why It Matters:

Just like with adults, regular exercise is extremely beneficial for children. Some of these benefits include:

• Maintaining a healthy body weight

• Prevention of diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, and obesity

• Reduced stress levels

How much exercise does your child need?

• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children should get a minimum of 1 hour of physical activity per day.

What You Can Do:

Some tips that you can use to help your child maintain an active lifestyle include:

• Limit time spent playing video games or watching TV

• Find activities that you can enjoy as a family such as taking walks or riding bikes around your neighborhood

• If indoors, you can use YouTube videos that lead children in an exercise program, or simply put on some music and have a dance party

Wishing you and your family a healthy and happy New Year!

Nurse Kayla

We are a NUT FREE school.

No meals purchased at fast food outlets are to be consumed at mealtime in the cafeteria. If a food outlet items is brought to school it MUST NOT be brought to school in original containers.

Caffeinated beverages are NOT allowed in sack lunches or to be consumed in the cafeteria at any time.

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Students,

We are excited to announce that CGS will be not only participating in, but also hosting the county-wide spelling bee this school year (in addition to our own school-wide spelling bee). We will only have 3rd and 4th grade students participating in the school-wide spelling bee. This is because any younger students (like second graders) would not be able to advance any further in the county, state, or national spelling bees, if they were to win. However, we will distribute official practice spelling lists to 2nd graders, that way they can be prepared for the opportunity of participating in the future.

The process will go as follows:

1. Classrooms will elect and/or nominate 3 spellers to be in the school-wide spelling bee (2 participants and 1 alternate, who will only participate if one of the 2 main participants are unable to). This can be done in a variety of ways, most teachers will choose to hold “mini” spelling bees in their individual classrooms. This way students will be exposed to the process of what a spelling bee is and determine if they are interested. The younger students will come to watch the school-wide spelling bee as well. This way they will know what they are looking forward to and can cheer on their fellow Eagles! (Participants will be reported to school coordinators by December 16th.)

2. Next, we will host our school-wide spelling bee. This will be done with ONLY 3rd and 4th grade students participating. It will be very similar to what you may have seen last year. (This will take place on January 20th at 9 am.)

3. One winner and one alternate from the school-wide spelling bee will move on to the county-wide spelling bee. Again, this will be hosted at our school this year. (This will be held on February 16th at 9 am.)

4. One winner and one alternate from the county-wide spelling bee will move on to the state-wide spelling bee (this is usually hosted in Wichita, KS in March).

5. Finally, one winner and one alternate from the state-wide spelling bee will advance on to the National Scripps Bee in Washington D.C. (usually after Memorial Day).

New spelling practice lists will be given out at each level of advancement in preparation for the next competition. Participation in the spelling bee is totally optional and we encourage you to talk with your students about whether or not they are truly interested in it. We look forward to a fun filled spelling competition! Thanks so much for your support. Please reach out if you have any questions.

Thanks again,

Samantha Kolbaba & Jessica Kistler

Admission is $1 donation with all proceeds going to Grade School Projects.

Tickets must be purchased no later than Monday, January 23rd.

Concessions will be available. All items are $1 each.

Please do not send more than $5 with your student for concessions.

All students will be picked up after the movie at the Auditorium doors on Grant Street.

Email: hstapp@colbyeagles.org
Website: https://www.colbyeagles.org/o/colbyes
Location: 210 North Grant Avenue, Colby, KS, USA
Phone: (785) 460-5100
Facebook: facebook.com/colbypublicschools
Twitter: @ColbyEagles