Knights News

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Hello Unity Family, Time is going by quickly, and it is hard to believe that October is almost here. Soon we will be saying goodbye to the warm weather and ushering in the cooler temperatures of fall. During the fall season our temperatures can fluctuate 20 to 30 degrees from morning to afternoon, so please help us make sure students are prepared for those cooler conditions. Please check out each day’s weather forecast, and make sure your kiddos are ready to be outside. During these cooler days, we often see students in shorts or arriving in sandals and often without jackets. Whenever possible we will have outdoor recess. The general idea is that if the “feels-like” temperature is above 15 degrees, we will be outside. These are not the times for students to be in school with shorts on, or without jackets. I would like to thank you all for helping us with this!

I know many of you have been in the building and have seen our motto and guiding ideas up on our walls. However, I would like to share these TEAM U messages with you and ask you to help us help students as they grow with us at Unity.

T – Treat others the way you want to be treated.

E – Excellence

A – Always put others first

M – Make a difference

U – Unity… A positive place to be, and a great place to learn.

In addition, we at the Sioux City Community Schools will help our students to believe, achieve, and succeed.

Our SCCSD and especially Unity Elementary have highly trained staff members who believe in every child in our building. We believe that they can and will learn and believe in themselves. We see achievement everyday and celebrate that with our students, and we watch them succeed in their day-to-day learning and have confidence that they will one day be very successful young adults who will carry these values with them in life. We know that for each child to be their every best it takes a team effort. Therefore, we want to partner with parents and help bring positive experiences to our kids. Please let us know if there is ever anything we can do to help us meet our vision.

Thank you to all those people who work so hard each day, who show care and concern, and understand how important these times are for our students.

Thank you, EVERYONE!

Kevin Finkey

Please make sure you have completed your student's Online Verification along with any changes in addresses, phone numbers, and emergency contacts. This can be done on the school website.

If you have not paid your student's Annual Cirriculum Fees, please make sure that you do so as soon as possible. School fees are $34 per student and must be paid annually.

As the seasons change and the temperature is getting cooler, please be sure to send your children in appropriate attire; i.e. sweatshirts, coats, hats, gloves. Anytime the weather is at, or above, a feels-like temperature of 15 degrees, and as long as it is not raining or snowing, all students will be outside for 15 minutes before school and for 15 minutes at each of the 3 recesses

Unity classrooms are invited to participate in a building-wide Walk on Wednesday, October 4th. We are doing this as part of the "Iowa Healthiest State Annual Walk."

Classrooms who participate in this building-wide Walk will receive popcorn on Friday, October 6th, for their participation.

This annual walk is an opportunity to join thousands of other Iowans statewide in walking for 30 minutes. Being physically active is one of the most important steps that people of all ages and abilities can take to improve their health. Walking is an easy, accessible and affordable way to improve your phusical, social, and mental health.

Fall ELL Conferences at Unity will be held on Wednesday, October 11th from 3:40-5:40. If you are in the need of an interpreter for your parent/teacher conference, please schedule your conference for this day.

Picture Re-take Day at Unity will be on Wednesday, October 18th. On this day, pictures will only be taken of Students/Staff that have requested a re-take. Thank you

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday, October 23rd, from 8:00am - 5:40 pm. There will be NO SCHOOL for students on that day. Tuesday, October 24th, will be a regular school day for students, however there will be Parent/Teacher Conferences that evening from 3:40-5:40

Red Ribbon Week is another time to celebrate being responsible with healthy and kind choices. Counseling lessons in October will be geared around the theme of taking responsibility for being safe for self and others. To celebrate healthy choices, we will have a Building-Wide Dress-Up Day on Thursday, October 26th. Students may choose one of the following two dress-up themes:

* PJ. Day - Regular sleep is vital for learning

* Wear your Favorite Costume - Say "BOO" to drugs! (No weapons, face masks, or fake blood)

Unity's annual Trunk-or-Treat will be held on Thursday, October 26th, from 5:30 - 7:00. Anyone interested in participating by handing out candy from your trunk, please notify the office, and plan on bringing candy for approximately 500 children and arriving by 5:00pm to set up. Access to the parking lot will be closed at 5:25. Thank you for your participation!

Unity is sending out a special THANK YOU to Jensen Subaru for this awesome donation of a School Supply Cake for Unity students!!

After reading about professional baseball player, Roberto Clemente, Unity 3rd graders were treated with a visit from Mongo, the coach of the Sioux City Explorer's Baseball team!

Parents, if your students are not allowed to eat pork, please remind them to look for the picture of a pig that is posted in the cafeteria each and every time that pork is being served at breakfast and/or lunch at Unity. In this way, your student will know whether or not to eat the meal that day. You can also check the menu online to see the weekly menu or ask the office for a paper copy of the menu by month. Thank you

Clocks with "fall back" one hour at 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 5, 2023

Hearing Screenings at Unity will be held from November 14th - 17th. All students in grades PK - 3rd Grade will be tested. Only 4th and 5th grade students who are new to Unity will be tested

For all Northside kids Grades 5 years old-8th grade

Mondays Starting Nov 6th - Jan 22nd

5 years old-2nd grade 6pm-6:45pm

3rd grade-8th grade 7pm-8pm

Weekly camp is held in the North High Wrestling room

Cost $50 (includes T shirt and free entry to home high school wrestling events)

Register at https://www.scfuturestars.com/

Question email Coach Case caset@live.siouxcityschools.com

We’re Looking for Stories

Do you know a #SCCSD student or staff member with an inspiring story? We want to tell their story. Our “Believer. Achiever. Succeeder.” campaign highlights the remarkable people of our district. Stories of individuals are shared on our website and social media sites. To nominate a deserving individual, email the individual’s name, contact information, and a one-sentence description about why the individual deserves to be highlighted as part of the District’s campaign to Communications@live.siouxcityschools.com

Update Your Contact Information

The District and our school are continuously updating families on important school information, closings and cancellations, and other announcements. Information is shared through email, phone calls, and text. Make sure we can connect with you by keeping your contact information updated in our records. If you need to change your contact information, please contact the school office.

Reminder: Cell Phone Protocols Are In Place

The District has cell phone protocols in place to ensure an engaging and distraction-free environment for our students. The protocols restrict the use of electronic devices during the school day.

If you need to contact your student during the school day, please contact our school office. Alternatively, if your student needs to contact you, they should come to the office.

For more information on our protocols for electronic devices, please review the 2023-2024 Parent/Guardian & Student Handbook on the District website.

Be An Advocate for Our Schools

Volunteers are needed to join the District’s Grassroots Advocacy Committee. As a volunteer, you will receive email updates about important legislative events that could impact public education and be asked to contact local and state leaders to advocate for our schools. Volunteer today and let your voice be heard! Contact Communications@live.siouxcityschools.com to volunteer.

Join Our Team

Looking for a part-time or full-time career with flexibility? Instructional assistants, bus drivers, and food service staff are needed to join our amazing team! Check out the District’s openings today!

If your student brings a bag lunch to school, you must provide a drink for them or send .55 cents to purchase a milk. Unfortunately, the government sponsored free lunch program does not allow the kitchen staff to provide a milk to students unless the student takes the free lunch offered by the school.

If you have questions about how you can be a part of the Unity PTO, please email us at:

unitypto@yahoo.com

Please join us at our monthly PTO meetings which will be held on the first Thursday of every month at 6:00 pm in the library.

Thursday, October 5th

Thursday, November 2nd

Thursday, December 7th

Thursday, January 4th

Thursday, February 1st

Thursday, March 7th

Thursday, April 4th

Thursday, May 2nd

Bring a Book, Take a Book (Be a "Knightly" Reader) is a Title 1 sponsored event for ALL Unity students (TK-5th grade). This is a Book Exchange Program where students can bring books from home and exchange them for different books (limit 5 books). Please wear your book tag chains each time you attend!! Each student who remembers their chains will receive a Smencil!

This program takes place once a month in the library from 8:20 - 8:35 am. The dates for this year are:

Friday, October 20

Friday, November 17

Friday, December 15

Friday, January 26

Friday, February 23

Friday, March 22

Friday, April 26

TEAM U! The T in TEAM U stands for ‘Treat others the way you want to be treated.’ When we do this, it builds feelings of trust, safety and well-being. The E in TEAM U stands for Excellence. Excellence can look like good grades, but there is so much more to showing excellence as a student, like showing up to school on time, every day, and completing work in a timely manner at grade level. The A in TEAM U stands for Always Put Others First. There is research that suggests, when we are considerate of others, it makes us happier. By helping others, we improve our social interaction, distract from our own problems and improve our own self-esteem. The M stands for Make a Difference which happens every day that we show up and do our very best. U stands for Unity…A positive place to be and a great place to learn. Every day is a great day to be a Unity Knight!!

Our Character Strong focus in October is Responsibility. We are spending a bit of time this month talking about ways we can take responsibility to make healthy choices for ourselves and others. From healthy snacks and farmer’s market to learning about fire safety and healthy choices, students will talk about being responsible for our own health and safety. This aligns with Red Ribbon Week the end of October which focuses on drug free healthy choices. A dress up day to focuse on healthy choices is scheduled for Thursday, Ocober 26th. The dress up choices are: PJ Day-good sleep is essential for good learning! –or- Say BOO! To drugs!, and dress in your preferred scare ware. (No masks, weapons, or fake blood.)

Our day ends at 3:30 pm on Tuesdays - Fridays. On Monday we dismiss at 2:30 pm for staff professional development.

Our TK & Kindergarten students exit from doors 25 and 26 (Mrs. Poulson and Mrs. Anderson's rooms). Our 1st and 2nd-grade students exit from the main entryway (door 1). Our 3rd-grade students exit from door 3 which is located behind our loading dock. The 4th and 5th graders exit from door 4 at the North end of the building. Please see the image below to assist you with this visualization. Please work with your family to agree to a common meeting place outside of the building. We do our best to limit student traffic within the building after school.

If you have a preschool child and a child in another grade level we can make special accommodations so that you can pick up all of your children at the preschool door. Please contact your child's teacher to work through this.

A common problem confronting parents of school-age children occurs when a child complains of not feeling well on a school day. What do you do?? The following are guidelines until your doctor can be contacted for an opinion.

Fever: Every home should have a thermometer. No child with a fever over 100 degrees should be sent to school. Keep the child home until free of fever for 24 hours WITHOUT medication.

Cold/Sore Throat/Cough: A child with a “heavy” cold and a hacking cough belongs at home in bed even though there is no fever. If the only complaint is a sore throat and there are no other symptoms, he or she may go to school. If white spots are present on the back of the throat or if he or she has a fever, keep the child home and call your doctor. If your child is diagnosed with strep throat, throw away his or her toothbrush and purchase a new one.

Stomachache/Vomiting/Diarrhea: Consult your doctor if the stomachache is persistent or severe enough to limit the child’s activity. If vomiting, keep home until he or she is able to keep food down for 24 hours or one day. Call your doctor is there is no improvement in symptoms.

“Pinkeye”/Conjunctivitis: If the white part of the eyes is pink or red, the child complains of a gritty feeling when blinking and has a discharge coming from one or both eyes, the child may have “pinkeye”. “Pinkeye” is highly contagious. If your child has any of these symptoms, you will need to keep your child home and contact your child’s doctor to determine when your child can return to school.

SICK CHILDREN BELONG AT HOME!!!!

WELL CHILDREN BELONG AT SCHOOL.

Contact us!

Principal: Kevin Finkey

Email: finkeyk@live.siouxcityschools.com
Website: https://unity.siouxcityschools.org/
Location: 1901 Unity Avenue, Sioux City, IA, USA
Phone: 712-279-6839
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnityElementarySchoolSCCSD/
Twitter: @UnitySCCSD

The Sioux City Community School District offers career and technical programs in the following areas: Business & Marketing, Family & Consumer Science, Health Science, and Industrial Arts, Technology, & PLTW.

The Sioux City Community School District is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information (for employment), national origin, religion, age (for employment), disability, socioeconomic status (for programs), marital status (for programs), or veteran status (for employment) in its educational programs and its employment practices. The District is required by Title IX and 34 CFR Part 106 not to discriminate on the basis of sex in its programs, activities, or employment.

Inquiries or grievances under Section 504 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act may be directed to Dr. Dora Jung, Director of Student Services & Equity Education/Title IX Coordinator at 627 4th Street, Sioux City, IA 51101, (712) 279-6075, jungd@live.siouxcityschools.com. Inquiries about the application of Title IX and its regulations to the District may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, or both. Please see District Board policies 103 and 504.4 for additional information on available grievance procedures.