The Bear Necessities

Hello Parents,

The students are back in the building this morning after their much-needed Spring Break! The weather was beautiful and it has revitalized the students and staff for the next few weeks of learning. There were lots of smiles when students arrived back at school today.

The next few weeks will be very busy at Danville. We have both the ISASP state assessments, as well as our regular spring testing coming up. Classrooms will be busy with spring projects, a few outdoor Earth Day activities, and our usual spring "busy-ness". There still remains lots to be accomplished before we end the school year.

Read on for more updates from the Bear Den!

*Wednesday, April 7th - NO Early Out

*Wednesday, April 7th - Paraprofessional Appreciation Day!

*Monday, April 12th - Danville CSD Board Meeting 5:30 p.m. - 21st Century Room. You can tune in live on the Danville CSD Facebook page.

*Wednesday, April 14th - Early Out for Professional Development

*Friday, April 16th - All School Cook Out

*Friday, April 16th - PBIS April Awards

*April 12th - 16th - MS/HS ISASP Testing

*April 19th - 23rd - Elementary ISASP Testing

The annual statewide assessment testing windows are right around the corner for Danville students. Students in grades 3 - 6 will be completing the ISASP tests during the week of April 19th.

State testing has changed recently for all students in Iowa. Iowa Testing Programs at the University of Iowa, in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Education, created the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress or ISASP test. It was first implemented during the 2018 - 2019 school year, however schools did not complete the test last year due to Covid school closures. Therefore, this year is only the second year of implementation of the new assessment.

All students in grades 3 - 6, will be tested in reading, mathematics, and writing. Students in grade 5 will also be tested in Science. One major difference from previous statewide assessments is that this test is taken on a computer. The new assessments are also not timed, as previous standardized tests were. Students have as much time as needed to complete the entire test.

At Danville Elementary we will use the assessment results to make curricular decisions and see where changes need to made in instruction to address the needs of all Danville students. We encourage you to speak to your child about doing his/her best on these tests in order to assist the district in making educational decisions.

Please feel free to call the office or email Mrs. Thornburg with any questions.

We are asking for your assistance during the daily pick up routine! We have Daycare parents that need to get in and out of the parking lot at all times throughout the day. As well as buses, emergency vehicles, and regular town traffic that need to pass along on Main Street. For this reason, we are asking parents to please NOT block the entry to the parking lot or stop along Main Street. If at all possible, we would like cars to wait along East Gerdes Drive and cross Main Street to enter the parking lot when sufficient space is available in the pick up line. You can also enter the parking lot and park in a parking space. Students are escorted across the driveway to parents' cars at dismissal time each day. Thank you for your assistance in keeping our students, parents, and townspeople safe each day.

Wednesday, April 7th is Paraprofessional Appreciation Day! We have fantastic paraprofessionals at Danville Elementary and our staff would not be the same without them. We would like to recognize these great members of our staff!

Many thanks to our OUTSTANDING paras at Danville! Our Elementary paras are: Mrs. Sally Bailey, Mrs. Kendra Huff, Mrs. Sherry Wellman, Ms. Carolyn Galbraith, Mrs. Sharee Snelson, Mrs. Kala Young, Mrs. Rachel Nealey, Mrs. Chris Yaley, Mrs. Laura Mehaffy, Mrs. Gay Lynne Braddock, Ms. Ashley Holtkamp, Ms. Christy Huprich, Mrs. Stephanie Gaster, and Mrs. Megan Kleinkopf.

Our school is getting ready to administer an annual school climate and culture survey called Conditions for Learning to students in grades 3-12. This survey administration is required by the state’s plan to meet a federal law called the Every Student Succeeds Act. Our school will conduct the survey during the weeks of April 12th for grades 7-12 and April 19th for grades 3 - 6. All Iowa public school districts will use the Conditions for Learning Survey to improve safety, student engagement and the overall learning environment so that all Iowa students have optimum conditions for learning. Our work to improve safety, student engagement and the overall learning environment will have a lasting impact on the future. See the attached letter for more information:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lkqirG9dKh3wPI_AwAAPrKHNo67p-JW1UDZCkATIUeA/edit?usp=sharing

If you would like further information about what the survey entails or decide to opt your child out of the survey, please see the information attached here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sHCdJ1AFn3_fx4wFQKfDX1UWKNz_9MAknWS0iaS0Ls8/edit?usp=sharing

Email: jaci.thornburg@danvillecsd.org
Website: danvillecsd.org
Location: 419 South Main Street, Danville, IA, USA
Phone: 319-392-4221
Facebook: facebook.com/danvillecsd.org