Wolf Way Wednesday

Hello! We are glad you are here reading the Wolf Way Wednesday. This publication will come out on Wednesdays throughout the school year 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

School safety has been at the top of the priority list for IKM-Manning this year. The district has adopted the I Love U Guys framework for dealing with school crisis situations. I Love U Guys is a free program for any school to use and was created by John-Michael and Ellen Keys after losing their daughter in the 2006 Platte Canyon High School (Colorado) shooting .

There are two parts to their framework including the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and the Standard Reunification Method (SRM). Both buildings learned about the SRP towards the end of last school year and the focus this year has been on the SRM which is creating a safe and efficient process to reunify families and students after a school crisis.

On December 13, all 4th-12th grade staff practiced what their roles would be during reunification so we are prepared if an emergency happens. Roles have been assigned at the elementary and the final plan will be shared and practiced with staff in January. An email was sent to all district parents this morning with more details about the reunification process.

IKM-Manning is dedicated to continuing developing safety protocols to create a safe environment for our students and staff. More information will continue to be communicated with families throughout the remainder of the year.

Pictured below is John-Michael Keys who came and spoke to our entire district before school started this year. It was an incredibly informative and powerful message. To learn more about his non-profit, visit www.iloveuguys.org

Volunteers from the Carroll County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) have been busy assisting IKM-Manning 5th grade students with speeches through the SPEAK UP program. This program has been in the district for nearly twenty years and the goal is to create speeches and learn good communication skills. Volunteers help students brainstorm ideas for speeches, create a robust introduction, body, and conclusion to their speech, and then evaluate the student on their presentation and communication skills. This semester, students were tasked to create a two minute expository or informational speech on a topic of their choice. Topics ranged from guinea pigs to snowmobiling to the history of Scotland!

On presentation day, 5th grade students were assigned jobs of timekeeper, voice monitor, emcee, or word monitor to ensure students were following the expectations of the program. Families were invited in to hear their students' speech and the SPEAK UP volunteers gave them feedback so they know how to improve for the spring round of persuasive speeches.

Thank you so much to the RSVP volunteers who make this an enjoyable learning experience for our students.

The annual Coins for Kindness campaign was record breaking for 2023. Students and staff district wide collected over $5,000 to go towards families with holiday needs as well as to the family of Kaui Jenkins. Coins for Kindness, previously known as Pennies for Presents, was founded around 2010 when the middle school was located in Manilla. Groups of students, called Wolfpacks, competed against each other to collect money. The fundraiser has grown each year and is led by the middle school and high school student councils. Thank you to everyone for their generosity towards Coins for Kindness.

During the regular November school board meeting, the resignation of Superintendent Trevor Miller was approved. Mr. Miller has been superintendent at IKM-Manning since the 2017-2018 school year as a shared administrator with Exira/EHK. The search is now on for a new superintendent and what that might look like. The school board has met several times since that November meeting to discuss what sharing options might be available or if IKM-Manning could sustain a full-time superintendent. Sharing incentives are provided by the state for various positions including a superintendent. While discussions are in early stages at this point, the school board did approve the hiring of Grundmeyer Leader Services if the board decides they need assistance in the hiring process. Stay up to date on the superintendent search by watching the news portion of the school website.

Coaches vs Cancer Basketball game

The IKM-Manning High School Student Council has designed a shirt for the Friday, January 26, Coaches vs Cancer event.

This shirt and that event will be in honor of Larry Blake, long time educator/coach in the district, who passed away in October. Proceeds from both shirt sales will go directly to the American Cancer Society.

The link for the shirt in honor of Larry is LINK

The deadline to order this shirt is January 15.

Thank you for supporting this event that is so important to our school!

Did you know that IKM-Manning has an app? If you are looking to get notifications and announcements from the district, download the app for free from the App Store or Google Play.

With the wrestling season in full swing and basketball just around the corner, this is a reminder that tickets can be purchased through Bound. You can purchase ahead of time online or buy with a debit/credit card at the gate.

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