Ed-Co Newsletter
March 2012
HIGH SCHOOLHIGH SCHOOL
Takin’ Care of Business
Mrs. Ehlers
Desktop Publishing students are busy organizing and planning the main components of the Viking Yearbook 2012. Thus far, 3rd quarter staffers have worked to finish multiple projects. Fall sports pages are finished as well as the senior section (portraits and senior ads). We’re presently working on the student portrait pages and gathering group photos of the bus drivers, kitchen staff, and school board. With the winter sports coming to a close, the next pages to tackle will be boys’ and girls’ basketball, wrestling, and both speech teams. See the link on the Ed-Co home page to order your yearbook online or pick up an order form from Mrs. Ehlers in the business lab.
Possibly Ed-Co’s best-kept secret is the senior Work Study program. There are four seniors participating in the work study program 3rd quarter with organizations like Farmer’s Savings Bank, Ed-Co Elementary, and Guttenberg Hospital. The hands-on learning these students receive cannot be replicated in any classroom. All of our Ed-Co seniors that have completed a work study placement thus far this year have done a wonderful job.
Advanced Accounting students are working to learn the month end processes for a corporation. They have experience with the “worksheet” and financial statements like the Income Statement and Balance Sheet but corporations throw a Statement of Stockholders Equity at them as well as learning new accounts such as Retained Earnings and Dividends Payable.
A business plan is not only an Iowa Standard for business education it’s also an important part of starting and running a business. Working in pairs, 3rd quarter Intro to Business students are developing a business idea into a business plan using an outline. Topics covered include: Description of the Business, Description of the Competition, Marketing Plan, Customer Analysis, Operations Plan, and Financial Plan. Students are finding the assignment a challenging one that really makes them think.
News from Mr. Putz
The junior high speech season ended on Monday, February 20th with the conference individual contest at Maquoketa Valley High School. Ed-Co includes their 7th and 8th grade speech students in the conference events. Earlier this winter 39 7th and 8th graders participated in the large group contest down at Cascade. It's my belief that learning to speak in front of others is a life-long skill. By beginning in junior high, students gain experience and confidence to continue to be involved in speech activities in high school.
News from Mrs. Anderson
Hello all. This year, as always, is flying by. My junior high and high school students are working on reading different types of text (a majority of which are nonfiction) and then working on identifying the type of text. Texts can be categorized as descriptive, sequential, cause and effect, problem and solution, or compare/contrast. There are many reasons that identifying the type of text is beneficial, especially for struggling readers. First, by identifying the structure, they can mentally prepare themselves to read the text and use the organization to increase their comprehension. Secondly, I always stress the benefits of using a graphic organizer. By understanding text structure, students can select the appropriate graphic organizer to go with a particular text. After they understand a type of text, they then move into using them in their own writing. It has been challenging to figure out what type of structure would be best for certain types of writing and audiences. Overall, we are keeping very busy and the students are working very hard.
News from Mrs. Meyers
Mrs. Ostwinkle is filling the shoes of Mrs. Meyer for the rest of third quarter and the beginning part of fourth quarter due to Mrs. Meyer's maternity leave. She welcomed Conner Matthew on February 1st. Mrs. Ostwinkle and Mrs. Meyer are working through Schoology (an online education site) and email to ensure that students are learning the material with high expectations.
The third quarter art classes consist of Visual Arts I, Advanced Arts, and Graphic Arts. Visual Arts I students have completed a relief printmaking project, acrylic painting, and a watercolor painting. They will then be focusing on drawing skills such as perspective and shading, by completing a couple projects. They will finish up the quarter by completing a project about themselves in which they will have to draw items that represent them in a fashion much like the "Where's Waldo" books. There are four Advanced Arts students that are working on their own individual projects that vary in material, size, and subject matter. At the end of the quarter they will be required to create an electronic portfolio to show their growth as an artist. This is the first time that Graphic Arts has been it's own class, which has allowed for a more structured curriculum. Students in Graphic Arts have been learning how to use Adobe Illustrator. They have to do assignments from a book and then apply what tools they've learned to projects. They will be completing a final project at the end of the quarter to show what they've learned in the class. Formatting is also a class being taught during the 3rd quarter. These students are learning how to use Adobe InDesign and Photoshop.
The fourth quarter art classes will include Visual Arts II, Advanced Arts, and 8th Grade Art. Visual Arts II will be working with three-dimensional art projects and 8th Grade Art will be starting the quarter off by doing an Animal Texture Collage, which is a project that is done every year in 8th Grade Art.
News from Ms. Torkelson
Greetings! With second semester in full swing, the choirs are busy, busy, busy! We're preparing for our upcoming "pops" concert on March 5, at 7:30pm in the gym. Please make sure students are in the Music Room at the following times:
- HS--6:45pm
- 8th--8:55pm
- 7th--7:10pm
Please note that these times are a change from what some of you received at conferences a few weeks ago. Much of the music you will hear that night is from popular movies or musicals, and each choir picked out a song they wanted to sing.
Please make a note on your calendars that the JH Spring Concert has been moved to Tuesday, May 8, due to the graduation ceremony being the day after when our concert was originally scheduled.
Several of our junior high students have been working on extra music outside of class time. At the end of February, they traveled to North Linn for the Tri-Rivers Conference Junior High Honor Choir. The students going to the honor choir learned three songs for that festival. The man asked to direct the honor choir is Mr. Brian Burns of Clarke University, and it was a very fun learning experience for the students who attended!
It is very fitting that our next concert is in March, as that month has been deemed "Music In Our Schools Month" by the National Association for Music Education (MENC). The purpose of MIOSM is to raise awareness of the importance of music education for all children, and to remind citizens that school is where all children should have access to music. This year's theme is "Music Lasts a Lifetime". Even if students don't continue to sing in a choir or play their band instrument, music is all around us, and being involved in music at school helps students to appreciate a variety of music for the rest of their lives. We hope you will come to our concert, even if you don't have a specific person to support. Just knowing that our community cares about what students are doing in any activity can be a big boost for everyone involved. Thank you for your support this year, and we hope to see you at our next concert!
News from Mrs. Wille
7th grade Life Science
WOW...that's how I'll start!!! These kids have been working hard...HOW do I know??? The scores on their last two tests tell me, all 7th graders have achieved 70% or better and in most cases well above! We have been studying bacteria and just started plants. This is a very fun group, full of energy and questions. In the near future we will move on from the plant kingdom to the animal kingdom. Study in the animal kingdom will include dissection.
8th grade Environmental Science
We have been focusing on the atmosphere and climate change. Among the specific topics we covered were global warming and ozone layer depletion. As we continue, we will focus on biodiversity, alternative energies and population growth.
10th grade Chemistry
This group keeps me busy, however they also make me laugh! We have been studying atomic structure and most recently chemical bonding. Our chemistry adventure will next take us to naming compounds and writing formulas....I tell kids I will teach them to talk geeky!
Speech
Individual speech is in full force. We have 44 students who will show off their talents. All contests are open to the public...come join us at MV on Feb 25th! Another chance to see our kids in action is March 4th at 1:00 at the HS as we host our annual dessert theater.
News from Mrs. Egan
Students in Mrs. Egan’s social studies classes have been very busy in the last few months. The 7th graders are soon to begin a unique cooperative learning project about the physical and human geography of Europe. As a group the students will create narrated tours of countries in Europe. This year the students will be able to create these recorded itineraries using the Google Earth application and actually “take” their viewers to see street views of the different sights on their tour. Each student will research 9 places they would like to visit in one country within a seven-day trip. They are required to visit 3 cultural landmarks, 3 geographical landmarks and 3 historical landmarks. Hopefully, this will create interest and instill a desire to visit other countries throughout the world in their futures.
The eighth grade history students recently finished studying the American Revolution and have begun to understand how very brave men and women founded our nation. They wrote their own declarations of independence to Mrs. Voss in order to better understand the battle cry of the revolution "Taxation without Representation". Mrs. Voss discussed with the students many of the grievances and the students participated in the discussion with the hopes of getting their voices heard. We will see if any of their grievances create changes here at Ed-Co.
The students in the elective The 60s just finished researching the many different conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination in 1963. Most of the students felt strongly that our government did not completely tell the truth in the Warren Court Commission and feel that we still do not know who was involved in the assassination. We will continue to study the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement and the counterculture lifestyle of the hippies in the 1960s.
News from Mr. Welp
Ed-Co middle school students have been busy over the past month. Students have had presentations from Riverview Center of Manchester on sexual assault prevention and how to protect themselves on social networks. We have also been busy doing several guidance lessons over: how to bully proof yourself, and what it means to respect yourself and your peers. We also talked about what is looks like and feels like to respect our school and the adults in the building. The 8th grade has also been busy taking career clusters and researching potential careers through "I Have A Plan Iowa."
News from the A.D. desk
State Tournament Place Winner
Congratulations go out to Sawyer Amling on his 7th place finish at the state wrestling tournament at 113 pounds. Sawyer advanced to the state tournament via runner-up finishes at both the sectional and district meet. Sawyer also finished second at the Tri-Rivers Conference meet.
Post Season Awards
Congratulations go out to the following basketball players on earning post season awards. Kristy Lueken was named 1st team all-conference. Nikki Niehaus and Ben Putz were named 2nd team all-conference. Macey Kintzle and Mason Clark were named honorable mention all-conference.
In addition, Kristy Lueken has been named to the IBCA academic all-state team. Kristy was one of 25-30 girls named statewide regardless of class to this team.
Track
Our high school track teams will begin the indoor season March 5 and 6 at Loras College. Please check the online calendar for the latest schedules for boys and girls track.
Financial Aide Meeting
There will be a financial aide night at the Manchester Regional Education Partnership center on March 8 from 5-8pm. Anyone attending will receive assistance filling out their FAFSA. They will have laptops available for on site application and assistance as well.
Details are as follows:
March 8 from 5pm-8pm
At the MREP center (inside the Dupaco Community Credit Union)
You will need to bring:
1. Drivers license number
2. SS#
3. 2011 Federal return, W-2s, and other records of earnings
4. Records of untaxed income
5. Most recent bank and investment statements
Questions, please contact Deb Kintzle at the number below.
Deb Kintzle
UIU-NICC Center Coordinator
Manchester Regional Education Partnership
563-822-1016
kintzled@uiu.edu
ELEMENTARY
Fifth Grade News
The fifth graders are now studying the most important thing in the world. Themselves! They are making their way through the study of the human body. From their bones and muscles to their body systems, students are getting to know themselves much better. Students will understand and explain their body systems as well as learn ways to keep each system healthy. A few highlights of their body study so far have been singing the bone song, making models of the parts of bones, and playing Simon Says with the names of the bones. Jody Kerns will soon be sharing her expertise of bones as she visits our class to share many amazing facts she knows as part of her career being a radiological technician. She has an amazing collection of x-rays students will use to apply what they have learned about bones. Thank you, Jody! The Edgewood Locker will make the study of the body fun, educational, memorable, and very real with the donation of body parts to study as we learn about each system of the body. Thank you Edgewood Locker!
Our fifth graders will be quite the travelers the week of February 20th as they make their way to Cedar Falls on Monday and Friday of that week to attend programs at The Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. The two programs they will be attending are, “Spirit of Uganda” and “The Color of Justice.
Ed-Co Preschool Open House 
Ed-Co's Preschool Open House will be held on Thursday, March 29th. Students with last names beginning with A-M will attend from 5:30-6:15pm. Students with last names beginning with N-Z will attend from 6:30-7:15pm.
Please contact the elementary school at 563-856-2415 if you have a child that you would like to attend preschool next fall. Reminder students must be 4 years old by September 15, 2012 to attend preschool at the elementary building.
Kindergarten Round-Up 
The Edgewood-Colesburg Elementary School will hold Kindergarten Round-Up on Wednesday, March 28th at the Colesburg Elementary Building. Students must be five years of age by September 15, 2012 to enter Jr. Kindergarten/Kindergarten. If you have a child, or know of someone who will be entering JK or Kindergarten this fall, please call the Elementary Principal’s office (856-2415) by Feb. 20th.
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