General Updates (25-26)

Door Decorating Contest Recap

Our annual Door Decorating Contest brought a lot of creativity, laughter, and holiday spirit into the halls at West Rapids Elementary! Classrooms, teams, and shared spaces across the building participated, and every entry reflected the joy, teamwork, and personality that make our school such a special place.

Each participating room or space received:

A unique award title
A printed certificate recognizing their creativity and effort

There were so many great entries, and we loved seeing how students, staff, and classrooms brought their ideas to life — from kid-created designs to full hallway transformations.

🏆 Top 4 Overall Recognitions

While every entry earned an award, we also recognized four standout categories:

“Created by Kids, Loved by Everyone Award” and Hot Cocoa Party Winner
🏆 Mrs. Cortese’s class — “Moo-ry Christmas”
“Adults Had Too Much Fun With This Award”
🏆 Mrs. Fitch
“Best Teamwork With a Message Award”
🏆 Mrs. Skrbec’s class
“We Decorated Past the Door and Didn’t Look Back Award”
🏆 1st Grade Wing Entry Area

Hot Cocoa Party Reminder:
Mrs. Cortese will work with Geraldene to line up the hot cocoa party for tomorrow or after break.

Watch the Video

Be sure to check out our Door Decorating Contest video recap here:

https://youtu.be/UUH3_AfVyKE

Thank you to everyone who participated and helped spread holiday cheer throughout our building. It was a fun reminder that creativity comes in many forms — and at West Rapids, it shines everywhere you look.

Sean

Staff Bingo Early Out Wednesday ALL Are Invited 12/17/25

Join us for Staff Bingo in the Makerspace/Art Room after parent pickup on Wednesday.

Bring any school-appropriate snacks or beverages.
Feel free to contribute small gifts or gift cards to the prize table—regifts or unused items are welcome :-)

Santa Visit Schedule for Thursday, December 11th

11:45-12:00 During last half of the 1st Grade lunch time

12:00-12:15 During first half of the Kinder lunch time

PreK classrooms (about 7-8 minutes per classroom) done by 12:40

12:45-1:00 During last half of the 2nd Grade lunch time

Lunch Count Accuracy & End-of-Lunch Procedures

Over the past week, we’ve run short on lunches a couple of times. This isn’t the result of any one classroom—rather, we are seeing counts off by just 1–2 students across many rooms. When that happens, it can easily create a shortage of 40–50 meals by the time lunches are served.

A major factor appears to be students who bring a lunch from home changing their minds at the last minute—especially on days when the menu is more popular. The last two times have been preferred lunches, so the shortages aren’t happening on days kids tend to avoid the school meal.

Please reinforce the following:

1. Accurate Lunch Counts Matter

If students bring a lunch from home, they need to eat that lunch.
Even small inaccuracies compound quickly and can result in later grades—especially 2nd grade—feeling the shortage.

2. Groups Eating Outside the Cafeteria

If you pull a group to eat in another space, please ensure:

Students have enough time to finish eating, and
Cleanup and tray return occur during lunch, not after lunch has ended.

Today, trays were still being brought down 10–15 minutes after lunch should have ended, which disrupts learning as most classes go directly back to academics.

3. Why This Matters

We do not discover shortages until 2nd grade comes through the line, which is unfair to those students and causes delays for everyone. Tightening up counts and managing cleanup within lunch time helps ensure a smooth process for all.

Thank you for your help keeping lunch predictable and fair for students.

Update on Office Moves and Space Changes

I wanted to share a quick update about several office moves that have taken place and the rationale behind them, as some of you may not have heard the details yet.

Over the past coulple weeks, OT, PT, MathCorps, Truancy Prevention, and I have shifted locations to better use our building’s space and support both students and families.

Here’s what changed:

My office has moved down the hall to the end of the wing in the office area. This move will give us additional space for larger meetings as we continue to develop that room.
OT and PT have moved out of their former shared office and are now located at the end of the 1st grade wing. This new space allows them to hold sessions and complete their office work in one location.
Truancy Prevention will now share space with the school psychologist. Jane and Liz will rotate use of the room depending on who is on site each day.
MathCorps has moved back upstairs with AmeriCorps. Because we have one fewer interventionist than expected this year, additional space opened up, allowing them to be together with the rest of their team.
My former office (behind the front desk) will become our Family Resource Room.
The purpose of this space is to create a more welcoming and accessible area for families. While it will still be available for small meetings (such as DART or Child Study), the primary intent is to make it more family-friendly and functional.
This includes:
- Access to a computer and printer for families who may need help completing online forms or accessing district resources.
- A small kid-friendly area so children have a comfortable place to be during meetings.
- Printed materials and community resource information to help reduce barriers for families seeking support.
- A more inviting environment than our current conference room, which we know can feel sterile and unwelcoming, especially during sensitive conversations.

These changes should also help us with meeting-room shortages, creating more flexible spaces throughout the day.

If you have any questions about any of these moves or need clarification on where someone is now located, please let me know.

Book Machine Tokens

If you have any book machine tokens that you don't plan to use, please send them to the office.

Servery Update

With the change of duties happening, we need a reminder for students dumping trays. Please have students wait at their table for the whole table to be excused by one of our Servery Staff (visiting staff or teachers) before dumping their tray. This helps to keep consistency for the students and also keep the traffic at a minimum and more organized. Thank you!

Library Items

Mrs. Olfelt has updates for us about our Christmas Books. She has them on the "Yellow Book Cart" in the bookroom if you are looking for a specific book that isn't in the regular Christmas section. Enjoy!

Recess Duties (25-26)

Recess Reminder

Inclement Weather Guidelines

If the temperature is below 0°F or the wind chill is -10°F or colder, students remain inside.
Monitor weather conditions regularly and follow school protocols for indoor recess.
Coordinate with the nurse for accommodations for students with special medical needs.

Indoor Recess - Communication will be essential. Doubling up indoors or rotating between rooms is perfectly fine. However, if all staff plan to stay in their classrooms and this will result in reduced coverage in the cafeteria, please notify the main office so we can plan accordingly.

Subs

One item that may help subs. Write the projector IP address on the side of your remote with a sharpie. For some rooms it's difficult to see the address from where the computer is located.

Door Decorating Contest

It’s that time of year again—our Door Decorating Contest is here, and it’s open to all!

Here’s the scoop:

Who can participate? If you have a door, you’re in. If you don’t have a door, borrow one. (Check with a friendly neighbor; door sharing builds community.)
Participation is optional. But let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to show off their creative flair?

Details:

Doors will be judged on Thursday, December 18th, and the winner(s) will earn bragging rights AND a Hot Cocoa Party.
The Cocoa Party will be held Friday, December 19th—just in time to warm up for winter break!
Decorations should be up and ready for judging by Thursday, December 18th, but the sooner you’re done, the sooner we can all admire your masterpiece.

Theme? There’s no official theme, but winter/holiday vibes might be a good starting point.

Need help? We may be able to find some willing volunteers to lend a hand, so feel free to reach out to if you need some extra assistance or glitter.

Judging Criteria: I’m not sure if I’ll be one of the judges, but if I am, here’s a tip: I lean towards creative, messy, and kid-driven designs. Bonus points for anything that makes me laugh!

Let’s make our hallways a little more magical this December! Good luck, and may the best (or messiest) door win!

Sean

ps. Keep in mind what type of tape you use on the walls. Lesson learned from the first year. :-)

West Rapids Podcast

Starlab Grant Funded – Content Now Available

Great news—our district Endowment Grant for planetarium content has been fully funded for the year. This means we’ll have dedicated dollars to bring high-quality, standards-aligned planetarium shows directly to our students without the usual barriers of cost, travel, or access. This opportunity has also been shared with our K–5 partner schools across the district.

If you think an upcoming unit, project, or theme might connect well with a portable planetarium, please reach out. A quick phone call works best so I can hear what you’re planning and help identify content that fits. The more lead time we have, the better we can align the experience.

Thank you for all you do to create meaningful learning opportunities for our students.
Together at West, We Shine.

https://sites.google.com/isd318.org/isd318starlab/home

Dec lunch menu.pdf

December Lunch Menu

FYI, please share with families as needed.

2025 Family Movie Night

RSVP: www.tinyurl.com/WestMovie121825

One movie is shorter, hopefully to help younger families.... one is longer, a lot of music....

Please consider attending if you can, even if you just make an appearance :-)

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