FROM THE DESK OF THE SUPERINTENDENT...
MARCH 2015 DISTRICT DISPATCH
“Read Across America Day” will be celebrated in the Underwood Community School District and throughout the state and nation on Monday, March 2, 2015. This annual event, which includes an “Elementary Family Reading Night” in our middle school gymnasium at 7:00 p.m., commemorates Dr. Seuss’s birthday and underscores the vital importance of reading in our curriculum. It is no secret that time spent reading, both inside and outside of school, is essential to developing cognitive abilities such as comprehension and vocabulary. Reading many different types of material also has benefits, since students then see words in a variety of contexts. The meanings of these words are then more readily accessible during future reading. All students benefit from time spent reading. Unfortunately, students with low reading skill levels often end up reading less and less because reading is not something at which they are successful. One of the top priorities of our school district’s Comprehensive School Improvement Plan is to constantly strive to help our students become the best readers they can be. In addition to teachers working with students in school on reading, I believe it is equally important for parents to find the time to read at home with their children. If you have not had the opportunity to read at home with your children recently, block out some time and make it an important family priority. Children love having books read to them.
Looking ahead to the second half of March, please note that we will be having prekindergarten round-up and kindergarten round-up on Friday, March 20, 2015. Prekindergarten round-up will begin at 9:00 a.m. and kindergarten round-up will begin at 10:15 a.m. The elementary office is presently in the process of identifying prekindergarten and kindergarten students for the 2015-16 school year. You don’t need to wait until round-up time to register your child for prekindergarten or kindergarten. If you know that your child or grandchild will be five-years-old on or before September 15, 2015, please call the elementary office at 566-2326 to inquire about registering for kindergarten. Our kindergarten program is an all-day program that lasts for the entire school year. If you know that your child or grandchild will be four-years-old on or before September 15, 2015, please call our elementary office and register for prekindergarten. Unlike kindergarten, prekindergarten is voluntary and not required. Our prekindergarten program is a half-day program which lasts for the entire school year.
Remember the television shows The Munsters and The Addams Family from the 1960’s? If you do or even if you weren’t born yet, don’t miss this year’s high school spring play entitled Boys and Ghouls Together by David Rogers. There will be two evening performances which will take place at 7:00 p.m. in our new high school auditorium. The first one will be on Friday, March 27, 2015, and the second one will be on Saturday, March 28, 2015. This delightful comedy begins with a group of young Americans bicycling across Europe. They stop for the night in an old castle in the Alps that has been turned into a youth hostel because the owners have fallen on hard financial times and need the money. The owners are unusual to say the least. They are descended from Count Dracula and Doctor Frankenstein and are very concerned because they can’t find a husband for their daughter, Dirga. Will a young American vacationer, presumably wealthy, be the answer to their prayers? Mark your calendars now and plan on attending one of these hilarious performances.