From the Desk of the Superintendent...
February 19, 2018
MARCH 2018 DISTRICT DISPATCH
“Read-Across-America Day” will be celebrated in the Underwood Community School District on Wednesday, February 28, 2018. 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. Activities will continue through Friday, March 2, 2018. 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. All students benefit from time spent reading. 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.
On Saturday, February 3, 2018, Underwood High School speech students under the direction of speech sponsor Kaitlyn Krumm participated in the Iowa High School Speech Association’s Large Group Speech Contest held at Waukee High School and came away with three division I ratings. Those groups were as follows: Ensemble Acting (Brock McDonough, Kyle Shapcott, Liam Campin, and Nick Starnes) and two Group Improvisations (Brock McDonough, Kyle Shapcott, Liam Campin, Jill Rosas, and Justin Rosas). Congratulations and best of luck to everyone participating in the state individual speech contest on Saturday, March 10, 2018!
Mark your calendars now and plan on attending our spring variety show on either Friday, March 23, 2018, or Saturday, March 24, 2018. The performances will begin at 7:00 p.m. on both nights in our high school performing arts auditorium. This year’s theme is “You’ve Got Talent” and will be a competition of the best talent at Underwood. The audience will take part in the decision regarding the winners! Regardless of who wins and who doesn’t, you will thoroughly enjoy the singing, dancing, juggling, and raw talent of our Underwood students. The competition is open to all Underwood students in grades K-12. Preliminary judging will be done by school district music faculty members. Registration forms are available online at www.underwoodmusic.info or in any of the school district offices. Tickets will be $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students with proceeds going to the Underwood Community School District Music Department.
Looking ahead to April, please note that we will be having prekindergarten round-up and kindergarten round-up on Friday, April 6, 2018. 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 2018-19 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, 2018, please call the elementary office 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, 2018, please call our elementary office and register for prekindergarten. Unlike kindergarten, prekindergarten is voluntary and not required. Our prekindergarten is a half-day program which lasts the entire school year.
Another big event in April is the Underwood Dollars for Scholars Fundraiser Chicken Dinner to be held at UMBA from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 8, 2018. A silent auction with theme baskets for both young and old will be an important part of this event. If you are interested in providing a donation of a completed basket or items to be included in a basket such as gift cards or gift certificates, please contact Sandy Redshaw at sandykared@msn.com or telephone her at (712) 566-9574 or (712) 310-2151.
Don’t forget that we will be having a 2:30 p.m. dismissal at the end of the third quarter on Friday, March 9, 2018. Parent-teacher conferences will be held on Tuesday, March 20, 2018, and Thursday, March 22, 2018, from 4:30-8:30 p.m. There will be no school on Friday, March 23, 2018. In addition, there will be a 1:30 p.m. dismissal on Thursday, March 29, 2018, and no school on Friday, March 30, 2018, or Monday, April 2, 2018, because of spring break.
