From the Desk of the Superintendent...
February 17, 2019
MARCH 2019 DISTRICT DISPATCH
“Read-Across-America Day” will be celebrated in the Underwood Community School District on Thursday, February 28, 2019. This annual event, which includes an “Elementary Family Reading Night” in our middle school gymnasium at 6:30 p.m., commemorates Dr. Seuss’s birthday and underscores the vital importance of reading in our curriculum. Activities will continue on Friday, March 1, 2019. 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 have 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 2, 2019, the Underwood High School speech students under the direction of speech sponsor Jennifer Weaver participated in the Iowa High School Speech Association’s Large Group Speech Contest held at Valley High School in West Des Moines and came away with a Division I rating in the Readers’ Theatre category. Readers’ Theatre participants included Ashley Knudtson, Phoebe Wilson, Josie Rosas, and Jacob Hills. Congratulations and best of luck to everyone participating in the state individual speech contest on Saturday, March 9, 2019!
Don’t forget that the members of the Underwood Dollars for Scholars organization will host their seventh annual fried chicken fundraising dinner at UMBA Hall from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 31, 2019. This event will feature fried chicken, a baked potato, green beans, and ice cream. The cost will be $10.00 for ages eleven and up, $7.00 for ages five to ten, and free for ages four and under. Take-out orders are welcome. A silent auction and raffle will be held during the event. Donations of completed baskets or items such as gift cards will help fund scholarships for graduating seniors from Underwood High School. Donations or questions regarding the silent auction should be directed to Sandy Redshaw at sandykared@msn.com, (712) 566-9574, or (712) 310-2151. Thank you for your help in supporting this worthy event!
Looking ahead to April, please note that we will be having prekindergarten round-up and kindergarten round-up on Friday, April 5, 2019. 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 2019-20 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, 2019, 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, 2019, please call the 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.
