Newsletter Roundup: Mitchell elementary students busy in the leadup to Christmas break

Dec. 27—MITCHELL — What's going on during the holidays at Mitchell's elementary schools this holiday season?

The Mitchell Republic reached out to the five local elementary schools — Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary, L.B. Williams Elementary, Longfellow Elementary, John Paul II Elementary and Mitchell Christian Elementary — in an effort to provide a brief rundown of events, activities and announcements from each school on a monthly basis. The Mitchell Republic will publish this information online as information is made available from the schools.

L.B. Williams Elementary, Longfellow Elementary and Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary are observing Christmas break. Classes will resume Jan. 4.

For specifics for your particular school, contact that school's office.

This month's roundup features holiday observations from students at Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary School. The video, captured by Adam Thury, Mitchell Republic photographer, can be viewed below:

* Parent-teacher conferences are currently scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 12. Parents should be on the lookout for a communication from the school with details. Parents will be asked to sign up for a 15-minute slot using SignUpGenius.

* The Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary PTA will host its first meeting of 2023 Monday, Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. at the school. The group will hold a fundraiser during the basketball games at the Corn Palace Wednesday, Dec. 28. The fundraiser will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at The Main Street Mercantile.

* A number of students received the Caring Kernel Award for the month of December. Gertie Belle Rogers students receiving the award include Ariana Reyelts, Vivienne Lyle, Reed Schutz, MaKenna Raymond, Briella Calhoon, Jorik Moreno Perez, Calvin Wieczorek, Jack McEntee, Tegan Gakin and Brooklyn Marshall.

* Teacher Teresa Zirpel, fourth grade teacher at Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary, was the recipient of the Empower Our Educators Award.

* Caring Closet Pop-Up Appointments are expected to be held at Mitchell High School Jan. 14. Those interested in participating should check in with the Caring Closet volunteer at the entrance closest to Capital Street five minutes prior to their appointment.

The full Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary School newsletter can be read

here.

* The next Longfellow Elementary PTO meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10 in the Longfellow Elementary conference room. All parents are welcome to attend PTO meetings.

* There will be no school Monday, Jan. 16 for a teacher development day.

* Longfellow Elementary is about to embark on another One School, One Book journey. There will be nightly readings followed by daily trivia questions and prizes. The book will remain a surprise for now but the characters would really love this cold and snow. Packets with all of the materials will be sent home on Friday, Jan. 6 and readings will begin Jan. 9.

* Several Longfellow Elementary students were selected for the Caring Kernel Award. Those students include Furious Spino, Michael Sport, Max Lang, Heavyn Choate, Victor Rich and Emersyn Willis.

* The student council store will be open Friday, Jan. 6 at 7:45 a.m.

The full Longfellow Elementary School newsletter can be read

here.

* The L.B. Williams Elementary PTO will host a Glow Dance, formerly known as a Sock Hop, on Friday, Jan. 20 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The next meeting of the PTO will be held Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 5:30 p.m. at Blarney's.

* The school is reminding parents that when dropping students off in the morning to please avoid parking in the cut-out area on the west side of the school on University Street. This area is for the Palace Transit buses that are dropping kids off in the mornings.

* For the first time in several years, fifth and sixth grade students have the opportunity to learn more about the game of basketball by being involved with the Mitchell Kernel Klub. In January, the students involved will also play games on Thursdays at the different public elementary schools. More details on other sports being added are expected to follow. Coaches include Chaydon Metzger, Troy Moeller, Deb Thill, Leslie Rylance, Eric Hieb and Esther Witte.

* Parents are invited to the Family Engagement Night featuring the Energy Bus book activities. Please save the date for Thursday, Jan. 12. More detail will be coming in January when students and staff return from break.

* The school appreciates all that were able to donate marshmallows for the student council's Salvation Army drive. Congratulations to the school for collecting 650 bags of marshmallows. The winning classrooms that won the challenge included: K-2 — Mrs. Talley and 3-5 — Mrs. VanOverschelde, who earned Bingo with the principal.

The full L.B. Williams Elementary School newsletter can be read

here.

* Students got to dress up in their pajamas one day in the month of December. The weather was so cold that the school held recess indoors for a full week. Elementary students got a chance to play board games in the hallways, as well.

* The school has been trying something new this fall. When the school has morning announcements they include the lunch menu, happenings for the day, acts of kindness that have been reported, upcoming activities, activities results as well as an interesting fact of the day. Also included is a teacher trivia question or Bible trivia question open to all students in K-12.

* The kindergarten class took turns making cookies. The class had to reschedule their cookie delivery until after Christmas, but they reportedly enjoyed making them!

* Mitchell Christian is currently on its Christmas break. Classes will resume Thursday, Jan. 5. There will also be no school Monday, Jan. 16 for a teacher in-service.

* The faculty and staff at St. John Paul II Elementary School wished all parents and students a very Merry Christmas as they concluded the first semester of classes in December.

* The school is currently on Christmas break. Classes at the school will resume Wednesday, Jan. 4. There will be no classes Monday, Jan. 16 for a staff development day.

* Catholic Schools Week will kick off Monday, Jan. 29.

* There will be a virtual PTO meeting Monday, Jan. 5. A Zoom link was recently emailed to parents who may wish to participate. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

* The school held a Keep Christ in Christmas poster contest. Placing in the 11-14 year-old division were Kendra Carpenter — first place, Preston Maeschen — second place and Treston Zens — third place. The 8-10 year-old division finishers included Hadley Bannwarth — first place, Jocelyn Degen — second place and Charlie Beckstrom — third place. In the 5-7 year-old division finishers included Emerson Timmer — first place, Lauryn Spitzenberger — second place and Max Sand — third place.

All school events, including dates, times and locations, are subject to change. For the latest information, contact your child's school. The events included in the roundup above do not entail a comprehensive list of all monthly activities.

Some events listed under the three public elementary schools — Longfellow, L.B. Williams and Gertie Belle Rogers — may be open to all public elementary school students. For more information, check with your student's particular elementary school.