November elementary school newsletter roundup: Arrival of November keeping students, staff busy

Erik Kaufman, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·7 min read

Nov. 1—MITCHELL — The 2022-23 school year continues to move quickly, and with the arrival of November the five elementary schools in Mitchell are keeping busy.

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.

Following is a roundup of news and upcoming events from those schools.

All five schools will hold Thanksgiving break Thursday, Nov. 24 and Friday, Nov. 25.

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

* There will be a concert by the 2nd and 3rd grade class to honor veterans. The concert will be held Monday, Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Longfellow Elementary Gymnasium. The wearing of red, white and blue is encouraged but not mandatory.

* The school will observe American Education Week Nov. 14 through Nov. 18. Dress up days for that week will feature red, white and blue on Monday, Nov. 14; black and gold on Tuesday, Nov. 15; red on Wednesday, Nov. 16 and college wear/jerseys on Thursday, Nov. 17. Note that clothing must be school appropriate. No face paint or spray-in hair color.

* The school has named its students of the month for November. For a full list of those students, and a short writeup on each, see the Longfellow Elementary November newsletter.

* A Christmas shopping event for kids will be held at the Masonic Temple in Mitchell. This year's event will take place Saturday, Dec. 3, beginning at 9 a.m. and going until 2 p.m. All gifts are $10 and Santa's helpers will be available to assist the children while shopping. There will be a waiting room available for parents while children shop, and concessions will be available. More information will be available as the event approaches.

* The student council store will be open Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7:45 a.m.

The full November newsletter from Longfellow Elementary School is available

here.

* The Mitchell Christian School 39th annual Fall Banquet will be held Friday, Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the Baas Auditorium at Mitchell Christian School. The event will feature Tom Henderson, founder of ResGen and the author of Heart Not Hype. He is a graduate of the University of Sioux Falls and Sioux Falls Seminary, and has been working in full-time ministry for over 20 years and speaking professionally for the past 13. He is the host of ResGen's Giving Life Podcast. Tickets can be purchased at the school office.

* The 2nd and 3rd grade classes recently played spoons using various types of concepts ranging from math to grammar. They faced off against their fellow peers while learning.

* The 6th grade class recently colored and defined science terms and then displayed them on the wall.

* There will be no school Friday, Nov. 11 due to a teacher inservice. There will also be an 11:30 a.m. dismissal Wednesday, Nov. 23 and no school Thursday, Nov. 24 and Friday, Nov. 25 for the Thanksgiving break.

* There will be a community involvement fundraiser Monday, Nov. 7 from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Pizza Ranch. The event will be hosted by the Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary PTA. The student council will be on site to lend a hand.

* The school will observe American Education Week Nov. 14 through Nov. 18. Dress up days for that week will feature red, white and blue on Monday, Nov. 14; black and gold on Tuesday, Nov. 15; red on Wednesday, Nov. 16 and college wear/jerseys on Thursday, Nov. 17. Note that clothing must be school appropriate.

* The 1st and 2nd grade will perform concerts Tuesday, Nov. 15 at the Gertie Belle Rogers commons stage. There will be two concerts, with one beginning at 6:30 p.m. and the second beginning at about 7:30 p.m. Each concert is expected to be about 25 minutes long. More information can be found in the Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary November newsletter.

* The school book vending machine was delivered in October. Oct. 30 marked the beginning of a two-week Read-A-Thon, which is a fundraiser for the library that will help pay for the vending machine and the books that go in it. The goal is to have students read at least 5,000 minutes. Another goal is to raise enough money to have the machine filled all year long with new books.

* Gertie Belle Rogers is investing both as a staff and a student body into The Energy Bus and The Energy Bus for Schools program. The objective is to propel the building forward by embracing and investing in The Energy Bus philosophy of bringing only positive energy to school each day, keeping a positive attitude and influencing everyone's work in the best possible way. For more information, see the Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary November newsletter.

The full November newsletter from Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary School is available

here.

* Students will be learning about the saints and their lives during the month of November.

* The Snack Cart travels to classrooms every Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. for those students who need a pick-me-up during the day. The proceeds of the Snack Cart are used to help sponsor student council activities and other projects that the council members vote on throughout the school year.

* Cookie dough delivery will take place Thursday, Nov. 17. All frozen cookie dough must be picked up immediately after school and be put in freezers or delivered.

* There will be an advisory council meeting Thursday, Nov. 10 at 5:30 p.m.

* There will be a virtual PTO meeting Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. A link will be emailed to parents.

* The L.B. Williams Elementary carnival will take place Saturday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The school is seeking volunteers to help with the games during the various sessions of the carnival. Volunteers can sign up

here.

A list of donationed needed include cakes, cookies bars and candy bars. More information can be found in the school November newsletter.

* The L.B Williams Elementary 1st and 2nd grade concerts, On Safari, will be held Monday, Nov. 14 in the school commons. The first concert is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. and the second concert will begin at 7:30 p.m.

* The L.B. Williams 3rd and 4th grade concerts, Play Ball!, will be held Tuesday, Nov. 8 in the Mitchell Performing Arts Center. The first concert is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. and the second will begin at 7:30 p.m.

* The school hosted the Busload of Books Tour last month. All classrooms had pictures taken with the group in front of their bus and also met their family and their dog, Dumbbells. Every K-2 student received the book Everywhere, Wonder and every 3rd through 5th grader received the book Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom. They hosted two assemblies plus a small group discussion.

* Parents are reminded to have their student dressed appropriately for the changing weather. This includes hats, gloves, warm coats and soon snow pants and boots. All students will go outside for every recess unless the wind chill is below zero.

The full November newsletter from L.B. Williams Elementary School is available

here.

All school events, including dates, times and locations, are subject to change. For the latest information, contact your child's school.

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