Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat

1 Day 5

2 Day 6

READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY/ DR. SUESS B’DAY

3 Day 1

Cabaret, VS HS Aud.,

7:00 pm

4

NEIBA Jazz Festival @

Independence, 2:15 pm

6 Day 2

G V TR Dickinson Relays

Indoor Meet @ UNI-Dome, 3:00 pm

MS B/G TR Camp

6-8 Band Concert, VSHS

Aud., 7:00 pm

7 Day 3

MS B/G TR Camp

8 Day 4

MS B/G TR Camp

Booster Club Mtg. @

VSHS Commons, 6:00 pm

Band Booster Mtg. @

HS Band Room, 6:30pm

9 Day 5 10 Day 6 2 HR. EARLY DISMISSAL

Prof. Dev.

11

State Individual Speech

@ VS-HS

FFA NE District Con-vention @ Monticello

12 Sunday

Daylight Savings Begins

13 Day 1

MS B/G TR Practice begins

B SOC Practice Begins

B/G Golf Practice Begins

School Board Meeting @ Central Office, 6:30 pm

FFA Meeting @ VSHS, 6:30 pm

14 Day 2

G/B V TR Indoor @

Wartburg College, 2:30 pm

15 Day 3

Middle School Spring

Pictures, 8:00 am

16 Day 4

Tilford Kindergarten

Orientation, No KDG Classes

Tractor Drive-in Day

6-8 Grade Choir &

Show Choir Concert @ VSHS Aud., 7:00 pm

17

NO CLASSES (Snow Make-up Day)

18

B/G V TR WaMaC

Indoor @ Cornell College, 2:00 pm

WaMaC G/B BB Sen-ior Shootout, Benton,

TBA

20 Day 5

G SOC Practice Begins

Juniors/Parents College

Planning (Class of 2019), VSHS, 6:00 pm

SR Financial Aid Night

(Class of 2018) , VSHS, 7:00 pm

21 Day 6

22 Day 1

23 Day 2

24 Day 3 2 HR. EARLY DISMISSAL

Prof. Dev.

Middle School Play @

Tilford, 7:00 pm

25

IHSMA Solo/Ensemble

Contest @ Anamosa

Alumni Basketball Tournament, VS-HS, 10:00 am

Middle School Play @ Tilford, 7:00 pm

26 Sunday

Speech Showcase &

Awards, Palace Theatre, 2:00 pm

27 Day 4

All-State Individual Speech @ UNI, 8:30 am

28 Day 5

Tilford 2nd Grade

Concert, 6:30 pm

29 Day 6

Tilford Spring Pictures

30 Day 1

G JV/V TR @ Union

Invite, 4:30 pm

Tilford 3rd Grade

Concert, 6:30 pm

B V SOC Jamboree @

Columbus Catholic, 7:30 pm

31 Day 2

American Red Cross

Blood Drive, VSHS Aux. Gym, 9:00 am -2:00 pm

Tiny Vike’s Orientation, 9:30 am - 11:00 am

B V TR Viking Early Bird, Karr Athletic Complex, 4:30 pm

MARCH 2017

Senior Citizen Activity Passes are available for Vinton-Shellsburg CSD residents who are age 55 or older; call or stop by the Superintendent’s Office at 1502 C Ave., Vinton. Passes good for most all fine arts and sports events.

GIRLS’ STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT — 3/1—3/5

V-SCSD EQUITY STATEMENT

The Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District provides equal educational and employment opportunities and will not illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, disability, religion, creed, age, marital

status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District shall take affirmative action in recruitment, appointment, assignment and advancement of women and men, minorities and disabled. Inquir-

ies regarding compliance with equal educational or employment opportunities and/or affirmative action shall be directed to Kim Meyer, Equity Coordinator, Vinton-Shellsburg CSD, 1502 C Avenue, Vinton, Iowa 52349. Inquiries may

also be directed in writing to the Director of the Region VII Office of the United States Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, or the Director of the Region VII Office of Civil Rights, United States Department of Education

in Chicago, IL.

BOYS’ STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT — 3/7—3/11

ACDA Convention & Honor Choir — 3/8—3/11

Believing In Yourself — West Campus just had three students graduate just about the end of the second trimester. Taya Witten,

Kayla Schneider, and Tevin Dvorak. We are very proud of these students for their commitment and dedication to their educa-

tion. They have demonstrated their belief in the VSCSD goals of every student will graduate and have the opportunity to individual-

ize their learning. Congratulations to them!

To the Vinton-Shellsburg School Community,

I don’t want to jinx us but we have had a stretch of good weather and it looks like we are going to get

through winter fairly well other than the mud and muck we had in January on our gravel roads!

As spring approaches, we spend our time working in two school years – we are finishing up the current

one while making plans for the next one.

Budget – We will have our budget workshop on Monday, March 13. I strongly encourage anyone to

attend who is interested in knowing more about how Iowa schools are financed and how Vinton-

Shellsburg allocates our funding. We have two challenges to work through. First, there has been

historically low increased support from the Iowa Legislature over the last six years. Second, we have

declining enrollment. These two factors will impact our budget in that we will need to reduce overall

expenditures over the next two or so years.

Calendar – At the February board meeting, the board reviewed a preliminary calendar for 2017-18. It

was designed to meet many of the items our survey responses indicated are priorities for both our

parents and our staff. Although it is not finalized, it looks like it will include:

Ø August 23 start date (the earliest allowed by Iowa law) – 44% of parents prefer

Ø No school on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving – 61% of parents prefer

Ø Spring break around Easter – 57% of parents indicated this as a preference

Ø Winter break will begin with an early out on December 22 and return Wednesday, January 3 – 65%

and 48% respectively

Ø Early Out’s on Fridays – 69% of parents prefer

Ø Snow Make-Up Days built into the calendar – 87% of parents prefer

Staffing – We will start the new year with several faces missing from our buildings due to retirements.

Our board approved applications from 12 individuals with 331.5 years of service to our students and

district. They include: Don Lyle (8th grade math); Herb McNeil (MS industrial technology); Vicki

Waggoner (7th grade language arts); Lynette Voss (kindergarten); Kim Isbell (2nd grade); Cindy Yoars

(home school assistance program); Bev Anderson (head cook at HS); Karen Helms (HS media); Sheila

Mason (Shellsburg secretary); Lisa Boeckmann (Tilford secretary); Kathy Flaugh (MS secretary) and Kris

Birker (MS secretary). Please make plans now to attend our retirement reception on Wednesday, May

17 from 4-5:30 at the Skate Center. We will recognize these important people!

Bargaining Implications – We will be working out the implications of the legislature’s recent changes to

Chapter 20 as far as how we set contract conditions with our teachers. I anticipate there will be some

things I appreciate about the changes in the law as well as some things that are not my favorite. The

challenge will be to work through things in a timely manner as there was very little warning from the

legislators that such drastic changes would be made.

Celebrations – Many of our students received recognition from district or state performances over the

last weeks. All of our group speech entries received a I rating at district and several of them received I

ratings at state. Our girls’ bowling team qualified for state and placed sixth. Carter Weeks earned the

fifth place medal in Class 2A state wrestling meet and Scott Betterton qualified to compete at state.

If any student, parent or community member has a question about the school district, I would encourage

him or her to give me a call, send me an e-mail or stop in. My phone number is 319.436.5685 and my e-

mail address is maryjo.hainstock@vscsd.org. I welcome the opportunity to talk about what is going well

(or not so well) in our district.

Yours in service,

Mary Jo Hainstock

Superintendent

MARCH 2017

VINTON-SHELLSBURG

COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

—Where Character Counts!

“The Mission of the Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District is to improve the quality of lives and assist individuals in becoming contributing members of

society through the accumulation and application of knowledge.”

We’re on the Web!! www.vscsd.org

PLEASE make sure to go into

Power Schools and double

check or update your infor-

mation if you have a change

of address or telephone

number. We receive a lot of

calls from people whose num-

ber is in our system, but they

are not connected to the stu-

dent they are getting notices

about. Safer, more accurate

communication happens when

everyone has correct contact

information.

Special points of interest:

March 3 - Cabaret, VSHS, 7:00 pm

March 6 - Middle School Bands

Concert, VSHS Aud., 7:00 pm

March 10 - 2 Hr. Early Dismissal,

Prof. Development

March 12 - Daylight Savings Begins

March 13 - School Board Meeting

@ Central Office, 6:30 pm

March 16 - Tilford Kindergarten

Orientation; NO KDG Classes

March 16 - Middle School Choir &

Show Choir Concert @ VSHS,

7:00pm

March 17 - NO CLASSES

March 24 - 2 Hr. Early Dismissal, Prof.

Development

March 24 & 25 - Middle School Play,

Tilford Elem., 7:00 pm

March 26—Speech Showcase &

Awards, Palace Theater, 2:00 pm

March 28 - Tilford 2nd Grade

Music Concert, 6:30 pm

March 30 - Tilford 3rd Grade Music

Concert, 6:30 pm

March 31 - Tiny Vike’s Orientation

9:30-11:00 am

March 31 - B V TR Viking Early Bird,

4:30 pm @ Karr Complex

Voyagers held their spring show on Sat., Feb. 18th. Voyager members include: Taylor Wheeler, Baylee Bruce, Brandi Gerber, Hannah Kalous, Rachel Tandy, Rylie Davis,

Allissa Hendryx, Gracie Horst, Cassie McClain, Makena Solberg, Morgan White, Leah Bohnsack, Kailey Lazenby, Alyssa Reynolds, Chelsee Tharp. Baylee Bruce and Allissa Hendryx received a Division I rating for both of their jazz solos at the Iowa State Solo Competition. As a team, the dance team received a division I rating for their jazz rou-tine and a division I rating and 3rd place for their hip hop routine at the state competition.

The Voyagers alumni also made an appearance showing that they still got it!

Vikette bowlers earn their way to

State for the first time and end up placing 6th. Erin Wood earned 9th place Individual. From left to right:

Coach Amber Pattee, Jillian White, Madison Rippel, Connie Upmeyer,

Korey Murdoch, Brianna Lundvall, Taylor Berry and Erin Wood.

Viking wrestler Carter Weeks earned the

Fifth Place medal at 106 pounds in Class 2A at the State Wrestling Meet. Weeks, a junior, won his final match, 5-0 over Brock

Beck of Grinnell, to earn 5th. Weeks’

Record: 76 - 55; 33 pins.

A Year to Remember for the V-S FFA Chapter

This past year has been full of success, surprise, and excitement! Starting out the year being known as the number one chapter in

the State has been a huge honor and privilege for our Chapter. Every year the new officer team must get to know one another and

work with each other in order for the Chapter to stay as one. The hard work of the Officers and the members is how we honor

the title that was given to our chapter.

The Chapter, as a whole, has been determined to represent the title well. Members help out during community events/activities and

many chapter activities that take place throughout the year which include: 3rd grade ag day, farm safety day, Shellsburg & Garrison

fun days, party in the park, lights & roping, American Legion fall festival, homecoming parade, county fair, local greenhand night, pork

barbeque, fruit sales, and annual awards banquet. There are

also many other events that we help with because we are

asked and events that our members participate in. Our Chap-

ter helps by setting up, tearing down, and providing a petting

zoo for certain activities.

Our chapter also participated in events with other chapters,

and we are either working together or socializing together to

build our bond which include the Benton Community FFA har-

vest hoedown and in the county fair barn. We also have many

activities to continue helping our members get to know one

another those include laser tag and bowling, potlucks, water

balloon fights, 9-square, and leadership events.

Kayla Schneider

Co-Reporter

ENROLL NOW FOR 2017-18 Kindergarten Round-Up — Tilford Elementary: March 16, 2017 Shellsburg Elementary: April 13, 2017

Must be 5 years old by 9/15/2017

Tiny Vike’s Preschool Round-Up — Both Elementaries: March 31, 2017 9:30-11:00 a.m.

Must be 4 years old by 9/15/2017

To Enroll Your Child

Go to VSCSD.org and click on Tilford or Shellsburg page OR call: 319-436-4736 Ext. 5800 or 5802 (Tilford) Ext. 5900 (Shellsburg)

Shellsburg Elementary As I write this, we are preparing for near record high temperatures this coming week. That must certainly mean spring is on its way. This is a busy time of

year for us at Shellsburg Elementary, as we are trying to finish this school year strong while planning already for next year. I hope you will take time to read

this, as there are some updates and requests I would like to get out to the community.

First, I want to make a call out to any families that have preschool age students. We are trying to plan our programming for next year, both for 3-year old

and 4-year old preschool. A lot of our planning depends on the number of students we have. If you have a 3 or 4 year old child, please consider calling the

school or visiting our website to sign them up. Preschool is a very beneficial program to the development of a child, and we find that students that partici-

pate are more prepared for Kindergarten. Our Preschool Round-up for the 4-year old program is March 31 from 9:30-11:00. The deadline for signing up is

Friday, April 14. At that point we will be creating class lists and determining what our programming will look like based on numbers. Please call me at 319-

436-5903 if you have questions.

We are also getting our list of Kindergarten students together. If you have a child that will be 5 years old by September 15, they are eligible to start Kinder-

garten. If you have not already signed your child up, you can do so by calling Shellsburg Elementary or stopping in and talking to one of our secretaries. The

date of our Kindergarten Round-up is Thursday, April 13.

Finally, I want to share with you about an exciting field trip our 5th graders took. For the second year, we were able to secure a grant to take our 5th grade

students snow skiing at Sundown Mountain in Dubuque. We do this as part of our PE curriculum in an attempt to teach the students a new skill that could

become a lifelong hobby. This year we had 148 students and adults participate, with the majority being first time skiers. We had a beautiful sunny day, and our students and adults went through lessons eager to learn. By the end of the day, there were many spills, but many, many more smiles. I have already

heard of students that have gone home and asked when they can ski again. It was a very successful day. I have included some pictures of the day to share

the smiles.

As always, I’m very appreciative of the support Shellsburg Elementary gets from our parents and the community. It is a special school full of amazing stu-

dents and staff. Please feel free to contact me any time if you have questions about what we do or how we can better serve our community.

Ryan Davis, Principal

Benton County Conservationists Catilin Savage and Aaron Askelson visited Tilford and taught first

graders about owls in their Iowa habitat.

Benton County Naturalists taught third graders about

crayfish, which is part of their structures of life unit in science.

VSHS CHOIR

We had a number of students attend honor choirs around the state this winter. Students were chosen for their interest, ability, and enthusiastic involvement in the choral department.

Dorian Vocal Festival at Luther College (Jan. 8-9): Lindsey Miller, Brittany Grendler, Alex Dick, Owen Sloop, David Steele

Meistersinger Honor Choir at Wartburg College (Jan. 22-23): Alicia Morin, Brittany Grendler, Owen Sloop

Central Singfest at Central College (Feb. 9): Makayla Moeller, Savanna Rios, Cassie Hazen, Destiny Swallom, Mady Rule, Trey Rouse

University of Iowa Honors Festival (Feb. 18-19): Alicia Morin (choir), Lexi Diveley (band)

We also have one VSHS student attending the American Choral Director's Association national conference honor choir on Mar. 8-11. Davia Herger (9th grade) was chosen for the Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir. Davia submitted an audition recording this fall among thousands of other students across the nation.

The Jazz Band got a division I rating at the State Jazz Festival, which is considered Superior by the Iowa High School Music Association, and is the highest rating that an en-semble can receive. The Jazz Band can be heard locally, along with the Concert Choir, Treble Choir, Symphonic Band, and other student ensembles at the Cabaret concert

on Friday, March 3rd. Tickets are on sale in advance through Nick Waymire, the director of bands at Vinton-Shellsburg High School, and may also be purchased at the door. All seating is reserved for the Cabaret concert.