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Our 2020-2021 school year is off to a very good start. A very unique start to our year that is for sure. As we progress through this school year we hope that the current health crisis improves and we will no longer have some of these restrictions in place. To some our plan may be too restrictive right now. To others we may not be doing enough. Regardless, it is impossible for us to make every-one happy. Our Return to Learn Plan will be looked at weekly by our team to decide what adjustments need to be made. As was stat-ed when our plan went public, it will always be subject to change as needed. Thank you all for your continued patience and under-standing during a very uncertain time.
Fac i l i t i es Improvemen t
We were able to get some work done on both of our school buildings this summer. We had ten classrooms recarpeted. Four in Aure-lia and six in Alta. The carpet in all ten rooms had served its purpose and needed to be replaced. We have an LED lighting project still going on in the Aurelia building. All light fixtures will be replaced with LED lighting fixtures. This will cut our lighting expense in the Aurelia building by at least 50%. Some of the fixtures are original to the building. It was definitely time for a needed upgrade. We also had some work done to the roof in Aurelia that was brought to our attention during our annual inspection. It is important that we continue to keep our maintenance upgrades up to date. All of these projects were paid for by PPEL dollars (Physical Plant and Equipment Levy). Thank you to our stakeholders in both communities for approving that in 2019.
Lessons Lea rned f rom Spr ing 2020
As a school district, we learned a great deal about ourselves this past spring. Our communities rise to the occasion to help our stu-dents and staff when needed. Our staff are dedicated to educating our students no matter what the circumstances. The unknown can be a very stressful time for everyone regardless of age. Students miss being in school for many reasons. They are social by nature and they need to be around others. Students learn better and prefer to have face to face learning over online. These are just a few things that come to mind when we reflect on Spring 2020. The communities of Alta and Aurelia are very special. Thank you for your support.
Wh y d i ff e ren t ru l e s du r ing t he s choo l day v s . Even ts The question above has been asked of us several times. Sporting events, concerts, plays etc. are attended voluntarily. You do not have to attend these events if you don’t want to. It would be difficult for us to tell adults attending these events that they need to wear a face covering. Our volunteers are not trained to handle some of these situations. Should we be like the MLB or NBA and have these events with no spectators? As a district, we did not want to do that to our parents and family members who want to see our stu-dents perform. We made the decision to have fans at our events. As a father of two Seniors, I’m glad we did. Softball and baseball season went well and our fans were excellent. The school day is a different setting that requires a different plan. Our students and staff are together for over six hours per day. Most of our students are mandatory attendees which means they must attend school by law. We have 700+ students in our district during a school day that we are responsible for. It only makes sense that we set some guidelines during a health crisis to decrease the possibil-ity of any of our students or staff from getting sick or transmitting COVID-19 to other family members at home. Both settings are a challenge to say the least. They do however require a different thought process when planning during this unique time. You may agree or disagree with our plan. We are doing our very best to make a tough situation work for everyone.
Have a Grea t Year
I know our students and staff will have an excellent year. If you have questions, talk with your building principal or give me a call. I think we can all agree that we are not in this alone. I had a student pat me on the back this first week and say “Don’t worry Mr. Wal-ters, everything is going to be alright”. I believe him!!!!
S c h o o l N e w s l e t t e r
From the Desk o f Super in tenden t Wal te r s
A l t a - A u r e l i a C o m m u n i t y S c h o o l D i s t r i c t
P a g e 2
New Teachers and S ta ff
Scott Mitchell is the new High School Principal at Alta-Aurelia Community School. Scott started with an AA Degree from Indian Hills Community College, and then received a BS from Dana College. He then earned his Master in Education from Drake University. Mr. Mitchell was a Social Science Teacher and Volleyball Coach at Galva-Holstein and Ridge View High School as well as the Activities Director at Ridge View.
Scott is originally from the Dow City/Dunlap, Iowa area. He lives in Holstein with his wife, Dina, and their children, Maddie, Jake and Charlie. In his spare time, Scott likes to hunt and fish.
Mattie Larson will be teaching High School P.E. and Health as well as being the Assistant Softball Coach. Ms. Larson graduated from Buena Vista University last December with a Bachelor of Arts De-gree, majoring in K-12 Physical Education and Human Performance with studies in K-12 Health and Coaching. This will be Mattie’s first year of teaching, but she has had two years of varsity assistant soft-ball coaching at Clay Central/Everly and two years of junior high softball coaching at Clay Cen-tral/Everly.
Mattie Larson is from Spencer, IA, but proudly attended Clay Central/Everly CSD. Mattie’s family lives in Spencer. Her mom is a 2nd grade teacher at CCE while her dad is a warehouse manager at Spencer AG Center. Her sister is a senior at Okoboji HS this year, and they have a family dog named Roody! Ms. Larson is currently living in Spencer with her fiancé, Tyler, and their black lab puppy, Huckleberry. Ty-ler is a police officer for the Spencer Police Department and Huckleberry is a professional sock chewer.
Outside of school, Mattie enjoys coaching, hunting, fishing, and just being outside in general. She also enjoys working out, reading Harry Potter, watching D1 sports, and spending time with her family and friends. “I am a first year teacher this year, which is a little nerve wracking, but I am extremely excited to continue getting to know the students and staff at Alta-Aurelia and becoming a part of this family!”
Katlyn Cowlham will be teaching K-4 Special Education at Alta Elementary. She graduated from UNI last December with an Early Childhood Education BA and endorsements in K-8 Literacy Education and EDU 100 Special Education. This will be her very first teaching job!
Katlyn is originally from Odebolt. Her family still lives in Odebolt and she lives in Holstein with her boyfriend and their German Shepherd, Ava. She enjoys anything to do with her dog and her family. Katlyn loves to visit the mountains out west and go hiking and exploring.
Denise Hull will be teaching Preschool at Alta Elementary. Ms. Hull graduated from Buena Vista Uni-versity in 2005 with a B.A. in Elementary Education. Denise has had twelve years teaching with Head Start and three years teaching 4th grade at St. Mary's.
Growing up an Army brat, Denise lived mainly on the east coast and Germany. She and her husband have three boys; two natural children - Dylan, 24 and Jacob, 21; and one child by choice - Ricky, 21. Her husband works at BVU and they have a “squirrely” little dog. Denise loves to go camping, kayaking, reading, and doing puzzles. “I am so excited to be teaching in Alta, Go Warriors!”
Kayla Stofferan will be teaching 3rd grade at Alta Elementary. She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls last May with a degree in Elementary Education.
Ms. Stofferan grew up in Sanborn, Iowa. She is the daughter of Reece and Jody Stofferan. She has an older sister, Jessica, and a younger brother, Nathan. Kayla is currently living in Alta. Outside of school, she likes to cook and bake, and also likes to be outside by a lake.
S c h o o l N e w s l e t t e r
New Teachers and S ta ff
Angie Horsley will be teaching Preschool at Alta this year. She graduated from BVU in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in Education with reading, social studies, and Pre-k endorsements. Angie is also cur-rently attending BVU to get her Masters in Special Education. She has taught for Head Start in Storm Lake for the last 3 years.
Ms. Horsley lived in Odebolt since she was in high school, which is where she met her husband. She currently lives in Odebolt with her husband, Jace. They have four beautiful kids named Mackenzie, Al-exandria, Ariana, and Wyatt. Their girls are active with cheerleading, volleyball, Girl Scouts, and dance. “We have a very busy schedule, and a full heart.” Angie enjoys spending time together with her family, playing games, taking walks, playing volleyball, and shopping.
Ashton Peterson will be teaching 1st Grade at Alta Elementary. Ashton graduated in 2019 from Buena Vista University and majored in Elementary Education. She also received her Reading Endorsement and Early Childhood Endorsement. Last year Ashton taught 6th Grade Elementary at Sioux Central.
Ms. Peterson is originally from Ute, IA. Currently she lives in Alta with her husband, Jeremy, and their daughter, Kinsley, who was just born in March of this year. Ashton loves cooking and baking as well as spending time with her family and friends. “I am very excited to be a part of the Alta-Aurelia School District and can't wait to get to know everyone!”
Brea Husman will be the new High School Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher. She graduated from Iowa State University in May of 2020 with a degree in Family and Consumer Sciences Education and Studies along with her Health and Coaching Endorsements. This is her first year teaching! However, she works for the Buena Vista County Extension and Outreach Office during the summer!
Ms. Husman is originally from Storm Lake, Iowa. Brea and her husband, Jacob, were married last No-vember. They currently live on an acreage just outside of Storm Lake where they have two dogs, chick-ens and a couple of calves! Brea loves to sew, spend time in her garden and bake in her spare time. She also enjoys being with family and friends!
Jennifer Langdon will be the new ELL teacher for Alta Elementary and the High School. Jennifer gradu-ated from College of St. Mary in Omaha in 2002, with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in History. She received her ESL endorsement in 2006 from Concordia University.
Ms. Langdon taught for the Omaha Public Schools for 17.5 years at Chandler View Elementary. Jennifer previously taught 3rd, 4th, and 6th grades. Her previous school was predominately Hispanic and had many immigrants from Africa as well. Before she received her degree she worked as a paraprofessional and also at a mental health hospital on the Boys Town Unit with children and adolescents.
Jennifer was born in Omaha and has lived there her entire life until this March when the Pandemic hit. She currently resides in Storm Lake and her family is still in Omaha. Jennifer has two adult children and is totally in love with her new grandson that is three months old. In her free time she loves to do projects from Pinterest, knit, crochet, paint, and loves to read. She is interested in learning how to gar-den. “I’m very excited to be living here and in my new position. I love other cultures and enjoy working with my students and learning from them as well.”
Linda Madsen has her Early Childhood Degree and will be teaching 3-year-olds at the preschool in Alta. She has spent twenty-one years teaching three and four year olds for Upper Des Moines Opportunity in Sioux Rapids and then Storm Lake.
Ms. Madsen has lived in the Sioux Rapids and Rembrandt area all her life. Linda and her husband, Rich, have three children and four grandchildren. They love to camp, garden and spend time with their family.
More new teachers and staff in the October newsletter.
P a g e 3
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Nurses ’ Notes—Please Read!
Screening Updates: The Lions Club will not be checking preschoolers vision this year, so please have your child seen by a Professional. Vision Care in Storm Lake for example accepts Ameri Group. Peg & I will be checking distance vision for TK-4th graders. We ask that Kindergarteners and 3rd graders have the green card or IDPH vision screening form turned in by Oct. 1. We also ask that the IDPH dental screening form be turned in by Oct. 1 for Kindergarteners and 9th graders. In lieu of a recent visit, the form can be faxed to 1-712-434-2053, attention: Nurse. Hearing checks done by the AEA in both schools are to be determined, and we will keep you posted. As mentioned in the Aug. newsletter, it is possible that your Kindergartener, 7th or 12th grader need immunization updates. If your child is a senior, the meningitis vaccine could be due ASAP! The flu vaccine is being encouraged for the entire family, so check with your Provider or preferred pharmacy where they are currently available. The Staff will be receiving theirs’ in September. As you know, Students are expected to wear a facial covering in some situations. Please be responsible that your family member is wearing a clean one, and has at least one extra available for school. Hand cleaning and social distancing are also being encouraged. Extra masks are available when needed. Please call or email the building secretaries when your child is ill. The guideline has returned to 24 hours fever free without the aid of Tylenol, Ibuprofen, etc. before returning to school. The temperature of 100 degrees and above has not changed in the district for a fever. Please be willing to share if your child has tested positive or negative if checked for Covid 19. Peg Hinkeldey can be reached at the Alta Elementary, 1-712-200-1400 or email her at [email protected]. Sonia Galvin is in Aurelia, 1-712-434-5595 or email [email protected]. These are the Secretaries numbers also. We ask that you keep us up to date with cur-rent phone numbers where you can be reached promptly. Thank you for your cooperative efforts, Nurse Galvin, A-A Community School District
101 West Fifth Street Alta, IA 51002
Phone: 712-200-1010 Fax: 712-200-1602 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.alta-aurelia.org
A l t a - A u r e l i a C o m m u n i t y S c h o o l D i s t r i c t
