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2012-13 School Year to Begin

The 2012-13 school year will begin August 20 with a full day of classes for 1st - 12th grade students. Kindergarten students will begin with a full day of classes on August 21.

Parents are reminded to register their children by completing the online module and submitting the required paper forms. Transportation information should also be completed at this time.

Families wishing to apply for the free and reduced meal program should complete an Iowa Eligibility Application.

Sports Physicals Update

In the past, Southeast Polk has offered free athletic physicals to students due to the generosity of medical professionals who volunteered their time to the program.  Unfortunately, we are unable to offer these services for the 2012-13 school year. Read more...

Options for free athletic physicals:  Central Place offers free medical care provided by a pediatric nurse practitioner from Blank Children’s Hospital. Call Central Place, 266-6795.

As always, your family physician is your best place for continued care of your child.

Quiz Bowl Excels

Southeast Polk Junior High quiz bowlers performed in outstanding fashion in this year's Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl competition, earning first and second place in the seventh grade contest and first place in the eighth grade contest. Working together to answer questions across a variety of subject areas, in this computer based contest, team members "bowled" over their competitors. Seventh graders went up against 21 other teams from across Heartland AEA 11 while eighth graders competed against 31 other teams. Knowledge across subjects, accuracy, speed of response, and the ability to work together were the key components to each team's success.

Bringing the World Nearer with Diversity Day

by Kathy Wikert

Junior high students viewed the world through a wide-angle lens on Diversity Day 2012 as they participated in a variety of sessions aimed at celebrating the diversity of our global community. Thirty guest presenters worked with students through classroom seminars, including 18 high school international students from 13 different countries. These students shared traditional clothing and customs and discussed the challenges of adjusting to a new culture. Other presenter-led sessions featured Native American artistry, challenges faced by the deaf and by the physically disabled, and an anthropology simulation activity.

Numerous additional activities were planned by our own staff, including a 7th grade culture fair and an examination of number systems around the world. Music classes covered West African JuJu music, reggae, and the blues, as well as Estonian and Hindi performances on film.

Events for the day were coordinated through the school's Diversity Committee and were designed to promote respect and acceptance of all people. As one student pointed out in a reflection activity, "Diversity is an opportunity to understand another person [rather] than not knowing them and judging them." When comparing diversity with intolerance, a student noted that, "Diversity accepts other people and intolerance doesn't. Diversity is more respectful." Taking a global view, a third student relayed that, "A group of people can learn and grow as people more if they are exposed to the ideas of others." The March 28 Diversity Day experience united students and staff around a common theme and broadened student awareness and understanding of our multi-faceted world.

Junior High Students Organize "Pennies for Patients" Fundraiser

by Justin Dopheide

The Southeast Polk Junior High "Pennies for Patients" fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society was held between March 26 and April 13. Members of the Junior High Student Council helped organize this fundraiser. Advisories competed with each other to see which class could donate the most money.

The Student Council organized a Theme Week during the second week of collection. The different themes included Hat/Sunglasses Day, Sports Team Day, Formal Day, Slipper/Crazy Socks Day, and Black-out Day. Students donated $1 to the fundraiser in order to participate in the theme days. Student Council members were in charge of creating signs to advertise the Theme Week, as well as making daily announcements about the "Pennies for Patients" fundraiser. They have also provided valuable feedback on different ideas for next year's fundraiser.

Junior High Students Use iPads Across Content Areas

Thanks to a Prairie Meadows Community Betterment Grant, the Southeast Polk Junior High students have been given the opportunity to have iPads brought directly into their math classes. Students learn first hand how this piece of technology can be used as a learning tool. Although this grant focuses on the iPads in 7th grade math classes, the ideas of uses across the different content areas are growing every day.

To apply for the Prairie Meadows Grant, the Southeast Polk Junior High had to define how they would implement the iPads in the classroom. Supplemental instructional resources and online student assessment are two ways students and teachers alike are benefiting from the technology and were included in the grant.

Two programs in particular have been implemented since acquiring the iPads. iXL Math is an online resource that will be available to a number of students for additional practice on a variety of topics, all aligned with the Iowa Core. EasyCBM is an online assessment program that aids teachers in identifying specific areas of need. Data collected from the program can be used to develop differentiated instruction, determine proficiency, and monitor growth over time.

Students continue to access additional support using the iPads during classroom lessons.