February 24, 2009 Volume 17, No. 6 NO SCHOOL Classes will not be in session at USD 303 schools on Tuesday, March 10. The high school will be hosting the CPL Music Contest. SPRING BREAK Teachers will have inservice Friday, March 13 (no student classes) and Spring Break will begin March 16 and continue through the 20th! School will resume Monday, March 23. FCCLA ACTIVITIES This year has been busy for the local FCCLA members. During football season, the Ness FCCLA chapter teamed up with GBTA for “Boot for the Big Screen”. The activity was not as well received as hoped with few participants and only one winner earning the $50 prize for kicking a field goal. December 14, was a special day at Arrowhead Stadium with FCCLA members being admitted to the Chief's game for reduced ticket prices. Ten local FCCLA members traveled to Kansas City to attend the Chief's football game. Students attending were Olivia Bell, Austin Gabel, Jamie Graf, Kourtney Lovelady, Ashlin Rogers, Brooke Seib, Morgan Smith, Paige Stenzel, Marissa Stoecklein, and Allison Young. Sponsor/drivers were Kim

Smith, Kent Schaub, and Merris Schaub (FCCLA Advisor), with Josh Schaub joining in to act as a guide into and out of the stadium. The day began early as two vehicles departed from the high school parking lot at 4:00 a.m. Upon arriving at the stadium in Kansas City, the students satisfied their hunger with sandwiches, chips, and other food that had been brought along for "tailgating". The temperature, which was about 30 degrees upon arriving in KC, declined from the moment the "tailgating" began and continued declining throughout the game. It was a very cold day, but an experience that the members will not soon forget. On February 4th, three Ness City members traveled to Satanta to take part in the District F Officer Elections. Paige Stenzel attended as a candidate for district office, with Olivia Bell and Kourtney Lovelady attending as voting delegates. After answering a question in writing, making a speech, reading her written answer, and answering another impromptu question in front of the voting delegates, Paige was elected to office. She will be serving as Vice President of Elections for District F, during the 2009-2010 school year. Her induction into office will take place at the State Leadership

Showcase in Wichita on March 31. Congratulations Paige! Wednesday, February 11th found Mrs. Schaub, Marissa Stoecklein, Paige Stenzel and Morgan Smith traveling to Garden City to help with STAR Events. Although we did not have any Ness City competitors, it was a busy day. Morgan and Marissa acted as timers for events; Paige was kept busy getting competitors to their rooms on time; and Mrs. Schaub acted as an event Room Consultant. Also attending STAR Events from Ness City were Julie Beutler, Robyn Deines, and Alvera Davison who donated their time and talents to judge STAR Events during the day. Without the help of volunteer judges, it would be impossible to run this event. A special thanks goes to Julie, Robyn and Alvera for donating their time and talents for this event. – Merris Schaub FCCLA Advisor TESTING AWARDS On January 20, during the high school basketball games, USD 303 recognized 58 students who scored exemplary on last spring's state assessments. As a district, we assessed 176 students last year. One out of every three students scored at the highest level in at least one area, and over 90% of

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our students scored proficient in at least one subject area. All faculty and students are to be commended for a job well done. – Mr. Thomas Flax, Jr./Sr. High Principal ACCELERATED READER NEWS There’s “snow” better time to read than during the cold winter months. Ness City Elementary students have been “chilling out” with a good book and have earned 1422.6 Accelerated Reader Points, during the month of January. We are very excited that the students have been doing so much reading.

Pictured above - back row: Mason Weber, Kaitlyn Dinges, Ashley Grandstaff, Chynelle Kraft, middle row: Shaelyn McInnis, Nashon Copeland, Tara Walker, Levi Crosswhite, Payton Rice, front row: Savannah Moore, Kyla Stephen, xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx, Summer Pfannenstiel, John Pfannenstiel, and Braden Anderson. Several classes at the Ness

City Elementary School have read the book Punished by David Lubar. In the story, Logan, a young boy is caught roughhousing at the library with his friend, Benedict. Logan literally runs into an elderly patron, who, as a punishment, saddles Logan with an unusual curse: everything he tries to say comes out as a pun. Our students have had a great deal of fun picking out the puns in the story and coming up with several of their own. We would like to recognize the following students as the top readers in their class for the month of January. These students have earned the highest points and the highest percent correct on the quizzes they have taken. This month we are very excited to add the first grade class to our list, they have just began taking Accelerated Reader quizzes independently. 1st grade - Summer Pfannenstiel 100.0%, Summer Pfannenstiel 11.0 points; 2nd grade - Shay McInnis 100.0%, xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx 100.0%, Savannah Moore 100.0%, John

Pfannenstiel 23.4 points; 3rd grade - Levi Crosswhite 98.6%, Kyla Stephen 21.1 points; 4th grade - Braden Anderson 100.0%, Payton Rice 24.5 points; 5th grade - Nashon Copeland 100.0%, Chynelle Kraft 24.3 points; 6th grade - Ashley Grandstaff 100.0%, Tara Walker 100.0%, Mason Weber 100.0%, and Kaitlyn Dinges 115.1 points. – Mrs. Jo Pfannenstiel,

Elementary Library Aide

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, is a national nonprofit student organization for Family and Consumer Sciences students. The goal of FCCLA is to help youth assume their roles in society in areas of personal growth, family life, vocational preparation, and community involvement. The organization incorporates chapter projects that develop leadership and

initiative by helping young men and women learn how to plan, make decisions, carry out, and evaluate programs of action as they work with other youth and adults in their school and community. FCCLA offers members an opportunity to work together for common purposes for the improvement of themselves, their families, and their communities. The week of February 8 through 14, 2009, was designated NATIONAL FCCLA WEEK with the theme, “Motivation in Motion”. Because family is a main focus for FCCLA the local members wanted begin their “Motivation in Motion” by showing appreciation to their parents. In order to do that, the chapter purchased roses (the FCCLA flower) to be taken home to parents on Friday, February 6. Each student locker was then decorated with an Eagle labeled FCCLA WEEK to inform the students of the occasion when they arrived at school on Monday, March 9.

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FCCLA members' lockers were also decorated with a heart identifying the occupant as a FCCLA member. FCCLA trivia questions were used each morning to replace the usual trivia questions incorporated into daily announcements. Information bits were placed around the school in order to help students look up the answers to the trivia questions. On Friday, the members placed candy on the student lockers and a box of Valentine candy in the teachers' lounge. This was done in order to show appreciation for high school classmates, administrators, staff, and teachers. Some of the Chapter's plans remain incomplete. In respect for the Ron Johnson family, who lost their son (Dustin) to a tragic accident, some plans were either cancelled or postponed. Some postponed activities were: Tuesday's Emblem search, Wednesday's - Hat Day, and Thursday's planned trip to Long Term Care to play Bingo with the patients. The chapter will pursue these activities in the near future. Mark your Calendars!! FCCLA and the FACS classes will be hosting a Family Fun night on March 12. This will be an evening of games and prizes for children of all ages. Come and join the fun. Watch for further news about this activity. The 2009 State Leadership Showcase will be held at Century II in Wichita March 28-31. Paige Stenzel will be inducted as a District F officer at that meeting. There will also be Leadership activities throughout the event for all members attending. – Merris Schaub FCCLA Advisor

1st GRADE STUDIES PATRIOTISM As a conclusion to our unit on Patriotism, the first grade class made a large flag. We used a white bed sheet as the flag, our handprints for the red stripes, and cut out the 50 stars. We have learned a lot about our forefathers and about what patriotism means. The flag may be seen flying proudly in the hallway. Pictured above are back row - Wyatt Rupp, Kassidy McGranahan, xxxxxx xxxx, Ryan Gabel, Ashley Foos, Miss Rogers, front row - Austin Snodrass, Summer Pfannenstiel, Haylee Winter, and Sophie Hahn. – Miss Emily Rogers, 1st Grade Instructor WESTERN KANSAS SCHOLASTIC ART Ness City High Art students sent artwork and competed in the prestigious Western Kansas Scholastic Art Competition held in Ulysses. The site for the competition is the Historic Adobe Museum. Each work of art is reviewed by a panel of art professionals for the following

criteria: originality, technical skill, and emergence of personal vision. The Awards signify to parents, teachers and the community student achievement in the visual arts. John Clarke created a shaded pencil drawing and received a gold key award for his work. Marla Seib entered a photograph and she too earned a gold key award. These two pieces will travel to New York City and compete at the National Scholastic Art Competition. The National awards ceremony will be celebrated at Carnegie Hall in June. Clay McIntosh entered a shaded pencil drawing and received Honorable Mention. Joe Flax and Chelsey Kjellberg sent artwork to the competition as well. On Saturday, February 21st from 3:00-4:00 p.m. there will be an awards ceremony at the Museum in Ulysses. – Catherine McIntosh, Art Instructor

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KINDERGARTEN NEWS

This Newsletter to the Shareholders of Ness City USD No. 303 is a publication of Unified School District No. 303, Ness County, Kansas.

An Equal Employment/Educational Opportunity Agency. Ness City USD 303 does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, handicap or age in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs or activities. Any questions regarding the district’s compliance with Title VI, Title IX, or Section 504 may be directed to Greg Flax, 207 South Penn, Ness City, KS 67560, 785-798-2843, or the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education.

This Newsletter to the Shareholders of Ness City USD No. 303 is a publication of Unified School District No. 303, Ness County, Kansas.

An Equal Employment/Educational Opportunity Agency. Ness City USD 303 does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, handicap or age in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs or activities. Any questions regarding the district’s compliance with Title VI, Title IX, or Section 504 may be directed to Greg Flax, 207 South Penn, Ness City, KS 67560, 785-798-2843, or the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education.

The kindergartners are learning how to take care of their teeth. They are learning that they need to brush at least twice a day and to visit the dentist 2 times a year. They just completed their unit on learning about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. They thought it was funny that George Washington had false teeth made from hippos! They are learning how to count by 5's and working hard on writing their numbers. Next week starts our unit on insects. They are ALL looking forward to this!

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID Ness City, KS 67560

Permit No. 3

– Mrs. Teressa Pfannenstiel, Kdg. Instructor

Ness City USD 303 414 East Chestnut Ness City, KS 67560

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID Ness City, KS 67560

Permit No. 3

Ness City USD 303 414 East Chestnut Ness City, KS 67560