7-12 January Newsletter
Hinton CSD
Mr. Phil Goetstouwers, 7-12 Principal
Second semester is in full swing now and students are settled into their classes. As Hinton staff, we spend a lot of time and energy ensuring we keep our standards and expectations high for ourselves and our students. In regards to our students, we keep our standards high academically and behaviorally. There are positive consequences when people do well academically (i.e., good grades, honor roll, scholarships, open campus, praise from staff and families, etc.). There are also consequences when students do poorly academically (i.e., Success Center, loss of eligibility, repeating a class, etc.). Behaviorally speaking, there are positive and negative consequences as well. There are some behaviors that will have a consequence of a warning, detention, or in-school suspension, but there are other behaviors that automatically mean suspension, law enforcement involved, and ineligibility for extra-curriculars. What I'm referring to are Code of Conduct violations. Fortunately, Code of Conduct violations don't happen in Hinton very frequently, but ideally it doesn't happen at all.
Here is what is in our school handbook students and parents sign at the beginning of every year regarding Code of Conduct violations:
GOOD CONDUCT RULES AND REGULATIONS
At Hinton Community School it is considered a privilege and an honor to be able to participate in extra curricular activities and represent Hinton Community School. The participant’s character and conduct judge the student and the school at all times. Hinton Community School students serve as a model to many people and their attitude has an important impact on others. Any student whose habits and conduct in and out of school, for the entire calendar year, and are not consistent with the ideals, principles and standards of the Hinton Community School, shall be declared ineligible.
Controlled Substances, Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, or unlawful Acts Violations that will impact upon performance eligibility include, but are not necessarily limited to are:
- Possession, consumption, sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages,
- Possession, use, sale or distribution of cigarettes, vaping products, e-cigarettes
- Possession, use, sale or distribution of illicit drugs. Drug paraphernalia or substance represented to be illicit drugs,
- The commission of any criminal act on school premises, whether legally charged or not, such as vandalism, theft, assault, etc.
- The commission of a criminal act outside of school that results in a citation, including theft, vandalism, assault, etc. but not a minor traffic violation.
- Sexually explicit conduct.
A student is in violation of the policy and is ineligible if he or she:
- Admits a violation;
- Pleads or is found guilty in court;
- Is given a deferred judgment or deferred sentence for an offense;
- Is proven to be in violation by evidence as reported by certified school or law enforcement personnel;
- Is in possession of alcohol, cigarettes, vaping products, e-cigarettes, illicit drugs, sexually explicit materials, or drug paraphernalia as evidenced on a video or web site, such as FaceBook, MySpace, etc.
The administration will make the determination if the student is in possession.
First Offense The student will be declared ineligible for two (2) weeks of scheduled competition. If there is no scheduled activity within a week of the date the student is notified of being ineligible, the beginning date will be moved forward until there is a sanctioned Iowa Athletic Association event scheduled activity within the first week. If out of competition due to injury or illness, the two weeks will begin when athlete is cleared for competition by a physician.
Second Offense If a student is declared ineligible a second time, within one calendar year of the first offense, the student will be declared ineligible for six (6) weeks of competition. If there is no scheduled activity 63 within a week of the date the student is notified of being ineligible, the beginning date will be moved forward until there is a scheduled activity within the first week.
Third Offense If a student is declared ineligible a third time, within one calendar year of the second offense, the student will be declared ineligible from competition for length of one calendar year. If a third offense for substance abuse occurs, a school approved rehabilitation program must be completed, at parent’s expense, before the student is readmitted into extracurricular programs. If a subsequent offense occurs before the third offense year is completed, the participant will repeat the one year ineligibility from the date of the current offense.
Check out our staff's responses on who has been soaring this month!
- Ms. Fay- She manages so many responsibilities throughout the day and always knows the answers to my questions.
- 8th period Success Center, good group of kids and they are working hard.
- Our seniors taking classes through Odyssey have been working super hard on their classes and are 1 month ahead.
- The high school band kids have been putting in a lot of work - just in one week, some of them have been/will go to a jazz contest, honor orchestra, pep band, show choir clinic, and a show choir contest on top of their regular rehearsals and classes cites Ms. Weyhrich.
- Mr. Black has been super helpful to me in getting my kids tested and broken up into math groups.
- Mrs. Conley has done a great job of taking kids and working with them as always! She is a rock star.
- Geometry Students, I gave them a very challenging problem and was impressed with how many students tried it even though they didn't have to states Mr. Crawford.
- Morale / Spirit boost with peers... potluck in breakroom for "b" lunch group. Thanks to Mrs Cotter for planning.
- Garrett Stahl was willing to speak on military process in class when we spoke about enlisting.
- Mrs. Renken Renken is really helping our credit recovery students and going the extra mile to help personalize content.
- Mrs. Pick has been doing amazing work with the kids and building relationships.
- Mr. Sargent is bringing some amazing speakers in for our students to listen to. Awesome job, Clint!
- Addi Weitzel for volunteering to help with additional yearbook tasks.
- Missy Conley for helping students in Biology to complete their self paced notes and help explain content as she can.
- Mrs. Nelson- all of her work that goes into coaches vs. cancer event. She does a great job every year and always puts on a great night!
- Mr. Hoffman, Mrs. Bolinger and Mr. Sargent all rocked their PD day on the 17th with starting the 180 Days of Self-Care Mini Course.
- Mr. Hoffman- he does a lot for his students and is always willing to give a helping hand.
- Multiple students that have been absent for various reasons, but come in and make work up as soon as possible!
- Mrs. Held for getting things in line for senior night and behind the scenes work for coaches vs cancer.
- Wyatt Petersen is doing a great job with analyzing film in Film Lit, and he's eager to share out in class.
- There are several JH girls who have been helping Mrs. Reid during 8th period to sort and level her classroom library (Layla, Addy G., Natalie, Mariah, Elie, Teyla, Kali).
- Mr. Black- he does so much for his students and is always supportive! He does so much for this school!
- Karson Ludwig has been rocking it in Workplace Communications.
- Mrs. Cotter started her new unit following the personalized learning style. Her students are loving the new style and the individual learning approach to education.
- Mr. Clark had a great week with making class more competitive.
- Mr. Mohr had a great week last week with the jr. high students in science and looks forward to the last semester.
- Mr. Mohr has done a great job using "On the clock" in the beginning of the third quarter.
- Mr. Zyzda- He works really hard for his curriculum and the students! He is trying to challenge them in different ways (to ask the deeper questions).
- Mrs. Clausen- The first of a new semester is always difficult and chaotic, but she always shows super professionalism and she does SO MUCH for the students and the school!
- Super proud of my 4th-6th grade art students! So excited for our (air dry) clay unit and I truly appreciate them waiting for this long!
- Mrs. Nelson for completing her math Master's courses, so she can offer college level credit for College Algebra and Pre-Calculus!
- Caitlin Hagestrom has been very friendly and a role model with assisting another student with social skills.
- Both 7th grade social studies sections put forth good effort into their graffiti wall.
- Mrs. Conley. She has helped me out with students and answering questions when I have not been able to get around to students.
- Mr. Small holds kids accountable and finds a way to connect with all kids regardless of background.
- Mia Fleckenstein and Kaylee Stabe - Rocked the FBLA concessions at the games last night
- Mrs. Clausen - mass student scheduling changes over a few day period with little issues.
- Mr. Hertenstein for finalizing all the grades and dealing with powerschool!
- NW Iowa HS Honor Choir students have put in a lot of time after school, before school, and during study halls learning their repertoire for the upcoming festival.
- HS jazz - recovering after a weird start and having a strong first contest performance
- Karson and Skylor have been leaders and are always on task in ag power and tech.
- Mrs. Nelson does a great job of breaking things down step by step and labeling it out for how to do the math.
- Mr. Clark has been doing a great job with his bell ringers!
- Mr. Clark - He is getting strong at bell ringers to get the students started at the beginning of class.
- Mrs. Jacobs-List did a great job including personal/real-life experiences in her lesson during FCA.
Mrs. Julie Clausen, 7-12 School Counselor
Hinton's senior class is at 50.9% complete with the FAFSA. Go to studentaid.gov to begin this form. It is the first step in the pathway to the Last Dollar Scholar, grants, income based scholarships, and loans.
The ASVAB military entrance exam was given this past week, and we had several students take the test. If you missed the student ASVAB test but are still interested, please stop in and see Mrs. Clausen. We will look for testing options in our area. The military has several scholarship programs for students!
The scholarship list at the 7-12 Counseling page at hintonschool.com has been very active. This is really the ramp up for scholarship season! The Hinton Community Scholarship has also been updated for 2023. This committee has given out 8 scholarships in the past. Please apply and bring in the application to Mrs. Clausen.
Mr. Aaron Zyzda, Biology, Anatomy, Physiology and PE teacher
What a year it has been! This year is flying by as we’ve had great achievements from all of our students this year in sports, academics, and fine arts. Students continue to show improved skills and determination each day.
During the first semester, Human Anatomy and Physiology students have shown their understanding of the skeletal system with a bone Rice Krispies lab. Building and modeling a bone, a bone fracture, and the layers of the skin. We are excited to experience a human cadaver lab in March at Briar Cliff University. Students will get the opportunity to observe and interact with a human cadaver and the different Health Science professions. They will see and be hands on with human muscles, bones, ligaments, lungs, heart and other organs.
Biology students have been learning about cells and their significance throughout the year. They all did an excellent job of researching and completing a Design Your Own Lab about cellular respiration and photosynthesis. Students were able to compose their own research to a question or topic they had about photosynthesis or cellular respiration. As we entered into the new year we have started to talk about DNA and the significance of DNA and how it is passed on into new cells and potentially into a new organism.
Mrs. Krista Nelson, HS Math Teacher
On Friday January 27th, the Hinton Hope Relay for Life team hosted the annual coaches vs cancer event during the home basketball game. This event is held to raise awareness for different types of cancer and this year the team chose dark blue for colon cancer. Jan Heimgartner, a retired elementary teacher from Hinton, lost her battle with colon cancer the summer of 2021. Jan was honored, along with other loved ones of our Hinton Community, in a slideshow between games. There were other activities throughout the night including a halftime shooting contest and a musical cake walk. All money raised through this event is given to the American Cancer Society. This year between the t-shirt sales, activities at the basketball game, and generous donations, the team raised just shy of $1800.
Mrs. Katherine Hunter, Spanish Teacher
Here’s what’s going on in Spanish classes!
Spanish 1 is learning about school words, which is of course their favorite topic! They’re beginning to learn the more complex grammar concepts of verb conjugations. Now, they can write complete sentences instead of just simple phrases. These are the crucial building blocks for them as they continue onto the upper levels.
Spanish 2 just finished our unit over the movie Selena. Since she was a famous Tejano (Tex-Mex) singer, we spent about two weeks learning her songs. The students also did discussion questions about her cultural impact both then and now. This unit is by far one of my favorites to teach!
In Spanish 3, they just finished a project over the past tenses where they had to change a traditional fairy tale and put their own spin on it. It’s a great opportunity for them to use everything we’ve discussed in class the last few weeks and to be creative. Some of the students’ endings were a lot darker and more tragic than the originals!
In Spanish 4 we just finished a chapter on the future. We not only learn the future tense, but we also include words that might come up in their futures like college, work, and of course, taxes! We also played a game of MASH, which of course determined their very accurate futures.
The one thing every student gets excited about is our fiestas, so mark your calendars for February 21. This is the day we’ll celebrate Carnaval. You might know it better as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. Whatever you call it, it’s a day dedicated to eating so that’s what we’ll do!