Lunch Update and Other Things

I've had some discussion with some of you on school lunch, and I want to say thanks for those of you who called or stopped in to talk.  Working together, we can find solutions to the concerns that come up.  Our school lunch program personnel have  been brainstorming and working hard to find solutions to the concerns that have been brought up while working within the rules of the National School Lunch Program.  Below, the top picture is what was for lunch today.  This is what was planned from the beginning of the year for high school students.  These are the same quantities high school students would receive.  The one below is what was served on Wednesday.  One note, in the upper right hand corner of today's lunch, those are fresh tomatoes and peppers from the FFA greenhouse.  They were really delicious--they were extra but available to all the students in the high school.

We are working to add some options and choices to our September menu to try to find things that more students will try and still meet the rules.  When you see the menu, you will notice it also includes the serving size and the total calorie count for the meal.  We will constantly monitor and work to prepare the healthiest lunches possible that will meet the needs of our students.  Please encourage your child to try some of these items, especially some of the vegetable items.  Working together, we can make this work.  If you have any concerns or suggestions about the school lunch program, please contact Jodi Hollister or myself.

I hope you will consider attending my first community meeting next Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the middle school auditorium.  It will be a great chance to learn what's going on with the district and to also provide feedback on what direction the district should go in the future.  I will be posting some more thoughts on this over the weekend, so please check back often.  Thanks for stopping by.

School is Underway and Other Thoughts

It's been nearly two weeks since my last post.  It's been a busy but good start to the new school year.  Thanks to all the staff members, parents, and students for making this year the best ever.  There's been a lot going on.  One thing I've heard a lot about has been school lunches.  As I mentioned previously, there has been a change to the National School Lunch program.  This is not something that is only happening in New Hampton, but is happening in schools across the nation.  In the past, we didn't pay much attention to things like sodium content, what kind of vegetables we offered, fat content, and how many calories students consumed.  We now have to watch all of these things and more.  The biggest change that most have probably noticed is the size of the main entree.  High school students are limited to approximately 2 ounces of meat and/or meat alternative per day, or a total of 10 to 12 ounces per week.  students in grades K-8 need to have at least one ounce of meat/meat alternative each day or a total of 8 to 10 ounces a week.  As someone who has eaten and continues to eat school lunch, we used to get much more then that.  (I can think of some school lunches where I walked away stuffed--chili day with a huge cinnamon roll comes to mind).  Also, we are now placing more emphasis on fruits and vegetables including serving dark green and orange vegetables several times a week.

In the past, we saw the entree as the item to fill us up.  With the new standards, more reliance is placed on fruits and vegetables to help our children and ourselves eat healthier.  We are continuing to look at and experiment with a variety of fruits and vegetables to see what our students like best.  What can you do to help?  Please talk with your child about trying everything that is available for lunch.  Some of these things may be new to your child,  but rest assured it is a healthier choice.  I want to thank those parents who have contacted our food director or myself about this issue.  Working together is how we find ways to solve these issues when they arise.

On a different note, on September 6th I will be hosting my first community meeting.  It will be at 7 p.m. at the middle school auditorium.  I plan to hold several of these meetings during the coming months.  The purpose of these meetings is to allow me to gather input on the district and where we should go in the future.  In addition, I will be sharing a variety of information on the current status of the district.  Please invite a friend and plan on coming that night.  It doesn't matter if you have children in school or not, everyone has an interest in the future of the school.

If you ever have any concerns or questions about your child's class, school, or the district.  Please contact your child's teacher, school, or myself so we can work together to find the answer or a resolution to your concern.  Thanks for stopping by.

First Day Back for Teachers

Today was the first day back for all teachers in the New Hampton School District.  We started our day with breakfast in the middle school cafeteria.  Thanks to the members of the New Hampton Chamber of Commerce who served the meal for us.  It was also good to meet some of the staff from St. Joseph's School who attended the breakfast.  It was good to finally get the year off and started.  The teachers spent a large part of today in meetings and a little time getting their rooms ready for their students.  They're working hard learning the new policies and procedures for this year and also making sure that everything is just right in their classrooms for the students' first day.

Speaking of first days, I want to take a moment to talk about a few things.  First, please take time to talk with your child about safety when walking to and from school.  Make sure they know to cross at the cross walks and what they should do if they are approached by a stranger.  In addition, when you are dropping your child off at school, please take your time and make sure you are aware of all of the students in the immediate vicinity of where you are driving.  If you come upon a school bus, please be prepared to stop.  Remember, it's against the law in Iowa to pass a bus from the rear when it's AMBER lights are flashing.  In addition, if you come upon a bus from the front with it's AMBER lights flashing you should slow down to 20 mph and prepare to stop when the lights turn red.  Here's a website with more information.  Our student's safety is a primary concern of our district.

I also want to take a few moments to talk about some changes in the school lunch program this year. The National School Lunch Program has issued new guidelines that will affect every school that serves meals.  In a nutshell there will be a larger emphasis on fruits and vegetables and a smaller emphasis on other food groups.  Here's a picture of a school lunch tray to visually explain the new guidelines.

As you can see vegetables are now in the spot where we normally find the main item which was often a meat or protein item.  Notice those are now in one of the smallest spots on the tray.  This will be a change for your child, so please take some time to discuss this with them.  In addition, encourage them to try some of the new items that may be presented to them this year.  They may never know what they may like if they don't try it.  Here are several videos that further explain the new program.

Here's a video geared for students in Grades K-5

Here's a video geared for students in Grades 6-8

Here's a video geared for students in Grades 9-12

Here's a video designed to explain more to parents and other adults

If you have any questions on the school lunch program, please feel free to contact Jodi Hollister at the high school for more information.  The end result of all of this is to help our students make healthier choices related to food.  Enjoy the rest of your week, school will be here in a couple of days.

Registration Follow-Up

A big thanks to everyone who took advantage of our registration days.  It was great seeing all of the parents and students as they registered for school.  If you haven't registered yet, please contact your child's school office as soon as possible.

We have a number of new students in the district this year.  Being new myself, I know how welcome everyone will make these new families feel in our community.  Thank you for that.  Speaking of new students, it looks like we will have at least 69 students in our kindergarten class and 71 students in our first grade class.  That means we will average 23 students in each kindergarten class and 24 students in two of the first grade classrooms and 23 in the other one.  That's doable, but it's not ideal.

I enjoy reading research and reviewing data on what's best for student learning.  When it comes to class size there is a lot that has been written.  With the district's financial situation, I look at all new spending very critically and carefully.  As I was researching, I was looking for any information that would give me a value on reducing class size.  In other words, if we hire a new teacher to reduce class size in kindergarten and/or first grade, is that the most efficient use of our limited resources?  As with most research, there are studies on both sides of the issue.  There is certainly a lot of research that suggests smaller class sizes make a difference in student learning, especially in the early grades.  The magic number seems to be classes smaller than 18 in order to see a meaningful difference.  A couple of things I found is that the students start to see a benefit with smaller classes in Kindergarten and the benefit increases in first grade and begins to decrease in second and third grades.  It should be noted that I certainly found research that suggests smaller class sizes don't make a difference--especially if the teacher teaches the smaller class the same way as a larger class.  I believe our teachers will teach smaller classes differently.  It will allow them to work with small groups of students--something that is more difficult with larger classes.  They will also spend less time on discipline and classroom management issues in a smaller class which will allow them more opportunity to work on teaching and learning.

In the end, what does all of this rambling on mean?  I still have some research to do.  I also need to spend more time looking at our district's finances to see if and how we can make this work.  I will say, I am committed to doing whatever I can to provide the best education possible for our students with the resources we have.  I also believe kindergarten and first grade are formative years that are crucial in a child's development.  The fundamentals of reading and their attitudes about school are formulated during these early grades.  These kids are worth doing everything we can to help them succeed.  If you have any thoughts on class size in kindergarten and first grade, please contact me at the superintendent's office or via email.  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for visiting.

It's August!!!

August 1st is here.  The principal's and building secretaries are back; however, I saw so much of the principal's during July that it seemed like they never had any time off.  I am fortunate to be working with such dedicated administrators.  They truly care about the success of each student.  We met today as an administrative team to finalize plans for the start of the year.  We also spent time discussing student learning in our district and began our discussions on things we will focus on to make sure every student is learning at the highest level possible.  After our meeting, I spent some time reflecting on how it went and I have to say I was very pleased with our focus on student learning and I am confident I am working with the right team to make a difference for every student in New Hampton.

I spent some time this evening preparing my presentation for the teacher in-service days that are coming up before school starts.  As I was working, I came across a couple of videos that have been around awhile.  You may have seen them before, but I think these are worth seeing again.  They are both a part of the Did You Know series that was created by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod and others over the years.  The first one is focused on Iowa.



I believe technology has changed our world and has the power to change education.  However, before we embark on a technology initiative, we need to make sure we are actually changing what we are doing.  We need to help our children become thinkers and problem-solvers.  In addition, we need to make sure they have the skills necessary to work with others.  I will have a series of community meetings coming up during the first semester of the year.  I hope you will attend one of them to share your thoughts on education and where you believe the New Hampton District should be heading in the future.

Here's the latest version of the "Did You Know?" video.  It takes a more national view.




Thanks for stopping by.  If you have any questions or comments on either of these videos or anything related to the New Hampton District, please feel free to stop by, email, or give me a call.