February 6, 2026

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Friday Focus

Happy Friday! I hope you all had a great week. 

It is getting to be that time of year again when we are registering students for the 26-27 school year. That also means requistion time for FY27. Starting now in any requisition using weblink, please put FY 25-26 for this school year or FY 26-27 for next school year in the description. 


When filling out your requisition, please make sure you include shipping. If there is no shipping and handling fee, please note in the comments. If you get a quote, please attach the quote to the requisition. You will need to click on the save icon, then click on the green + by document management, then navigate to your saved quote.


We hope to have all students registered by mid February. I do have the Honors Program parent meeting on Feb. 19. I will give them a week then to finish their registration. I plan on having your number meetings then the beginning of March. FY27 Requisitions need to be into me by March 16. If you want me to designated funds for local purchases, please let me know. An example of this is I will need $100 of lab supplies for Walmart. I will purchase when I get to this lab.

On Monday, David Anderson, from Wells will be here to present more on the Wells SchoolWorks program. The presentation will start at 9:45 in the Little Theater. 

We have made it through midterm of the 3rd quarter. Please keep being patient with students. For some reason, this always seems to be the toughest part of the school year. I will be going through the students identified using the early warning system to move students in and out of the success center. Please don't forget about PASS Plans, at midterm we have 178 students with one or more failing grades. I have received a few extensions and have those in the spreadsheet, but I have not received any new PASS Plans for this semester yet.

Recognizing Excellence

The Le Mars Foundation is currently seeking nominations for Employee of the Month. We have an incredible team here; please take a moment to nominate a colleague who goes above and beyond. You can find the nomination form here.

Key Dates to Remember

Feb. 11: Inservice
Feb. 25: Inservice
Feb. 25: End of Trimester 2
April 1: Pass Plans due (Trimester 3 and Semester 2)
April 18: Prom

Have a great weekend!
Mark

Assistant Principal's Happenings

Things To Know:

I've been meeting with students regarding grades and opens.  Since midterm is not a hard deadline for teacher gradebooks, I've been giving most students until Monday afternoon to rectify their grade situations. For example, a student may have been ill last week and still needs to take a test.  If you have questions, please let me know.


Things I'm Thankful For:

Thank you to the SSFC for hosting our SOUP-ER BOWL lunch today!  Be sure to check it out!

Things to Share:

Gabe Davis has put together two videos and a direction sheet on how to use and setup "select-to-speech" on Chromebooks.  This feature allows students to have the computer read text to them.  Please check it out and share with students that you think may need it:  folder link here.  Thanks, Gabe!


Things I Am Challenged By:

Recently I had a conversation with one of our colleagues.  She expressed how much she loves being a teacher.  It was extremely refreshing to hear someone speaking positively about our profession in the age of Tik-Tok and IG reels that can be so overwhelmingly negative (and produced by teachers, no less!).

The challenge:  Today, tell someone either A) why you became a teacher or B) your favorite part of teaching.

I'll go first:  The reason I'm still in education is because I am motivated by work that has a purpose.  I've held many jobs, but teaching has always been the job that fulfills the greatest "purpose" for me.  I feel "needed" by our kids, and I feel that the work we do together is good work that has a lasting impact.  Selling widgets doesn't do that for me.

What is it, for you?

Things To Refresh:

The "3Q Slump" is a good time to refresh on BoysTown's "Effective Praise".  In essence, you try to "catch" you students doing something right, and praise that good behavior.  There are 4 steps to "Effective Praise":

1) Show approval ("Nice job" or a thumbs up)
2) Describe the specific behavior (Good job doing _____ )
3) Give a reason. ("By staying on task now, you ______ )
4) Positive consequence (Can be as simple as kind words or a smile)


Grateful for our team -

Moss


Upcoming Activities


Friday, Feb. 6
TBD - Cyclone Honor Band
TBD - Girl Wrestling State Tournament @ Coralville
4:00 pm JV Boy/Girl Basektball @ SC West
5:15 pm Freshman Boy Basketball @ SC West
5:30 pm Varsity Girl Basketball @ SC West
7:00 pm Varsity Boy Basketball @ SC West

Saturday, Feb. 7
12:00 pm - Boy District Swimming @ Waukee
TBD - Cyclone Honor Band
8:00 am State Large Group Speech @ Cherokee

Monday, Feb. 9
TBD - State Show Choir - Spirit Lake 
4:00 pm Freshman Boy Basketball vs. Lewis Central
5:30 pm JV Boy Basketball vs. Lewis Central

Tuesday, Feb. 10
3:00 pm - Girl State Bowling Team @ Waterloo, IA
4:00 pm Freshman Boy Basketball @ CB TJ
4:00 pm JV Boy/Girl Basketball @ CB TJ
5:30 pm Varsity Girl Basektball @ CB TJ
7:00 pm Varsity Boy Basketball @ CB TJ
7:30 pm HS Jazz Concert

Wednesday, Feb. 11
9:00 am - Girl State Bowling Individual @ Waterloo, IA

Thursday, Feb. 12
TBD - Northern Festival of Winds @ UNI

Friday, Feb. 13
TBD - Northern Festival of Winds @ UNI
4:30 pm JV Boy/Girl Basketball @ Spencer
5:00 pm Boys Swimming State Meet @ Iowa City
6:00 pm Varsity Girl Basketball @ Spencer
6:00 pm Freshman Boy Basketball @ Spencer
7:30 pm Varsity Boy Basketball @ Spencer

Saturday, Feb. 14
TBD - Nortern Festival of Winds @ UNI
8:00 am Crimson and Black @ Harlan
10:00 am 3A Boy District Wrestling Meet @ CB AL
12:00 pm Boy Swimming State Meet @ Iowa City

Monday, Feb. 16
8:00 am NWIBA District Jazz Band @ LCHS

Tuesday, Feb. 17
6:00 pm Le Mars Dance Team Exphibition 

Thursday, Feb. 19
6:00 pm 9th Grade Honors Program Meeting

Friday, Feb. 20
8:30 pm Winter Dance

Saturday, Feb. 21
8:00 am All-State Large Group Speech @ Ames

Friday, Feb. 27
7:30 pm HS Vocal Concert

Saturday, Feb. 28
8:00 am Crimson and Black @ Heelan
8:00 am District IE Speech @ TBD

Thursday, March 5
7:30 pm HS Orchestra Concert

Saturday, March 7
8:00 am Crimson and Black @ Emmestburg Show Choir

Tuesday, March 10
6:30 pm NHS  Induction Ceremony

Saturday, March 14
8:00 am IHSSA State IE Speech - Denison

Tuesday, March 17
11:00 am Boy/Girl Track @ Mount Marty Indoor Meet

Saturday, March 21
8:00 am Crimson and Black @ Hinton Show Choir Competiton

Thursday, March 26
11:00 am Varsity Boy Track @ Mount Marty Indoor

Friday, March 27
11:00 am Varsity Boy/Girl Track @ Mount Marty Indoor

Saturday, March 28
8:30 am State Solo and Small Ensemble Festival - TBA

Monday, March 30
8:00 am All State IE Speech Festival - UNI

Tuesday, March 31
4:00 pm Boy/Girl Track @ Denison
7:00 pm boy Soccer @ Council Bluffs AL

Thursday, April 2
4:00 pm Boy Tennis @ Cherokee

Monday, April 6
5:00 pm Girl JV Soccer vs. SBL
6:30 pm Girl Varsity Soccer vs. SBL

Tuesday, April 7
4:00 pm Boy/Girl Track @ SBL
4:00 pm Boy Tennis @ SBL
6:30 pm Boy Varsity Soccer @ SBL

Thursday, April 9
4:00 pm Boy Tennis @ SC North
5:00 pm Boy JV Soccer @ Spirit Lake
5:00 pm Girl JV Soccer vs. Spirit Lake
6:30 pm Boy Varsity Soccer @ Spirit Lake
6:30 pm Girl Varsity Soccer vs. Spirit Lake

Friday, April 10
5:00 pm Girl JV Soccer vs. Sioux Center
5:30 pm Boy JV Soccer @ Sioux Center
6:30 pm Girl Varsity Soccer vs. Sioux Center
6:45 pm Boy Varsity Soccer vs. Sioux Center

Saturday, Apirl 11
9:00 am Boy/Girl Track @ Sioux City Relays



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