September 18, 2026

 

Friday Focus

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week! Hopefully this weekend's football results go better for me. 

I wanted to take a quick moment to say a huge thank you for your focus and energy during our first Science of Reading session. I know diving headfirst into background theory and foundational research can feel a bit heavy, but getting aligned on the why makes all the difference as we move forward together.

The great news? We aren't starting from square one. We are actually stepping into a multi-year, district-wide effort. In fact, our current Freshmen are among the very first students to benefit from this systematic approach at every single grade level before walking through our high school doors!

To see how our work fits into the bigger picture, Scarborough’s Reading Rope gives us a great roadmap:

Here is how the work breaks down across the grade bands:

• Elementary: Heavy focus on word recognition—phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition—while building early literacy knowledge and verbal reasoning.

• Middle School: Expands upper-strand comprehension, diving into language structures, verbal reasoning, literacy knowledge, and starting the heavy lift on vocabulary and background knowledge.

• High School: We take the lead on Vocabulary and Background Knowledge.

When our students master deep vocabulary and rich background knowledge, everything else clicks into place. They get the keys to unlock complex texts across all of our subjects—whether that's analyzing primary sources in History, breaking down word problems in Math, dissecting lab reports in Science, or interpreting literature in English.

In our upcoming PDs, the CIA team will be sharing practical, hands-on strategies we can easily weave into our day-to-day teaching.

Midterms

Midterms are on the 24th. Amy will print off midterms to be handed out during 8th period that day. Please make sure your grades are up to date and are syncing to PowerSchool if you are grading in Schoology. We have had issues with grades not syncing, so in PowerSchool the student may look like he/she doesn't have a grade.

Homecoming 2026

Monday, September 28 - Airport Adventure Day - Dress like you are headed to the airport for a trip to Paradise.

Coronation - 7:30 Auditorium

Tuesday, September 29 - Set Sail in Style Day - Dress in your best preppy, nautical, or business casual look.

Wednesday, September 30 - Paradise Palette Day - Assigned Colors - Staff wear black

Thursday, October 1 - Tropical Tourist Day - Hawaiian Shirts, tropical prints, leis, sunglasses, sun hats

Friday, October 2 - Bulldog Paradise Pride Day - Wear red and black.

Homecoming Schedule:

Period 1: 8:30 am - 9:12 am

Period 2: 9:16 am - 9:58 am

Advisory: 10:02 am - 10:15 am

Homecoming Olympics/Pep Rally: 10:30 am - Noon

Lunch: Noon to 1:00 pm

Parade Line Up: 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm

Parade: 1:45 pm - 3:00 pm

Varsity Football: 7:00 pm

Reminders/Due Dates 

• Sept. 24 - 1st Quarter Midterm
• Sept. 25 - Tier 2 Plans due Sept. 25 in shared drive.
• Sept. 30 - second professional development day
• Oct. 1 - Parent/Teacher Conferences Night 1
• Oct. 2 - Homecoming
• Oct. 3 - Dance
• Oct. 5 - Parent Teacher Conferences Night 2

Enjoy the weekend!

Mark

Assistant Principal's Happenings

Things to know:

*Homecoming is around the corner!  If you are a coach or sponsor that hasn't filled out the parade form yet, please do so today.  Email me if you have questions.

Things to Watch:

*We have some students racking up tardies 1st and 5th/6th hour.  Please check your lists and issue detentions per the student handbook policy.  For you newbies, ask your mentor or myself about the policy if you have questions.

Things to Think About:

*During inservice in August, we started working on this AI "baseline" document.  During your PLC's please take time to finish it up.  I will be coming around to PLC's after Homecoming to discuss it and answer questions.  If you have questions that need to be answered or impediments to your work stalling your progress, let's talk.

Grateful for you and our team --

Moss

Upcoming Activities

Friday, Sept. 18

7:00 pm V Football vs. MOC

Saturday, Sept. 19

8:00 am Bulldog Battle of the Bands

8:30 am V Volleyball @ Cherokee

9:00 am JV Volleyball @ Unity

10:30 am Girls Swimming @ Fort Dodge

Monday, Sept. 21

5:00 pm JVR Football @ Sioux Center

6:00 pm JV Football vs. Heelan

Tuesday, Sept. 22

4:30 pm JVR Volleball @ SC North

5:30 pm JV Volleyball @ SC North

7:00 pm V Volleyball @ SC North

Thursday, Sept. 24

10:00 am Varsity Boy Golf @ Two Rivers Golf Club

5:00 pm JV Boy/Girl Cross Country @ Dordt

6:00 pm V Boy/Girl Cross Country @ Dordt

Friday, Sept. 25

4:15 pm JVR Football @ Spencer

7:00 pm V Football @ Spencer

Saturday, Sept. 26

8:00 am Starfest Marching Band Competition

8:30 am JV Volleyball @ Western Christian

8:30 am Girl Swimming @ Valley

9:00 am V Volleyball @ Spencer

Monday, Sept. 28

4:30 pm JVR Volleyball @ Western Christian

5:00 pm JV Football vs. Spencer

7:30 pm Coronation

Tuesday, Sept. 29

10:00 am V Boy Golf @ Willow Creek

4:30 pm Girl Swimming @ Lewis Central

4:30 pm JVR Volleyball @ CB AL

5:30 pm JV Volleyball @ CB AL

7:00 pm V Volleyball @ CB AL

Wednesday, Sept. 30

10:00 am Treble Clef Festival @ Storm Lake

Thursday, Oct. 1

4:00 pm V Boy/Girl Cross Country @ South Sioux City

4:30 pm Parent Teacher Conferences

5:00 pm JV Boy/Girl Cross Country @ South Sioux City

6:30 pm JVR Football vs. SC West

Friday, Oct. 2

1:45 pm Homecoming Parade

7:00 pm V Football vs. SC West

Saturday, Oct. 3

12:00 pm Girls Swimming @ SC West

8:00 pm Homecoming Dance

Monday, October 5

1 pm College Fair - Competition Gym

4:30 - 8:00 pm Parent Teacher Conferences

6:00 pm JV Fooball @ SC West

Tuesday, October 6

Picture Day

4:30 pm JV Cross Country @ Cherokee

4:30 pm JVR Volleyball vs. SC East

5:30 pm JV Volleyball vs. SC East

5:30 pm V Cross Country @ Cherokee

7:00 pm V Volleyball vs. SC East

Friday, October 9

4:15 pm JVR Fooball @ SBL

7:00 pm V Football @ SBL

Saturday, October 10

TBD - State Marching Band Competition @ Sheldon

8:00 am V Volleyball @ Western Christian

TBD - Dutchmen Field Championship @ MOC

Monday, October 12

4:30 pm JVR & JV Volleyball - Le Mars Invite

6:00 pm JV Football @ SBL

Tuesday, October 13

4:30 pm JVR Volleyball vs. Heelan

5:30 pm JV Volleyball vs. Heelan

7:00 pm V Volleyball vs. Heelan

Thursday, October 15

8:00 am Heartland Honor Choir @ Iowa Lakes

4:00 pm JV Cross Country @ MRAC - Whispering Woods Golf Course

5:00 pm V Cross Country @ MRAC - Whispering Woods Golf Course

6:00 pm JVR Football vs. Fort Dodge

6:30 pm Girl Swimming @ Spencer

Friday, October 16

7:00 pm Varsity Football vs. Fort Dodge

Saturday, October 17

8:30 am V Volleyball @ Heelan