Next Tuesday, the 14^th will be the Spring Concert for grades K-4.  More information will be sent home from Mrs. Gardner.  The next evening, Wednesday the 15^th will be the 5-12 Spring Concert. 

Thursday, May 16 will be a busy day at our school.  In the morning, there will be a performance of Montana Shakes for all students in grades K-6.  Then classes will participate in workshops with the actors.  At 2:30 awards for the Sula Women’s Club Art Contest.  The awards will be presented in the junior high gym.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction with the support of Denise Juneau, State Superintendent is sponsoring the “Summer 6 Reading Challenge”.  All students in grade K-12 are eligible to register.  Students need to commit to reading 6 books during the summer, and they will be eligible to receive prizes.  There is more information on the internet at http://opi.mt.gov/Curriculum/summerreading/ . On this webpage you can register your child to participate.  If you don’t have internet access, and would like your child to be entered please contact their teacher for help.

Some parents have been asking about requesting classroom teachers for next year. Teaching assignments for next year have not been finalized at this point.  There are still a number of questions that need to be answered before we can move forward.  The hope is that our legislature will make their final decision on school funding in the next couple of weeks.  Once that happens we will move quickly to finalize assignments, and we will notify families as soon as we can. At that point, we will determine an appropriate deadline for requesting classroom teachers. 

Upcoming Events and Important Dates

May 13                 School Board Mtg – 6:00 – HS Library

May 14                 K-4 Music Concert @ 7:00

May 15                 5-12 Music Concert @ 7:00

May 16                 Montana Shakes Assembly – 8:45 in JH Gym

May 16                 Art Contest Awards – 2:30 in JH Gym

May 21                 6^th Grade Conservation Day at Lake Como

Darby students continue to do great in their activities:

 -Destination Imagination – We had four teams complete their challenge at regionals over the weekend.  All teams are qualified to compete at state in Belgrade later in the month.

- Wrestling – Results from the Darby Tournament:  1^st place winners:  Ryder Conner, Deric Parks, Evan Nelson, Jesse Anson, Tanner Davis, Tristin Siphakis, Kye McCollaum     2^nd Place – Ryley Conner, Jordan Anderson,  3^rd Place -  Cody Fisher, Kylie Schlapman, Jake Sanders  4^th Place – Amber Anderson, Talen Davis, Nolan Lenny,  Ben Lister

- Math Counts – 6 students from the junior high represented Darby at the Math Counts competition in Missoula.

I Love to Read Month was a success!!  The Masonic Lodge in Hamilton donated 7 bikes that were drawn for on March 1^st.  If your child is still reading for the Silverwood reward ticket, they have this week to finish up.

The week of March 11^th will be our state-mandated CRT week.  It is very important that students in grades 3^rd-8^th + 10^th attend school on Tue, Wed and Thur.  One of the measures for us is attendance during the tests, and we have to have 95% of the students complete the test. 

This week we have our second Family Fun Night with a focus on Reading.  Dinner will be provided and ideas to help your children improve their reading skills.  Thur, Mar 7 from 5:30-7:00.

 This weekend is daylight savings time.  Spring your clocks forward one hour on Saturday night before you go to bed!!

Upcoming Events and Important Dates

Mar 7    Family Reading Night –

Mar 11  School Board Meeting – 6:00 – HS Library

Mar 12-14            CRT Tests

Mar 15  CRT Reward Movie

Mar 22  End of 3^rd Quarter

Congratulations to the Spelling Bee winners!!  1st Place: Lily Heiland, 2nd Place: Josh Carney, 3rd: Kyle Wall, 4th: Dean Krieger Pearson, 5th: Ryker Johnson and other students that participated: Carly Wall, Kyla Toynbee, Sophia Delvo, Vinncent Dickerson, Wyatt King.  Good luck to Lily and Josh as they compete at the county spelling bee in February!!

 Darby Schools will be hosting a Family Math Night on January 29, from 5:30-7:30 in the cafeteria.  There is a flyer attached to this email with details  If you have any questions, please contact Tracie McCrossin, Jessie Dufresne, or Chris Toynbee.

 One of our students, Taylor Wohlers will be on TV the next couple of weeks.  Taylor will be on Skull Bound TV which shows on the Outdoor Channel.  She is shown hunting black bear and learning all about life in Alaska.  The shows will air on Wednesday at 6:30 & 9:00, Fri at 7:30 am, and Sat at 12:30 am for the next two weeks.

 We are approaching a Box Tops for Education deadline.  If you have collected any box tops, please send them to school with your child.  Our school receives money for playground improvements for each Box Top submitted.  

• Jan 29 Math Family Night
• Jan 31 7th/8th Grade Ski Day
• Feb 15 – 18 NO SCHOOL – President’s Day Holiday

Wednesday of this week will be a busy day at our school.  At 8:45 in the morning we will host our annual Darby School Spelling Bee.  Phone calls will be made home to let families know if their child will be participating in the Bee.  Then in the afternoon, thesecond quarter awards assemblies will happen.  5^th-8^th grade will be at 2:15, followed by the K-4^th awards at 2:45.

We are approaching a Box Tops for Education deadline.  If you have collected any box tops, please send them to school with your child.  Our school receives money for playground improvements for each Box Top submitted.  

Coats Coats Coats!

   We have had a wonderful donation of warm coats for students to have free of charge.  We have coats to fit students from Kindergarten to seniors.  If you would like your student to receive a free coat please contact Mr. Kohn and your child will be able to pick out a coat he or she likes.  We really appreciate the coat donations for students.  We now have all the coats we can store on hand, so we will not need any additional coats donated to the school at this time.

 Upcoming Events and Important Dates

Jan 24                    3^rd/4^th Grade Ski Day

Jan 21                    1:00 Release Time for Students

Jan 23                    Spelling Bee – 8:45

Jan 23                    Awards Assemblies – 5^th-8^th @ 2:15, K-4^th @ 2:45

Jan 25 & 31          7^th/8^th Grade Ski Days

Feb 15 – 18         NO SCHOOL – President’s Day Holiday

One of the exciting activities our students participate in each year is ski days for 3^rd – 8^th graders.  All students in these grades have the opportunity to ski at Lost Trail twice.  Each day the students are given a lesson, and then have some chaperoned time to ski or board.  If your child has not brought home paperwork for skiing, please check with their teacher.

The annual Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest will be held on Sunday, January 13 at the Hamilton Middle School gym.  The competition starts at 1:00, and a flyer is on the back of this newsletter.

 Upcoming Events and Important Dates

Jan 4 & 10            5^th/6^th Grade Ski Days

Jan 14                    School Board Meeting – 6:00 – High School Library

Jan 17 & 24          3^rd/4^th Grade Ski Days

Jan 18                    End of the Second Quarter

Jan 21                    1:00 Release Time for Students

Jan 25 & 31          7^th/8^th Grade Ski Days

Thank you for a great last week.  Parent teacher conferences were well attended, and we appreciate the great turnout for the awards assembly.  We will be doing this each quarter, so plan on attending.

This week our school will participate in Red Ribbon Week.  Darby Tigers will be participating in activities promoting a healthy life-style for life.

Ms. Bratvold’s kindergarten class is having a book collection of used childrens books in good condition.  These books will be donated to SAFE, and provide comfort to children and families in crisis.  If you have books to donate, please send them to school with your child and deliver them to Ms. Bratvold’s class.

For exciting information about Destination Imagination, please see below.

All-Valley Basketball, A great place to play and learn new skills!
Open to any student in grades K-6, Registration Period: now-11/23, Registration forms are available at www.hsd3.org under the Keystone Tab or by calling 375-9999, or the Darby School Office. Practices Begin: 12/17, First Game: 1/12 Final Game: 2/9, Cost: $40, Scholarships are available. Not a school sponsored event

Upcoming Events and Important Dates

Mon, Nov 12      School Board Meeting in HS Library – 6:00 pm

Nov 22-23            NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Break

Junior High Athletics Schedule

Mon, Nov 12      @ Victor                               5:00

Thur, Nov 15      Hamilton @ Dar                                4:00

Mon, Nov 19      Florence @ Dar                 4:00

Mon, Nov 26      @ Lone Rock                      4:30

 
The newsletter is also available by email. If you would like it delivered to your inbox, and help save a little paper and time email Mr. Rennaker at Lrennaker@darby.k12.mt.us .

 Destination Imagination

Destination Imagination is the world’s largest creative problem solving program. Darby is very fortunate to be one of the only schools in the valley offering this opportunity to our students. The Destination Imagination School Program promotes divergent thinking and develops creative problem-solving skills in kindergarten through twelfth grade students. This program offers students a unique opportunity to participate in challenging and motivating activities.  Under the guidance of an adult team manager, students learn to work with others as a team.  They develop self-confidence by creating solutions, evaluating ideas and making decisions.  They develop their creative skills through problem solving and independent thinking.

Each team will need to have a Team Manager; this is usually a parent or other interested adult.  Once the teams are formed they will meet with Mrs. McCrossin to choose a challenge and get more information. There are two Tournaments that teams may participate in, a Regional and a State tournament.  Teams placing first at State may choose to compete at the Global Finals Tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee.

If you are interested in Destination Imagination (D.I.) for the 2012-2013 school year, please contact Mrs. McCrossin at the Elementary School.  We currently have 2 full teams and would love to add a few new teams!!! 

This Wednesday will be class Halloween parties and the dance for Junior High students.  Students are asked not to wear their costumes to school, and will change before the party or dance.  Please remember with costumes, weapons of any kind are not allowed, and blood should not be part of the costume.  If you haven’t heard from your child’s class, and would like to bring something to the party, contact your child’s teacher.

This Friday will be the end of the first quarter.   Report cards will be sent home with students in the K-6 grades on Tuesday, Nov 6.  The report cards will include your scheduled times for parent teacher conferences. 

Report cards for students in grades 7 and 8 will be available for pick-up during parent teacher conferences on Thursday, November 8.

The first quarter Academic and Citizenship Awards assemblies will be on Wednesday, Nov 7.  5^th-8^th grade awards will be at 2:15, and K-4^th grade awards will be at 2:45 in the junior high gym.

Darby Schools will host the annual Veteran’s Day Assembly on Friday, November 9 at 10:00 am in the high school gym.  All members of the community are invited to attend this great event, so please pass the word.

Upcoming Events and Important Dates

Junior High Athletics Schedule

Tue, Oct 30 @ Stevensville 4:00
Thur, Nov 1 Victor @ Darby 4:30
Fri, Nov 2 @ Valley Christian 4:00
Tue, Nov 6   Lone Rock @ Darby 4:30