Andrew Bixler Superintendent www.anna.k12.oh.us August 2021

Welcome Back! Welcome back students for the 2021-2022 school year. While we eagerly anticipate the upcoming school year, we also realize that we are still living in a world dealing with the pandem-ic. We will not be implementing a universal mask wearing requirement during the school day, on the bus, or at school activities. We will leave the decision of the use of facial cover-ings up to parents. It will be your choice as to whether or not your child wears a mask at school and we will support the deci-sion that you make. We will continue to ask for your assis-tance in monitoring for symptoms of any illnesses, and children who are sick should stay home. We will also continue to en-courage, promote and practice healthy hygiene habits. 2021-2022 Open House

The Anna Local Schools will hold their annual Open House on Thursday, August 19th. The Open House at the Elementary will run from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, with the High School & Middle School Open House 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. On

Tuesday, August 24th, approximately 1,100 students will begin the new school year. This enrollment estimate continues to be very consistent for our district over the past ten years. Office Open House There will be an Office Open House in both buildings on Tues-day, August 17th, from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. This is an oppor-tunity to pay school fees, add money to lunch accounts, and drop off medication. School Lunches School lunches will be free to begin the year and it is our un-derstanding for this to last the entire school year. Like last year, milk and ala carte items will be available for an additional charge. Fee Waiver forms are available in the HS/MS and Elementary offices upon request. This form takes the place of the previous Free and Reduced Lunch Forms. Picture Day Picture Day will be held on Monday, August 30th. Picture retake day is scheduled for Monday, October 18th. 2021-2022 Athletic Admission Attendance at sporting events this year will go on without any restrictions! Fall Sports passes and Senior passes will be sold and issued out of the high school office prior to the start of the 2021 fall sports season starting on Monday, August 9th, during office hours.

The following is information on both passes: Fall Sports Pass The fall sports pass represents a significant savings. The prices are $70.00 for adults and $35.00 for students. The pass in-cludes admission to HS and JH Volleyball, HS Soccer, and JH Football. This does NOT include Varsity Football. Varsity Football Pre-sale tickets for all games (home & away) will be available the week of the game in the HS and Elementary Offices start-ing on Tuesday of that week. Presale tickets for adults and students will be $7.00 this year. All tickets at the gate will be $8.00. Also, please note the Varsity football games will begin at 7:00 PM again this year. Senior Passes Senior citizen passes will be available to residents of the Anna district, age 65 and older, for free admission to all home Anna athletic events. All Seniors will need a new pass to gain free admission for the 2021-2022 season. The passes will be avail-able starting the week of August 9th.

This pass will also be available to non-resident seniors at a processing fee of $20. Golden Buckeye Cards are NOT ac-cepted for game admittance.

Important Dates:

Aug. 17 Office Open House: HS/MS & Elementary (7:00 AM—7:00 PM) Aug. 19 Open House: Elementary (5:00-7:00 PM) HS/MS (5:30-7:30 PM) Aug. 24 First Day of School Aug. 30 Picture Day Sept. 6 No School—Labor Day Oct. 1 No School for Students (Waiver Day) Oct. 8 Visitor’s Lunch Day @ Elementary Oct. 29 No School for Students (Waiver Day) Nov. 4 Parent-Teacher Conferences 4:30 PM-7:30 PM Nov. 5 Parent-Teacher Conferences 8:00 AM-12:30 PM (No School for Students) Nov. 11 Veterans Day Program @ Elementary 1:30 PM Nov. 11 Parent-Teacher Conferences 4:30 PM-7:30 PM Nov. 24-26 No School—Thanksgiving Break

This is our 1st online edition of the Rocket Newsletter. If you would like to be added to our email distribution list, please email Diane Bornhorst at dbornhorst@annaschools.org. The newsletter can also be found on the Anna homepage (www.anna.k12.oh.us)

On behalf of the faculty and staff of Anna High School, I am happy to welcome you to the 2021-2022 school year. Last year was an interesting year for us all, and we appreciate the flexi-bility and willingness to adapt that our students, teachers, and parents showed. This year we are going to have a great year and I look forward to seeing all of our Rockets on August 24th for the first day of school!

Mr. Staudter, High School Principal New Bell Schedule For the 2021-2022 school year, the tardy bell for the high school will be at 8:07A.M. The bell schedule is as follows: Freshman Meeting Attention students and parents of the Class of 2025, we highly encourage all freshmen and one parent to attend the freshman welcome meeting that will occur on August 19th during Open House. The meeting will be held at 5:30 PM in Milliette Audi-torium. Senior Meeting Attention Class of 2022, a senior student and parent meeting will be held during Open House from 6:30-7:15 on August 19th in the cafeteria. Many topics will be covered at this meeting including a senior timeline of events, college applications, workforce options, scholarships, and more. Please make an effort to attend. If you are not able to, please reach out to Mrs. Holsinger to get the information. Schedules Student schedules are now available to view through Progress-Book/ParentAccess. If you have difficulty accessing your ac-count, please contact Mrs. Berning in the high school office. Questions or concerns regarding your child’s schedule need to

be addressed prior to the start of school. Please email Mrs. Holsinger (mholsinger@annaschools.org) to set up a time to discuss.

College Credit PlusI If you are an Anna High School student intending to take a College Credit Plus course at Anna High School, Mrs. Holsinger will work with students the first week of school to get registered in those courses.

Rocket Time—New this year* We are excited to implement “Rocket Time” for the 2021-2022 school year. Thirty minutes will be built into the sched-ule on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This time will be used for tutoring, club meetings, guest speakers, and other fun activi-ties. Lockers Anna High School students will have lockers available for students to use for the 2021-2022 school year. Parents, let’s work together to encourage our students to use their locker and reduce the size and weight of our Rockets book bags! Homecoming and Senior Night This year Homecoming will be Saturday, September 25th. Senior night for fall sports will be held on Friday, October 8th. Science Day 2021 STEM scholars competed for nearly $400,000 in scholarships and awards during State Science Day 2021 – Virtual 2.0. For 73 years, State Science Day, a program of The Ohio Academy of Science, has been the pinnacle of academic achievement for students pursuing inquiry-based scientific research and engineering design. This spring, 622 STEM scholars in grades 5-12 competed for nearly $400,000 in spon-sored scholarships and awards. A total of 176 schools partici-pated. Anna High School was one of 14 schools that received the Harold C. Shaw Memorial Outstanding School Award. This award is recognized as the highest possible school and team achievement at State Science Day. Receiving Superior ratings were: Caden Cruset, Riley Gaydosh, Josephine Gehret, Ben Kovacs, and Brook Steinke. Dylan Seigle received an excel-lent rating. Merritt Alspaugh competed in the Dayton Area Patterson Competition in chemistry. He earned 3rd place and $500. The advisor for Anna High School is Vicki Quinter.

Period Start Finish

1 8:07 AM 9:02 AM

2 9:05 AM 9:57 AM

3 10:00 AM 10:52 AM

4 10:52 AM 12:22 PM

A 10:52 AM 11:22 AM

B 11:22 AM 11:52 AM

C 11:52 AM 12:22 PM

5 12:25 PM 1:17 PM

6 1:20 PM 2:12 PM

7 2:15 PM 3:10 PM

Welcome back to Anna Middle School! Our staff has been working very hard to prepare for this upcoming school year. While last year was certainly a challenging year for all, it was such a blessing to be in person for learning for the entire year. Our goal remains the same in that regard - all instruction will be in person to begin the school year. Every year brings about change and new challenges. The staff at Anna Middle School is thankful for the support of the par-ents and community in overcoming the challenges we all faced a year ago. We are all looking forward to a return to school and a return of normal school activities. The staff and administration are energized and excited to con-tinue with such great programs here at Anna Middle School and look forward to welcoming back our returning students and getting to know our new students as we start the 2021-2022 school year. We’ll see you at open house on the 19th!

Mr. Purtee, Middle School Principal The following are a few key bits of new information for the upcoming school year: Bell Schedule AMS will operate on the same bell schedule as the high school - a seven period day. Class periods will be 52 minutes long. Students will have 3 minutes between classes.

Rocket Period AMS will also include a 30 minute “Rocket Period” on Tues-days and Thursdays. This will allow some of our co-curricular activity groups time to meet regularly. It will also provide AMS students with opportunities to get involved in more clubs and events. Handbook Anna Middle School’s handbook will only be available online. Hard copies will not be provided to students as in years’ past. The handbook will be available on the MS Princi-pal’s webpage. Cell Phones Cell phones will not be allowed during the school day. This includes lunch time, class time, hallways, etc. If students need to speak with a parent, they can do so on the student phone in the office. Obviously, if an emergency arises, par-ents can contact the office as usual. Lockers Students must use lockers as backpacks will not be allowed in classrooms. While we limited locker usage last fall as part of our COVID protocols, students will use lockers from day one. 6th Grade Orientation There will be an orientation for all 6th graders at 6:15 PM in Milliette Auditorium on Open House Night (August 19th). All students are invited to come to open house, regardless of grade level.

JH Sports Kickoff Aug. 24th Cross Country @ Sidney, 5:00 PM (Shelby Co. Preview) Aug. 26th Football @ Marion—5:00 PM Volleyball @ Marion—5:00 PM

MS Band & Choir Any students interested in joining band or choir need to sign up in the office the first week of school. The Band is led by Ms. Bittner and the Choir is led by Mrs. Drees. Guest Speaker—Terrance Talley Terrance Talley will be speaking to our students and staff on August 31st as part of our Hope Squad kick-off for the year. As a husband and father of two daughters, Terrence knows the importance of family. Traveling around the country for over ten years and speaking to audiences of all ages, Terrence uses stories about fatherhood and life to inspire all within earshot to NEVER GIVE UP. In his assembly, Terrence lets students know they are not alone in their struggles. With a heavy focus on bullying and secrets, students are taken on a journey that reveals the true heroes they need are right there in the classroom - their teachers! Topics included will be: Bullying, Suicide, Motivation, Inspiration.

Lunch Menu for HS/MS Students

I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer with their fami-lies and that you have had time to relax in between vacations and getaways. The summertime is when some of us see growth from our children, and I hope you’ve seen this positive growth from your children. An Open House for grades K-5 will be held on Thursday, Au-gust 19th, from 5:00 PM-7:00 PM for students and parents to meet the teachers and visit the classrooms. The office will be open on this night. The first day of school is Tuesday, August 24th. The staff of Anna Elementary knows how lucky we are to work with the families and students of Anna. We strive to put your children in a position to grow and achieve while they are here, and we once again are excited to see them walk through the doors in August.

Mr. Holtzapple, Elementary School Principal Arrival and Dismissal Information Reminder: School starts at 8:00 AM. Car riders and walkers should arrive no earlier than 7:40 AM. Please try to not drop your child off too early as there is no supervision. In the after-noon, car riders will be dismissed at 3:10 PM. Parents may drop off and pick up their children in the north parking lot. You are asked to stay in your car, follow the line, and proceed in a safe manner around the circle drive. Please pull up in the line as far as you can. Please do not park and approach the building to drop off or pick up your child. Teach-ers will be on duty to escort your children safely to/from your car in the car rider line. Your help and cooperation is greatly appreciated. Please keep the transportation schedule for your child as consistent as possible. It decreases the chances for miscommunication.

Student Absences When a student is absent from school, please call the office at 394-2584 before 10:00 AM notifying us of the absence. A note needs to be written and submitted to the office the next day. When going to the doctor, a “return to school note” will be needed. If the child will be out more than one day due to sickness, you may tell us when your child will return to school. The State of Ohio’s Attendance Laws are very specific. Read your child’s handbook as to what constitutes an excused or unexcused absence. Please refer to the appropriate pages of the student handbook for the attendance policy. This proce-dure will be enforced because of the Missing Child Act passed by the General Assembly. Title One Info We are required to publish the results of our Title One program each year. During the 2020-2021 school year, 98 students re-ceived Title One services. 76% of our Title One students were promoted to the next grade level. 73% of our Title One stu-dents received a C average or better in Reading and Language Arts. Elementary Christmas and Spring Programs The Christmas program will be held on Thursday, December 16th, at 1:45 PM & 7:00 PM for grades 1, 3 & 5. The Spring program will be on Thursday, May 19th, at 1:45 PM & 7:00 PM for grades 2 & 4.

Playground Volunteers - THANK YOU!!! A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to all of our volunteers who helped on July 10th and July 17th to install our new play-ground!! The progress is going well and we should be on track for its opening when school begins! All total we had well over 50 volunteers help us over the two days of installation. When the playground is complete, we will be sharing a photo gallery showing the project from start to finish. A special thanks to our Anna Schools maintenance team who were here on the Satur-days and also accomplished an enormous amount of work the weeks surrounding the volunteer days! The completion of this project is a great example of why Anna is a wonderful place to live and work!

Volunteers Would you like to take part in the joy of education? Would you like to see the impact you can have on a child by lending a helping hand? As a volunteer you will take part in an important role in the development of our children. Volunteers are encouraged to help out any way they can, whether it be once, occasionally, or on a regular basis. You can help out with special events, do-nating items, serving lunch in the cafeteria, or even cutting and folding at home. Any time given to help our students, whether it is big or small, is greatly appreciated. Another great way to volunteer is serving lunch in the elementary cafeteria from 10:40 AM to 12:30 PM. Come see the smiles of the students in grades K-5 and receive a free lunch. More information will be shared in the future on how to volunteer in the elementary caf-eteria. If you are interested in volunteering, please pick a form up in the Elementary Office. If you have volunteered in the past, you will need to fill out a new form for the 2021-2022 school year. Once again our Volunteers for Education have enhanced our students’ education through their time, talent, and treasure. Also, through their fundraising efforts, the Volunteers will donate nearly $15,000 to upgrade our playground facilities. Thank you Volunteers! Lunch Menu for Elementary Students