By Superintendent Dr. Patricia L. Batista

Community Awareness, Strategic Plan,& Accountability Scorecards

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IONIA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

October 2013October 2013October 2013October 2013October 2013

SCHOOLSCHOOLSCHOOLSCHOOLSCHOOLREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORT

250 East Tuttle RoadIonia, MI 48846-9698

Thank you, IHS Cross Country Teams and Coach Young, for your Relay Run from DeWitt toLloyd T. Smith Memorial Field to deliver the purple football for the Varsity Football Purple Gameduring Community Awareness Week. Your efforts added another proud moment!

Continued on Page 3

Dr. Patricia L. BatistaSuperintendent

Ionia Public Schools, to-gether with Ionia CountyEmergency Manager DougDeVries and School SafetyLiaison Mike Cronk of IoniaPublic Safety, will host aCommunity Meeting onSchool Safety and Securityon Monday, October 14 at 7p.m. in MCC Room 304. “School safety and secu-rity are major goals of the dis-trict Strategic Plan, so we arelooking at additional ways tokeep our learning environ-ment safe and secure,” com-mented Superintendent Dr.

Community Meeting on School Safety is October 14

Continued on Page 3

Patricia Batista. “In light ofwhat is happening nationwide,and prior to implementation ofsome measures that impactothers, we would like to havediscussion with our students,parents, staff and community.” “I hope you will considerattending to receive informa-tion and to share your ideas,”Dr. Batista said. “Our goal isto work together to make ourschools safe, secure and yetaccessible.” Associate SuperintendentBen Kirby will team with Of-ficers DeVries and Cronk to

present information on trendsin school safety and whythese steps are being taken.Some potential changes un-der consideration, like the A-phone system, could impactindividuals adversely if theyare unaware of the changes. “The goal of this meetingis to share information, hearsuggestions and recommen-dations of the public, and thencontinue to form the plan,”Mr. Kirby said. “We wantpeople to understand whatwe are trying to achieve, to

Extraordinary opportunitiesabound because so many stepup as community partners toIonia Public Schools. Volunteer organizer DianeGrummet and her CommunityAwareness Week partners andsponsors led Ionia High Schooland the Ionia Community totruly awesome celebrationsduring our 4th Annual PurpleWeek September 15-20. Believe it or not, Ioniafound new ways to expand its“purpleness” through lamp-post banners, floating lanterns,an amazing relay run by theIHS Cross Country Teams,and the first Purple Match forIHS Boys Tennis. Events that have becometradition – remembrance cer-emonies by IHS Football, Vol-leyball and Soccer, Girls SwimPurple Meet, .1K Purple Run,Happy Tails “Walk of Hope”,Concert on the Green, Half-time Dawg Dance, MarchingBand’s Purple Armbands, theSilent Auction, and 2013purple tshirts and ribbons -

once again allowed an emo-tional, public expression ofsupport andlove inhonor ofcourageousindividualswho havebattled orare battlingcancer or inmemory of the lives of lovedones taken by cancer. The weather cooperatedbeautifully for everything ex-cept the inaugural movie atDanny Boy’s Drive-In The-ater, but Bart Lower standsready to try again in 2014. This means financial helpwill be available to individualsand families while battling orrecovering from cancer. Diane is confident totalfundraising efforts this yearare excellent; thank you, IoniaCommunity, for your generos-ity. Watch for a check pre-sentation at Homecoming thisFriday, October 4!

IHS student athletes are amazing in Purple as well as Blue and White!

Highlights of Board of Education’s September Meeting1. With six board members present, the following actions were approved by a 6-0 vote, unless otherwise noted: -- approved moving to the Semester Schedule for the 2014-2015 School Year as recommended by Superintendent Batista -- approved the amendment to the Health Care Flexible Spending Account Plan to reflect the change in the federal plan -- approved IMS and IHS Choir trip to Stratford, Ontario on October 25 -- following Closed Session, moved to reinstate the student as recommended by administration to IPS Virtual Career Center with a behavior and academic contract.

2. Superintendent Batista discussed numerous activities tied to the first year of the Strategic Plan, including the ParentCommunication Survey, the schedule of curriculum meetings for the year and alignment of assessments, the proposed countywide

The Board of Education thanked these special Community Partners to Ionia Public Schools at its September meeting. John Brown, on left, owner of the Shopper'sGuide, was commended for the positive promotion the Shopper's Guide provides the school district and other local organizations. All the other individuals picturedare representatives of the generous organizations and employee groups that held school supply drives for our students and staff. Included are Marti Meier, IoniaCorrectional Facility; Ken McKee, Bellamy Creek; Deb Casillas and Scott Schooley, MI Reformatory; Andrew Brown, Lyons-Muir Church; Sue Houserman, Lyons-Muir

New Teachers The Board approved MichelleMcKee, on left, as the teacherof the Bulldog BeginningsPreSchool Program at Ratherand Jessica Swain as the CreditRecovery Teacher at IHS inSeptember.technology millage led by the ISD, and the community meeting on School Safety planned for

October 14.

3. Associate Superintendent Ben Kirby reported on the Accountability Scorecard which re-places AYP. Improvement under the Accountability Scorecard is based on participation rate instandardized testing, proficiency, graduation rate (9-12), attendance (K-8), compliance factors,and school improvement. Mr. Kirby shared that the status for Ionia Public School District is orange, all elementariesand IMS are yellow, IHS is orange, and Welch High School is red. In addition, Emerson is a reward school for “beating the odds” and Jefferson is a focusschool because of the size of the achievement gap between the highest 30% and the lowest30%. Mr. Kirby also outlined the steps being developed and implemented to improve achieve-ment at all schools for all students

Ionia Public Schools welcomed five new teachers at the Au-gust Board of Education meeting. Pictured are, from left,Michaeline Winters, Rather 4th Grade; Eric Cameron, IHS VideoTechnology/Social Studies; Jena Schafer, Twin Rivers Kinder-garten; Bryan Wetherwax, IMS Social Studies; and Lauren Powell,IHS Spanish.

Homecoming Parade begins at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 4

Thank you, Community Partners for September

Historical Society; Sandra Brands and Deb Hausserman, Firstbank; Sharon Blanchard and Mary Ellen Groom, IPS Transportation;Tona Diehl, Jason, and Maria Edwards, Walmart; and John Rogers, Ionia Moose Lodge. Melissa Barber of MTU and Melissa Sandbornof MR were unable to attend.

Community Awareness, Strategic Plan, ScorecardsContinued from Page 1

Community Meeting on School SafetyContinued from Page 1

Grant provides new AED and training IMS Counselor and Athletic Director Marilee Buxton, on left,listens as Joceyln Leonard, mother of Wes Leonard, providedprofessional training on the use of the AED for infants and adults. Physical Education and health teachers attended the AEDTraining on August 29. The additional AED, provided throughthe Wes Leonard Foundation, will be located in the IHS SportsLobby, readily available if needed during gym class or sportscontests.

Community Partner appreciated Mary Cusack, on right, was appreciated as an outstanding Com-munity Partner by the Board of Education for creating the YPTSummer Theatre Camp enjoyed by more than 100 children. TheSummer Camp culminated in the delightful presentation ofDisney's "101 Dalmatians" in July. Board Trustee Dave O’Marapresented the certificate.

offer their thoughts, and to beready to adapt should safetyand security measures beadded or modified. The dis-trict wants this process to be

as smooth and positive as pos-sible.” The IPS Safety Commit-tee invites your attendance atthis community meeting onOctober 14 from 7 to 8 p.m.

During the past year I haveshared information on ourdistrict’s Strategic Planningprocess, which resulted in anew mission and vision state-ment and new belief state-ments as well as the develop-ment of Strategic Goals. I amgrateful, too, that this impor-tant process received amazingcommunity involvement. Iask for that support to con-tinue as we move forward. Parents recently completedcommunication surveys whichwill help teachers, schools andthe district in its goal to pro-vide information through thebest channels in the mosttimely manners. IPS needs to update itstechnology to enhance learn-ing, so we are part of acountywide ISD team lookingat a potential technology mill-age request. The Community Meetingon Safety on October 14 isplanned by the learning envi-ronment goal team. Teacher participation inyearlong curriculum meetings,including Hair on Fire and K-12 math, ELA, social studiesand science committees, willhelp IPS progress toward itsgoal for increased studentachievement.Accountability Scorecard At the board meeting, As-sociate Superintendent BenKirby discussed the Account-ability Scorecard. This re-places AYP as the district’sreport card and is calculatedbased on participation rate instandardized testing, profi-ciency, graduation rate (9-12),attendance (K-8), compliancefactors, and school improve-ment. Details are shared on page2 in Mr. Kirby’s report to the

board and the full report isavailable on-line at http://www.michigan.gov/mde/ We are not satisfied withour status; we are working onsteps we can take to improve,and many of them are in theprocess of implementation al-ready. We know IPS has to moveforward as a team with a cen-tral focus on classroom in-struction and student learning.Our priority is to provide allthe training and supportneeded to assure that all chil-dren succeed. Jefferson Elementary isdesignated a focus schoolbased on one major factor: theachievement gap between itsacademically highest 30% ofstudents and its academicallylowest 30% of students is toogreat. Carefully plannedchanges to the daily scheduleto allow for uninterruptedsmall group instruction for allJefferson students are intendedto provide quality education foreveryone. The goal is for thetop academic students toachieve at higher levels and thelower academic students tolearn and catch up at a fasterpace. We celebrate Emerson El-ementary as a reward schoolbased on “beating the odds”.In schools with similar demo-graphics, such as free/reducedlunch, our Emerson studentsare outperforming their coun-terparts. The Emerson staffwill continue efforts for evenhigher achievement gains. Ionia High School is des-ignated yellow and Welch HighSchool is red; both scores werehurt by low graduation rate.We are fortunate to have ad-ditional programs to addressthe graduation rate as well asacademic achievement.

Jessica Swain was hired toteach the Credit RecoveryProgram piloted last year andexpanded beginning this fall.Mrs. Swain will work duringthe school day with studentsin grades 9 through 12 who fallbehind on credits towardgraduation. Kim Walsh is the coordi-nator of the JAG (Jobs AfterGraduation) Program initiatedat IHS in September throughpartnership with MichiganWorks. Through partnership withBerrien Springs PublicSchools, IPS Virtual CareerCenter has been launched andis serving more than 10 highschools students needing cred-its for graduation. Watch for information onthe location of the Virtual Ca-reer Center in Ionia soon. These three programs pro-vide additional, alternative sup-port to help students becomehigh school graduates, whichoffers employment and furthereducation opportunities other-wise not available. Change is not easy and itseems schools are facingmonumental changes in recordnumbers. Please know your IPS staffwill work hard to implementand assess all needed changeswhile continuing to provide ex-cellent learning opportunitiesfor all students. How can you help? Remain involved and con-tinue to support IPS. As an important member ofour team, you will continue tomake a difference. If you have ideas or waysyou would like to volunteeryour talent, please contact meat 616.527.9280 or email meat pbatista@ioniaschools.org.

Strategic Plan

37 Years o

Students inGrades 3-9 will

takeMEAP tests in

October The window for MEAPtesting for elementary andmiddle school studentsopens on October 8. Test-ing in the areas of math,reading, writing, scienceand social studies will takeplace over a 3-week period. The 9th grade socialstudies MEAP is October16. Attendance on MEAPtesting days is very impor-tant, so parents are askedto avoid scheduling ap-pointments, if possible. Itis recommended that stu-dents be well rested and eata good breakfast. Parentsshould encourage theirchild(ren) to do their best.Specific tests dates will beshared in each buildingnewsletter.

The Employee Group at the Michigan Reformatory, repre-sented by Debbie Casillas, Melissa Sandborn, and ScottSchooley joined this group of Emerson students and PrincipalMitch Mercer for the presentation of 20 school supply-filled back-packs that have been given to 20 lucky Emerson students.

Curriculum Night for Parents Rather Teacher Tami Savage, above, and Sally Flanders, be-low, gave parents an overview of the plans for their studentsthe 2013-14 school year and discussed how parents of their stu-dents can help their children be successful at a special Curricu-lum Night for Parents of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at Rather.

At a series of recent Parent Meetings, TR Principal Dayna Ellis shared important information onstudent achievement at TR as well as ways Twin Rivers staff are preparing students to do theirbest on the upcoming MEAP tests. Parents have an importantrole in helping their children beready for the MEAP tests, in-cluding reading with them daily,encouraging them to do theirhomework well, and keepingclose watch on how theirschool work and skills are pro-gressing each week.

Ionia Public Schools Board of EducationPresident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen Balice-GregoryVice President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roger HullSecretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cathy HoppoughTreasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sheri ScheurerTrustees . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sandra Townsend

Walter Downes, Dave O’MaraSuperintendent: Dr. Patricia Batista

Editor: Maureen MeadeWebsite: www.dawggle.net

Equal Opportunity Message: It has always been the policy of Ionia Public Schoolsto be an equal opportunity institution. We do not discriminate on the basis of sex,race, creed, color, ethnic origin, physical or mental handicap, height, weight, ormarital status in any of our educational programs or activities including enrollment,placement, and employment. Any person wishing to inquire regarding these policies, or to file a complaint should contact: Ben Kirby or Maureen Reeder, 250 E. Tuttle Road, Ionia, MI 48846.

Board approves change to SemesterScheduling for 2014-2015

Ionia Public Schools willmove to semester schedulingfor elementary, middle andhigh school students in the Fallof 2014. Based on information pre-sented by SuperintendentBatista, the Board unani-mously approved the change. Prior to making a recom-mendation, Dr. Batista heardfrom staff and parents on thepositive reasons to changefrom trimester to semester aswell as the negatives. “We know we need moretime in the core subjects,” Dr.Batista said. “Semesterscheduling can provide 1500additional minutes or 27 daysmore instruction in math, sci-ence, English, and history.” “It also eliminates the longgap some students experiencebetween their math or Englishor language courses under tri-mester scheduling.” In addition, implementa-tion of the Common Core re-quires 164 consecutive daysof instruction in math and En-glish. A strategic goal is toimplement “Hair on Fire” andstaff members have been pre-paring to do so.

Capturing Kids Hearts is allabout building relationships,which is also an importantCore Belief Statement. Se-mester scheduling allows stu-dents, parents and teachers towork together longer, hope-fully for the year, knowing theexpectations and requirementsof that classroom teacher. Semesters will allow stu-dents to be taught materialstested on the MEAP before theMarch test, which will directlyimpact student achievement. The plan is for both theIMS and IHS schedule to in-clude six (6) classes each day. “We know we will haveto be creative to provide timefor electives,” Dr. Batistaadded. “My hope is we canoffer some required classesbefore or after the regularschool day, or in the summer,so our talented students wholove band, vocal music or art,for examples, can continue tofit these in their schedules.” “We have much work to doto change to semesters, but Ibelieve the added time forclassroom instruction in thecore subjects will make a greatdifference.”

Ionia Youth Basketball ProgramsCompetitive Travel Basketball League

(in and around the Lansing area)· Girls 3rd-8th grade teams· Boys 3rd-6th grade teams· League runs November through February· Registration Dates

1. October 9th 6:30-8:30 pm in the high schoolsports lobby

2. October 13th 5:00-7:00 pm in the high schoolsports lobby

· Cost is $55 (participants will also be responsible forpurchasing a $30 uniform at Wreckers Sports)

· Coaches Needed· Number of teams will be based on # of participants

and # of coaches available· Flyers with more information are available in each

schools’ office and at the Ionia ArmoryLook for Boys 7th/8th grade info in December

· Contacts:1. Girls- Andy Barr abarr@ioniaschools.org2. Boys- Scott Pischea spischea@ioniaschools.org

Recreational Basketball(local teams with games at the armory)

· Girls and Boys 1st-4th grade· League runs 8 weeks December through February

Practices will be Saturday morning at the MiddleSchool

· Cost is $40 (includes t-shirt)· Registration can be done at the Ionia Armory· Contact Matt Painter 523-1800· Specifics in flyers at the Armory and on www.dawggle.net

Student/Parent/Teacher Conferencesfor all grades planned in October

Ionia Public Schools will offer Fall Student/Parent/TeacherConferences for all grade levels in October prior to the end of firsttrimester. Student/Parent/Teacher conferences are an important com-munication channel. Please make plans to visit your child’steacher(s). Detailed information on the schedule for Parent/TeacherConferences can be found on the October calendar on Page 7.It is also available on the district calendar on www.dawggle.net.

•

Sterner Veterinary Clinic continued its longstanding support of the Ionia FFA by contributingalmost $1,300 to the Ionia Chapter for its general budget needs. Roberta Sterner, center, and Dr.Kevin Jeffers presented the generous check to FFA officer Dana Hengesbach as FFA AdvisorJasonGriffith and her classmates look on.

MEAP Testingbegins

October 8

IPS Scholarship Endowment Fundreceives generous donation

The Ionia Public Schools’ Scholarship Endowment Fund hasreceived the second half of a large gift from the Janice K.Treaster Trust in the amount of $73,850.74. Together with the $56,000 distribution received in Decem-ber, the total gift from the estate of Janice (Mueller) Treaster, a1955 graduate of Ionia High School, is $129,850.74. Mrs. Mueller passed away in May, 2012 after a coura-geous battle with cancer. With this extraordinary bequest, continuing donations andmemorials by others, and investment income, the IPS Scholar-ship Endowment Fund has grown to an all time high of$924,911.39. Ionia Public Schools is very grateful to Janice Treaster andall who include the Scholarship Endowment Fund in their wills,estate plans, memorial intentions, and annual giving.

PTG sponsors assembly on Diversity Doug Scheer, owner/creator of Scheer Genius Productions,performed “Diversity Circus” at Rather Elementary on Sept. 19,emphasizing acceptance and respect. The assembly demonstrated the importance of being fair,aware, including, and respectful toward others. In the photo above, Mr. Scheer and his wife Heidi as the clowncharacter, Smudgy, asked Rather student Johnathon Odette tohelp in the presentation of the “Amazing See-Through Kid” act,with its message to never judge others based on appearances.

AutumnCelebration/ChiliDawg Challenge

is October 24 Between 4 and 8 p.m. onThursday, October 24 Ioniaarea residents can find a vari-ety of activities right on MainStreet in Downtown Ionia.Through the generosity ofcommunity partners, the fol-lowing annual activities are partof this awesome celebration:Independent Bank Chili DawgChallenge, Meijer CostumeContest, Scarecrow Alley,Main St. Trick or Treating, andthe Carnival sponsored by theChurch Community. For specific times of eachactivity, view the Autumn Cel-ebration information atwww.ioniachamber.org or con-tact the Ionia Area Chamberof Commerce at 616-527-2560.

Freshmen spirits are high as they toured Ionia High Schoolguided by their Blue Crew chiefs!

Jefferson Elementary School Principal Matt Vogel, togetherwith a group of fifth graders, accepted a donation of school sup-plies from Marti Meier, Shree Beardslee and Amy Shaffer of theBluewater Employees Club. This group is comprised of employ-ees from the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility who workedwith fellow employees to donate backpacks and other suppliesto Jefferson Elementary School. Thank you for your generosity!

October 2 is

Count Day. . .please make

every effort toattend school

on Wednesday!

TR Principal Dayna Ellis was excited to learn her staff earned$150 worth of school supplies, such as essential items picturedabove, for participating in the back-to-school program,TeacherLists.com. The sponsors of this program are Mead, FiveStar, Kleenex, and Elmer's.

IHS Blue Crew 2013-2014 Members of the Blue Crew paused for a team photo with Advisors Jon Duley and JenniferJockheck during a rigorous day of activities for Freshman Orientation! Blue Crew is a high schooltransition program that welcomes freshmen and makes them feel comfortable throughout thefirst year of their high school experience. As positive role models, these juniors and seniors aremotivators, leaders, and teachers who guide the freshmen to discover what it takes to be suc-cessful during the transition to high school.

Senior CitizenLuncheon is

Friday, October 4 The monthly Senior CitizenLuncheon sponsored by IoniaPublic Schools will be heldFriday, October 4 at 12 noonin Watt Auditorium Lobby.Cost of the meal is $3. A program is being planned. To RSVP, please call 527-9280 Ext. 1909. Be sure toreport October birthdays andanniversaries.

STEP Parenting Program begins Oct. 8 IPS School Social Worker Jill Bohne will offer her popularSystematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) workshopon Tuesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. at Rather ElementarySchool beginning October 8. The STEP workshop offers parents a realistic, down-to-earth approach to meeting the challenges of raising childrentoday. This workshop will be 4 sessions and include topics suchas Understanding Yourself and Your Child, Listening &Talking to Your Child, Helping Children Cooperate, andDiscipline That Makes Sense. Call Rather at 616.527. 1720 to reserve your spot. Snacks and child care will be provided for ages 3 to 10.

For the second year, IHS football players teamed with NationalHonor Society members to do the Adopt-a-Highway Fall clean-up on this busy section of M-66 adopted by Ionia Public Schools.

Thanks!

Pizza, taco, hamburger and grilled chicken patty are the four main choices available every day. Fifth choice offerings are listed above. In addition to the main dish, the following items will be available: Lettuce,Cheese, Croutons, Salad Dressings, plus one vegetable, one fruit and bread and butter. A 1/2 pint of regular or 2% milk is included with lunch. Prices: Elementary Students, $2.00; Middle School Students (buffetline), $2.25; High School Students (buffet line), $2.25; Staff and Adults, $3.00. Program prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Any person who believes he/shehas been discriminated against should write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call 800-795-3272 or 202-720-6382 (TTY). USDA is an equalopportunity provider and employer.”

Bus Driver Mary EllenGroom, who has presented bussafety assemblies to IPS el-ementary students for manyyears, is pictured talking withEmerson Elementary students.

MEAP Testing - Writing

Homecoming Parade, 4:30Homecoming Football Game, 7

Senior Citizen Luncheon, 12 Noon

Tuesday Wednesday Friday Sat./SundayThursdayMonday

Cheese FilledBreadsticks

Rather Breakfast Buddies,Gr. 2, 7:15

K-12 Math Coherence Committee,8-3

Jefferson Picture DayTR Family Reading Night, 6

Boyce School Improvement, 7:25TR School Improvement, 3:45

Jefferson School Improvement,3:45

Twin Rivers FSO, 6Jefferson PTG, 6

Meat Sauce onSpaghetti Mtn.

MEAP Testing, Math

Chili Con Carne

Gr. 6-8 Student/Parent/TeacherConferences, 5-8:30 p.m.

Emerson PTG, 6IHS SADD Meeting, 2:40

TR Book Fair BeginsTR Sub Sandwich Fundraiser

IMS Fun Night, 7 p.m.

Sixth Grade CampK-12 Social Studies Curriculum

CommitteeBand Boosters, IHS Bandroom,

6:30

6-8 Student/Parent/TeacherConferences, 4:30- 8:30

K-5 Student/Parent/TeacherConferences, 4:30- 8:30

Elementary Progress Reports GivenElementary Bookfairs

Board of Education, MCC 304, 7

MEAP Testing BeginsMSBOA Marching Districts, TBA

Cheese FilledBreadsticks

IHS Picture RetakesBoyce Lunch w/the Principal, 11:30

MEAP Testing, ReadingRather Coffee w/the Principal, 7:35

NHS General Membership, 2:40

9-12 Student/Parent/TeacherConferences, 5 -8 p.m.

MEAP Writing, MEAP Science

IHS Band, East

Dippin’ Chicken Nuggets

Student Count DayDistrict School Improvement

Curriculum Commitee, 8:30 a.m., 304Boyce Breakfast Buddies, 8 a.m.

TR Picture Re-Take DayIHS PowderPuff Game, 5:30

Up periscope, ItalianSub

Cheeseburger on a bunis fun!

Burrito Dippin’ Chicken Nuggets Hot Diggity Dog No School for Students

Chef’s Salad

Dippin’ Chicken Nuggets Ham & Cheese SubCheese FilledBreadsticks

Burrito

Blue & White Review, IHS Gym,7K-5 P/T Conferences, 5:00- 8:30(Elementary Progress Reports)Welch School Improvement, 2:45

ELA Common Core/Hair on Fire, 8-3

Baked Potato Bar Hot Diggity Dog

IHS Vocal Music Concert, 7:30 p.m.Chili Dawg Challenge, Main St, 4-7

Rather Breakfast Buddies, Gr. 1,7:15

Math Common Core/Hair on Fire,8 am - 3 pm Cheeseburger on a

bun is fun!

Student/Parent/TeacherConferences, Gr. 9-12, 5:00 - 8:00District School Safety Meeting,

MCC Room 304, 7 p.m.Rather PTG Mtg., 6:30

IAAB, IHS Library, 6:15 p.m.Boyce PTG, 6

Boyce Family Reading Night, 6IMS Vocal Music Concert, 7:30

Rather Picture Retakes

No School for K-12 StudentsTeacher Work Day

Kentwood Band InvitationalTR Sub Sandwich FundraiserAP Bio Lab Day, 8Spirits of Ionia Past

Emerson Breakfast Buddies, K-2Emerson Picture Re-takes

MEAP Testing Window Closes

Superintendent's Adv, 12 noonJefferson School Improvement,

3:45TR School Improvement, 3:45

Rather School Improvement, 2:40

Bulldog Salad

Band, Cedar Springs andHastings InvitationalsIHS Homecoming Dance, 7Harlem Ambassadors, IHS gym,VFW Benefit

Rather Lunch w/the Principal,11:20

HalloweenBoyce Trick or Treat on the Trail, 2Jefferson Halloween Parties, 2:30

TR Halloween PartiesRather Fall Parties, 1:35

Dippin’ Chicken NuggetsMacaroni & Cheese,

Please

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TR 5K Fun Run/Walk,7:30 a.m.

IHS Band to Belding BandInvitationalRather Fall Festival, IMS Gym,1- 4 p.m

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IHS Spirit Week begins

October2013

Ionia Public Schools, with itsbig yellow bus, was a popularstop at Fall Festival at BerthaBrock Park. NHS studentsBethany Flanigan, Emma Tho-mas, and Austin Mueller are pic-tured with visitors.

Dippin’ Chicken Nuggets

Thank you, Edward Jones

Among the individuals honored during the jersey presenta-tion following Varsity Football’s “Purple Game” was Sug Pinnow,accompanied by Dave and her grandchildren.

The IHS Cheerleaders chant as the IHS Varsity Football “PurpleGame” prepares to get underway on Sept. 20.

In Honor of . . . In Memory of Pictured clockwise, frombottom left, the IHS Varsity Vol-leyball Team gathers for thepresentation of jerseys follow-ing its Purple Game. Above, the Ionia BulldogMascot takes a picture withthree beaming future Bulldogs! Participants in the Snap Fit-ness .1K Purple Run prepare tobe meet the challenge. How lovely were the lan-terns as they floated awayagainst the blackness of thenight sky?

The Dawg Dance, performed at halftime under the leadership of Zumba Instructor Missy Millard, the IHS Marching Band, and the IHS and DeWitt Cheerleaders, wasa big hit at the Varsity Football Purple Game. Thanks to all the students, staff, parents, and community members who joined in the fun!