AMBOY – Reports from Amboy school principals were presented during the Amboy District 272 Board of Education meeting on Dec. 12. 

PRINCIPALS’ REPORTS

Amboy High School Principal Janet Crownhart congratulated December Student of the Month Tyler Stewart.

Curriculum and School Improvement

• On Nov. 14, Crownhart took 17 junior and senior students to Halo in Sterling, where they learned about available jobs, what Halo does, and key pointers when interviewing.

• On Nov. 19, Crownhart took 10 freshmen to UPM Raflatac in Dixon. Students learned about the company and had a tour of the factory.

• During the Dec. 2 SIP day, staff discussed the Continuous School Improvement plan and final exam exemptions for students at all grade levels. The Committee then met to continue working on the rubric while the rest of the staff finalized final exams and course catalog information for next year.

• Crownhart attended a CPI training on Dec. 6 in Byron.

School Activities

• On Nov. 18 and Dec. 3, three students attended the Student Vaping Focus Group for KSB. The group is working on ideas for posters and a social media marketing campaign. They also discussed a device drop box with no consequences. AHS is working on a location for the drop box.

Building Activities

• The third fire drill of the year was held on Nov. 5. Crownhart gave special thanks to Scott Wittenauer for responding quickly.

• The fall play, “Clue,” was performed Nov. 15, 16 and 17 with previews for younger students on Nov. 14. Crownhart congratulated the cast, crew, Mrs. Cleary, Mr. Kerley and Mrs. Schwamberger for doing a great job.

• Wrestling, boys basketball and girls basketball are underway.

• The Winter Music Concert was held Dec. 8 and Crownhart said everyone who participated did a great job.

Principal Andrew Full, Amboy Junior High 

Curriculum and School Improvement

• On Nov. 6, fifth and sixth grade teachers held grade level team meetings.

• On Nov. 12, Shauna Dinges, Jackie Owensby and Ashley Platz made a site visit to Polo to observe how the Open Up math curriculum is implemented.

• On Nov. 13, seventh and eighth grade teachers held grade level team meetings.

• On Nov. 22, Full attended a presentation at Sterling High School given by Dr. Jeb Baker who discussed how to manage frustration, anxiety and teaching social skills.

• On Dec. 3, the AJHS School Improvement Team met with Anji Garza to finish the IQF.

PBIS

• The monthly SIP assembly was held on Dec. 2 and the following awards here handed out: Clipper P.R.I.D.E., Students of the Month, Faculty/Staff Recognition, and Speech Team Awards. A friendly competition has started between grade levels.

• Clipper P.R.I.D.E. recipients included James Eisenberg, Ryan Garcia, Leighton Gulley, Caiden Heath, Morgan Kreiser, Gage Mumm, Zhyler Hansen, Samantha Hummel, Victor Lopez-Belmontes, Samantha Nauman, Brittlyn Whitman, Michael Cagle, Brysen Full, Dillon Merriman, Emily McLain, Aaliyah Pointer, Madison Wittenauer, Josh McKendry, Brandon Campiran, Olivia Ketchum, Nick Noble, Bentley Wiley and Kayla Oury.

• Students of the Month

5th Grade- Callan Christoffersen and Trevor Stenzel

6th Grade- Ellie McLaughlin and Matthew Farrar

7th Grade- Lilly Anderson and Kabe Daniels

8th Grade- Kayden Law and Kaylee Scanland

P.E.- Jason Dickinson and Rylan McNinch

Faculty/Staff Recognition Winners- Avery Kerley and Shauna Dinges

School Activities

• The 7th grade boys basketball team placed 2nd at their tournament in Ladd.

• Young Authors, sponsored by Yvonne Vicks, started on Nov. 7 with 11 students.

• On Nov. 14, AJHS went to the high school to watch the fall play preview. Full said the play was great and thanked Mrs. Cleary for the invitation.

• On Dec. 6, students who sold enough boxes of Fannie May candy were taken by limo to Pizza Hut in Dixon.

Principal Joyce Schamberger, Central Elementary 

PBIS

• On Dec. 2, Central held an assembly to hand out “Student of the Week” Awards to students.

• Students who met their reading goal for the month of November made Sugar Rush cars on Nov. 26. There were 240 students out of 254 who met their goal (94 percent of students). The running total of school points is 7,000 and the end goal is 21,000 points. For each month a student achieves their reading goal, they earn a ticket to the end of the year celebration, which will be a carnival. The fun activity for December was making “Alien Slime.”

• On Dec. 19, students’ 2nd Quarter Incentive Celebration for PBIS included movies, donuts and hot chocolate. They also held class parties in the afternoon. Students who met their December reading goals were also able to make Alien Slime.

• The PBIS Teams from Central decided to retrain students on proper procedures and expectations after winter break.

RTI

• The RTI committee met with each grade level to discuss data points that have been collected. Three data points were collected after winter benchmarking, and the team looked at each individual student’s scores for proper placement into tiers.

School Activities

• The Central Christmas Concert was held on Dec. 10 in the AHS gym. Students in Preschool through 4th grade performed songs for the audience.

• The Canned Food Drive held in conjunction with the Amboy Fire Department was very successful. 

• Second grade won Best Attendance for November with an attendance of 97.3 percent. They were rewarded with a snack and drink from the kitchen paid for by Central PTC.

• On Dec. 4 and 5, preschool parents were able to come and make a “Calming Box” for their homes. Parents had the opportunity to fill their box with items to calm their child and were given strategies that work to calm down children. This make-and-take activity was presented by Michelle Potthoff, Central’s Parent Family Coordinator.

PERSONNEL

Following closed session, the board accepted the resignation of David Sutton as a part-time cook at Central School, effective Jan. 1.

The next regular board meeting and a tax levy hearing will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23 at Central School. All meetings are open to the public.