Opinion : Welcome to the 2010-2011 School Year

To the Vinton-Shellsburg School Community,

Welcome to the 2010-2011 school year! Many staff members have been working this summer to be prepared for our students in August. Teachers have been taking classes, staff have worked on upgrading our technology systems, our maintenance crew has worked to update some lighting and restrooms, our custodians have cleaned almost every inch of the district, and other staff have been busy painting. Schools were not built to be empty and so it will be good to have students back in a few weeks.

We are doing registration a bit different this year than in the past. We are making all of the district forms available on-line so that we can save on the amount of paper and toner we use. This way you can print off forms you need in advance and have some of them already filled out when you go to register. (go to www.vinton-shellsburg.k12.ia.us and click on “Registration Information”) We will also have face-to-face registration available at the high school on Thursday, August 5. We will be open from 12 noon until 8:00 PM. By registering that day, it helps us in finalizing class lists and preparing the classrooms with desks and materials. All fees eed to be paid at registration as they cannot be paid on-line (except for the lunch program fees).

There will be many adjustments in staffing assignments and duties for this year. The principals have done a great job this summer hiring for the open positions we’ve had.

Last year was our first year for the preschool program. Although there are always ways to improve, overall it was a huge success for our students and their families. We are anxious to see how they are prepared for kindergarten this fall. If you have a four-year-old who might be interested in attending either our program at Shellsburg or at Tilford, please contact the school. You can also make inquiries at registration.

Please contact me with any questions, comments or concerns. We need to work together to improve opportunities for our students.

Mary Jo Hainstock, Superintendent

mhainstock@vinton-shellsburg.k12.ia.us