Diagonal Community School

Hello all, The second part of this message is focused towards 6-12, but all should read the first part. Dear Diagonal Learning Community, It is with a heavy heart that I begin this letter with the sad news of what happened in Perry earlier this morning. If you were unaware, there was an active shooter in the Perry High School with multiple victims. Please take time to have those affected in your thoughts and prayers. This is a reminder that just because we live in this great state we are not immune from things like this happening. Please, rest assured that we will be meeting to discuss what further things can be done to protect our students and staff. The initial purpose of this letter was to talk about the steps we are taking to bring up our school performance score (we are designated as in need of improvement through ESSA) and how we will continue to be the best we can be moving forward. As many of you are aware, we have been on the downward trend on our performance on the ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress). This is due to many factors, but does not give a pass for the scores. We are going to focus on bringing those scores up to reflect the learning that is going on within the building. I know the scores are not an accurate representation of what our students know. In talking with staff and students, we have come up with a few ideas that we are going to implement to help with student growth. We will begin to read every Friday for 10-15 minutes in each class. This reading will be of the students choice (appropriate of course) and should help with fluency and comprehension. We are hopeful that it will also build a love of reading that follows students throughout their lives. As we look to have our students become leaders, this quote comes to mind for me from Harry S. Truman, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” We will make sure that all students know how important the tests are. We will make sure students are full, hydrated, and able to focus on test days. We are looking into how to incentivize students to do well. There will be more to come on this as it is developed and funds are found. We are looking at school wide programs to make learning more relevant and “real life.” These are just a few of the things we are looking at. We could also use your help in making sure students know the value of the test and the impacts it has on our district. Together we can and will be the best district in the state! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Gary Clark 6-12 Principal Technology Coordinator

Here is the schedule for Robotics this Saturday, January 6th.

Senior Parents and Alumni, sign up today at tinyurl.com/DGfafsa to reserve your appointment with TRIO on January 8th to complete your FAFSA. Visit tinyurl.com/FAFSAneeds for a complete list of items needed for the appointment

Diagonal Hotspots Santa and Friends Poster

Christmas Sweater Basketball Game Flyer, please read.

Here are the pictures of our fantastic basketball teams!

Homecoming Pep Rally today at 2:30 and coronation after the basketball games tonight!

Congratulations to the quiz bowl team! The High School Quiz Bowl was at Southeast Warren on 12-6-23. Teammates include EJ Allee, Kylie Hubbard, Micki Birkenholz-Main, and Amanda Malone. We placed 18th out of 26 teams. It was a great day for competition!

Second order for Power Shirts!!!! It is due on Monday, December 11th. Contact the school with questions or to place an order.

Daycare position available! See the attached ad!

Be sure to check out all of the great pictures and happenings on our facebook page! Here's a link to NHS. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02TNrXtTeSfGWfSaSnNjxYZAKvuMZ3D6hQei4VCroWVzotHJnj4xtJCAz6VjvcxPohl&id=100064688199389&sfnsn=mo&mibextid=MUfG1I

THE D CLUB BASKETBALL CLASSIC Diagonal, Iowa RULES 1. Regular IHSAA & IGHSAU rules will be followed with the following adaptations. 2. 6 minute quarters with a continuous running clock except for the last minute of the 4th quarter if the score is within 10 points. 3. No Pressing. Must play half court man to man defense. 4. No 3 point shot line will be used. 5. Players will foul out after 5 fouls. Shoot free throws, only on shooting fouls & fouls occurring the last minute of the game. All non shooting fouls will be 2 shots. 6. The Free Throw line will be 15 feet. 7. The first overtime will consist of 1 minute. Each additional overtime will be sudden death. No extra timeouts for overtime. 8. Warm-up balls will be provided. 9. Teams will be allowed 3 timeouts. 10. 5 Minutes between games and 3 minutes at halftime. The classic staff may shorten up times if necessary. 11. No Zone defense. No Half court trapping defense. 12. There is no team entry fee. All players pay $2.00 at the door. 13. Admission charge for adults is $4.00 & students $2.00 for the day. ALL PLAYERS WILL PAY $2 AT THE DOOR. 14. Each team will need to provide one person to work at the scorer’s table for each game. 15. A concession stand will be available. 16. GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP IS EXPECTED AT ALL TIMES. ALL OFFICIALS ARE VOLUNTEERS AND WILL TRY & DO THEIR BEST! UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT FROM COACHES, PLAYERS, AND FANS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. 16. If you have any questions, please contact Larry McNutt at (641)344-4352 or lmcnutt@diagonalschools.org

THE D CLUB 5th - 6th GRADE BASKETBALL CLASSIC December 16, 2023 Diagonal, Iowa GIRLS 8:00 Diagonal 4th-5th-6th vs Mount Ayr 5th Black 9:10 Mount Ayr 5th White vs Afton 5th-6th 10:20 Diagonal 4th-5th-6th vs Creston Carroll/Hyde 11:30 Mount Ayr 5th Black vs Afton 5th-6th 12:40 Mount Ayr 5th White vs Lenox 6th 1:15 Creston Carroll/Hyde vs Mount Ayr 6th 2:25 Creston 6th vs Lenox 6th 3:35 Creston 6th vs Mount Ayr 6th BOYS 8:35 Diagonal 4th-5th-6th vs Mount Ayr 5th Black 9:45 Diagonal 4th-5th-6th vs Lenox 5th 10:55 Xtreme 5th vs Mount Ayr 5th Black 12:05 Mount Ayr 5th White vs Lenox 5th 1:50 Mount Ayr 5th White vs Xtreme 5th 3:00 Afton 5th-6th vs Atlantic 6th 4:10 Mount Ayr 6th vs Falcons 6th 4:45 Bedford 6th vs Atlantic 6th 5:20 Afton 5th-6th vs Mount Ayr 6th 5:55 Falcons 6th vs Bedford 6th

THE D CLUB 3rd - 4th GRADE BASKETBALL CLASSIC December 9, 2023 Diagonal, Iowa GIRLS 8:00 Afton Rec 3rd-4th vs Mount Ayr 3rd 8:35 Mount Ayr 4th vs Murray 3rd-4th 9:10 Afton Rec 3rd-4th vs Mount Ayr 4th 9:45 Mount Ayr 3rd vs Murray 3rd-4th BOYS 10:20 Diagonal 2nd-3rd vs Lenox 3rd 10:55 Diagonal 4th vs Murray 3rd-4th 11:30 Diagonal 2nd-3rd vs Mount Ayr 3rd 12:05 Diagonal 4th vs Creston 4th 12:40 Lenox 3rd vs Mount Ayr 3rd 1:15 Murray 3rd-4th vs Mount Ayr 4th 1:50 Lenox 4th vs Afton 3rd-4th 2:25 Creston 4th vs Lenox 4th 3:00 Mount Ayr 4th vs Afton 3rd-4th

Homecoming!

Diagonal HotSpot shirt order form. Available for 5 days! https://stores.inksoft.com/DHSHOTSPOTS/shop/home

Toy Drive

NHS Inductees! Congratulations!

Dear families of 6th-12th grade students, This is a reminder about the informational meeting for the Italy and Greece trip. I am excited to see how much interest there is in travel! The informational meeting is Tuesday, November 14th, at 5:30 in the gym lobby. See the meeting details and register for the meeting here: https://bit.ly/40qhWYC Those who register for the meeting will be eligible to receive a $200 tour scholarship and be eligible for Risk-Free Enrollment if they enroll on our tour! As a reminder for those with questions about this opportunity: all questions will be answered at the meeting. Registration for the meeting is mandatory, so do not wait. Looking forward to seeing you all there! Crystal Denton Gary Clark

Dear families of 6th-12th grade students , We’re going to Italy and Greece in Summer 2025, and you’re students are invited! We’re excited to tell you more about the trip we’re planning with EF Tours, our educational travel partner. Please be sure to register for this info session to be considered for this opportunity: https://bit.ly/40qhWYC When students travel, they expand their knowledge of the world around them, discover more about themselves, and grow more confident. These skills are critical for creating the global citizens of tomorrow, and we would love to have your student join us on this adventure. In this info session, we’ll talk about: How this opportunity will benefit your student What we’ll see and do on our trip Everything that’s included in this experience How your child can earn academic credit How we’re keeping this safe and affordable How to enroll on this trip (before it fills up!) during EF’s risk-free enrollment period There are limited spots on this trip, so we would love to have you attend this meeting to learn more about this exciting opportunity! The meeting will be in the gym lobby on Tuesday, November 14th, at 5:30. See you there! To be eligible to go, students must be 20 years of age or younger at the time of the trip (July of 2025). Thanks, Crystal Denton Gary Clark