Please help us by encouraging
reading every chance you have
at home. Research shows that
students who have not learned
to read proficiently by the end
of 4th grade are 4 times more
likely to drop out of school. We
cannot allow that to happen to
our kids.
On behalf of our staff at Knox
Elementary, have a wonderful
holiday season. We are excited
to see your children when we
return in 2016.
Go Warriors!
Mr. Fowler
I am beyond excited for Decem-
ber to finally get here. The holi-
days are always such a fun time
at school. The cold weather has
arrived, the snow is starting to
fall, and student excitement is at
an all-time high as they anxious-
ly await the holidays.
As we close out 2015, it is only
natural to look back on the year and reflect on our successes. At
Knox, we have implemented
Everyday Math across all grade-
levels. We have seen a decrease
in the number and frequency of
discipline referrals as well as
tardiness to school. We have
added two self-contained special
education classes to offer in-
struction that better meets the
needs of our students. We have
recognized 55 students of the
week and hundreds of students
with our positive behavior
“Warrior Ticket” drawings.
Planning for 2016 has been on-
going since our year began. One
major announcement I am
thrilled to make is the addition
of “Erik’s Room” at Knox. We
have received a $10,000 grant
from the Erik Harris foundation
to equip a sensory room for all
of our early learners. Sensory
rooms are designed to provide
therapeutic activities for chil-
dren with sensory processing
disorders. Our Erik’s room team visited sensory rooms
across the county to plan and
implement a successful room at
Knox. Once construction is
complete, I will be sharing pho-
tos and Erik’s story with all of
you.
Another major push at Knox is
our literacy awareness cam-
paign. As state and national
standards continue to increase
for our children, it is now more
important than ever to really
foster a love of reading. Reading
encompasses everything we do
and if students do not have a
solid foundation in the early
years, they can struggle
throughout their entire life.
Message from the Principal
Bantam Cheerleaders Place 3rd at Competition
On November 8th, the Bantam
Cheer Squad competed at the
NBC Cheerleading Competi-
tion. After an intense morning
of cheering at Minerva High
School, our girls placed 3rd.
This was the first competition
for our girls and we are ex-
tremely proud of them. Keep up
the great work, girls!
KNOX
ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
December, 2015 Volume 1, Issue 5
Upcoming Events:
12/2-4: Secret Santa Sales
12/3-4: Grade 3 AIR Testing
12/3-4: Hot Pots at School
12/3: Winter Family Night
12/8: Winter Concert
12/9: PTO Meeting
12/11: Interim Reports
12/11: Ele Night at BB Game
12/17: Candlelight Lunch
12/22: Moods of Christmas
12/22: Holiday Parties
12/23-1/1: Winter Break
Knox News
2015 Squad: Kylie Grind-
ley, Makenna Woost, Ma-
kayla Mayle, Jayna Connor,
Noelle Shutler, Abbey
Hurford, Sophie Stryffeler,
Camdyn Schatz, Abigail
Benner, Carley Riesen, Lily
Cutlip, Miley Guy, Eva
Carter, Audra Bandy
THANK YOU!
Thanks to our very gener-
ous school community, we
are able to provide food to
29 families (120 individuals)
this Thanksgiving. A total of
73 kids will receive gifts
during Christmas thanks to
your donations as well.
Mrs. Sponseller’s class won
the food drive with a total
of 713 cans collected.
THANKS AGAIN!
Winter Family Night
Follow us on
Twitter:
@KXWarriorNation
Page 2 Knox News
Knox in the News for Veteran’s Day
Congratulations to Mrs. Brand for an exceptional Veteran’s Day program. A packed gym awaited our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders
as they filed in to three stages. The tribute to our nation’s veterans began at 2:15pm and ended with the playing of each branch
of military’s song to recognize those in attendance. The Review was there to capture the day’s events. Here is a glimpse of the
article.
Our PTO is gearing
up for this year’s
Secret Santa Work-
shop. Students will
have the opportunity
to make purchases
starting Wednesday,
December 2nd. Gift
wrapping will be avail-
able
Thanksgiving Feast was a Delicious Hit How many are at your table for Thanksgiving this year? 10?
15? Imagine feeding over 350 hungry kids! That’s the number
of students who gobbled up our Thanksgiving feast this year.
And what a feast it was! Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes,
stuffing, green beans and pumpkin pie were on the menu. A
big THANK YOU to our amazing cooks for preparing the
meal and an equally big THANK YOU to our volunteers who
decorated the cafeteria and served our students and staff.
Secret Santa Sales
Mark your calendar for
this year’s Winter Family
Night on Thursday, De-
cember 3rd. Games,
refreshments, and Hot
Pots Pottery will be at
Knox to help kick-off the
holiday season. The fun
begins at 6:30pm. See
you there!
Students dressed
as Pilgrims and
Native Americans
for our Thanksgiv-
ing Feast. Here are
our five “best
dressed” finalists. Mrs. Bush and Mrs. McInturff
(affectionately called McInturkey by her
students) got in on the Thanksgiving fun!
Knox Students of the Week for November
Grandparent’s Day A Huge Success
Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 5
November 6th: Austin Hawk (K), Kylah Stryffeler (1),
Wyatt Blevins (2), Niccy Falstad (3), Cam’Ryn Croston (4)
November 13th: Millie Dickens (K), Hailey Brooks (1),
Caleb Woolf (2), Wyatt Blake (3), Sativa Oblisk (4)
November 20th: Jake Blinn (K), Nicole Deckerd (1),
Kortlynn Smith (2), Rylynn Pinter (3), Joseph Mohn (4)
Thank you to all
of our Grandpar-
ents who came to
support our kids
on Tuesday, No-
vember 10th.
Here are a few
photos from the
day.
Guest Readers at Knox
On Friday, November 20th, we had our first Guest Read-
ers Day at Knox. Reading is so important to successfully
navigating school and we hope to instill the love or reading
in every child that
walks through our
doors. Never stop
reading to your
children! Spend 20
minutes at the end
of each day reading
a book or two.
Reading aloud can
have profound
implications for
your kids and who
doesn’t like a good
story?
Thank you to our guest readers: Mr. Phillips,
WB Superintendent; Mrs. Egli, WB Dir of
Student Services; Mr. Kitzmiller, WBMS
Principal; Mrs. Hartzell, Knox Township
Fiscal Officer, Mr. Baker, Homeworth FD;
Mrs. Sabatine, Knox Secretary, and Deputies
Coleman and Boyd, Columbiana County
Sherriff’s Department.
Knox Elementary School
2900 Knox School Road
Alliance, Ohio 44601
Phone: 330-938-1122
www.westbranch.k12.oh.us
3rd Grade Reading Guarantee and Testing Ohio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee is a program to identify students from Kindergarten through
grade 3 that are behind in reading. Schools provide help and support to make sure students are on track
for reading success by the end of third grade. At West Branch, all K-3 students are given the STAR As-
sessment, This assessment gauges each students’ individual reading levels compared with typical peers
across the nation. If a student is “off-track,” a Reading Improvement and Monitoring Plan (RIMP) is written
with strategies to help that student succeed.
Ohio administers a 3rd Grade Reading test to see how well students are responding to those reading
interventions. This test is given twice a year. The first test will be given over two days on December 3rd and 4th. The second administration will occur in April. Ohio law requires each student to be reading at a
3rd grade level by the end of their third grade year. Students cannot be promoted unless there is evidence
of this reading level. Please remind your child how important these tests are and that they need to take
them seriously. These tests provide our school with valuable information to help prepare individual needs
and provide targeted intervention.
KNOX ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
Christmas Program
Effort Today Rewards Tomorrow November/December Grandparent’s Day; Veteran’s
Day; Thanksgiving Feast; Secret
Santa; Hot Pots Family Night;
Candle Light Lunch; Classroom
Holiday Parties
January/February
Donuts with Dads;
Valentine’s Day Parties
March/April Discount Card Sales; Texas
Roadhouse Roll Sale; Muffins
with Moms; Spring Parties; Tye
Dye Shirts (K-2); Stay After (K-
2)
May/June Teacher Appreciation Week;
Tye Dye Shirts (3-4); Field
Trips; Carnival
Students in grades 2, 3, and 4 are working
hard preparing for their Winter Concert.
Sounds of the season will be presented live
on the West Branch High School stage on
Tuesday, December 8th at 6:30pm. Please
join us for a night of musical entertainment!
Arrival/Pick-Up
Student safety is our number one priority.
Please be patient when you are dropping off
or picking-up a student at school. Ohio State
Law requires 20 MPH speed limits in school
zones. Please be very mindful in the parking
lot of buses, cars, and children. Thank you!
Inclement Weather/School Closure
Information There are times during the year when the weather can create unsafe conditions for transporting students to and from school. With the possibility of inclement weather, we
have established the following guidelines:
DELAY-a two hour delay may be announced when antici-pated improvement in visibility, other weather conditions or improved road conditions permit safe travel within a
brief period time. With a two hour delay, buses will pick up two hours later than usual; no breakfast will be served
and dismissal will be at the regular time.
CANCELLATION-When conditions are unfavorable to travel and there is no immediate relief in conditions ex-
pected, we will cancel school for the entire day.
EARLY DISMISSAL-If unfavorable conditions develop throughout the school day, we may find it necessary to dismiss early. A One Call will be made immediately to
announce all early dismissals.
Notification: One Call System, www.westbranch.k12.oh.us, News WKBN, WFMJ, WYTV, Radio 92FM, 1310AM, 600
AM, 105.1FM, 1480AM, 94.1FM
WET/SOILED CLOTHING
Winter’s unpredictable weather
often leaves our kids with wet
clothing during recess. It is always
a good idea to send a change of
clothing in for your child to keep
in their cubby even if they haven’t
had an “accident” in a few years.
Spills in the cafeteria, paint in art,
or mud on the playground are
sometimes unavoidable so please
send in a change of clothes.
HARASSMENT/BULLYING/
INTIMIDATION
“Harassment, Intimidation, or Bullying” means any intentional written, verbal, or physical act that a stu-dent or group of students exhibited toward another
particular student more than once and the behavior both: (a) causes mental or physical harm to the other student; and (b) is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening,
or abusive educational environment for the other
student.
All incidents of bullying, as defined above, shall be reported to the building principal. A written incident
report concerning the events will be filled out and
returned to the principal.
Board of Education policy 5517.01 outlines this pro-cedure in detail. Incident forms are available in the
main office.
Harassment, bullying, and intimidation should not be confused with peer conflict. There are times that peer conflict arise and student counseling may be
needed. Please see the principal or counselor with
questions.