Official Opening of R-9 Schools.

Thursday, August 16, 2001, will be the official opening of school for grades Kindergarten through 12.

Buses will operate on their normal schedules on the first day of school. Anyone desiring information concerning transportation should contact the office of Dr. Kirby Hall, Assistant Superintendent for Business, at 359-7001. School cafeterias will also serve breakfast and lunches on the first day of school.

Missouri state law and Carthage R-9 Board policy require students to be immunized against diptheria, tetanus, pertussis (up to the seventh birthday), polio, measles, mumps and rubella. The hepatitis B immunization series is required for entrance to school in kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth grades.

Students new to the district may not enroll until verification of immunizations has been provided to the school. Students previously enrolled whose immunizations are due during the summer must provide proof of those immunizations prior to receiving their class schedules at the beginning of the school year or attending class.

For those of ya not scramblin’ to come up with all the required equipment for school children, this is a reminder that its that time a year again. School startin’. It all officially begins on August 16. Just a couple a weeks ‘till the buses begin to roll and kids are back on schedule.

The main consideration is takin’ a little extra caution when drivin’ around the schools. Ever’ year there are more than a few tickets issued for folks who don’t seem ta understand the stop sign pokin’ out from a school bus.

If ya don’t want to wait on school buses, don’t be takin’ that short cut across the school yard. Find another route to get where you’re goin’ and make ever’one a lot safer.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing Services

PRIME TIME WITH KIDS

by Donna Erickson

For a summer parade that’s lots of fun, gather kids of all ages in your neighborhood or apartment building. Decorate bikes, trikes, in-line skates and wagons, wear a funny hat and strike up the band! A couple of families with a few motivated kids is really all it takes.

Here are some ideas to stage the high-spirited event:

• Make and deliver fliers to announce the parade. Designate a place where youngsters can bring their bikes for a pre-parade decorating party. Tie ribbons, streamers and flags to bikes and wagons. Make signs and banners.

• Put your child’s teddy bear and stuffed animals on parade, too. Attach a mini garden fence to the long sides of a wagon to make it look like a circus wagon. Fill it with favorite stuffed animals. Set a battery-operated cassette player next to the animals to play festive marching music. Dress like a clown and bring along the kids dressed as the circus ringmaster and tightrope walker.

• Teens will enjoy participating, too. They can hand out brochures along the parade route or wear a sandwich board advertising their services for mowing lawns, babysitting, collecting mail and papers for vacationers.

For even more fun, make the day a real picnic and top off the event with a potluck meal or ice cream social. Your driveway, yard or a nearby park can be the gathering spot. If you have a meal, each family should bring their own plates, utensils, beverage and main dish, salad or dessert to share.

For a dessert bar, set up big tubs of ice cream on a picnic table. Ask families to bring their favorite toppings.

The kids may perform with juggling acts, magic shows and songs. At our last neighborhood bash, kids took turns on a pogo stick while dodging a few brave souls on homemade stilts. All to the tune of "Stars and Stripes Forever"!

Be sure to plan a few games everyone will enjoy, such as an egg toss, water-balloon volleyball and relay races. Encourage participants to match up with new families on the block so everyone gets acquainted.