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Talking Turkey: Eisenhower student presentations highlight school board meeting
gobble song 2024
First-graders in Kelsey Strickland’s music class sing “The Gobble Song,” a fun diatribe from the turkeys’ perspective, at Wednesday’s Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education meeting, hosted by Eisenhower Elementary. Wearing turkey hats, they sang, “I don’t like Thanksgiving Day ... I think I’ll run away!” and suggested the listeners should engage in alternative activities and become vegetarians on Turkey Day.

First graders at Eisenhower Elementary were among the students who joined Wednesday’s Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education meeting, hosted by the school.

Music instructor Kelsey Strickland said the students have been learning concepts such as pitch and melody. They wore construction paper turkey hats as they sang a fun song about Thanksgiving from the turkeys’ perspective – explaining they didn’t want to be the main dish.

Every month, a different learning center hosts the mid-month luncheon board meeting. Principal Abigail Jonas and other staff members were on deck in November to share information regarding the academic programs and the school improvement efforts at Eisenhower Elementary School.

There are 284 students enrolled at Eisenhower and 49% of those have an IEP (Individualized Education Program), which can include speech therapy or other specialized services. There are five special education classrooms.

This is Jonas’ second year as principal at Eisenhower and one area of focus has been to create a school culture that celebrates students.

“We want them to love school,” she said.

The positive culture extends to the staff, she added. “We celebrate our teachers and do our best to make sure they know they are appreciated here.”

Fifth-grade teacher Kalee Maneth introduced five students who shared their research projects, called one-page biographies. Each student researched a different person and created a poster with art and information. Jasperlin Lundquist chose Jackie Robinson, Eva Guerrero chose Helen Keller, Evan Currall-Perez chose George Washington, Avery Emerson chose Walt Disney, and Aili Weber chose Franklin Roosevelt.

Maneth also introduced the Eisenhower STUCO, made up of select students in grades 4-6. These students helped with a Veterans Day lunch, an anti-bullying project and more.

“They do a lot and they have a lot of pride in it,” Maneth said.

Those students then led board members on a tour of the Sensory Hallway, painted by Anna Popp. The colorful walls in this hallway are painted with activities. Participants are invited to count different fruits, solve a maze or spell their names by touching the jumbled letters in various sections of the mural. Maneth said students often ask to go to the hall for a couple of minutes. It is designed to be a safe area for movement that provides sensory input.