Game On
Mindy Docker teaches vocal music from kindergarten through 12th grade. Melissa Nielsen is the elementary principal. On a Thursday afternoon they sat down with KCSI and laid the week out in order, starting with the theme.
Game On. Video games. Mario shows up Wednesday. Class colors take over Thursday. Friday is green and black.
Monday, September 28, there is no school. In-service for staff. Kids sleep in.
Gold for Elaina
Tuesday, September 29, is not just another dress-up day. It is Gold for Elena.
Elaina is a first-grader. She is 6. Gold is her favorite color. Nielsen said this is her second time through cancer treatment. Docker had her in kindergarten last year. “She’s just a really joyful kid,” Docker said. “I’ve seen her a few times this year at the games, and even though she’s sick and not feeling well, she’s still got a great attitude. And her family’s great.”
The volleyball night that Tuesday is Elaina Strong. Home against Bedford. Free-will donation dinner. Gold bracelets, necklaces, stickers. Money collected that night is meant for the family’s medical expenses.
Nielsen put it simply: anyone able to donate anything to help with medical expenses would be greatly appreciated.
The rest of the week
Wednesday, September 30, is Mario and Luigi Day. Docker teased that a middle-school administrator already has a costume ready. That night, 6:30 p.m. in the gym, East Mills crowns Homecoming king and queen. The public is welcome. Kindergarten representatives walk too.
King candidates: Landon Gibbs, Mason Camden, and Zander Petereit. Queen candidates: Shaylee Stiverson, Leighton Holson, and Adeline Goodman. Kindergarten attendants: Casey Stormbecker and Weston Stevenson. Princesses: Eleanor Stevenson and Cambria Hinshaw.
Thursday, October 1, is class color day — a tradition Docker has watched since she arrived. Staff wear blue. Each high-school class is paired with an elementary grade so the whole building reads as blocks of color:
• Seniors and 5th — purple
• Juniors and 4th — pink
• Sophomores and 3rd — red
• Freshmen and 2nd — yellow
• 8th and 1st — white
• 7th and preschool — black
• 6th and kindergarten — orange
“It’s just really neat as a teacher to have the whole class in one color,” Docker said.
Friday, then Saturday
Friday, October 2, is Homecoming. Dismissal at 1:00 p.m. Parade at 1:30 down Main Street in Malvern. Nielsen said East Mills does the parade differently than other schools she has worked in: every class, kindergarten through seniors, builds a float. Parents and volunteers decorate. The whole class rides. Older students get Friday to finish the work, then they roll it through town.
Before the parade and the 7:00 p.m. football game against Boyer Valley, the district holds a preschool-through-12th-grade pep rally — cheer, band, the whole building. Elementary stays a little longer for attendance and reading awards. Spirit day is green and black. The Class of 2028 is serving a meal before kickoff. Come early and eat.
The game is on the new field. Bound lists Boyer Valley at East Mills, 7:00 p.m., tagged Homecoming.
Saturday, October 3, the high school band is in Clarinda for Band Day in the morning. Back in Malvern, the building is open for tours from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. — staff on hand for people who have not seen the renovation. The Homecoming dance is at the school from 8:00 to 10:30 p.m.
The PTO Spirit Store, Nielsen said, will try to be open most school days next week at lunch or the end of the day, plus some home games, so kids can buy green and black gear before Friday night.
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