RIO Vibes in Titan Nation!
Homecoming Week is here, October 11 to 16, and here is the week at a glance:
Dress-up days:
Monday - Twin Day (5-12) & Pajama Day (PK-4)
Tuesday - Tropical Tuesday
Wednesday - Party Animals (animal print or camo)
Thursday - RIO / Throwback Thursday
Friday - Titan Pride in Paradise
Sunday:
After Prom Parents are hosting a pork sandwich fundraiser at 2:30 in the G-T Commons,
followed by Coronation and the Jersey Auction at 4:00 in the G-T gym.
Monday:
JH football vs North Union at 4:00, followed by JV football at 6:00 at the Titan Athletic Complex in Ruthven
JH volleyball vs Emmetsburg at 4:15 in Graettinger
Cross country at Forest City at 5:30.
Tuesday:
JV and Varsity volleyball at Emmetsburg, 5:30 and 7:00.
Wednesday is Family Night.
No school activities are scheduled, so enjoy the evening together.
Thursday:
HS Powder Puff and Muscle Volleyball at 1:30 in Graettinger
Cross country @Twin Lakes Conference meet in Pocahontas at 4:00
Homecoming volleyball and Senior Night vs Southeast Valley
- JV at 5:30 followed by Varsity at 6:45 in the G-T gym
Friday:
Team building and float building in the morning
- MS in Ruthven and HS in Graettinger.
GTRA Community Parade and Pep Rally starts at 2:00 in Graettinger and ends downtown near Fohnstock Park.
- Elementary and MS students ride buses to Graettinger; families pick up after the pep rally near the park.
Booster Club and Junior Class tailgate at 5:45 - Titan Athletic Complex
Homecoming football and Senior Night vs Harris-Lake Park
- 7:00 in Ruthven featuring our Homecoming Royalty
HS Homecoming Dance follows in the R-A gym, 9:30ish to 11:00.
Já é, Titan Nation!
(RIO for We've Got This!)
Join us at 4:00 PM in the G-T High School gym to celebrate our 2026 G-T/R-A Homecoming Royalty, and come early for the After Prom Parents pork sandwich fundraiser in the G-T Commons starting at 2:30. Katherine Scott and Kaleb Borchers will emcee.
A quick note on timing, since a few have asked about this year's change. With activities every night this week, Coronation moved up to Sunday to protect Wednesday for family night, celebrate our royalty all week long, and kick off Homecoming Week together before the first school day.
Congratulations to our R-A royalty:
Queen candidates - Lindsey Conlon, Jenna Conlon, Taylor Fay, and Alonah Rosacker
King candidate - Oscar Beyart
Queen escorts - Boone Bland, Aiden Sanguino, and Jonah Malm
Junior attendants - Linus Domann and Jasmine Heisler
Sophomore attendants - Trace Willrett and Faith Williams
Freshman attendants - Gavin Sabin and Alex Fuller
Third grade crownbearers - Asher Long and Tessa Larson
The program includes the school song with the G-T/R-A Pep Band and Titan Nation Football Cheerleaders, the Booster Club’s annual Homecoming scavenger hunt, our fall coaches and athletes. The football jersey auction will once again be hosted by Coach Todd Hough and Auctioneer Bill Brown, a signed volleyball auction for cancer research to follow. The ceremony will be capped off by the annual GTRA Coronation with the procession of the Homecoming Court and the crowning of our Kings and Queens.
Royalty will be honored again at halftime of Friday’s Homecoming game. See you there, Titan Nation!
The City of Ruthven remains under a boil advisory at this time. R-A will have bottled water available for students and staff throughout the school day and will continue to do so until the advisory is lifted.
Donations of bottled water are welcome and greatly appreciated!
Thank you for your patience, generosity, and understanding as we take these precautions to keep everyone safe.
Today, we’re celebrating and thanking our amazing custodial staff across Titan Nation!
Our custodians work hard every day to keep our schools clean, safe, welcoming, and ready for our students and staff. So much of what they do happens behind the scenes, but their hard work makes a difference every single day!
Please join us in giving a BIG THANK YOU to our wonderful custodial team for all they do! We appreciate you more than you know!
Happy Custodial Appreciation Day!
Prices for extra milk and reduced-price meals will remain unchanged, as will eligibility for free meals.
Questions may be directed to Interim Superintendent Jeff Dicks at jdicks@gt.ratitans.org or 712-837-5212.
🏈 Homecoming T-Shirt orders are open! Order online at https://stores.inksoft.com/gtrahomecoming2026 or pick up a paper form in the school office. Orders due Friday 10/2 by 3:30 PM. Go Titans! 💜
The September lunch menu is here! Take a look at what’s being served this month. 🍽️
Go Titans! 💜🖤🩶
Here's your look at the week ahead as we officially kick off the 2026-27 school year at Ruthven-Ayrshire ...
MONDAY, AUGUST 24
📚 1st day of school for Middle School & High School
(grades 5-12)
🤝 Intake Conferences for our K-4 elementary families
🏡 Home Visits for our Preschool families
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25
📚 1st day of school for our K-4 Elementary students
🏡 Home Visits continue for our Preschool families
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26
📚 1st day of school for our Preschool Titans!
🏳️ Annual Flag Raising Ceremony at 8:30 am ... the whole community is invited to join us!
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27
🏐 1st Home HS Volleyball Game (Graettinger Indoor Complex)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 28
🏈 1st Home HS Football Game (Ruthven Outdoor Complex)
This is our 4th year starting the school year with this phased entry approach, and it continues to be one of the best decisions we've made. Rather than bringing every grade level into the building on day one, we take the time to welcome each group with the intention and care they deserve... from a personal home visit for our littlest Titans, to one-on-one conferences for our K-4 families, all the way through flag raising with our newest Preschoolers.
A note for our K-4 families: given the wonderful turnout at last week's Open House, we're adjusting Monday a bit. Rather than asking you to come into the building sometime between 11 and 7, your child's teacher will reach out directly by phone or email during the school day on Monday. This gives us the same chance to connect and make sure your child is ready for Tuesday, without asking your family to rearrange your whole day to do it.
We can't wait to welcome every each and every student back home this week, and to see everyone out cheering on our Titans Thursday and Friday!
#WeveGotThis #TitanNation #RuthvenAyrshire #BackToSchool
Meet Alexis Beck, our new 5-12 Social Studies teacher! Alexis always knew social studies was her calling, and student teaching confirmed how rewarding it is to watch students learn and grow. She was won over by how kind and inviting everyone at R-A is, plus our small class sizes that let her connect with each student. This year she's looking forward to making Social Studies a class everyone's excited to come to. Fun fact: Alexis is a total cat person and shares her days with two cats, Weasley and Sylvie!
And welcome Ro Fieseler, one of our new Paraeducators! Ro's love for kids and her joy in watching them learn is what brought her to R-A. A Ruthven resident of more than 22 years who ran an in-home daycare for nearly 14, she's excited to keep working with kiddos alongside our amazing teachers and watch our students learn and grow. Fun fact: Ro enjoys camping, kayaking, and cooking!
Please join us in giving Alexis and Ro a warm Titan welcome! 💜🖤
#FridayFaces #WelcomeToTheTeam #RuthvenAyrshire
RUTHVEN-AYRSHIRE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Regular Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
6:00 PM
Board Room
Full details can be found here:
https://ruthven.iowaschoolfinance.com/policy/2026819-board-agenda
A few weeks ago, we started this series with a word taped to a wall: BELIEVE. On the back of that sign, our teachers wrote what they chose to believe in, that every child wants to learn, that children are kind and capable, that what we do matters.
They were right.
You have seen the proof: our youngest readers meeting the national mark, our classes climbing year over year in reading and math, more Titans than ever reaching the future-ready track. That growth did not happen by accident. It happened because a community believed, and then did the work.
Now we build on it. This year, each and every student will set a personal growth goal in reading and math. Our comprehensive federal literacy grant will continue to fuel our reading work from birth through graduation. And we will hold to what got us here: higher expectations with higher support, growth over proficiency, every single day.
We believed. Our Titans grew. And we are just getting started.
We've got this. 💜
#RuthvenAyrshire #WeBelieved #WeveGotThis
Meet Taurean Rivers, our new PK-12 PE & Health teacher! Coach Rivers has always worked in youth development, and after a career in the corporate world he decided to fully follow that passion into teaching. Coming to us all the way from Harlem, NYC — by way of the Davenport schools — he's excited for a fresh start as a new teacher in a new community. This year he's looking forward to meeting students and finding fun ways for them to love being active. Fun fact: Taurean enjoys riding his motorcycle, biking with his kids, and playing basketball and softball!
Megan Dyhrkopp will be joining us as a paraeducator and full-time sub ... with her first mission of starting our 3rd graders out strong as their long-term substitute! What started as wanting the same schedule as her kids grew into a real love for working with youth and helping with student activities. A Graettinger-Terril grad who's spent recent years in the Graettinger building, Mrs. Dyhrkopp is excited to get to know the RA side of Titan Nation. Fun fact: Megan loves homemade lattes, her flower garden, thrifting antiques, and a good audiobook.
Reaching higher. 💜
Meeting a benchmark means a student is on track. But FastBridge flags a higher bar too: the college-and-career-ready range, the stretch band above proficiency. This is where we want more of our Titans headed.
This spring, 27% of our grade 2-6 readers were on that college-ready track, up from 15% a year ago and our highest in six years. And our oldest readers led the way. Our 5th and 6th graders reached the college-ready band at 38% and 36%, meeting and beating the national rate of about 35%. "College-ready" here is not about a destination. It is about giving every Titan the skills to choose their own, whether that is a professional career, a trade, the military, or somewhere in between ... which is why we call it the "Future-Ready Track."
This is the top of the mountain we are climbing, and more Titans reach it every year. It is exactly where our growth goals push us next. Growth over proficiency. And now, for more and more of our students, growth beyond it.
This wraps our look back. Next, where we are headed. Stay tuned.
#RuthvenAyrshire #WeBelieved #WeveGotThis
We are a small district in northwest Iowa. Here is how our students stack up against the nation.
This spring, our median Titan met or beat the national median for reading in grades 1, 2, 5, and 6, and for math in kindergarten and grades 1, 3, and 4. Our first graders led the way, with a reading median of 76 against the national 72, and a math median of 80 against the national 65.
We are not on top in every grade, and the grades where we are still climbing are exactly where our individualized growth goals are pointed for next year. But measuring up with the nation, from a district our size, is something our students and staff earned.
Growth over proficiency, always. This year, that growth carried us right up to the national line, and past it.
More Titan growth to come. Stay tuned.
#RuthvenAyrshire #WeBelieved #WeveGotThis
While our new faculty joins us this week for New Teacher Institute, our Fall sports season continues to ramp up ...
🏃 Cross country practice begins this week — 6:45 AM in Graettinger - contact Coach Mike Nichols for details at mnichols@gt.ratitans.org
🏐 Volleyball practice — daily at 4:00 PM in Graettinger
🏈 Football practice — daily at 5:00 PM (Mon–Thu) in Graettinger, plus our Annual Football Scrimmage Friday at 7:00 PM at the Titan Nation Complex here in Ruthven
🚐 Shuttles: School shuttles run for volleyball and football practice only, leaving Ruthven 30 minutes before start time.
🏀 Also this week: a Little Titans Basketball Skills Camp for 3rd–7th graders, Monday through Thursday mornings at 9:00 in the Graettinger gym, led by Coach Lucas Hough and our high school girls. Please note this is a community camp and not a school-sponsored event. There is no shuttle, and any questions should go directly to Coach Hough at lhough@gt.ratitans.org. (Camp flyer in the comments. 👇)
We're striving to bring everything happening around Titan Nation onto one calendar so no one misses a beat. Have a great week and go Titans! 💜
📌 This is a highlights view — please visit Bound for more details:
https://www.gobound.com/ia/schools/gtra/calendar
Meet Kari Kinnetz, one of our new paraeducators! Kari has always loved being around kids and working in special education, so getting back into schools was an easy call. In her words, "Mrs. Cook and the staff have been amazing, so this made my choice easy." An Emmetsburg native and Iowa Lakes grad who recently earned her Substitute Teacher License, she's looking forward to helping our students thrive in the classroom. Fun fact: Kari is a proud Iowa State Cyclones and Chicago Bears fan who loves geocaching, walks, and time with family!
And welcome Abigale Myers, our new School Counselor & Student Support Liaison! Abigale comes from a family of educators and always knew this was her path; driven to be for kids the person she needed growing up. After 13 years with the Sioux City School District and a recent stretch in Gillette, WY, she's thrilled to be back in Iowa, closer to family, and back in public education: "Working in a school is where my heart's at." This year she's looking forward to building relationships and meeting students where they're at. Fun fact: she's a devoted dog mom to Millie, a 4-pound Yorkie, and Charlee, a 7-pound Shorkie!
Please join us in giving Kari and Abigale a warm Titan welcome! 💜🖤
#TitanNation
#FridayFaces
#WelcomeToTheTeam
#RuthvenAyrshire
The numbers are climbing too. 💜
You have watched our Titans rise in reading. Here is the same story in math.
Follow a class year over year and the climb is real. The Class of 2034 went from 14% of students meeting the math benchmark in kindergarten to 86% by fourth grade. The Class of 2033, the same class you just saw rise in reading, climbed from 33% to 62% in math from kindergarten through fifth.
Growth over proficiency, in every subject. Meeting the benchmark is the floor. Watching a class climb toward it, and past it, is the story.
More Titan growth to come. Stay tuned.
#RuthvenAyrshire #WeBelieved #WeveGotThis
Graettinger-Terril and Ruthven-Ayrshire
Community School Districts
Special Joint Board Agenda
Thursday, August 6, 2026
Location: Ruthven
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Special Board Agenda
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call/Determination of Quorum
3. Adopt Agenda
4. Interim Superintendent Contract
5. 28E Agreement for Shared Superintendent
6. 28E Settlement Agreement
7. Non-Action Item
7.1 Financial Summary Presentation—Interim Superintendent and TrustPoint, CPA
8. Adjournment
https://ruthven.iowaschoolfinance.com/policy/board-agenda-20260716-joint-meeting
