Teacher Appreciation Week kicks off tomorrow! Thank you to the Ames PTA for planning such a special week for our teachers! 🍎 🧑🏫

District 96 staff and Board of Education members gathered for the 42nd annual Employee Recognition Event last night. Congratulations to all of our Ames Honorees for your years of dedication in District 96! 🎉
Mrs. Maywood- 10 years
Mrs. Rogers- 10 years
Mrs. Duve- 15 years
Miss Giger- 15 years
Mr. Vasko- 20 years
Mrs. Forret- 30 years & Retiree
Mr. Gierman- Retiree


We are so excited to welcome Nikki Mazza as our new Ames Principal following Mr. Gierman’s well-deserved retirement! Thank you so much to the families who came out to meet Mrs. Mazza. And, of course, thank you to our administrative assistants and custodians for coordinating the event.
📸 Pictured here: Principal Mazza, Custodian Vasko, Superintendent Ryan-Toye
📸 Pictured here: Principal Mazza, Custodian Vasko, Superintendent Ryan-Toye

G is for Game Day!









Congratulations to the April Make a Splash class winners!
Early Learners- Mrs. Kopp & Mrs. Borges
Kindergarten- Mrs. Kinkin & Mrs. Ditsworth
1st grade- Mrs. Aiyash
2nd grade- Mrs. Collins
3rd grade- Ms. Munson
4th grade- Mrs. Zabilka
5th grade- Mr. Becker
As a school, we earned a total of 362 splash tickets! We’ll celebrate with a “Chalk it up to Lunch Outside” party on May 12th! You can send your child to school with a towel or small blanket to sit on as we have a school wide picnic. 🧺 ☀️










F is for Fuzzy Friend Day!

E is for Exercise Day!








D is for Drawing Day! ✍️ 🎨

C is for... Crazy Hair!










Early learners had their Tunes with Tim parent participation day on Friday! 🎶





Riverside Village Forester Michael Collins and David Kusnierz from SavATree sponsored another Arbor Day celebration yesterday where the 4th and 5th graders learned about the history of the day and the importance of trees, sang songs, and received a tree! 🌳










B is for Buddy Day!










A is for... Arts & Crafts! 🎨 #ABCcountdown










We hope to see you at Open House tonight! ALL are welcome! Stop by and visit our Book Fair while you're here, too! 🐬

First Graders were proud to showcase their Habitat Dioramas to Ames students and staff!










Students in third through fifth grade enjoyed an exuberant performance by Mariachi Estrellas de Chicago today at Hauser for Little Symphony! 🎶







1st graders got their groove on with Culture Shock! 🎵







Check out our 2nd graders strutting their stuff with Culture Shock! 💃







Next up, our 4th graders hit the dance floor with Culture Shock! 🕺








Thank you to our Ames PTA for providing another amazing Artist in Residence program: Culture Shock! Our Dolphins had a blast learning hip hop dances today! 🎶
Here are our 5th graders showing off their moves!






