WPS News features: Employee Inside Information:
School Highlights: Points of Pride:
Colvin and Jardine students receive new shoes
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| A Colvin Elementary student laces up the new shoes he received on December 15. Photo courtesy Colvin |
Every student at Colvin and Jardine received a gift of a brand-new pair of shoes for the holidays, thanks to a donation from Boeing. Boeing has adopted Colvin and Jardine, and two schools outside the district, to provide support. One of the ways Boeing showed its support, along with Payless Shoe Source and Communities in Schools, was to provide every student a new pair of shoes.
"This is fantastic," said Judy Rapp, principal at Jardine.
For many of the students at Colvin and Jardine, this is the first pair of shoes they had just for them. They wear hand-me-downs from older family members that often don't fit.
In November, representatives from Boeing and Payless
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| A Jardine Diversified Leadership and Technology Magnet student receives a pair of shoes from Wilton Jennings of Boeing. Photo courtesy Jardine |
went to the schools to measure the students' feet to make sure their shoes were the right size. The students were also allowed to pick from different style options. The shoes were delivered by a large Boeing truck to Jardine on Dec. 14 and Colvin on Dec. 15.
"The students are really excited," Rapp said. "What a wonderful gift. We are very thankful."
Besides the shoes, Boeing also gave Colvin and Jardine $10,000 each for the schools to purchase books.
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North High School's AVID program named in top 10
North High School's AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program has received more accolades. The program was named one of the Top 10 AVID programs, out of 2,700 sites, in the U.S. and other countries. The Top 10 honor was based on four commendations: ten-percent of the student population is involved in AVID; AVID elective teachers are paired with students throughout their high school career, which has kept retention rates at the senior level very high; support from school and district administration, as well as community partners like Raytheon and Cargill; and all of North's staff is trained with AVID teaching strategies. Another benefit from the AVID program is that the number of students who are enrolled in AP courses, and the number of classes offered, has nearly tripled in the past three years.
"Even though just a small number of students are enrolled in AVID, the entire school has benefited," said Stacie Valdez, AVID coordinator for North. "The students are able to take advantage of the growth in AP courses and all benefit from the teachers using AVID strategies."
Another honor is that North’s AVID program is the only one in the United States which has had five students named as Dell Scholars. North has also been named an AVID Demonstration School. Other districts that are interested in an AVID program can visit North to see how the program is implemented. North was first named a Demonstration School in 2005.
The AVID program is a college prep program designed for students who have the potential, but who traditionally may not see college as a possibility. Each student involved in AVID takes an AVID elective in addition to Advanced Placement and higher-level courses. The students also receive support from college tutors and are encouraged to become leaders in the school and community.
Besides North, the district has AVID programs at Southeast High School, Pleasant Valley, Marshall, Hadley, Curtis and Coleman Middle Schools. West High School will begin an AVID program in the 2007-2008 school year.
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Principal and AP changes for spring semester
There are a couple of changes in principals and assistant principals in two elementary schools for the spring semester.
· Donna McPartland, principal at Minneha, is leaving the district
· Dr. Linda Hope, principal at Pleasant Valley Elementary, will become principal at Minneha
· Cindy Rissell, AP at Cloud , will become principal at Pleasant Valley Elementary
· Lynn Simnett, Instructional Coach at Enterprise, will become interim AP at Cloud
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Choices Fair is January 9
The 18th annual Wichita Public Schools' Choices Fair will be held January 9, 5 – 8 p.m. at Century II Exhibition Hall. Representatives from magnet schools, elementary, middle and high schools, special programs and a variety of district offices will be available to visit with parents about the educational options they have for their children. The Choices Fair gives parents and students the opportunity for “one-stop shopping” to see which school or program best meets their child’s education needs.
More information about the Choices Fair and the magnet schools can be found here.
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New ways to receive district information via email
The district has expanded its offerings of electronic newsletters and notifications. This is a fast, convenient way to receive district news, lunch menus and weather information via email. One of the new offerings is a district Emergency Weather Notification that will automatically notify you of any inclement weather school changes.
To view the list of available newsletters and to sign up for the newsletters, click here. The Express Online will continue to be sent to employees via Outlook, so there is no need for employees to sign up for that service.
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Cloud and Pleasant Valley show technology talents
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| A Cloud Elementary student saves a project he created on a his computer. |
Pleasant Valley and Cloud Elementary students are becoming technologically savvy thanks to the Technology Rich Classroom project. The project, funded through the Enhancing Education through Technology grant program, is designed to focus on content areas of reading, math and science.
In November, the schools had open houses to allow legislators, business leaders and community members to see the students working on different projects using technology. The schools were able to demonstrate how they were using technology in many of their classes, including language arts, math, science and P.E.
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| Pleasant Valley Elementary students give a presentation they created using the Photo Story 3 program. Photos by Lacey Cruse |
Many students do not have the opportunity to work with computers at home. The Technology Rich Classroom project helps to bridge the gap for those students. Some of the skills students learn are using the internet as a research tool, digital story telling, writing persuasive letters, creating brochures and blogging. Teachers benefit by having an opportunity to use different types of instruction and developing new ways to teach in content areas.
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Hadley students help with transition to middle school
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| From left, Lori Schock, AVID coordinator, Ashley Heath, Jayde Horner and Damatrium Holt explaining to Bryant students about the binders that all Hadley students carry. Photo courtesy Hadley |
Students in Hadley Middle School's AVID program offered to help make the transition from elementary to middle school a little easier. Different groups of AVID students visited their feeder schools, Black, Lawrence, Dodge, OK and Bryant. They went with Hadley staff to answer fifth-grade student questions about going to middle school.
This is the first year that AVID students visited the elementary schools and both grade levels enjoyed the experience.
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Support teachers deliver teacher CDs elf-style
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From left, Janice Buselt, Judy Wilbert and Patty Walker surprise Park Elementary kindergarten teacher Angelica Mannebach with her Reading Treasures Teacher CD. Photo by Susan Arensman |
Elementary teachers received an early gift with a little help from campus support teachers. The elementary teachers have been patiently waiting for their Reading Treasures Teacher CD that was a part of the new reading adoption. Because of a computer glitch, the teachers didn't receive their CDs at the beginning of the school year. When the CDs arrived, 33 people divided into eleven teams and delivered the CDs to the schools on Dec. 18.
"This was a new piece to the reading adoption and the teachers have been looking forward to receiving this," said Judy Wilbert, elementary language arts teaching specialist. "Instead of taking home several books, they now have the teacher editions on one CD."
Wilbert, Janice Buselt, and Patty Walker made their first surprise deliveries to Park Elementary. The teams wore matching shirts that read "Treasures Blitz Team" and told the students that they were elves making holiday deliveries for the teachers.
Each teacher showed excitement when they were given the CD.
"This may not mean a lot to you, boys and girls, but it means a lot to us," Eric Dodge, second-grade teacher at Park, told his class.
Besides having the teacher editions on one CD, the teacher can write lesson plans, add personal notes, manipulate the lesson plans and use their CD on their SmartBoards.
"It will be a new way for teachers to get familiar with the materials and engage students," Wilbert said.
Since the publisher didn't have the CD ready because of the computer problems, they gave the district extra CDs for the special education teachers, who weren't originally going to receive them.
"This will give more teachers more materials, which is a great benefit," Wilbert said.
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Dates set for Employee Health Fair
The district's Health Fair has been scheduled for four Saturdays, two in January and two in February. Blood tests will be offered for free for benefited employees, spouses and retirees who participate in the district's self-funded health plan. Employees not on the health plan may participate for a $30 fee.
The Health Fair will include a blood draw which checks for HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose. Employees are asked not to eat anything after midnight the day before. There will also be wellness vendors and activities for children.
Employees who wish to attend the health fair will be assigned by their home zip code. To view the designated dates, times and zip codes, click here.
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District information available on district portal
Employees can get information on district services and access application programs by using the WPS Portal, http://wpsportal1. The WPS intranet is no longer available and is being replaced by the WPS Portal. An employee can access the WPS Portal on any computer on the district’s network.
The WPS Portal allows all employees to access the various district applications and services, including eSIS, SchoolNet and eBenefits in one place. Outlook Public Folders will eventually be phased out and all of the information found there will be available on the WPS Portal. Employees are encouraged to start using and becoming familiar with the WPS Portal now.
For FAQs about the Portal and tutorials, go to http://wpsportal1/News/default.aspx. For more information, contact MIS Customer Service at 973-4357.
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DCTA nominations due January 12
Principals, staff and parents are encouraged to turn in their nominations for the 2007 Distinguished Classroom Teacher Awards. The Distinguished Classroom Teacher Awards program honors outstanding teachers who affect the quality of education in the Wichita Public Schools. The deadline for hand-delivered nominations is January 12 at 4:45 p.m. Mailed nominations must be postmarked by January 10 to the Assistant Superintendents' offices.