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Senator Roberts visits Washington Elementary

Photo by Susan Arensman

Senator Pat Roberts met with staff and students at Washington Elementary during a visit on Feb. 21. Senator Roberts is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and wanted to hear from teachers and staff about No Child Left Behind and what works and what doesn't.

Washington staff made a presentation about test scores and demographics for Washington and other schools in the district. The staff showed that Wichita scores are improving and  student achievement is the same or better than surrounding districts when comparing similar demographics. The presenters also shared with Senator Roberts that NCLB works for students as far as accountability to improve student achievement and quality of data, but it it needs improvement in several areas, including lack of funding and the tests for special education and ESOL need to be made more appropriate.

"I think we made a decent in-road," said principal Dave Saunders. "He was eager to learn more and asked some very good questions."

Senator Roberts visited a couple of classrooms and read Climbing Kansas Mountains to Lan Huynh's first-grade class. The students asked him questions about his job as a senator. They also wanted to know if he had met President George W. Bush and visited the White House. 

Senator Roberts said he was very impressed with his visit to Washington.

"We make education fun, sir," Saunders said.

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New buses have new look

Students at Seltzer Elementary arrive at school in one of Durham's new buses.  Photo by Susan Arensman

Some students are riding to school in new buses that have a distinctive new look. The buses were rolled out on Feb. 13. Durham School Services purchased 23 new buses to replace some of the older buses in their fleet. Durham plans to purchase 30 more during the summer. The new buses are larger, so they are able to seat 71 students, compared to 65 students from the older buses.

"The larger size will give the district more flexibility with organizing routes and organizing field trips," said B.J. Garcia, Vice President of Durham School Services.

The buses have more fuel-efficient engines. Other new features include larger windows that are tinted, which will help keep the interior of the bus cool during the warm weather. The windshield is larger and provides more visibility for the driver. The new buses are equipped with a safety strobe light on top, which is a state requirement for any bus manufactured after June 2007.

Bus drivers with the most seniority at Durham are the first to be assigned the new buses.

"Our drivers just love them," said Denie Spurlock, principal at Seltzer. "Our students think they are cool, too."

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Hamilton students celebrate their diversity

Vanessa Miranda, sixth-grade student at Hamilton, reads her poem titled "Who Am I" during the school's diversity assembly. Photo by Susan Arensman

Students at Hamilton Middle School celebrated the diversity in their building during a special assembly on Feb. 15. The school decided that during the month of February, besides celebrating Black History Month, they would also celebrate other cultures represented at Hamilton.

Selected students read poetry titled, “Who Am I,” which described themselves during the Diversity Assembly. The students watched performances by Heights High School Gospel Choir, North High School’s Latino Rhythms and Native American dancers.

During the month of February, Hamilton staff read a quote from a different culture during announcements. Students had opportunities to win Diversity T-shirts that read, “We are one world.” All month long, the students also wrote papers or learned about different inventors, teachers, scientists and artists from different cultures.

Photo by Lacey Cruse

Students at Robinson Middle school enjoyed a limo ride and lunch at Freddy’s Frozen Custard on Jan. 30.  Eighth-grade students Reid Warfield and Amanda Girard won the title King and Queen for a day. Their names were drawn for the honor during a school fundraiser earlier in the month. Warfield and Girard both invited three friends to join them for lunch.

Besides the limo ride, the students wore crowns and were treated as royalty for the entire day.

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To see more information on USA Today's website, click here.

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School groups visit lawmakers in Topeka

Photo courtesy David Clark

Student groups across the district took the opportunity to visit lawmakers in Topeka. The students were able to see legislators in action and meet with local representatives and senators.

On February 6, nine students from the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council addressed the House Education Committee. The students representing Heights, Southeast, East, West, Northeast Magnet, Metro-Meridian and Chisholm Life Skills talked to the Committee about issues such as vending machines, testing, safety and student connectedness. The students also met with Representatives Jim Ward, Dalia Garcia and Mario Goico. The students also had lunch with the South Central Delegation to discuss educational issues.

On Jan. 26, North High School’s Lady Redskin basketball team visited the Capitol and received a personal tour by Senator Donald Betts. The team met with Governor Kathleen Sebelius and had their picture taken. Representative Judy Loganbill spoke to the students about working

Photo courtesy Col. Robert Hester

hard and to go after leadership positions.

Thirty-eight JROTC and Leadership cadets participated in their annual visit to Topeka. The cadets met with Lt. Governor Mark Parkinson, who is a Heights High School graduate. The cadets also sat in on the House Education Committee meeting and met with Representative Jim Ward. Besides touring the Capitol, they toured the Kansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.

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