School Highlights: Points of Pride:
Schools welcome students on the first day
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| Jeremy Johnson, teacher at Hamilton Middle School, shows students what they will be doing with their Lego Robotics projects. |
Hallways and classrooms were filled with excitement and anxiety as another school year began on Aug. 15. This year, school began a week earlier, and there was no heat plan, so schools were in session for a full day.
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| A first-grade student at Gardiner Elementary plays on a keyboard during music class on the first day. |
"It’s great," said Northeast Magnet principal David Wessling. “The halls are quiet and students are in their classes learning. It’s just going great for the first day.”
Students were learning which classroom they were in, what their teachers would be like and the daily routine. Teachers were also learning about their students, telling them what is expected and
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| Northeast Magnet teacher Dustin Francis has students participate in an activity to learn each other's names. Photos by Susan Arensman |
what they will learn this year.
“It’s nice to see the students already working on assignments,” said Janice Aschenbrenner, assistant principal at Hamilton Middle School. “We are ready to do great things this year.”
With schools not having a heat plan this year, teachers were able to get more in-depth with lessons during the first week since the schools weren't on half-day schedules.
"I have definitely noticed a difference this year," said Superintendent Winston Brooks. "I feel really positive about this week and I've talked with teachers who feel the same way."
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Blackbear Bosin Academy - new name, new place, new spirit
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| James Martin, Social Studies teacher at Blackbear Bosin Academy, discusses with his students about taxation without representation. Photo by Susan Arensman |
Students at Blackbear Bosin Academy enjoyed the first day of school in a new school with a new name. Last spring, the Board of Education approved a plan to move the Alcott Academy program to the vacant Price Elementary site. Alcott Academy didn't receive any upgrades with the bond issue and the facility didn't meet the needs of students and staff. The school was renamed this summer.
“This is a much better place for us,” said staff member Robert Love. “First, there are no stairs. We have air conditioning. Plus, we can watch students during passing period by just looking down the halls.”
Most of the students who attended Alcott last year also said they liked being in the new building. All of them remarked at how they are glad the school has no stairs.
Over the summer, School Service Center crews got the building ready by building a kitchen, installing lockers and putting in air conditioning. The school is planning to put in a walking path around the playground for students and neighbors to use.
“It is a great environment to learn,” said principal Toby Martin. “We are energized and we know we can accomplish great things this year.”
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Schools visited families before year began
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| Amber Knolla, first grade teacher at Lawrence and Michael Johnson, ESOL teacher at Lawrence, welcomes a student back to school during a porch visit. Photo by Susan Arensman |
Twenty-three elementary schools made home visits the week before school began to welcome students and families. The home visits were sponsored by Parent Teacher Resources. Teachers and staff visited homes in teams to drop off school information for parents and “Welcome Back to School” kits for students.
The goals of the porch visits are to establish a good relationship between the school and the family, to encourage parent involvement and to get students excited about the upcoming school year.
“These home visits make it that much easier for the first day of school,” said Jane Blinkoe, first-grade teacher at Lawrence.
“It’s good to see the neighborhood where our students live,” said Michael Johnson, ESOL teacher at Lawrence. “This helps us connect with our families.”
Several schools have made porch visits for years with very positive results. In an effort to expand to additional schools, Parent Teacher Resources provided staff training materials, information packets for parents and the “Welcome Back to School” kits for students. The schools that participated in the PTR home visits were Adams, Allen, Anderson, Caldwell, Chisholm Trail, Clark, Cloud, Colvin, Dodge, Enterprise, Franklin, Harry Street, Horace Mann, Irving, Jefferson, Lawrence, Park, Payne, Pleasant Valley, Spaght, Stanley, White and Woodman.
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District receives Pollution Prevention Award
The Wichita Public Schools has received the 2006 Pollution Prevention Award from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The award was based on the district's work to remove hazardous and toxic chemicals from classrooms and the removal of mercury laden items such as thermometers, barometers, and manometers from its school buildings. This was in cooperation with KDHE’s Clean Sweep program.
Tim Phares, Environmental Services Director, will be presented the award at a luncheon on Aug. 24 in Topeka.
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Twelve schools get playground gift from Lowe’s
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| Tom Moody, Lowe’s manager, presents a $100,000 check for playground equipment to BOE President Sarah Skelton and Superintendent Winston Brooks. Photo by Susan Arensman |
More than 800 prekindergarten students at twelve elementary schools will be able to play on age-appropriate playground equipment, thanks to a $100,000 gift from Lowe’s.
Caldwell, Cessna, Clark, Chisholm Trail, Cloud, Colvin, Lincoln, Payne, Spaght, Stanley, Woodman and White will benefit from the donation. School Service Center crews, along with volunteers from Lowe’s and AmeriCorps, will assemble the playgrounds over several Saturdays. All twelve playgrounds will be assembled during this school year.
The Wichita Public Schools is one of only six districts across the nation to receive the Lowe’s Toolbox for Education award. The award is designated for improvement initiatives in urban districts.
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Minneha receives Dell’s Intelligent Classroom Grant
Minneha Core Knowledge Magnet received a $50,000 Dell’s Intelligent Classroom Grant. Dell will provide equipment and services to help Minneha use technology to support different learning styles.
Minneha will use the grant to help with literacy initiatives in grades 3 – 5. The school will purchase items like notebooks, desktops, printers, tablet PCs and digital cameras to support their lesson plans.
“What a great way to be greeted back to the school year,” said principal Donna McPartland.
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Students benefit from "I Earned It" pass program
Students and their families at twenty Title I schools can visit five of Wichita's cultural institutions for free as part of the "I Earned It" pass program. Students who work hard in school can qualify for an "I Earned It" pass, that will provide free admission for the students and their families for a month to the Sedgwick County Zoo, the Wichita Art Museum, Old Cowtown Museum, Exploration Place and Botanica. Each school determines how students may earn the passes.
"Many of our kids would not be able to visit these places," said Debi Corrigan, Volunteer Support. "Thanks to our community partners, we are able to provide an opportunity for many students to see what Wichita has to offer."
The schools participating in the program are Adams, Allen, Cessna, Colvin, Dodge, Enterprise, Franklin, Gardiner, Harry Street, Irving, Kelly, Lawrence, Linwood, Pleasant Valley, Spaght, Washington, Woodland, Curtis, Marshall and Mead. All Title I schools are eligible to participate in the program, but enrollment for this year is closed. Enrollment for the 2007-2008 school year will begin in March 2007.
For more information about the program, or to learn how your school can sign up next spring, go to www.angelworksinks.org/earneditpass.html.
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Teachers: Transcript deadline is Sept. 15
Any certified teacher that has acquired college credit to move up for a Track increase in pay, needs to turn in his/her transcripts to Human Resources, attention Faye Olson, by September 15. Once the transcript has been received in Human Resources, a confirmation letter will be forwarded to the employee for verification.
The agreement with the United Teachers of Wichita states "All salary placements are subject to verification of experience and training and shall be adjusted in any direction for each school year to the level for which the teacher proves his/her entitlement on or before September 15 of each year."
If you have any questions, please call Faye Olson, Certification Technician, 973-4619 or email folson@usd259.net.
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Education EDGE can make a difference
Employees and community members can show their support of teachers and students by contributing to the Education EDGE. The Education EDGE allows employees to voluntarily give contributions to the Classroom Mini-Grant, Fine Arts and/or Athletics Gift Funds. Representatives are meeting with staff about this year’s awards/expenditures and the opportunity to get involved. So far, employees and community members have pledged more than $250,000. To learn more, go to www.usd259.com/community/educationedge/default.htm
Enrollment forms are being delivered to all employees by Education EDGE representatives. Employees who already pledged last year still need to fill out a payroll deduction form to continue their support.
The Fine Arts Gift Fund has been used to purchase 18 musical instruments, 12 kilns, 5 potter's wheels, 17 lighting instruments for school auditoriums and 3 digital cameras.
This year, the Athletic Gift Fund will purchase uniforms for one of the sports teams at each high school. The Athletic Gift Fund Team also continues to accumulate funds for their top priority of improving track facilities, which will take a number of years to acquire the funds needed to replace the existing outdated cinder tracks.
Last spring, teachers from ten schools received mini-grants totaling $31,058 from the Education EDGE to be used in the 2006-2007 school year. To view the mini-grant recipients, go www.usd259.com/news/headlines/minigrant.htm and consider applying for a mini-grant this spring.
The Wichita Public Schools would like to thank all who have contributed to the Education EDGE.
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Employees asked to keep old directories
Employee directories for the 2006-2007 school year will not be available until late fall of 2006. Employees are asked to keep their copies of the 2005-2006 directory until that time.
If employees have home address and/or phone number changes, or wish to have their phone numbers or addresses "unlisted" in the directory, they need to send a written request to Human Resources - Attn: Peggy Warrender by Sept. 8. Requests will not be accepted over the phone.
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Two new scholarship programs available for teachers
Two new teacher scholarship programs are being offered by the Kansas Board of Regents. The Kansas Special Education Teacher Service Scholarship is available for current teachers obtaining additional hours for licensure as special education teachers and for teachers who may be enrolled in less than full-time hours.
The Kansas Teacher Education Scholarship program provides assistance to licensed teachers to pursue graduate work in education, and for those with an associate’s degree who plan to pursue an undergraduate degree in education.
For more information and for an application, go to http://www.kansasregents.org/financial_aid/awards.html#sfgp or call Diane Lindeman, Director of Student Financial Assistance for the Kansas Board of Regents at 785-296-3517.
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Tevebaugh receives recognition from K-ACTE
Kathy Tevebaugh, Coordinator of Secondary Career and Technical Education, has received the Outstanding Career and Technical Educator Award. She was given the award by the Kansas Association of Career and Technical Education during their summer conference in Topeka.
Tevebaugh has served as Coordinator of the Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) programs since 1978. She has demonstrated curriculum leadership by implementing standards for Family and Consumer Sciences before there were state and national standards for FACS.
Community steps forward to donate school supplies
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| The Wichita Board of Education displays the supplies collected by the Board and district administration during the August 14 meeting. Photo by Susan Arensman |
So far, more than 3,933 students have received supplies from the School Supply Landslide. Members of the community have donated school supplies for students who may not have pencils, backpacks and notebooks. On August 14, Board of Education members and district administrators showed their support by displaying the supplies they purchased at the beginning of the BOE meeting. Pleasant Valley Middle School Leadership Cadets collected $400 in supplies and presented them at the BOE meeting. For more information on the School Supply Landslide, sponsored by KAKE-TV, the Salvation Army, the Wichita Eagle, Credit Union of America and Radio Disney, click here. Donations will be accepted until August 25.
As part of its community service project, the Wichita Pachyderm Club donated and delivered supplies to Bryant Core Knowledge Magnet and Black Traditional Magnet.
Dillons’ stores is having their own school supply drive, collecting items at its stores. Dillon’s will deliver the supplies it collects to the School Service Center on August 26. They will be distributed to Adams, Caldwell, Clark, Enterprise, Gammon, Griffith, Irving, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Linwood, L’Ouverture, Spaght, Woodland and Woodman.
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East's IB graduates above national average with IB diplomas
In July, 97-percent of East High School's International Baccalaureate seniors were awarded their IB diplomas. This is the seventh consecutive year East has achieved above a 93% diploma rate, which is above the national average of 75-percent and the world average of 80-percent.
"This year, we have a record number of 424 students in IB," said Brenda Tretbar, IB Program Coordinator. "In terms of size, when compared with the rest of the world, East ranks in the top 100."
Tretbar said the program has also seen increases in minority students and students on free-reduced lunches.
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