Raider Family Weekly Update

Dear Central Jr/Sr High School Students and Families,

Welcome back! We are excited to kick off the 2025-26 school year and continue our journey as a Leader in Me School striving for Greatness as we are COMMITTED to growing in the areas of Academics, Leadership, and Culture - working together to ensure every student thrives. We have several new students and families joining us at Central Jr/Sr High School this school year and we are so excited to see Raider Nation growing. I am COMMITTED to sending this newsletter on a weekly basis with the goal of improving communcation and transparency with our families and students. The goal of this week's edition is to update you on handbook changes, highlight important events and dates coming up, and to help you and your student prepare for a successful start of the year!

2025-26 Leader in Me Focus Areas

Academics – Empowered Learners
We are COMMITTED to providing strong academic supports that help students grow in their self-confidence and academic self-efficacy. Students will learn to apply personal leadership habits to plan, prioritize, and persevere in their academic pursuits.

Leadership – Student Leadership

We are COMMITTED to providing leadership opportunities, both big and small, for all students that help them learn and grow through hands on experiences that they can apply to their future endeavours.

• Personal and Interpersonal Growth: Foster student leadership by encouraging responsibility for actions and emotions and prioritizing things that are most important for the future while building positive relationships through understandings, communication, and seeking to understand differences they see in others.

• Self-Advocacy: Encouraging students to overcome challenges, problem solve, and seek help when needed.

• Pro-Social Behavior: Creating a network of support where students build one another up.

• Positive Well-Being: Promoting activities that benefit heart, mind, and body for both students and families.

Culture – Supportive School Environment
We are COMMITTED to the belief that every student has a unique genius. Our goal is to recognize and nurture each student’s strengths, empowering them to take ownership of their learning and practice decision-making skills. We are committed to:

• Building trusting relationships among students, staff, and community.

• Student empowerment - taking ownership in their learning and are provided with opportunties to demonstrate decision making skills that help them grow in their leadership competence.

• Creating a sense of belonging for everyone.

• Living our motto: “Greatness Happens Here.” We have amazing students, staff, and families and we commit to striving to create a culture and environment of acceptance, support, and commitment to academic success.

New Initiatives & Handbook Highlights

This year, you’ll notice several updates to our handbook and policies that align with our focus areas and district goals at USD 462, including:

• MAP (Missing Assignments Program) – replacing the ZAP program.

• Updates to weekly JH and HS Athletic/Activity Eligibility.

• Attendance and Homework policy updates.

• Chromebook usage guidelines.

Please review the posters below and the Central Jr/Sr High School Student Handbook for full details. These changes also support the current USD 462 district leadership team and Board of Education priorities such as alignment of structures, analyzing screen time data, improving attendance, and enriching curriculum standards.

Please be sure to review existing policies as well such as:

• No Backpack/Bag Policy (may keep in locker)

• Cell Phone / Personal Electronic Device (should be kept in locker during each class or intervention period)

Staying Connected

Each week, you will receive a newsletter like this to help with planning, communication, and supporting your student’s daily COMMITTMENT to learning and activities. The weekly newsletter is via email, social media, and on the school's website page.

For quick access to resources—including our handbook, bell schedule, meeting request form, and PowerSchool portal—visit www.usd462.org. Click the Menu in the top right and check out “Information for Parents” and “Central Jr/Sr High School.” Also on the website you will find the district calendar, lunch and breakfast menus, news, and more! Don't forget to download the USD 462 mobile app as well for quick access.

COMMITTED:

If you haven't caught uon yet, our word of the year is "COMMITTED". :) Just like an athlete committing to the next step in their journey by signing at a college or professional team, we are COMMITTED to Central Jr/Sr High School. Our staff has made the COMMIT to CJSHS and plan to bring their best self in order to make the 2025-26 school year the best yet for our students and famliies. We will be asking our students to participate in signing day for their COMMIT towards academics, leadership, culture, and school-wide goals at CJSHS as well in the coming days. We value our partnership with you as the parent/guardian in providing an exceptional academic and athletic/activity experience for our students. Thank you for entrusting us with your children and for the important role you play in being "COMMITTED" to supporting the focus of Academics, Leadership, and Culture - together we ensure Greatness Happen Here.

Please reach out if you have any questions. You can email me at jhenning@usd462.org or call the office and speak with Mona at 620-438-2215.

Mrs. Henning
Principal, Central Jr/Sr High School

Monday, August 11th

Senior Sunrise & Breakfast - 6:30 - 7:30 a.m. CJSHS Football Field

School Begins! Doors Open 7:35 a.m.

8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. All school assembly and rotation stations.

HS Girls & Boys Conditioning - CJSHS Gym 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Board of Education Meeting - CJSHS Conference Room 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, August 12th

Classes Begin, students report to 1st hour prior to 8:00 a.m.

RISE Time: Assembly in Gym

WIN Time: Assembly in Gym

HS Girls & Boys Conditioning - CJSHS Gym 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Fall Sports Parent Meetings - CJSHS 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, August 13th

RISE Time: Assembly in Gym

WIN Time: Assembly in Gym

Thursday, August 14th

RISE Time: Rise Groups Being - Leader in Me

WIN Time: Assembly in Gym

Student deadline to change fall 2025 course schedule

HS Girls & Boys Conditioning - CJSHS Gym 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Sports Physicals $15 - CJSHS 5:30 p.m.

Friday, August 16th

Friday School/Open Library 9:00 a.m. - Noon. Students not in school on August 11th required to attend.

Monday, August 18th

1st Day of JH & HS Fall Sports Practices

Thursday, August 21st

Raider Community Annual Tailgate 6:00 p.m. CJSHS Outdoor Concession Stand

Please CLICK HERE to see the 2025-2026 Central Jr/Sr High School Student Handbook. The policy book received a big makeover this summer! Many policies were added or updated to reflect current practices or board policies that were not previously outlined in the student handbook. Policy changes are highlighted in yellow and bookmarked on the table of contents. Also, see posters below for some of the highlighted policies. Parents/guardians, please take a moment to review and discuss the policies in this handbook with your student prior to the beginning of the school year.

Doors will open at 7:35 a.m. Students, please do not plan to be in the parking lot or waiting by the front doors prior to 7:30 a.m. Once you reach the school parking lot, please plan to head straight inside or to the front courtyard. Breakfast will be served from 7:35 am-7:50 am. Students eating breakfast will drop their belongings off in their lockers and head to the cafeteria. Students who choose not to eat breakfast will wait in the commons area OR THE LIBRARY - quiet work location (NO OPEN GYM) until the first bell rings and they can head to class. If a teacher's classroom door is closed, please do not knock or access their classroom prior to the start of school. Students, if you are a breakfast eater, please plan accordingly and come early enough to finish your breakfast and get to class.

On the first day of school, students will be able to stay in the commons area or the bleachers in the gym prior to the start of school and the all school assembly but there will be no open gym.

Student drivers - please do not park in the first and second section of double rows south of the library. These sections are reserved for staff and visitor parking.

All students will meet in the gym upon first bell on Monday, August 11th. We will have an all school assembly in the morning to review policies/procedures/expectation/etc. then lunch and then rotation stations in the afternoon. Student will learn about student services and available resources, assign lockers, check out chromebooks (if tech fee is paid), get powerschool log in information, etc. Any student not in attendance on Monday, August 11th will be required to attend Friday school to gain the missed information. Classes will resume as normal on Tuesday, August 12th.

Student course schedules should be listed in the student Powerschool portal. We are aware there have been some glitches with accessing schedules using the Powerschool App but believe they are available if accessed through the web. All students will recieve a copy of their schedules on August 11th. If students would like to make a change to their schedule, they have until Thursday, August 14th to do so. Change proceedures will be outlined by Mrs. Miller on August 11th.

Families, please send $10 for your student(s) tech fee next week if you haven't already. Students may not receive their school issued chromebooks if tech fees remain unpaid.

If your student qualifies for USD 462 transportation to and from school, the driver of their route should be contacting families soon to review transportation plans and pickup and drop off times. If you have not recieved a call about transportation arrangments and your student plans to ride the bus, please email Mr. Tatum at btatum@usd46.org so we can ensure arrangments are made for Monday!

We will give each student a copy of their Powerschool Student Username on Monday, August 11th. Students may need help with the directions below to reset their password and get logged in. Students will need to ensure their new password is meeting the listed password requirements if a reset is needed. Ex: 8 letters/numbers, must include capital letter, must include a number, must include a special character.

To log into PowerSchool as a student or parents, you can do the following:

1. Open a web browser and go to your school's PowerSchool Student and Parent portal URL. cbusd.powerschool.com. You should see the Raider Shield at the top.
2. Enter your ID and password, for students this will be printed on the bottom of the PowerSchool letter they recieve on Monday, August 11th.

If you're a new student, your school will give you an Access ID and Access Password. If you're a returning student, you can use the same Access ID and Access Password from the previous year. If you forget your Access ID, you can contact your school office. If you forget your Password, you should be able to request an email to be sent with reset instructions.

If you're having trouble accessing PowerSchool, you can try these steps:

• If your password has expired, you might need to reset it.
• If you've exceeded the number of allowed sign-in attempts, you might be locked out of PowerSchool. If this happens, you can contact your school.
• If your session times out, you can sign in again.

RISE Time is a dedicated period in our high school schedule designed to help students grow academically, personally, and as leaders. It supports both our Leader in Me framework and each student’s Individual Plan of Study (IPS).

RISE stands for:
Reflect – Students take time to review progress toward academic, personal, and post-graduation goals.
Inspire – Activities and discussions promote leadership skills, positive habits, and goal-setting.
Strategize – Students use their IPS to plan next steps for college, career, or personal growth.
Engage – Opportunities to connect with mentors, access resources, and build relationships.

Through RISE Time, students:

• Apply the 7 Habits and other Leader in Me principles to real-life situations.

• Create, monitor, and update their Individual Plan of Study, ensuring their courses and activities align with future goals.

• Learn self-advocacy, organization, and time management strategies.

• Receive support for academics, career exploration, and personal well-being.

RISE Time is all about empowering students to take ownership of their learning, set meaningful goals, and graduate prepared for their next steps—because at Central Jr/Sr High School, we are committed to Greatness Happens Here.

WIN stands for What I Need, and it’s a focused time in our schedule designed to give every student the extra support—or challenge—they need to be successful.

WIN Time is built around two main priorities:

1. Reading and Math Interventions – Students receive targeted, tiered supports based on their needs. This could mean extra help in building essential skills, extension activities for advanced learners, or focused practice to strengthen learning.

2. Student Success Seminar – New this year, WIGGY WEDNESDAY will be dedicated time for students to track and work toward their Wildly Important Goals (WIGs). This involves:

   • Monitoring attendance and tardies.

   • Staying on top of assignments and developing organizational strategies to avoid the MAP (Missing Assignments Program) list.

   • Tracking lead measures—the daily and weekly actions that help students achieve their big goals.

By combining academic interventions with goal-setting and accountability, WIN Time ensures that students receive the “What I Need” support to grow in skills, habits, and personal responsibility. It’s about closing gaps, stretching strengths, and making sure every student is on track and committed for success!

A special thank you to the staff that planned and organized and the students that attended camps and trainings this summer! We had a great turn out of students in our weight room and summer camps. It was exciting to see students in the building remaining engaged over the summer.

Shout out to our amazing summer crew as well who worked hard and took pride in getting our building and grounds ready for a great school year!

We are excited to welcome a few new educational staff members to the CJSHS building who didn't start the year off with us last year. Please help me in giving each of them a big Raider welcome as they start or continue their new role.

Tyler Eastman, JH Social Studies and HS Business Teacher

Michelle Dolan, K-12 Music and Band Teacher

Alyssa Mendoza, Para Professional

Ron Kuszak, Full Time Subsitute Teacher and Virtual School Supervisor

In an effort to improve communication and transparency - students, parents/guardians, and community patrons are encouraged to use the following forms to request to meet or share a concern:

Request to Meet w/ Mrs. Henning or Mrs. Miller - Click Here

Report a Parent Concern or Need - Click Here

Be sure your children are up to date on their immunizations. For last year's students, Nurse Stephanie sent home letters this summer to help families prepare.

If your child takes medication at school, we will need a new medication form from the doctor.

Please CLICK HERE to print and complete the form required to turn into the office

Check out our app! Access documents, news updates, emergency notifications- but most importantly- the Breakfast and Lunch Menu right from your pocket.

Download for Android https://bit.ly/3dI3SFm

Download for iPhone https://apple.co/3TkaZnS

DISTRICT CODE FOR APP: KKKC (CENTRAL UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT)

In an effort to increase communication, you will receive a weekly email update in this manner. You can also expect to receive school reach calls and text messages throughout the school year and can find more information through our website and social media outlets. If you are not receiving school reach calls, please contact the school so we can update your information. Please don't hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions or concerns throughout the year.

Email: jhenning@usd462.org
Website: www.usd462.org
Location: 700 North Main Street, Burden, KS, USA
Phone: 620-438-2215
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CentralUSD462
Twitter: @462Usd