Cougar Family Forum

Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year to all of our Cougar Families!

For those of you who are new to the Cougar Community, my name is Brian Barackman and I am starting my sixth year at Indian Trail Middle School, one year as assistant principal, and this will be my fifth as head principal. I attended Indian Trail as a student when I was younger, and when I had an opportunity to interview to come over to this school I jumped on it right away. I knew that coming back to my alma mater would be a fun trip down memory lane, but it's been even more special of an experience than I thought it would be. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in every school I've worked in during my 15 years in Olathe, but when it comes to love and connection to a school and community, the way I feel about Indian Trail is second to none. I want to thank you all for an overwhelmingly positive experience in my years here. My heart is at Indian Trail, and I'm in it for the long haul. For those of you returning to Indian Trail, thank you for all of the support, positivity, and care you showed to me, our students, our staff, and all of Indian Trail the last five years. Here's to another great year!

Please take time to thoroughly read this edition of the Cougar Family Forum, as it contains some very important information, Bell schedule, pickup/drop-off map, class schedules, lockers, access to the building, school supply list, staff updates, calendar of events, athletics, IT school map, parent involvement and other beginning of the year information. There will be additional information communicated in the upcoming weeks.

Throughout the school year, you will get frequent communication from Indian Trail, and I promise they won't all be this long! We started a new communication system last year called the Weekly Sneak-A-Peek that, based on the positive feedback I got from you all, we'll continue this year. You can expect a weekly email with some brief updates, the following week's key events, and some quick reminders. The Cougar Family Forum (this platform you're receiving now) will come out periodically, but less frequently. I'll save larger items and messages for this platform, and keep the weekly updates simple. We hope that this combination of keeping you all informed, but not sending too much information too often, will provide a great balance of staying in the loop of what's happening in our amazing school, and also not sending long communications like this so often that you feel like it's too much. Please also follow us on Instagram: indiantrailmiddleschool or Facebook: Indian Trail Middle School for even more great information about what's happening in our school.

Again, I'm very excited to continue this adventure with you and your students. Please feel free to reach out to me any time you need. I hope you all enjoy the last few summer weeks with your family and friends!

Sincerely,

Brian Barackman

Click here for the ITMS school store to roll into the new school year in style! You'll find the best hats, shirts, PJs, and more!

We know you can't wait to get back to Indian Trail, and many of you want to come walk around this summer. We would love to see you! The building will be open for ALL students (accompanied by parent/guardian) to walk through their class schedule on the following dates/times. Although I will be in and out of meetings during all of these days/times, I will be out to meet you whenever I can!

• Monday, August 3rd from 9am-3pm
• Tuesday, August 4th from 9am-3pm

Student schedules will be available starting the week of July 27th. Parents/students can access class schedules through both ParentVue and StudentVue.

We ask that a parent/guardian accompany their student to walk though the class schedule and bring a copy of the class schedule with you or take a screen shot on your phone ahead of time. Please enter through our front doors on 151st St.

***Attached is a building map to assist in finding the location of classrooms.

Doors Open: 5:40pm

1st hour 6:00-6:15pm

2nd hour 6:18-6:25pm

3rd hour 6:28-6:35pm

4th hour 6:38-6:45pm

5th hour 6:48-6:55pm

6th hour 6:58-7:05pm

7th hour 7:08-7:15pm

***This event is for 6th grade students only***

During the first few weeks of school, there will be a fun after school mixer for 6th grade students only! Stay after school from 3:20-4:20 to play games, dance to some music, have some treats, and enjoy some time with all your new friends! DATE WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON!

Also, your first half day on Wednesday, August 13th there are a few things to know. First, please do not bring anything with you except for your most up-to-date schedule. I would recommend double checking your schedule the day before to make sure no changes have been made. You can bring your backpack and all school supplies on the first full day, but will not need them on the first half day. Second, the rest of the half days throughout the year there is not lunch service, but on the 13th there will be lunch served! Finally, parents/guardians are invited to come to the House Sorting ceremony on the 13th to see which House their student gets in, and to be part of the House System fun with all of us! We will send out a text/email to all 6th grade parents/guardians with the specific time, but it's usually roughly 10:00-10:30.

Online registration for the 2026-27 school year is now open in ParentVUE. Parents will now be able to access the link to Online Registration in the ParentVUE app or by going to the ParentVue Website. There, they will be able to complete all the necessary registration documents for each of their children, including making sure contact and demographic information is up to date.

It's important to note that families new to the district, those who have not been to kindergarten enrollment, and any out-of-district residents approved to attend Olathe Public Schools through Open Enrollment will need to contact their child’s school beginning on July 14 to set up an appointment to come into the building to register.

Now is the time to register for general education transportation for the 2026-2027 school year. All registrations may be submitted without payment due at submission. Those required to pay for bus transportation will receive an email with payment instructions once status has been verified. Payment plans are available.

As a reminder, the district reinstated payride services for students at the secondary level who live between 1.5-2.49 miles from their home school and reinstated most transportation variances. We are proud to once again offer these services again for students. Need help registering? Email transportation@olatheschools.org.

Please visit the district transportation website to register or for more information.

Thursday, August 27th will be our school-wide picture day! Mark your calendars and haircut appointments now! All students will get their picture taken during one of their core classes throughout the day.

Due to changes in enrollment numbers, schedule changes, team changes, and/or teacher changes are unable to be accommodated. Our priority will be given to new students.

If your student’s schedule is missing a 1st-7th hour, a full-year class such as band, choir, orchestra, Spanish 1 or AIM, please contact your student’s counselor via e-mail.

Please Note: Schedules may continue to change between summer postings and the first day of school as classes are being balanced. Please check your schedule again the day before school starts.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

6th Grade/7th Grade Last Names L-Z

mmarinsmithit@olatheschools.org

7th Grade Last Names A-K

8th Grade

jrbarnhart@olatheschools.org

I know that we all have our different strengths and comfort levels when it comes to giving back to our schools. The following list has several ways in which you can get involved, I'm hoping there is at least one that might work for you! Please click here and fill out this form and I will follow up with you on specifics for each category you signed up for.

We made some great strides toward this goal the last two years, but still have room for growth. We'd like to be completely transparent with you all and share some of our data.

First, let's start by celebrating our biggest accomplishment. Four years ago, a whopping 44% of all students missed 20 or more days of school. Three years ago, you were able to help us reduce that number to 22%! Two years ago, we knocked it down a significant chunk to 17%. Finally, last year, you helped shave a bit more off to end at 14%!

This improvement has been outstanding, thank you for your efforts. You'll see in another section of the newsletter below that our test scores have vastly improved as well, and this has been a major factor in helping us do so. Our goal this year is to get into single digits of 9%, and we'll need all of your support getting us there!

If there are ever any barriers to your regular attendance, please never hesitate to reach out to anyone at Indian Trail you are comfortable speaking with. We have many resources through our school community, community partners, district resources, and city resources you may not even realize could be utilized to help you and your family. If you're not sure who to call, you can reach out to your student's administrator or counselor and we can help you get started.

We want the very best for our students here at Indian Trail, and we feel confident in the educational environment we've established for them. There is one issue, when students are missing school they cannot reap the benefits of our great culture and great teachers here! Obviously we know, understand, and fully support that sometimes students will need to miss some days, just like I will some days as well. However, what we're asking is that we come together as a school community and make coming to school a top priority again!

• ALL grade levels MET or EXCEEDED the state average in BOTH math and language arts for the first time in 10+ years!
• Building-wide decrease in students scoring in the "at risk" category on FastBridge assessments
• Whole Building: 6% decrease
• 6th Grade: 2% decrease
• 7th Grade: 4% decrease
• Language Arts:
• 7th graders grew by 13 points from last year
• 8th graders grew by 17 points from last year
• Math:
• 7th graders grew by 15 points from last year
• 8th graders grew by 12 points from last year

Thank you for following the traffic pattern pictured below. It is an important part of getting our students, both bus riders, walkers, and car riders, through our doors in a safe and timely manner.

Important Reminder: For the safety of our students, and the timeliness of our partners at DS Bus Lines, all parent/guardians picking up and dropping off students must use the green path in the picture below. Additionally, please remind students to use sidewalks and not cut through the parking lots at ITMS or at OSHS. Unfortunately we have had issues with a student coming quickly out between two parked cars and the driver not having much time to react. We care deeply about our students, don't want to see anyone get hurt, and all the reminders we can get will help!

Below is ITMS's main bell schedule. There will be special bell schedules for 1/2 days and special assembly schedules. That information will be shared as we get closer to those specific days.

For Your Information: Academic Intervention (lovingly called Ozzy Time here at Indian Trail, named after our mascot Ozzy the Cougar) is a protected 34-minute period that allows all students to participate in enrichment and interventions each school day. During this time, every student will be engaged in reading and math activities as well as learning about soft skills that they can use throughout life. While students will have a teacher for their main check-in point, they will move in and out of small group interventions as needed. Formerly called Cougar Time, we are now in year five of Academic Intervention time based on a Kansas State Department of Education expectation.

Bell Schedule in text format should you need to copy/paste:

Hour 1: 8:20-9:07

Ozzy Time: 9:11-9:43

Hour 2: 9:47-10:34

Hour 3: 10:38-11:25

Hour 4: 11:29-12:16

• 6th Grade: 11:29-12:46
• Lunch A: 11:29-11:54
• Lunch B: 11:54-12:19

• 6th Grade 12:50-1:38
• Lunch C: 12:21-12:46
• Lunch D: 12:47-1:12
• Lunch E: 1:13-1:38

Hour 7: 2:33-3:20

Specifics on the new cell phone policy changes with respect to our new state laws will be shared out district-wide in the near future. Thank you for your patience in waiting for all of the details on how that will look different at the middle level. We'll get those out to you all as soon as possible.

For the time being, we can share that students are not to be accessing their phones, smart watches, headphones, and other electronic devices during school hours, 8:20-3:20. This is consistent with our cell phone policy that has been in place at Indian Trail for five years now, and the new state laws. I would like to thank you all for your support of that endeavor over the years. I'm proud to say cell phones have not been a major issue here in that timeframe, largely thanks to you and your student's cooperation and focus on being a student first! I am confident that, because of the culture and procedures surrounding cell phones that we have built together over the years, any new changes will be handled in stride by staff and students alike.

All students will be assigned a locker this year at Indian Trail. Locker numbers and combinations can be found on your StudentVue accounts.

Our school rules on backpacks have not changed, students are still able to carry their backpacks throughout the school day.

I tell students this often; the tardy policy is the same today as it was when I went to school here, and I was able to go with only a few tardies over all three years. You can figure it out too! Everyone gets a few here and there, we understand that and are completely fine with it. The only reason tardies ever become a chronic issue is when the student chooses social time over class time. We want students to have their social time, that's one fun part about school, but we must choose academics first while we're at school. More information can be found in the parent handbook on the school website, but the policy will be enforced as follows:

• Students are allowed 3 tardies per quarter with no consequence.
• Following the 3rd tardy, staff will notify parents their child has been tardy 3 times and will be assigned lunch detention if they should be tardy again in the quarter.
• 4th tardy – one lunch detention
• 5th tardy – two lunch detentions
• 6th tardy – subsequent tardies will be referred to an administrator and can carry additional consequences up to and including suspension time depending on severity

Parents and guardians, thank you for your support in this endeavor and reinforcing that being a student first should be their focus while in school.

These are the suggested items that we see used most often. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you and your family need any support in getting these materials, we're happy to help!

· 3 inch binder

· 5 spiral notebooks

· 2 composition notebooks

· 5 two pocket folders

· Pencils, black/blue ink pens

· Pencil pouch

· Highlighters

· Colored pencils

· Calculator (Texas Instrument Scientific Calculator with fraction key TI-30 or higher)

· Corded headphones

· Disinfectant wipes and Kleenex (we will have bins in hallways to donate them in)

· Post-It notes

**Individual teachers may request specific items for their class**

If your student is interested in participating in athletics, please ensure the necessary paperwork has been completed and uploaded into ParentVue. Fall sports begin Monday, August 17th! 6th grade students can participate in Cross Country, 7th and 8th grade students can participate in Cross Country, Volleyball, and Football (all starting on the 17th).

Steps for uploading physicals online, along with other athletic information, can be found on our school website's athletic page. Feel free to email Angie March or call (913) 780-7230 (select option 5) if you need assistance with anything relating to Sports Physicals and the Online Athletic Registration.

Need a Walk-in Clinic for sports physicals if you haven't already?

• Olathe Walk-in Clinic, 11875 S. Sunset Drive, Olathe
• Mon-Wed, 9-3; Friday, 9-2 No appointment necessary!
• $40

Also please feel free to email Doug Hay, Athletic Director, with questions you might have.

Our staff here at Indian Trail is second to none. I've never worked in a building where our teachers have as much heart for students, or a staff where more people are willing to go above and beyond to meet student needs. We are so fortunate, and I know our new staff members are going to provide your student with that same love and support from day one. Please help me welcome our newest members of the Cougar Family!

Dustin Arnold - Science 8

Lauren Martens - Orchestra

Eli Schoeman - Math 6

Krisha Callaghan - Resource 7

Makayla Tallant– Student Information Specialist

August 3rd and 4th - 9am -3pm - Building open to walk through class schedule with parent/guardian. Please bring a copy of class schedule.

Monday, August 10th- 6:00-7:15 - Back to School Night, start in your student's 1st hour class

Wednesday, August 12th - 5:30pm - 6th grade Social - Start in the Auditorium

Thursday, August 13th - 8:20am-12:55pm - 6th graders First Day (lunch is served) PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY SCHOOL SUPPLIES, SCHEDULES ONLY

Friday, August 14th - 8:20-3:20pm - First Full Day for 6, 7, and 8th graders

Monday, August 17th - Fall sports begin

August 24th and 25th - Fall musical crew auditions

August 26th and 27th - Fall musical cast auditions

Thursday, August 27th- School Picture Day (during classes)

• Maria Johnson – Spanish Interpreter – 913-780-7923
• Sharon Whitener – Bookkeeper
• Makayla Tallant– Student Information Specialist – 913-780-7231
• Angie March- Administrative Assistant

Front Office Hours: Monday – Thursday 7:40am-4pm and Fridays from 7:40am-3:40pm.

When it comes to counselors and administrators, we are all here for each and every student. Please know our doors are always open with anything you or your student needs, no matter what grade level or team they are on. However, if you plan to reach out to us, please use the information below to decide who to contact first. These are the counselors and administrators who work most closely with the team your student is on, and will be much more informed in helping you find a solution.

Please feel free to click their names below and it will open an email to them!

• Counselor: Mrs. Margaret Smith
• Asst. Principal : Mr. Doug Hay

7th Grade Last names A-K and All 8th Graders

• Counselor: Mrs. Jennifer Barnhart
• Asst. Principal: Mrs. Keri Snyder