The Trailblazer

Either of these 2 ways works the best:

1. Call the office 24/7 at 913.780.7690

2. Email the office 24/7 at thattendance@olatheschools.org - we ask that all absences, way home changes, and late arrivals/early departures go through the office since the teacher may have a sub or limited access to email/SeeSaw during the school day.

Remember these things:

• Contact us by 9:15 am for an absence
• Include a lunch choice if coming in late (we have to order by 9:15am)
• Contact us by 2pm for way home changes

Hello Tomahawk Families!

September flew by and we are fully into the swing of things. We are eager to meet with you in October to talk about student growth and celebrations during Parent Teacher Conferences.

The involvement in after school activities has been great! I love seeing students involved in Math Wings, Flag Football and Running Club! We have had numerous Watch DOGS, and the students are loving seeing them and working with them throughout their day! Our PTO meetings are continuing to grow, so please come and join in on the fun.

Thank you for partnering with the school and sharing your children with us! My door is always open, feel free to reach out with questions, concerns, or celebrations! As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns! It's going to be a wonderful year to make someone smile!

Julia Baucum

Principal

Did you know...

4 tardies = 1 unexcused absence

20 tardies = 5 unexcused absences in a semester

1 tardy is considered 1/4 of a day

Tardies can add up quickly! Please ensure your student is on time and at school if they are able!

Each month there will be a classroom recipient (K-5) chosen by the classroom teacher as someone who displays the expected behaviors of Tomahawk Students showing: We Matter, We are Safe, and We are Prepared. This student helps ensure others know that they: Belong, Matter, and are Loved.

The staff members who work with students outside of the classroom (Art, PE. Music, Library, Counselors, Lunch room staff) will vote on the representative for each classroom. That student will receive a yard sign for the month. We are so Proud of all of our Tomahawk students, and showcase their strengths in many ways through out each grade level and each class. We are excited to celebrate these school wide recipients each month, to continue to show our Tomahawk Expectations!

Grade Level Students of the Month

K: Teddy Siegele

1: Kevin Alfaro

2" Bella Mutai

3: Dylan Diaz Lopez

4: Anayeli Estrada

5: Aylan Akmoune

Classroom Students of the Month

K: Damian Chavez; Blair Kidd

1: Jonas Mahler; Niko Price

2: Jose Amador Gomez; Mateo Segura Rosales

3: Ruth Amsayas; Landon Stark

4: Glory Abel; Enrique Reyes

5: Wyatt Jackson

Our custodians are so important at Tomahawk!. Their dedication to keeping our facility open, healthy and looking great is a very essential part of our school. Without them we could not operate as we do. We want to send a BIG THANK YOU to Jose Escamilla, our daytime custodian and Jesus Calvillo and Silvia Aguilera Madrigal, our nighttime custodians for all of their hard work and dedication to Tomahawk!

Mark your calendars for the following days when there will NOT be school for students:

Friday, October 10

Thursday, October 16

Friday, October 17

*** There will be a Half-Day of School for K-5 students on Wednesday, October 15 from 8:55-12:10pm.
No Early Childhood/Jump Start classes on Wednesday, October 15.

Monday, October 13- Gr 3 Walking Trip to IRC (will eat lunch at school when return)

Tuesday, October 21- Gr 5 to Arrowhead (Bring Sack Lunch)

Friday, October 24 - KDG to Gieringer's Pumpkin Patch (will eat lunch at school before they leave)

We LOVE to have spirit days at Tomahawk! It's even part of our PBIS Reward process where students can turn in Trail tickets for an all school spirit day! Many days are planned out in advance and are viewable on the Tomahawk website calendar https://www.olatheschools.org/Page/4976. The PBIS ones are decided with little notice but we will update the website calendar with those also. We announce those to students at the end of the day and put the info on facebook also. So if your kiddo comes home and says tomorrow is an all school PJ day, check the website calendar or facebook to verify. Classroom/Grade level special days will be communicated by the teacher in Seesaw app.

This month's Spirit Days:

• Wednesday 1st- Wear Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness (donate $1 for gum day)
• Friday 3rd- Fan Fridays- Wear Red/Chiefs or favorite sports team
• Tuesday 7th - Tomahawk Tuesdays- Wear Tomahawk Gear or Blue/Yellow
• Tuesday 14th - Tomahawk Tuesdays- Wear Class Colors (EC/JS – Yellow; K- Purple; 1-Blue; 2-Red; 3-Green; 4-Orange; 5-Pink)
• Tuesday 21st- FALL PICTURE RETAKE DAY; For those not getting picture taken- Tomahawk Tuesdays- Wear Tomahawk Gear or Blue/Yellow
• Friday 24th - Fan Fridays- Wear Red/Chiefs or favorite sports team
• Tuesday 28th - Tomahawk Tuesdays- Wear Tomahawk Gear or Blue/Yellow
• Wednesday 29th- STUCO Spirit Day- Wear Your Favorite Color
• Thursday 30th- PRE-K students wear costumes to school for Pre-K parade and parties
• Friday 31st- K-5 Students Wear Costumes to school for parade and parties

Thanks to those of you who have already signed up for a conference for your student. Conferences will be held at various times from Monday, October 13 - Thursday, October 16. Not all teachers will be available on all days.

All elementary families will need to choose a time on the appropriate grade level/teacher Sign up Genius that was sent out in an alert earlier in the week. If you cannot find the email, please contact your child's teacher or the office and we will resend you the link. Please sign up by October 2 if you have not already. Teachers will be contacting those who have not signed up.

Please note: If you have requested an Interpreter (example: Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Berber) for your conference, the office has already contacted you to schedule those conferences and sent you an email confirming the conference. Please do NOT sign up for another conference on the Sign Up Genius. If you require an interpreter and the office has not yet contacted you to schedule a time, please call 780-7690 immediately or email thattendance@olatheschools.org and we will set up a time for you. Conferences with interpreters have to be scheduled by the office so please do not sign up on the Sign Up Genius if you need an interpreter.

Grade cards information will be provided at conferences and will be available in ParentVue sometime during conference week.

On October 21, we will take pictures of new students, students who missed the fall picture day and for those who want to have their student's picture retaken,

Please return the picture packet to your child's teacher before Oct 21 and indicate that you would like to have your child's picture retaken. More information coming home closer to the date.

Tomahawk students who wish to participate in Halloween Costumes should wear them to school on Friday, October 31st. Please consider what additional items your student might need to have a successful day (recess shoes, etc.). We will be having an outdoor parade of costumes at 2:50pm. Parents are invited to the outdoor parade. Should there be inclement weather, the parades will be live-streamed for the parents to watch from home.

Early Childhood and Jump Start Preschool morning classes will have their parade and parties on Thursday, October 30 at 10:50am and 2:50pm. Contact the Preschool teachers for information on how you can participate and help with the event.

There are certainly a lot of costume options out there! While your child may opt for a scary or gory costume for Halloween night trick-or-treating, these types of costumes are not appropriate for school. Please help your child use discretion when choosing a costume to wear to school for our parade and parties. For the safety and comfort of everyone at Tomahawk, it is very important to avoid frightening costumes that appear bloody, gory or violent. Weapons, including look-alike guns, knives, spears, scythes, etc., should be left at home on party day. Masks that circulate colored liquid must be kept turned off while at school. If you have questions or concerns, please check with Mrs. Baucum.

We are looking for parent volunteers to help with the Fall parties in KDG-5th grade classrooms. If you can help, please complete the form and Tara Dale will contact you about how you can help. https://forms.gle/Yi2STsTR136EqdEr6

Classroom parties for K-5 students will follow after the parade. If you would like to contribute the requested treats or drinks, create a class Bingo game, or help at the Party. Please don't send in additional treats for the parties- just the items on the sign up.

Kindergarten- https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508044BAFAB23A7FE3-59220411-fall

1st Grade - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508044BAFAB23A7FE3-59222969-fall

2nd Grade - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508044BAFAB23A7FE3-59224520-fall

3rd Grade - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508044BAFAB23A7FE3-59223622-fall

4th Grade - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508044BAFAB23A7FE3-59234860-fall

5th Grade - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508044BAFAB23A7FE3-59265425-fall#

If your child is in Early Childhood or Jump Start, please contact your teacher for how you can help.

Reminder: Photo ID REQUIRED EACH TIME You Want to Enter Tomahawk

Please remember that District policy requires us to ask for ID from EVERYONE each time they enter the building. Please remember to have your driver's license or other form of picture ID ready for the camera at the door when you arrive at Tomahawk. If you come to the door without your ID, we will kindly ask you to return to your car to get it.

Tomahawk partners with Harvesters to provide weekend BackSnacks for students. The BackSnacks are filled with nutritious, child-friendly food and are sent home on Fridays each week. We do our best to keep this confidential and deliver the bags discreetly to student’s backpacks during the school day. These will be sent home beginning on Fridays this month. If you have any questions or would like your child to receive BackSnacks, please reach out to Mrs. Gorczyca at kjgorczyca@olatheschools.org.

Immunizations -Exclusion Date October 14

Jump Start, Early Childhood, Kindergarten and students who are new to Olathe need to have immunization requirements completed by Monday, October 13th. Students that have not completed their immunizations by Monday, October 13th will be excluded from school. This is the district wide exclusion date. If you have any questions or need help with completing your students immunizations, please call the nurse at 780-7696.

Physicals/Well Child Exam
All Jump Start, Early Childhood and Kindergarten and new students up to 3rd grade are required to have a physical turned into the nurse by January 5th, 2025. This is the exclusion date for those students that have not turned in a physical. Your student may already have a physical dated within the last year, and we can accept that. Our fax number is 913-780-7699. You can call your physician and ask them to fax the physical to me. Please call the nurse at 780-7696 if you have any questions.

Illness and Communicable Disease Reminders
The start of the school year is a great time to remind our school community of the measures we take to keep students healthy and prevent the spread of communicable diseases. We refer to the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE) recommendations when determining the need to send a student home from school.

• Students are to be fever-free for 24 hours WITHOUT the use of a fever reducing medication before returning to school.
• Students with vomiting or diarrhea are to be symptom-free for 24 hours before returning to school.
• Students with blisters and/or honey-colored crusts on their face should remain home until cleared by a doctor as non-infectious or until 24 hours of antibiotic treatment is received.
• Students diagnosed with influenza and COVID-19 should remain home until fever-free for 24 hours WITHOUT the use of a fever reducing medication AND symptoms are improving.

Hearing and Vision Screenings
Early Childhood, Jumpstart, grades K, 1, 2, 3, and 5, and students who are new to Olathe will get hearing and vision screenings this year. The school-wide hearing screening day will be October 9th. Vision screenings will be completed throughout the year as time allows. Parents will be informed if their student did not pass the screenings. Please let Nurse Devin know if you have questions about screenings.

Parents may add money to their child's lunch/breakfast account for meals/milk/juice charges at www.schoolcafe.com. See the attached instructions for setting up your School Cafe account.

In addition, please remember that if a student brings a meal from home and wants a milk or juice for lunch, there is a $0.60 charge for the beverage.

We have recognized and given out almost 30,000 tickets so far this year! Students have been cashing in on fun items and experiences at Tomahawk!

If you'd like to help support the 2025-2026 PBIS store, here is our amazon wish list:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/5JAE740KSH8Q/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_5

Children who are well rested are the best learners and readers!

Here are some tips to help kids get good sleep:

We love having Watch D.O.G.S. at Tomahawk!

You can still sign up to be a Watch DOG with the link here:

Watch D.O.G.S 25-26

If you’d like to keep up with what your child is making in art class you can make sure you are connected to your student’s Artsonia account. New Kindergarten students’ parents have all been sent (via email) an invitation to access your child’s online art portfolio. If you are new or have never connected yourself to your child’s Artsonia account please feel free to email me at lmingraham@olatheschools.org and I will make sure you have access. It is completely optional.

Art Club Session 1 begins Monday Oct. 20th. Students are responsible for bringing home the permission slip, getting your approval, and returning it to the art room. Only open to 4th and 5th grade students.

Thank you so much to all of you for supporting the Tomahawk Library by visiting the Book Fair. We were able to add many new books and STEM materials with the funds raised.

This year we are using the app Beanstack to track our reading minutes. Our school-wide goal is 300,000 minutes. We are already well on our way to meet that goal! We are also having a friendly competition with Heritage Elementary. Keep an eye out for updates on our progress this year!

5th Grade families:

On Thursday, November 13th, Tomahawk 5th graders will be presenting their program “Commotion in the Ocean”. Please be on the lookout for more information about costumes and speaking parts from Mr. Feagan in the coming weeks.

Plank Challenge

Our Plank Challenge began on the week of September 8th. Once a month students will attempt to increase their plank time, beginning with one minute and topping off at five minutes. Hopefully, this will begin with some goal setting and teach some grit while getting stronger. Our weeks for every month are listed below.

Week of:

September 8th// October 6th// November 3rd// December 1st

January 12th// February 17th// March 24th// April 20th

A quick reminder to all families to check the ABCD schedules regarding P.E. class. It’s important that on their assigned P.E. days, students wear the proper shoes, which are athletic shoes with closed toes and no raised heel. Click here for the PE Class schedules.

Sponsors: Lindsay Cotton, lecotton@olatheschools.org & Rhianna Penner, rnpenner@olatheschools.org

STUCO 2025-2026

Co-Presidents – Zola Dale and Remi Fussel

Vice President – Adele Felix

Secretary – Izabelle Robertson

Treasurer – Angelina Moore

Representatives:

• 3rd grade- Jamison Rozof, Sophie Senin, Kolton Fussel, Lola Sadi Oufella, Ari Eck, Shelly Gagne
• 4th grade- Ximena Alvear, Addi Powers, Logan Whitt, Leo Queen, Amari Lindsey
• 5th grade- Violet Gagne, Sam Palmer, Grady Penner, Trexlyn Phillips, Rory Reeves and Song Senin

Spirit Days

STUCO Spirit Days will be monthly. Spirit Days will also be available on the school’s website. Here's what we have so far:

• Oct 29th – Dress in your Favorite Color
• Nov 19th – Patriotic Day
• Dec 10th – Backwards Day
• Jan 21st – PJ Day

Events

Thank you so much for your help with Noah’s Bandage project. We are gearing up for Sock-Tober!

STUCO’s SOCK-TOBER Event - moved to Nov 3-7

STUCO will be partnering with Nurse Devin to stock her office for a Sock-Tober Event! Students of all ages visit Nurse Devin to meet their many needs, sometimes this includes changing our clothing items – let’s help stock up these items in Nurse Devin’s office. Please send in the following supplies throughout the week to help support Nurse Devin and ALL of the students at Tomahawk.

• Monday: new/gently used kids-sized socks and undergarments

• Tuesday: healthy snack options (i.e. cheez-its, animal crackers, skinny pop, granola bars, etc.)

• Wednesday: fun & colorful band aids

• Thursday: gently used kids-sized clothes you are ready to part with

• Friday: healthy snack options (i.e. cheez-its, animal crackers, skinny pop, granola bars, etc.)- Yep snack again- the most requested item from the nurse's office)

Coming Up… Food Drive, Mayor’s Shoe Fund & more!

STUCO Meetings

STUCO Snack Sign Up https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0549ACAE29A5FA7-58587233-2526

Meetings will be held in Mrs. Cotton’s classroom from 3:55-4:35pm on the following dates for STUCO members: October 1st, November 5th, December 3rd, January 7th, February 4th, March 4th, April 1st, & May 13th

School Store

STUCO Members Sign Up for School Store https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0549ACAE29A5FA7-58715146-20252026

Information on the STUCO school store can be found here. The store will be open Wednesday mornings before school until May 13th. Please send your child with small bills ($1 bills or $5 bills) and change..

Math Wings will meet on Tuesdays from after school to 4:30pm. The meeting dates for October are October 7, and October 21. There is no meeting the week of conferences. Our first regional competition is on October 28th at Green Springs Elementary School. The start time for the Regionals is 4:15pm. Ms. Hunter will reach out to the families of students who are chosen to compete for confirmation of availability.

Intramural Flag Football

Our flag football season has concluded. We had 25 boys and girls that hopefully learned a little about football and had a good time just playing and meeting some friends from other grades. We cannot wait until next fall to do it all again. Thank you to the students for playing and Nurse Devin for lending a hand. We have had fun watching you grow and support each other.

Trailblazin' Running Club

Our running club has been running strong for four weeks now. We have a record 75 runners participating. We have been increasing our runs each week in preparation for the 27th annual Jared Coones Pumpkin Run which will be held on October 11th at Black Bob elementary. Thank you for all the hard work from the students. I would like to thank the parent volunteers. Mr. Palmer, Mrs. Ngameni, Mrs. Sellers, and Mrs. Coleman. I would also like to thank Tomahawk staff; Beltran, Feagan, McGinnis, Saunders, Eck, and Burgardt.

PTO Board for 2025-26 school year. Email us at tomahawkolathepto@gmail.com.

Tuesdays @ 7:00pm in the Tomahawk library:

Oct 21, Nov 18, Dec 16, Jan 20, Feb 17, March 24, April 21, May 12

Oct 7 – Papa John’s Food Night (Code: KST011) → see attachment below

Oct 13–15 During Conferences 4-6pm – 5th Grade Bake Sale

Oct 14 – 4-7pm Everbowl Food Night

Oct 21 – Freddy’s Food Night (4–8 pm)

Oct 21 – Next PTO Meeting

Oct 27 – Costume Skate Party (Skate City OP, 6–8 pm) → see flyer attachment below

Tuesday, October 7- 4-8pm Papa John's Night (use code KST011 when ordering online)

Tuesday, Oct 14- 4-7pm Everbowl (14937 W 119th St.) - More details coming soon!

Tuesday, Oct 21- Freddy's Night- 11775 Black Bob Road (online code: GIVEBACK); In person - show flyer or tell them you're here for the fundraiser!

PTO 5th Grade Legacy has scheduled a Bake Sale for the week of Conferences- October 13-15 from 4-6pm Monday- Wednesday. Grade 5 Parents can sign up here to provide baked goods donations and volunteer to help.

Date/Time: Monday, Oct 27 | 6–8 pm

The Color Walk was a huge success—thank you to everyone who donated and supported our school! We’ve raised $11,461 so far, and the celebrations all week made it extra fun. Students loved the raffle drawings, and it was exciting to see them pick out their favorite prizes.

Congratulations to our top earners- a tie- Broxton and Braeden Reed who won Lunch on the Roof of Tomahawk, and to Mrs. Shambaugh's 3rd Grade class for raising the most overall and earning a pizza party. Movie parties are also coming for all K-5 classes, while Ms. Saunders' 2nd Grade Class showed the most colorful spirit and won an extra recess with popsicles.

We’re so proud of our top earners too—the top 10 got to slime a teacher, and the top 25 had a blast silly stringing Miss Baucum. For those who gave $25 or more, get ready—you’ll soon have the chance to duct tape Mrs. Baucum to the wall this month!

Way to go, Tomahawk!

www.treering.com/validate enter school code 1015269347902029. Cost is $22.

More Community and District Opportunities Available on ePOST

Check out ePOST on the District website for information about other opportunities in the district and the community.

• Students may arrive between 8:35- 8:50 am when staff will help them exit their cars out front. Students will enter through South parking lot gym doors during this time. After 8:50am, students will enter through the front door.
• Please no arrivals before 8:35am.
• Students wanting to eat breakfast should arrive between 8:35-8:45am to eat in the lunchroom.
• Students will be tardy if not in the classroom by 8:55am. No breakfast will be allowed in classrooms.
• NEW Early Childhood Hours: AM Class 8:55am-12:00pm; PM Class 12:50-3:55pm- No classes for EC on Fridays or on Half Days.

• September 2025

• August 2025

• July 2025 Resource Guide

Notice of Non-Discrimination

Email: kzuelth@olatheschools.org
Website: www.olatheschools.com/tomahawk
Location: 13820 S. Brougham Dr. Olathe, KS
Phone: (913) 780-7690