Panther Family Weekly Update

We are so excited for our PE Panther triathlon on Wednesday, October 7th! Here are a few need-to-know items if you are planning to attend and watch your student.

• If you will be attending to watch a swimmer, you will need to check in with the front office before entering the building. They will direct you to the pool area.
• Please sit on the bleachers on the south-side of the pool area. We will have this section marked for spectators.
• If you will be attending to watch the run or bike portion, you do not need to check into the office as you will remain outside. These events will occur on the East side of the building. Bikers will bike on the track and runners will complete their portion of the race on a marked cross-country course on our PT campus. Please see attached map for the layout.

The schedule is below. Please plan to arrive 5 minutes early.

Triathlon Schedule:

1st Hour PE: 8:20-9:07

2nd Hour PE: 9:47-10:34

3rd Hour PE: 10:38-11:25

4th Hour PE: 11:29-12:16

5th Hour PE: 12:49-1:38

6th Hour PE: 1:42-2:29

• Back to the 80's play is October 7th and 8th at 7:00pm.
• Ticket information can be found here.
• There is a student show at 3:30 on October 7 that students can get in for only $1. Adults can also come, but will be $5 cash at the door for that show.
• Please reach out to Mrs. Hayse if you have questions.

• Fall conferences will be held the week of October 12th
• Arena-style conferences will be Wednesday, October 14th from 4:30pm – 8:30pm in the main gym and auxiliary gym. No appointment is necessary and all teachers will be on-site during this time.
• For the remainder of the week of October 12th, families may have the opportunity to sign up for a conference with teachers with individual teacher or core teams via emails that staff will be sharing with families. These conferences will be held via Microsoft Teams, by phone, or in-person depending on individual teacher preferences.
• If you have questions about individual teacher availability outside of 4:30pm to 8:30pm on October 14, please reach out to those teachers to see when they are available.

• Arena style is an open, first come, first serve format where all teachers are set up in the main gym and auxiliary gym.
• Parents will enter the building through the event entrance (Northeast entrance)
• Parents will visit individually with their child's teacher and move on the the next teacher when finished.
• Each conference with a teacher should take less then 10 minutes. If there's need for a longer conference a separate time should be scheduled.
• Arena style conferences will bring in many parents and lines should be expected.

Olathe Public Schools made districtwide gradebook updates for middle schools over the summer to better align grading throughout each semester. Student grades will no longer reset at the end of the first and third quarters.

Instead, Quarter 1 grades will roll forward into Quarter 2 to create the Semester 1 grade, and Quarter 3 grades will roll forward into Quarter 4 to create the Semester 2 grade. This change provides a more complete picture of student progress at the end of each semester and prepares our students for high school.

Please email Scott Appell if you have any questions.

Parents of students in grades 8-11 are invited to come hear an overview of the options students have when preparing to transition to high school including: Career Pathway Programs at all 5 high schools, Four-Year Academies available at select high schools, and Two-Year Academies for grades 11-12. Families may choose to attend any location. The same information will be shared at each.

• October 5 Career Pathways Presentation @ OPSIC (Restaurant Area) @ 6:30 PM – For Parents & Students grades 8 – 11.

• The Book Fair will run from 10/07/2026 - 10/14/2026 from 8:00am to 4:00pm in the Pioneer Trail Library
• The fair will also be open from 4:00pm to 7:15pm on 10/14/2026 during conferences
• Students can bring cash or families can set up an eWallet for their student to use. See below for directions on how to set up an eWallet

How to set up an eWallet:

• The eWallet experience has been upgraded! Once a child’s eWallet is created, it carries over each year and stays in their Scholastic account, so they can use the same eWallet at future Fairs.
• Families start from your school’s Book Fair homepage—available three weeks before your Fair begins—to set up an eWallet for each child. If their child already has an eWallet from a previous Fair, they can simply sign in to their Scholastic account to view their balance and manage funds.
• Funds are available immediately. Families can add funds, create an eWallet for another child, invite friends and family to contribute, and more—all from their account.

• Girls basketball tryouts are Monday, Oct. 19th & Tuesday, Oct. 20th from 3:30-5:30pm for any 7th or 8th grade girl wanting to play basketball!
• Players must have a physical on file dated on or after May 1st, 2026 in order to participate in tryouts.
• Players of any skill level or experience are highly encouraged to come to tryouts.
• Playing sports at the middle school level is a great way to get involved and challenge athletes to better themselves at their sport or in their young lives!
• If you have any questions, please contact Coach Luton . We are excited for the season to begin in just a short while!

• Johnson County Health is offering a walk-in clinic for sports physicals for $40
• Monday - Wednesday 9am - 3pm & Friday 9am - 2pm @ 11875 S. Sunset Drive
• No appointment necessary!

Tue. Oct. 6 @ 3:45pm: 7th & 8th grade city volleyball tournament; 7th grade @ Frontier Trail, 8th grade @ Prairie Trail

Wed. Oct. 7 @ 3:30pm: Fall play matinee for students @ PT

Wed. Oct. 7 @ 7pm: Fall play performance @ PT

Thur. Oct. 8 @ 3:45pm: 7th & 8th grade football vs Summit Trail; 7th @ ST, 8th @ PT

Thur. Oct. 8 @ 7pm: Fall play performance @ PT

Thur. Oct. 8: Last day of quarter 1

Fri. Oct. 9: No school for students

Mon. Oct. 12 @ 7pm: Choir concert @ PT

Tue. Oct. 13 @ 3 :45pm : 7th & 8th grade football vs Indian Trail; 7th @ PT; 8th @ IT

Wed. Oct. 14: Half day for students; dismissal at 11:35am

Wed. Oct. 14 4:30pm – 8:30pm: Arena-style parent teacher conferences @ PT

Thur. Oct. 15: No school

Fri. Oct. 16: No school

• Share Photos with Yearbook Staff (SNAP) to possibly be featured in the yearbook.
• The yearbook staff will determine final yearbook content.
• The Access Code is Panthers.
• Walsworth cannot guarantee any submitted photos or other photo details will be used. The staff may also alter any content submitted.

Time to order a PT yearbook. Yearbook Orders (26-27) are now being accepted online.

• Football: Our games scheduled for Sept. 3rd have been moved to Oct. 13th. The schedule will remain the same, with 7th grade playing at home vs. IT and 8th grade playing at IT.
• The city games originally scheduled for Monday, October 12th (7th grade) and Tuesday, October 13th (8th grade) have also been moved. The 7th grade city game will now be Tuesday, October 20th, and the 8th grade city game will be Wednesday, October 21st.

• Team/core subject teachers are available to provide students support with their classwork, missing assignments, and quiz/test preparation in the morning before school between 7:45am and 8:15am.
• It doesn’t matter what subject your student needs help with, they can report to their team’s designated PAW Time class for that day.
• We hope to see your student at PAW Time!

• This year we will be following the tardy policy outlined below. We are hopeful that this will help students understand the importance of getting to class on time and being efficient with their passing periods.
• We give students some grace the first few days of school to adjust to the building and their new schedules. We will communicate our start date for counting tardies with students during our morning announcements.

Tardy 1 – 3: Teacher communicates tardy with parent/guardian
Tardy 4 & 5: Teacher calls home, student detention
Tardy 6 & 7: Administrator assigned lunch detentions
Tardy 8 & 9: Administrator assigned in-school suspension
Tardy 10: Administrator assigned alternate passing period

• As mentioned in communication from the Olathe Public Schools earlier this year, personal electronic communication devices may be stored in our school provided storage location in our front office or in a student hallway locker.
• Each student has been assigned a hallway locker and student locker information can be found on the Student Info tab on ParentVUE/StudentVUE.
• Students will still be able to utilize backpacks as they travel from class to class and the use of hallway lockers is not required.
• Progressive consequences will be assigned for students who are in possession of personal electronic devices on school grounds between 8:20am to 3:20pm.

• You can find us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PTMSPanthers/about/