Jayhawk Staff Weekly Update

October 18, 2024

Message from Dr. Samuels

PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES

Thank you for taking the time to meet with parents during conferences this week. We had a 40% turnout, which is a great opportunity to connect with our families.

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who brought food and treats for the staff, and to Christa for organizing everything. I can confidently say we were very well fed.

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT DAY

Thursday, October 17, was our KESA School Improvement Day, where our team met at Greenbush to focus on school improvement under KESA 2.0. The new version of KESA is more streamlined, with an intentional focus on key areas for improvement.

We are exploring the four fundamental structures, with a particular emphasis on Balanced Assessment and the structure of our Tiered System of Supports. We will be sharing more information about this process soon and will seek your input on our action plan before it is submitted to KSDE in December.

FACILITIES COMMITTEE

This week, our facilities committee conducted a tour of our building, and now the BLT invites you to do a walkthrough to help identify our building's needs. We encourage you to visit the "Needs/Dreams" wall near the men's bathroom outside Mr. Beckham's office. Please add any ideas, needs, or aspirations for our building to this wall.

If you have questions, contact any BLT member—they’ll be happy to assist. Once everyone has contributed, we’ll compile the feedback, share it with the staff, and pass it on to Mr. Thomas.

Thank you for helping us envision and improve our space.

CELL PHONES

We are asking for your assistance in reinforcing the school’s cell phone policy. Please remind students of the policy and pay close attention to ensure that cell phones are put away during class.

Take a few minutes in each class to review the policy with your students. While this may feel repetitive, it’s important that we consistently follow and enforce this policy.

Thank you for your support in this matter.

Cell Phone Policy

Students are permitted to use cell phones in designated areas and times as outlined below:

• Before School: Cell phone use is allowed.

• After School: Cell phone use is allowed.

• Lunch: Cell phone use is allowed.

• Passing Periods: Cell phone use is allowed.

Classroom and Academic Time

• When the Bell Rings:

• Cell phones must be silenced, stored away, and out of sight.

• During Academic Times:

• Cell phones are not to be used, including if students leave the classroom for any reason.

IPS

Stephanie and I will be attending the KSDE IPS Technical Assistance Workshop at Greenbush Lawrence on Monday.

Updates From Mr. Beckam

-Fundraisers – 2024-2025-

-October – FFA – Fruit

-October – FFA – Jolly Market Event

-November – Seniors – Krispy Kreme

-Courtwarming – Art Club – 50/50

-January/February – STUCO/FCCLA – Fresh Strawberries

-February – STUCO – “Love Match”

-March – Band – Chocolate

-March/April – Trap Shooting – Raffle

-March/April – Track – Gerry’s Track Meet

-Eligibility-

-Thank you all for your help and diligence with this process – it has been a learning experience for me – most of the kids have taken care of these issues in a timely fashion – we still have a few that we are working with and they are earning their way back into eligibility – thank you again for all of your help.

-Vehicles-

-Thank you also for communicating so well regarding vehicles as you need them and also for your patience when you have to be flexible because they are all being used.

-Tardies-

-Now that we are in full swing I have a small handful that have received consequences for exceeding the limit(s) – I will continue to monitor this weekly.

Employer of the Year

The nominations for the USD 346 Employee of the Year shall be submitted to each building principal by December 6, 2024. The building principal will review al nominees and has the authority to make the decision as to the number of employees to submit for consideration. The principal shall have the option to not submit any names for consideration.

Once the building principal has determined the nominees from their respective building, they wil submit requests for letters of support and/or other documentation. Once this si completed, the nominations and supporting documentation will be submitted to the building leadership team. Building leadership teams will use the nomination forms and supporting documentation to select up to two winners in each building.