Dear Parents, Patrons and Staff;
The Vision of our school district is Inspiring and Empowering Every Charger, Every Day! We want all our students to find success every day, every week, and every year of their public-school experience. To accomplish that vision, we must assess student progress/learning growth on a regular and consistent basis. Our students are currently taking benchmark assessment so that we can measure growth from the start of this school year to now. The data from this assessment will help teachers adjust instruction to the needs of their students and better prepare them for future success.
When students leave us after high school graduation our goal is to have them ready for post-secondary success. In other words, we want them to be ready to enter the work force or attend college or other career path training programs.
Are you, as parents, planning and saving for your child’s post-secondary training? The cost of college tuition or technical training in Kansas continues to rise every year. The average cost of college tuition per year in Kansas is $9,088 and for community college it is $3,542. That does not include books, fees, room and board, transportation, and other related costs.
The Kansas State Treasures Office offers some savings plans that you may want to consider, including:
Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program in which families can be safe for higher-education expenses in a tax-advantaged investment account.
The K.I.D.S. Matching Grant Program is designed for lower income families to have the chance to invest in their children’s future.
Scholarshop is available for students who are now close to college enrollment. Scholarshop is a data base of 6 million different scholarships that provide free money to help cover the cost of post-secondary education.
If your student plans to enter the work force immediately after high school, there are many trades that offer apprenticeships in which students can get paid while learning that specialty. Licensed plumbers, electricians and mechanics can often earn more than those with college degrees.
New Elementary Math
The new Bridges Math for grades K-3 and EnVision Math for grades 4-5 has arrived! We are in the process of inventorying all materials and preparing to hand it out to teachers before they enjoy their winter break. Teachers return on January 4 for a full day of "Getting Started" in-person professional development with each of the prospective curriculum companies. January 5, the teachers will have a workday to prepare their classroom and materials for the kick-off of the new math curriculum for K-5 students on January 6. The teachers are so grateful for the support of the board of education and the community through this adoption process. We are all excited for the future of our Santa Fe Trail students
Shout Outs and Congratulations:
Congratulations to the Girls' Wrestling Team with their victory over Eudora.
Thank you to all involved with the After Prom. They had meals available for players, coaches, parents, and fans for three large home events this week—2 basketball and 1 wrestling. The funds generated from these meals help put on the After Prom in April.
Thank you to all the workers that made hosting all the home events this week possible. We had home basketball x 2, home wrestling (dual x 1 and tournament x 1), and a scholar’s bowl tournament.
Thank you to Melissa Strother for running the track wrestling for the Boy's JV/Girls’ Varsity Wrestling Tournament on Friday, December 9th.
Shout out to Michelle Herren. The relay race for naming the bones of the body was amazing. Attention to detail was key. The winning time was not the fastest, but they were the most accurate. Great lesson.
Shout out to Chelsea Campbell. She was teaching real-life math in Geometry. Her students had to determine if a ramp was needed for a wheelchair, how long did the ramp have to be for it to be ADA compliant? It was a great lesson will real application. Well done!
~Patrick Graham and Regan Erickson
Shout out to Ms. Cregan! She builds phenomenal relationships with her students and celebrates their growth within the classroom and allows students to share their achievements with other staff throughout the building! Their bright smiles as they showcase their achievements brings happiness to all.
Thank you to all OAC staff for making our K/1 Holiday Meal a success. It is always wonderful to see our school families!
Mr. Adams always steps in when needed with a smile on his face! He is a go-getter who we appreciate immensely.
Mr. Owecke for always having his heart in it for students and staff. He shows compassion and caring in many ways.
Congratulations to Jessica Nicholson for passing her capstone exams for her degree!
~Lorle Bolt
Shout out to Dana Workman for setting rigorous professional goals to continue her growth as an educator. We look forward to supporting you through this process!
Shout out to Greg Sheets for being a great support system for the district's custodial and maintenance needs. He is always willing to help and provide guidance to all of us. We appreciate your dedication and partnership!~Faith Flory
Congratulations to our 8th grade girls’ basketball team, who has secured a Pioneer League championship! They hold a 10-1 record against league opponents and are looking to make that 11-1 tonight against Iola to finish off the season. Way to go Chargers!
Congrats to 8th grader, Gabe Smith. He wrote a Veterans of Foreign Wars essay called Patriot Pen and won first prize. Gabe was presented with his award by a VFW representative on December 8. Way to go Gabe, we are so proud of you!
Tiffany Burget is a masterful math teacher. Each day in her classroom students are engaged with a math challenge that she supports them to solve in a way that makes them think and problem solve collaboratively. She works tirelessly with individual students and works to bring real-life learning into her classroom each day.
Chris Prost has developed a fan club of students at SFTJH/CAC. He takes advantage of opportunities to be silly, playful, and even competitive when given the chance. His fan club can be heard chanting his name during several morning meetings a month.
Kaytee Deines showed leadership by creating a school-wide testing incentive program for our students. Doing so created an exciting buzz around our school this week with students and staff celebrating learning accomplishments and growth on the FastBridge reading and math assessments.
~Austin Hershberger
Congratulations to eighth grade Charger, Gabe Smith, student at SFTJH/CAC. Gabe submitted an essay in the Veterans of Foreign Wars essay contest. His submission, Patriot Pen, was selected as the first-place winner of Osage County. His essay will now go to the regional competition. We are incredibly proud of you, Gabe! Job well done!
~Jodi Testa
Quote for the Week
“You never change something by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
~Buckminster Fuller
Have a Great Week!!
Faith Flory, Deputy Superintendent
Jim Lentz, Superintendent
Original source can be found here.
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