Prairie View USD 362 Newsle er V O L U M E

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“We enable, educate, and empower those we serve.” Prairie View USD 362 Board of Education

Wade Teagarden, President Bonnie Hobson, Vice President Rita Boydston Chuck Dunlop Brad Heide Kay Voorhees

From the Superintendent, Rex Bollinger Thank you to all Prairie View USD 362 Patrons for everything you do for our school districts and our children. We have started the new school year with 11 new teachers who have helped change the outlook of our district. At the beginning of the year we challenged teachers and staff members to: 1) Focus on Results – Focus on setting goals and working toward them incrementally; 2) Learn lessons from the past– Simply put, learn lessons from your experiences. Take any mistake or any experience and use it as tuition or payment for the future; 3) Continue On- Never give up, believe in yourself and your fellow colleagues. Despite what life throws at you, persevere; and, 4) Reinforce – Support each other encouraging other to excel. Believe that “together we can achieve the extraordinary” and leave a legacy for others to follow. Staff members and teachers were also challenged to connect and become a “ripple” of hope to kids and colleagues. The connection you make may impact the life of a student or co-worker. They were also challenged to increase enrichment and project based learning opportunities for students while pursuing innovation. Lastly, they were challenged to Build Something Great. Many times in life we are brought down by our perceived or actual experiences. Choose to remain positive and “build something great”. As we are transitioning from the first quarter to the second quarter in the first semester, we are thrilled that the school year is off to a fantastic start.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: LaCygne Elementary

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Attendance Matters

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Parker Elementary

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Prairie View Middle School

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Prairie View HS—Get a Job?

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PVHS Project Yellow Ribbon

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Inclement Weather

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This past year, the Kansas Department of Education adopted the Kansans Can initiative. This is a vision that was developed from the largest qualitative study done in the history of Kansas. This study met with school leaders, teachers, and community leaders across the state to determine what a successful high school graduate in Kansas would look like. After the initial round of meetings, a second round of meetings were conducted with business leaders in all parts of the state to attain their feedback on a successful Kansas high school graduate. After the compilation of data, the Kansas State Board of Education adopted the following vision to guide our schools into the future. Kansas Vision for Education - Kansans are demanding high standards in academic skills, as well as employability and citizenship skills, and the need to move away from a “one-size-fits-all” system that relies exclusively on state assessments. This new vision for education calls for a more student-focused system that provides support and resources for individual success and will require everyone to work together to make it a reality. Together, Kansans Can. Vision – Kansas leads the world in the success of each student. Outcomes to be measured – 1) Social/emotional growth measured locally; 2) Kindergarten readiness; 3) Individual Plans of Study based on career interest; 4) High School graduation; and, 5) Postsecondary success. Defining success – A successful Kansas high school graduate has the academic preparation, cognitive preparation, technical skills and civic engagement to be successful in postsecondary education, in the attainment of an industry recognized certification or in the workforce, without the need for remediation. To learn more about this vision, it may be accessed at the following website: http://www.ksde.org/Agency/Fiscaland-Administrative-Services/Communications-and-Recognition-Programs/Vision-Kansans-Can November 7th is Election Day; don’t forget to vote for candidates for local offices. Thank you again for all that you do for our district and for our students.

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LaCygne Elementary News From Principal Cindy Dziadosz LaCygne Elementary Drama Residency LaCygne Elementary students perform skits to the largest crowd of parents and community yet! Notification was received this summer that LaCygne and Parker Elementary had secured a grant for the third year in a row from the Prairie View Foundation in support of a twoweek drama residency utilizing professional storyteller and drama instructor, Jo Ho. LaCygne Elementary had received a grant in the 2013-2014 year from the Kansas Department of Commerce for this program at our school. Each classroom worked with the artist for 45 minutes a day for a four-day period. Classes then made a 15- minute performance for the school and community at the end of the four-day period. It is incredi-

ble to see the growth in students’ abilities in the upper grades, who have had the opportunity to have this program for four years! The project was designed to instill confidence in the students to learn specific performer and communication skills in a safe, supportive, and creative environment as well as provide exposure to theatrical art. This activity directly supports all grade- level standards of the English Language Arts curriculum of the Kansas Career Readiness Standards. Students in grades Kindergarten through 2nd worked with the artist September 1821. Students in grades 3 through 5 worked with the artist September 25-28.

LaCygne Elementary Students performing their play led by drama instructor Jo Ho.

Your Child’s Attendance Matters!

Your Child’s Attendance Matters

PRAIRIE

The first step toward learning in school…is being in class! Prompt arrival and regular school attendance plays a crucial role in a student’s overall academic achievement and is a habit that should begin in preschool. During the early elementary years, children are gaining basic social and academic skills critical to ongoing academic and social success. Research shows that frequent absences in kindergarten through 3rd grade is clearly associated with poor achievement, truancy in middle school and more serious consequences in high school (frustration, school suspension, credit loss, drop out, legal trouble, substance abuse, fewer career choices and lower paying jobs). There are only 176 instructional days each year for elementary students, and as you can see… attendance does matter!

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Parker Elementary School From the Principal, Mark Staab

Parker students learning about fire safety. Thank you Linn County Fire/ Rescue.

The students and staff of Parker Elementary have had a very busy first quarter! There have been the usual safety drills, and also a visit from our local firefighters to talk to kids and demonstrate their equipment. Students have been receiving high-quality instruction in the classrooms, and have also had lessons in the dramatic arts and the opportunity to showcase those learned skills for a large audience. We have honored our grandparents with a special day, and have also shared in the district’s homecoming celebration with a local parade in Parker and visits from the cheerleaders, band members, and athletes. Students had a great chance to study the solar eclipse, and also took time to join with community members for the annual “See You at the Pole” ceremony and Cub Scout meetings. The school hosted a “Math Night” to share instructional

Parker First Graders visited Vintage Park retirement community in Osawatomie and read with or played math games with some of the residents. The visit was part of their projectbased learning lesson.

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tips with parents, learned from skateboard/scientists at a special assembly, and sold trash bags to the community. Teachers have revamped the process we use to assist struggling students into a more efficient Care Team format and teachers shared assessment results in parent/teacher conferences… all this in the first 45 days of school! Plans for the second quarter include a visit from the STEM Lab in early November, our huge Veterans Day celebration, visits to the LaCygne Library for Kansas Reads Day, the Hubbard Math competition in Osawatomie for our excelling math students, and our annual Holiday Store and ACC recognition. We are so thankful for the sup-

port that makes many of these events possible. The local Masons Lodge have helped fund some of the project-based learning enterprises students will be doing along, as has the Prairie View Educational Foundation. The Foundation also funded our Drama Residency program and individual teacher requests. The Parker PTO is second to none in the generous donations of time and money that they provide and our district office, students and staff show their commitment to our school on a daily basis.

2017-2018 is shaping up to be a great year!

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Prairie View Middle School From the Principal, Ken Bolt It is hard to believe the first

Makerspace classroom which dents understand the im-

quarter of the school year has

will give our students a place

portance of good character,

already ended. The year got off

to work on STEM (Science,

the middle school has adopt-

to a excellent start with the

Technology, Math, and Engi-

ed a theme of “Be.....” Exam-

solar eclipse. Many great

neering) projects. The Green- ples include; Be Honest, Be

things have followed, includ-

bush Mobile STEM lab, led

Responsible, and Be Accept-

ing PVMS hosting the league

by Lisa Blair, visited the mid-

ing. These themes will be

vocal festival and our 8 grade

dle school for a week in Sep-

highlighted throughout the

football completing an unde-

tember. She taught our stu-

year. It is important that stu-

feated season.

dents about coding, robotics,

dents see and incorporate

virtual reality, and 3D print-

these skills in their daily lives

ing.

to help them be productive

th

With help from our friends at the Prairie View Educational Foundation, we are creating a

In an effort to help our stu-

students now and productive citizens later.

2017-2018 PVHS and PVMS Student Councils

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Prairie View High School From Principal Lucas MaDle

Get a Job!

Amanda Nelson speaking at the State FBLA conference.

Prairie View Ag Sales Team placed 6th in the naDon! CongratulaDons to Dayton Snyder (6th overall individual), Bryan Butler (gold division), Grace Aust, Dylan IenDle, and Advisor Mrs. Bartholomew.

Caption describing picture or graphic.

“Kansans Can!“ “Want to be a Superhero? Be a Teacher!” “College and Career Ready” These slogans can easily be pulled off the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) website right now. We are all on a shared mission to create the best experience for our youth; to help them be successful after completing their secondary education. This can look many different ways. Not every student is going to college, not every student will attend trade school; but, every student does have the opportunity to be successful. There are a variety of ways for success to be measured and many avenues to “prepare students to be contributing members of society.” I believe each and every one of us defines success differently; however, one thing is certain. I hope to provide each of our students with an idea of a career choice for their future so that they may be successful. Many years ago the KSDE began pushing career explorations. The phrase “pathway” was coined and each student needed to pick a pathway by the time they entered high school, if not sooner. We created interest inventories and surveys and pushed kids to explore those areas. The problem was it didn’t make it real to students. They didn’t get the full picture of what a (insert job of choice here) did on a daily basis. What are the joys of that career? What are the challenges? How hard is it to get into the that field? We pushed pathways and career choice at an early age, but we didn’t give them the best tools possible to know about a specific career interest. Students have the opportunity to explore careers and interests through Career Cruising, a program used across our district. While it is a great tool that can provide a wealth of information, from what a job is like to where to obtain training and potential career availability, it does not provide everything our students desperately need. We needed more. This year Prairie View High School staff had a vision of creating a real Career Day event to bring in people working those jobs, potential employers and real world connections. November 7th, Prairie View High School will host our Career Day. Students will have the opportunity to meet up to six people working in their fields of interest. They will have time to ask questions and get real answers. We hope these connections will lead to potential job shadowing and possible job opportunities. Additionally, there will be time set aside for these presenters to perform mock interviews with our juniors and seniors, who will receive honest accurate feedback on how they performed. As a staff at Prairie View High School, we do believe Kansans Can! We understand we have the most precious commodity around: we have the youth that need direction and motivation to be their best. The Career Day will be a step in the right direction for building those connections between the classroom and the workforce. It will provide connections for our students to over 80 people in the work force. Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction, a direction which moves our students toward their definition of success in a future career they love.

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The Big Dark Cloud By Lucas Matile A dark cloud is looming over today’s youth. A horrible trend that each of us is so severely saddened to hear. This disturbing trend is the dramatic rise in teen depression, anxiety and feelings of hopelessness. According to the Time Magazine Article on Teen Depression, (Schrobsdorff) teen depression rose from 8.7% in 2005 to 11.5% in 2014. The more staggering statistic that startles me is that nearly one in five girls have experienced severe depression. According to statistics by Sarah Miller of LifeScience.com, nearly 1 in 10 teens experience depression each year. What is even more alarming is the increase in teen suicides. From 2007 to 2015, suicide rates among males rose 37% and the female rate doubled. Prairie View High School is not immune to these sad trends. It seems each week we receive the sad news of another student who was seen for depression or is experiencing severe anxiety.

We would like to believe it will be worked out and that each adolescent is receiving the proper help from trained professionals. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case. Nobody is to blame, we simply have not been trained as parents, educators, or youth mentors on how to identify and help struggling youth. We were able to reach out to the Wichita public schools for a program they instituted a couple of years ago called Yellow Ribbon. This program is all inclusive, providing training to everyone from teachers to students. It takes each of us working together to identify students who are struggling and to provide protocol for how to intercede and provide help. The program started off with a presentation to staff during August in-service and was followed up with presentations to each English class on the seriousness of teen depression and suicide as well as where to turn for help. Students were given the opportunity to reach out for help or refer a friend who needed to be identified as struggling to deal with issues in their lives. We understand we will never be able to reach each student, but we want to make sure we are diligent in doing everything we possibly can. We absolutely want to help those students who are experiencing depression. As a school we hope to give students tools for battling those dark seasons. We have a staff full of compassionate people who want to help our youth. People who are wrestling with thoughts of suicide give off indicators. Here are a few things to watch for and, if you see them, ask if help is needed immediately: • • • • • •

Talking to others or posting on social media about suicide, about wanting to die or about feeling hopeless or trapped or a burden to others. Looking for ways to die by suicide — gathering medication, sharp objects, firearms, or looking online for methods. Expressing unbearable emotional pain. Visiting or calling people to "say good-bye." Giving away prized possessions. Suddenly becoming calm or cheerful after a long period of depression

I implore you, as a village raising each child, to help us be diligent in turning these disturbing trends around for our school and community. Through compassion, a watchful eye, and immediate response we can make this turnaround happen. Together, let’s make sure our students feel valued and respected. Let's make sure we are watching out for our most prized commodity— our youth.

Prairie View USD 362 Home of the Buffalos 13799 KS Hwy 152 LaCygne, KS 66040 Phone: 913-757-2677 Fax: 913-757- 4442

Inclement Weather InformaDon With winter weather quickly approaching, please remember we will use Skyward to notify you of any school closing. We will post closings on Facebook and Twitter. Also, we will post to the local TV stations in Kansas City.