WEEKLY SPARK!
February 4, 2024
SAGE Mission
As the heart of the gifted community, the mission of the SAGE Center is to ensure all students, as members of a global society, foster their uniqueness, develop their potential, and embrace their true belonging through learning experiences distinguished by:
- Courageous exploration and discovery of passions in a flexible and innovative environment
- Support systems for students, staff, and community
- Ownership and self-regulation in a student-driven culture
Upcoming Events
February
5 BLT Planning with SALTS, 8:00
7 HS Principals Mtg, Followed by Elem Principals Mtg, Place out AM
9 Fire Drill, 10:50
9 Visit from Crossroads Academy
9 PEGS Swim Screening (Time)
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11 SUPERBOWL!!
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13 District Leadership Mtg, Place out 11:00-1:00
14 BLT, 8:00
14 PEGS Valentines Party, 1:45
15 1st Year Admin Cohort, Place out 8:00-10:00
15 Early Childhood Family Event, SAGE to Share, 5:00-7:00
16 NO SCHOOL, District Professional Development
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19 NO SCHOOL, President's Day
20 SAGE PTO Board Meeting, 5:45
21 Culture of Excellence Recognition Breakfast, 7:30 (Clark and Perez)
23 Senator Lauren Arthur to visit Katherine Poole's class
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26 MAP Training, Place out of the Building, 9:00
27 Culture Cruise, 10:00
28 Staff Team Time, Strategic Action Teams, 7:45
29 SAGE Panel Review
29 PEGS Info Night, 5:00-6:00
Congratulations, Kathy Perez and Elaine Clark!
THANK YOU for representing SAGE for NKC Schools Culture of Excellence! We are so proud of you!
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Professional Development on Friday, February 16th
Budget Development
- The process remains the same as in previous years.
- The deadline for Budget Submission is Tuesday, February 20th.
- There will be some time to work on budgets on Friday, February 16th.
- Our staffing model will remain the same at this time, so planning for numbers can be similar to past years, but I will continue to review and monitor this and will share updates as soon as possible.
Miscellaneous Notes
Your Teaching Space
If you have been interested in a new space, let me know. I'll be thinking about planning for space and furniture as we prepare budgets and onboard a new teacher. If you've considered a change, let me know.
Summer Scape at Drury University
If you know a 6th, 7th, or 8th grader with leadership potential, you may want to share this summer opportunity. There is not a deadline to apply, but space fills up.
https://www.drury.edu/gifted-education/summerscape-drury-leadership-academy/
Check out our February SAGE News online!
NEH Wide-Open Town Workshop--Learn about KC and Earn Money!
This teacher experience from the National Endowment for the Humanities and UMKC may be just for you! Learn about Kansas City with other educators, visiting sites in-person, hear from historians, and receive a $1300 stipend at the end. Stipends are intended to help defray workshop-related expenses such as travel, lodging, and meals. Stipends are taxable. Check it out this link.
Solar Eclipse on Monday, April 8 at 1:54
Kansas City will be experiencing a partial solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th. The time for maximum viewing is 1:54 pm. Kansas City is just outside the path of totality. We will see 88% coverage of the sun. Therefore, everyone will need to wear eclipse glasses for the entire viewing time. The NKC Education Foundation has kindly purchased eclipse glasses for every student and staff member in our district. These will be distributed in March.
Prime viewing (the deepest point of the eclipse, with the Sun at its most hidden) will be on Monday, April 8 at 1:54:56pm.
Vex Robotics Kits
I hope you've seen the Vex Robotics Kits stacked up outside my office and that you're becoming curious! These brand new kits were shared with us and I'd love your ideas on how they can be used. You're welcome to take a kit and try it out!
Repeat: Work Based Learning Resources
I participated in a work-based learning feedback session and these Resources were shared. Please take a minute to check out these tools and consider how you might incorporate something new into student learning experiences. These are not comprehensive and the organization of this tool bank is probably not directly for teachers, but it is a a great list of resources that may be helpful and inspiring.
Repeat: New Private and Homeschool Students
When I send out new student information for private and homeschool students, please confirm immunizations with Nurse Amy before confirming a start date with families.
Repeat: PLT SMART Goals Reminder
SMART goal documents are in our Box
Smart Goals files: NIC Staff Center/Staff Information/School Improvement Plans/2023 2024/(your PLT). Please schedule a time for me to join your PLT in the next few weeks to review your SMART goals together .
PEGS Students Competed in Local Math Counts Contest
Way to go, Blake, Eli, Mrs. Riddle, William, Cash, and Cecily! Thank you for representing PEGS, SAGE, and NKC Schools!
Our Newest SAGE Students
Blake Baldwin (Rising Hill) will be going to Melissa Torres’s class.
Teagan Gray, 4th Grade from Rising Hill will be in Amy Cox's class.
Aelani Nammavaly (Rising Hill) will be going to Connie Eovino’s class.
Raymond Smith, 4th Grade from Rising Hill will be in Katherine Poole's class.
Closed APL Days
Following Board Policy and in order to plan/prepare for substitutes adequately, I can approve pre-arranged APL days for only 5% of the staff (2 staff members). Below are days that have met that number and are no longer available for pre-arranged absences:
- Thursday, February 8
- Friday, February 16
- Tuesday, February 20
- Tuesday, April 16
Happy Upcoming Birthdays!
5 Wendy Myers
10 Brian Krewson
17 Cassandra Shaffer
22 Alicia Kleoppel
25 Jennifer Koch
Someone or Something to Celebrate?
Help us recognize great people, big ideas, small moments, and special events! You can share shout outs and simple noticings here!
Thank You!
- Thank you, Cindy Turner, for coordinating our Culture of Excellence nomination process!!
- Thank you, Rebecca, for another last-minute save!!! Your the best and our breakfast at Advisory was GREAT!
- This week our HS GRSs and Dr. Dameron hosted an awesome Scholar Share for HS Gifted students! What an opportunity for students to GET ONE THING DONE!
- Shout out to Lori Riddle for sharing time with Math Club students at the local Math Counts Contest!
REPEAT Information
Check out our new SAGE informational video!
You are welcome to share this tool with new students, families, and teachers to introduce the program!
February is Black History Month and Lunar New Year!
Our district’s Equity Advocates have developed some amazing resources to help you plan educational experiences throughout month!
Similar to all heritage months, February’s resources include topics and experiences for both staff and student learning at all academic levels.
These resources are not offered as a directive, nor are they mandated activities. As you read the options included, you will see that many of them depend on the capacity of your specific department, building, classroom educators, and the communities of belonging you have developed this year.
Don’t forget to check out the Library Resources for this Heritage Month.
Have a wonderful month of learning!
~Dr. Johnson
Sign Up for SOUPer Bowl Potluck!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4DAFA82AA0F4C52-47342908-souper
Recently Approved District Calendars
2024-2025 Academic Calendar
2024-2025 Extended Year Academic Calendar (Crestview & Winnwood)
Reminder: 2024-2025 will be the final school year of the extended calendar schedule at Crestview and Winnwood.
Summer School
Summer School for 2024 will be very similar to years' past and we'll receive more information about details soon. Please send me an email if you'd like to participate in Summer School. See picture for dates. Note week 3 includes Juneteenth and there is no school on Wednesday, 6/19, with a virtual day on Friday, 6/21 (although no virtual instruction, just student access to learning on this day).
Tips for Changing Passwords
Some people are getting the notice to change their passwords. If these instructions aren’t working well for you, there are more tips here:
https://nkcschools.incidentiq.com/kb/articles/936c7072-326e-ec11-94f6-00155d9803f1
Helpful Information, Tools, and Links
Box Link to Archived Weekly Spark
NIC SEL Folder
Second Step Scope and Sequence
Email Address: kate.place@nkcschools.org
Password: RisingHill
Find It Fast
The district recently launched a Find It Fast section on the staff portal to make the website more user friendly. Check it out and bookmark this tool.
Penmac
To report a last-minute absence after 6:00 AM on the same day send a text message to the Penmac Education team with your name, school building, and any other details to 816-323-6791.
For assistance with Slate, you can contact your local Penmac team or email Slate technical support at support@simplyslate.com.
Kahler Grant Guidebook
SAGE Center
Home of the Illuminators
Email: kate.place@nkcschools.org
Cell: 816-674-9705
Phone: 816-321-5350
Twitter: @NKC_SAGE