Shining Star News
Re-imagining the Star in 2016! Week January 11-15
Meet Mrs. Haresnape
Mrs. Wendy Haresnape is joining the SMSD team as a sixth grade teacher at Rising Star Elementary. For the past 12 years she was employed with the Norton Community School District in Norton, KS. She completed her seventh year of teaching second grade last May. Prior to that, she taught third grade, as well as served at a Title One Math teacher. Mrs. Haresnape is a graduate of Kansas State University and grew up in Council Bluffs, IA.
Mrs. Haresnape is excited to be joining the Rising Star team and looks forward to a wonderful semester getting to know all the awesome sixth graders and working with an amazing staff. She has been very appreciated of the warm and supportive welcome she has received so far.
Mrs. Haresnape’s favorite things to do outside of the classroom are spending time with her husband and two children. She enjoys keeping busy watching all the sporting and school activities that her children participate in. She is an all around sports fan, whether it be watching the Royals, Chiefs, Wildcats, or even those Iowa Hawkeyes (got to support those home state roots!), and also enjoys curling up with a good book.
2nd Quarter Grades are now Posted!
In order to access you student’s report card you will need to login into the Skyward Family Access Portal at
First graders made snowmen in art class this week.
Chat & Chew Book List & Dates
Kindergarten: Taste of Chat & Chew
- April 6 Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
1st Grade: Taste of Chat & Chew
- April 5 A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
2nd Grade:
- Jan 26 Owen Foote, 2nd Grade Strongman by Stephanie Greene
- March 1 Knight at Dawn (Magic Tree House) by Mary Pope Osborn
3rd Grade:
- Jan 27 Skinnybones by Barbara Park
- March 2 The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
4th Grade:
- Jan 27 The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech
- March 3 From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
5th Grade:
- Jan 28 Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
- March 4 The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman
6th Grade:
- Jan 28 The Fear Place by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
- March 4 Every Soul a Star – Wendy Mass
Chat and Chew Year End Party (for students participating in 3 sessions)
- March 29 –April 1
Spelling Bee
Calling all Rising Star Spellers in fourth through sixth grade:
Our Rising Star Spelling Bee is January 21st at 1:15 pm.
We will have two awesome spellers from each class and one alternate!
These people will vie for the chance to be the Rising Star CHAMP! They will compete in the Johnson County Spelling Bee on January 30, 2016.
Please join us to celebrate our spectacular spellers! Students can use the www.spellingbee.com website to go to the Scripps Spelling Bee website to study over break.
Good luck
Choir Resumes
The Germ Experiment
In an effort to teach students about germ and how they are spread - students got white powder (pretend germs) and they shook hands with other students who ended up having the white powder (pretend germs) on their hands. To show how germs are spread – even to our nose if we touch it with our germy hands.
Getting orange pretend germs on our hands. Half the class washed hands with soap and water and the other half with just water. We then compared water Vs. soap and water under a black light -t o show the importance of soap and its emulsifying effects. Even students who used soap – still managed to have the pretend germs around the nails, and other places just a lot better than those who just used water.
3rd Grade Goes to Arrowhead
Job Openings in Food Service
Did you know that there are job openings with SMSD Food Services? You could work a few hours each day in one of our school kitchens. It’s a great way to earn some money while your student is at school.
Check out our current job openings and apply at http://www.smsd.org, go to Careers, Job Opportunities, click on View Current Job
Openings and then Food Services.
Future Lady Vikings Soccer Clinic
For: Future Lady Vikings, Grades 1st-8th
When: Friday, April 15th
Time: 6th-8th graders 5:00-6:30
1st-5th graders 6:45-8:15
Where: SM West High School
Turf Soccer/ Football field behind tennis courts- If outside
SM West Wrestling Room-If inside (bring indoor shoes or running shoes)
What to wear: T-shirt, shorts, shinguards, socks, soccer cleats, and a ball
Cost: $20
This includes: -The clinic
-A clinic t-shirt
-One free pass for a SM West Girls' Varsity Home Soccer Game
Cash or checks accepted
Checks payable to: SMW Girls’ Soccer
Contact for questions: Coach Sarah Gonzalez
sarahgonzalez@smsd.org or (913) 486-5258
Please remit this portion of form and a check made payable to SMW Girls’ Soccer for the amount of $20.Are You a Member of the PTA?
Join PTA for just $7 per person or $12 for couples in the same household! And don't worry, by joining you are not committing to meetings and volunteering all the time. You are free to choose what you attend and volunteer for!
What does your $7 do? $3.50 goes tot he State PTA. The rest is used to help our kids! Last year our budget called for $8,000 for school field trips! We put on Family Fun nights and 2 class parties per year! And those are just a small amount of the awesome things our PTA does! So please join and help us continue to be able to fund these awesome items!
Forms are available in the office or email Ellen Sandelin ellenmarie2013@gmail.com
or Jen Hight jhight503@gmail.com.