Wildcat Growl
November 22, 2019
Future Ready Wildcats
De Soto High School staff and students endeavor to model the following core values:
INTEGRITY, INQUIRY, COMMUNICATION, PERSEVERANCE, and REFLECTION.
Principal's Message
Wildcat Students and Parents,
We want to wish good luck to our Cheerleaders, as they participate in the State Cheerleading competition at the Topeka Expo Center this weekend.
I hope you were able to attend the De Soto football game last weekend. If you did, I am sure you walked away from the event as proud as we are in our students, both on and off the field. We also had 22 individuals receive 26 different All-Conference Football Honors within the UKC. Congratulations to the following athletes: Tyson Priddy Jarred Peterson, Logan Newsom, Jonah Reynolds, Lucas Nascimento, Luke Barger, Dallas Williams, Zach Willis, Jackson Miller, Garrett Kellner, Jake Rosen, Zach Bergeron, Tyler Schultze, Mason Ericson, Shane Watts, Eli Gratz, Blaine Church, Carson Zitlow, Hayden Henderson, Austin Rosetta, Mason Parrish, and Tiger Smiley. We also had three individuals recognized: Coach of the Year – Brian King, Offensive Player of the Year – Jackson Miller, and Defensive Player of the Year – Luke Barger. Congratulations on a great season!
The football program is not the only UKC honors recently received by our Wildcats. Taylor Ellis, Brooke Stonestreet, and Gracey Janes received honors for All-Conference Volleyball. Additionally, Boys’ Soccer received multiple All-Conference Soccer Honors. Congratulations to James Henggeler, Trent Mann, Adam Lee, Eli Gratz, Ian Endres, Kyle Newberry, and Adam Kowynia!
The National Honor Society induction ceremony was Wednesday night. Congratulations to the following students for being honored: Sydney Napier, Allison Rozelle, Faxon Freeman, Chase Krehbiel, Erin Pickert, Luke LeBar, Kyle Smith, Sarah Napier, Emily Kresin, Ingrid McGinnis, Morgan Laney, Aspen Grieshaber, Ellie Warnes, Egan Putman, Nicole Schottler, Connor McCall, Ella Fixsen, Hugo Nascimento, Brent Smith, Emily Fuhr, Lynlee Hutchison, Brayden Wadehra, Abigail Yarbrough, Lane Hileman, Suzanna Hileman, Jaycie Swift, Brady Hudelson, Erin Parker, Ian Endres, Caleb Kmiecik, Andrea Jacober, Ella Boxx, and Sam McQuality.
Earlier this week, Ryan Robie and Lindsay Hothan visited with 8th graders from Lexington Trails MS and Mill Creek MS informing them about a new program that will start next year at DHS, called AVID. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination and is a national program offered in several Johnson County schools designed to support students toward high academic achievement, and college readiness. We plan to begin the program, which includes the AVID Elective, next year with a group of freshmen students selected from those that apply. If you are interested in learning more about AVID, please contact Lindsay Hothan at lhothan@usd232.org.
Mark your calendars for April 29th! De Soto High School will be hosting an open house/community event, we call Spotlight-DHS. This evening event will highlight our senior class before they officially become alumni and showcase many of the outstanding projects and activities taking place at DHS.
As we prepare for the end of the first semester, I want to remind students of the importance of not waiting until the last minute to prepare for upcoming final exams. You will be better off reviewing the material over time, setting up study sessions with friends, or finding the time (seminar) to seek clarification on any points of confusion from teachers leading up to Final Exam week. Semester final exams are scheduled to begin Monday, December 16th, and end Thursday, December 19th. Winter Break begins on December 20th. For the purpose of consistency, clarity, and the importance of finals, if students have to leave town prior to and/or during finals week, they will need to work with the teacher to make up the final within two weeks of their return (not before).
Kind Regards,
Sam Ruff
DHS Science Olympiad team competed in the “O-Town Throwdown”
On Saturday, November 16th, the DHS science olympiad team competed in the “O-Town Throwdown” invitational tournament at Olathe North High School. Twenty-five area high schools competed in 23 events ranging from building and engineering challenges to knowledge and skills testing across the scientific disciplines. DHS ranked 8th overall, which is our best performance at this competition in the history of our team! The team brought home five placements:
- 6th place in “Sounds of Music,” a challenge in building a musical instrument and demonstrating knowledge of music theory
- 5th place in “Experimental Design,” a challenge in conducting an original experiment from given materials and producing a detailed lab report of results
- 4th place in “Forensics,” a laboratory investigation to solve a crime simulation
- 4th place in “Ornithology,” a testing event over the knowledge of bird species
- 4th place in “Protein Modeling,” a building and testing event over the structure and function of biological proteins
We wouldn’t have been able to place as high as we did without the participation of all team members; congratulations to all who came, who saw, who did science. Our next competition is January 25th.
Volleyball All Conference
2019 Huhtamaki Hardwood Classic
Boys Soccer All Conference
ECKMEA District Honor Bands
Varsity Football Completes Season as Sectional Runner Up
ECKMEA District Honor Choir
Scholars Bowl Season is in full swing!
The year has gotten off to a great start for our JV Scholars Bowl team. We have a large team again this year, with over 20 students participating regularly at practices and meets. Students are improving with every practice and these results are paying off in our meets. We have attended 6 meets so far and have been competitive in all of them, including a 2nd place finish at Maranatha in a field of 18 teams, a 3rd place finish at Eudora out of 16 teams, and just missing Finals at Turner.
This week, we hosted a 16-team JV tournament that featured over 60 DHS student and staff workers. We will be hosting a 32-team Varsity tournament the week after Thanksgiving that has grown to be one of the most competitive in the state, featuring contenders for the State title in 4A, 5A, and 6A. We couldn’t put on events like these without the tremendous support of our community and administrators and appreciate all they do to support our students, both inside and outside the classroom.
Scholars Bowl is an academic contest where teams compete to show what they have learned in school. It features head-to-head competition between teams of five players, quick response answers, time limits on questions, and the use of buzzers. Most questions come from the following seven categories: World Language, Social Studies, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Fine Arts, and Year in Review. The Varsity team is coached by Phillip Hamilton, and the JV team is coached by Philip Kaul.
All Conference Football
Congratulations to the newest members of NHS!
Football Academically Focused
DHS Art students work selected for regional show
The following De Soto Art Students had work accepted into the Annual Merriam High School Visual Arts Competition at the Tim Murphy Art Gallery. For the show, 151 art works were selected, out of 1,036 art works submitted from 23 area high schools.
Julie Steeb
Annika Jungfleisch
Sydney D'Andrea
Erica Hoelting
Alex Braley
December 5 Opening reception from 7 – 8:30 p.m. Awards ceremony begins at 8:00 p.m. Live music by The Band Anna KC.
December 5-28 Exhibition open to public
Tim Murphy Art Gallery
Irene B. French Community Center
5701 Merriam Drive
Merriam, KS 66203
DHS Art Students Placed at the DeSoto Arts Council Fall Fine Arts and Crafts show
The following DHS Art Students Placed at the DeSoto Arts Council Fall Fine Arts and Crafts show this weekend 11/8-9.
Julie Steeb
First Place -- Julie Steeb for her drawing "Self Portrait with Camel"
Alex Braley
Second Place -- Alex Braley for his 3D work "Trashy"
Hannah Purkey
Third Place -- Hannah Purkey for her Self Portrait
Claire Kennard Wildcat of the Month
2020 Hall of Fame Inductees
Luke Barger Wildcat of the Month
Homework Request Information
When your student is absent from school, please encourage your student to reach out to teachers requesting assignments missed due to the absence. Certainly parents can also reach out to teachers, but part of becoming an independent learner is communication, being organized and advocating for yourself. If your student is experiencing a longer term absence (a week or more), our counselors are available to assist in this process.
Notes from the Nurse
Thank you for your support!
Vision Testing November 20-21
Five Day Exclusion
The seven day exclusion policy for influenza (flu) has changed from seven days to five days. Students and staff who are diagnosed with the flu will be excluded for five days, starting with the first day of symptoms. For example, if a staff member feels ill on Sunday and goes to the doctor and is diagnosed with flu on Wednesday, the five day exclusion starts on Sunday.
Students and staff must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of medication to bring down the temperature. If a staff member has followed the five day exclusion, but still has a fever on day six, the staff member must still be excluded until fever free with medication.
When should my student stay home?
An important part of high school is practicing skills for adulthood, like attending school when you have mild symptoms. Students need to develop the ability to successfully push through minor discomforts. This builds confidence in their ability to conquer hardships and prepares them for future employment with limited sick days.
Stay Home!
If your child has vomited or had diarrhea in the last 24 hours, please keep them home until they have been free of these symptoms for a FULL 24 hours without ibuprofen or Tylenol for a FULL 24 hours. When you send them back too early, you are choosing to expose others and risk prolonging your child's recovery.
Message from Student Services
College Credit Deadlines Approaching:
Students who are enrolled in DHS Classes that count toward college credit, need to be aware of the upcoming deadlines. Please visit the College Credit/Dual Enrollment page for more information
For more information on each of these programs and how to enroll please click here.
Scholarship Information:
Looking for money to help pay for college? Check out the DHS Student Services Scholarship page! Throughout the year scholarships will be posted that are available to seniors. There is also a “Scholarship Search Tips” that can help aid the search process. Click here to go to the page.
College Visits:
If your student will be going on a college visit, students must fill out a College Visit Form. Forms are available in Student Services or online by clicking here. Students are to take the form with them on the day of the visit and bring it back signed by an admissions representative.
Semester 2 Schedule Changes:
Students are able to submit a 2nd semester schedule change request. On Monday, December 2nd students will get a copy of their second semester schedule in their seminar class. Students who would like to request a change in classes, will need to fill out the Schedule Change Request Form and return it to Student Services signed by both the student and the parent. The Schedule Change Request Form will be available in Student Services after school on Monday, December 2nd. Schedule changes will only be approved for the reasons listed on the schedule change form.
Completed schedule change forms are due by 7:50 AM on December 6th.
High School Leadership Conference at OSU
HSLC is a three-day adventure into leadership exclusively for high school juniors from across the United States. The purpose of HSLC is to equip, empower, and inspire high school students with valuable leadership skills that will benefit them in their daily lives and help them impact their schools. Students will leave the conference embodying characteristics that will help them become productive, efficient leaders. Please watch this video: https://vimeo.com/317874613
The conference will be held on February 14-16, 2020, at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. HSLC 2020 applications open NOVEMBER 5TH, 2019, and can be accessed at hslc.ou.edu. Students do not need to be involved in Student Council and/or leadership. This conference is for ALL students in organizations, clubs, and activities.
The High School Leadership Conference provides full and partial tuition waivers for students in need, so they are able to attend the conference.
Note: Students do not have to be interested in attending the University of Oklahoma. The university is simply our hosting site, and all students are encouraged to apply.