Examples of Excellence (Sept 2022)
September 2022
Overview
USD 231 is proud of the daily accomplishments in our classrooms and buildings. We are frequently notified of awards, generous donations by community members, and other occasions that warrant special attention. The USD 231 'Examples of Excellence' newsletter is produced to share the stories of our student and employee successes!
Do you have a 'feel-good' story or accomplishment to share? Let us know by submitting the information HERE.
USD 231 Teachers of the Year
Eleven veteran educators have been selected to represent the Gardner Edgerton School District in the state-sponsored Kansas Teacher of the Year (KTOY) program. The Kansas Teacher of the Year Award recognizes and utilizes representatives of excellent teaching in the elementary and secondary classrooms of the state. The program’s mission is to build and utilize a network of exemplary teachers who are leaders in the improvement of schools, student performance, and the teaching profession.
A district selection committee will now evaluate the applications of each nominee and identify two (one elementary and one secondary) outstanding educators to represent the district in the state-wide program.
As part of the process, these two finalists will complete a set of essays related to their current practice, solicit letters of reference from administrators, students, parents, and peers, and participate in a follow-up interview.
The educators in the picture to the right should be extremely proud, congratulated, and celebrated!
GEHS Instructor Inducted into Hall of Fame
Mary Schulte, GEHS Broadcast Journalism teacher, was recently notified she has been inducted into the Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame!
Mary received her B.S. in Physical Education and Spanish at Missouri State University and pursued an M.A. in Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia with a double emphasis in magazine writing and photojournalism. After a short stint at a newspaper out of state, Mary returned to her hometown, Kansas City, and began work as a photojournalist at The Kansas City Times. She covered general assignments from spot news to fashion to photo essays at The Times and then at The Star, when the newspapers merged. Relying on her experience as a high school and collegiate athlete, and her physical education background, Mary provided sports coverage, including photographing coach Marty Schottenheimer and Chiefs Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas during their first year in Kansas City, as well as team coverage for the Royals and the Chiefs. One of her first long-term photo stories followed two nuns who ran an inner-city daycare, and the lifelong relationship she developed with Sisters Berta and Corita led her to volunteer with Operation Breakthrough, where her photos are used in their brochures and programs as well as on their walls.
Mary has supported and encouraged women in the field of photojournalism as she supervised photo department interns and worked with peers in the profession. In 2004, Mary served as the co-director of the Women in Photojournalism conference, which brought hundreds of photojournalists to Kansas City for the national meeting.
When Mary agreed to work as a photo editor for a year, she had no idea it would eventually turn into 15 years in a variety of editing positions with the sports, features, metro and online desks. One of her most exciting collaborations was working with the editing team and photographers covering the Kansas City Royals on their road to the World Series in 2015. After leaving The Star in 2016, she continued with her photography business, PhotomomentsKC.
Throughout her career, Mary has been an educator. She has spent 25 years as an adjunct professor at Johnson County Community College, where she helped to develop the photojournalism course. Mary currently teaches at Gardner Edgerton High School as the Digital Photography teacher and head of the Broadcast Journalism program.
Founded in 2005, inductees this year represent the Hall of Fame’s 18th class and include the late photojournalist and columnist Ken Paik; freelance photojournalists Melissa Farlow and Randy Olson; editor and educator Mary Schulte; and newspaper photojournalist Don Shrubshell.
Photographs made by the inductees will be on display in the Sam B. Cook Hall at the State Historical Society of Missouri’s Center for Missouri Studies, located at 605 Elm St., Columbia. Those photographs will join the Hall of Fame’s existing collection of work by prior inductees.
The Photojournalism Hall of Fame was founded at the urging of Bill Miller Sr., publisher of the Washington Missourian twice-weekly newspaper, to recognize outstanding contributors to visual communication with ties to Missouri.
Information about the Photojournalism Hall of Fame and previous inductees can be seen at photojournalismhalloffame.org.
Horizon Award Nominees
Two second-year educators have been selected to represent the Gardner Edgerton School District in the state-sponsored Horizon Award Program. The Kansas Horizon Award program identifies and recognizes representatives of excellent teaching in the elementary and secondary classrooms of the state. Jennifer Miller, a first-grade teacher at Nike Elementary School, and Stephanie Ruley, an English Language Arts teacher at Gardner Edgerton High School, will represent the elementary and secondary levels, respectively.
The mission of the Kansas Horizon Award program is to recognize exemplary first-year teachers who perform in a way that distinguishes them as outstanding. The program is a regional competition, and the regions correspond to the state’s four U.S. congressional districts.
The Kansas State Department of Education will appoint regional selection committees responsible for reviewing the nomination forms and selecting four elementary classroom teachers and four secondary classroom teachers per region for a total of 32 teachers.
As part of the process, the two finalists will complete a set of essays related to their current practice, solicit letters of reference from administrators, students, parents, and peers, and participate in an extensive interview process.
The educators below should be incredibly proud, congratulated, and celebrated!
Pollinator Garden Update
Attached are pictures of the monarch caterpillars at the Gardner Edgerton High School pollinator garden. This area is designated as a federal monarch way station...and in year one is already paying dividends. Monarch Butterflies have recently been listed as endangered species, so any type of habitat conservation is critical.
Also attached is a picture of an Indian Blanket Flower (red with yellow edges) and in the background is a Silky Aster Flower (purple). This is the last flower species to bloom any year and in doing so became the 29th grass/flower species seen out of the 29 species placed in the garden.
This garden is made possible by over 300 students and many staff members. Thank you all for your support on this adventure so far!
GEHS Senior Selected for Space Camp
Jory Chappell, a senior, has been selected to attend The Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy (HLCA) Space Camp® at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center (USSRC) in Huntsville, Alabama. Jory left on October 1. Jory is an amazing young lady, but because of her quiet nature she flies under the radar most of the time. While at camp, attendees are not allowed to use their phones; however, they will take group shots that include them in their space suits!
KMEA
The GEHS Tenor Bass Choir has been chosen to perform at the Kansas Music Educator's Association annual workshop! This convention takes place in February at the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas.
During this prestigious event, speakers, performers and professionals/teachers gather together to represent the best of music education throughout the state. Prior to the conference, performance groups throughout Kansas compete for the privilege and honor of performing at the in-service workshop for music educators, administrators, and other guests. Groups are selected based on blind auditions and judging is conducted by affiliated organizations. We are pleased to announce that the GEHS Tenor/Bass Contest Choir was chosen as one of the performance groups at this year’s conference.
This distinguishes the choir as one of the top singing groups in the state!
Kelli Baker - GEHS Choir Teacher, Zach Jewell, Ernest Wayih, Amin Mohamed, Keegan Neff, Clayton Terry, Hayden Thornton, Noah Treace, Gabe Biggs, Christian Gonzalez, Zach Gunby, Quinn Rogers, Jacob Venevongsoth, Leslie Burroughs, Caitlin Cline, Von Finkenbinder, Chance Hensen, Conner Booton, Jack Fortner, Noah Collette, Jacob Draves, Austin Elley, Jayse Halda, Aiden Lark, Connor Postel, Alex Valverde, Jack Lloyd, Robert Ratcliffe, Zack Rhodes, Benjamin Robison, Devin Bettes, Brayden Byars, Evan Gray, Aiden Ponce, Landon Kober
Share Your Story with Us!!!
Do you have a 'feel-good' story or accomplishment to share? Let us know by submitting the information HERE.