IHMS Weekly News
April 29 - May 6, 2022
Upcoming IHMS Events
Monday, 05/02:
Staff Appreciation Week Begins
ELA MAP
3:50 Academic Learning Lab
Tuesday, 05/03:
ELA MAP
3:50 Academic Learning Lab
3:50 Jazz Band
4:30 Science Fair
Wednesday, 05/04:
8:20 School Store Open
ELA MAP
3:50 Academic Learning Lab
3:50 Board Game Club
Thursday, 05/05:
ELA MAP
3:50 Academic Learning Lab
3:50 Art Club
3:50 Chess Club
3:50 Nancy Drew Club
3:50 Jazz Band
Friday, 05/06:
ELA MAP
IH Math Team Meeting during KT
3:45 All School Mixer
Upcoming Events:
05/09: Math MAP
05/10: Math MAP
05/11: Math MAP
05/11: Last Late Bus
05/12: Math MAP
05/12: 7:00 Choir Concert
05/13: Math MAP
05/16: 7th Grade Macbook Collection
05/17: 8th Grade Macbook Collection
05/18: 7:00 Orchestra Concert
05/19: Last Day for Students / 1:45 Dismissal
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Section 1: New and Important at IHMS
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Congratulations to Luke Sinatra
For the second year in a row, an IHMS student has won the SMSD R&D Forum's Next Big Idea competition! Congratulations to Luke Sinatra who won $2500 toward his idea of turning IHMS artwork into tradeable NFT's.
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Last Day of School Moved to May 19
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Parent Volunteers and Donations Needed for May 6 Mixer!
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May 6 Student Mixer: 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. @ IH; Bring a Veteran's Center Donation For Entrance
The student "entrance fee" is a Veteran's Center donation, so please see the write-up below for types of toiletries and hygiene items needed.
Please note that students will not be allowed to exit school property and then return to the mixer for safety purposes.
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Veterans Center Donations Wanted by Friday
There are just under 40,000 homeless veterans in the United States. Veterans risk their lives and serve our country by enlisting in the military. Unfortunately, when they’ve completed their service many suffer from PTSD and other significant health/mental health issues, resulting in some of those veterans ending up on the streets. The St. Michael’s Veterans Center and other local organizations are working to end veteran homelessness by providing housing and support to veterans in need.
For the next two weeks, from April 25 to May 6, our school will be doing a drive for the St. Michael's Veterans Center to help support our veterans. We will be collecting toiletries and hygiene items, including shampoo, conditioner, bar soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss, shaving cream, razors, deodorant, lotion, sunscreen, first aid supplies, and mending kits. Students can look in Canvas for the list of items to bring in and go to the St. Michael's Veterans Center website or kid4vets.com for more information.
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Library Books due May 13th
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Summer Reading Options
For those avid readers and even those more reluctant that could use a little incentivizing…check out some of Kansas City’s summer reading programs:
https://kcparent.com/summer/summer-reading-programs-across-kc-2022/.
One option that starts this week is Audiobook Sync. It is for teens 13+. Students get free audiobooks all summer long! Click here to see the titles being offered this summer.
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Attend our Inaugural IHMS Science Fair - 5/3/22
Our inaugural IHMS Science Fair Night will held on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 from 4:30 to 5:30 PM in the Cafeteria. This event is open to all Seventh-Grade Advanced Science Students to be able to showcase their Science Fair Project that they work hard on all semester! Students will be able to start setting up their projects starting at 4:00.
Regards,
Seventh-Grade Advanced Science Teachers
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Summer Strength and Conditioning at SME
SME High School is offering rising 7th and 8th-grade boys and girls the opportunity to train this summer at Shawnee Mission East with Coach Simoneau. Click the link below for information and sign up details. We are lucky to have someone like Coach Simoneau so please try and take advantage of this opportunity if you are interested.
https://sites.google.com/smsd.org/smeathletics/home
Coach Gagnon
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Section 2: Still Relevant From Previous Weeks
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The Shops of Prairie Village Concerns
Large groupings of middle schoolers without parental and/or adult supervision is never a good idea.
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IHMS Multi-Generation Display Information
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8th Grade Summer School Options
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UPDATED: 4th Quarter Testing Information and Dates
Due to end of year activities, events, etc., we need to move MAP testing up one week for both ELA and math. Please see the updated testing schedule below.
Please have your student bring headphones to school for these testing dates. See graphic below for testing dates and information.
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Reporting Absences, Appointments, and Illnesses Procedures Returning to Previous Standard
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our established procedures relating to student pick-up and illness reporting have had to conform to current mitigation strategies. As we return to optional-masks at IH, the following procedures will return as well. Please note that the procedures below do not deviate from published and established student/parent handbook material. However, they may necessitate a change in your current reporting/notification practice because a return to these procedures better ensures the safety of your student(s).
Absentee Reporting:
In case of an absence from school, the student’s parents or guardians must call the Attendance Hotline at 993-0412 prior to 8:45 a.m. each day of absence. This automated line is answered 24 hours, and requests the name of the person calling, student’s first and last name (please spell last name), and reason for absence. If there has been no personal communication, the absence is unexcused and the student is considered truant. After 3 consecutive days of truancy, 5 total days of truancy in a semester, and/or 7 total days of truancy in a school year, truancy will be filed with the Johnson County District Attorney's office.
Appointments:
A written note is required if it is necessary for a student to leave school before 3:45 p.m. This note should be presented to front office personnel before school to receive a permit to leave class. Students will report to the office to sign out before leaving school.
Another option is to call attendance personnel ahead of time with this information by using the attendance line 913-993-0412. If you opt to use the attendance line to request a student pick-up, please allow one hour for processing your request. If someone other than the parent is picking the student up for the appointment, parents must name this person in their note/call to the school and the driver must go through the school district’s ID check (currently Raptor).
Upon return to school, students must report immediately to the office to sign in and receive a pass to class.
Illness during the School Day:
Students who need to go home early due to illness must call home from the nurse’s office and check out from the nurse’s office. Students should not text their parents to simply come pick them up. All communication should come from the nurse’s office only.
Parents/guardians or other individuals picking up will have their driver’s license screened
through the district Raptor system or present their ID each time they pick-up their student.
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Tardy-to-School Procedure Update
Procedure for tardies to school:
- Students should be in their Knight Time class by the 8:45 a.m. each school day.
- Students who arrive later than the 8:45 a.m. bell must check in through the front office and receive a late pass to class.
- Tardy 1 - Tardy 4: Managed in classroom between teacher and student.
- Tardy 4 - Tardy 6: Student is referred to student services for intervention.
- Tardy 7 and beyond: Student is referred to grade level administrator for strategic intervention and/or disciplinary consequence(s).
Note: Although the information above reflects changes to some of the building-level procedures regarding tardies at IHMS, the Board of Education attendance policy remains unchanged. That policy can be found in the SMSD middle school handbook on pages 5 and 6.
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Important Yearbook Ordering and Distribution Updates:
Normally, at the end of the school year, our yearbooks are given to students on the last day of school. However, this hasn’t been a fully normal year, not just for schools, but for those working for yearbook companies, and throughout our entire nation. With that said, the yearbooks will not be able distributed until sometime this summer and likely once the new school year begins in August.
As such, rest assured that those of you who have ordered yearbooks or still plan to order one will get them. Our current 7th graders who purchased a yearbook will receive them during Knight Time in August. Our current 8th graders who purchased a yearbook will be organized by our journalism teacher with Shawnee Mission East. For those who may be moving or are not attending SME, please email Mrs. Basden at RachelBasden@smsd.orgwith the address of your new location or the name of SMSD high school where your 8th grader will go. If your 8th grader is attending another high school, email Mrs. Basden that you will pick it up at our school, after you get the email letting you know that it’s ready for pickup.
To still order a yearbook for your child, orders will be available for parents/guardians to purchase, by paying through your child’s account from now through April 22nd. School staff members can arrange their payments for a yearbook directly with Mrs. Basden through April 22nd, as well. As always, we appreciate your understanding.
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Daily Bus Board
Did you know that every day this bus board is set up and displayed outside prior to dismissal? Each bus is placed in the order of that day and substitution numbers are displayed as well. That being said, this is the first thing your student should check when leaving the front doors at dismissal. There is no reason for students to miss the bus because they could not locate it.
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Section 3: SME Area News and Events
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Shawnee Mission East Sports Physical Day
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Lancer Wrestling Camp - Summer 2022
The Lancer Wrestling Camp will be held June 6-9 at Shawnee Mission East High School. Camp enrollment is now open for all interested students. Beginners and those with experience are all welcome. The cost for the full camp is $50.
Girls Session: 5-12 Grades, 8:00-9:00 AM
Session I: 9-12 Grades, 9:00-10:30 AM
Session II: 5-8 Grades, 11:00-12:30 AM
Fill out this form to reserve your spot:
Lancer Wrestling Camp Enrollment Form
Email Coach Laird with questions: tannerlaird@smsd.org
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Lancer Volleyball Camp - Summer 2022
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Section 4: District Area News and Events
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Section 5: Mainstay News
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9/21 Parent Engagement Evening Resources
For those parents/guardians that were unable to make our family engagement night on September 21, 2021, we have populated the information from the evening in presentation format.
Please check out the very important information covered that evening by following this link.
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I'm Absent From School. What Do I Do? How Do I Keep Up With School Work?
Students will be asked to stay home for the duration of their isolation/quarantine. To ensure you have a correct return date with current guidance, please reach out to our front office staff to report illness, and if COVID-related, please ensure you let Nurse Judy know.
Front Office Attendance Contact:
Erinn Vogts: erinnvogts@smsd.org
Constance Eddy: constanceeddy@smsd.org
Attendance Line: (913) 993-0412
Nurse Contacts:
Nurse Judy McMullen: judithmcmullen@smsd.org
Nurse's Aide Rhonda Levine: rhondalevine@smsd.org
Once you have notified school personnel of the absence, make sure your student reaches out to each individual teacher to check on what Canvas assignments should be completed and/or if any questions arise.
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I've Tested Positive for COVID - Now What?
If you have tested positive for COVID and are reporting your case/ seeking guidance, please complete this form: SMSD COVID-19 case report form
What do I do next? SMSD COVID Information:
- SMSD 2nd Semester Guidance- Students and Staff
- Johnson County Department of Health COVID-19 Hotline: 913-715-2819
After the above items and information have been completed/reviewed, any clarifying questions can be directed to IHMS Nurse Judy McMullen:
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IHMS Peace Corner
The IHMS Student Services team has created a virtual calming room (click link) for students, staff and families to access in times of need.
We know that stress and anxiety can be high at times. This IHMS Peace Corner has videos and activities to help manage stress, calm down strong feelings and build resiliency. We hope that this will be another resource for our families to navigate this unusual school year. You can also find this page on our Student Services tab at https://indianhills.smsd.org/.
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21-22 PTA Membership: Please Join Us!
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Academic Learning Lab (A.L.L.) Now Monday-Thursday!
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After-school Activity Busing: Free to All Students (in SME boundary)
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Macbook Troubleshooting Tips
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IHMS Website Reminder
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Give us a Follow
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e-Read Access Through IHMS
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1-800-CHILDREN
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IHMS Communication Chain
1. Mass communication from IHMS:
- Mass communication will come each Friday or Saturday in the form of the IHMS Weekly News. This is an important review for your family each week as it outlines specific events, newsworthy, and/or action-oriented items relevant to IHMS.
- There are times throughout the week a stand-alone email may be sent via a Skyward blast - especially if an important event is taking place or if important information must be shared. You have already seen this in practice (i.e.Tuesday when I sent a reminder about the ice cream social).
2. Absences:
- Please communicate absences through attendance personnel. Avoid emailing administration or student services directly.
- Email constanceeddy@smsd.org to indicate the date(s) and nature of your student's absence.
- Call in your student's absence - including date(s) and nature of the absence - to the school attendance line: (913) 993-0412.
3. Grades/Classroom Questions/Issues:
- Please email your student's teacher directly for all questions/issues related to grades and/or the classroom.
- Staff email addresses can be found on our school website (click link). Unless specific circumstances
- Avoid emailing administration and/or student services with issues that have not been problem solved at the classroom level first unless extenuating circumstances merit direct contact.
4. General Contact Guidelines:
- The chart below provides parents with a general contact chart they can utilize to ensure communication remains streamlined:
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I'm Absent From School. What Do I Do? How Do I Keep Up With School Work?
Students will be asked to stay home for the duration of their isolation/quarantine. To ensure you have a correct return date with current guidance, please reach out to our front office staff to report illness, and if COVID-related, please ensure you let Nurse Judy know.
Front Office Attendance Contact:
Erinn Vogts: erinnvogts@smsd.org
Constance Eddy: constanceeddy@smsd.org
Attendance Line: (913) 993-0412
Nurse Contacts:
Nurse Judy McMullen: judithmcmullen@smsd.org
Nurse's Aide Rhonda Levine: rhondalevine@smsd.org
Once you have notified school personnel of the absence, make sure your student reaches out to each individual teacher to check on what Canvas assignments should be completed and/or if any questions arise.