WILDCAT WORD

• November 13: GBB @ HG
  
• November 15: GBB @ WR
• November 15: SMNW PTA Speaker on Fentanyl
• November 20-24: Thanksgiving Break
• December 15: 1st Annual Trailridge Career Fair
• December 15: All missing work due for celebration day participation
• December 20: 2nd Quarter Celebration Day

Greetings Wildcats,

This week we had multiple things to celebrate. On Friday, we had a student led Veteran's Day flag retirement. Gus O'Malley organized the ceremony with four of his fellow boy scout classmates. They retired the flag and presented the new one in front of multiple social studies classes. It was awesome to see these boys show such leadership in front of their peers.

It is hard to believe that we are only 1 week away from our Thanksgiving break. We are nearing the midpoint of our quarter, and we are encouraging our students to continue to work hard on their school work. It is important for them to finish this upcoming week out strong before break.

This week we are also going to celebrate the first annual Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. This is a great way for our students to learn about our history as well as show the importance of creating a peaceful and harmonious future. We realize that a lot of our students do not walk to school each day. To show our support, we are asking staff and students to dress in purple that day. There is more information below.

Lastly, I wanted to send out another reminder about our upcoming first annual Trailridge Career Fair. This is a really important day that we are planning, and we are looking for volunteers to help make it a success. If you, or anyone you know, would be interested, please see the flyer below. We had an initial rush of volunteers but are currently only about halfway there. Thank you for considering and helping us prepare a day for our students to explore future careers.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Matt, Cara and Ericka

Trailridge Middle School Administration

#LevelUp

On Tuesday, November 14, Trailridge is excited to acknowledge the inaugural Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. Sponsored by The Ruby Bridges Foundation, this day brings awareness to the importance of young people's influence on creating a more peaceful and harmonious future. To show support, we’re inviting students and staff to wear purple on Tuesday.

Six year old Ruby Bridges stepped into history books in 1960 when she integrated William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans becoming a national icon for the civil rights movement. Today her story continues to inspire the next generation of leaders to end racism together one step at a time.

Shout out to the following students for making our Veteran's Day Flag Retirement ceremony a success!

Gus O'Malley (Troop 93), Ben Corrigan (Troop 284), Milo Dickson Troop 123), Evan Markley (Troop 428) and Wesley Millard (Troop 93).

Homework Club - Students can have a quiet place to work on homework and receive assistance from teachers

FCA - Christian athletes meet to talk and be active

Handicrafts Club - Students craft; projects may include painting, macrame, crochet, knitting, bracelet making

Chess Club - All skill levels who are interested in chess can come to play against schoolmates

Everything Arcade - Students come play various board games with friends

Bingo for Prizes - Students play bingo to win random prizes

Craft Club - Various crafts available for making in the library

GSA Club - All students are welcome to the gay/straight alliance to support equality & belonging for all

Positive office referrals are a way for our teachers to recognize students who are doing great things within the classroom! We celebrated the following students this week with positive office referrals!

Congratulations to...

Deri'Anna Davis

Kylen Ford

Hudson Hauser

Azita Nazari

Lucy Wilson

Ivan Tapia

As a building we have put an extra focus on reading. IXL is a proven program to help in those areas and each student has an account. Our students use this program during 4th hour three times a week and also in their ELA class. Your student can also put in additional time at home. We are encouraging all students to utilize IXL or to read a book, rather than playing games on the laptop.

Our ELA teachers have preselected skill for our students to work on. To access their account, the student needs to click into "ClassLink" and find the IXL app. Once in the app, please make sure your student selects the tab "From your Teacher" to access those preselected skills.

Is Your Child On Track in Math?

IvyMath is providing all Trailridge families with a free online math tutoring session and an in-depth parent conference to discuss your child's strengths and weaknesses and how they compare to grade level.

IvyMath will also create a custom learning plan that maps out the exact areas your child should be focusing on in math. You'll have the opportunity to ask questions, and understand what your child needs to feel confident and stay on track in math this year.

The IvyMath tutoring session, parent conference, and learning plan are free for all Trailridge families. Popular times fill up, so please register quickly! Signup now at: IvyMath.com/Boost

New City Church will be doing our Turkey Drop again this year and would love to partner with you on finding families in need this holiday season.

We will be providing full turkey meal kits and delivering them to homes on Sunday, November 19th.

These meal kits include a whole turkey (frozen), canned green beans, canned corn, stuffing mix, cranberry sauce, instant potatoes, jarred gravy, boxed cake mix and frosting. There are 100 kits to give, so it will be a first come first serve basis, with a limit of one per address. Would you please forward this on to any families that are in need so we can bless them if they are interested.

(You can also sign up to go to the church parking lot to pick up).

LINK FOR FAMILIES TO SIGN UP: https://mynewcity.churchcenter.com/people/forms/627837

This event is one of our favorites of the whole year! Coming together as a community and seeing our people caring for our neighbors in a simple and tangible way is a blessing to us as well.

Below is information on how monitor your student's food account. District wide, we have seen an increase in the number of students with a negative balance on their accounts. As a building, we will begin reaching out to families who have a large account balance due.

23-24 School Year Physicals

Student athlete physicals for the 2023-2024 School Year must be completed after May 1st, 2023. Here is the updated KSHSSA Physical Packet that must be completed. Please note that the date on the bottom right-hand corner of the form is 4/2023. Every physical packet turned in must be using the updated packet. If you have any questions, please contact Ericka Waller at erickawaller@smsd.org.

Student Athlete Handbook

Attached is the Trailridge Student Athlete Handbook. This handbook reviews policies and procedures for being an athlete at Trailridge. Please review this handbook at your convenience.

Click Here to access the Trailridge Student Athlete Handbook.

Athletics Calendar

Be sure to visit our calendar page, and download the app to stay up to date on all Trailridge athletic activities: CLICK HERE

Girls Basketball

Mon. 11/13 AWAY @ Hocker Grove 5:00, 6:15, 7:30

Weds. 11/15 AWAY @ Westridge 5:00, 6:15, 7:30

Wrestling

All equipment needs to be turned in to Coach Bouley by Monday, November 13. Items not turned in will be billed to the student’s account.

Contact Information

Athletic Director: Ericka Corrado, erickacorrado@smsd.org

Athletic Coordinator: Heather Mayfield, heathermayfield@smsd.org

Volleyball: Cara Hillman, carajhillman@smsd.org

Cross Country: Michael Scott, michaelscott341@smsd.org

Wrestling: Justin Andrews, justinandrews387@gmail.com

Girls’ Basketball: Rachael Baumgartner, rachaelbaumgartner@smsd.org

Boys’ Basketball: Brandon Hoch, brandonhoch212@smsd.org

Athletic Trainer: Josh Hardy, jhardy2@kumc.edu

Please make sure your student is taking care of their device. Below is the fee structure should the MacBook be unintentionally damaged:

• 1st Incident: $100 charge
• 2nd Incident: $150 charge
• 3+ Incident: ~$750 charge (full device replacement)

If a device is intentionally damaged the student may be responsible for a full device replacement cost of approximately $750.

Our PTA is very active in supporting students and staff at Trailridge through grants, assemblies, student activities and celebrations, and more and while our events and activities will undoubtedly look different this school year, our commitment to supporting our students, staff, and families is as strong as ever! Please consider joining and getting involved in your Trailridge PTA as we find new and creative ways to support our students, staff, and families in 2023/2024!

The Trailridge Spirit Wear Store is live!! Visit the PTA website for a link to the store and to check out all of our new designs! Items are shipped directly to you and you can order anytime.

Please use the link or the QR Code to access the PTA website:

https://www.trailridgepta.org

INFORMATION ABOUT TRUANCY

The administration of Trailridge may begin to request documentation for all absences after the 10th absence in a school year. Absences without a doctor's note or administrative approval may be recorded as unexcused. A student with three consecutive unexcused absences, five unexcused absences in a semester, or seven unexcused absences in a year is considered TRUANT according to Kansas State statues. A truancy report may be filed with the Johnson County District Attorney's office.

Attendance Line: 913 993-1012

If your child is going to miss a class for an appointment or any reason, please make sure you are calling the office to let the attendance clerk know. This is important so that we can excuse the absence.

• FRONT OFFICE 913 993-1000
• SECRETARY: Angie Marsh 913-993-1002
• ATTENDANCE CLERK: Francy Johnson 913 993-1012 (Absences should be reported by 9:30 AM)
• SPANISH INTERPRETER: 913 993-1062 Ms. Veronica Simonetti
• DS BUSING: 913 384-1190
  
• BOOKKEEPER: Ms. Gina Bristow 913 993-1003
• NURSE: Ms. Darla Denny 913 993-1007

Email: trailridge@smsd.org
Website: trailridge.smsd.org
Location: 7500 Quivira Road, Shawnee Mission, KS 66216
Phone: (913) 993-1000
Facebook: facebook.com/trailridgemiddle
Twitter: @Wildcats512