Mailing in US mail now would not allow enough time for delivery by Tuesday, March 1st. Ballots will need to be dropped off at the JOCO Election office no later than NOON Tuesday to count.

To access all information related to the March 1st bond, go to the link HERE.

Dear CST Family,

I hope this reaches you well. We had a nice (almost) full week back and so much going on. The boys' basketball season is coming to a close but not before ramping up with games and a city tournament this weekend. Last Thursday's game was an even to behold as our Olathe South friends brought a couple hundred student fans in support of their alma mater (Frontier Trail or CST). The result was a high school atmosphere at CST with loud cheers and chants. It was such an experience for our team, and our student fans as well.

Last week CST was also host to an all-day orchestra festival (Wednesday). We welcomed 4 other Olathe middle schools and they came over to play and receive judging from two professional judges. Thank you to Dr. Kusek for his organization for this special event. It was also a wonderful experience for our kids.

Finally, I want to congratulate our Science Olympiad team, lead by sponsors Mrs. Kinzer and Mr. Woolcott, who competed at the regional event held at JCCC. Our team was still awaiting final results, but we know of a 1st place finish for Caden Perkins in mousetrap vehicle and 3rd in bridge, along with high praise for Cassidy Rogers and Lorena Atie for their work on the Rube Goldberg competition. The team has worked hard and represented CST so well...nice job, CST Sci-O!

This week is scheduled to be a full week and the weather is looking really nice...I think we'll get 5 days in! We will cap the week with a pep assembly ahead of the boys' city basketball tournament and reveal our mascot's name!

I'm looking forward to a great week at CST!

Rick

Physicals must be on file to go out, but all are welcome! Join the school team and represent with CST colors over the next 6 weeks of track!

Contact Coach Kinzer or Coach Hankins with questions.

Olathe Public Schools families,

Due to changes in CDC guidelines, masks will now be optional for students and staff on any transportation vehicles provided by the district. This includes school buses, activity buses, mini-vans, transits, SUVs, or cars.

Thank you for working together as a community to support the mask choices of all and thank you for your continued support of the Olathe Public Schools.

Olathe Public Schools Administration

After 22 years it's about time for our wildcat to have a name! Last semester, students had the opportunity to enter name suggestions for our CST wildcat and we've taken it to a vote as of last week. The top 5 names were narrowed down to 3 at the start of the snow day. We'll extend the voting opportunity given the break in action but all students have an email from Mr. Sola with a link to the new voting. Our plan was to announce the name at Friday's pep assembly so we'll adjust and re-plan once we have a new pep assembly date. Below are the choices from last semester's suggestions (bold names made the top 3 for the latest round of voting).

1. Chester: Because CheSTer is CST! Chester Chisholm!
2. Jesse: Jesse Chisholm is the fur trader and merchant who scouted and developed what became known as the Chisholm Trail.
3. LeVar: CST's first principal, Mrs. Carol LeVar. Homage to the founder of CST.
4. Wally: Alliteration with mascot names is fun! Cousin to "Willie the Wildcat".
5. Winston: Because CST Wildcats are Winners! Winston Wildcat!

Due to our glorious snow days, the CST Food Drive has been extended. The last day to collect food will now be Wednesday, March 2.

The Google Form to report totals will be sent on March 2. Medals will be hung accordingly and winners will be announced. Food will be picked up from your classrooms after school on Thursday, March 3 – thanks Jen Vohland and KAY for taking care of packing it all up!

FYI: 15 items = bronze, 30 items = silver and 50 items = gold

What is Go Guardian? (device monitoring software)

Go Guardian Parent was created to help provide additional educational support to administrators and teachers by allowing parents to see what sites and documents their children are browsing and providing parents with additional internet controls at home. The app gives parents and guardians a bird’s eye view of the apps and websites that their kids are on most often and control over school-issued devices during out-of-school hours. With this perspective, parents can be made aware of what types of browsing behavior schools are seeing from students so they can all work together to encourage more effective internet browsing habits at home and at school.

See the attached PDF for more information and directions on how to download the app.

The Counseling Department would like to take a moment to share a resource from Children’s Mercy Hospital with you. Please use this link https://www.childrensmercy.org/departments-and-clinics/developmental-and-behavioral-health/prepped-and-ready/ to access information about Prepped and Ready: Parenting into the Teen Years. This is set up as a short video series that you can watch as your schedule permits. There is no cost, and if you complete a short survey at the end, Children’s Mercy will send you a great safety kit.

Topics include eating disorder prevention, home safety (including storage of firearms, medications, etc.), screen time, self-care, substance use (including vaping), and suicide prevention.

This resource will only be available for a short time, so please don’t wait!

Contact your child's counselor with questions.

6th Grade Devices

• Surface Go devices will be checked out to 6th grade and new students on Monday, August 16th. Returning 7th and 8th grade students should still have their device checked out to them last school year.
  

Extra Curricular Activities

• Students are encouraged to join CST activities! There is a strong link between school involvement and academic success. Cross Country practice begins on Tuesday, August 17 and is available to all students, 6th, 7th, and 8th. Physicals required to participate.
  

Water Bottles

• All students will be provided a water bottle from CST. Students are encouraged to drink plenty of water during the day. Drinking fountains will also be available for those without a water bottle.

Backpacks

• Students will be allowed to carry their backpacks this year to limit necessary locker trips. Students are encouraged to travel light and utilize their locker to help lighten the load.

Lockers

• All students have been assigned a hall locker and are expected to keep jackets/coats/extra clothing in their locker.
  

Two topics often asked about are cell phones and attire. The screenshots below are from the student handbook found on our website. We aim to promote a distraction-free learning environment as much as possible and we remind students that "Chisholm Trail is a school, not the pool". We want to promote a positive academic learning environment in the way we dress, speak, and behave. Teachers and admin will review a variety of topics with students as part of our beginning of year talks.

https://www.olatheschools.org/Page/8153

Access to school calendars, hour listings for buildings

District Calendar Page

Year-at-a-glance, single pager/downloadable

District Calendar PDF