Paola Middle School Newsletter
October 2019
Important Dates
Oct. 1st- Fundraiser Candy Sales Begin
Oct. 1st- FB @ Pioneer Ridge (7th & 8th)
Oct. 2nd- Fall Band Concert @ 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 3rd- Cross Country @ Central Heights
Oct. 4th- School Picture Retakes @ 9:30 a.m.
Oct. 5th- Cross Country @ Baldwin
Oct. 5th- Varsity VB Tournament- 8th @ Louisburg; 7th @ Baldwin
Oct. 8th- FB @ Home (7th & 8th)
Oct. 9th- Panther Book Club @ 3:00 pm.
Oct. 10th- Cross Country League @ Eudora
Oct. 11th- Candy Sales End
Oct. 14th- NO SCHOOL- Inservice
Oct. 15th- FB Playoffs- Location TBD
Oct. 16th- Parent Teacher Conferences @ 4:00
Oct. 17th- NO SCHOOL- Inservice
Oct. 18th- NO SCHOOL
Oct. 21st- KAY Food Drive starts
Oct. 22nd - Fall Choir Concert @ 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 22nd - Fall Choir Concert @ 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 23rd- League Choir Festival
Oct. 24th- Girls Basketball- 8th @ Ottawa 7th @ Home
Oct. 24th - Wrestling @ Spring Hill
Oct. 28th- Girls Basketball- 8th @ Louisburg 7th @ Home
Oct. 28th- Girls Basketball- 8th @ Home 7th @ Woodland Spring
Oct. 28th- Wrestling @ Trail Ridge
Crochet Club will hook you!
HOPE Military Appreciation Candy Drive Scheduled!
The candy drive will run from October 29 thru November 5. Students can bring in the candy to the office and put in the marked bins. Candy will be weighed on November 6. The grade that has the most weight in candy will win an open gym time on November 8 either during lunch or seminar.
Leadership classes collaborate!
In Leadership Class, students have been working on strengthening leadership skills. The week of Sept. 16-20, students practiced speaking in a clear voice and developing more confidence when speaking and leading a group. On Monday, Sept. 16, the PHS Developmental Leadership students led a lesson in speaking and becoming more confident. Both the PHS and PMS Leadership students enjoyed interacting with the fun games they played as part of the lesson. Both sets of students agreed that they would like to plan more combined lessons this semester.
Postcards across America!
Here is one example her class thought up: " Hello from Paola Kansas! We are writing from our 6th grade communications class. Our day begins at 7:50 in the morning and we get to go home at 3:00 in the afternoon. We have 8 classes during the day with 7 different teachers. Being smack dab in the middle of the United States, we have a lot of museums and history in Kansas. In our small town, Obama came to eat at a BBQ restaurant because Kansas has the best BBQ in the USA! We share the city of Kansas City with our sister state, Missouri. Both of us get to enjoy all the amazing things Missouri has to offer. Like, Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs, the Royals, Union Station, a streetcar to travel in the city, and an amazing zoo! Kansas has a lot of farmland as well. We produce a ton of corn and wheat every year. Our state flower is the sunflower and our weather is changing by the minute! One second it could be raining and the next it is sunny or even snowing. We experience a dangerous tornado season as well. We hope you learned some things about us and we cannot wait to hear from you!"
Her class is always very excited when a new postcard arrives in the mail!
6th Grade Art Class learning all about mixing color!
Paola Booster Club Student of the Month- Academics
Paola Booster Club Student of the Month- Athletics
Paola Booster Club Student of the Month- Arts
Home Events
HOPE Club at Vintage Park and Sunflower
FUNDRAISER
Meet Mrs. Gray
Written by: Anna Campa, 8th grade Journalism Student; Hazel Downum, 8th grade Journalism Student; and Mackenzi Jones, 7th grade Journalism Students
Mrs. Gray is quite an interesting person. She comes from a very small family with just one sister and very few cousins. Now she is a mother of a set of twins, Coy and Maya. Her son, Coy, just graduated from KU and is now teaching in Kansas City, MO. His graduating and pursuing his career in teaching makes her “Super proud,'' as she stated in the interview. Her daughter, Maya, is just graduated from college and is applying to get into Vet school. In her free time Mrs.Gray enjoys taking care of her chickens, riding(not driving) her motorcycle, and gardening in her big garden. On top of her chickens, her soon to be husband has a few hunting dogs, and she has a Boxer named Callie, Boxers are her favorite breed. On top of dogs, giraffes are her favorite animal.
Mrs.Gray has always wanted to be a teacher since she was about five years old. Her first two years of working as a teacher was here at Paola, then at Shawnee Mission school district for twenty years, after that, she was a private school principal for five years, and now back here. When she heard about the position she thought that she would be a good fit, and wanted to “help out the and the kids in the class.” She knew this would be a hard position to fill, and she loves working with kids. Our school is also closer and more convenient for her. She has taught a vast majority of different grades and subjects from general education: 5th and 6th grade, special education, for kindergarten-8th grade, she has been principal.
Mrs. Gray says that if she could live anywhere that it would be right here with her family. Mrs. Gray likes the comfort of the home with her family. She believes her strengths are that she is a big-picture problem solver and that her weaknesses are that she is a sucker for a sweet face. That’s one reason she loves being a level three teacher because she always loves the kids who just want to be her friend and buddy.
The person who has had the biggest influence on Mrs.Gray is her mother. The most important lessons she has learned from her mom. She states, “my mom taught me how to behave, treat people, be a good person in the world, and how to cook.” Mrs. Gray likes to bake, but she likes cooking better. The lessons Mrs. Gray has learned definitely led up to how she defines the word success. Mrs. Gray defines success as “Finding something you can do that makes you happy, and the whole time, you're helping someone along the way, I think you’re being successful.” She has definitely achieved success. Almost every day she is dedicating her life to those kids who may not have a chance to learn. Without Mrs. Gray and other special education teachers they may never get a shot at an education. Mrs. Gray shows that she is not just a caring person towards people. Her dream job is an Animal Shelter for animals without homes.
An important thing about Mrs. Gray is that she is pretty much fearless. She believes that being afraid is, “just a way to hold you back, it doesn’t do you any good to be afraid.” What she is saying is that it won’t help you be any braver, nor will it fix the problem. So she chooses to be courageous. Mrs Gray is a wonderful person, and she lives it and shows it every day at our Paola Middle School.
Paola Middle School
Email: amy_wright@usd368.org
Website: www.usd368.org
Location: 405 North Hospital Drive, Paola, KS, USA
Phone: 913-294-8030
Twitter: @MiddlePaola