Dear CST Family,

I hope you've had a nice week and didn't get totally washed away with all the rain! Next week looks dry and hot...summer is approaching! This past week was teacher appreciation week. Thank you to all the parents who contributed to stocking the lounge with treats and for all the students and parents dropping off nice notes and gestures. We are appreciative of our parent community and consider ourselves fortunate to work with you and your child on a daily basis.

On Thursday, 5th graders from our feeder elementary schools visited and enjoyed a pep rally, a lunch, and other activities. The excitement could be felt and it was fun to see our 8th grade WEB leaders work with our incoming students. It was a great experience for our 8th graders who learned how hard it can be to keep attention of students and have them follow directions! They did a fantastic job, though, and our 5th graders were so excited as they left the building.

On Saturday, our CST Thunder dance team performs at 6 and 7:30pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door and it's going to be a great showcase of the year's successes and growth on the dance floor. Come out and support our CST students!

Be sure to look at the week ahead below. Our "end-of-year" events are getting underway as we have a couple banquets, a concert, and the 8th grade activity in the coming week. In addition, math MAP testing will round out our assessment season next week. We are indeed getting close!

Have a great weekend and week ahead!

Rick

Wednesday, May 11 is school nurse appreciation day. CST is fortunate to have the BEST around...Nurse Jenn Ross! If you or your child have ever worked with her you know how amazing she is. The past couple years have been especially challenging in the nurse's office and Nurse Ross has handled everything with such grace, poise, and care. All are invited to show their appreciation for Nurse Ross this week as we recognize this important position in our schools.

Thank you for your care and love for the students of CST, Nurse Ross!

Assessments:

• Week of 3/21--Kansas Science Assessment (8th only-science) (COMPLETE)
  
• Week of 3/27--Kansas Reading Assessments (ELA classes) (COMPLETE)
  
• Week of 4/11—MAP Reading (ELA classes) (COMPLETE)
  
• Week of 4/18—Panorama (rescheduled date--taken during WIN time) (COMPLETE)
  
• Week of 4/25—Kansas Math Assessments (Math classes) (COMPLETE)
  
• Week of 5/9—MAP Math (Math classes)

Click the PDF below to open instructions on how to do online sign up. A paper sign-up is also available on the "paper registration" PDF.

The program runs from May 31-June 30 with sessions beginning at 8am in the CST weight room. Costs is $60 for the program.

• 6pm, Tuesday, May 24th
• All 8th grade students are invited and encouraged to attend
• All 8th grade students will receive a promotional certificate
• Program-specific recognition will also be presented
• Program to last about an hour
  

8th Grade Activity Night is May 13th!

• 6:30-8pm
• More details to come
  

Budget Information Night

Apr. 12, 2022

Click HERE for budget info night recap.

Safety Town Hall

Apr. 19, 2022

Safety Town Hall - OPSD YouTube Video

We’re excited to announce that applications are open for the 2022-2023 Olathe Teen Council!

Teens will be able to meet with the City Council, learn how their local government works, how to be involved and how to amplify their voice. They’ll also be able to identify specific issues they are interested in learning more about and find a way to have an impact. We have multiple volunteer opportunities throughout the year. We also hope to take some teens to the National League of Cities conferences in Kansas City in 2022 and Washington DC in 2023.

This opportunity is open to any student who will be a high schooler in 2022-2023 and lives in Olathe. We generally accept between 10 and 20 members.

Students are encouraged to apply! The application is available at OlatheKS.org/TeenCouncil. It does require a short essay as well as two letters of recommendation. Applications are due July 1.

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