#StayTRU
Truman High School Newsletter-December 2023
The Gift of Compassion & Community
Truman family,
Appropriately, the character trait for December is Compassion. Compassion is also one of our Core Values. We believe that without the value of compassion, we cannot accomplish much as a community. As the quote goes, "Kids won't care to know, until they know you care."
During the holidays, bearing witness to the compassion and community amongst our students and staff is truly a gift. We see students writing notes to their teachers and delivering gifts of homemade marshmallows and cocoa. We see teachers spending extra time helping students with classwork, as well as just being a trusted, listening ear; teams and coaches caring about one another, helping one another reach their goals-even when they are tired or discouraged. We notice students and teachers alike donating food items, toys, clothing to help others have a happy holiday; bands, orchestras, and choirs being there for one another, holding each other up through every rehearsal and performance. There are many examples of compassion and community literally every minute of every day: adults helping kids, kids helping kids, and kids helping adults. It's rather miraculous if you think about it. Community just can't be created without caring.
Another gift not lost on us is the gift of your children. Everday you give us something very special-trust. You entrust us with your most precious gift-your children and we do not treat that trust lightly. Parents are in integral part of our community-we cannot do this job of educating children alone and value that very important partnership. It takes a community. We hope you will join us in mid January for our next Parent Camp: Enrollment Information Night.
Our wish for all of you in our Truman Family is to experience compassion and community as you celebrate this holiday season.
Important Dates at a Glance-December/Jan.
Mark your calendars!
DECEMBER
12/11-Junior Class Ring Ceremony
12/12- Choir Concert
12/13-Orchestra Concert
12/14-RIVALRY ALERT: Girl's Basketball vs. WCHS at THS
12/15-RIVALRY ALERT: Boy's Basketball vs WCHS at WCHS
12/20-Band Concert
12/22-1/2/23-Winter Break
JANUARY
Jan. 3rd-Students Return from Winter Break
Jan. 5th-Pack the House Game and Dance
Jan. 8th-STUDENT ATTENDANCE DAY
1/16/23-Academy Jamboree
1/18/23-Senior Class Mtg. during PAT
1/18/23-Parent Camp-Enrollment and Senior Class Mtg. Night.
End of Course Testing, Mid-Terms/Finals, etc.
Schedule:
End of Course (EOC) TestingAmerican Government (Semester Class Only)-Week of Dec. 12th
Mid-Terms/Finals
12/19-Review
12/20-Odd Blocks
12/21-Even Blocks
12/22-Make-Ups
All grades are due no later than Friday, Dec. 22nd 3pm
Tips/Advice
Plan the Work, Work the Plan: Talk with your students about what summative assessments they have in what classes and when. Help them plan and prepare to avoid being stressed out and overwhelmed. When in doubt, please don't hesitate to reach out to your student's teachers with those same questions.
Keep Routines: It's a busy and fun time of year, which can also be overwhelming and stressful. Try to help your student keep steady and reasonable wake and sleep times, maintain good nutritiion and exercise, limit screen time especially before bed. Routines and normalcy help kids stay grounded and feel safe.
Empathy & Empowerment: No one wants students being overly stressed. A kid's worth isn't in a grade. Keep expectations reasonable, place importance on effort and persistence-not end product, remember what it is like to be a teenager facing big projects, tests, performances, etc. Empower students by asking questions that will lead them to their own plans, decisions, etc. so they take ownership and build those skills for the future.
Reflect and Set Goals-Once the semester is over, encourage your student to set attendance, academic, personal, and social goals for the next term by reflecting on what worked and what didn't work this semester. This fosters a growth, as opposed to a fixed mindset.
Coming Very Soon-Enrollment!
We will be hosting a Parent Camp: Enrollment Info Night January 18th, (so mark your calendars now!) which coincides with students getting their enrollment information. This night is designed to share all that same information with parents so we can all work together to help students reach their full potential and access all the opportunities the Academies have to offer.
In the meantime, we highly encourage you and your student to look at the following resources together to begin to craft their enrollment plans:
Academies of the ISD website: https://www.isdschools.org/academies-of-the-isd/ to get an overiew of the Career Academies, Core Courses, Global Courses, etc., as well as Graduation Requirements, AP/Dual Credit information, Capstone Courses, and Grades & Credits.
ICAP (Individual Career & Academic Plan) your students have already begun planning for their courses in high school as well as their plans beyond high school. Ask them to show you their ICAP as it is an important planning and enrollment tool.
There is more to explore, but reviewing the above page and the resources and information linked within can help you and your student communicate, plan, and prepare for enrollment.
Attendance Update
While we have improved our attendance over last year, our rates have continued to decline since Sept. Please encourage your student to strive for no absences for the remainder of the semester. This is an incredibly important time in the semester to be at school for final assignments, reviews, preparation, and exams. Also, don't forget that good attendance and grades sets students up for the chance to win a variety of prizes during our daily drawings the last four days of the semester as well as chance to attend the incentive during PAT.
Truman Junior & Seniors awarded nearly $500,000,000in scholarships!
We are so happy, proud, and excited for the students in the class of 2024 and 2025 for their hard work and determination that has resulted in these awards! Kudos to their parents for supporting these students!
If you are the parent of a junior or senior, please be sure to ask them to see their Scholarship Letter from VU Scholarships, then make sure then have scanned the QR code (which does expire after 10 days-which is very soon) and activate their account so they can see the scholarships colleges and universities are currently offering them. This is not a joke or a scam. These are real scholarships being offered to your student!
VU Scholarships, started in Shawnee Mission, KS by a father and son, has flipped the model! Instead of families scouring the internet for available scholarship, the scholarships are finding your students based on their Grade Point Average (GPA) and Test Scores (like ACT-see above).
As colleges continue to partner with VU, and as your student continues to improve their GPA & test scores, the more scholarships will be available to them. This is motivation for seniors to finish this semester and this year strong. For our juniors, there is even more time to focus on academics to improve their scholarship opportunities. Freshmen and sophomores can now see what opportunities are out there for them and aim to strengthen academic performance so their junior and senior years, they are being offered even more!
We hope that this partnership with VU Scholarships helps students and families see possibilities where they may not have seen them previously. If you have questions, please reach out to your student's counselor.
Junior Class Ring Ceremony
This has become a special tradition at Truman HS. Join us for this brief ceremony in our Auditorium at 7pm as families present the rings/class jewelry to their students. The ceremony is led by the Junior Class Officers and should conclude by 7:30pm. We hope you have the time to attend.
Did you know.....
Downloading the School Messenger App is the best way to catch all voicemail, email, and text messages from the district and your student's school.
Click the link below to learn more about downloading the app and how it works.
Sports Schedules, School Gear Store, and more
Need to know when your student is playing?
Want to order some Truman Gear?
Want score updates?
Interested in joining our Patriot Booster Club?
Click the link below for your one-stop for all things Sports and Activities at THS.
https://gotruman.com/Sporting Event Reminders
1. All students need to show a current year school ID to attend all home and away events or be accompanied by their parent or gaurdian.
2. All middle school schools students must also have a current year student ID AND be accompanied by a parent.
3. No backpacks are allowed in to any events.
4. No re-entry: once students or patrons leave the event, there is no re-entry permitted.
5. All school rules apply to porting events-home and away.
6. Activity passes are available for purchase from our Activities office. Otherwise, there is an entry fee for all events.
Truman HIgh School Anti-Bullying Coordinator
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