Friday News and Events
East Antioch Elementary
September 17, 2021
Mission: To create a community where all students feel safe, enabling them to be confident in gaining knowledge and skills to navigate the world around them
Vision: To make East Antioch a community where everyone feels welcome and students become responsible and productive citizens
Calendar
SEPTEMBER
20: 5 Grade Choir
22: Mathletics (for students that signed up)
22: Bilingual Back-to-School Information Event at SMSD Center for Academic Achievement 5:00-7:00 (see info below)
23: 6th Grade Choir
27: 5 Grade Choir
27: Last day to order PTA spirit wear (see below)
29: Mathletics (for students that signed up)
30: 6th Grade Choir
OCTOBER
4: 5 Grade Choir
6: Mathletics competition
7: 6 Grade Choir
11: 5 Grade Choir
13: Mathletics
14: 6 Grade Choir
15: No School PK-12 - Teacher Work Day (End of quarter 1)
18: 5 Grade Choir
20: Night Conferences for grades 7-12
20: Mathletics
21: 6 Grade Choir
21: Night Conference for grades K-6 (see information below)
22: No School - Parent Teacher Conference day
25: 5 Grade Choir
27: Mathletics
28: 6 Grade Choir
Click here for the 2021-22 SMSD district calendar.
Mathletics for students grades 4-6
Good afternoon 4-6 grade parents,
East Antioch is dedicated to enhancing your student’s opportunity for extended learning in mathematics. We are excited to announce that we will be able to have a math club (Mathletics) this year, beginning next Wednesday, September 15 after school. Any student in fourth through sixth grades can join. However, our recommendation is that Panther Math Club members have a love for math, complex problem solving, and teamwork. This is NOT Math tutoring. Students who do not enjoy solving math problems will likely not enjoy this club as well as the competitions that come with it!
If you would like more information please see this link for more information and to register your child.
Staff Shout-Outs! Mrs. Franz 5th grade teacher
She went above & beyond when I inadvertently threw away a piece of paper with important log in & password information from the previous school year. I had an upset child & on a whim emailed her.
Amazingly she had his information saved from the year before & she was able to help us recover & reset his password. Even though she’s no longer my child's teacher she didn’t hesitate to help. This is really exemplifying “the East Antioch Family”
School Based Health Clinic
A school-based health clinic for all Shawnee Mission School District students and their siblings (3 to 20 years old) will open Thursday, September 2 at SM West High School, 8800 W. 85th St.
The clinic will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays, except when school is not in session.
Health Partnership Clinic (HPC) and the Shawnee Mission School District are partnering to provide access to primary and preventative health care, chronic disease management, mental health services, and dental care to district students and their siblings.
For more information about the Health Partnership Clinic, or to schedule a medical appointment, Shawnee Mission School District parents should call 913-648-2266. More information also is available here.
Services will include:
Physical exams
Sports physicals
Immunizations, including vaccines for COVID-19
COVID testing
Age-appropriate health screenings
Preventative education
Referrals to specialty services
Sick visits
Management of acute and chronic problems and mental health services
Dental Care including screenings, fluorides, and restorative care
Most insurance plans are accepted, including KanCare/Medicaid. As a community health center, HPC offers a sliding-fee discount program which is based on income and household size. Fees are waived for students experiencing homelessness. Free medicaid and Marketplace insurance enrollment will also be available.
“The idea is to break down barriers to health care,” Shelby Rebeck, health services director for the Shawnee Mission School District shared. “Barriers for many of our students include low income, lack of knowledge, lack of transportation and parents’/guardians’ inability to take time away from hourly jobs. Health Partnership provides a tremendous opportunity for our students to receive critical health care so they can be successful in school.”
The clinic offers pediatric-focused care to treat most health conditions that affect children and adolescents, Amy Falk, HPC’s chief executive officer shared.
“We basically function as a doctor’s office, but in a school building,” Falk noted. “Services are available in person or virtual, and walk-ins will be accommodated if the schedule permits. The primary goal is to provide easy, immediate access to quality and affordable health care.”
The goal is to serve as a medical home for students and offer an additional access point to primary care, Wael S. Mourad, MD, MHCM, FAAFP, and HPC’s chief health officer, shared.
“Beyond a focus on primary health care, it is important we meet the social and emotional needs of children and adolescents to help them reach their individual potential,” Mourad added.
The clinic will open across from the nurse’s office at SM West.
"The Shawnee Mission School District and Health Partnership Clinic are an example of how two organizations can come together to help improve the lives of children,” says Steve Loe, principal of Shawnee Mission West High School. “The school-based health clinic will greatly expand the resources of our school nurse and social worker and help support our goal to have every student succeed.”
Parent Teacher Conferences
Panorama Social-Emotional Learning survey
This school year (2021-2022) the Shawnee Mission School District is once again utilizing the Panorama Social-Emotional Learning survey to assess student’s perseverance, grit, determination, school culture and student-teacher relationships.
The Panorama Social-Emotional survey takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes to complete and will be administered once each semester. The first survey window is scheduled for September 13 through September 24, 2021. Parents/Guardians would have opted their student(s) in or out of the survey during the 21-22 registration process. Survey data will be reviewed at the district and classroom level to determine areas of strength, as well as areas where more instruction and/or support is needed.
Once survey results are returned, parents/guardians are welcome to see and discuss the results with their students’ teachers, social workers, and counselors. Sample survey questions can be found here and here.
We encourage you to visit the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) website to learn more about how Social Emotional Learning benefits your child and their environment. All data is maintained by SMSD and will remain confidential.
Please visit this site for more information about the Panorama SEL survey.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to our school social worker, Jenny Suljevic at JenniferSuljevic@smsd.org or you may always contact me.
Survey will be given on the following dates for students that have parent permission in skyward:
September 14: Mrs. Stromgren, Mr. Wann, Mrs. Glasier, Ms. Morash
September 20: Mrs. Rydzel
September 21: Mr. Oldham
September 22: Ms. Kelley and Mrs. Franz
September 23: Ms. Binkley and Mrs. Waris
"Read Across SMSD"
Here is more information from the district: https://www.smsd.org/about/read-across-smsd
Happy Reading!!
Emily Flynn
Librarian
East Antioch Elementary
913.993.3203
PTA
The East Antioch PTA supports our students in many ways including providing teachers with classroom supplies, virtual field trips, parent engagement nights, testing snacks and more! Every membership supports students in our school. If you are able to join, we can accomplish so much.
How to Join East Antioch PTA and Order Spirit Wear
Click link below
https://eastantioch.memberhub.com/store
Order your spirit wear by September 27, 2021
T-Shirts-$10-$13
Hoodies-$25
Coach D's Corner
Congrats to Ian Lynn, Max Wear & Hudson Wetterer. They have all earned 2 advancements in Scouting - Tenderfoot & 2nd class. All 3 boys earned several merit badges as well.
Is there anything that your student, or you as a parent, are proud of? Please email me and we will get it in the newsletter!
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION POLICY
East Antioch's specific policy concerning birthday treats for students is below. No birthday treats does include anything that is NOT food.
Birthday treats: As a reminder of the policy that has been in place since 2018 that addresses the health and wellness of children at East Antioch. Our elementary school is implementing a “no birthday treats” guideline. This decision was made after much thought and discussion at the building and district level. There are a variety of reasons why we made this change, the main one being to coordinate with our district’s wellness policy on making healthy choices, in alignment with federal regulations. Be aware that if parents happen to bring treats because they are unaware of this policy, we will hold them in the office and send them home at the end of the day.
Other rationale for restricting treats at school include the following concerns:
Allergies: Due to the increasing number of students with food allergies, schools have had to be extremely careful with any food items entering the school building. It is a safety issue and something that we need to take very seriously.
Promoting Healthy Lifestyle: The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in six school-age children are overweight; triple the proportion in 1980. The agency has projected that one in three children born in 2000 will eventually develop a form of diabetes linked to being overweight.
Equity: Some parents are not able to provide treats for their child on birthdays or special days because of financial hardships.
The purpose of this change is to assure a school environment that promotes and protects students’ health, well- being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating, physical activity and healthy choices. This change brings together current research to create guidelines that help us with healthy choices for all of our students. If you are interested in reading the district’s policy on wellness, it is available on the District website.
Classroom teachers will continue to recognize and celebrate children on their special day in special ways. Thanks in advance for your flexibility and for caring about the health of our students.