IHMS Weekly News
March 11 - 18, 2022
Upcoming IHMS Events
Monday 03/14 - Friday 3/18:
- Spring Break
Monday, 03/21:
Start of 4th Quarter
3:50 Academic Learning Lab
Tuesday, 03/22:
3:50 Academic Learning Lab
3:50 Jazz Band
Wednesday, 03/23:
8:20 School Store Open
3:50 Academic Learning Lab
3:50 Board Game Club
3:50 Multicultural Club
Thursday, 03/24:
7:45 Junior Board
3:50 Academic Learning Lab
3:50 Art Club
3:50 Chess Club
3:50 Nancy Drew Club
3:50 Jazz Band
IH Math Team Meeting during Knight Time
Report Cards Posted in Skyward
Upcoming Events:
03/29: KSA Science 8
03/30: KSA Science 8
03/31: KSA Science 8
04/04: KSA ELA
04/05: KSA ELA
04/06: 8:20 School Store Open
04/06: KSA ELA
04/07: KSA ELA
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Section 1: New and Important at IHMS
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PTA Citizenship Essay and Poetry Award Winners
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Career Day Thank You!
Thank you to our fantastic presenters at this week's Career Fair. We had an amazing turnout, great feedback, and our students learned about potential career pathways. If you haven't heard about it from your student, ask them if they enjoyed it!
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IH and IW PTA's Host "Screen Sanity"
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4th Quarter Testing Information and Dates
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Important Yearbook Ordering and Distribution Updates:
Normally, at the end of the school year, our yearbooks are given to students on the last day of school. However, this hasn’t been a fully normal year, not just for schools, but for those working for yearbook companies, and throughout our entire nation. With that said, the yearbooks will not be able distributed until sometime this summer and likely once the new school year begins in August.
As such, rest assured that those of you who have ordered yearbooks or still plan to order one will get them. Our current 7th graders who purchased a yearbook will receive them during Knight Time in August. Our current 8th graders who purchased a yearbook will be organized by our journalism teacher with Shawnee Mission East. For those who may be moving or are not attending SME, please email Mrs. Basden at RachelBasden@smsd.orgwith the address of your new location or the name of SMSD high school where your 8th grader will go. If your 8th grader is attending another high school, email Mrs. Basden that you will pick it up at our school, after you get the email letting you know that it’s ready for pickup.
To still order a yearbook for your child, orders will be available for parents/guardians to purchase, by paying through your child’s account from now through April 22nd. School staff members can arrange their payments for a yearbook directly with Mrs. Basden through April 22nd, as well. As always, we appreciate your understanding.
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CMH "Happy Kit" Donations for International Day of Happiness - 03/20/22
We have 68% of our donations. - Thank you
Our students would like to spread some happiness to our community by creating “Happy Kits” for Children’s Mercy Hospital during Knight Time. “Happy Kits” are bags of activities provided to patients and caregivers free of charge during their stay at Children’s Mercy.. You can learn more about it here. We need your donations to make these kits possible! CMH is in need of Teen and Caregiver Happy Kits - the supplies are listed in the sign up.
Donations can be dropped off in the front office by an adult or student by Monday, March 21st from 8:05 AM -4:05 AM.
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Section 2: Still Relevant From Previous Weeks
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Reporting Absences, Appointments, and Illnesses Procedures Returning to Previous Standard
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our established procedures relating to student pick-up and illness reporting have had to conform to current mitigation strategies. As we return to optional-masks at IH, the following procedures will return as well. Please note that the procedures below do not deviate from published and established student/parent handbook material. However, they may necessitate a change in your current reporting/notification practice because a return to these procedures better ensures the safety of your student(s).
Absentee Reporting:
In case of an absence from school, the student’s parents or guardians must call the Attendance Hotline at 993-0412 prior to 8:45 a.m. each day of absence. This automated line is answered 24 hours, and requests the name of the person calling, student’s first and last name (please spell last name), and reason for absence. If there has been no personal communication, the absence is unexcused and the student is considered truant. After 3 consecutive days of truancy, 5 total days of truancy in a semester, and/or 7 total days of truancy in a school year, truancy will be filed with the Johnson County District Attorney's office.
Appointments:
A written note is required if it is necessary for a student to leave school before 3:45 p.m. This note should be presented to front office personnel before school to receive a permit to leave class. Students will report to the office to sign out before leaving school.
Another option is to call attendance personnel ahead of time with this information by using the attendance line 913-993-0412. If you opt to use the attendance line to request a student pick-up, please allow one hour for processing your request. If someone other than the parent is picking the student up for the appointment, parents must name this person in their note/call to the school and the driver must go through the school district’s ID check (currently Raptor).
Upon return to school, students must report immediately to the office to sign in and receive a pass to class.
Illness during the School Day:
Students who need to go home early due to illness must call home from the nurse’s office and check out from the nurse’s office. Students should not text their parents to simply come pick them up. All communication should come from the nurse’s office only.
Parents/guardians or other individuals picking up will have their driver’s license screened
through the district Raptor system or present their ID each time they pick-up their student.
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Tardy-to-School Procedure Update
Procedure for tardies to school:
- Students should be in their Knight Time class by the 8:45 a.m. each school day.
- Students who arrive later than the 8:45 a.m. bell must check in through the front office and receive a late pass to class.
- Tardy 1 - Tardy 4: Managed in classroom between teacher and student.
- Tardy 4 - Tardy 6: Student is referred to student services for intervention.
- Tardy 7 and beyond: Student is referred to grade level administrator for strategic intervention and/or disciplinary consequence(s).
Note: Although the information above reflects changes to some of the building-level procedures regarding tardies at IHMS, the Board of Education attendance policy remains unchanged. That policy can be found in the SMSD middle school handbook on pages 5 and 6.
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Section 3: SME Area News and Events
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Lancer Wrestling Camp - Summer 2022
The Lancer Wrestling Camp will be held June 6-9 at Shawnee Mission East High School. Camp enrollment is now open for all interested students. Beginners and those with experience are all welcome. The cost for the full camp is $50.
Girls Session: 5-12 Grades, 8:00-9:00 AM
Session I: 9-12 Grades, 9:00-10:30 AM
Session II: 5-8 Grades, 11:00-12:30 AM
Fill out this form to reserve your spot and view the graphic below:
Lancer Wrestling Camp Enrollment Form
Email Coach Laird with questions: tannerlaird@smsd.org
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Lancer Volleyball Camp - Summer 2022
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SME PTSA Volunteers Needed!
Shawnee Mission East PTSA is looking for volunteers for the 2022-2023 school year. If you have interest in a fun and easy way to get involved with East, please reach out to April Crosser (aprilcrosser@gmail.com) or Amy Moore (amooredunn@gmail.com) for more information.
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Section 4: District Area News and Events
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Section 5: Mainstay News
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9/21 Parent Engagement Evening Resources
For those parents/guardians that were unable to make our family engagement night on September 21, 2021, we have populated the information from the evening in presentation format.
Please check out the very important information covered that evening by following this link.
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I'm Absent From School. What Do I Do? How Do I Keep Up With School Work?
Students will be asked to stay home for the duration of their isolation/quarantine. To ensure you have a correct return date with current guidance, please reach out to our front office staff to report illness, and if COVID-related, please ensure you let Nurse Judy know.
Front Office Attendance Contact:
Erinn Vogts: erinnvogts@smsd.org
Constance Eddy: constanceeddy@smsd.org
Attendance Line: (913) 993-0412
Nurse Contacts:
Nurse Judy McMullen: judithmcmullen@smsd.org
Nurse's Aide Rhonda Levine: rhondalevine@smsd.org
Once you have notified school personnel of the absence, make sure your student reaches out to each individual teacher to check on what Canvas assignments should be completed and/or if any questions arise.
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I've Tested Positive for COVID - Now What?
If you have tested positive for COVID and are reporting your case/ seeking guidance, please complete this form: SMSD COVID-19 case report form
What do I do next? SMSD COVID Information:
- SMSD 2nd Semester Guidance- Students and Staff
- Johnson County Department of Health COVID-19 Hotline: 913-715-2819
After the above items and information have been completed/reviewed, any clarifying questions can be directed to IHMS Nurse Judy McMullen:
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IHMS Peace Corner
The IHMS Student Services team has created a virtual calming room (click link) for students, staff and families to access in times of need.
We know that stress and anxiety can be high at times. This IHMS Peace Corner has videos and activities to help manage stress, calm down strong feelings and build resiliency. We hope that this will be another resource for our families to navigate this unusual school year. You can also find this page on our Student Services tab at https://indianhills.smsd.org/.
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21-22 PTA Membership: Please Join Us!
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Academic Learning Lab (A.L.L.) Now Monday-Thursday!
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After-school Activity Busing: Free to All Students (in SME boundary)
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Macbook Troubleshooting Tips
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IHMS Website Reminder
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Give us a Follow
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e-Read Access Through IHMS
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1-800-CHILDREN
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IHMS Communication Chain
1. Mass communication from IHMS:
- Mass communication will come each Friday or Saturday in the form of the IHMS Weekly News. This is an important review for your family each week as it outlines specific events, newsworthy, and/or action-oriented items relevant to IHMS.
- There are times throughout the week a stand-alone email may be sent via a Skyward blast - especially if an important event is taking place or if important information must be shared. You have already seen this in practice (i.e.Tuesday when I sent a reminder about the ice cream social).
2. Absences:
- Please communicate absences through attendance personnel. Avoid emailing administration or student services directly.
- Email constanceeddy@smsd.org to indicate the date(s) and nature of your student's absence.
- Call in your student's absence - including date(s) and nature of the absence - to the school attendance line: (913) 993-0412.
3. Grades/Classroom Questions/Issues:
- Please email your student's teacher directly for all questions/issues related to grades and/or the classroom.
- Staff email addresses can be found on our school website (click link). Unless specific circumstances
- Avoid emailing administration and/or student services with issues that have not been problem solved at the classroom level first unless extenuating circumstances merit direct contact.
4. General Contact Guidelines:
- The chart below provides parents with a general contact chart they can utilize to ensure communication remains streamlined:
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I'm Absent From School. What Do I Do? How Do I Keep Up With School Work?
Students will be asked to stay home for the duration of their isolation/quarantine. To ensure you have a correct return date with current guidance, please reach out to our front office staff to report illness, and if COVID-related, please ensure you let Nurse Judy know.
Front Office Attendance Contact:
Erinn Vogts: erinnvogts@smsd.org
Constance Eddy: constanceeddy@smsd.org
Attendance Line: (913) 993-0412
Nurse Contacts:
Nurse Judy McMullen: judithmcmullen@smsd.org
Nurse's Aide Rhonda Levine: rhondalevine@smsd.org
Once you have notified school personnel of the absence, make sure your student reaches out to each individual teacher to check on what Canvas assignments should be completed and/or if any questions arise.