Wildcat Growl
April 10, 2022
Future Ready Wildcats
De Soto High School staff and students endeavor to model the following core values:
INTEGRITY, INQUIRY, COMMUNICATION, PERSEVERANCE, and REFLECTION.
Principal's Message
Wildcats and Families,
Congratulations to Madison Kries and Zack Schwarzenberger for being the Wildcats of the Month for March. We also want to congratulate one of our Counselors, Kaitlin Britt, and Teacher and Coach, Matt Rice for being named the staff Wildcats of the Month for March.
The Johnson County Arts Council Shooting Stars ceremony took place on April 3rd. Congrats to Rachael Mallozzi who won first place for Literature. Great job!
Congrats to all the students that participated in the Regional Solo/Ensemble Festival on Saturday, April 9th. DHS had a number of students receive a "1" rating, qualifying them for the KSHSAA State Solo/Ensemble Festival on Saturday, April 30th at Salina South HS. Let's go, Wildcats!
Congratulations to Mack Carson, Makenzie Farmer, and Violet Conley for earning All-State Selections for Girls Basketball.
Congratulations to David Cobin, Trent Johnson, Ethan Schultze, and Tyler Schultze for earning All-State Selections for Boys Basketball.
Congratulations to Boys Basketball Coach, Matt Rice! Coach Rice received the GKCBCA Eddie Ryan Award, an award given to an outstanding boys basketball coach in the metro. Great job, Coach Rice!
State assessments for sophomores will take place over the next two weeks. We ask and appreciate the scheduling of appointments outside of these dates. Thank you.
Spring 2022 State Assessment Dates:
· 10th Grade English - April 11-14
· 10th Grade Math – April 19-22
Prom tickets are now on sale for the event scheduled for Saturday, April 23rd. Students should see Mrs. Friday for ticket information.
Once again, Student Council is partnering with the Children’s Miracle Network/KU Med-Pediatrics in planning Dance Marathon. This fundraiser scheduled for April 30th has student teams participating in all kinds of fun activities. Students can begin forming teams now. If you are interested in contributing to their efforts, information about the Children’s Miracle Network and the De Soto Dance Marathon can be reviewed on the Dance Marathon website. A short video about Dance Marathon can also be found here.
Please take note of the second-semester final exam schedule. The exam order is new this spring. It will be important for students to attend during this time. For the purpose of consistency and clarity, and due to the importance and security of final exams, if students are absent or have to leave town prior to and/or during finals week, they will need to work with the teacher or counselor to make up the finals when they return.
Seniors and senior parents – detailed information about Senior Awards, graduation rehearsal, and the graduation ceremony has been updated on our website. Cap and gown distribution will take place on May 13th, the same day students will receive the checkout form. This form must be completed and turned in to Mrs. Miller in order to receive the diploma. It includes confirmation of grades, that materials have been returned, and that all fees have been paid. Attendance at graduation rehearsal and Senior Send-off is required in order to participate in the ceremony.
Senior parents interested in helping with Gradfest - please contact Caroline Friday (mcfriday@usd232.org). Thank you!
Thanks, and have a great week.
Sam Ruff
Principal
De Soto High School
State Science Olympiad Results
On Saturday, April 2nd, the DHS science olympiad team competed in the state tournament hosted by Wichita State University. This was our first return to in-person competition, and it was definitely interesting. Did you know that there are 60 seconds in a minute? The college student proctoring “It’s About Time” was operating on a unique 100 second per minute conversion. The event proctor for “Ornithology” flew the coop early, believing that there was an epic dinner break before events would be scored and awards distributed; this extended our trip by 1.5 hours (which would be 9000 seconds if there are 100 of those in a minute, but if there are 100 minutes in an hour then it looks even worse…).
Our students competed against the top 13 large division (5A and 6A) schools from across the state in 23 events ranging from building and engineering challenges to knowledge and skills testing in various scientific disciplines. DHS placed 10th overall in the state, leaving with many notes for improvement for next season. We had several student successes in individual events: 5th in Detector Building, 6th in Ornithology, and 7th in Cell Biology.
Student participants included Scott Blanck, Tanner Chase, Lindsay Kellogg, Alex Boresow, Lauren Fandre, Zach Myers, Isabelle Butler, Isabella Holwick, Daniel Morozov, Cael Province, Diego Diaz, Evan Johnsson, and Kiera Slocum. Please congratulate these students if you see them.
Thank you to the entire staff for your support of these students’ scientific endeavors by sharing your gym space with us for device testing, allowing them to miss your classes/practices/events so we could meet as a team when needed, and for your positive vibes and encouragement. It’s been a great season.
Prepped and Ready: Experts Edition
Children’s Mercy has created Prepped and Ready: Experts Edition, a free online video series for parents and caregivers who are raising teens. This educational series is being offered online and brings the experts at Children’s Mercy right to parents and before there is a crisis with topics covering vaping, hard conversation, safe storage and more.
Paraprofessionals and Student Nutrition Positions Available Now
Note from the Counselors:
Senior Scholarship Information:
Now is a good time to start looking for scholarships for college. If you haven’t already done so please check out the DHS Student Services site: https://www.usd232.org/Page/3287. Click on the Financial Aid/Scholarship tab. Scholarships for DHS seniors only will be posted in January/February. General scholarships are updated on a regular basis so check the page often.
FAFSA Application Open for the 2022-23 School Year:
In October the 22-23 FAFSA application opened. This is used to determine financial aid which comes in the form of grants or scholarships. It is also used for parents/students to qualify for loans to help subsidize the cost of college. For more information on financial aid go to: https://studentaid.gov/
Individual Plan of Study (IPS):
Every DHS student will have a completed Individual Plan of Study upon graduating from De Soto High School. Students complete different IPS lessons approximately twice each month during seminar. Xello is the platform for IPS and contains all kinds of important information, specific to each student including career matches, personality styles, skills, interests, saved colleges, saved careers, scholarships, etc. Students will review their IPS with their seminar teacher and their parents during spring conferences. This video gives a short summary of why IPS is important and gives students/parents an idea of what is to be expected.
Social-Emotional Lessons (SEL):
DHS seminars are now including SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) activities to help provide tools and resources for students. Upcoming topics include: analyzing emotions, goal setting, perseverance, and managing responses to emotions. The overall health and well-being of our students are important to us. If you are ever concerned about another student or your own, please don’t hesitate to reach out to their counselor or the social worker.
Resources from CollegeBoard:
Parent Action Plan for Seniors
FAFSA Resources:
Quick Video Instructions on how to fill out the FAFSA
Scholarships:
DHS Student Services Scholarship Page (updated frequently)
DHS Counselors and Social Worker
Crissy Johns (A-G): CJohns@usd232.org
Lindsay Hothan (H-N): LHothan@usd232.org
Kaitlin Britt (O-Z): KBritt@usd232.org
Joe Kordalski (Social Worker): Rkordalski@usd232.org
Kansas State University’s Health Professions Summer Program:
KSU is launching a new health professions program for current high school juniors and seniors. This week long program is for students who are interested in a career in helping others through the health care industry. The program will run from July 10th – 15th. Registration opens on March 14th. For more information, visit https://www.hhs.k-state.edu/summerhealthprogram/
Scholarships for Seniors:
The DHS Seniors Only Scholarships are now available for seniors to access. We are waiting on two more that will be posted by the end of February. Click on the following link: https://www.usd232.org/Page/3287
- DHS CAT Booster Scholarship: Application coming soon!
- De Soto Alumni/VFW Scholarship: Application coming soon
- De Soto Teachers Association Scholarship: Deadline April 15
- Shawnee Vision Care Scholarship: Deadline April 15
- McCarthy Auto Group Scholarship: Deadline April 15
- Trenton Hughes Scholarship: Deadline April 22
- Casey Blake Johnson Running Scholarship: Deadline April 22
- Jess Johnson Scholarship (Rotary Club): Deadline April 30
Winners will be announced at the Senior Awards Ceremony that is currently scheduled for May 18th.
Pro X and KC Scholars Summer Internship Opportunity
KC Scholars is looking for high school students for a 5 week paid summer internship opportunity. Students will need to commit to 25 hours per week and will be paid $1250 for their time. Prior to the internship, students will participate in a workshop to learn how to create a resume, interview tips, and prepare for the ProX Hiring Fair which will lead to their summer internship that is aligned with your interests. Application opens March 11th. For more information, visit https://proxsummer.org/.
Johnson County Community College – Summer Transportation Institute -
When: Monday – Friday, July 25 – August 5, 8am-5pm
Where: We will start on the main campus of Johnson County Community College each morning.
Participants will be traveling throughout the metro to participate in hands-on
demonstrations at airports, rail yards, trucking centers, waterfront ports, etc.
Cost: $0, all expenses are covered
Who: The camp is open to anyone, but we are targeting female, minority, and disadvantaged
youth who may not be able to attend other camps this summer.
Requirement: Participants must fill out an application. We are limited to 20 participants. The interest
form and course info can be found at www.jccc.edu/jcccnsti.
Selection Criteria:
• Must be entering 9th, 10th, or 11th grade in August.
• Must have completed algebra or will be qualified for enrollment in algebra in August.
• Must have a minimum of a 2.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
• Must be a KS resident.
• Commit to attend all 10 days of the camp.
• Qualify for either free or reduced lunch
What will take place:
The Johnson County Summer Transportation Institute (JCSTI) will use resources both on and off campus
to allow students to explore in depth regional transportation industries. The transportation curriculum
will be focus on land (rail and trucking), air (air traffic control), and water (inland ports and barge
transportation). While experiencing firsthand the inner workings of these transportation industries,
students will gain knowledge of efforts towards a sustainable transportation system. Further the JCSTI
will partner with the JCCC Center for Sustainability to provide curriculum in sustainable transportation.
The curriculum will also include enhancement activities designed to help students with career planning
and overall professionalism within the workplace.
As an on-going project throughout the camp, students will work in groups on a project to reflect on how
all the modes of transportation come together to move goods. The students will be tasked with planning
how to transport goods across the country using rail, truck, inland waterway, and air. The student
groups will be assessed based on how quickly they can transport the goods, the estimate cost of doing
so, and how much of a carbon footprint their proposed shipping will leave behind. Each day of the camp,
students will collaborate on their project for at least one hour.
For a copy of the application, please contact Mrs. Johns, DHS Counselor
Questions? Please contact Molly Salisbury at summeryouth@jccc.edu.
K-State Food Science Institute
The K-State Food Science Institute will be holding virtual program tours for high school students throughout Kansas on Wednesday April 13th at 9:00 AM and Thursday April 14th at 1:00 PM. The tour will allow students to gain knowledge of K-State's Food Science and Industry degree, meet faculty members, and learn more about the financial aid and application process at K-State. A food science degree can open doors to a variety of career opportunities that can align with interests and strengths in food and nutrition, agriculture, business, science, engineering and medicine.
We are inviting school counselors, science teachers, agriculture teachers, and family and consumer science teachers throughout Kansas to participate in this event with their students. Please utilize this opportunity to help students learn about college and career options! Register to participate at https://kstate.ag/foodsciencetour.
Securly App
Parents can have peace of mind in knowing your student’s search history and time on their device. See your student’s online activity in real-time and catch up with weekly email snapshots by signing up with the Securly app. Follow the link for more information and directions.