Weekly Wildcat
PARENT NEWSLETTER: WEEK OF 3/22/2021
Chisholm Trail Middle School
Office Hours: Mon-Fri. 7am-4pm
16700 W. 159th Street, Olathe, KS, 66062
913-780-7240
Technical Support: Help Desk--913-780-8058
Administration
Principal: Rick Sola (6th Grade)
Asst. Principal: Krista Dueringer (7th Grade)
kdueringercst@olatheschools.org
Asst. Principal: Rebecca Reyes (8th Grade)
Counselors
Stacey Silkett: 6th grade and Green Team-7th
Ashley Rodden: 8th grade and Silver Team-7th
Website: https://www.olatheschools.org/chisholmtrail
Location: 16700 W 159th St, Olathe, KS 66062, USA
Phone: 913-780-7240
Twitter: @CSTWildcatsMS
Week of 3/22/2021
Dear CST Family,
I hope you had a nice and safe spring break however it was spent. As we return to school for a "normal" 4th quarter (full in-person learning!) I'm reminded we haven't had a 4th quarter since the 18-19 school year and our current status is so different than last spring. I welcome all signs of progress and I'm excited for a new quarter to start without the uncertainty we had with previous quarters this year. We begin anew with springtime here and summer in our sights. This quarter, we'll welcome track meets, concerts, and continued in-person learning. As a building (and district) we'll continue our mitigation practices (i.e. masking) and expect continuous in-person learning for quarter 4. High risk exposures still require contact tracing, notification home, and may require a quarantine. As a district, we continue to follow the JCDHE guidelines. I've said before will say it again, our kids have done a wonderful job this year and I expect no different this quarter.
The days are getting warmer and the outdoor activities picking up...a sure sign summer is coming. Let us all buckle up for what will surely be a fast paced 4th quarter but one filled with so many wonderful experiences for our students. We'll do all we can to keep moving forward and have this final quarter of the 20-21 school year be the best one yet!
Rick
Week at a glance..
***Due to lack of demand, curbside book pick-up has been discontinued. Please feel free to contact CST to pick up a book anytime during office hours--simply call 913-780-7240 and share you are wanting to pick up your child's book and we'll have it ready for your arrival.***
Monday, 3/22
- Professional Day-NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, 3/23
- First day of 4th quarter
- Dance team parent meeting
Wednesday, 3/24
Thursday, 3/25
- Olathe South Area Solo and Ensemble Festival
Looking Ahead...
Week of 4/5--Kansas State Assessments (Reading)--ALL Assessment details below
Week of 4/12--Science Assessments (8th grade)
4/13--First Track Meet (7/8 @ PRT)
Week of 4/26--Kansas State Assessments (Math)
New Offer for Olathe Students!
Odds and Ends and a Few Expectations
Admin visited with all students at the beginning of the year to discuss the Student Code of Conduct (found HERE) as well as ways to get involved at CST, student resources in the building, and CST expectations. Below are a few CST-specific items for review as we begin the 4th quarter...
Water Bottles--PLEASE BRING WATER BOTTLES
Students should bring water bottles to be filled throughout the day. We have several bottle filler stations in the building and the drinking spout is not accessible this year. Bottles should have a secure cap and paper cone cups are available in the nurses office, but students are strongly encouraged to bring their own water bottle.
Extra-Curricular Activities
It's not too late to join the track team! There is a strong link between school involvement and academic success. Reminder: To participate in an extra-curricular activity, students must be in attendance a minimum of four class periods during the day of the activity. Please contact the coach or sponsor prior to the excused absence on the day of an extra-curricular activity.
Backpacks
Students may carry backpacks throughout the day since lockers have not been issued this year. Cell phones should be turned to silent or off and stay in backpacks during the day to limit distractions during academic time.
Clothing worn to school should be worn as it was designed to be worn, appropriate for school and school activities, and should not interfere with the educational process. Undergarments should not be exposed. Clothing should provide appropriate coverage for school. Hats are not permitted during the school day. Rule of thumb: we are an academic environment. We're at school, not the pool.
Curbside Library book pick up on Tuesdays will no longer be available
Donuts!
Chisholm Trail raised more money than any other middle school in Olathe for the Mayor's Children's Fund (Pennies for Shoes) back in December. As a result, donuts were brought to CST students as a celebration on the Wednesday before spring break!
Thank you, CST Parents!!!
Community Development
Enjoy a wonderful Texas Roadhouse special steak OR barbecued chicken with mashed potatoes, salad, those wonderful rolls and beverage for a lunch that will benefit the OPS/REA (Olathe Public Schools Retired Employee Association). Proceeds help fund scholarships for Olathe high school seniors. More details and RSVP below. Click HERE to move to the sign-up link.
Sign-up Link
Thank you for following our traffic pattern!
Yearbook Applications!
1 application and 3 teacher recommendations (pictured below) are required and due by 3/30.
Email Mrs. Rodden or Mrs. Collins with questions...
State Assessment Info
Kansas Assessment
Chisholm Trail students will be taking the Kansas State Assessments this spring on the following days. Please help by reminding your student to get a good night sleep and eat a healthy breakfast each morning.
- April 5 -7 LA (6th, 7th, 8th grade In-Person)
- April 14-15 Science (8th grade In-Person)
- April 26-28 Math (6th, 7th, 8th grade In-Person)
6th, 7th & 8th Grade Remote Student
Kansas Assessment Days
Remote students will have the opportunity to take the Kansas State Assessments the following days/times. Please complete the following SURVEY about testing for your remote student. Mrs. Reyes will follow up with each family with more details about testing. If you have any questions or concerns please email rlreyes@olatheschools.org
- April 7th LA (either during the day or 3:30 pm – 6 pm)
- April 29th Math (either during the day or 3:30 pm – 6 pm)
After School Academic Help
Math Lab Times Have Been Update!
Future Falcon Football Skills Camp Grades 7 & 8
Who: Any current 6th or 7th grade student in Olathe
When: June 17th, & 24th, & July 8th, & 15th 9:00am - 11:30am
Where: Olathe South Football Field
Head Football Coach Craig Lewis, his staff and several HS players would like to invite you to their annual Future Falcons Football Skills Camp. This will be a controlled camp intended to teach the proper fundamentals and the skills used in football for QB, RB, & WR’s. Safety will be taught and practiced in every drill. This is a great opportunity to have high school coaches alongside some HS players teaching football together. Skills will include: Passing, catching a ball correctly, running back skills, blocking in space, teaching the football mindset, and understanding base defenses.
Cost: The camp will cost $40
Checks Payable to Olathe South Falcon Football
This camp includes: 1 Camp T-Shirt
Forms due: Please turn the form and payment to Coach Lewis, as soon as possible.
ENTRY FORM HERE: https://forms.gle/Ly3G6bGyFJhXbdCw6
Reminder: Message from the nurse 3/1
6th grade parents received notices if their student needs immunizations as an incoming 7th grader. The vaccines due by the start of 7th grade are Tdap (tetanus) and Meningitis shot. The school nurse needs documentation from either a doctor note or a copy of the vaccine record. You may send these notices by fax, email or in person to the nurse.
7th grade remote students who will be returning to full time school next year will be required to have all the school-required vaccines before school starts.
Thanks Nurse Jenn
CHISHOLM TRAIL BELL SCHEDULE
23/7 CAT SPLIT
CAT 7:50 – 8:13
1st hour 8:17 – 9:07
2nd hour 9:11 – 10:01
3rd hour 10:05 – 10:55
4th hour 10:59 -11:49 (10:59-12:14 for 6th grade)
- 6th grade Lunch
- 10:59-11:24 (Taulbee, Totte-Boyd, Clark, Williams, Horner, Parker)
- 11:24-11:49 (Grauberger, Snethen, Olvera, Marye)
5th hour 11:53 – 1:11
- 7th grade Staggered Lunch
- 11:49 – 12:15 (Ruffin, Jones, Cromer, Rodriguez)
- 11:55 – 12:20 (Reed, M. Kinzer, Hylton, Kusek)
- 8th grade 1st Lunch 12:20 – 12:45
- (Carroll, R. Sheffield, Boyd, Rotert, Woolcott, Waller, Sutter)
- 8th grade 2nd Lunch 12: 46 – 1:11
- (Stumbo, Detrick, Robison, Haines, Gibson,)
6th hour 1:15 – 2:05
7th hour 2:09 – 2: 59
CAT 3:03 – 3:10
From District Nurse Coordinator
There has been an update to the Primary and Secondary symptoms of COVID-19 per JCDHE. Fever is no longer considered to be a primary symptom of COVID-19 even in secondary students and adults. It is now a secondary symptoms which means there needs to be at least one other symptom of COVID in order to classify the person as have COVID-like Illness requiring exclusion and/or testing. The symptoms are now as listed below:
Primary (any one symptom):
- New, persistent cough
- Difficulty breathing
- Loss of taste and/or smell (this is so specific that even in the presence of a negative PCR test, the person is considered COVID positive)
Secondary symptoms (any two or more symptoms):
- Extreme fatigue
- Fever (100o +) or chills
- Congestion/runny nose
- Nausea/vomiting/diarrhea
- Sore throat
- Headache
- Muscle or body aches
Full In-Person Return: Practices and Procedures
Please read...
Below are phases of the school day outlined with guidelines and procedures. These are listed because there are many questions surrounding our "return to school". However, CST will still be a school where relationships are a priority and socialization, engagement, fun, and learning will continue. Students will still be able to be social and interact--this is an important part of school and one we aim to keep intact a much as possible while also following the safety guidelines outlined for our buildings. We want to keep moving forward and keep school comfortable, fun, and engaging while implementing the health guidelines.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to any of us--admin, counselors, teachers--if we can help make your child's transition smoother.
CST In-Person Procedures and Guidelines
As a district we follow Johnson County health guidelines. Wearing masks and washing hands will be the expectation.
A direct exposure is defined as: no mask, within 6 feet, for more than 10 minutes.
Anyone with what is considered a “direct exposure” would need to quarantine based on this criteria. While other variables may play into a situation, the emphasis on wearing a mask is not just safety and health, but for continuity of education by avoiding a need for our students and staff to quarantine. Please keep your child home if they are displaying symptoms (see message/symptoms from district nurse coordinator above).
Below are phases of the day and some general guidelines at CST. Teachers and admin will review these with students next week in Cat time in preparation for transition to full in-person learning.
General Items
- Masks are required in the building (gaiters are okay but need to be 2 layers)
- Students should bring their own masks, but disposable masks are available in the office if needed
- Students will still not be issued lockers (except in PE and music) and will be permitted to carry their backpack with them during the day
- Students are encouraged to travel efficiently—lunch, device, essential supplies—jackets/coats carried as well
- PE lockers will be issued and is a place to keep PE shoes and PE uniform
- Students may drop off PE items after 7:40am
- INSTRUMENTS: Instruments can be dropped off in their music room where one of our teachers will be there to receive instruments
What changes will occur for REMOTE students?
- Remote students’ day will not change and students will still log in beginning at 8:17 (1st hour) and follow the same bell schedule
- Their teachers may provide more details as needed for individual classes
Arrival
--First—refer to our traffic pattern for car rider drop off--entire front curb is used for drop-off/pick-up
--Students enter the front entrance or event entrance—car or walker
--Bus riders will be dropped off at the event entrance (and load at the event entrance)
--We encourage all walkers and car riders to arrive after 7:30.
--If students are in the building BEFORE 7:40 they will go to 1 of 2 locations depending on grade level
- 6th Grade will sit spaced out by Cat teacher in the auditorium (signs posted)
- 7th and 8th will take a different side of the bleachers in the main gym and sit in a location designated for their Cat class.
- If students want breakfast (see breakfast/lunch info below), they will go to the MPR to pick up the grab-and-go breakfast where they’ll check in and eat spaced out in the MPR.
- Students arriving 7:45 or later will take their breakfast to eat in their Cat class.
- Once finished with breakfast students move to their designated location.
--If students arrive AFTER 7:40 they go straight to the their Cat time classroom.
- Breakfast can be picked up in the MPR and taken to their Cat classroom to eat--the MPR will be cleared at 7:45
--Class begins with Cat at 7:50 and we’ll run through the rest of the day
- Students may drop off instruments in their music classroom
Lunch
- There will still be 5 lunch periods at CST
- 6th grade will eat during 4th hour, 7th and 8th will eat 5th hour. The 8th grade lunch will be split due to its higher numbers.
- 7th grade will have a staggered start to lunch by 5 minutes to limit the lunch line
- With a few additional tables and seating areas, the same distancing will occur for lunch as we had during hybrid.
- Students will be expected to wear a mask upon entering/exiting the lunch room and while seated after finished eating. Mask wearing will help mitigate exposure risk as defined by the health department.
- Hand sanitizer stations will be set up in the lunch lines with distancing markers as a guide.
- Students will have assigned seats by class
- Students will sit on a "powercat" sticker in a checker board fashion using, approximately 4 to a table (most tables designed to hold 16 students)
- 10:59-11:24 (6th)
- 11:24-11:49 (6th)
- 11:49-12:14 (7th)
- 11:54-12:19 (7th)
- 12:20-12:45 (8th)
- 12:46-1:11 (8th)
Passing Periods
- Passing periods will be 4 minutes in length
- Restrooms are available while limiting bathroom crowds (appox. 4 per restroom at a time)
- Markings on the floor will guide students to stay to the right during passing and to keep moving from class to class to promote passing period efficiency and limited congregating
- Hand washing or sanitizing is encouraged and available hourly
Classrooms
- Distancing will be followed to the best of our ability in classrooms
- Students will wear masks
- Desks will be sanitized a minimum of 2 times per day
- Hand sanitizer is available in every classroom
- Building receives a weekly deep sanitizing on surfaces
PE
- Students will be issued lockers strategically spaced out in the locker room
- Students will dress out for class--students may wear school issued clothes or clothes brought from home--PE teachers will share expectations in class.
- Masks will be worn in PE, but teachers will work with students for appropriate times to get a break from masks after heavy activity while maintaining distancing guidelines.
Miscellaneous
--Sanitizing Wipes! We would gladly accept a container of sanitizing wipes for use in the lunch room
o Drop off location in both entries upon arrival
--Drinking fountains are only used for filling water bottles—students are encouraged to bring a water bottle.
--Students can keep their cell phones in their backpack but we ask that volume is turned off
o Normally, phones are asked to be kept in lockers from 7:50-3:10
o If cell phones cause distraction they may be kept in the front office for return at the end of the day
--We have 3 microwaves available for student use at lunch
--Please remind students to fully charge their device
o Students are encouraged to have a non-permanent identifier on their charging cord (i.e.
District Assessment Communication
State assessments will be coming up in April. All students, remote and in-person learners, are being asked to take the state assessment. We will communicate date and time opportunities for our remote students. These will be during non-school hours and for only our remote learners. Stay tuned for details in future weeklies. Below is the message from our director of curriculum and assessment.
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Dear District Families,
During the spring of the 2019-20 academic year, the Kansas Department of Education made the decision to not administer state assessments, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This spring, with schools being open and the majority of students learning in person, KSDE has made the decision to return to administering state assessments. This decision to move forward with testing is a positive one, embraced by the Olathe district. As we move towards the end of this school year, it is important our district has evidence of academic learning, as well as evidence of academic needs moving into the 2021-22 academic year.
KSDE has shared the expectation with school districts that ALL students take state assessments, even those students who have chosen to learn Remotely. For Olathe students who have chosen In-Person learning, this will feel very normal and state assessments will be scheduled during the normal school day, as in the past. For our students learning Remotely, the design of the state assessments requires that students take the assessments in person at school. Currently, each building is working on a plan to safely assess Remote students and they will reach out to families of Remote students in the next few weeks with those plans. The Olathe Public Schools expects all students to take the state assessments and provide the district and families with much-needed information to make the best decisions possible for 2021-22.
Once building administrators have sent state testing details to their communities, please feel free to contact your school’s principal (or building test coordinator) with additional questions.
Rich Wilson
Director of Curriculum and AssessmentNoah's Bandage Project 5K, Sunday April 18th 2021
Attendance
Attendance Corner
Welcome Parents to the 2020-21 School Year. A few suggestions to help us tackle attendance for your student(s) during this hybrid learning experience. Attendance is more crucial during these unprecedented times. We ask that you notify Chisholm Trail Attendance Office, preferably before 8:00am with your students all day absence. You can use any of the following methods of contacting us:
1. Call dedicated Attendance Line (voicemail only) – 913-780-7241
2. Call CST Main Line – 913-780-7240 (voicemail after 4:00pm)
3. Email Connie Bray, Attendance Secretary @ cbraycst@olatheschools.org
*all emails will be responded to with a follow-up email for verification of receiving
Information needed to report absence:
· Student Name
· Student Grade
· Your Relationship to Student
· Reason for absence (i.e. illness description, appointment, etc.)
· Phone number to return call (if needed for further info)
Due to remote learning, if your student checks out for an appointment, we ask for a second notification to Attendance (again via any of the 3 methods listed above) if student returns to learning with a time of return. If you contact your student(s) teacher via email please cc Connie Bray with info as to help us.
Please refer to this request as we proceed to continue to help make this school year as positive as we possibly can. We are always here to assist you in any way we can. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions. Thank you, and together we can do this.
Attendance Secretary,
Connie Bray
Office Staff
Receptionist: Chrissy Walters
Assistant Principal's Secretary: Angie Peterson
Attendance Secretary: Connie Bray
Bookkeeper/Principal's Secretary: Andrea Wescott
Data Operator: Melynda Marquardt
School Nurse: Jennifer Ross
Please keep info updated (email, phone number, medical, etc.). Contact the office at 913-780-7240 if you are concerned you may be missing communication or need to update your family's information.