Dear CST Family,

The first quarter has come to an end yet it’s still in the 80s and feels like summer. As a 6th grade parent myself, I can’t help but reflect on how fast the year has gone. How recently it seems we were anticipating middle school and the concept was only a distant reality. Now, a quarter in, the routines are set, students have adapted and adjusted (and will continue to do so) to middle school and life in the 21-22 school year, and life with their new teachers and classmates. For our 8th grade parents, I imagine at some point the reality of high school will begin to set in and a similar process of thoughts will form. This upcoming quarter may be one to ignite that thought process! Our 8th graders will visit a career expo, have an opportunity to participate in mock interviews, and apply for a 21st Century Academy here in Olathe. Parents will have many opportunities for academy visits with their child and, as I say, the questions will form. We have amazing counselors to assist in this process and this is always such a fun time for our kids.

Even with thoughts of the future at hand, I always want to encourage our kids (and myself) to enjoy the moment, enjoy the here and now. There is much to take part in and be excited for right here, right now. Our musical is just around the corner, our concerts will fill the quarter (and have already begun with orchestra and choir), a new athletic season with girls’ basketball begins, and, let’s face it, the holiday season at the middle school is just so much fun as our kids get excited and giddy for the breaks and first snowflakes (snow days?) of the season.

Welcome to quarter 2. It’s every bit of quarter 1 and more!

Let’s enjoy the ride.

Rick

Week at a glance..

Monday, 10/11

• 2nd Quarter Begins
• Columbus Day
• Parent-Teacher Conference Week Begins
  

Tuesday, 10/12

• 7th FB @ MT--CITY CHAMPIONSHIP! (3:30pm)
  
• 8th FB vs IT (3:30pm)
  

• 1/2 day for students ( 7:50-12:20pm) NO LUNCH, Parent-Teacher Conferences (4:30-8:30pm)
  

• No School, Parent-Teacher Conferences

• No School
  

Looking Ahead...

10/19--7/8 GBB vs MT (3:30-5pm)

10/21--7/8 GBB vs PRT

10/22--8th grade Orchestra Festival (Olathe North High School)

10/22--GBB pictures and ALL SCHOOL picture retake day

This Wednesday, from 4:30-8:30pm, we will have arena style conferences. This concept has existed in our schools for a while in the middle and high schools, but we were unable to offer this last year. Arena style conferences are simply a first come, first serve conference opportunity for parents. All CST teachers will be in attendance on Wednesday night, either in the MPR or gym, and teachers will be seated available to speak with parents as they walk up. Conferences are to be less than 10 minutes per teacher so everyone has an opportunity.

Please arrive through the activity entrance for arena conferences.

Teachers also have other available times all week and you should have a specific outreach from them about sign-ups. Please reach out to your child's teachers if you do not have availability during the offered times but still need to visit.

On Tuesday, our 7th grade football team will face off against Mission Trail for the City Championship. Both teams finished first in their division (east/west) and earned the 1 seed to play off for this championship. Other schools face off against their same-seeded team across town for the final game of the week. Our 8th grade also play on Tuesday for their final game of the year. 8th grade plays home against Indian Trail. Good luck, boys!

Hungry after the games? Head to Chipotle to support our cheerleader program! More below...

Parents,

As our students are well underway with their WIN time choice boards, we are going to reward students for their hard work! Teachers will nominate hard working students who'll then be entered into a drawing for a prize. Below is a link if you'd like to contribute toward our prizes for students. If you have any questions please reach out to assistant principal, Krista Dueringer at kdueringercst@olatheschools.org.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F044CAAA62CAAFC1-wintime

If your family is interested in receiving weekend snacks to go home in their student's backpacks on Friday, please email rjiuli@olatheschools.org or amrodden@olatheschools.org.

Rachel Iuli & Ashley Rodden

School Counselors
Olathe Public Schools

Chisholm Trail Middle School

913-780-7240

Football games

10/12--8th grade game vs MT (3:30pm)

10/7--7th grade game @ MT (3:30pm)--City Championship!

We look forward to a great week of competition!

STUDENT ATTENDANCE

Students may attend these games. There is a $1.00 entry fee for students, $2.00 for adults. Students with an activity pass will be listed and admitted to the games. Students must communicate with parents and have rides to be picked up by the end of the game.

Bookmark this site...all athletic rosters IN THE CITY will be kept at this location in lieu of printing programs for games. This includes all sports, all year. Check it out!

https://rosters.weebly.com/

In the weeks ahead, we'll begin providing literacy intervention for students identified through our MAP testing and reading fluency assessments in the building. This intervention will be provided during our WIN class period (8:44-9:18) and students will work in groups of 5 or less with CST teachers. All students will still be eligible for the WIN prizes described above, but may spend WIN time with one of our building literacy interventionists (one of 13 CST teachers) while they receive literacy intervention targeting any of the identified literacy gaps. This intervention time is being utilized in our Olathe Schools and achieves the state literacy mandate.

In addition, beginning Monday, all CST students will begin to receive daily phonics lessons for the first 5 minutes of their science class. This, too, is part of a district wide effort to help close any gaps that may have occurred through any of our kids' schooling. Daily phonics lessons will be fulfilled by your child's social studies teacher beginning in January.

A nationwide trend has recently made its way into local schools. Unfortunately, CST has not been exempt from this trend, nor have the other Olathe middle schools and high schools. The trend has been credited to TikTok and involves vandalizing schools and posting the video evidence on the social media platform. This has resulted in various acts of vandalism in Olathe including broken bathroom stall doors, mirrors pulled down from walls, soap dispensers ripped from walls, trash cans turned upside down, etc. Some have been caught as a result of their posted video making rounds. Of course, these actions can result in both school and legal consequences. The first story below features Olathe North principal, Jason Herman, who was interviewed by the KC Star.

The other articles are informational, but recent, and deal more with the mental health impact social media can have. Even working in schools as an administrator, I was not aware of some of the information below. As more focus and attention is given to the mental health of our children, the various social media platforms and their influence on the developing teenage brain is an important part of the conversation. My hope is that the links below will provide awareness of current trends and more about outside influences on our kids. Even better if these promote discussion at home.

Johnson County school has bathroom doors and toilet seats stolen, following TikTok trend (featuring Olathe principal) (9/15/2021)

https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/education/article254240178.html

TikTokers Are Stealing From Their Schools in a New Trend (9/10/2021)

5 Things Parents Need to Know about Tik-Tok (Updated 2021)

https://kidmatterscounseling.com/blog/5-things-parents-need-to-know-about-tik-tok/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/09/14/facebook-knew-instagram-could-bad-teens-mental-health/8340578002/

The links below require a Wall Street Journal subscription but may be found in summary on other social media awareness sites.

How TikTok Serves Up Sex and Drug Videos to Minors (9/8/2021)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-algorithm-sex-drugs-minors-11631052944

Inside TikTok’s Algorithm: A WSJ Video Investigation(7/21/2021)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-algorithm-video-investigation-11626877477

Our CST library app has been fixed! Students may use the CST Library app (from Classlink) to access tutorials to get ebooks and audiobooks from Destiny and/or Axis360, browse book trailers and booktalks, use databases for school research, etc...

Also, bookfairs are returning!! Our fall bookfair will be the week of October 18th and the Spring bookfair will be the week of February 14th. Both of these weeks are the week after conferences and the fairs will be in the library. This year we will be using Scholastic Book Fairs. More details to come as we get closer...

https://sites.google.com/students.olatheschools.com/cstlibrary

Receptionist: Chrissy Walters

Assistant Principal's Secretary: Angie Peterson

Attendance Secretary: Connie Bray

Bookkeeper/Principal's Secretary: Sara Harris

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.