Maize South Elementary School
September 2022
A message from Principal Mrs. Carrie Thrash
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to the 2022-23 school year! We are excited to have your child at Maize South Elementary! We are home to the Wolves and leaders of the pack.
I am Mrs. Thrash, the principal. Mr. Chalashtari (Mr. C.) is our assistant principal. We are excited to begin another year and look forward to getting to know all of our new students while welcoming our returning students!
MSE has had a lot of changes over the summer. New flooring was placed in areas throughout the building, and our playgrounds were updated with new rubber mulch and turff. A TV has been installed in our cafeteria to better support parent pickup, and our parking lot was resurfaced. We are enjoying the updates and improvements with everyone.
We also had a team of teachers who worked through the summer to develop a new Den System. This new system will give students an opportunity to earn points and prizes for demonstrating positive behavior and helping others. More information and details are shared in this newsletter, and a video of our Den Team was shared in our Weekly Wolfpack News.
This year is off to a great start, and we look forward to sharing it with all of you! Thank you again for your support and for partnering with us to make your child’s educational experience memorable and impactful!
Stay Connected
Visit our school website at www.usd266.com/mses.
Connect with Mrs. Thrash at cthrash@usd266.com or 316-462-8300.
Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/MaizeSouthElementary and Instagram
Maize South Elementary School is located at 3404 N. Maize Rd. in Wichita.
The Den
The den system is an idea adopted from Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia.
The unique system allows students to connect with students across classes and grades that they may not usually have a chance to interact with. Students will gain more friendships and create a family-like culture at our school. The system promotes healthy competition and good sportsmanship and builds positive, strong relationships. This aligns with our school vision that MSE students will make the world a better place!
Our den system revolves around five dens represented by different crests, names, colors, and animals. Staff and students spin the wheel of fate to determine which den they are part of. Once everyone is in a den, there will be team building and bonding monthly, positive behavior/action points given daily, and so much more! In addition, all
staff/students will receive a t-shirt in the color of their den with the den name on it.
These shirts will be symbols of our dens and worn during our monthly assemblies.
Counselors Corner
Hello! My name is Katie Frank. I am the counselor for first grade, third grade, and I will share Kindergarten with our other counselor, Jami, for the 22-23 school year. We loop with our students so we will stay with them through their elementary career. I have been in education for 15 years. This is my eleventh year in counseling and my ninth year in Maize. I have been married to my husband Steve for nine years, and we have two beautiful children. Peyton is five and will join the MSE wolf pack this year. Our son, Landon, is three and will be at the Maize Early Childhood Center. I love working with students and seeing their social and emotional growth while at school! I will interact with your students through classroom lessons and maybe invite your students to join me in small groups or individually. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns you may have. We have access to numerous resources that can be beneficial to families!! I can’t wait for a great year at MSE!
Phone: (316) 462-8314
Email: kfrank@usd266.com
Google Site: https://sites.google.com/usd266.com/mrskatiescounselorsite/home
Hello! My name is Jami Weston. I am the counselor for second grade and fourth grades this 22-23 school year. My counterpart, Katie, and I will share kindergarten. I have been in education for 20 years. I taught fourth and fifth grades in the Maize district before becoming a school counselor. This is my fifth year of counseling. I have been married to my husband, Scott, for 31 years, and we have two adult sons and two beautiful grandsons. I love working with students and helping them socially and emotionally while here at school. I will be doing classroom lessons, small groups, and meeting individually with some students. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns or need help with anything. We have access to lots of resources and are always willing to share!
Phone: (316) 462-8311
Email: jweston@usd266.com
Google Site: https://sites.google.com/usd266.com/jweston/home
MSE PTO
To order your den bracelets, water bottles or to make a PTO donation please go to
https://my.cheddarup.com/c/msespto
Grab your Wolf gear! Spirit wear closes on Mon. Sept. 5tth
Pizza Ranch Volunteer Sign Up
Volunteers Needed!!
Monday, Sept. 26th
First PTO Meeting, Meet & Greet Mixer
Come and join us for a meet & mingle and our first PTO meeting of the school year, Tuesday, September 13th at 6 PM.
We will be meeting at El Agave, 3560 N Maize Rd. We will be providing light appetizers and chips & queso.
Please log on to the MSES PTO Facebook event page to RSVP if you plan to attend the meeting.
Nurses Notes
Get to know Nurse Joni
Hi, I’m Nurse Joni. This is my 9th year as a school nurse. I previously worked in the Newton and Halstead districts. Before school nursing, I was a nurse on a Pediatric floor at Hutchinson Hospital and recently was a nurse in Pre-Op at Wesley Medical Center. I have a wonderful husband of 22 years, Chad, and 4 Kiddos. Our oldest child, Callie is 21, Carson is 19, Clayton is 15, and Carolina is 13. We love to watch our kiddos play sports, walk our dogs Oakley and Sarge, and hang out at the lake or by the pool.
Please remember if your child is ill, keep them home. Students who are sick should never come to school. Students with temperatures at or above 100 degrees will be sent home. They must be fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication before returning to school. If you have a kindergartener or new student in our district, I will need a current physical (within the last 12 months) and a copy of immunizations for your student. If your student needs medication at school or modifications to their diet, don't hesitate to contact the nurse's office.
If I can be any of any assistance this year, please don’t hesitate to call or email me. My office number is 316-462-8305 and my email is jconsidine@usd266.com.