Wildcat Growl
May 1, 2020
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
Wildcat Students and Parents,
We are thankful for the patience of our students and families as we work through this challenging time.
We understand and appreciate how significant the graduation ceremony is to our students and families. In fact, we hold the same feeling. It is our hope to provide an experience that will be memorable and honor our Class of 2020 graduates.
On April 4th, we met with senior class leadership to discuss various options and to develop a survey for senior students. Seniors were sent the survey to their USD232 email address on April 10th. Of the 117 senior responses, 101 (86%) students preferred to have an in-person ceremony in July, with a virtual ceremony as a backup.
On April 24th, senior leadership and staff met to discuss the survey results and to prepare a proposal to the district office. While the survey results demonstrate a preference for an in-person ceremony in late July, students, and staff still expressed some concern over the potential conflicts for students and families, including those students enlisting in the military.
Additionally, if school facility closures or gathering size limitations are in place, our graduation ceremony will need to be modified to comply with state, county, and local protocols. This could result in a completely virtual graduation ceremony.
The students and administration of DHS proposed July 18th to district administration as the date of the Class of 2020 graduation ceremony. However, the importance of selecting a timeframe that will enable both USD232 high schools an in-person ceremony may result in a different date. We anticipate being able to communicate the district determined date of our Class of 2020 ceremony next week.
We have also been working to establish a timeline and process for students to pick up personal belongings and return school-related materials (textbooks, athletic and activity uniforms, musical instruments and supplies, senior student MacBooks, and other school-owned materials).
In order to comply with current local and state orders, the process of collecting textbooks and allowing students to retrieve personal belongings (in small groups of less than 10 in an area, practicing social distancing of remaining 6 feet between persons, etc...) will require three days. We are planning for this to occur on Monday, May 18th through Wednesday, May 20th. As a result of collecting textbooks and materials, teachers have been asked to not present any new content or have assignment due dates after May 15th.
Seniors involved in AP testing during the last week of school will have a separate MacBook return time on May 22nd. Only senior students and those not re-enrolling in DHS in the fall need to return their MacBook. The details about personal belongings pickup and school material return will be sent to all students and parents next week.
We want you to know how much we appreciate what our parents and the community have done for De Soto High School. Your students matter to us. I also want you to know that student leadership and staff have worked hard to be thoughtful given the complexity of the situation. We appreciate your continued support, understanding, and patience.
Kind Regards,
Sam Ruff
Technology Help Desk
Please remember that the fastest way to start getting a solution to any technology issues is to contact our help desk. This is also available to all students. Educators, please encourage students to contact the help desk with issues they are experiencing.
Technology Help Desk
Get help with district technology
Students and Parents: You can reach our Help Desk by calling 816-382-4840.
Hours of Operation
Monday - Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Employees: You can reach our Help Desk by dialing extension 3500 (internally) or by calling 816-382-4840.
OR -- complete an online Help Desk ticket at http://helpdesk.k12itc.com
Securly App
Now that we have transitioned to on-line learning parents can have the 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.
Message from Student Services
UMKC Pharmacy Camp Summer 2020:
UMKC Pharmacy is hosting a one-day event that will give future pharmacy students an opportunity to see what it's like to study pharmacy and a glimpse of a day in the life of a pharmacist through a variety of career practice areas! Students will perform hands-on experiments in the lab & through classroom activities, learn from pharmacy practitioners in a variety of practice settings, meet with current pharmacy students, faculty and deans, and tour the UMKC School of Pharmacy facilities.
The event is taking place at UMKC in Kansas City on Friday, June 26th and is for any high school student who has completed 9th grade or above. Space is limited. For more information and to register for the event go to UMKC Pharmacy Camp.
April 4th ACT Test Date Change:
Due to the current circumstances, the ACT is canceling the ACT that was scheduled for April 4th. All students who were registered can change to the June 13th or July 11th test, without additional fees. Please log in to your ACT account to select your new test date. DHS will not be a test site on either of these dates, but there will be multiple high schools near us that will be offering it on these dates.
Changes in DHS Senior Scholarships:
Some of the scholarships that were being offered to seniors this year have moved their deadlines back and the protocol for turning the scholarship in. Please check out the Student Services Scholarship page for more information: DHS Senior Only Scholarships.
If you have additional questions, please email Mrs. Johns at cjohns@usd232.org
AP Exam 2020 Update:
College Board announced last week that they are still giving students opportunities to earn credit for their AP Classes. If students registered by the deadline of March 20th, students will be taking their exams online on the dates that are designated. For more information please visit https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/news-changes/coronavirus-update. As more information is released, Mrs. Johns will be communicating with all students who registered for the exam.
College Admissions Resource Document
We know during this time of uncertainty many senior students and families may have a lot of questions and concerns regarding post-secondary plans. The Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) and Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) are working together to develop resources to provide information to alleviate some of these concerns and answer important questions.
We developed a College Admissions Among COVID-19 document that provides helpful admissions and financial aid links and virtual tools from Kansas public and independent institutions, as well as college and career exploration tools and articles related to college-decision making for 2020 graduates. We hope that you find this resource helpful. The link will auto-update as additional information is added.
State of Kansas Student Financial Aid
The Kansas Board of Regents is responsible for the administration of state-funded grants and scholarships for students attending public Kansas colleges and universities. Some of these scholarships are available to students who typically show financial need as determined by results of filling out the FAFSA. Scholarships are available in the following areas:
- Kansas Career Technical Workforce Grant
- Kansas Ethnic Minority Scholarship
- Kansas Military Service Scholarship
- Kansas National Guard Educational Assistance Program
- Kansas Nursing Service Scholarship
- Kansas Teacher Service Scholarship
- Kansas State Scholarship
For more information visit: https://sfa.kansasregents.org/login.jsp. The deadline for submitting these scholarships has been extended to June 1st.
Information from the DHS Media Center!
DHS LMC 2.0
Yes, believe it or not you can still read and use the library while at home!
The library catalog, resources and eBooks/eAudiobooks are just a few keystrokes away.
Enroll in library page by clicking on DHS MC Canvas or on the link DHS LMC Destiny Catalog
Check out our Instagram/Twitter pages @dhsmediacenter2 for post on current book reviews, the question of the week, national daily holidays and what my crazy dogs and I are up to while at home.
If you need further assistance please feel free to contact me at jsosna@usd232.org during office hours M-F from 8:00 to 12:00.
The Kansas Youth Community Change Conference
The Kansas Youth Community Change Conference is going virtual! It is still free and sessions will take place from April 20th through May 21st.
Here’s how it works:
- Everyone who plans to attend must register for virtual KYC3 here: www.dccca.org/events/KYC3. You no longer have to register as a team.
- When you register, you’ll pick each session you are interested in participating in.
- Teens who participate in the sessions will receive prizes! Prizes include a KYC3 moisturizer ball (eOS chapstick), pen, button, foam fidget putty, collapsible water bottle, color-changing sunglasses, and a KYC3 cinch bag.
- Every teen who registers will receive a KYC3 t-shirt.
- The keynote speaker Javier Sanchez from Youth to Youth will be facilitating his sessions on Friday, April 24th at 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM. You won’t want to miss it!!
We’re offering 22 different sessions for teens to attend, you can view the full agenda here: https://www.dccca.org/kansas-youth-community-change-conference-kyc3-agenda/