Tradition: Time to Start a New One?

According to several online dictionary sources, a tradition is “the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another” and can be over a long period of time or a relatively brief period of time.

The “tradition” of throwing toilet tissue throughout the trees, lawns, etc. on Main Street in Kingman the Thursday evening before the fall homecoming game is one “tradition” that should be examined. This is NOT a sanctioned activity of the school, yet the school, police, and others will be asked to get it stopped or sanction or punish the students if it does not stop. Students need and desire activities to show school spirit, act a little crazy, and have some fun. The question is; is this activity (the current tradition) the best way to show that school spirit? I don’t know how long, but the paper hazing has been done for quite a few years now and some community members sanction it as appropriate, but has everyone considered the harm it may do to others? There are many who happen to live on Main Street who object, and they have the right to do so; it’s their property. What about those elderly who live there? What about those who take a great amount of pride in their lawns and yards? I know that there are school groups who go out and clean up the next day or weekend after, but it usually takes a few weeks before it’s all cleaned up or the tissue blows away. Is it time to make a change in “tradition?”

I received several suggestions from those who would like to see a change that include getting a junk car that students could take turns banging with a sledgehammer or to display spirit signs and place them in the front yards of those property owners who would allow it. The idea behind the signs is they would provide a steady display of spirit as the opponent enters town on game day. KHS students have access to graphic arts and others supplies where students could produce great signs and there could be class competitions. The above are two ideas submitted to me by patrons who would like to see the current tradition changed.

My suspicion is there are a significant number (maybe a silent majority) in the community who do not support the current tradition (tissue) and would like to see it changed. My plea is students, parents, and other community members consider the property owners and consider another means of showing school spirit. By coming together and working together, I believe a new “tradition” could be just as spirit-filled and fun without creating a blemish on a student body that actively participate in numerous community service activities and are a great asset to the community. We have nearly a year so let’s try to move forward and consider starting a new “tradition” together.

Schools get a healthy start with changes to school meals, but smaller portions: New meal standards focus on healthy foods to fuel learning

TOPEKA - Kansas schools are off to a healthy start thanks to changes made to school meals as part of the federal Healthy Hunger-free Kids Act.  Signed into law in 2011, the legislation contains provisions to make meals more nutritious.

The new school meals focus on more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, as well as providing low-fat or non-fat milk and less sodium and fat.  The purpose of the legislation was to promote better nutrition and help students avoid risks for health problems such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.

“We know that well-nourished children are ready to learn and will do better in class, so we’re very pleased to see this added emphasis on healthy foods for students,“ said Cheryl Johnson, director of Child Nutrition and Wellness at the Kansas State Department of Education.  “I’m proud of the way Kansas schools have embraced these changes and have been working to gradually implement the changes in the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.  School meals for Kansas students are now even healthier than they were before.”

The changes in the meal standards are in line with the latest nutritional science and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.  Built upon recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, the new standards do the following:

            Ensure students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day of the week;

            Increase offerings of whole grain-rich foods;

            Offer only fat-free or low-fat milk;

            Limit calories based on the age of children being served to ensure proper portion size;

Increase the focus on reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fat, added sugars and     sodium.

The first change is that we are required to offer 2 oz. of meat/meat alternate.  Last year on homemade items we were able to give them a little more than that.  This year we cannot give them less than 2 oz. and we cannot give them more than 2 oz.

Last year we were able to give them as much bread as they would eat.  This year we can only give them a minimum of 1 oz. of grain bread a day for all grade groups; for K-5 a maximum of 9 oz. a week, 6-8 a maximum of 10 oz. a week, and 9-12 a maximum of 12 oz. a week.   They can buy extra bread or an extra entrée, but we cannot give it to them.  It is also required that all bread items must be whole grain by July 1, 2014.

We are also limited to less than or equal to 1230 mg of sodium for Grades K-5, 1360 mg for 6-8 and 1420 mg a day for Grades 9-12.  It will be even less in the next few years.

Calorie levels daily are K-5: less than or equal to 550-650, 6-8: less than or equal to 600-700,    9-12: less than or equal to 750-850.

Saturated fat must be less than 10% of the total calories for the week.

The children are now required to take ½ cup fruit and ½ cup vegetable or 1 cup of fruit or vegetable.

Please encourage your children to eat all of the items that are offered.  We do have the menus posted on each school’s website.  We encourage you to look at them.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we try to implement all of the Federal Guidelines.

Safety and Security Precautions in Place at USD 331

Student safety and security at school, at school events, and during school/activity transportation are top priorities of the Board of Education, Administration, Faculty and Staff in USD 331 Kingman-Norwich.  A review of emergency operations plans is done for the entire staff each year and in my back-to-school remarks, I always address how students cannot learn if they do not feel safe. Since coming to USD 331, the following are some of the safety and security measures put into place:

• ·       A district-wide vulnerability study was completed by the Kansas Department of Homeland Security/Emergency Management/Kansas Center for Safe and Prepared Schools
• ·       Each building has an updated Emergency Operations Plan (also known as a crisis plan) and each classroom teacher has a copy, receives ongoing training and copies are being expanded to include bus drivers and others who have student responsibilities
• ·       Each classroom teacher has a “classroom crisis kit” containing essential items for a class of students in case of emergency teachers
• ·       Building crisis kits (expanded version of the classroom kit) are being assembled for each building
• ·       Updated evacuation and relocation plans have been implemented
• ·       An expanded video surveillance system has been installed in and on the outside of each building
• ·       Radio systems including buses have been updated to meet new FCC requirements but now provide county-wide coverage and additional radios were purchased for buildings
• ·       Working with Emergency Management, all school employees have a picture ID badge which doubles as a key for building access
• ·       Access controlled doors have been installed at all buildings that provide a video and audio check-in system for visitors - access can be limited or denied if deemed appropriate by the administration which may include school activities
• ·       Emergency personnel throughout the county have access to the buildings in case of emergency
• ·       Fencing has been put up around all electrical/gas to protect against intentional or accidental damage
• ·       Fencing was added to Kingman High School to restrict access to certain areas posing a danger or security risk
• ·       Various small grants have been obtained to offset costs of improved safety and a $100,000 S3 Safe and Supportive Schools grant was obtained for both high schools to implement programs to improve school climate
• ·       Research-based educational anti-bullying and character education programs have been implemented in the elementary and middle schools
• ·       All employees go through a background check beyond the required KBI records check before being employed
• ·       All staff was required to get training in appropriate student-staff relationships and staff responsibilities in reporting any type of suspected child abuse at school or away from school
•      Students receive personal safety awareness education from the local mental health association at two grades at the elementary level.

The above was not an all-inclusive list. Building level faculty and staff meetings regularly address any number of issues to make sure our students are safe at school. Administrators attend school events or a teacher is placed in charge of the event and most athletic contests are attended by local law enforcement to provide a safe environment.

The USD 331 Board of Education and staff will continue to look at safety and security for our students. Safety can always be improved and we will continue to consider means to improve safety for all district students, staff and visitors. 

7.6 Million Reasons to Keep High School Sports By Bob Gardner

The following editorial was written by Bob Gardner, Executive Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, in response to an article that was posted May 7 in the online edition of USA Today. It was released by the Kansas State High School Activities Association to share with the USD 331 community.

I’m not quite sure what qualifies a former college basketball coach to assess the state of high school sports, but last week in USA Today’s online edition, the following headline caught my attention: “Former college coach proposes ending high school sports.” Wow!

            This article, which originally was published in the Reno (Nevada) Gazette-Journal, contained thoughts and ideas of Len Stevens, a former college basketball coach and current executive director of the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Stevens suggests we should “kick it (high school sports) to the curb” and go the way of the European model focusing solely on club sports.

            The author of the article, Dan Hinxman, suggests that Mr. Stevens’ thoughts might be preposterous, ludicrous and, perhaps, downright offensive to some individuals. Mr. Hinxman is correct. As the head of an organization that provides leadership to 51 state high school associations, 19,000 high schools and more than 7.6 million student-athletes involved in high school sports, I am pleased to report that funeral arrangements have been cancelled.

            What Mr. Stevens probably doesn’t know is that many of those countries employing the “European model” would trade their model in an instant for the education-based philosophy of high school sports in the United States. After listening to my report at the 9^th International Session for Educators at the International Olympic Academy in Greece last summer, representatives from many nations marveled that our programs receive little or no government support in our schools, and the universal wish of the delegates from other nations was that their programs could be more like ours.

            Mr. Stevens suggests that since club sports have been growing in the United States we should end high school sports and go exclusively with club sports, which “would answer a lot of problems and put the high school focus back where it belongs – on education.”

            What Mr. Stevens doesn’t account for is that if sports were removed from American high schools, the focus would not be on education. The focus would be on trying to locate students who abruptly left school – dropouts – when sports were taken away.

And, by the way, the education component is the singular unique component of the U.S. model. Student-athletes learn much more than how to set a screen in basketball or cover the first-base bag in baseball. While the number of teacher-coaches has dwindled, most schools that employ out-of-school coaches require those individuals to complete an education course, such as the NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching course.

On the other hand, club sports lack an educational component. These programs exist solely for the purpose of improving one’s athletic skills and, through that process, hopefully landing a college scholarship. The team concept rarely exists and there is no overall philosophy to help prepare students for life after school, which is a major goal of education-based sports within the schools.

Mr. Stevens also noted that no one attends games any more. Really? A survey conducted by the NFHS last year indicated that more than 510 million people attended high school sporting events during the 2009-10 school year. On Friday nights in the fall, there are 7,000 high school games being played every week. On winter nights – two to three times a week – there are about 18,000 girls and boys basketball games being played. More than 7.6 million high school students compete in high school sports, and those numbers have risen for 22 consecutive years.

How many of those 7.6 million kids would still be around if the only option was to join a club team? The clubs only want the very best athletes, and fees can range from $5,000 to $10,000 a year to be involved with a year-round travel team.

A large majority of high school students who are involved in sports are there to have fun, to be with their friends, to compete and learn and to be a part of a team. Kids have a need to be needed and to be a part of something positive, to be involved with their peers and coaches who care. Many students involved in sports do not have a support system at home – their high school teammates and coaches are their lifeblood. This concept simply does not exist through club sports.

At our recent National Athletic Directors Conference in Indianapolis, several high school athletic directors talked about their days as high school athletes and the importance of these programs.

Monica Maxwell, a middle school athletic director from Indianapolis, said, “I knew I wanted to get out of my neighborhood. If it wasn’t going to be through athletics, it was going to be through the military . . . I think that story – my story – is a story of many athletes. They know that their ticket out of their neighborhoods is going to be athletics.”

Lanness Robinson, an athletic director from Tampa, Florida, said, “If I didn’t maintain a 3.5 grade-point average, my mom wouldn’t let me play sports. That’s the only reason I tried because otherwise I didn’t care. I believe that athletics is the greatest dropout prevention program that we have . . . I think the three most identifiable people on the school campus . . . are the head football coach, the principal and the quarterback. What does that say about school? I’ve read stories where schools have actually made the decision to cut programs and I think in most cases, they reinstate athletic programs because they found that it doesn’t work.”

John Evers, a retired athletic director from Indiana, said “When good things happen – if a team is making a great playoff run – the community comes together. That’s not something you often get outside of athletics. I’ve never seen a town rally around a chemistry class, but I have seen them rally around a team of kids doing something special.”

Becky Oakes, director of sports at the NFHS, said in a recent issue of High School Today, “Students enjoy the school-community identity that comes with playing in high school. In general, high school coaches will treat each student as part of the team and the community; this is the selling point that high schools have far over any club team.”

Certainly, there are challenges in many states, mainly due to funding issues. But even in those situations when funds become tight, more often than not the community responds because it sees the value of these programs for young people. With all due respect to Mr. Stevens, there are 7.6 million reasons we’re going to keep sports within our schools.

A Safe Finish and New Start

     It’s hard to believe that another school year is almost complete, but in less than a month, high school graduations and 8^th grade promotions will occur. What a year it has been. I congratulate all of the students on their efforts to succeed and to the staff for providing their caring instruction. As each of our students finish their last month of school this year, I encourage them to work hard and strive to do their very best in preparation for a new start next school year and remind everyone to stay safe and continue their learning throughout the summer.

     What have we accomplished this year? We began new career pathways in the high schools with several introductory courses that could be taken in the 8^th grade. The career and technical education teachers met with community committees, updated their academic plans and looked at new career pathways that could be added for the next school year. We implemented a complete new English-Language Arts series (the first in many years) for our elementary students which complements our elementary math series (in its second year of implementation), but also updated the math series to focus on the new common core standards. A district curriculum team met monthly to develop and align the curriculum for all grades K-12 and will continue next year with development of the common core standards transition plan. We began development of the Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to help our struggling readers or math students. Each building has a team who analyzed data to determine which students could benefit from tiered instruction and full implementation should occur next year.

     We worked closely last year with Kingman County Emergency Management, Kansas Homeland Security, Kansas Safe and Prepared Schools, and the emergency responders to evaluate the schools’ vulnerabilities and to improve their safety and security. This school year, each teacher has a classroom crisis kit, entrances are limited with access controlled by the office, and soon we will have enhanced and expanded video inside and outside each school. Mr. Jerry Tenbrink (Director of Kansas School Resource Officers’ Program of the Attorney General’s Office) stated that parents want to know their kids will be safe and in some portions of the state, they pick their schools based upon safety and security of the schools. Each staff member has an identification badge and all teacher badges also serve as an electronic access to the building. Emergency Operations Plans along with training have been updated in each building and a comprehensive district plan is near completion.

     Students, too, have made great strides. Kingman High School student council along with Norwich High School Students against Destructive Decisions (SADD) co-sponsored two activities where a national speaker and local celebrities and local law enforcement all spoke and celebrated in improving the school and community climate. The elementary and middle schools were involved separately where Kingman Elementary piloted the Steps to Respect program and will be honored in Topeka in early May. The Steps to Respect program was expanded to Kingman Middle School and Norwich Elementary and Middle schools. Additionally, a Kingman High School Alum, David Hill, worked with Kingman Middle School to begin the “One Spark” program which essentially is a program to start a “spark” of kindness rather than douse others with a bucket of water, thus drowning their hopes and dreams. Kingman Middle School has done several community projects including visits to the local nursing home and clean-up projects as a result. Do you believe these great programs expand? Kingman High School now is the only high school who is beginning their own chapter of “One Spark” and KHS has revived their SADD program.

     Both Norwich High School and Kingman High School have applied for a grant with the Kansas State Department of Education called the S-3 grant. S-3 is designed to look at all types of safety and security with a particular focus on school climate. If this grant is received, additional focus will be given to improving the climate at each high school ultimately to help each student succeed in a positive school climate.

Finally, our collaboration with local law enforcement will allow us to expand our safety and security even further. They will continue to use the schools for training so they can respond quickly and appropriately in case of an emergency. We will be updating all radios for improved communication along with video access on an emergency basis. The police are in the process of obtaining a dog that can renew searches in the schools for drugs and the sheriff recently provided me a public website to assist parents and teachers in identifying signs of illicit drug use.

     I believe the school district has made great strides in academics and curriculum, school climate, safety, security, and emergency preparedness. We continue to work to improve our seamless integration of technology into our instruction, added blogs, Facebook, and enhanced phone messaging system to improve communication, and develop 21^st century skills our student must have to compete. The district is committed to continual improvement in all facets of educating our students and appreciates the support you have given our students, teachers, and staff through the journey.  The journey continues.

Whatever Happened after the Kansas Learning Network Visit?

Numerous areas were identified for improvement following the Kansas Learning Network visit during the fall of 2010. Areas of particular focus were those of curriculum and instruction. What has the district staff been doing to make those improvements?

1)      All school buildings developed a team to plan for implementation of MTSS (Multi-tiered system of support). All Kingman schools identified reading as the area which needed focus and Norwich schools determined their focus would be on math. Using data obtained from various tests, students would be identified for further assistance to correct deficiencies. With new instructional tools available and data from testing, students deficiencies can be identified and significant improvements can be made. Though each building is at various levels of MTSS implementation, significant student improvement is already occurring.

2)      Administrators often stopped in various classrooms while walking around their buildings, but this school year, they do so with a specific purpose in most cases. District administrators worked with educational consultants to develop and become trained on the 5 minute observation. This gets administrators in the classrooms much more and in most cases, they make observations which they share with teachers almost immediately after completing the observation. This has led to numerous conversations and reflection on instruction and learning and since all of the data is recorded, areas of professional development are identified. For instance, a transition to the common core standards requires higher order thinking skills be developed. Data obtained from the observations led to professional learning during an in-service day to assist teachers in developing that type of instruction.

3)      Several teachers and administrators attended a week long KLN Curriculum Institute in Pittsburg, KS this past summer. With the work those educators began, a district curriculum leadership team was formed to redesign the math and English – Language Arts curriculum for the district that addressed current standards, identified resources including technology, and set the pace for what should be covered throughout the school year. Since Kansas, along with almost every other state, adopted the common core standards, their work is now continuing with making appropriate changes toward the common core standards. The work these dedicated professionals of our district have completed is phenomenal and they will lead the in-service for all instructional staff in April.

The above describes a few of the improvements currently being worked on in the district. I am extremely proud of the dedication and work of everyone involved and I hope all patrons are as well. 

Good and Bad of Sports Article

The KSHSAA (the governing body of Kansas middle and high school activities), recently posted a great article about sportsmanship and I provided the link. As stated, it's a great reminder to all of us about our responsibilities as coaches, administrators, officials, and parents. As we finish up the winter sports season and begin the spring seasons, take a moment to read the article. It's based upon years of research and I believe the author makes some great points. I hope you enjoy it.

March 2, 2012 From Kansas State High School Activities Association

Click HERE to check out a wonderful article on the good and bad of sports parents.  It is a great reminder for all of us on what our role should be as parents, administrators, teachers, and coaches of our student-athletes.  As you will read, the article is based on the research and analysis of Bruce E. Brown and Rob Miller of Proactive Coaching LLC.  Both of these gentlemen have recently spoken at the KSHSAA Coaching School and were well received by all who attended.  Hopefully you will find this article useful as you continuously work to promote and develop top notch athletics and activities programs in your school communities.

Into the Wild Blue Yonder and Beyond

Into the Wild Blue Yonder and Beyond

by

Bob Diepenbrock

Within the last few weeks, I’ve been contacted about USD 331 graduates who are excelling in their professions.  Mr. Ron Work, Physics teacher, contacted me about an alum of Norwich, Ashley Balzer, who is currently working for NASA in the office of education and works with the Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program. Mr. Work and Mr. Curtis Albin, co-physics teacher at Kingman, are working collaboratively to teach physics by connecting classrooms in both high schools via interactive television and are planning to set up experiments with Ashley using the interactive television.  

I was also contacted about a graduate of Kingman High School who is a pilot for the United States Air Force Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds are scheduled to perform in an air show at McConnell Air Force base in Wichita the last weekend of September. We hope to make a connection to Captain Blaine Jones (KHS alum) when he comes into the area this upcoming fall as well. You can read about Captain Jones at the Thunderbirds website at http://afthunderbirds.com/site/members/Officers/ .

Congratulations to all of our alumni for their great contributions. We hope to connect to other alumni in the near future. 

How We Communicate - Can We Get Better

How We Communicate – Can We Get Better?

by

Bob Diepenbrock, Superintendent of Schools

A failure in communication is always an issue school districts face with their parents and patrons. Therefore, I would like to explain the different ways we try to communicate events and other important news and ask for suggestions if you have other ideas. As a school and district, we are always looking for efficient and timely methods to improve communication.

First of all, Kingman Elementary and Middle Schools along with Norwich PK-12 sends a monthly newsletter to all the parents of students in their respective attendance centers. The newsletter highlights past events and activities along with informing parents of upcoming events in the school. The newsletter also provides information about the in-service days, food service, and how to find out about school closings in case of inclement weather or other necessary closing. Kingman High School does not send out a newsletter, but has a journalism class that produces the Oracle to highlight events and run news stories of interest as determined by the teacher and students. Norwich also produces a newspaper at the middle school level.

Students at middle and high schools work in their web design classes to post pictures and write regular blogs that are posted on the school and district website. If you haven’t visited the website lately, you should definitely take a look. The websites are regularly updated with blogs written by students and teachers and most are posted on the district Facebook site as well. You can view the district website at www.knusd331.com or the Facebook website at USD 331 Kingman-Norwich Schools and I hope you indicate you “like” us. From either site you can also access each school’s site. I also plan to begin the superintendent’s blog and post updates on district events and issues in education that affect the schools.

 You may have received updates or reminders through our Bright Arrow Notification system as well. Using Bright Arrow, we can send out messages to all parents or to any number of people based upon the groups we set up. For instance, if an event necessitated the closing of all district schools, I can send out an emergency message notifying all the phone numbers and emails we have on file at our schools within a few minutes. We can also select groups such as the elementary parents only, a middle or high school athletic or activity team or others and send messages only to those groups. To work effectively, please make sure your contact information is updated with the school your child attends. Bright Arrow is even capable of sending text messages.

The above described a few ways we are trying to communicate with you. If you have additional ideas or ideas on something you would like our schools to highlight, please don’t hesitate to contact our schools. We will continue to strive to improve our communication to you. Thanks.