Monday, August 10, 2015

It's Almost Time for School - Welcome Back Students and Parents

It must be August. It’s hot, the Kingman County fair is over, and enrollment at Kingman-Norwich schools just finished so the school bells will be ringing shortly. Wednesday, August 19th, school begins for all students and the Kingman and Norwich faculty and staff are excited to meet their students for another school year. On behalf of the USD 331 Board of Education, faculty, and staff, I want to welcome all students and parents to USD 331 and Kingman and Norwich Schools. We all hope the upcoming school year will be fun, challenging, and a period of great growth for our students.

Once again, the maintenance staff have thoroughly cleaned the buildings, repainted areas, made some minor facility modifications and worked hard this summer to provide a healthy, clean and comfortable environment. Many of the faculty and administration have attended workshops, taken college classes, worked to update curriculum and prepare lessons to meet student needs. USD 331 faculty and staff continue to work hard to meet or exceed the college and career readiness standards, be a state leader in instructional delivery and prepare our students for their post secondary education or future careers.

In addition to continual updates of curriculum in all areas, the national focus on science technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is demonstrated well in USD 331. Project Lead the Way (PLTW) was introduced a few years ago in the middle and high schools. Last year, USD 331 was one of the few districts in the state introducing Project Launch (PLTW STEM education for elementary students). Teachers taught the first two available segments and will add two more Project Launch segments this school year at the elementary level. The middle school will also add several PLTW courses this year and aeronautical engineering was added to the high school curriculum. The district goal is to both meet a vital need for engineers and related careers and to build a science curriculum built upon a “hands on” and problem-solving context. Career and technical education opportunities continue to expand too with an objective that all students who graduate complete a career pathway and/or a college readiness curriculum.

All staff, too, will continue work on professional learning goals and develop new skills to improve instruction, build positive student and parent relationships, and provide the best education available. The staff is committed to preparing citizens ready for college and careers and assisting each student to rise to his/her potential. We welcome our students and parents and will work hard to help every student succeed. Thank you for entrusting your child to USD 331 Kingman-Norwich.

A special note regarding transportation in Kingman: A number of students who live within 2 ½ mile radius of their school have been taking the City of Kingman General Public Transportation to and from school. Please be aware of the new rider policy implemented by the City of Kingman. Per state statute, USD 331 receives bus transportation funding only for students who live 2 ½ miles or further from their attendance center. However, school buses do make safety courtesy stops in several locations throughout the city and USD 331 students are welcome and encouraged to go to those bus stops and ride the school bus. We also encourage parents to determine a safe walking route to the bus stops or school and practice it with their child. Please contact the school and let them know if your child plans on going to the bus stop and will ride the bus also. 

The USD 331 bus stops in Kingman are:

St. Patrick’s Catholic School
Kingman Elementary/Middle School
Kingman High School
4th and Brown Street in the South part of Kingman
Eagle Apartments in the East part of Kingman

Kansas and Double Tree Lane Northwest part of Kingman

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