Maize School District
   www.usd266.com   Skyward Family/Student Access        

    Connections - Maize USD 266 Parent Newsletter - February 2016 - OneMa1ze
In This Issue
Important dates
District sets 2016-17 calendar
Kansas College Night March 1
Donations, volunteers needed for After Prom
Run2Believe Memorial 5K March 19
Current job openings
Online Bulletin Board
Inclement weather notifications
Like us on Facebook!
Government representative contact information
Maize Board of Education update
Bond issue update
Pre-K, Kindergarten enrollment March 22
Maize USD 266 student, teacher awards
Join us for our upcoming Wellness Fair
Important dates
  • March 11: End of term
  • March 14-18: No school, Spring Break
  • March 21: School resumes
  • May 6: No school, Professional Development Day
  • May 10: Last day for seniors
  • May 12: Maize South High School graduation
  • May 15: Maize High School graduation
  • May 18: End of term
  • May 18: Last day of school

District sets 2016-17 school calendar

The Maize Board of Education on Feb. 8 approved the school calendar for next year. 

 

Setting a school calendar certainly is a balancing act. The district considers many factors, including student instruction hours, professional development for our teachers and staff members, school breaks that align with Kansas Board of Regents colleges and universities, parent-teacher conferences, and graduation dates that must be scheduled in advance. Leaders also work to schedule equivalent class time each semester, especially important with our high school block scheduling. Experience says that it is best for Maize USD 266 students to wrap up first semester, including finals, before our winter break.


The district uses a process to set the upcoming school year calendar: A committee of staff members from different levels develops options, which are narrowed down to a few choices for all staff members to review and vote on. The options for 2016-17 did include calendars with a later start date and shorter winter break. Maize Board of Education members on Monday approved the option that received the most votes.

The 2016-17 school calendar (with the first day of school on Aug. 12 and the last day on May 18) is similar to the 2015-16 calendar (with the first day on Aug. 10 and the last day on May 18).

It always is a goal to establish a school calendar that provides the best educational opportunities for our students with all of these factors in mind.



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Join us for March 1 Kansas College Night
Kansas College Night will be 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. March 1 in the Commons at Maize High School, 11600 W. 45th St. North in Maize. 

All USD 266 high school students and their families are welcome to attend. 

Representatives from four-year universities, private colleges, community colleges, and vocational-technical institutions will be present to inform you of the educational options available at their schools. Find out which representatives plan to attend by clicking here.

This is an opportunity for families to begin the process of exploring various post-secondary educational opportunities.

If you have questions, please contact Kelsey Vinopal at 316-350-2281 or kvinopal@usd266.com.
Donations, volunteers needed for After Prom
For past 28 years, Maize students have been able to attend the After Prom party, a drug- and alcohol-free event following the high school dance. Students can play games, eat food, and win prizes in a safe and supervised
environment.

Maize High School and Maize South High School After Prom events are scheduled for April 9 and April 16, respectively.


Thank you.
Run2Believe Memorial 5K honors two graduates killed by drunk driver
The Run2Believe Memorial 5K Run/Walk will be March 19 at Maize High School.

Proceeds will help raise awareness in local high schools against drinking and driving and support the Kyle Thornburg Memorial Fund at the Maize Education Foundation and the Kylie Jobe Endowment at the OSU Foundation.

Join us to honor the memories of Kylie and Kyle, Maize High School graduates who loved athletics. A drunk driver killed both on March 23, 2011. Please don't drink and drive.


Join our team!
Interested in joining our Maize Schools team? Many openings are part-time jobs with full-time benefits, including:
* Group health insurance
* Summers off
* Winter break off
* Spring break off
* No evenings or weekends

School bus drivers start at $11.15 an hour, plus attendance incentives. Please call the Maize USD 266 Transportation Office at 316-722-0582 for more information.


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Substitute food service workers needed: 
Maize Schools is looking for substitute food service workers who can fill in when needed in schools across the district. Hours coincide with the school day. No weekends or holidays.

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Substitute nurses needed:
The Maize School District is looking for substitute school nurses to fill in when needed. As a substitute school nurse, you must:
* Be a registered nurse in the State of Kansas.
* Be certified in CPR and AED.
* Have had a TB test within the last year.
* Pass a background check.

You may submit an application online by clicking here. The daily rate of pay is $95. Please contact Maize USD 266 Nursing Coordinator Joann Wheeler, RN, BSN, at jwheeler@usd266.com for more information.
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Paraeducators needed:
The Sedgwick County Area Educational Services Interlocal Cooperative No. 618 needs paraeducators (teacher aides) for students with special needs at Maize USD 266 elementary and secondary schools.
Competitive salaries and health insurance benefits are available for those working more than 30 hours a week. The rewarding jobs follow Maize school days and hours.
To apply, please click here.
 Online Bulletin Board
For information about upcoming school- and partner agency-sponsored events, such as classes, camps, and fundraisers, please click here to check out our Online Bulletin Board.
Inclement weather,
snow day notifications
With the arrival of cooler weather, it's a great time to remind our families of our practice for announcing school dismissals and cancellations.
 
In the event of school being dismissed or canceled because of inclement weather, the district will send out an email, phone notification, and - for those who have opted to receive them - a text message to the primary contact associated with both Family 1 and Family 2, if applicable, for each student. Those phone notifications will go out as early as 5:30 a.m. on the day of the closure. If a decision is made the night before to call off school, calls and texts will go out no later than 10:30 p.m.
 
It is wise to verify that we have your correct contact information on file. To do so,  please log on to Skyward Family Access and click on "Student Info." If you are unsure how to log on to Skyward Family Access, please contact your child's school for assistance.
 
District officials will update the district's Web site (www.usd266.com), official Twitter account (@maize266)  and official Facebook page as soon as the decision is made to call off school. We also will contact local media outlets about any closures.

Similarly, in the event of an emergency in your child's school, the district will use the Blackboard Connect parent notification system to notify you of the situation and alert you to steps you need to take in order to reunite with your child. Communications would go to all contacts listed in Skyward Family Access "Family 1" and the main contact in "Family 2."

(Thanks to Maize Central Elementary School for the artwork pictured above.)

Have you liked Maize Schools on Facebook?

In August 2014, Maize USD 266 launched our first official district Facebook account.


Please click here to like our page and to find district news, announcements, event information, photos, and more.


Thank you for your support!
Superintendent's Message
As Kansans, we must balance all facets of a good home

BY CHAD HIGGINS 

       
As a native Kansan, I love this state. Growing up here, I came to know and cherish a well-rounded safe place where residents and industries alike look out for one another. It's a place many of us have chosen to grow our families, our business, our dreams. Kansas is home. A decade ago, things seemed better in Kansas, from our schools to our roads to safety, to the overall climate of citizenship. Kansans take care of each other.  

I also am someone who welcomes change and the opportunity to do things in a different way -- as long as that change isn't a detriment to others, as long as that change has been properly vetted, and as long as that change is the result of the best of intentions. 

I am in my seventh year as a superintendent of a Kansas public school district, and I recall being told by a veteran during my first year, "This is the worst it's ever been, but it will get better." As an education leader in Kansas, I always have had to deal with cuts and funding reductions and repeatedly have been asked to do more with less, a philosophy easily applied to others but almost always meaning doing less with less. How is that the best for our students? That isn't going in the right direction, and I see and hear the discouragement in our teachers' voices on a regular basis. 

Here at Maize Schools, reduced state funding has meant that the district has seen a reduction in the number of staff members and the elimination of advanced math and foreign language classes. Staff compensation hasn't kept up with inflation. We have fewer professional development and training opportunities for our teachers and staff members. We have fewer counselors and secretaries in our elementary schools. We cannot fund the summer school programs we used to offer. Our class sizes have increased, and teachers receive less money to spend on instructional supplies. Our students have fewer field trips. And, currently, there is no strategy to change this course. In fact, most of the current legislation keeps us moving down the same path or worse. 

How is this best for our students?

Maize USD 266 is a growing district, with residential and commercial property exploding within our district boundaries. Based on this, we must anticipate a growing student body in the coming years, yet our current school funding method would not increase to allow us to grow our teaching staff and services for our larger student body and their families. 

How is this best for our students?

There is much debate and rhetoric surrounding education in Kansas. My role as a school district leader requires a balance of public school advocacy while representing a school board and community with varied ideologies. What I can say is this: Get the facts, don't believe what you hear/read at face value, even from me. Those who stand to gain from the deterioration of public schools routinely claim to seek school improvement and do that by cherry-picking "facts," hiding critical contextual information, and repeating it over and over again until it is perceived as a reality. Ask questions, listen to both sides, read, and actually set foot in our schools before accepting the notion that our schools are bad, as many would have you believe. 

We need proper school funding that can provide an environment for the safe and effective education for our students -- for our tomorrow. 

Sincerely,
  
Chad Higgins, Superintendent of Schools
Find your government representative contacts on our updated resource page

Maize USD 266 maintains an online resource page for our community members. Please click here to find details, including contact information, for your elected officials with the City of Maize, the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County, the Kansas legislature, and the Kansas Board of Education.

(Thanks to Maize Central Elementary School for the artwork pictured above.)
Maize Board of Education update 
 
Student Placement Policy Team begins work with goal of May recommendation
Last week was the first meeting of the Student Placement Policy Team, the new group of parents, students, administrators, teachers, and select board members tasked to develop and recommend a new student placement policy for the Maize Board of Education by May, with a board decision to follow. 

The team's goal is to develop a long-term policy that the district can adjust as growth and other factors, such as the possibility of adding another school in the future, arise. 

The policy is envisioned as one that will be fair and right across the district and strives to create an ideal educational culture while maintaining school autonomy and providing similar educational environments for our students and staff members. Team members are evaluating and considering options and will meet throughout the semester. 

During the Maize Board of Education meeting on Jan. 11, Maize Board of Education members and Superintendent Higgins discussed student placement and committed to finding a solution that is fair and right and that works better for Maize USD 266 students and the district.

In the meantime, anyone can share student placement-related feedback by emailing placement@usd266.com.

During the Feb. 8 Maize Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Higgins provided members with an update on student placement for the 2016-17 school year. The district's policy includes a guideline to have 1/3 of the district's high school students at Maize South High and 2/3 at Maize High. Last month, 54 students were randomly selected to be placed at Maize High. Families could submit a request for change form, which 44 did. Additionally, three students who had selected a preference of Maize South High requested a transfer to Maize High. These adjustments move the district toward a goal of a similar enrollment for 2016-17. 

Maize Middle School program introduces students to science, technology, engineering, and math
 

Maize Middle School teacher Sarah Kromer and students Zatara Nepomuceno, Sadie Clark, Noah Hale, and Collin Van Ness (pictured above from left) presented information about the school's Project Lead the Way program to school board members on Feb. 8. 

Project Lead the Way is a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program in its first year at Maize Middle School. Students showed a windmill and pull toy they designed and built, as well as videos, including one of a
programmed robotic assembly line. 

Board sets spring meeting schedule

On Feb. 8, members of the Maize Board of Education rescheduled their regular monthly March and April meetings to be on March 7 and April 4, with a meeting with the City of Maize and a work session April 25.

Find agendas, meeting minutes, and contact information at www.usd266.com/schoolboard.
Bond issue update 

Project leaders unveil new renderings of bond school expansions, renovation

Project leaders with Schaefer, Johnson, Cox, Frey Architecture and Hutton Construction provided the Maize Board of Education on Feb. 8 with an update on bond projects. They also showed design plans, which  include glass and natural light, helping with utilities and providing an open feel.

Maize Middle School: 

Demolition work for Maize Middle School's expansion began earlier this week. Pictured above is a rendering of the new addition. Project leaders will compile bids for earth, utility, and paving work, scheduled to begin this month. A new student drop-off traffic pattern should start this month for construction staging. Construction should start in May. A plan is developing to ensure adequate classroom space during the project. They are finalizing kitchen plans and
working with audio-visual consultants.

Maize South High School:

The rendering above shows the new athletic entrance at Maize South High School. Also at the school, a contractor is reinstalling football field turf to correct an installation error. It should be ready when soccer practice begins later this month. 

Maize High School:

The rendering above shows the new athletic entrance at Maize High School. This work is part of the bond project to add tornado safe spaces to the building. At 303,000 square feet, it is the district's largest building but the only school without a tornado safe room. This addition will be on the building's north end. A second addition on the south end, which will be part of the new Career and Technical Education Center, will include a tornado safe room, as well. Each of the shelters will serve additional purposes to maximize space and utility. 

Also at the school, work on the stadium bleachers and press box will wait to allow a larger athletics bid to go out together, which may result in cost savings.

Maize Early Childhood Center:

The floor plan for the new standalone Maize Early Childhood Center is being finalized. The bond will provide a permanent home for the school, which currently is outgrowing its space housed inside Vermillion Elementary School. The Early Childhood Center serves the district's youngest students (those from birth to age 5) and their parents with various educational programs. 

Voters' approval in June will bring these projects to Maize Schools to provide a safe and promising future for all of our students:
  • tornado safe rooms and a Career and Professional Center at Maize High School.
  • a renovated and expanded Maize Middle School.
  • additions and improvements at Maize South High School, including a new fine arts storage addition and an expanded gym and cafeteria.
  • a new transportation facility.
  • roof replacements at various buildings.
  • technology and infrastructure improvements at various buildings.
  • athletic upgrades, including new locker rooms, stadium upgrades, all-weather playing surfaces, bleachers, lighting and equipment.
You can learn more about the bond vision by visiting our bond resource page at www.usd266.com/bond.
Pre-K, Kindergarten enrollment night March 22 at Maize High School


If you have an incoming Pre-K or Kindergarten student who will start school at Maize USD 266 in August 2016, please plan to attend our enrollment night, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 22 at Maize High School, 11600 W. 45 St. N. in Maize.

For incoming Pre-K families: Maize USD 266 is excited to offer Pre-K to all children who live within the Maize School District. 

Our Pre-K sessions are Monday through Thursday and use Pre-K Reading and Literacy curriculum along with developmentally appropriate activities and are taught by licensed teachers. If your child meets at least one of our state's at-risk criteria, there is no fee for the program other than the curriculum fee. If you would like your child to attend and he/she does not meet a criteria, a monthly fee applies.

Spaces are limited! Enrollment is first come, first serve. Learn more by clicking here or by calling 316-722-3105.

For incoming Kindergarten families: Please note that arriving early has no impact on your child's building assignment or morning versus afternoon class placement. 


(Pictured above: Maize South Elementary School Kindergarten teacher Savannah Weaver, a Maize USD 266 graduate, in class with her students.)
Awards

Student named National Merit Finalist
Maize High School senior Scott Hershberger has been given the prestigious title of a National Merit Finalist.

He scored a perfect 36 on
his ACT and, last fall, was named among 16,000 semifinalists nationwide in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program. 

Congratulations!


Eagle Scholars Bowl team takes state


Congratulations to the Maize High School Scholars Bowl 5A state champion team pictured above from left: Nick Springer, 
Kyle Stutzman, Jon Kohl, Scott Hershberger, and Emily Beaver. Jessica Fisher was their coach.

Maize swimmers win first state title


The Maize High School swim team won its first state championship this weekend. In close competition, the team won the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, by five-hundredths of a second, edging them ahead of defending state champion Wichita Heights High School by half a point in the team scores.

Team members are Preston Barley, Jordan Conway, Noah Farney, Ryan Kuhl, Ryce Olson, Logan Paterson, Jacob Ruder, Harrison Shively, Kyle Stutzman, Christian Taylor, and Brett Young. Coaches are Tedd Gibson, Jeremy Bernard, and Aaron Weatherbie.


Congratulations!

Photo below by Maize High School student Paige Young.


Maize Central Elementary fifth-grade teacher wins Golden Apple Award


Congratulations to Maize Central Elementary School 5th-grade teacher Adam Dreher, pictured above with his class. He is a recent winner of the Golden Apple Award, which recognizes area educators who make a positive difference. 

He was featured on KAKE-TV, and you can click here to watch the coverage. Thanks also to Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and Davis-Moore for the award.
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Calling health and wellness-focused local businesses and organizations: Join us for our upcoming Wellness Fair

The Maize USD 266 Wellness Committee is organizing an employee health and Wellness Fair and is looking for local businesses and organizations interested in participating.
 
The event will be for all employees (more than 800 people) from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. May 6 in the Commons at Maize High School, 11600 W. 45th St. North in Maize. Participants can host a table to promote their services and provide giveaways to our staff members. Those interested also are invited to donate larger prizes. 
 
Participants may align with any of the following Five Essential Elements of Wellness (by Gallup): 
  • financial.
  • physical.
  • community.
  • career.
  • social.
For more information or to get involved, please click here. Thank you for your support.
Maize USD 266 Mission Statement  The mission of the Maize School District is to inspire students to discover their potential through connecting, learning and leading.