Maize School District
    Connections - Maize USD 266 Parent Newsletter - May 2016 - OneMa1ze
In This Issue

Important dates
  • July: Online enrollment for returning students
  • Aug. 2: One Stop Enrollment for new students
  • Aug. 10: First day of school
  • Sept. 5: No school, Labor Day
  • Sept. 28-29: Parent-teacher conferences
  • Sept. 29-30: No school

(Thank you to Maize South Elementary School for the student artwork pictured above.)
Summer camp central
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We've rounded up information on Maize USD 266 summer camps, and parents can find details by clicking here to visit our Online Bulletin Board.

Camps are available for students in Kindergarten through high school and include basketball, football, soccer, tennis, volleyball, and more.

New this year is a Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) summer camp.

Don't delay: Several registration deadlines are just around the corner.

In addition to summer camp information, please visit our Online Bulletin Board for information about other school- and partner-sponsored events, including classes and fundraisers.
Maize Messenger:
Coming soon 
to a mailbox near you

Watch for our latest issue of the Maize Messenger, which will include additional information about the district's bond project, student and staff member achievement, Maize Board of Education news, and more.
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Congrats to you, grads! 

Congratulations and best wishes to the Maize USD 266 Class of 2016. We are proud of each of our 531 graduates. 

From all of us here at Maize Schools, we are excited to see your many future successes!
Thank you, retirees! 

Maize USD 266 thanks our retiring teachers and staff members for the tireless work and care they gave our students, district, and community. Many retiring this year have worked for Maize Schools for decades.

Pictured above: Richard Stiverson and fellow Maize Board of Education members on May 6 recognized retirees, including Maize High School's Bill Kruse, who devoted himself as a science teacher in our district for 39 years. 
Photo by Dan Loving

PTO campaign funds new playground equipment 

Vermillion Elementary School hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 5 for its new playground equipment. The school's PTO raised about $33,000 to fund the playground additions, including the two slides pictured above. Thanks to all involved!

Bull Rush 5K 
showcases fun, fitness 

Maize South Middle School's Bull Rush 5K on May 13 allowed hundreds of students who had completed physical education standards during the school year to run a course with 26 obstacles. 

There also was a public run on May 14, allowing members of our community to challenge themselves on the course.

Thanks to KWCH, Channel 12 for covering the event and for all who participated!
salad-banner.jpg Program provides free summer meals for children

The Summer Food Service Program, operated by the Food and Nutrition Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provides free meals and snacks to children 18 years old and younger who are in need. 


Partner organization planning free concerts

ArtsAMaize, a partner of Maize Schools, is an organization dedicated to showcasing the arts in underserved spaces, including retail stores, parking lots and places through the Maize area.

Organizers are planning free concerts this spring and summer in NewMarket Square. Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket or chair. Please click here to learn more.

Save the date: 
Fill the Bus 
school supply drive

Maize USD 266 will be working with the Chick-fil-A at 21st Street and Maize Road on its 4th-annual school supply drive. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 5. Donors will receive a coupon for a free sandwich.

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!

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 [email protected] 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.
District photo album
Maize Central Elementary School students collected 435 pounds of pull tabs for the Ronald McDonald House of Wichita. Top collector, Mrs. Meister's class, won the opportunity to duct-tape Principal David Jennings to the wall. 


In OneMa1ze fashion, Human Growth and Development students from Maize South High School made toys for our pre-K students to play with at the Maize Early Childhood Center.


Vermillion Elementary School hosted a career day to learn about different jobs in the community.


Vermillion students, pictured
with Vice Principal Marney Hay (at left) and Principal Michael Dome (at right), demonstrated various adding and multiplication techniques for Maize Board of Education members on May 9.
Superintendent's Message
Thanks for a great year, OneMa1ze community!

BY CHAD HIGGINS 

       
In the past couple of weeks, I've addressed our entire staff at our annual all-district meeting and our Class of 2016 at the Maize South and Maize high school graduations. 

Those events have prompted me to reflect on our school year and the many successes we've experienced. Below are just a few of the many highlights:
  • OneMa1ze: Our vision for a united school district has been wildly positive. It began as a collective vision among our administrative staff members at the beginning of the year. During the May 9 Maize Board of Education meeting, the American Heart Association visited to thank Maize USD 266 for raising nearly $30,000, an effort they say will help save nearly 600 lives. It's another example of what we can do together as OneMa1ze. Speaking of OneMa1ze, Tyler Harrison, the Heart Association employee who made the presentation and is pictured with me at right, is a 2008 graduate of our district. The reach our district has in our community and beyond is truly impressive. Along these lines (and in case you're not one of the 35,000 people who have seen it already), please click here to watch a video of the OneMa1ze flash mob a few of our staff members put together earlier this month to celebrate this vision, singing, "We are unfazed, 'cause we're OneMa1ze." Indeed, we are stronger and better together.
     
  • Awards: We have celebrated with teachers, staff members, and students who have been recognized on the local, state, and national level this year, many of whom have been featured in previous issues of this newsletter. An exciting new addition to mention is that Maize South Middle School journalism teacher Mary Patrick is the namesake of a new award from the Kansas Scholastic Press Association: the Mary Patrick Aspiring Journalist Award. I had to visit her after I heard the news, sharing that I never before had met someone with an award named after him or her. She, by the way, is retiring this year after spending 29 years at Maize Schools, the culmination of 43 years in education. Congratulations, Mrs. Patrick! (She is pictured here with KSPA President Kathy Habiger. Photo by Maize High School teacher Dan Loving.)
  • Superintendent's Student Advisory Committee: Earlier this school year, I created the Superintendent Student Advisory Team of students from Complete High School Maize, Maize High School, and Maize South High School. We met throughout the year, and I challenged them on a variety of topics and appreciated their honest feedback and insightful perspectives. What a powerful experience. I shared with my staff earlier this month that we must allow our students to be a positive change in their schools. Two of these students have invested even further in the district, adding a vital voice to the Student Placement Policy Team. (Please read an update about that group below.) 
  • Bond issue: As work has continued this year on the $70.7 million bond issue, I become more and more excited about the projects and the opportunities it will expand for our students and the community. Work will ramp up in the coming weeks once school is out for the summer. Pictured here is one of the newest project renderings of our career and professional center being added to Maize High School. Its programs will be available to all high school students district-wide.
  • Maize Way character education: The district's focus to mold students and teach them to be successful in the classroom and beyond continues to impress me. Take for instance the photo below that I snapped of a Maize South Elementary School student, who appeared perfectly comfortable speaking with our Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson during a recent visit. The quote behind them just made it that much better of a moment to witness: "Leadership is doing the right thing even when no one is looking."
Thank you, Maize USD 266 parents and supporters, for making this year a fantastic one. Enjoy the summer with your child. We look forward to great things ahead together in 2016-17!

Sincerely,
  
Chad Higgins, Superintendent of Schools

Maize Board of Education update 
 
Student Placement Policy Team considering projected growth, evaluating proposed policy transition

The Student Placement Policy Team, which consists of parent volunteers, staff members, students, and two board members, spent its May 4 meeting hearing a draft on Wichita State University enrollment projections. Those estimations look larger than those presented last year from Kansas City area demographers RSP. WSU will come back with a final report, likely projecting somewhere between 107 and 140 new
students a year in coming years. WSU's research shows that Maize Schools continue to be a draw and that people want their children enrolled here. 

The latter half of that policy team meeting involved editing potential policy and discussing phasing. The group still plans to present a recommended policy to the board this summer. The board plans to accept the presentation but take time to evaluate it through the summer and possibly into the fall.

The team is evaluating options and answering questions
regarding how the policy could be best implemented with a phased transition plan.

In the meantime, anyone can share student placement-related feedback by emailing [email protected].

Maize Board of Education members' next monthly meeting will be at 7 p.m. June 13 at the Educational Support Center, 905 W. Academy Ave. in Maize. Meetings are open to the public.

Find agendas, meeting minutes, and contact information at www.usd266.com/schoolboard.
patriotic-graphic-banner.gif Election 2016: Your vote, voice matters

One of the most effective and simplest ways supporters of Maize Schools and Kansas public education can support students is to vote.

The November election may be on your radar, but did you know that many Kansas races are determined during the August primaries? Kansas voters can influence the future funding of our schools, the funding of the KPERS retirement system, and the future of Kansas public education.

For those interested in voting in the Tuesday, Aug. 2 primary election, follow these steps.

Today: Make sure you're registered to vote. If you've moved or changed your name, you must re-register.

This week: Click here to apply for a mail ballot for the August primary. A mail ballot allows you to vote from home at a time convenient for you. Complete the form (be sure to fill in "Primary Aug. 2" on Section 5 of the form), and you'll be set to make your vote count in August.

Before noon June 1: Designate your party affiliation (Republican or Democrat) for a mail-in ballot. Or change your registration to Unaffiliated, which allows you to request a Republican or Democratic ballot at your polling place Aug. 2. (If you do this, you will affiliate with the party whose ballot you select at the poll on the Aug. 2 election day.)


Before Aug. 2: Find out who will be on the Republican and Democratic primary ballots -- and learn their positions on the issues that are important to you. Review voting records, campaign literature, websites, and personal conversations
or e-mails to decide which candidates best match your views.

On or before Aug. 2: Vote! In-person advance voting begins 20 days before the Aug. 2 primary.

Thank you for your civic contribution, which allows Kansas to maintain strong public school districts, including Maize USD 266.

For more information, call the Educational Support Center at 316-722-0614.
Bond issue update 

Work on several bond projects scheduled to ramp up this summer

Representatives from Schaefer, Johnson, Cox, Frey Architecture and Hutton Construction provided a bond construction update and budget review during the May 9 Maize Board of Education meeting. Some major bid packages are in, and meetings continue. Some construction work will begin May 23 after school is out. 

Project leaders have shifted the size of the north shelter at Maize High School to be larger to accommodate crowds in the event of severe weather during a sporting event. The south shelter will be slightly smaller, but the two together
still will accommodate 2,000 people as planned. 

Project leaders are working on a final floor plan for the Career and Professional Center at Maize High and showed renderings of that project (pictured below), which will showcase natural light and have flexible spaces for multipurpose use.


They also showed renderings of the new Maize Early Childhood Center (pictured below), expected to be full when the new building opens in August 2017. It will have collaborative learning space and a playful design with bright colors. 



The board approved a change order for Hellas Sports Construction to extend power to the Maize South High School football press box.

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.
Maize Education Foundation awards more than $43,000 in grants to teachers



On May 6, members of the Maize Education Foundation
Board of Directors presented more than $43,000 in instructional, technology, and enrichment grants to Maize USD 266 teachers to supplement their classroom and school resources.

Complete High School Maize teacher Heidi Albin, pictured above at left with a few Foundation board members, recieved this year's largest grant: $8,451.16 for a new therapy dog program, which the school will implement in hopes of boosting its graduation rate to 100 percent at the district's alternative high school. 

Additional grants this spring will fund heart rate monitors and related equipment to implement a new innovative lifetime fitness program at Maize South Middle School and an outdoor learning environment that will include a restored prairie, butterfly gardens, and a wetland area at Maize High School.


The Foundation is a separate 501(c)3 that supports Maize USD 266 schools, teachers, and students through grants.

Save the date: The Foundation's 8th-annual fundraising golf tournament will be at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at Reflection Ridge Golf Club. The money raised funds the Foundation's annual grants.

Thanks to all who support the Maize Education Foundation!
Music Theatre Wichita recognizes high school students with Jester Awards

Music Theatre Wichita's 15th Annual Jester Awards on May 13 celebrated outstanding high school musical theater talent across the state.

Congrats to our Maize USD 266 students who received awards! They are pictured from left in the order listed below.


  • Outstanding Leading Actress: senior Sally Olmstead (Frog), "A Year With Frog and Toad," Maize High School
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor: freshman Keegan Johnston (Snail), "A Year With Frog and Toad," Maize High School
  • Outstanding Technical Achievement and 2015-16 Jester Scholarship Award: senior Lyric Cox (Scenic Design), "Elf Jr.," Maize South High School
Credit recovery and acquisition

Maize online courses allow students 
to make up, work ahead this summer

silver-keyboard.jpgThe Maize USD 266 Educational Outreach Center offers Maize students online courses for credit recovery and acquisition. A student interested in retaking a failed course and/or earning credits otherwise unattainable because of scheduling conflicts may benefit from this program. 

Credit acquisition is available to high school students seeking a flexible schedule or planning to graduate early. Experienced and licensed teachers teach the online courses, which students can access from any computer with internet access.

Summer courses begin June 1. Students who have failed a course and want to take a course for recovery also can start June 1. Those interested should plan to attend a short orientation meeting at 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. on June 1 at the Educational Outreach Center, 201 S. Park in Maize. Parents are welcome to attend. Please click here to register or for additional details, including a full list of courses available. They include those in language arts, science, math, history and more.

Credit recovery courses are $30 a month. Payment is due at orientation or in Skyward if the student has taken courses in this program before.
Join us for summer playgroups, stories


Parents and their children are invited to our Maize Early Childhood Center summer playgroups. The events will include free story and playtime at 10 a.m. Wednesdays from June 1 to July 6 at the city of Maize park, 401 S. Khedive in Maize. On June 8, there also will be a stroller exercise class. We hope to see you there!
Summer Bookmobile to roll out in July

The Maize Education Foundation's Summer Bookmobile provides a free roving library in July to the community in locations throughout Maize and Northwest Wichita. Watch www.usd266.com for a complete schedule.


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.