Greetings from the Counseling Department at Maize High School!

The counselor staff breakdown is as follows:

• Lyn Brown, Director of Guidance

(316) 350-2114 or email Lyn Brown

Students whose last name begins with A through B 

• Geri Hickerson, Counselor

(316) 350-2118 or email Geri Hickerson

Students whose last name begins with C through J

• Paula Bette, Counselor

(316) 350-2119 or email Paula Bette

 Students whose last name begins with K through Ra

• Ron Buhrman, Counselor

(316) 350-2066 or email Ron Buhrman

Students whose last name begins with Re through Z

• Lori Brown, Counseling Secretary

(316) 350-2122 or email Lori Brown 

October has been exciting at Maize High! The halls were full of spirit during Homecoming Week, and a parade was enjoyed by the MHS students and staff.   The staff has also been doing a lot of testing this month. This month we:

• Transported 250 students to the Futures Fair at Koch Arena on October 8th. Students were able to visit with more than 100 college representatives and learn about those schools.
• Gave the PSAT or Pre SAT and National Merit Qualifying exam to nearly 80 sophomores and juniors on October 15th.
• Gave the ASVAB assessment to our students on October 29th.
• The counselors have completed their senior appointments. Each senior has visited one-on-one with his/her counselor to be certain that they are on target for graduation and to visit about plans after high school. 

We have the following activities scheduled for Term 2:

• November 5th and 7th - Balfour will be at MHS to take senior announcement orders during both EnCor and lunch.
• Thursday, November 6th is the Middle School Showcase at Maize High School from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
• Friday, November 7th is the ACT Registration deadline for the December 13th test.
• December 3rd and 5th - Balfour will be at MHS to take senior cap and gown orders during both EnCor and lunch.
• Saturday, December 13th is the ACT test at MHS.
• Tuesday, December 16th is the Senior Farwell during EnCor.
• Friday, December 19th is the last day of the term. 

Colleges visiting Maize High School during November are:

• Baker University - EnCor                                                               11/03/14

• Butler Community College - EnCor                                             11/04/14

• Kansas State University - EnCor                                                 11/04/14

• Xenon - EnCor                                                                                11/07/14

• Fort Hays State University - EnCor                                              11/10/14

• Ottawa University - EnCor                                                             11/11/14

• Truman State University - EnCor                                                 11/21/14

ACT PREP WORKSHOP:

We will begin a new ACT Prep Workshop in January to prepare for the February test, and begin one in April to prep for the April test. Carolyn Devane, from Manhattan, Kansas will teach the class. Classes will consist of two sessions at a cost of $50 per student. Please check the "Counselor's Corner" for additional information.

KANSAS BOARD OF REGENTS: New Guidelines for College Entrance!!!!

Changes beginning with the class of 2015 (or this year's juniors) ....

• You must have at least a 2.0 GPA on the pre-college curriculum or Kansas Scholars curriculum AND have a 21 composite score on your ACT/ SAT score of 980 of higher OR graduate in the top third of your class. AND, if applicable, achieve a 2.0 GPA or higher on any college credit taken in high school.

   

• In addition to the 21 composite score on your ACT, you must score a 22 sub-score on the math section of the test. If you do not score a 22 in math, you will need to take an additional math class during your senior year with a pre-requisite of Algebra II.  

Changes beginning with the class of 2016 (or this year's sophomores) who plan to attend the University of Kansas...

• You must have at least a 3.0 overall GPA on a 4.0 scale and a 24+ ACT/1090+ SAT OR

• A 3.25 overall GPA on a 4.0 scale and a 21+ ACT/980+ SAT

SENIOR SCENES will be published in November. A complete scholarship listing is available in the counseling office or online at the USD 266 website.   Please note that the scholarship link on the website is updated each time we receive a new scholarship listing. Both Senior Scenes and the scholarship link are located under the "Counselor's Corner" on the Maize High School website.  

Maize USD 266 offers driver education year-round. Online Driver Education is offered during the school year (Term 1; Term 2; Term 3; Term 4) and Face-to-Face Driver Education is offered in the summer. The driver education programs strive to prepare students to become knowledgeable and respectful of the law; to learn basic driving skills; and to develop a responsible attitude toward driving.

The instructors will provide critical experience to students; involve parents in the process, and foster cooperative interaction with others in the driving environment. More detailed information on driver education can be found on the high school website under the "Counselors Corner" link.

New Bully In Town
 

"Health Matters" by Dana Desjardins, RN

There is a new bully in town and it has contributed to the increase of students missing school, strained peer relationships, depression, anxiety, suicide attempts, and deaths in our teenagers. In an effort to bring attention to bullying, particularly cyberbullying, the MHS SADD organization has invited Sgt. Thomas Rich with alwaysconnected.org and STOPIT! to talk to our students and parents. Students will attend an assembly at MHS with Sgt. Thomas Rich as the guest speaker and will learn what it takes to stop cyberbullying. There will also be an assembly for parents and patrons at the MSHS Auditorium on Thursday, November 13th at 7:30pm. Admission is free and the information will be INVALUABLE! The Maize High SADD club hopes to see you there!

  

News from the Reading Eagle

Check out all of the activities at Maize High by clicking here! 

Did you know that Maize High School has a team of 30 "mathletes" who compete weekly against schools from all over the United States? In the past three weeks, competitions have been held against schools in Michigan, California, and Rhode Island. Called Math Madness, the competition is hosted on a web application called "Interstellar".

If the two schools that are scheduled to compete in a given week sign up to compete at the same time (making allowances for time zones), then the competition is actually LIVE. In this type of round, students on the team are paired with a student from the competing school by the computer software. Students can then track how well their opponent is doing as compared to their own progress. In weeks when the competition is not live, students are encouraged to attempt to beat their own previous best scores.

Students in grades 9-12 have been invited to compete during EnCor. "At this time, the competition is very new and no specific criteria must be met for a student to be on the team" according to team sponsor Leigh Johnson, MHS Expanded Learning teacher. Johnson notes that some students are surprised by the high level of math, but she hopes that they find the difficulty challenging rather than frustrating. "All students benefit from learning to deal with difficult problems, in mathematics and in the real world," says Johnson.

Round robin play recently ended in Math Madness, and the Maize Eagles are currently ranked 87th out of nearly 400 teams in the nation. Bracket play will now begin, and the team will compete until a loss. Individually, two MHS students, Scott Hershberger and Sam Bayliff, are ranked in the top 530 of the 14,000+ competitors.

Chloe Cloud, MHS senior, recently received terrific news that her 2014 Scholastic Award-winning artwork, Nature Burn Nature, will be featured in the upcoming 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Calendar.

The Maize High boys' soccer team finished the regular season with a 10-6 record leading into the playoffs this week.  Team accomplishments this season include finishing 3rd in the Titan Classic and 2nd in the AVCTL.  Good luck to the Eagles in regional play which began this week against Wichita South. 

The varsity volleyball team finished the regular season with a record of 32-7.  They are the AVCTL Division 1 League Champions, as well as the Sub-State Champions. The Lady Eagles will be competing at the State Tournament on October 31st and November 1st.  The JV and freshmen teams both won their league tournaments on Saturday the 18th.  Great job, Eagles!

Congratulations to the MHS cross country team on a very successful season! Recently, all four teams (boys' and girls' varsity, boys' and girls' JV) won their league competitions, and three runners were individual champions. Tania Allen was the league JV girls' champion, Si Luc won the JV boys' race, and Deidra Walker was the AVCTL girls' champion and set both league and course records! Other top varsity finishers include: Kate Utech, Victoria DeLeon, Aaren Morrell, Cole Bosley, and Max Berg. The girls won their 4th league title in a row and the boys earned their 5th consecutive title.

On Saturday, October 25th, the XC team also competed at regionals. The girls' team was the overall winner for the 3rd time in four years. Deidra Walker finished 1st, Kate Utech was 2nd, and Victoria DeLeon took 9th place. Max Berg finished 5th for the boys and qualified for the state competition.

Good luck to the MHS Eagles as they compete at the 6A state cross country meet on Friday, October 31st!

The MHS Girls' Tennis Team completed the 2014 season by qualifying all six varsity players for state competition, by capturing the Regional Runner-Up crown, and by placing 4th in league competition. This year's team consisted of six seniors, nine juniors, nine sophomores, and thirteen freshmen.

The varsity Lady Eagles were led by singles players: Tiffani Holman and Sarah Slack. Holman placed 3rd in regionals and 5th in AVCTL play, while Slack finished 4th in regionals and 6th in the AVCTL. Slack closed out her high school career with 70 wins. Senior doubles teams of Amanda Rippel and Kristin Russell, and Jenny Miller and Savannah Bender, also contributed to the team's success. Rippel & Russell placed 4th in regionals and 11th in AVCTL, while Miller & Bender placed 5th in regionals and 10th in AVCTL competition. Hannah Edwards completed her high school career with 53 wins.

The JV squad nabbed 2nd place in the AVCTL. Mandi Copp and Madison Loudermilk placed 5th and 9th, respectively, in league play at the singles positions. Doubles combinations of Cassidy Darrah and Carson Pierce placed 3rd in AVCTL competition, while Ana Vo and Madi Arnold came in at 5th place. Zailey Chaffin, Kalysta Dohlman, Mia Magby, and Victoria Bloodworth also contributed to the team's statistical success.