The Open Range - Meade USD 226

“Where the Buffaloes Reign”
USD# 226 Newsletter
December 2013
The Open Range
USD 226 District Office
409 School Addition, PO Box 400
620-873-2081
Meade High School
409 School Addition
620-873-2981
Meade Elementary School/Jr High
310 East Grant
620-873-2671
Meade Community Learning Center
147 North Fowler
620-873-2169
MHS Kayettes
Fifteen members of the Meade High School Kayettes Club attended
the Area 5 KAY Regional Conference on November 6, 2013, at Pratt
High School.
The Club received the Gold Award, recognizing their student
leadership and service to their school, community, nation, and world
for the 2012-2013 school year.
The Kansas Association for Youth (KAY) is a character-building,
leadership training program directed by the Kansas State High School
Activities Association.
This nationally-acclaimed organization
provides students an opportunity to learn to assume their citizenship
responsibilities and to enrich their personalities through well
organized programs. These programs emphasize four areas of
service: school, community, nation, and world.
The theme for the 2013 Regional Conference was "Leadership RoundUp"! This conference affords opportunities for student leaders and
sponsors from neighboring clubs to share successes and challenges,
as well as exchange ideas. Sessions in leadership training and
organizational skills are also offered. These conferences inspire
delegates to return to their clubs to challenge their local
members. Local KAY members attending the Regional Conference
were:
You’re Invited To Our
BOOK FAIR
Lauren Dewell, Jacqueline Clawson, Mattie Ross, Natalie Thompson,
Madison Reichmann, Holly Harshberger, Claire Enns, Karley Stockton,
Rhyan Eiliott, Jayden Rudzik, Mackenzie Moshier, McKinzie Harris,
Reed Papay, Tarah Wiens, Courtney Godfrey.
Accompanying the group was Tanya Marceau, the club's sponsor.
A Cool Place to Discover Hot Books
December 4th & 5th
Wednesday 12:00p-5:00p
Thursday 8:00a-5:00p
Meade Elementary/Jr. High Library
Books make great Christmas gifts!
EARLY DISMISSAL
Friday, Dec. 20th @ 11:30am (PS-12)
NO SCHOOL
Monday, Dec. 23rd to Friday, Jan. 3rd
Christmas Break
Superintendent’s Memo
New Art Teacher
Selected for Teachers
of Promise Award
By Kenneth Harshberger
Are Funding Cuts to Education Real?
I have read and heard claims in recent months that funding cuts to
education in Kansas are not really that big of a deal. Well, I can tell
you the cuts are very real in Meade, Kansas. The two graphs on Page
6 show quite clearly how the two main funding sources for Meade have
been reduced. While Meade has experienced a significant decline of
over 60 students (see graph on Page 6) in the last five years which has
reduced the district’s budget, still close to 55% of the budget cuts are
because of state budget cuts. That doesn’t even include the tens of
thousands of dollars in federal cuts to the district budget.
I encourage you to not buy into the political spin that tries to claim that
funding cuts for Kansas schools are not real or schools have plenty of
money to do what they want. If that were true, why would the Meade
School District eliminate four teaching positions along with other staff
positions, raise the Local Option Budget to the maximum level, add or
raise additional fees, reduce expenditures in almost every department,
and save funds to protect against even greater program cuts? Try
cutting your budget by close to $850,000 (about 17%) and see if that
impacts how you spend. It won’t take long to see that those budget
cuts are indeed very real.
School Closing Information
As winter approaches there are times that school has to be delayed or
closed for weather-related reasons. When this happens, it is important
that parents be aware of all the ways the district tries to communicate
announcements. This year the Meade District will use the Alert Now
system to help notify parents. This system will send a voice and/or
email message about weather-related announcements. This system is
NOT foolproof and may miss someone who has changed phone
numbers, email addresses, or simply is not contacted for a variety of
other reasons.
Rachael Johnson, who will
begin teaching art second
semester for Meade USD
226, was recently selected for
the Teachers of Promise
Award. This award was
presented on November 23,
2013 during the Kansas
Teacher of the Year State
Awards Banquet held in Wichita. Washburn University recommended
Rachael for this award because of her potential as a future teacher.
The Kansas Department of Education presents these awards each
year to future teachers who show great promise in the field of
education. Currently, Rachael is finishing her student teaching in the
Lawrence School District and will graduate in December 2013 from
Washburn University before coming to Meade.
District KMEA
Honor Choir Members
Nine MHS Choir students auditioned for District Honor Choir
at Dodge City Middle School on Nov. 9, 2013. Three
hundred twenty students from Southwest Kansas
auditioned. All nine students from Meade were accepted
into the honor choir.
Those students are Riley Saucedo, Aaron Gleason, Grace
Piteo, Hope Harshberger, Holly Harshberger, Rainna
Reimer, Marina Reimer, Rebecca Finster, and Natalie
Thompson.
Congratulations on a job well done. They will perform in
the District Honor Choir Concert on Dec. 7, 2013 at Dodge
City High School at 3:30 p.m.
Meade Schools will also post announcements on the district website as
soon as possible at www.usd226.org. In addition, the following
television and radio stations will be contacted. Please remember when
bad weather approaches to always use one or more of these
communication tools to get the latest announcements.
TV Stations
KBSC – Channel 6
KUPK – Channel 13
KSNG – Channel 11
December 2013
Radio Stations
1370 AM, 93.9 FM
95.5 FM, 96.3 FM
1030 AM, Q97 FM
98.1 FM, 94.5 FM
99 FM, 99.1 FM
103.9 FM, Z92 FM
K101 FM
The Open Range
Page 2
Principally Speaking…
By:
Mr. Johnson
More Common Core Information
Much has been made lately about Common Core and the big bad machine that it is. Politicians
have made this a political endeavor, which it is not. I ask you to refer to the following website
when wanting to do your own research on Common Core Standards.
http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards
The Common Core standards are just that - standards. They are not a curriculum developed by
Bill and Melinda Gates. They are not standards so the government can control what our
students learn. A group of governors got together in 2009 and came to the realization that our
students are very transient throughout the United States and not just locally in our own state.
So, they developed a more focused group of standards that all students across the US would
be able to achieve.
The standards were developed with the information from higher education and workplace executives. We have been developing students since
2002 with No Child Left Behind that were great at answering test questions in multiple-choice format. What we were not able to produce were
students that could take that information and apply it to everyday life and problem-solving situations. That is where the rigor portion of Common
Core applies to us. We have to develop students that can think independently and creatively to solve problems where the answer is not
presented to them in an A, B, C, or D format.
Below is a sample standard from 4th Grade English Language Arts on Speaking and Listening:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse
partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Throughout this standard we are able to teach however and whatever we want, but we need to be able to demonstrate on a high level how the
students can apply this skill through presentations, debates, or even classroom discussions. We have adapted this standard by developing novel
units in which the students read books and use the information in the novel to discuss the text and how it relates to them and what it means to
them.
PROBLEM SOLVING is the largest deficit and problem we are facing with students today. So I ask you, as a community, when students are
attempting to find answers and learn, don’t give the choices to get the answer write, have them explore and define what they believe and then
ask them WHY? Ask them WHY? every time. Encourage them to be confident in their answer and have reasoning for their answer. That is how
we can support the development of problem-solving for our students.
Simply ask WHY?
MHS Key Club
to Host Food Drive
The MHS Key Club will be hosting both the Elementary and High School food drives the week of Dec. 2nd – Dec. 6th.
Elementary/JH: Students should bring their items to their homeroom teacher. The class with the most food items brought
by Friday will win a pizza party.
--Contact Brenda Reimer with any questions.
High School: Students will be bringing food to earn a day out of class.
**All food items donated will go to support our local food bank.
Get the 2014 MHS Yearbook!
Place your order before December 31, 2013 and receive a 25% discount. Order at
www.jostensyearbooks.com to personalize your yearbook with your name printed on it.
December 2013
The Open Range
Page 3
The Meade PTO is once again organizing
“The Giving Tree” for Christmas.
There are 2 trees in the MES/MJH building.
One is located near the front entrance. The
other Tree is located near the Pre-School and
Kindergarten classrooms.
Please return
gifts no later
than Thursday,
December 19th.
Molly Brenner recently spoke at the International Lions Club
Convention in Overland Park, KS. Molly was asked to speak to
the approximately 2500 attendees of the conference about her
visual impairments and how a grant through the Lions Club has
helped her obtain low visual adaptive technologies. Molly was
honored to be asked to speak and was quoted as saying it was
"fun" to speak in front of this large crowd!
>> After Prom News <<
New Meeting Dates, Time, and Place
Molly and her family also enjoyed listening to Patrick Hughes
speak. Patrick is a 25-year-old musician and inspirational
speaker who was born with no eyes & lacks the ability to fully
straighten his arms and legs. He began playing the piano at 9
months old, and though he is blind and confined to a wheel
chair, with the help of his father, he performed with the
University of Louisville Marching Band for 5 seasons.
http://patrickhenryhughes.com/
Monday, January 13th, 6pm @ Grade School (Teacher Workroom)
Monday, February 10th, 6pm @ Grade School (Teacher Workroom)
Monday, March 10th, 6pm @ Grade School (Teacher Workroom)
December 2013
Check out the Meade USD #226
Website @ www.usd226.org
The Open Range
Page 4
Counselor’s
o
Cherie Schnelle
MHS Counselor
620.873.2981
r
schnellec@usd226.org
n
Jenna Johnson
e
MES/MJH Counselor
620.873.2761
johnsonje@usd226.org
r
MES/MJH
Student Spotlight
Kyra Shewey
3rd Grade – Mrs. Hegwood
My Favorite Part of the Holiday Season Is:
Opening presents!
When I’m Older, I Want To Be:
A teacher
Someone I Admire Is:
My Mom
My Favorite After-School Activity Is:
Playing with my friends
MES/MJH December Character Trait
“BE PROACTIVE”
To be proactive means taking the initiative to get
things done. It means not just dreaming and talking,
but doing. It takes confidence and courage to be
proactive.
Sadie Saucedo 6th Grade – Mr. Batchman
My Favorite Part of the Holiday Season Is:
Opening presents
When I’m Older, I Want To Be:
Don’t know yet
Someone I Admire Is:
My Mom
My Favorite After-School Activity Is:
Going Home
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
**November Student of the Month photo will be
available in the January edition of the Open Range.
MES/MJH
October Students of the Month
K-6 Grade Christmas Program
Thursday, December 5th
7:00pm – MHS Auditorium
Pictured from Left to Right: Simeon Reimer (2nd Grade), Esther
Burdge (8th Grade), Kiana Unruh (4th Grade), Nolan Dewell (8th
Grade), Kyra Shewey (3rd Grade), and Kaylen Munson (6th Grade).
Sponsored by: DeLissa Ford
The 5th and 6th grade bands will start off
the evening with lively Christmas
selections. After the bands the
Kindergarten, 1st, 5th & 6th grade classes
will sing a variety of Christmas songs. To
finish off the evening, the 2nd-4th grades
will be presenting the musical “A Penguin
Christmas”. Come see what happens
when penguins end up at the North Pole
instead of the South Pole.
Please contact
Jenna Johnson at johnsonje@usd226.org or at
620-873-2671 to have your USD 226 info included in
The Open Range.
December 2013
The Open Range
Page 5
Meade General Fund Budget
General Fund Budget
General Fund Budget Loss
Since 2008-09
$775,913
$3,863,200
$3,512,105
$3,400,387
$3,214,890 $3,157,906
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
$3,087,287
2013-14*
Meade Local Option Budget
Local Option Budget
LOB Loss Since 2009-10
$67,825
$1,139,574
$1,139,574
$1,128,270
$1,122,000
$1,110,849
$1,071,749
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13 2013-14*
Meade Student FTE
Meade Student FTE
457.4
471.2
FTE Loss 61.8 Students
Since 2009-10
Equivalent of 2 Grades
447.5
440.8
416.3
409.4
2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14*
Please contact
Jenna Johnson at
johnsonje@usd226.org or at
620-873-2671 to have your
USD 226 info included in
The Open
Range.
Basketball season
has started
at the junior
Meade Junior High
Winter Sports
high. We have 29 boys and 16 girls out for
the winter sports. Just a quick reminder
that the games will start at 4:30pm unless
started at another time. A team will start,
followed by B, then C. Some teams will be
able to play all the games, some will not. It
just depends on the other schools’
numbers out for the activities. There are,
and will be, changes to the schedule. We
lost Dodge City Sacred Heart, so we are
actively looking for a replacement.
Academics come first and if your child
doesn’t keep their grades up, they will not
be able to participate in the games. They
will go to study hall for the first part, and at
3:30 they can go to practice. If they are
practicing at the high school that day, they
will need to take the route bus over.
Remember also that if a student isn’t at
practice because of grades, someone else
will be learning their spot on the team and
playing in the games. So, it’s very
important to keep those grades up.
Basketball is a team sport, meaning the
coaches will have the final say on where
your student-athlete will play.
Just
because he may have been a guard in Rec
basketball, doesn’t mean he will be a guard
in junior high or in high school. The coach
is going to put the athlete in the best
position to help the TEAM be successful.
The team will come first, individual second.
If you happen to disagree with the spot the
coach has your child in, just remember the
coach has the best interest of the team in
mind. Encourage your child to do his/her
very best at whatever position they are in.
Remember that everyone has an
important role to play on a team. Even on
a championship team, the last player on
the bench has a very important role to
play, even if he never gets into the game.
We look forward to another great season
of winter athletics here at MJH.
*Unaudited Preliminary Budget Figures
December 2013
The Open Range
Page 6
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Dec 2
Breakfast Bites
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pizza Pocket
Cinnamon Puff
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 3
Ham & Cheese Biscuit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corn Dog
Curley Q’s
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 4
Breakfast Bake
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BBQ Beef on a Bun
Sweet Potato Fries, Baked Bns
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 5
Sausage Links
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicken Quesadilla
Tortilla Chips & Salsa, Cake
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 6
Egg Bake
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cavatini
Green Beans, Breadstick
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 9
Waffles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicken Tetrazzini, Carrots
Garlic Breadstick
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 10
Breakfast Burrito
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pork Rib on a Bun
Potato Wedges, Baked Beans
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 11
Cinnamon Rolls
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lasagna
Corn, French Bread
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 12
Breakfast Pizza
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baked Chicken, Biscuit
Savory Rice, Broccoli w/ cheese
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 13
Apple Coffeecake
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sloppy Joe
French Fries
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 16
Sausage Cheese Biscuit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicken Wrap
Spanish Rice, Carrots
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 17
Donut
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baked Ham, Green Beans
Scalloped Potatoes, Roll
Relishes, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 18
Yogurt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spaghetti w/ Meatballs
Corn, Garlic Breadstick
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 19
Scrambled Eggs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taco Salad
Refried Beans
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 20
Honey Bun Coffeecake
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Turkey & Cheese Sub
Asst Chips
Relishes, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 23
Dec 24
Dec 25
Dec 26
Dec 27
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
Dec 30
NO SCHOOL
Dec 31
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
The breakfast entrée is listed
first for each day.
Cold cereal, toast, juice, and
milk are offered every day. All
menus are subject to change.
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Dec 2
Pancake on a Stick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baked Chicken, Savory Rice
Steamed Veggies, Hot Roll
Relish Stick, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 3
Sausage Links, Hashbrowns
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lasagna
Garlic Stick
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 4
Scrambled Eggs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riblet Sandwich
Potato Wedges, Apple Crisp
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 5
Pig in a Blanket
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicken Tetrazzin
Garlic Stick
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 6
Blueberry Muffins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sloppy Joe on a Bun
French Fries
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 9
French Toast Sticks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicken Fajitas
Spanish Rice
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 10
Sausage Gravy Biscuits
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spaghetti
Garlic Stick
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 11
Eggbake
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pig in a Blanket
Potato Wedges
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 12
Ham & Cheese Biscuit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicken & Noodles, Grn Beans
Mashed Potatoes, Hot Roll
Relish Stick, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 13
Donuts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nacho Supreme
Refried Beans
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 16
Breakfast Bites
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taco Soup
Tortilla Chips
Relish Stick, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 17
Yogurt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ham, Hashbrown Casserole
Grn Beans, Roll, Cherry Delight
Relish Stick, Milk – Variety
Dec 18
Breakfast Wrap
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corn Dog
French Fries
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 19
Breakfast Pizza
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicken Quesadilla
Chips and Salsa
Salad Bar, Fruit, Milk – Variety
Dec 23
Dec 24
Dec 25
Dec 26
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
Dec 30
NO SCHOOL
December 2013
NO SCHOOL
Dec 31
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
Dec 20
Cold Cereal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sack Lunch
Dec 27
NO SCHOOL
The breakfast entrée is listed
first for each day.
Cold cereal, toast, juice, and
milk are offered every day. All
menus are subject to change.
The Open Range
Page 7