communicator - Seaman USD 345

SEAMAN
DE CEMBER 2 0 1 5
communicator
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE SEAMAN SCHOOL DISTRICT
Area Dates & Events
DECEMBER
15 Elementary Orchestra Night 6 p.m.
16 SHS Basketball v S. Heights 4:30 p.m.
17 SMS Winter Band Concert 7 p.m.
18 EARLY RELEASE (NO SCHOOL FOR SMS)
18 SHS Basketball v Hayden 4:30 p.m.
21 NO SCHOOL
22 NO SCHOOL
23 NO SCHOOL
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24 NO SCHOOL
25 NO SCHOOL
28 NO SCHOOL
School starts in the new SMS building on Jan. 5
29 NO SCHOOL
30 NO SCHOOL
SHS hosts
exchange students
from Germany
31 NO SCHOOL
JANUARY
1
NO SCHOOL
4
NO SCHOOL
4
SMS PTO Site Council 5:30 p.m.
5
School Resumes
5
NF PTO Meeting 5:30 p.m.
7
7th Basketball 3:30 p.m.
8
SHS Basketball v WRHS (Chili Feed) 4:30 p.m.
9
SHS Wrestling Tourney 9 a.m.
11 WI Site Council/PTO 6 p.m.
11 Board Meeting 6 p.m.
5
Students are being
rewarded for good
behavior throughout
the district.
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12 7th Basketball 3:30 p.m.
12 LO Site Council/PTO 5:30 p.m.
14 7th Basketball 3:30 p.m.
Please check the online calendar for current info
and locations. www.seamanschools.org/calendar
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The results are in for the Annual Fall Into Fitness 5K
Happy Holidays from
Around the District . . .
Words to describe our first semester.
NORTH
FAIRVIEW
Positive
SHS
“I am very proud of the
progress we have made
with our facilities over
the 14 years of my tenure
as Superintendent.”
Mike Mathes, Ed. S. Superintendent
Eventful
Rewarding
Enjoyable
WEST
INDIANOLA
Progressive
LYMAN
PLEASANT HILL
Incredible
Rewarding
ROCHESTER
Extraordinary
LOGAN
Adventurous
SMS
Momentous
ELMONT
New
2
“
Note from the
Superintendent
By the time you read this article, the new middle school will have been
completed and we will be in the process of moving furniture into the
building. Students will begin using the facility on January 5, 2016.
At that point we will be nearing the end of construction for our 10-year
facilities plan and bond issue. The only remaining piece will be the
remodeling of the current middle school into Northern Hills Elementary
School! The remodel will be completed by July 15, 2016 and students
from Pleasant Hill and Rochester will populate the building in August of
2016. (Approximately 80 Rochester students will attend West Indianola)
I am very proud of the progress
we have made with our facilities
over the 14 years of my tenure
as Superintendent. At this point
we move forward to planning
for maintenance of our
buildings. Over the next five
years we will be replacing roofs
on all our buildings, as well as
upgrading HVAC systems, that
are 15-20 years old. By 2021 or
sooner all of our facilities will be
upgraded and roofed.
Capital Outlay Expenditures
Acquisition
Construction
Reconstruction
Repair
Remodeling
Additions to furnishings
and equipping buildings
necessary for school
district purposes
Of course, maintenance of
facilities is an ongoing process.
Each year we review our 5-year capital outlay plan to include anything
that needs to be replaced, improved, or even changed. Things like
tuck-pointing our older buildings’ masonry, replacing worn carpet or
broken tiles, maintaining asphalt and cement roads and parking lots are
reviewed and planned yearly. With a district this size, simply changing
filters in all of the HVAC units takes a full week at a cost of about $6000,
including materials and labor. Changing filters to maintain our HVAC
systems over the course of a full year is a $24,000 line item. Each year we
spend approximately $2.5 million in capital improvements or maintenance.
So you can see that even though our 10-year facilities plan and
construction is coming to an end, our maintenance of these facilities
requires an ongoing capital outlay plan, year after year and never ends.
As always, thank you for your support of USD 345.
CONGRATS ON YOUR RETIREMENT!
Over 90 years of service to our district will be retiring from SHS after this year. Please help us wish them all the best and a happy,
well-deserved retirement. Thank you for your many years at Seaman School District!
Ron Vinduska, 41 years
Kate Scarbrough, 29 years
Marian Sweeney,17 years
John Bloomfield, 31 years
21 TEACHER MINI-GRANTS AWARDED!
The Seaman Education Advantage Foundation (SEAF) recently announced the 2015
Mini-Grant Project recipients. SEAF awarded partial or full funding to 21 teachers for a total
amount of $9,101.61.
2015 Mini-Grant Awards
Media Room/Podcase Studio - Sherri Barbo & Clayton Schrader - Logan - $350
Finger Fun Exploration?!? - Raqual Carlson - Logan - $500
Suspended Indoor Therapy Swings - Becky Clarke - Logan - $534
SEAMAN EDUCATION
ADVANTAGE FOUNDATION
Teachers have the opportunity to apply
for annual mini-grants that support
innovative education projects from the
district’s education foundation.
21st Century Classroom Redesign - Jennifer Grelk - West Indianola - $600.62
Sensory Kits - Erin Corbin & Sharon Stuewe - Logan - $500
Phonics Boost - Hollie Gabriel - North Fairview - $400
Modeling Enzymes, Photosynthesis, and Respiration - Andrew Taylor - SHS - $500
Carpets Are for More Than Just Sitting! - Tracy Travis - North Fairview - $449.99
Movement Matters - Gretchen Griffin - North Fairview - $492.88
SEAF HAS AWARDED
MORE THAN
$26,000
IN MINI-GRANTS &
Brainy Day Fun - Melissa Modig - Rochester - $462.59
$13,000
Art in the Community - Rebecca Nesmith - Logan - $230
Putting the “Social” Back into Social Studies - Lauri Lewis - SHS - $440
IN STUDENT
SCHOLARSHIPS
SINCE 2009
Kagan Teaching Tools - Deborah Sturgeon - North Fairview - $276
Phonics Boost - Cassandra Novak - Logan - $400
Fairy Tale Adventures - Kimberly Simmons - $175
Genres of Literature - DeAun Soudek - SMS - $500
Technology Integration in Small Groups - Kristi Berroth & Nicole Gilkison - Rochester - $458.10
New Camcorders for Improved Project Based Learning - Michael Kennett & Luke Wiens - $600
Privacy in Essential and WOW, That’s What I sound Like?!? - Milissa Brunetti - North Fairview - $416.21
Multiple-Level Collaboration Through Technology Communication Tools - Erin Lewis & Stacy Colhouer - Elmont - $299.98
Problem Solving STEM Kits: Building Tomorrow’s Leaders and Innovators - Gena Mathes & Janeen Horton - Elmont - $516.24
SEAF currently raises money through two fundraising events
(an annual banquet and golf tournament) to support
innovative education projects in Seaman School District and
student scholarships.
This year SEAF will be hosting its 10th Annual SEAF Banquet
Dinner on Thursday, February 25 at 6:30PM in the new
Seaman Middle School Cafetorium. Superintendent Mike
Mathes will be delivering his final ‘State of the District’
address. The banquet will also honor SEAF student
scholarship winners and recipients of SEAF teacher mini-grants.
Tickets are $20 each / $160 per table (Seats 8) and are available at
the Seaman Education Center (901 NW Lyman Rd).
The Annual Golf Tournament date will be made available after
the banquet.
For more information, or for businesses interested in sponsoring
a table, contact Joy Adams-Eriks at the SEC by calling 575-8600
or emailing jcadams@usd345.com.
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OPEN FOR SCHOOL
JANUARY 5, 2016
ON
SEAMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL FEATURES
Emergency generator
Two rain gardens filtering gallons
of water
Seventh Grade on the First
Floor, Eighth Grade on the
Second Floor
LED lights throughout the building
for increased energy efficiency,
including motion sensors
Stage with movable partition
Separate public entrance can Districtwide cold and dry food
be secured from rest of
storage spaces
school for increased safety
Additional kitchen for district meals
Special Education bus
drop-off, pickup separate
Boys sports locker room with larger
from primary to speed
locker sizes for football equipment
process
Athletic training room
Bus loop for safe drop off
Sports, PE and gym storage rooms
Electronic message
street sign
Weight room with mirrored walls
4
and exterior views
Multipurpose room
with padded walls for
wrestling/cheer/dance
1,000 bleacher seats
in gym
2 main basketball &
volleyball courts,
4 side basketball
baskets, 4 volleyball
court capacity,
divider curtain
Seaman Middle School Moving Events & Details
We have lots to get ready for
in order to start school in the
new middle school building
on January 5. Here’s a brief
overview of planned events
leading up to the move.
Be sure to continue to check
the SMS website for any
updates/changes and for
more information as it
becomes available.
X
December 8th-10th
Scavenger Hunt in the new
building
December 17th
Locker switch to new
building
January 5th
First day of school in the
new building
December 11th
Locker Clean Out
Locker decorations for new
building: magnets only. No
tape or contact paper.
All-school assembly in the
new building
December 13th
Ribbon Cutting/Open House
1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
December 18th
Staff move to new building
January 25th
Student Showcase
Open House/Student
Showcase. PTO will have a
dessert bar. Band, Vikettes,
Cheerleaders will be
performing in the gym.
IMPORTANT NOTE: 3:00
dismissal from new building
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This fall, twelve students from the Philippinum Gymasium in Marburg, Germany came to Seaman High School to participate in
the Seaman Marburg Partnership Program (SeaMapp). SeaMapp, which was started in 1992 by former-SHS-German-teacher
Anke Wells, is a part of the Goethe Institute’s German American Partnership Program (GAPP). The goal of GAPP is to expand each
participant’s understanding of the host country’s culture and way of life, as well as to promote instruction of German at high
schools throughout the US.
As a part of the exchange, German students, as well as their
chaperones Marco Otto and Tamotsu Kimura, become a part
of a Seaman High host family’s school and family life for two
weeks. Students attended school at Seaman with their host
student, and also visited the Kansas Statehouse, the Kansas
Museum of History, and the Brown v. Board of Education site,
as well as the Eisenhower Center in Abilene and the
Steamboat Arabia Museum in Kansas City, and were able to
experience Homecoming festivities.
Marco Otto is no stranger to SeaMapp. As a student, Otto
participated in the exchange in 1994, staying with Donna
and Charley Catron. Now as a teacher at the Philippinum
Gymnasium, Otto has coordinated and chaperoned the
exchange five times since 2004.
“It’s my second home state,” Otto said. “It’s great. The people
are so incredibly friendly.”
In May, SHS German teacher Amy Calhoun will take the
twelve participating Seaman students to Marburg for two
weeks. The cost of the trip will be approximately $2,000.
Students and their parents have coordinated fund-raisers to
help raise money for the trip. The group has applied for a
grant through the Goethe Institute.
Although this is her first time organizing the exchange,
Calhoun is pleased with the results so far.
“The connections and perspectives that the students gain
from this exchange make learning a foreign language
meaningful,” said Calhoun.
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Totals
129 Runners/Walkers
Around $3,500 Raised
43 Volunteers
Save the Date
6th Annual 5K
Nov. 12, 2016
Next Wellness Event
FREE Family Wellness Night
Feb. 18, 6:30 p.m.
Logan Elementary
2015
Fall into Fitness
The Fifth Annual Fall into Fitness event sponsored by the Seaman District Wellness Council promoting wellness and encourage
fitness was a huge success. Over 130 runners/walkers participated in the 5k or Half mile fun run/walk this year raising funds towards
phases 2 & 3 of the Dr. Carolyn Orozco Fitness Trail. Congratulation to Kendyl Burks the first female 5K finisher and Colton Sturgeon
the first male 5K finisher; both runners received a trophy. Medals were also given to the top three runners in each age category.
The Council would like to thank our Corporate Sponsor SERC Physical Therapy & Fitness, Silver Lake Bank; our community sponsors:
ATM Concrete, INC, Boys and Girls Clubs of Topeka, KAHPERD (Kansas Association Health Physical Education Recreation & Dance),
Haag Oil Co. & Seaman 66 Food Mart, Orozco Capital/Home Leasing, Patton Law Office, LLC, Seaman USD#345 Health Staff, Seaman
Student Council, Seaman Middle School, Seaman Middle School Spirit Squad, Seaman Track and Cross Country Coaches and
Leonard Meat & Produce; donations from: Dr. Pepper/Snapple, Hiland Dairy Foods, Pepsi-Cola of Topeka, Seaman Transportation
Dept., and Zona’s Engraved Creations, Inc.; and all of our volunteers without their support we would not have been able to host this
awesome event.
Save the date: The Sixth annual “Fall into Fitness” 5K has been scheduled for Nov 12th, 2016, the second Saturday in November at
the Seaman Viking Stadium.
SMS/WI District Wellness Night
Seaman Middle School and West Indianola hosted the District
Activity/Wellness Night on Nov. 11, 2015. It was a wonderful evening
promoting the benefits of regular exercise, good nutrition, and healthy habits.
Many community businesses and organizations provided health, wellness, and
safety information and activities, and prizes.
We had 476 people who attended the November Wellness Night. It was great to
see so many students, parents, staff, and community members out exercising
together and being part of our charge to improve health and wellness!
The next Seaman District Wellness Night is scheduled for Thursday, February
18th, 2016 at Logan Elementary.
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SMS would like to THANK the following
community groups or people for providing
activities, health/wellness booths, and/or prizes:
Safe Kids/Stormont-Vail
Community Action
Rebound Sports Performance
St. Francis
Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office
Gage Bowl
YMCA
Shawnee North Community Center
Amanda Rush (Sunflower Strength and
Conditioning)
Christy Weiler (Genesis)
Washburn University student nurses
SMS Parent Organization
West Indianola PTO
SMS FCCLA
SHS FCCLA
and numerous SMS students and staff, WI staff,
and district PE teachers for helping make this
event a huge success.
Earn a Buck
with
Good Behavior
+
=
Save your Bucks!
Spend the Day in a Pillow Fort!
Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS)
Students and staff around the district are finding ways to celebrate good
behavior using various PBIS systems. At Logan Elementary School, Third Grade
Teacher Dawn Wayant gives her students “Banana Bucks” when she notices a
student helping others, or finding other ways to be respectful and responsible.
Mrs. Wayant also ties her PBIS system into math. “Students get $1 bills but can
trade them in for $5, $10 or $20. They have to create a shopping list-complete
with the amount of money they have, how much they plan to spend (with prices
listed and added up) then calculate how much money they will have left after
the shopping day,” said Mrs. Wayant.
Mrs. Wayant put together a very creative list of items kids can buy with their bucks, including the pillow fort with friends (pictured
above). However her system does have its faults. Some days the teacher is left without a place to sit for the day when a student
decides to spend $50 on “Sit in the Teacher’s Chair for the Day.”
Pleasant Hill Kindergartners
Learn Medicine Safety
On Wednesday, November 4th pharmacy students
from the University of Kansas presented a program
called Katy’s Kids to Pleasant Hill Elementary
kindergarteners. Accompanying the pharmacy
students was Katy, a kangaroo who emphasized
prescription drug safety and also explained the role
pharmacists play in healthcare. Students learned
about prescription drug safety though a video and
interactions with the pharmacy students.
In its first 20 years, Katy’s Kids has been presented by
pharmacists around the country in 30 states to 200
classrooms- instructing over 50,000 children. Katy’s
Kids serves to improve children’s awareness and
understanding of medicine and its use.
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The Seaman Communicator
Seaman Unified School District #345
Mike Mathes, Ed. S., Superintendent
Seaman Education Center
901 NW Lyman Rd.
Topeka, KS 66608
785-575-8600
www.seamanschools.org
Dec. 18 Early Release
SHS - 11:05 a.m.
Elementary - 12:15 p.m.
No school for SMS only
on Dec. 18
SMS students will be
dismissed one day early
DECEMBER
NO SCHOOL DAYS
Dec. 21
Dec. 22
Dec. 23
Dec. 24
Dec. 25
Dec. 28
Dec. 29
Dec. 30
Dec. 31
JANUARY
NO SCHOOL DAYS
Jan. 1
Jan. 4
Jan. 18
NOW ENROLLING
Parents as Teachers
Parents of 3 year olds or
younger living in the district can
call 785-286-1508 for free
services.
NON PROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE PAID
AMERICAN
PRE-SORT INC
The Seaman Communicator is published
monthly during the school year by
Seaman USD 345
901 NW Lyman Rd.
Topeka, KS 66608
785-575-8600
www.seamanschools.org
FOLLOW US:
Rochester Open House
Sunday, April 24th
2:00 - 4:00
Come and visit with old
classmates and say goodbye
to Rochester Elementary.
Winter Weather Closings
Inclement weather closing notifications
will be available through:
Local News
District Facebook & Twitter
School Messenger Phone Calls
SeamanUSD345
@SeamanSchools
Notice of Non-Discrimination
Seaman USD 345 does not discriminate on the basis
of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in
its programs and activities and provides equal access
to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth
groups. The Seaman USD 345 superintendent has
been designated to handle inquiries regarding the
nondiscrimination policies and he may be reached by
contacting Mike Mathes, Seaman Education Center,
901 NW Lyman Rd., Topeka, KS 66608 (785-575-8600).
Notice for a Drug Free Workplace
The unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing,
possession or use of a controlled substance is
prohibited in Seaman USD 345. Violators will be
prosecuted.