Maize South High School

Greetings Mavs!

The holiday season is upon us. I wish all of you and your family a joyous holiday season! As the end of the semester approaches, I want to remind families of the finals schedule I shared in November’s newsletter as well as share some upcoming events as we move towards the beginning of the second semester.

Maize South High Finals Schedule

Tuesday, December 19th 7:35 am - 2:40 pm

1st block - Study Hall - Students will be assigned to a study hall location

2nd block - FINAL - Students report to 2nd block to take their final

Flex - Students will report to their regular Flex classroom

3rd block - Non-academic Activities planned - Students will be provided multiple non-academic related activities to participate in (lunch will be during this time)

4th block - FINAL - Students report to 4th block to take their final

Wednesday, December 20th - Early Release Schedule 7:35 am - 2:05 pm

1st block - FINAL - Students report to 1st block to take their final

2nd block - Non-academic Activities planned - Students will be provided multiple non-academic related activities to participate in

Flex - Students will report to their regular Flex classroom

3rd block - FINAL - Students will report to 3rd block to take their final (lunch will be during this time scheduled like a regular day)

4th block - Non-academic Activities planned - Students will be provided multiple non-academic related activities to participate in

Students will be provided a list of activities pending confirmation of our offerings.

This schedule applies only to Maize South High School. Students who travel to MCA or MHS for classes will continue their regular travel schedule and be expected to be in attendance at their regularly scheduled MCA/MHS class times.

Students are not able to take finals early. For families who know their student is going to miss the last few days of the semester, there is a process to complete so that the student is able to make up their finals upon their return to school in January.

• Students who will miss finals need to have their parent contact the student’s alpha administrator

• A - B - Mr. Smith lbsmith@usd266.com

• C - H - Mrs. Klock aklock@usd266.com

• I - P - Mrs. Fowler mfowler@usd266.com

• Q - Z - Mr. Nash dnash@usd266.com

Parents may give their student permission to leave campus during "off" times. "Off" times are those times during the school day in which finals are not being taken. Our office staff will not be able to answer the volume of calls and track down students on the 20th and 21st. If parents would like their student to be allowed to leave campus for part or all of the "off" times, please complete this permission form. For planning purposes, please complete this form by Monday, December 18th.

A few notes/reminders:

• Families received an email with information regarding end of semester finals, the Kansas Communities That Care Survey, and Capturing Kids’ Hearts survey. Please find information on each of these by clicking on the following links - Kansas Communities That Care, Capturing Kids Hearts Family Survey

• We continue to struggle with all of our students remembering their lanyards and IDs. Students get 3 free “forgets” each term and then detention will start being assigned. Much of the struggle comes during the day when students remove their lanyards and put them in their backpack or pocket. Please help remind your child(ren) to bring and wear their lanyards and IDs daily.

• Winter Break is December 21 - January 3. School will not be in session.

• Students will have grade level assemblies during Flex at the beginning of second semesters. The purpose of these assemblies is to review important policies and share school data from the first semester including attendance, behavior, and academic data.

• There is no school on Monday, January 15th in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

• The calendar of activities and athletics can be found at www.avctl.org.

Mavs Up!

Becky Sailor

Principal

Visit our school website at www.usd266.com/mshs.

Connect with Ms. Sailor at bsailor@usd266.com or 316-462-8000.

Maize South High School is located at 3701 N. Tyler Rd. in Wichita.

Follow Us

• Website: Counselor’s Corner

• Twitter: @MavCounseling

• Facebook: Maize South High School

The Counseling Center Facebook page has been deactivated. We are now using a general school Facebook page. Like the page for updates!

Upcoming Events

• Dec 9: ACT @ MSHS
• Dec 12: FAFSA Completion Event (Seniors and Parents) @ MCA 6-7:30pm

All students are invited to utilize the College & Career Center as a resource to navigate the high school experience through developing and/or updating their Individual Plan of Study. One-on-one assistance is provided to students as they begin thinking about life after high school. Current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are encouraged to schedule an appointment to discuss their plans. Taking time to prepare or revise current plans will make the 2023-2024 enrollment process go smoothly.

Mark your calendars!

• College & Career Fair - Monday, February 5th to be held in the Maize Career Academy from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

• Representatives will be in attendance from both public and private postsecondary institutions.

• Each branch of the military will be presented to discuss options available to students if they are considering the reserves or full enlistment.

• Apprenticeship programs are an excellent way for students to obtain skills while working.

• Interested in volunteer, shadow, or internship opportunities for summer 2024? Textron & Spirit representatives will be available to discuss options.

• Upcoming College Tours for students grades 10-12

• January 8th FAFSA/Scholarship Information Session
• January 18th FAFSA Completion Event
• TBA WSU Tech
• February 13th Friends & Newman University
• March 26th Fort Hays State University
• April 2nd Pittsburg State University
• TBA Butler Community College

Registration for college visits will open two weeks prior to the scheduled visit date.

Secure your senior ad or yearbook NOW at: https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/customer/1873667/Maize-South-High-School/

Yearbook prices:

Fall: 9.30-12.8 for $45.00

Winter: 12.9-2.16 for $50.00

Spring: 2.17-6.1 for $55.00

Deadline to order a yearbook will be June 1st. There will be no extensions for any reason.

Congrats to the MSHS yearbook staff as they received an All-Kansas distinction from the Kansas Scholastic Press Association for last year's yearbook, "So, Here's what Happened." All-Kansas distinction is the highest in the state.

For quickest delivery, order your Class Ring online at: https://www.balfour.com/kansas/maize/maize-south-high

Ordering is as simple as...

1. Place your order at balfour.com OR

2. Print two copies of your online ring design

3. Keep one copy and bring one copy to your Balfour representative on order day with your $50.00 deposit

Carley Bell, MSHS senior, is among six winners of the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office’s 2023-24 SAFE Speaks competition. To win the award, she created and delivered, via video conferencing, a five-minute presentation on the topic of defensive driving to a judging panel of safety professionals.

Carley also delivered her winning presentation at the Kansas Teen Transportation Safety Conference held this November in Manhattan.

Carley, MSHS’s first competitor in SAFE Speaks, will receive one of six $1,000 scholarships awarded in the competition. The Kansas Sheriffs Association provided five $1,000 awards, and the Kansas Juvenile Officers Association provided one added award.

In addition, senior Sofiya Florio was named SAFE Student of the Month for September for her

volunteerism and leadership in our MSHS chapter. For the past two years, Sofiya has organized

seatbelt counts, staffed seatbelt-pledge tables, and helped create our first safety-themed Spirit

Week last spring. The award makes her eligible for a scholarship awarded in the spring.

Further, Kate Quinton, senior, represents Maize South this year on the 2023-24 SAFE Student Board. As a new member of the statewide eleven-person board, Kate helps create new education opportunities with the SAFE program for students in dozens of Kansas schools.

SAFE, an acronym for Seatbelts Are for Everyone, is a free, student-led program for middle and high school students; it focuses on peer-to-peer promotion of traffic safety. Available in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Iowa, SAFE promotes wearing a seatbelt, driving alertly, and following traffic laws, all with the goal of decreasing teen injuries and deaths from vehicle

crashes.

Maize South students in any grade can participant in SAFE as part of CACOW Student

Volunteers, sponsored by Mr. Bradshaw: mbradshaw@usd266.com.

Last month, the Spanish students in Señora Delzer's Spanish 1 class learned body parts in Spanish. They briefly talked about the abstract painting style of Pablo Picasso. Then volunteers drew a human body while blindfolded as their classmates gave them the body parts to draw in Spanish. They also learned about and celebrated Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) on November 2. They created an ofrenda (an altar) with a picture of themselves and their favorite foods, drinks and activities. The Spanish 3 students created a tombstone to honor a deceased Hispanic celebrity. They presented 10 achievements of their celebrity in Spanish from the "cemetery" (transformed classroom).

Photos by J. Higares

Dec 19-20: Term 2 Finals

Dec 20: Last Day of Term 2

Dec 21: No School, Teacher Work Day

Dec 22-Jan 2: No School, Winter Break

Jan 3: Start of Term 3

Jan 15: No School

There is always a need for substitute teachers. On any given day, Maize will utilize 30-130 licensed substitute teachers across the district. Some of these individuals take long term assignments and others work one day a month. Any amount of time is beneficial.

Click here to apply to be a Substitute Teacher with Maize USD 266.

Pays $130/day

You select the assignment you want based on your schedule, preferred grade level, or school.

Substitute teachers must be licensed by KSDE. This involves submitting a license application, fingerprint card for background check, and official transcripts showing at least 60 credit hours from an accredited college or university.

Fingerprint cards can be picked up at the Educational Support Center (905 Academy, Maize) and completed by the Maize Police Department.

If you have a child with a health condition that may require emergency action beyond first aid and/or emergency medication to be carried by the student or given in emergencies, please make sure you have communicated the health needs to the school nurse this school year.

Some students have health conditions which might require certain prescribed emergency procedures beyond standard first aid and/or emergency medication to be given at school if the student experiences severe symptoms of their health condition during the school day. Asthma, anaphylaxis, seizures, and diabetes are examples of health conditions that may require an Emergency Action Plan to be in place.

Emergency Action Plans are developed by the School Nurse at the request of the parent, to ensure necessary prescribed emergency care procedures for each individual student, including medications to be given, are communicated to the school staff who supervise the student during the school day.

This information must be updated with each new school year or whenever the condition or necessary care changes. It is the responsibility of the parent to notify the school nurse each school year of the health condition and to provide the necessary documentation from physicians for prescribed emergency actions to be taken. When this information is received, the Emergency Action Plan is developed.

District policy in USD 266 allows students in grades 9-12 to carry and self-administer certain emergency medications for the treatment of diabetes, asthma, anaphylaxis and/or seizures. In order to self-carry these medications, parent must submit the proper documentation signed by parent and physician.

Contact me to update your child’s most current health care needs at school if you have not done so yet this year so we are ready to provide the individual care they need. Thank you!

Vision and Hearing Screening Notice

Katy Carter, BSN, RN, NCSN

School Nurse, Maize South High School

kcarter@usd266.com

• If you need your student released during the school day, please contact the attendance office at 316-462-8000 as soon as possible so we can get a pass to them. The more advanced notice we have, the easier it will be to ensure your child is able to leave on time. If your child will be absent all day, please notify the school by 8:00am.
• Parents are strongly encouraged to call the school instead of coming into the building to have their student checked out. This will help reduce traffic through the front office.
• As defined in the BOE attendance policy, students have THREE school days to have a medical note turned into the office to excuse an absence.
• Parents are able to excuse SEVEN absences per class for the whole school year. Once seven has been reached, absences will be marked unexcused unless excused for a different reason.
• The accumulation of SIX absences in a block, per term/9 weeks, may result in no credit being granted. Credit may be granted pending a decision by a review panel. The review panel is available upon request by the student or parent.
  
• If you know ahead of time that your student is going to miss more than one day of school in a row, they're able to fill out an extended absence form. Completing this form will make sure those absences are excused. It requires signatures from all teachers, a parent, and an administrator. This form will need to be completed at least three days before the student is absent. You can access the form below.

• If your student is going to be tardy to school, please call the office. They are allowed THREE parent excused 1st block tardies per school year, after that they are subject to detention.
• Students are allowed TWO tardies per term. Once they reach their third tardy, a one hour detention will be assigned to them.
• Tardies reset every term.
• Tardies are defined as coming in late and missing 20 minutes or less of class time.

• If you need to pick up your child from school during school hours, please call the office with the time your child needs to be released. They will receive a pass ahead of time and can check themselves out at the requested time. The exception to this, is lunch time. If you wish to check your student out for lunch, a parent must come in and sign the student out. Parents are not required to sign students back in.

• When a student is absent, it is the responsibility of the parents to call the attendance office within 24 hours to verify the reason for the absence. Please be sure to provide a doctor's note to the front office when your child has seen the doctor, dentist, etc., these visits won't count against your child's attendance. Medical notes can also be faxed to 462-8001.

• If your child is absent and will require homework, please email the teacher.
• It is a district policy for all students to wear their school ID and lanyard at all times. If a student does not have their ID, they will be given a temporary name tag. Students will be issued detention once they have been given FOUR temporary name tags. IDs and lanyards can be replaced for $3 each.

• Because students are not allowed to bring balloons or glass items on the bus, the Maize school district will not be accepting any flower, candy, cookie, or balloon bouquet deliveries to students.
• We have a "closed lunch" policy. Students will be expected to eat at school and NO OUTSIDE FOOD may be brought in or delivered.

Thank you for your help with this. We appreciate it!

USD 266 Maize offers Online Driver Education each term during the school year. The online driver education program strives 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. Students should be studying the Kansas Driver Handbook and be ready to take a handbook test at the start of the course. Students that have a Kansas Permit that is valid through the course dates will be exempt from taking the handbook test. More detailed information on Online Driver Education can be found on the high school website, (click on Counselor, Enrollment and Course Information, then Driver Education).

Online Driver Education 2023-2024: Both the Student and the Parent/Guardian must attend the enrollment night in order to be in Online Dr. Ed. Each term class is limited to 50 students. Enrollment packets may be downloaded off of the high school website or the button below.

Enrollment Dates:

Term 3: January 4, 2024 at 6:00pm MSHS Commons

Term 4: March 4, 2024 at 6:00pm MSHS Commons

**Both the Student and one Parent/Guardian will be required to attend the enrollment meeting. Please bring your enrollment packet, a writing pen, corrective eye wear (if needed) and any type of Kansas Permit/License you already have to the Enrollment Meeting**

A parking permit is required for students to park on campus. A completed form will need to be turned in to the North Office and a sticker will be assigned to the student. The sticker will need to be placed on the back window in the bottom left hand corner. The form can be accessed below.

If you would like to speak with someone in the main office during the school day, you may call (316) 462-8000.

NORTH OFFICE

Megan Fowler, Assistant Principal I-P

Paige Luna, Counselor I-P

Dave Nash, Assistant Principal Q-Z

Melissa Bush, Counselor Q-Z

Christina Black, Counseling Secretary

Stephanie Brooks, Discipline Secretary

Ivanna Rodriguez, Registrar

Madison Schmidt, Communications Secretary

SOUTH OFFICE

Becky Sailor, Principal

Luke Smith, Athletic Director/Assistant Principal A-B

Taluia Pentecost, Counselor A-B

Alison Klock, Assistant Principal C-H

Brooke Sorenson, Counselor C-H

Lyn Brown, College and Career Advocate

Taryn Scott, Accounting/Athletics Secretary

Suzanne Sullard, Attendance Secretary

NURSE

Katy Carter