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Wildcat Growl
April 3, 2022
Future Ready Wildcats
De Soto High School staff and students endeavor to model the following core values:
INTEGRITY, INQUIRY, COMMUNICATION, PERSEVERANCE, and REFLECTION.
Principal's Message
Wildcats and Families,
Thank you to the Cat Booster Club for hosting the first-ever Spring Opening Day. If you were unable to attend, we hope you get a chance to come out to support our students and check out our new outdoor athletic facilities.
De Soto High School is a member of the National Speech & Debate Association,
NSDA Honor Society. Recently, 4 of our students received recognition for their hours of learning, practice, and improvement: Austin Chase – Distinction, Brooklynne Clark - Special Distinction, James Dykes – Excellence, and Samuel Vogel – Merit. Congrats Wildcats!
Two of our staff have been nominated for the Making a Difference Award for February. Congratulations to Sheila Wilkins, and Susan Wilcox!
Nominations are received monthly and can be submitted using this link: Making a Difference Nomination Form.
Our last scheduled Delayed Start this year will take place Wednesday, April 6th. The building opens to students at 9:30 AM, and the first block classes begin at 9:50 AM. Breakfast is not served on Delayed Start days. The Delayed Start bell schedule can be viewed on our website (here).
The DHS Prom will take place on April 23rd at Cedar Valley Forest (29145 W. 83rd Street). Thank you to Caroline Friday for all that has gone into planning and organizing prom this year.
State assessments for sophomores will take place next week. We ask and appreciate the scheduling of appointments outside of these dates. Thank you.
Spring 2022 State Assessment Dates:
· 10th Grade English - April 11-14
· 10th Grade Math – April 19-22
Once again, Student Council is partnering with the Children’s Miracle Network/KU Med-Pediatrics in planning Dance Marathon. This fundraiser scheduled for April 30th has student teams participating in all kinds of fun activities. Students can begin forming teams now. If you are interested in contributing to their efforts, information about the Children’s Miracle Network and the De Soto Dance Marathon can be reviewed on the Dance Marathon website. A short video about Dance Marathon can also be found here.
Thanks, and have a great week.
Sam Ruff
Principal
De Soto High School
Prepped and Ready: Experts Edition
Children’s Mercy has created Prepped and Ready: Experts Edition, a free online video series for parents and caregivers who are raising teens. This educational series is being offered online and brings the experts at Children’s Mercy right to parents and before there is a crisis with topics covering vaping, hard conversation, safe storage and more.
Paraprofessionals and Student Nutrition Positions Available Now
Note from the Counselors:
Senior Scholarship Information:
Now is a good time to start looking for scholarships for college. If you haven’t already done so please check out the DHS Student Services site: https://www.usd232.org/Page/3287. Click on the Financial Aid/Scholarship tab. Scholarships for DHS seniors only will be posted in January/February. General scholarships are updated on a regular basis so check the page often.
FAFSA Application Open for the 2022-23 School Year:
In October the 22-23 FAFSA application opened. This is used to determine financial aid which comes in the form of grants or scholarships. It is also used for parents/students to qualify for loans to help subsidize the cost of college. For more information on financial aid go to: https://studentaid.gov/
Individual Plan of Study (IPS):
Every DHS student will have a completed Individual Plan of Study upon graduating from De Soto High School. Students complete different IPS lessons approximately twice each month during seminar. Xello is the platform for IPS and contains all kinds of important information, specific to each student including career matches, personality styles, skills, interests, saved colleges, saved careers, scholarships, etc. Students will review their IPS with their seminar teacher and their parents during spring conferences. This video gives a short summary of why IPS is important and gives students/parents an idea of what is to be expected.
Social-Emotional Lessons (SEL):
DHS seminars are now including SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) activities to help provide tools and resources for students. Upcoming topics include: analyzing emotions, goal setting, perseverance, and managing responses to emotions. The overall health and well-being of our students are important to us. If you are ever concerned about another student or your own, please don’t hesitate to reach out to their counselor or the social worker.
Resources from CollegeBoard:
Parent Action Plan for Seniors
FAFSA Resources:
Quick Video Instructions on how to fill out the FAFSA
Scholarships:
DHS Student Services Scholarship Page (updated frequently)
DHS Counselors and Social Worker
Crissy Johns (A-G): CJohns@usd232.org
Lindsay Hothan (H-N): LHothan@usd232.org
Kaitlin Britt (O-Z): KBritt@usd232.org
Joe Kordalski (Social Worker): Rkordalski@usd232.org
Kansas State University’s Health Professions Summer Program:
KSU is launching a new health professions program for current high school juniors and seniors. This week long program is for students who are interested in a career in helping others through the health care industry. The program will run from July 10th – 15th. Registration opens on March 14th. For more information, visit https://www.hhs.k-state.edu/summerhealthprogram/
Scholarships for Seniors:
The DHS Seniors Only Scholarships are now available for seniors to access. We are waiting on two more that will be posted by the end of February. Click on the following link: https://www.usd232.org/Page/3287
- DHS CAT Booster Scholarship: Application coming soon!
- De Soto Alumni/VFW Scholarship: Application coming soon
- De Soto Teachers Association Scholarship: Deadline April 15
- Shawnee Vision Care Scholarship: Deadline April 15
- McCarthy Auto Group Scholarship: Deadline April 15
- Trenton Hughes Scholarship: Deadline April 22
- Casey Blake Johnson Running Scholarship: Deadline April 22
- Jess Johnson Scholarship (Rotary Club): Deadline April 30
Winners will be announced at the Senior Awards Ceremony that is currently scheduled for May 18th.
Pro X and KC Scholars Summer Internship Opportunity
KC Scholars is looking for high school students for a 5 week paid summer internship opportunity. Students will need to commit to 25 hours per week and will be paid $1250 for their time. Prior to the internship, students will participate in a workshop to learn how to create a resume, interview tips, and prepare for the ProX Hiring Fair which will lead to their summer internship that is aligned with your interests. Application opens March 11th. For more information, visit https://proxsummer.org/.
Johnson County Community College – Summer Transportation Institute -
When: Monday – Friday, July 25 – August 5, 8am-5pm
Where: We will start on the main campus of Johnson County Community College each morning.
Participants will be traveling throughout the metro to participate in hands-on
demonstrations at airports, rail yards, trucking centers, waterfront ports, etc.
Cost: $0, all expenses are covered
Who: The camp is open to anyone, but we are targeting female, minority, and disadvantaged
youth who may not be able to attend other camps this summer.
Requirement: Participants must fill out an application. We are limited to 20 participants. The interest
form and course info can be found at www.jccc.edu/jcccnsti.
Selection Criteria:
• Must be entering 9th, 10th, or 11th grade in August.
• Must have completed algebra or will be qualified for enrollment in algebra in August.
• Must have a minimum of a 2.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
• Must be a KS resident.
• Commit to attend all 10 days of the camp.
• Qualify for either free or reduced lunch
What will take place:
The Johnson County Summer Transportation Institute (JCSTI) will use resources both on and off campus
to allow students to explore in depth regional transportation industries. The transportation curriculum
will be focus on land (rail and trucking), air (air traffic control), and water (inland ports and barge
transportation). While experiencing firsthand the inner workings of these transportation industries,
students will gain knowledge of efforts towards a sustainable transportation system. Further the JCSTI
will partner with the JCCC Center for Sustainability to provide curriculum in sustainable transportation.
The curriculum will also include enhancement activities designed to help students with career planning
and overall professionalism within the workplace.
As an on-going project throughout the camp, students will work in groups on a project to reflect on how
all the modes of transportation come together to move goods. The students will be tasked with planning
how to transport goods across the country using rail, truck, inland waterway, and air. The student
groups will be assessed based on how quickly they can transport the goods, the estimate cost of doing
so, and how much of a carbon footprint their proposed shipping will leave behind. Each day of the camp,
students will collaborate on their project for at least one hour.
For a copy of the application, please contact Mrs. Johns, DHS Counselor
Questions? Please contact Molly Salisbury at summeryouth@jccc.edu.
K-State Food Science Institute
The K-State Food Science Institute will be holding virtual program tours for high school students throughout Kansas on Wednesday April 13th at 9:00 AM and Thursday April 14th at 1:00 PM. The tour will allow students to gain knowledge of K-State's Food Science and Industry degree, meet faculty members, and learn more about the financial aid and application process at K-State. A food science degree can open doors to a variety of career opportunities that can align with interests and strengths in food and nutrition, agriculture, business, science, engineering and medicine.
We are inviting school counselors, science teachers, agriculture teachers, and family and consumer science teachers throughout Kansas to participate in this event with their students. Please utilize this opportunity to help students learn about college and career options! Register to participate at https://kstate.ag/foodsciencetour.
Attendance
Kansas Compulsory Attendance Statutes
Regular attendance is required of all pupils enrolled in elementary and secondary school under Kansas compulsory attendance statutes. It is a parental responsibility under Kansas statutes to require the regular school attendance “of any child who has reached the age of seven (7) years and is under the age of eighteen (18) years,” unless the child is exempted by statute.
The State of Kansas delegates to the Board of Education the responsibility of determining reasons for excusable absences.
The following are reasons for excusable absence:
1. Personal illness. A physician’s note will be required for chronic absenteeism.
2. Serious illness or death of a member of the family or close friend.
3. Obligatory religious observance of the student’s own faith.
4. Participation in a school-approved activity.
5. Physician or dentist appointments that can be verified by appointment card.
6. Court appearance that can be verified through court services’ officer.
7. Verifiable, emergency situations requiring immediate action at the request of the parent. Limit of five.
8. An absence that has been requested in writing and approved in advance by the building administrator.
Parents will be notified after five, and then again after ten absences making them aware of their student’s attendance record. A student who is absent from class or school without an excusable reason, as outlined above, will be considered unexcused. An unexcused absence for one or more classes will receive disciplinary consequences and credit may not be given for missed classes.
Procedure for reporting absences
1. Parents or legal guardians are requested to call the 24-hour attendance voice mail line (913- 667-6259) on the day of the absence. If a call is not received the day after the absence, the absence may be considered unexcused.
2. A telephone call will be required each day the student is absent unless prior arrangements have been made.
3. When reporting an absence, the parent or guardian should give the following information: • His or her name and relationship to student • student’s name and grade in school (please spell the name) • reason for absence • the date and hours of absence
4. Upon returning to school the day following an absence, the student should go directly to class. If there is a question about the absence, the Main Office will contact the student.
5. If a student leaves the school building during the school day, the student must sign out with the Main Office. Students must sign in at the Main Office upon returning to school that day or arriving at school after the school day begins, even if returning or leaving during a passing period. Failure to properly sign in or out could result in the student’s absence being marked as unexcused.
Securly App
Parents can have peace of mind in knowing your student’s search history and time on their device. See your student’s online activity in real-time and catch up with weekly email snapshots by signing up with the Securly app. Follow the link for more information and directions.