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Wildcat Growl
January 9, 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,
Unfortunately, the number of student isolations (positive cases) and exposures related to COVID-19 increased to a level that triggered the mask requirement for De Soto High School. The weekly percentage of student cases topped 4.18 percent for the week ending Friday, January 7.
As of Monday, January 10, masks will be required for all students, staff, and visitors while indoors to help slow the number of cases. The temporary mask requirement will be in place for at least two weeks and until the weekly percentage of COVID-19 isolations and recommended quarantines drops below two percent for two consecutive weeks. Approved medical mask exemptions are still valid.
Congratulations to Sara Murphy and Tyler Schultze. Both are Students of the Month for December. We appreciate the positivity and engagement that both students bring to DHS.
We also want to congratulate Christy Miller and Ken Gandy, our Wildcat Staff of the Month for December. Mrs. Miller is our Attendance Secretary, and Mr. Gandy teaches Industrial Tech classes. Both are new to their roles at DHS this year and have been great additions to our staff.
Congratulations to the following Quarter 2 CLASS Award winners: Bryson Albin, Eli Allen, Lucas Barton, Kaydence Bayer, Bethany Blackmore, Ayriana Blakney, Brandalin Book, Sam Bowden, Theo Britt, Luis Camarena, Ella Capling, Evan Carter, Marco Casas Duran, Jade Chames, Sheridan Christy, Abigail Church, Sydney Coffman, Noah Daniels, Fabian Dorado, Savanna Dunfee, Delaney Essary, Sha'Marra Fox, Oscar Galvan De Leon, Alonso Gamboa, Tyler Gillespie, Wyatt Gray, Charlie Haake, Mie Hansen, Iversen Houts, Ian Jackson, Gracey Janes, Carson Klover, Sam Krenzel, Abby Lawrenz, Eli Lebar, Stephanie Lininger, Alayna Marovec, Shelby Marquis, Mimi Martinez, Mitch McBride, Brett McQueeny, Laney Montgomery, Haiden Newell-Green, Jacob Noyes, Jadah Nudson, Stevie Pridey, Adan Rivera, Dylan Roberts, Jack Robinson, Alison Schaefer, Maggie Schott, Alysa Sisavath, Joel Sygman, Arilynn Triana, Sky Tush, Lane Vaillancourt, Lydia VanBooven, Breanna Verren, Jabriann Wakes, Nic Weaver, Annika Wheeler, and Anna Zeller. The Quarter 2 CLASS Awards ceremony will be held Thursday, January 13th at 10:50 (during Seminar) in the theatre. Families of award winners are invited to attend.
Course selection for the 2022-2023 school year is underway. Students were provided information prior to winter break, access to the Course Guide, and a copy of their course selection form. Counselors will meet with students to complete the process throughout January and February. We have several new courses and programs, including new programming at CTEC available to students. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your student’s counselor if you have any questions.
Students earning an incomplete as a result of missing a final exam have until Friday, January 21st to make up semester 1 final exams. Students will need to reach out to their teachers in order to schedule a time to make up these exams.
The Cat Booster Club continues to look for adults willing to assist with important activities (scholarships, teacher grants, concessions, and teacher appreciation week). If interested, please contact Julie Zitlow at: dhscatboosters@gmail.com.
Thank you,
Sam Ruff,
Principal
Kansas Teacher of the Year
The De Soto School District has been an important and strong participant in the Kansas Teacher of the Year Program for many years. The district has had fifteen state finalists and twelve semi-finalists represented in the program since 2000.
We would like for you to nominate any teacher whom you consider to be an outstanding and effective educator and whom you or your child has had as a teacher. This person must be a tenured employee of USD 232. If there is a De Soto educator whom you believe to be outstanding and deserving of special recognition, please fill out the nomination form at www.usd232.org/ktoy. This form needs to be completed by noon on January 14, 2022.
Student Behavior: Bullying
This is a reminder that during Skyward enrollment, students sign an anti-bullying statement. We would like to remind parents of that and ask that you speak with your student about treating others the way they would want to be treated. A copy of our district and school policy on anti-bullying is in our Student Handbook, which is in the front of students’ agendas and also posted on our website here.
USD 232 is a place where the business of education can be conducted in a welcoming environment free of intimidation, violence, and fear. This setting provides an educational climate that fosters a spirit of acceptance and care of every child. It is a place where behavioral expectations are clearly communicated, consistently enforced, and fairly applied.
As a student at De Soto High School, I agree to:
Value student differences and treat others with respect. Not become involved in bullying incidents or be a bully.
Be aware of the school’s policies and support system with regard to bullying. Report honestly and immediately all incidents of bullying to a faculty member.
Be alert in places around the school where there is less adult supervision, such as bathrooms, corridors, and stairwells.
Support students who have been or are subjected to bullying.
Talk to teachers and parents about concerns and issues regarding bullying.
Work with other students and faculty, to help the school deal with bullying effectively.
Encourage teachers to discuss bullying issues in the classroom.
Provide a good role model for younger students and support them if bullying occurs.
Participate fully and contribute to assemblies dealing with bullying.
Notes from the Nurse
We are seeing an increase in illnesses as expected this time of year. Flu season is predicted to be early and JCDHE has already seen some positive cases of influenza in Johnson County. Please see the following paragraph from the JCDHE website
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 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 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 (updates 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
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.
Children's Mercy Hospitals Prepped and Ready Series
DHS families, Children’s Mercy Hospitals have graciously kept the Prepped and Ready: Experts Edition video series open for the community!
As a reminder, the series is a collection of 3-5 minute videos addressing difficult topics that pertain to raising teens. It takes less than an hour to watch the videos and complete the research surveys. The content touches on a variety of topics, but a major focus is empowering parents with tools to prevent suicides in our community.
Excerpts from the videos are below, and showcase a variety of speakers from CMH and our community:
Intro to Prepped and Ready Trailer - https://youtu.be/ECsW7XbsSqo
Prepped and Ready Impulsivity Trailer - https://youtu.be/TnJcmzcIGLc
Prepped and Ready Asking Tough Questions Trailer - https://youtu.be/O-uvmB8xlhg
Prepped and Ready Ingestions Trailer - https://youtu.be/D_sP7PyQZV8
Prepped and Ready Vaping Trailer - https://youtu.be/34r5_xOIKCg
Prepped and Ready Safe Storage Trailer - https://youtu.be/24SPNXfHAGE
Prepped and Ready Eating Disorders Trailer - https://youtu.be/6k6n_DYP0IA
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.