Wildcat Growl

Vision: De Soto High School ensures all students learn at a high level and have a positive sense of belonging, developing each student to be ready for their future.

Wildcats and Families,

At DHS, we are committed to recognizing students who exemplify The WildCAT Way.

At the beginning of the school year, teachers began submitting recognitions to celebrate moments when students displayed thoughtful acts such as demonstrating cooperation and a service orientation, treating others and the school with respect, or engaging in future planning and time management. Students who were recognized in the month of August are listed below. Each month, four names from the group of honorees will be randomly selected to win a free drink from Cats Corner and a Thoughtful WildCAT t-shirt.

August Thoughtful WildCAT Recognitions: Malak Alhammouri, Avery Baker, Matthew Barber, Emma Brady, Sloan Carpenter, Abigail Champlain, Charlotte Daniels, Andrew Dondzila, Sydney Duncan, Jovanni Espeleta, Lillian Fandel, Cameron Ferrell, Keegan Flynn, Peyton Gab, Brooke Gipson, Seth Goins, Gabriel Green, Rory Groner, Lucienna Guess, Isabella Guess, Mishayla Guile, Jerry Gutierrez, Quinten Hadley, Reese Halvorsen, Viviana Haro, Keira Hartmann, Brieya Henderson, Josey Henning, Sofia Herasymchuk, Evelyn Hernandez, Laney Huggins, Sophie Hull, Jackson Langford, Kylie Mall, Sydney Mater, Emma McCracken, Claire McGinn, Alyssa McHugh, Ardyn McIntyre, Madison Merz, Alyssa Metheny, Emilee Meyer, Emerald Morton, Maddilyn Mosbaek, Madelyn Neeland, Jason Neubauer, Kelsey O’Donnell, Neleigh Rasmussen, Rose Rulifson, Makylie Sexton, Stella Showalter, Margaret Stelzer, Abigail Tadele, Harlow Templeton, Lydia VanBooven, Jacob Withrow, Brianna Wood, and Sydney Zebley. Keep up the great work Wildcats!

Squad of the Month: Each month we are recognizing a DHS Collaborative Team as our "Squad of the Month". This is a team of educators collectively committed to improve student learning. Our August Squad of the Month is our ELA9 Team of Amanda Sweet, Madison Langford, and Janet Morgenstern. Congrats!

Career Panel Series: We are excited to invite our parents and community members to play a pivotal role in our students' career exploration journey by volunteering as a panelist for our upcoming Career Panel series. Over 14 scheduled dates (listed below), students will have the opportunity to hear from professionals across various career clusters, helping them gain valuable insights into potential career paths. Your experience and expertise can provide invaluable guidance and inspiration. If you are interested in sharing your career story and contributing to our students' future successes, please complete this link. We look forward to your participation in helping our students make informed decisions about their futures!

Semester 1 Skip-A-Final information is now available on our website, including the updated attendance and grade requirements along with the list of courses participating. Check it out.

Homecoming Week begins Monday, September 16th. The week includes daily dress-up themes, door decorating, and a staff v student dodgeball game. The parade, spirit rally, and powder puff game are scheduled for Wednesday, September 18th. Our all-school assembly takes place during seminar before Friday night's football game against Leavenworth. The dance is on Saturday, September 21st. Details below.

We invite you to our fall Parent-Teacher Conferences on Wednesday, September 25th from 4:00 PM – 7:30 PM and Thursday, September 26th from 9:30 AM – 8:00 PM (with a break from 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM). Conferences will be held in person in the Commons and Auxiliary Gym on a first-come, first-served basis, or virtually by appointment with your student’s teachers. This is a great opportunity for personalized discussions about your child's progress and success. We look forward to partnering with you!

Important Future Dates:

Future Ready Day: Tuesday, October 15th

End of Quarter: Thursday, October 17th (no school, Friday, October 18th, & Monday, October 21st)

Trunk or Treat: Sunday, October 20th

Veteran's Day Assembly: Monday, November 11th

Thanks, and have a great week.

Warm regards,

Sam Ruff

Principal

De Soto High School

We invite you to volunteer as a panelist for our Career Panel series, where students will learn about different career paths from professionals in various fields. We are hosting 14 sessions and would love your participation to help guide and inspire our students. If you're interested, please sign up using this link. Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a difference!

Finance, Business Management and Administration - October 9

Agriculture Food & Natural Resources - October 16

Information Technology, Arts A/V, Communications - October 30

Architecture & Construction - November 13

Education & Training - December 4

Engineering - January 15

Government & Public Administration - January 22

Health & Bio Sciences - February 5

Hospitality & Tourism - February 26

Human Services - March 12

Marketing - March 26

Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security - April 9

Manufacturing - April 23

Transportation, Distribution and Logistics - May 7

This year, the DHS athletics department will be using HUDL (not NFHS) to live stream all home events. To get your subscription, use this link: https://fan.hudl.com/dhswildcatnation

Single game, monthly, or year long subscription options are available.

DHS Families! Would you like to show our fabulous staff at DHS appreciation for all they do for our kiddos? We are starting up the DHS Staff Snack Cabinet, and we are looking for businesses or families who would like to volunteer to fill that cabinet. We are looking to stock the cabinet at least once per month with easy grab-and-go snacks that the staff can enjoy. It can be fresh fruit, prepackaged snacks like cookies or granola bars, anything is appreciated. We'd also like to provide them with drink choices like soda or flavored waters. We have 110 staff members at the school.

You can participate in 2 ways: First, you can sign up and donate $200 to the DHS Cat Boosters Venmo @desotocatboosters and then we will do the shopping. Second, you can sign up to bring the items into the office yourself during the week specified on the sign-up genius. Either way, you can provide us with your business logo or family information, and we'll create a sign that will be on the cabinet during the time the snacks are distributed. You can also bring coupons or business cards to put out with the snacks. It's a great way to promote your business and let the wonderful DHS staff know we appreciate them.

Please use the following signup to select your month. Please indicate on your sign up whether you will be doing the shopping or sending Venmo. Thanks for your support!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080D49AEA72EA75-50924616-dhsstaff

The Remarkably Resilient Together parent event is scheduled for 6:30PM on September 17th at Cedar Trails Exploration Center. This program was especially created to teach regulation to everyone while also highlighting the importance of self-care. Parents/Guardians are asked to RSVP, as space is limited. Children in grades 6-12 may attend with their parents/guardians.

USD 232 Student Well-being series event: Remarkably Resilient Together | Post Details

We highly value the importance of regular attendance in ensuring your student's academic success. Our attendance policies and practices are designed to support your child's growth and development in a nurturing and engaging environment. Information regarding attendance policy and practices can be viewed on our website.

If your student has not yet gotten their picture taken or would like to re-take their photo, our final picture re-take day is Wednesday, October 2nd. The photographers will be set up in the Black Box during lunch and seminar (students will need to sign up via Minga). These pictures are for the yearbook and for student IDs, which for most students are also their activity pass so they don’t have to pay to get into home sporting events. This is the final opportunity for students to get a yearbook and student ID photo taken.

DHS Counselors and Social Workers

Mrs. Crissy Johns (cjohns@usd232.org): Last name A – D

Ms. Abbey Heller (aheller@usd232.org): Last name E – K

Mrs. Lainee Graham (lgraham@usd232.org): Last name L – Q

Mrs. Kaitlin Morrell (kaitlin.morrell@usd232.org): Last name R - Z

Mr. Joe Kordalski, Social Worker (Rkordalski@usd232.org)

Mrs. Debra Landis, Social Worker (dlandis@usd232.org)

The Cat Booster Club works to support all of our students at DHS. They provide teacher grants for classroom needs, support Gradfest, assist school activities in fundraising, organize Teacher Appreciation Week, and fund scholarships to graduating seniors. They are able to do all of this by selling spirit wear and donating their time in the concession stands. We are so appreciative of them. The membership drive for this year is currently underway, with multiple levels to choose from. Check out their website - here.

While we plan to continue to allow students to use their mobile devices during passing periods and lunch, we would also ask that parents have a conversation with their students about appropriate use. Taking pictures or videos of other students without their consent and then sharing those pictures/videos or posting them online can be a form of social harassment or bullying, and will be handled as such. Please refer to the information posted on the district website regarding bullying and harassment. Thank you for helping us address this issue with our students.

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.

https://www.usd232.org/Page/7956