Peek at the Week

Monday, Mar. 10

• School Jobs Week 4
• 8:00 am - Jag Choir Rehearsal in Music Room
• 3:45 pm - After School Science Club in K-1st Grade Pod
• 6:30 pm - Andover Board of Education Meeting at District Office

• School Jobs Week 4
• 9:00 am - PTO Meeting (see Feb. Minutes and Agenda below)
• 1:30 pm - 5th Grade Strings Practice at ACMS
• 3:45 pm - After School Archery Club at Meadowlark (see information below)
• 6:15 pm - Orchestra Concert

• School Jobs - Week 4
• 8:00 am - Jag Choir Rehearsal in Music Room CANCELED
• 8:00 am - Continental Math League (4th & 5th Grade)
• 3:45 pm - Sign Language Club (4th & 5th Grade)
• 4:00 - 8:00 pm - Freddy's Family Night Fundraiser (see information below)

• School Jobs - Week 4
• End of 3rd Quarter
• 8:50 am - Crew Meeting
• 9:30 am - 5th Grade vs. Staff/Parents Basketball Game
• 2:00 - 3:00 pm - 3rd Grade Research Project - Parents Invited
• 5:00 - 9:00 pm - "Cuppa Yo" PTO Fundraiser

• NO SCHOOL

SPRING BREAK 🌷🌺 🍀

Mar. 17 - 21

Hayley Boatright, a former Meadowlark, CAPS and ACHS student is a regular volunteer at the Wesley Medical Center, where she learned about the Lily Pad project. Students in the CAPS program cut and made the wooden Lily Pads for us, and we designed cute/positive messages to paint on them. The Lily Pads attach to the bottom of IV poles, and allow child patients to sit or stand on them as they move around the hospital. It also brings some joy and helps personalize their room in the hospital!

The School Jump Off Results will be announced after Spring Break!

Meadowlark will be starting up the 2025 Milers Running Club. It is important for kids to try and get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity(MVPA) every day to encourage a healthy lifestyle. The Milers Club not only helps students reach their 60 minutes of MVPA, it also helps students to be ready for learning in the classroom, and build a sense of connection within our school. Students in grades K-5 can join! Students will have age-appropriate mileage goals, and the miles that will count towards their goals are the miles that they earn during Milers Club, PE, Recess, Local Runs, Meadowlark Virtual Running Opportunities, and the end of the year Family Fun Color Run. This is a self-paced program, where students run or walk as they choose. Students will run/walk outside when the weather permits, and if the weather is bad we will run/walk inside the school. Students will earn mileage tokens when they reach their short-term goals, and if they reach their final goal for the season they will receive a medal at the end of the year!

Milers club will be held before school. Drop off will be at the car loop on the east side of the building. The back gym door will open at 7:50 and start time is 8:00. If you arrive after 8:00, please drop off your child in the front because we will be blocking off the car loop to run on. Students with last name beginning with A-L will attend on Tuesdays, and students with last name beginning with M-Z will attend on Thursdays. Students have the opportunity to get a head start on earning mileage over Spring Break by doing the “Spring Break Virtual 5K!”. All you have to do is commit to jog/walk 3.1 miles over your Spring Break. You can do all the miles at once or break it up throughout the week however you choose. In order to get credit for this you will just need to mark that you commit to doing the Virtual Spring Break 5K on your registration form! Milers Club will begin right after spring break on Tuesday, March 25th (last names A-L) and Thursday (last names M-Z). The last day will be a Family Fun COLOR Run right after school on Friday, May 2nd.

It is free to join Milers Club, however, we will be selling Milers t-shirts for $18 each if you or other family members would like to purchase one. The shirts this year will be white so that our kids can wear them in the COLOR Run and have a cool “graffiti” design shown above. You can pay by Venmo to Alicia Moss @mossalicia or cash or check payable to Alicia Moss.

We are looking for a few parent volunteers to help with Milers Club this year because it is usually a big group of kids. If you would be willing to volunteer in the mornings from 7:50-8:30 on both days or even just one day, it would be a big help! There will be an option to volunteer on the registration form if you’re interested. Click HERE or scan the QR code above to register! If you have any questions please email Mrs. Crusinberry at crusinbt@usd385.org. Can’t wait to “SPRING” into action!

Meadowlark Elementary Physical Education classes will be participating in a Learn 2 Skate roller skating program at school.

This skating unit is being implemented because of its many benefits, which include increasing

cardiovascular endurance, toning muscles and developing healthy habits for a lifetime. This low-impact workout burns calories (up to 360 per 30 minutes), tones muscles and improves balance and agility.

The one-time fee for this unit will be $8.00 per student. Payment is due by March 13th.

We are excited to be launching our 2025 Meadowlark Giving Campaign!

We are seeking Corporate Donations between now and March 13th. One of our goals is to provide each student with a Meadowlark t-shirt. Our hope is to use corporate donation to help pay/off-set the cost of each student receiving a t-shirt.

With a $250 or higher corporate donation:

• Your company's logo will be placed on the back of the t-shirts
• Your company's logo will be advertised in our school-wide newsletter
• Your company is invited to place a yard sign in front of the school (159th Street) and/or in our parent pick up line

Donations can be made directly to Meadowlark PTO and can be mailed to the office or sent with your child. The school keeps 100% of all funds!

Thank you for your consideration!!

Dana Matheny, Principal

Your child’s report card is now available for view in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Below are instructions for accessing the report card. If you have questions or need help with access, please contact your child’s school. Please note that you will need to log into the Parent Portal. You will not be able to view report cards using the mobile app.

Elementary Student Report Cards

Parents can see all archived reports for their children in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Any current reports that are published to the public portal can be run by the parent at any time.

1. If you have more than one student, select the student tab for the student you want to view the Elementary Report Card

2. Click on Student Reports in the left navigation menu as seen below

3. Click on the Report you want to view under the Archived Report section

4. Elementary Report Cards will be Archived quarterly for parents to view or print

As outlined by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Office of Civil Rights, identified English learner (EL) students that are enrolled in Kansas schools are entitled to services that ensure students can meaningfully participate in educational programs and services.The Kansas English Language Proficiency Assessment (KELPA) measures the English language proficiency of EL students.

Kansas administers KELPA to measure student progress toward such proficiency based on English Language Proficiency Standards. These standards were designed to allow students to gain English proficiency and to learn other subjects at the same time. The KELPA has four parts: listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

All students who are identified as ELs must take the KELPA, whether or not they are receiving instructional services. Building test coordinators and ESOL teachers will administer the KELPA to all EL students in grades K-12 between February 3rd and March 14th. School staff work closely with core teachers to schedule an appropriate testing time. Although the test is untimed, students will spend about 20- 45 minutes on each of the four parts.

EL students continue to qualify for services until they score “proficient” in all four language domains for one year. The 2024-25 KELPA scores should be available in May 2025.

September 27, 2024

Dear Parent or Caregiver,

The Andover USD 385 Board of Education approved the purchase of a new elementary school counseling program called Safer, Smarter Kids to support our counselors in addressing the Kansas Social, Emotional, and Character Model Standards. This curriculum was created by educators, developmental psychologists, and experts in abuse prevention to teach personal safety with engaging age-appropriate lessons and activities. The Safer, Smarter Kids curriculum will provide your child with protective principles and the knowledge needed to identify and avoid unsafe situations, people, and behaviors - and how to access help.

The school counselor will teach these lessons during the regularly scheduled counselor class time. The lessons incorporate videos and in-class activities that address topics such as body boundaries, respecting yourself and others, the difference between safe and unsafe secrets, listening to your “Guiding Voice” and telling a trusted adult when a situation makes you feel confused or uncomfortable. You may view the lesson sequence, specific lesson topics, and related resources for each grade level using this link.

If you would like to learn more about the curriculum and see sample lessons, please visit www.SaferSmarterKids.org. For more information on ways to keep your child safe, teach personal safety lessons at home, and how to identify unsafe adults, visit www.SaferSmarterFamilies.org.

If you have questions about the curriculum, or, if after reviewing the lessons you would like to “opt-out” of specific lessons for your child, please email Brooke Holcomb no later than Friday, October 4,, 2024.

Sincerely,

Dana Matheny, School Principal

mathenym@usd385.org

Brooke Holcomb, School Counselor

holcombb@usd385.org

School begins at 8:45 a.m. and ends at 3:45 p.m. Students should arrive no earlier than 8:30 a.m. All doors will remain locked until 8:35 and supervision can happen. There will be no direct supervision of students prior to 8:35 a.m., so for the safety and well being of your children, we ask that you make child care arrangements for your children. Neighbors or relatives may be able to watch your children before school, or the YMCA has a latchkey program at Meadowlark. Information about the program can be found at https://ymcawichita.org/programs/child-care-and-camps/before-and-after-school

Students who wish to eat breakfast at school may arrive as early as 8:15 a.m. and enter through the front entrance.

Students who arrive after 8:45 a.m. must check in at the office.

Due to our enrollment size and cafeteria capacity, we are not able to accommodate visitors during lunch. If you’d like to eat lunch with your child, you may check him or her out of the building and eat off-site.

Please call the Meadowlark office at (316) 218-4630 if you are picking up your children prior to 3:45 pm.

ARRIVAL

Please drive to the back of the school building (southeast end). Students need to remain in the car until school personnel signals students to exit the car. Doors will be locked at 8:45. ALL students must be dropped off in the back unless they are walking, cycling, arriving late (after 8:45), or eating breakfast (before 8:35)

DISMISSAL

Please drive to the back of the school building (southeast end). Students will be dismissed to your car. ALL students need to load the car from the passenger side. This is done for the safety of your child. We ask that you have a sign (8 1/2 x 11) visible on your front dash/window so that we can quickly identify which child goes with each vehicle. Please list the names of all the children whom you are picking up (WRITE BIG!). Click on the form below.

1. Students may ride a bike or scooter with parent permission.
2. Students must have a bicycle/scooter contract on file.
3. You must wear a helmet when riding!
4. When arriving on Campus, students must stop at the stop sign located at the south entrance intersecting 159th street, look both ways before crossing and walk their bike across the road. Students must walk their bike on the sidewalk all the way to the building.
5. When leaving campus, students must walk their bike on the sidewalk to the stop sign located at the south entrance intersecting 159th street, look both ways before crossing and walk their bike across the road.
6. Bikes and scooters must be parked in the bicycle racks and locked. (Meadowlark Elementary assumes no responsibility for lost or damaged items).

CONTRACT

Bicycle/Scooter Contract

Map for Bicycle Contract

In the morning, the buses should arrive at the school at approximately 8:35 am and will deliver students to the bus oval on the north end of the building.

In the afternoon, the buses should arrive at the school at approximately 3:35 pm and will pick up students from the bus oval on the north end of the building. This is NOT to be used by parents for pick up or drop off.

Email: harveyr@usd385.org
Website: http://meadowlark.usd385.org/
Location: 1122 N 159th St E, Wichita, KS 67230 USA
Phone: 316-218-4630
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meadowlarkelementary