USD 490 eNews

Congratulations to Cathy Madison and Camo! We wish them all the best in their retirement!

El Dorado High School basketball player Sam Greene made the All-Hustle Team during the Bluestem Classic basketball tournament Jan. 23-25, 2025.

Fourteen El Dorado High School students were accepted to attend the Kansas State University Band Clinic in Manhattan on Jan. 25-26, 2025. They auditioned for different bands, rehearsed all weekend, and performed concerts Sunday afternoon.

Participants included: Daniel Bowlin, Tenor Sax; Justus Browne, Contrabass Clarinet; Madison Busby, Flute; Min Castor, Clarinet; EJ Diffendal, Percussion; Sienna Dunn, Trumpet; Daxton Farrar, Trumpet; Owen Goodrich, Bari Sax; Bastian Lentz, Clarinet; Yuriyha Mantanona, Flute; Tiara Martin, Trumpet; Kyrstin Mulcahey, Clarinet; Riley Nichols, Flute; Benjamin Swink, Trombone.

Three El Dorado Middle School students placed at the Patriot League Spelling Bee in McPherson on Jan. 13, 2025. Seventh grader Meagan Helmandollar placed second, while eighth graders Sammy Schafer and Jonah Love placed third and fifth, respectively.

Thanks to a PIE Grant, Ms. Korkki's class had the opportunity to participate in a Scrabble tournament!! They have been studying Greek and Latin roots to strengthen their vocabulary skills, and this fun activity gave them the perfect chance to put them to the test.

Students applied their knowledge during the tournament, strategizing their way to high-scoring words and, of course, awesome prizes! The enthusiasm and learning were off the charts, proving that learning can be both educational and fun.

On the Jan. 10, 2025, snow day, Blackmore teachers challenged each other and Blackmore families to create snow angels and share their photos.

Visit Blackmore's Facebook page to view the video.

Kindergarten, first, and second grade had classroom lessons with Mrs. Culbertson on Jan. 14, 2025, to learn about the character trait of the month: Cooperation.

They practiced the trait by passing a ball from cup to cup without talking to each other or touching the ball. In the next round they could only hold the cup with one hand. In the round after that, they could only hold the cup with one hand and had to beat a timer!

Students learned the importance of working together to meet a shared goal, and had fun doing it. They learned that even when things get tough, they can work together and accomplish anything.

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our spelling bee participants and GOOD LUCK to the champions who will be representing our schools in the Butler County Spelling Bee on Feb. 7! We've got some g-r-e-a-t spellers as #PartOfThePride!

We have received a notification from PowerSchool that they have engaged Experian, a trusted credit reporting agency, to offer complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services to all students and educators whose information was involved in the cybersecurity incident last month.

• Identity Protection: PowerSchool will be offering two years of complimentary identity protection services for all students and educators whose information was involved.
• Credit Monitoring: PowerSchool will also be offering two years of complimentary credit monitoring services for all adult students and educators whose information was involved.

PowerSchool will be working with Experian to provide more information on how to access these services to students (or their parents/guardians if the student is under 18) and educators whose information was involved in the coming weeks.

To view the original article about PowerSchool's data breach, please visit our website: https://www.usd490.org/article/1955700

NOAA’s National Weather Service is simplifying a suite of cold weather forecast products to improve messaging of winter hazards and provide better decision support. This effort is part of the Hazard Simplification initiative which integrates public and partner engagements and social science research to improve and evolve our alerting system.

The following changes took place on Oct. 1:

Extreme Cold Consolidation and Renaming

• Wind Chill Watches will be renamed to an Extreme Cold Watch
• Wind Chill Warnings will be renamed to an Extreme Cold Warning
• Wind Chill Advisory will be renamed a Cold Weather Advisory

Freeze Consolidation

• Hard Freeze Watches will be renamed to a Freeze Watch
• Hard Freeze Warnings will be consolidated to a Freeze Warning

These changes seek to clarify that cold can be dangerous with or without wind, addressing a common misconception that extreme cold is only tied to colder temperatures when there is wind. Dangerously cold weather can accompany or follow wintry precipitation, and the cold messaging can be overshadowed by the wintry precipitation.

Our next ESL Family Night will be Monday, February 10, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center located at 500 West Central Avenue. This month's theme will be Winter Activities for the Family.

Visit the KanCare website to learn more about available family or child medical plans and check your eligibility: https://cssp.kees.ks.gov/apspssp/

USD 490's COVID grant provides FREE at-home COVID test kits for all #PartOfThePride families. You do not have to be sick or sign up to receive these at-home test kits. Just ask your child's school nurse, call Toshia Stephenson at 316-322-4850 or email nltillman@usd490.org and she can send some home for you.

This year's district theme is "Take the Lead." To celebrate this theme, we asked our student leadership teams to tell us who they believe are inspirational, unique, or interesting leaders. Their answers will be featured the first and third Tuesday of each month.

Congratulations to Jenna Hadley and Sam Greene for being named Hog Wild Student Athletes of the Week on Jan. 17, 2025.

We need substitutes! Become #PartOfThePride with a flexible schedule, wonderful co-workers, and get FREE admission to USD 490 games and events!

Visit our website to see all of our current openings and APPLY TODAY: https://www.usd490.org/page/employment

Have you seen the EHS weight room since it's makeover? It's amazing what a little bit of paint and some updates can do for a space!

This is the district's new unified communication platform. Please download the app to keep connected with what is going on in your child's school.

Apple:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/parentsquare/id908126679

Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/detailsid=com.parentsquare.psapp&pcampaignid=web_share

The 1-page calendar for the 2025-2026 school year was approved by the USD 490 Board of Education on Jan. 13, 2025. It is linked below, and is also available on our district website: https://www.usd490.org/page/district-calendars

January 30 - February 1 Lady Cat Classic
February 3 No School; Staff Professional Development

February 3-7 National School Counseling Week

February 7 Butler County Spelling Bee at BCC, 1:00 p.m.

February 8 Mother/Son Dance at Activity Center, 5:00 p.m.; Father/Daughter Dance at Activity Center, 7:15 p.m.

February 10 ESL Family Night at PAC, 6:00 p.m.

February 13 EHS & Sixth Grade Orchestra Concert at PAC, 7:00 p.m.

February 14 Valentine's Day
February 15 SRO Appreciation Day

February 17 No School; Presidents' Day

February 21 Winter Homecoming

February 24-28 Public Schools Week

February 25 PT Conferences, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.

February 27 PT Conferences, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
February 27-28 No School

Email: usd490@usd490.org
Website: www.usd490.org
Location: 124 West Central Avenue, El Dorado, KS, USA
Phone: (316) 322-4800
Facebook: facebook.com/eldorado.schools
X/Twitter: @eldoradousd490