Husky Tracks

Hello PRT Families,

I hope this newsletter finds you all doing well and enjoying summer! It's hard to believe it's the middle of July and we are less than a month away from the start of the school year. We sure are excited to kick off the 2024-25 school year! This newsletter contains a lot of information for the upcoming school year.

We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Dr. Jenna Jones

Proud PRT Principal

#PRT20YrsGreat

PRT summer hours are Monday through Thursday from 7 am to 4 pm, closed on Fridays through July 26. Starting July 29, office hours are 7:30am to 4pm Monday through Friday.

We still have about 300 students who need to complete registration. Please complete as soon as possible. The deadline is July 29. Please note that until registration has been completed, you will not be able to access your student's schedule when schedules are released on July 29.

Online registration for the 2024-25 school year is now open in ParentVUE. Parents will now be able to access the link to Online Registration in the ParentVUE app or by going to http://parentvue.olatheschools.com. There, they will be able to complete all the necessary registration documents for each of their children, including making sure contact and demographic information is up to date.

It's important to note that families new to the district, those who have not been to kindergarten enrollment, and any out-of-district residents approved to attend Olathe Public Schools through Open Enrollment will need to contact their child’s school beginning on July 15 to set up an appointment to come into the building to register.

Families in need of assistance with registration can set up an appointment to visit their child’s school beginning July 15 or call the district’s Registration Helpline at 913-780-7781. Spanish language assistance for online registration, bus registration or the federal free and reduced lunch application will be available from 12-8 p.m. on Monday, July 29 at Olathe North High School (600 E. Prairie St.).

Parents can pay student and school fees through InTouch. Immediately following registration, parents need to access InTouch/TouchBase at https://ks-olathe.intouchreceipting.com to pay student fees. Families eligible for free/reduced district registration fees, transportation and other fees must fill out an application. The new free and reduced application for 2024-25 is available here. Families must apply each year for free or reduced food service and student registration fees. For questions on the InTouch online fee payment system, please visit www.olatheschools.org/feepayment.

We look forward to a great school year! Thank you for taking the time to register. Parents are encouraged to register by the end of the day on July 29. To access other back to school resources, visit https://bit.ly/WelcomeBackOPS24.

Our PRT community - past, present and future - are invite to attend our community-wide 20 year celebration on Saturday, August 24. Fall sports scrimmages will start at 10am. The pep rally will begin at 11am, followed by the carnival and self-guided building tours at 11:30am. We are excited to celebrate all that PRT has achieved in the last 20 years and we hope you can join us!

We are looking for business sponsorships (not families) to help fund our 20 year celebration event. If you work for a company that would like to be a sponsor, please call the front office at 913-780-7280 and speak to Amy McVey by Monday, August 5. We can provide a receipt.

Sponsors who donate more than $1000 will receive advertising through our school for the entire school year. Sponsors who donate any amount up to $999 will receive advertising through our school for the first semester. Advertising will include the logo in our weekly parent newsletter, logo at our sports gates for home events and a yard sign with your logo by our school entrance. We can also hang a banner on our football field fence, if you provide the banner.

Thank you for helping us make this event a huge success!

The district has changed yearbook companies which has impacted the ordering process. In the past, yearbook were sold through the school with enrollment fees on In Touch. Starting this year, there will not be an option to purchase a yearbook online or in the PRT office. All yearbook sales will run through our new yearbook company, Jostens and you will get a link at a later date.

Need to update a student account? Please reach out to Lisa Carpenter lmcarpenter@olatheschools.org to let her know if you need records for a new school or to update an address, name or phone number, anytime during the school year.

Student schedules will be released on StudentVue and ParentVue on Monday, July 29.

Please note: team requests cannot be honored as students are scheduled where they best fit based on their electives. Please remind your student that they could be on the same team with their friend and never have a class together or they could be on opposite teams as their friend and have multiple elective classes with their friend.

Scheduling new students is our top priority. Due to our expanding enrollment numbers, schedule changes, team changes, and/or teacher changes are unable to be accommodated.

If your student is missing an hour 1-7 and should have a full schedule, or if your student is missing a full year class (such as band, orchestra, Spanish 1) you can fill out the form here once schedules are released on July 29: https://forms.gle/3nNA1NRRSF5SMDMY8

6th Grade Orion -

Mrs. Brous (Math), Mr. Conner (Science), Ms. Haverkamp (ELA), Mrs. Kupersmith (Social Studies)

6th Grade Pegasus -

Mrs. Bussinger (Math), Mrs. Macfarlane (Science), Mr. Orr (Social Studies), Mrs. Thompson (ELA)

7th Grade Glacier -

Mrs. Murray (Social Studies), Mrs. Supica (ELA), Mrs. Tobaben (Science), Mr. Weber (Math)

7th Grade Tundra -

Mrs. Ginavan (Math), Dr. Koskela (Science), Mrs. Knoelke (ELA), Mrs. Nemechek (Social Studies)

8th Grade Freedom -

Mr. Geraci (Science), Mr. Heilman (Social Studies), Mrs. Knueven (ELA), Mr. Lien (Math)

8th Grade Patriot -

Mr. Bussinger (Social Studies), Mr. Shoemaker (Math), Mr. Springer (Science), Mrs. Tews (ELA)

Please note: 8th Grade is our largest grade and to achieve smaller class sizes, there is one section of each content outside of teams.

Many families wait to purchase school supplies until students attend the first few days of class which is when teachers will share what supplies will be needed. If you choose to wait, just bring basic supplies on the first day. The school-wide supply list is attached to this email, however, there may be a few additional items depending on your student's specific classes. Students should only keep a small amount of supplies in their backpacks and refill each quarter or as needed.

Please note: the school-wide supplies can be dropped off in the office any time. The 12 pack of soda is used as a PBIS reward. Soda is a popular item that students buy from the school store. The water is used for the pizza party that students can buy from the school store, in addition to when students forget a water bottle from home. Movie style rectangular box candy is not on the list but those are very popular in the school store if you want to throw a few in your shopping cart! All of these donations have been very much appreciated in the past and allow us to stock our school store.

All 6th grade students and parents as well as new 7th and 8th grade students and parents are invited to PRT for WOOF night at 5pm on Thursday, August 1. The first hour (5-6pm) is to walk your schedule. At 6pm there will be a mini pep assembly in the gym to kick off the school year and learn about PRT traditions!

If any student would like to walk the building to familiarize themselves with where their classes are, the building will be open at the following times:

• Monday, July 29: 2-4pm
• Tuesday, July 30: 8-10am
• Wednesday, July 31: 11am-1pm
• Thursday, August 1: 5-6pm (WOOF Night for 6th grade and new 7th and 8th grade students only)
• Friday, August 2: 2-4pm

• Monday, August 5: 11am-1pm
• Tuesday, August 6: 7-9am
• Thursday, August 8: 11am-1pm

Staff will be unavailable during these times. Each student will need to have their own parent/guardian with them. It is discouraged to come in large groups as we will still be getting the building ready for the school year. Maps will be available in the front office.

Save the Date! Back to School night will be on Monday, August 12 from 6-7:45pm. This evening is for parents of students in all grade levels to come and meet all of their student's teachers. Parents run through their student's schedule and visit every class. This evening is not a come and go event but rather a come at the beginning and stay for the whole event, if possible.

All 6th grade students will attend school on Tuesday, August 13th. School will start at 8:20am and dismiss at 12:55pm. This is a day filled with fun activities, making connections and building relationships. Students will eat lunch at school. Student may bring their lunch or purchase a school lunch. Students do not need any supplies and should not bring anything that day.

All new 7th and 8th grade students are encouraged to attend this orientation day. 7th and 8th grade students can be dropped off at 9:00am in the west circle drive. Students will eat lunch at school. They may purchase lunch or bring their lunch. 7th and 8th grade students should be picked up at 12:00pm in the same circle drive.

All students will attend school on Wednesday, August 14th! This is a full day of school, 8:20am-3:20pm.

All students who will be purchasing a lunch at school should start memorizing their student ID number.

As a reminder, there are new school start and end times this school year - please visit this webpage for more information.

• High school and Prairie Learning Center, 7:40 a.m.-2:40 p.m.
• Middle school and Heartland Early Childhood Center, 8:20 a.m.-3:20 p.m.
• Elementary school and Harmony Early Childhood Center, 8:55 a.m.-3:55 p.m.

The deadline to register for general education transportation for the 2024-2025 school year was July 1st, 2024. Registrations are processed on a first-come, first-serve, space-available basis if a bus route is available. Registrations received after July 1, 2024 may result in a delayed start date, increased walking distance to the bus stop or placement on a wait list.

Please visit www.olatheschools.org/transportation for more information.

All student ($5) and adult ($10) activity passes will be digital through GoFan and are currently being sold on the enrollment/fee payment page, here is the link Middle School Activities Pass. These digital passes will now be tied to a mobile device. The pass can be displayed at the ticket table for each event where admission via ticket is required. This simply replaces the student ID and card that parents were using for access.

Cross Country, Volleyball and Football will begin on Monday, August 19.

Cross Country

Start Date: Monday, August 19th – All grades can participate.

Location: Auditorium - athletes do not need to dress out this day. It will be an information only practice for the athletes.

Time: 3:25 - 4:15pm

*During the season, practices will be held Monday -Thursday and will run from 3:25 - 4:15pm.

**Register for Cross County using the following link: XC Registration 2024

Volleyball

Tryouts: Monday, August 19 through Wednesday, August 21

-7th Grade: 3:30-5:00pm

-8th Grade: 5:00-6:30pm

Players must have a physical and concussion form turned in in order to try-out.

Parent Meeting: Thursday, August 22 at 5:30pm in the Auditorium.

Football

Equipment Check-Out: Wednesday, August 14 in the AUX gym

*Athletes must have physical submitted before getting equipment

*7th grade 4:00pm

*8th grade 4:30pm

First Practice: Monday, August 19th 3:30-5:30pm

Parent Meeting: Monday, August 19th - 5:30pm PRT Auditorium

All students participating in athletics will need an updated physical on file. Physicals must be dated after May 1, 2024. Please get your student's physical this summer so they are ready for the start of the fall season! Physical forms are available in the office or at https://www.olatheschools.org/Page/9564.

All physicals and supporting documents will have to be uploaded to InTouch after May 1. The five pages of the Pre-Participation Physical forms must be uploaded together as one document. Please follow these steps to complete the process:

1. Login to your TouchBase account at https://ks-olathe.intouchreceipting.com/ (this is the same account you login to to pay school fees.

2. Once logged in, select the 'Registrations' tab. If you plan to participate in a sport for the 2023-24 school year you will choose 'Athletics.'

3. Next, you will see steps to access all the forms that need to be submitted for participation. The Pre-Participation Physical packet will need to be printed and brought to your doctor appointment.

4. After completing the physical packet and all pages needing signatures are signed, you can now scan and upload (5 total pages) to InTouch registrations. Please make sure all 5 pages are scanned and saved as one document before you upload.

5. The last step is to submit forms for approval. Once approved you will receive a confirmation email letting you know that your forms were submitted successfully.

If you will be participating in multiple sports throughout the school year, you will not need to go back and register again. Once you receive an approval email your submitted paperwork is valid for the entire school year. If you have any questions please contact Kim Wilson at kgwilson@olatheschools.org

All 7th graders must get the nurse your student's Tdap, Meningitis and Hepatitis A vaccines. These are requirements for 7th grade. Please check with your doctor to make sure you student has received these vaccinations. Starting in mid-October, students who have not received them will be excluded from school.

If you or someone you know is interested in working at PRT as a paraprofessional, please reach out to Mrs. Stoskopf at jstoskopprt@olatheschools.org. We are in need of multiple paraprofessionals for the 2024-25 school year and hope you will consider! Our students need you!

We are looking for individuals who want to be a part of our school community and who love working with kids. No worries, if you have no experience. Our team is incredible and will help you to be ready to start with students in August!

This position only works when school is in session so it would be great for anyone looking to have the same schedule as their own children.

Mrs. Erin Knoelke will be teaching ELA 7 on Team Tundra.

Mrs. Carrie Supica will be teaching ELA 7 on Team Glacier.

Mrs. Brooklyn Woolard will be teaching Guided Study, Math 8 and Leadership.

Mrs. Lydia Vasquez will be teaching FACS.

Mrs. Karen Bonham will be teaching Quest.

Mrs. Melanie Burris will be our Speech Language Pathologist.

Mrs. Saige Kovaleski will be our Social Worker.

Ms. Kat Reves will be our 6th Grade Paraeducator.

Hello! My name is Erin Knoelke, and I am thrilled to be joining the PRT staff next year! I am a Kansas State graduate and have taught 5th grade for the past 15 years (13 at Regency Place Elementary in Olathe and two years in a suburb of Chicago) and am excited to be starting a new adventure teaching 7th grade ELA. My husband and I live near PRT and have three amazing kids and a furry kid too! Evelyn is in 3rd grade, Henry is in 1st grade, Nora is in Preschool and June is our 10-year-old Beagle. Here’s to a great year ahead, and I am looking forward to meeting you all soon!

I have taught high school English, Theatre, cross country, track, middle school reading intervention (6,7,8th grade) and even a few years at a preschool. I enjoy books so much and I look forward to hearing what you are reading so we can make connections in class.

My husband and I have three children Alice (9), Betty (7), and Charlie (5). Yes, that is ABC order. No, it was not on purpose. We have one dog, Toby (11) and two cats Luna (3) and Seamus (3). We just moved here from Nashville, TN, but I graduated from Olathe North in 2003. I'm so happy to be back in Olathe because it feels like home.

Hi, my name is Lydia Vasquez, and I am so excited to be joining the staff at Prairie Trail! I grew up in the Kansas City area, received a degree in Family and Consumer Science Education and a minor in Leadership Studies from Kansas State University, Go Cats! Later, I earned my master's degree as a Reading Specialist from Fort Hays State University. I have been at Frontier Trail for the last 16 years teaching FACS, and I just love middle school!

My husband, Eddie, is also an educator in Olathe at Mission Trail. We have two girls, Penelope (8) and Emilia (4) who attend Canyon Creek Elementary. When I am not teaching or transporting my children to their various activities, I enjoy baking, sewing, reading, coaching, cheering on the cats, and spending time with my family and friends. I am so excited to be part of the Prairie Trail family and I can’t wait to meet you all soon!

Hello Prairie Trail Middle School! I am very excited to join the team as the new gifted facilitator. I have 21 years of teaching experience with nine of those as a gifted facilitator. I earned my Bachelor’s degree in elementary education K-9. I also have a Masters degree in curriculum and instruction as well as a gifted endorsement for grades K-12.

I live in Lenexa, have five grown children, and three young granddaughters. I love to travel and have been to more than 30 countries. Other fun facts about me include: 1) I love chocolate, 2) I enjoy hands-on projects, 3) I still listen to classic rock, 4) afternoon gelato is a must in Italy, and 5) I am really looking forward to meeting each of you! I know that I will continue to grow as an educator through insights gained from your amazing talents. I look forward to working with you in supporting our students in all their endeavors.

My husband and I have been married for 32 years. We raised our kids in Olathe Schools. Our son, Wesley, is 26 and works for Stryker in Medical Sales in San Antonio. Wesley graduated from Olathe East and played football for 5 seasons at Kansas State University. He is getting married to his fiancée Olivia in the near future. Our daughter Brooke is 20 and graduated from Olathe Northwest where she was very active in 1710 Robotics. She is a certified EMT and is studying Biology at Kansas State University with plans to go into anesthesiology. We love K-State sports, hanging out with family and friends and going to Disneyworld!

I graduated with my M.A. in Speech in 1994 from Kansas State University. I will start my 20th year in Olathe School District this Fall. Prior to Olathe, I worked for 6 years in Junction City, KS schools. I was a Career Counselor for the U.S. Army for 5 years. I also work in Private Practice as an SLP. In the last few years, I have become very involved with Ted Talks from the Wilmington, DE franchise. As a Curator, I look for people with interesting stories and "ideas worth sharing." My own Ted Talk went live in 2022.

Working with kids gives me energy and I love creating fun activities for my speech sessions!

My name is Saige Kovaleski (Kaw-vuh-leh-ski) and I go by Mrs. Kovaleski for the kids. I have both my bachelor's and master's in social welfare from KU. I have been a social worker for the past seven years and during that time I have been in various roles. I have been a foster care case manager for KVC, a Child Protection Specialist at DCF, and a Behavioral Health Social Worker for an elementary school in KCK. I also did my internship at SOAR and the Juvenile Detention Center, so although I am new here, I do have some background in the district.

For the fun parts about me 🙂My husband is a science teacher at ONW and we have a long haired chihuahua named DeeDee and a tuxedo cat named Rue. For fun I love to read, listen to music, and go to the movies! I am very excited to be here and I look forward to meeting everyone!

I'm a mom of two kids, my son, Beau, will be a Junior at ONW and my daughter, Brynn, will be joining me this fall at PRT as a sixth grader. When I'm not working, I'm busy running to my kids sports, which keeps me very busy. In my "free" time, I like to hang out with friends, go to sporting events, go to concerts or just hang out at home with my two pups, Nala and Duke.

I attended Kansas State University and received a degree in Life Science and worked in a few different industries from advertising, telecommunications, stay at home mom and now education. I subbed for about two years and decided to become full time as a para at Manchester Park Elementary this last school year.

Welcome back to the 2024-2025 school year! We are super excited to be the PRT school counselors.

Please see below for important information from the counseling department:

Schedule Changes:

Schedules should be released in ParentVue/StudentVue the week of July 29th.

Due to expanding enrollment numbers, schedule changes, team changes, and/or teacher changes are unable to be accommodated.

Our priority will be given to new students. If your student is missing a 1-7th hour and should have a full schedule, or if your student is missing

a full year class (such as band, choir, orchestra, Spanish/French 1) you can fill out the form below.

***Please note: ALL students have an “academic extension” hour for 8th period. This is your WAG time (or like a homeroom.)

We will work through these as quickly as possible and notify you if a change cannot be made.

Schedule Change Request: https://forms.gle/5WXzx1QwgrqAZCAF6

Helpful Information & Upcoming Dates:

Need help getting back into a routine for school?!
Check out these articles to help get you started:

https://www.greenchildmagazine.com/back-to-school-routine/

https://ectutoring.com/school-routine#:~:text=During%20the%20lead%2Dup%20to,in%20a%20Launching%20Pad!).

Need to speak with a counselor?

Students can drop into the counseling office to see if a counselor is available, or request to see counselor by using this form:

https://forms.gle/D4WvsPxcRoLF91So7

Other OSD counseling/mental health resources and information:

https://www.olatheschools.org/Page/11378 and https://www.olatheschools.org/cms/lib/KS01907024/Centricity/Domain/3127/Mental-Health-Supports-081622.pdf

Please follow us on Twitter! We tweet about all the fun things that happen at PRT. It's a great way to keep our community connected!

School: @PRT_Huskies

Dr. Jones: @MrsJonesPRT

Mrs. Stoskopf: @jenstoskopfPRT

Mr. Mellen: @BMellenPRT