Wildcat Growl

Mission: The Mission of De Soto High School is to empower students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to build successful lives.

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,

We are excited to get the 2024-2025 school year started. It was great to see so many of our students, families, and alumni back in the building during in-person enrollment last week. If your student missed enrollment, there will be additional opportunities for students at the beginning of the year. Students can pick up their parking passes from the Main Office. New students will get their MacBooks from the Media Center once school starts. Picture retakes will take place during the second week of school, and semester 1 schedules (drafts) become available via Skyward on August 1st.

Important information regarding Future Ready Day (October 15th) was sent via Skyward on Friday, July 26th. The deadline for Juniors/Seniors to register to take the fall ACT at DHS is August 14th. Please review the Skyward communication (sent 7/26) for details.

We are hosting Back to School Night on Monday, August 12th. We will begin the evening with an Activity Fair from 5:00pm - 6:00pm. The Back to School event will take place from 6:00pm - 8:00pm. The format is a change from the past to an open house style event in which parents will be free to walk the building and visit with classroom teachers. We also plan to provide a variety of sessions designed for parents. The schedule is posted below.

The first day for 9th-grade students is Wednesday, August 14th. We call this day Wildcat Kick-off. This is a half day of school. Doors will open at 7:30am and the day begins at 7:50am. Students will be dismissed at 11:07am. Students will only need to bring something to write with for Wildcat Kick-off (laptops/backpacks are not needed). Students will also receive a Forever Green T-shirt to keep/wear for a class picture taken at Wildcat Kick-off.

The first full day for all students is Thursday, August 15th, and will be a Green Day. Doors open at 7:30am, and classes start at 7:50am. Students are dismissed at 2:55pm. Information about traffic flow around DHS at arrival and dismissal can be viewed here.

Schedule Change Requests: Draft student schedules will be available to view online in Skyward on August 1st. Please note that students' schedules will not be finalized until the end of the day on August 13th for 9th graders and the end of the day on August 14th for 10th-12th graders. If a student does not have a full schedule (usually due to conflicts or course availability), their counselor will contact the student to set up an appointment prior to the first day of school. Students with a full schedule, who would like to request a schedule change will need to fill out the Schedule Change Request Form. The form becomes available to students on August 16th at 3:00pm in Student Services. The deadline to submit the schedule change form will be 3:00pm on August 20th.

Site Council: Site Council at DHS is a small group of parents, teachers, and students who will meet to discuss the DHS School Improvement Goals. We are looking to add parents of 9th-grade students to the council. Our hope is that parents remain members of the group throughout their student's four years. If you are a 9th-grade parent/guardian and have an interest in assisting, please complete this form. Students on the council are selected from the pool of students involved in Student Council or those who submit an application to be on the District Student Advisory Council. The District Student Advisory Council applications become available once school begins.

Summer assignments: Many of our students enrolled in Honor and Advanced Placement (AP) courses in the fall have summer assignments. Information about the assignments can be found on our website [link].

Thanks, and have a great week.

Sam Ruff

Principal

De Soto High School

Picture retakes will be August 21 during the school day. The photographers will be set up in the Black Box during seminar and lunch. These pictures are for student IDs and the yearbook.

Be sure to get your picture taken. The last picture retake will be in October.

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.

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.

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)

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