WILDCAT WORD

• April 7: Girls Soccer at IH
• April 15: MS Solo and Ensemble Festival (Choir)
• April 23-25: Trailridge Musical 7:00-8:30pm

Click Here to access the SMSD Calendar

Click Here for Trailridge's Athletics Calendar

Greetings Wildcats,

Our students did a great job this week completing their Kansas Assessments. We tested in both math and ELA this week. I was very impressed with the focus and effort that they gave. Next week we will begin makeups for our state assessments.

Shout out to our PTA who provided our staff with amazing treats this Friday. Our teachers were so grateful and truly appreciated it.

Lastly, I encourage you to make sure you are checking your student's grades in Canvas. It is important to stay up-to-date with their progress in their classes. If you have any questions, please reach out to the teachers directly.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Matt, Cara and Ericka

Trailridge Middle School Administration

#ShowUpShowOut!

Thank you to Nothing Bundt Cakes, located at 12258 Shawnee Mission Parkway, for donating Bundtinis to our staff as part of our April PTA Staff Appreciation Event. We are thankful to have them as an outstanding community partner.

PROWL applications are available NOW to all interested current 7th graders. Application can be found on the Wildcat home page on Canvas. Applications are due April 21. If you have any questions, please reach out to Britt Qualls (brittqualls@smsd.org) or Jessica Wilhelm (jessicawilhelm@smsd.org).

Our student highlight will run throughout the year to showcase the amazing things our talented students are doing outside of the school day. Examples may include community service, sports accomplishments, awards, and more! If your student is involved in something that deserves recognition, please email Mr. Engler at matthewengler@smsd.org with a short description and a few pictures.

The Shawnee Mission School District is in the process of adding another layer of security for all of its schools and facilities.

The CENTEGIX CrisisAlert system is installed in our building, as well as in all buildings in the SMSD. Our building now has beacon lights and hubs that support the network operating the system. This system will be available to support us through a variety of emergency incidents including medical emergencies, weather emergencies, and lockdowns.

Soon, all staff members will also receive badges with CrisisAlert buttons. Training will take place between now and the next few weeks.

We anticipate the system will be entirely in place districtwide in April. Once training is complete and the system is operational, we will communicate ahead of time and plan drills with students.

We look forward to having this resource that will better help all of us respond quickly to any type of emergency.

You can read more about the Centegix CrisisAlert system here. Please watch for more information in the coming weeks.

If you have any questions, please do feel free to contact me.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Sunflower House is hosting FREE Trainings! They will be held in the Sunflower House Training Room (15440 W. 65th St., Shawnee, KS- West Entrance) or via Zoom. This will be indicated in the training descriptions below. Please see below for information on the topics. Please register at https://sunflowerhouse.org/prevention-training-programs/

School partners- the 2025 Sunflower House Training Calendar (in house) is linked for your reference. Thank you!

2025 Sunflower House Education Trainings Calendar Link

Child Abuse and Neglect for Mandated Reporters

4/9/25 11 am-12 pm *via Zoom

For the 2024-2025 school year, KSDE is requiring Child Abuse and Neglect/ Mandated Reporter Training as one of the training areas that are REQUIRED for school staff.

https://www.ksde.org/Agency/Division-of-Learning-Services/Student-Staff-Training/Prevention-and-Responsive-Culture

** Meets requirements.**

We offer a child abuse and neglect training that is 1 hour long in which we focus on behavioral and physical indicators of child abuse, how to respond to a child that discloses abuse and how to report. The Kansas/Missouri mandated reporter laws will be covered. We will also discuss the process and local connections, resources and services, how to support local children and families, trauma informed response, indicators of trauma at different age levels and secondary trauma care.
*With info on Abusive Head Trauma: participants will receive a certificate for 1 clock hour from KDHE/DHSS/DESE.

Trauma Awareness Training
4/16/25 11 am-1 pm *via Zoom
This presentation explores the prevalence and impact of trauma on children’s brain development; the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES); how to help children and families recover from trauma; as well as what is behind many of the behaviors we see and how we can shift our perspective through the lens of trauma. This program is approximately 2 hours in length. *Developed by Alive and Well Communities.

Keeping Kids Safe Online

4/23/25 6-7:30 pm at Sunflower House

Learn more about possible dangers of internet usage, practical safety tips & tools and the cyber crime reporting process. Presentation covers electronic safety concepts, including gaming systems, apps, AI, current and local trends and other wireless/internet communication. *Presentation designed/presented by Sunflower House, Overland Park Police Department and FBI Cyber Crime Task Force. This program is 1.5 hrs in length; session appropriate for adults; no clock hours available.

See below for an awesome opportunity specifically for middle school students from the University of Kansas

Please do not hesitate to let us know if there is anything we can do to assist.

• Elisabeth Johnsrud (8th Grade Counselor) elisabethjohnsrud@smsd.org
• Kristin Warner (7th Grade Counselor) kristinwarner@smsd.org
• Anna OConnor (School Social Worker) annaoconnor@smsd.org

Important resources:

• If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 immediately.
• If you are uncomfortable talking on the phone, you can chat the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988lifeline.org.
• You can also text NAMI to 741-741 to be connected to a free, trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line.

Other links for Suicide Prevention:

• https://samhsa.gov/newsroom/observances/suicide-prevention-month
• https://988lifeline.org/promote-national-suicide-prevention-month/
• https://afsp.org/national-suicide-prevention-week

24-25 School Year Physicals

Student athlete physicals for the 2024-2025 school year must be completed after May 1st, 2024. Here is the updated KSHSSA Physical Packet that must be completed. Please note that the date on the bottom right-hand corner of the form is 3/2024. Every physical packet turned in must be using the updated packet. If you have any questions, please contact Ericka Corrado at erickacorrado@smsd.org.

Student Athlete Handbook

Attached is the Trailridge Student Athlete Handbook. This handbook reviews policies and procedures for being an athlete at Trailridge. Please review this handbook at your convenience.

Click Here to access the Trailridge Student Athlete Handbook.

Athletics Calendar

Be sure to visit our calendar page, and download the app to stay up to date on all Trailridge athletic activities: CLICK HERE

GIRLS SOCCER

Monday Apr. 7 AWAY @ Indian Hills 5:00, 6:15

BOYS SOCCER

Boys Soccer tryouts will begin April 14th.

CHEERLEADING

Middle School Cheerleading was recently approved by the Board of Education to begin next year. Cheer tryouts for next year’s squad will be held in August.

Contact Information

Athletic Director: Ericka Corrado, erickacorrado@smsd.org

Athletic Coordinator: Kelsey McCall kelseymccall@smsd.org

Football: Nick Hubner, nickhubner@smsd.org

Volleyball: Reece Lovitt, reecelovitt@smsd.org

Cross Country: Michael Scott, michaelscott341@smsd.org

Wrestling: Justin Andrews, justinandrews387@gmail.com

Girls Basketball: Rachael Baumgartner, rachaelbaumgartner@smsd.org

Boys Basketball: Brandon Hoch, brandonhoch212@smsd.org

Boys and Girls Soccer: Ben Archacki, benjaminarchacki@smsd.org

Athletic Trainer: Josh Hardy, jhardy2@kumc.edu

If you have not logged into your parent portal of Canvas yet, I would highly recommend doing so. Canvas is the learning management system that SMSD uses. It allows you to view assignements, assessments, grades, schedules and many more important items regarding your student's day at Trailridge.

Here is the link on how to access your Canvas parent portal. If you need additional assistance, feel free to contact the office.

Please make sure your student is taking care of their device. Below is the fee structure should the MacBook be unintentionally damaged:

• 1st Incident: $100 charge
• 2nd Incident: $150 charge
• 3+ Incident: ~$750 charge (full device replacement)

If a device is intentionally damaged the student may be responsible for a full device replacement cost of approximately $750.

Our PTA is very active in supporting students and staff at Trailridge through grants, assemblies, student activities and celebrations, and more and while our events and activities will undoubtedly look different this school year, our commitment to supporting our students, staff, and families is as strong as ever! Please consider joining and getting involved in your Trailridge PTA as we find new and creative ways to support our students, staff, and families in 2024/2025!

The Trailridge Spirit Wear Store is live!! Visit the PTA website for a link to the store and to check out all of our new designs! Items are shipped directly to you and you can order anytime.

Please use the link or the QR Code to access the PTA website:

https://www.trailridgepta.org

In May our PTA Staff Appreciation Committee will be celebrating our staff during Teacher Appreciation Week, beginning on May 5th. If you'd like to support their efforts, please use this Sign Up Genius link to donate items.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B054CAFA628A2FC1-55096001-teacherstaff#/

Attendance Line: 913 993-1012

If your child is going to miss a class for an appointment or any reason, please make sure you are calling the attendance hotline listed above and leave a message for the attendance clerk. This is important so that we can excuse the absence.

Early Pickup for Appointments:

If your student will need to be picked up early, please call the main office (913-993-1000) when you are on the way to pickup your student. We will immediately call them down so that they are ready when you arrive. Please avoid calling too far in advance.

INFORMATION ABOUT TRUANCY

The administration of Trailridge may begin to request documentation for all absences after the 10th absence in a school year. Absences without a doctor's note or administrative approval may be recorded as unexcused. A student with three consecutive unexcused absences, five unexcused absences in a semester, or seven unexcused absences in a year is considered TRUANT according to Kansas State statues. A truancy report may be filed with the Johnson County District Attorney's office.

We have now enabled the ability for parents and guardians to report student absences online through Skyward. If reported through Skyward, you would not need to call the attendance line or office to report. Multiple schools and families have reported this system is very easy to do and quicker. We hope it makes reporting absences easier for our families as well.

Below are the step-by-step procedures on how to do that.

• FRONT OFFICE 913 993-1000
• SECRETARY: Angie Marsh 913-993-1002
• ATTENDANCE CLERK: Francy Johnson 913 993-1012 (Absences should be reported by 9:30 AM)
• SPANISH INTERPRETER: 913 993-1062 Ms. Veronica Simonetti
• DS BUSING: 913 384-1190
  
• BOOKKEEPER: Ms. Gina Bristow 913 993-1003
• NURSE: Ms. Darla Denny 913 993-1007

Email: trailridge@smsd.org
Website: trailridge.smsd.org
Location: 7500 Quivira Road, Shawnee Mission, KS 66216
Phone: (913) 993-1000
Facebook: facebook.com/trailridgemiddle
Twitter: @Wildcats512