Longhorn Notes

August 22, 2021

Hello and welcome to the 2021-2022 school year at Kimball Jr/Sr High School!

As we recover from the craziness of the previous year during the Covid pandemic, we are preparing to continue our focus on helping our students realize their potential. It is our greatest hope that with the help of our staff, parents and community we will work together in a positive way to achieve a highly successful school year!

Our focus this year will be on our new reteach and enrich program we call WIN Time dedicated to giving students what they need, when they need it. We will continue to raise our expectations for students in and out of the classroom and have no doubt they will rise to the challenge!

Students – your parents have given you the support and encouragement to follow your dreams. Our staff is committed to support you in and out of the classroom to help you achieve success. It is up to you to give the energy and effort necessary to turn your dreams into reality. We realize you may not know yet in what direction your future lies, but it is up to you to ensure you don’t close any doors to opportunities you haven’t yet uncovered. Take advantage of all our school has to offer you and show up each day with the knowledge that we are here for the sole purpose of providing you the education and experiences to help you succeed. You have to do your part by coming to school, participating in class, trying new things and setting a positive example for the younger students in our community.

This newsletter is full of updated information from our Student/Parent Handbook. We will be going through many of these changes with the students when they return on Monday. Parents, please take the time to read our updates as well as other information found in the handbook.

Our mission is to educate every student for a lifetime of success. Our students' success is dependent on their academic foundation as well as soft skills like work ethic, responsibility, and accountability. Our teachers will be working hard in the classroom to continue to increase our students' achievement and new school procedures have been designed to help build their soft skills. We need support from our parents and community to help ensure success in our endeavor!

Parents, I encourage you to stop in for a visit or to give us a call if you ever have any questions or concerns!

This year we have a few new staff members and a change in position.

Stephanie Kitchens will be the new guidance counselor at the Jr/Sr High School and will also oversee our Media Center (library).

Mr. Jack Birky is our new junior high Social Studies teacher. He will also be teaching a junior high current events class as well as a junior high study skills class. Mr. Birky is also the assistant cross country coach.

We are excited to welcome Jenna Enevoldsen back to the district. Mrs. Enevoldsen will be teaching Geometry, Algebra 2, and Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry. She also will oversee the junior high Math Counts program.

Mr. Mark Jefferis is our new art teacher this year. He will also be teaching art at the Mary Lynch, working with 5th and 6th graders.

Mrs. Amanda Carnicom has joined us as a special education paraprofessional. Some of you may remember her as Amanda Bymer.

And last but not least, Mrs. Anna-Lisa Heidemann will be joining us an aide in our digital media center.

We believe that being present in the classroom when instruction is given is critical to student success. While we realize it may be necessary for students to miss for medical appointments, orthodontic appointments, funerals, and illness, the more days they attend, the higher the likelihood for success.

This year we have made the distinction in the handbook between excused and unexcused absences. Excused absences include court-ordered appearances, a death in the family, medical absence (doctor's note required), quarantine due to Covid, or school-related business (absence due to school activity). All other absences are unexcused.

We have allotted for 6 unexcused absences each semester. On the 7th unexcused absence, your student may lose one credit in the corresponding class. Each semester, students earn 5 credits for each class. If a student loses one credit, they can make up the credit by making up the time lost. This can be made up before or after school, over lunch or during the summer. During their make-up time, they will work on material in the corresponding class.

Tardies have also been an issue with several students in the past. This year, three unexcused tardies in the same class will count as an unexcused absence. We hope this will encourage students to get to class on time!

At the Junior/Senior High School, we utilize a point system. Each infraction has a corresponding point value and consequence based on severity. The categories are outlined in detail in the handbook. If a student reaches 100 points, expulsion is recommended. There is an appeal process to give students and parents the opportunity to be heard before a final decision is made.

Consequences this year include lunch detention, In-School Suspension (ISS) and Out-of-

School Suspension (OSS). Lunch detention will be served over lunch in the library. Students may not access their cell phone, may not talk and must work on classwork. ISS will be served on site. Students will work through modules in which they will self-reflect on their behavior and learn how to make better choices in the future. They are still responsible for any classwork missed during ISS and the day out of class will count as an unexcused absence. If a student is assigned OSS, they will not be permitted on campus. They will receive zeros on any work they miss while absent and cannot make up missing work. Days missed due to OSS will count as an unexcused absence.

Completing work on time is an important component to achieving success in the classroom. Failure should not be an option at the Jr/Sr High School. Students who don't complete their work on time will be provided extra support during Longhorn Time.

Longhorn Time is an after school program designed to help students catch up on missing work. Each day, teachers will refer students to Longhorn Time if they do not turn assignments in on time. These students will report Longhorn Time at the end of the school day. If they are able to complete their missing work during that time, they will report to Longhorn Time, turn in their assignment and be free to leave. If they need extra time to complete their missing assignment, they will stay in Longhorn Time until the assignment is complete. Because this added support is critical to students' academic success, we urge you not to call your student out of this program. Students will be able to return to their extra curricular activities or their job after their missing work has been completed. Students who miss Longhorn Time (except for school business or for documented medical reasons) will be assigned lunch detention the next two days. It will also be counted as skipping school in our discipline point system with the corresponding consequence. If your student is referred to Longhorn Time, you will be notified via email. Please make sure the office has the correct email address for you!

The grading scale at the Jr/Sr High School has changed this year. The new scale is below:

This year, we will be rewarding students with a Stampede Card beginning in the 2nd quarter for the following achievements:

• All C's or better for the previous quarter
• Two or less tardies during the previous quarter
• Two or less referrals to Longhorn Time during the previous quarter
• No office referrals

The Stampede Card entitles the student to the following priveleges:

• Open Campus for lunch (high school students only)
• Free entry to school activities for the quarter
• One free concession item
• One free pass for Longhorn Time

9th-12th grade students who do not qualify for a Stampede Card will not have open campus for lunch. If they leave campus for lunch, it will be considered as skipping a period and consequences will be assigned accordingly.

Cell phones in the classroom are a huge distraction to learning. Students will not be permitted to have access to their cell phones while in class. When students arrive to class, they will be asked to turn off their devices and put them away until the end of the period. Students will be able to use their cell phones during passing periods, before and after school and during lunch. If you need to reach your child immediately, please contact the office and a message will be delivered to him/her.

This year, a student will be considered ineligible after they have earned lower than a 70% overall grade in two or more classes. Students and parents will be warned on Monday each week beginning in the 3rd week of each semester if the student has two or more failing grades. The final list will be run on Tuesday each week and will go into effect Wednesday until the following Tuesday. The student will not be able to participate in activities during the ineligibility period.

If a student has one failing grade, they will be referred to Longhorn Time and will attend Longhorn Time until their grade is passing. This time may be used to retake tests, complete missing assignments, etc. They may still participate in games and contests with one failing grade.

A student who earns a failing grade in only one class for three consecutive weeks will also be considered ineligible.

Please refer to the handbook for more details on this policy.

Longhorn Country is a system designed to provide an opportunity for everyone to belong and participate in events at our schools. All students and staff are placed in one of eight ranches. The ranches are the foundation for our school activities. Students can earn points for their ranch based on academic achievement, participation in school activities, community service activities, good behavior and school spirit. There will be ranch challenges throughout the year where points will be up for grabs. In the spring, the winning ranch will earn a trip, but there will be opportunities for smaller prizes throughout the year as well. The ranches, their colors and brands are illustrated below.

• Thursday, August 13th, 6 - 7 PM - Mary Lynch Parent Meeting on Remote Learning Plan and Google Classroom @ Jr/Sr HS Auditorium
• Thursday, August 13th, 7 - 8 PM - Jr/Sr HS Parent Meeting on Remote Learning Plan and Canvas @ Jr/Sr HS Auditorium
• Monday, August 17th, 7 PM - 7th Grade/New Student Orientation @ Jr/Sr HS Auditorium
• Tuesday, August 25th, 9 AM - Girls Golf at Sidney
• Thursday, August 27th, 4:45 PM - Cross Country at Scottsbluff
• Thursday August 27th, 9 AM - Girls Golf at Bayard
• Thursday, August 27th, 4 PM - Varsity Volleyball @ Hemingford (triangular with Gordon)
• August 31st-September 4th - Homecoming Week!!

In the spring, Mr. Mohr and his students worked hard on upgrades to the Student Center. Over the summer, these upgrades were complete as well as a new facelift to our hallways. The floor in the main gym also received a facelift and looks amazing! We are ready to show off our new look and welcome any of you for a visit!

It's going to be a great year and we can't wait to see everyone on Monday!

Email: Dreader@kpslonghorns.org
Website: Kpslonghorns.org
Location: 901 S. Nadine St.
Phone: (308) 235-4861