February is buzzing with excitement. The Kansas City Chiefs are going for the 3-Peat! Show your Chiefs spirit all week long. Ditch the cooking and participate in Why Cook Wednesday, support your PTA at the upcoming February meeting, spread kindness at the upcoming Valentine's Class Parties, challenge yourself at our first STEM Family Fun Night, and attend conferences to connect with SFT teachers and staff. Find all the details you need in this issue of Trail Talk.
Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and the SFT PTA Website!
Valentine’s Day class parties are scheduled for Feb. 14 from 2:00-2:50 pm (AM Pre-K: 10:00-10:45 am). Only room parents and parents that are assisting with the party should attend.
Students may bring valentines (without food in them) to school by Friday, February 14 for distribution. Please send enough for all students in the class. Valentines should NOT include candy or food. Trinkets such as pencils, tattoos, crazy straws, etc. are fine.
If you are interested in donating Valentines to have extra on hand for students that need them, please contact or bring them to Rebecca Grant, SFT School Social Worker.
District guidelines for elementary parties:
- food brought to school for sharing at parties must be in labeled packaging by the manufacturer (exception of whole fruits/vegetables).
- All labeled food items must be checked by the classroom teacher or school nurse.
- No homemade food items should be provided to share at the parties.
- Teachers/staff members are responsible to follow all safety measures when providing food in the classroom.
- No carbonated sodas or energy drinks may be provided to students.
A Big Congratulations to SFT 4th grader, Grace Beecher! Grace's film piece (Watch Here) was chosen to go onto the district level Reflections Competition in December. She was granted an Award of Excellence for her age group and category. That means Grace will represent the Shawnee Mission School District at the state level competition! Way to go!
Thanks to last semester's submissions, PTA was able to honor three outstanding educators in the fall, and we will be honoring three more rockstar teachers/staff during the spring semester. If an SFT teacher or staff member has had a positive impact on your child and/or your family, please submit a note on this Trailblazer of the Month form. The kind words you submit through this form help us put together a heartwarming write-up about each chosen honoree. Thank you in advance for contributing!
SFT Families,
Thanks for all you are doing to support our students and staff. We greatly appreciate that PTA is planning to provide dinner on conference night. Evening conferences will take place from 4:30-7:30 pm on Thursday, February 6 and then are scheduled from 8:00 am - 3:30 pm on Friday, February 7. Thank you for taking time to conference with your child’s teacher. By communicating and working together, we can assist your student to achieve their growth goals and acquire the skills that are a priority for their grade.
We recently celebrated The Kindness Challenge Week at SFT. The students did a great job of helping promote random acts of kindness both at school and home. I want to thank all parents who also participated in Kindness Week by doing one or more of the suggested activities; and I want to express a special thank you to the many parents and students who consistently lead by example when it comes to being kind and respectful to everyone. Hopefully, The Great Kindness Challenge will remind us that it is actually fun to be kind to others and surprise them with a random act of generosity or kindness. I have reminded students many times that they will go further in life and will be more successful in a job if they develop habits of respect and kindness. Let’s all commit to extending Kindness Week to Kindness Year, and then to practicing a lifetime of kindness!
Educationally yours,
Mrs. Leiker
*New Restrictions on Possession and Use of Personal Electronic Devices
A new district policy was implemented February 3, 2025. The term personal electronic device means any non-District issued device that a student is in possession of which electronically communicates, sends, receives, stores, reproduces, or displays voice and/or text communication, media, or data via wireless networking technology, Bluetooth, or cellular service. These include, but are not limited to cell phones, smart watches, music and media players, headphones, earbuds, speakers, and gaming devices. Students will put their smart watches (have Bluetooth) in their backpacks beginning February 3 if they wear one to school. They will also take home any Bluetooth headphones and air pods since they may not be used at school.
In elementary schools all personal electronic devices (like cell phones) should stay in backpacks or personal storage bags during the school day. If a backpack or bag isn’t available, devices should be left at home. All devices need to be silenced or set to “school” or “do not disturb” mode while at school.
Panorama Survey Results (Grades 3-6)
Students whose parents/guardians provided consent during the registration process recently completed the Fall Panorama Social-Emotional Learning survey. This survey measures student’s perception of skills in the areas of grit, growth mindset, and self-management. Starting this month, parents/guardians will have the ability to access their student’s results in Skyward by following these steps:
1. Log into Family Access in Skyward
2. Choose your student(s)
3. Choose “Grade Cards and Academic Awards”
4. Choose Panorama Fall 2024
Thank you again for your ongoing support of our school, staff and students. For more information about the Panorama Social Emotional Learning Survey, including a look at all of the questions asked at each grade level, please visit this site.
Emergency Contacts
All families are encouraged to review and update their emergency contact information in the Skyward Student Information System. Parents/guardians should contact the school office if there are any changes or updates. It is a best practice to have more than one contact listed in the event of an emergency.
The Shawnee Mission School District Research and Development Forum is coming this April and there are three ways students, educators, and family members can get ready now. The forum is a districtwide celebration of student innovation and achievement featuring a Student Showcase open house and The Next Great Idea pitch competition.
- Brainstorm The Next Great Idea! Students are encouraged to think of a new product or solution to a problem they can “pitch” to a panel of judges this spring. There is a chance to win prize money to make the idea a reality. Initial Applications for The Next Gret Idea are due March 7, 2025.
- Save the dates! The Student Showcase, featuring student projects from across the district, will be held April 22-24, 2025.
- The Next Great Idea Pitch Competition will be held the morning of April 26, with an awards ceremony in the afternoon.
- Showcase Projects: students, teachers, and families are encouraged to think of projects for students to enter in the Student Showcase. Every student in Shawnee Mission is invited to share experiments, inventions, and project displays at the forum. This event is a great chance for our whole community to see the innovation and creativity of our students. The submission deadline for the Showcase is March 28.
We are seeing usual illnesses for this time of year at SFT. When calling in for your student(s) please let us know specific symptoms (vomiting, fever, cough, etc.) or positive testing (strep, Flu, COVID, etc.). This helps give us a better picture of any increase in illness trends in our school. Also, remember to keep your student home when they are ill and keep them home for exclusionary illness. These are SMSD guidelines for student illness https://www.smsd.org/about/departments/health-services/illness
As the snow melts outside, there is an increase in students that need a full change of clothes. If your student comes home in clothing from school, please wash and return it as soon as possible so those clothes are available for other students that may need them. Please feel free to contact me in the office anytime with questions.
Nurse Clark
2025
Feb. 5 --> WCW Taco Bell in Mission
Feb. 6 --> Evening Conferences 4:30-7:30
Feb. 7 --> No School - Conferences
Feb. 11 --> PTA General Meeting 6-7 pm
Feb. 14 --> Valentine’s Day Parties 2:00-2:50 pm
- AM Pre-K Party: 10:00-10:45 AM
Feb. 17 --> No School - Presidents’ Day
Feb. 18 --> No School - Staff Professional Learning Day
Feb. 21 --> SFT STEM Family Fun Night
Mar. 8 --> SFT Spring Movie Trivia Fundraiser
Mar. 11 --> SFT Variety Show 1:30 and 6:00 pm
Mar. 13 --> Open House 6-7 pm
Mar. 14 --> No School - Teacher Workday
Mar. 17-21 --> No School - Spring Break
Apr. 15 --> PTA General Meeting 6-7 pm
Apr. 25 --> SFT Carnival
Connect with SFT PTA!
Email: sftptapresident@gmail.com
Location: 7100 Lamar Avenue, Overland Park, KS, USA
Facebook: SFT Trailblazer Connection | Facebook
Website: www.sftpta.org