Wildcat Growl

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,

Congratulations to the DHS girls golf team who competed in the UKC golf championships at Lake Shawnee on September 25th. The team finished in 3rd place overall with McKenzie Laster and Zella Kiewiet finishing tied for 8th place and earning 2nd team all-conference honors. Also competing for the Wildcats were Alli Fandre, Ava Clark and Kaylin Julian. The team travels to Topeka on Monday for their regional tournament at Cypress Ridge.

Congratulations also to the girls tennis team. The team finished 2nd at the UKC tennis tournament at Kossover on Monday. The doubles team of Avery Noble and Myah Tuttle finished 3rd overall and earned 2nd team all-conference honors while Ellie Gress received honorable mention honors finishing 5th in singles. Brooke Gipson finished 7th in singles and the doubles team of Kierra Minihan and Mya O’Brien finished 9th. On Friday, the team competed in their regional tournament at Harmon Park. Noble and Tuttle finished in 5th place at the regional and earned a trip to the state tournament in Andover this Friday and Saturday. Good luck Wildcats!

Student Wildcats of the Month: Congratulations to the following students for being recognized as the Wildcats of the Month for October. Each department is recognizing the following students for being academically engaged as part of The WildCAT Way.

• Performing and Fine Arts: Emily Taylor
• CTE – Laveah Sherman
• English – Sofia Herasymchuk
• Math – Donald Seagren
• Social Studies – Pacer Schrotberger
• Science – Eleanor Mitchell
• PE – Kenzie Farmer
• World Language – Carson Hanley

Staff Wildcats of the Month: Congratulations to Deputy Newson and Keri Lauxman! Both are our Wildcats of the Month for October. Deputy Brad Newson serves DHS as our School Resource Officer. Mrs. Lauxman serves DHS as an English teacher and assistant NHS sponsor. We appreciate all that they do for our students.

Seniors: During Seminar on Monday, October 14th a representative from Jostens will meet with our senior class to discuss ordering graduation packages including announcements, and the required cap, gown, and stole needed for the ceremony. Information about the Class of 2025 graduation ceremony can be viewed on our website (here).

Future Ready Day: Tuesday, October 15th will be a busy day at DHS. 9th and 10th-grade students will take the Pre-ACT in the morning, then attend enrichment sessions in the afternoon. Most of the junior class will visit a postsecondary institution - either Baker, Kansas University, UMKC, Washburn, JCCC, UCM, KCKCC, Emporia State, or will take the ACT at DHS.

Most of the senior class will explore future opportunities through a job shadow or individually planned college visit. Some of our students are taking the ACT or the ASVAB, a Military Services assessment. Additionally, a few of our seniors are participating in a community service project. We are thankful to our staff for assisting us in providing these opportunities for our students – and thankful to our students for representing DHS well.

Career Panel Series: Last week was the first Carer Panel of the year. Professionals in Business Administration, and Finance volunteered their time. We are very appreciative of Adrienne Kordalski, Justin Marovec, Christina Livecchi, and Julie Hall for speaking with our students.

This week's featured Career Panel includes Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources. Students interested in learning more can sign up to attend during seminar on Wednesday, October 16th, via Minga Flextime.

We are in need of professionals in the areas of Information Technology, Arts AV, Communications, and Architecture and Construction, able to volunteer their time to serve on an upcoming panel. If you are interested in sharing your career story and contributing to our students' future successes, please complete this link.

Breakfast Club Returns! Thanks to the USD232 Education Foundation Spotlight Grant, the popular Tuesday/Thursday morning math homework help sessions, known as Breakfast Club, will return to DHS! The first session begins Thursday, October 17th at 7:00am in room 231. If you need extra help with Integrated Math 1 up to AP Calculus BC, we've got you covered.

Just a reminder that we do not have school on Friday, October 18th, and Monday, October 21st.

Semester Final Exams & Skip-A-Final: Semester final exams are scheduled to begin Tuesday, December 17th, and end Friday, December 20th. Pre-approved prearranged absences will not be granted during final exam week. If students are absent during finals week, they will need to work with the teacher to make up the final within two weeks of their return in January (not before). Information about our attendance incentive "Skip-A-Final" can be found on our website.

Important Future Events:

Trunk or Treat: Sunday, October 20th

Father's Club Information Meeting: November 5th @ 6:00PM - Link to information below

Coffee & Conversation: 8:00AM, Thursday, November 7th

Veteran's Day Assembly: Monday, November 11th - Recognition link is below

Academic Recognition Night: November 19th - Academic Letter Winners in 12th-10th grade (more info to come)

Warm regards,

Sam Ruff

Principal

De Soto High School

Members: Emily Thayer, Susan Coffee, and April Bergkamp

We want to continue to highlight the importance of regular school attendance. Citing the National Center for Education Statistics, it has been demonstrated that students who consistently attend school tend to attain higher levels of academic achievement compared to those with irregular attendance patterns. Recreating high-quality classroom instruction and valuable learning experiences missed during an absence can be challenging, not to mention the missed opportunities for enhanced comprehension that often arise from peer interaction and classroom discussions. Please take a moment to review the details regarding student attendance on our website.

This week DHS focused on creating awareness around being kind and promoting messages around Antibullying. Student had a variety of opportiunities to engage in activities that helped promote

the theme of “Stomp out Bullying.” Some of those activities included; School wide seminar contest to create a antibullying graphic, students signed up to chalk the walk with creative and kind messages and during

lunch blocks students could complete a message of kindness that was delivered to a friend. Over the course of the week we observed a lot of great indivdual and group actions that supported our DHS WildCAT Way of being thoughtful in our actions.

Nominations are now open for the De Soto Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Use the link below for more information and to submit an individual or team deserving of this honor. Nomination deadline is Nov 3rd, 2024. https://dhswildcatnation.com/hof-nomination/

Future Ready Day, October 15th, is just around the corner. We are excited about the opportunities that DHS students will have that day.

On the morning of October 15th, Freshmen and Sophomores will take the PreACT. Testing room locations have been posted in the commons. Students will need to check those locations before the morning of October 15. These locations will also be communicated to students in their seminars. On the morning of October 15, students will need to report to those rooms when arriving at school.

Juniors and Seniors who have signed up to take the ACT on October 15, will need to check their room locations in the commons. On the morning of October 15, those juniors and seniors will report to the assigned location. Seminar teachers will also have the room locations to communicate to the students.

We have a variety of college visits planned for juniors who are not taking the ACT. Juniors completed a survey indicating where they would like to go for a college visit. Students had a choice to attend JCCC, KCKCC, University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC), Emporia State, Baker, University of Central Missouri, Washburn University, or KU. Permission slips for these visits will be coming home this week and need to be returned on October 11th. Students can bring money to purchase lunch from the postsecondary institution cafeteria, bring their own lunch, or sack lunches will be available for pickup from our cafeteria.

Also on October 15th, most of the senior class will explore future opportunities through a job shadow or individually planned college visits. Some of our students are taking the ASVAB, a Military Services assessment. Job Shadow/College Visit forms for seniors need to be picked up from Student Services before October 15th and are due October 25th. We are thankful to our staff for assisting us in providing these opportunities for our students – and thankful to our students for representing DHS well.

Enrichment Activities – Afternoon

On the afternoon of the 15th, teachers will be facilitating differentiated activities covering a wide variety of areas. During this time, students can explore topics of interest they may not be exposed to during traditional class times.

During seminar on Monday, October 7th, Students will use Minga Flextime to sign-up for the sessions they want to attend. Each session will be approximately 45 minutes in length. Students are expected to sign up for three total activities and attend all activities for which they are registered.

Below are examples of several activities that will be offered. We are excited about the opportunities available to students on this day.

• Admissions and Scholarship Essay Writing

• Preparing for Your College Experience

• Disc Golf Basics

• Yoga

• Verse Writing

• Exploring Simple Machines

If you have any questions, reach out to Cat Monroe, School Improvement Specialist, cmonroe@usd232.org

“I'm starting with the man in the mirror…..I'm asking him to change his ways…”

These words made famous by Michael Jackson inspired me to step up and join Fathers Club—a Dad-led, grassroots effort creating simple ways for Dads to be intentional with their KIDS, with other DADS, and within the COMMUNITY.

Several schools in the KC metro are associated with the Fathers Club organization and are doing great things for their school system. We certainly have men accomplishing much within our schools but the reality is that there’s more to do. Please join me at the upcoming informational meeting at 6:00pm on November 5th, 2024 in the DHS Blackbox Theater. I’m excited about establishing a DeSoto Fathers Club and it would be wonderful to see more men step up and make an impact on the kids who call DeSoto their school district.

- Mark Martinez

Attention seniors and senior parents: The DHS athletic department is planning Athletic Signing Days for the Class of 2025, one in December and one in late April. We are currently compiling a list of students in the class of 2025 that plan to continue their athletic careers after high school. If you have signed a letter of intent or have been offered and plan to sign a letter of intent with a college/university, please use the link below to complete a Google form. Note that student-athletes will need to choose only one signing day event and will not be able to participate in both events.

Link to form: https://forms.gle/sdRJPRK3PzW11cMW7

This year, the DHS athletics department will be using HUDL (not NFHS) to live stream all home events. To get your subscription, use this link: https://fan.hudl.com/dhswildcatnation

Single game, monthly, or year long subscription options are available.

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)

Filing your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) is now simpler than ever—and JCCC’s Financial Aid team will get you prepared. The FAFSA® opens December 1. This FREE event is dedicated to FAFSA® prep (Federal Student Aid ID setup), Scholarship information, and other college funding options.

Tue. Nov. 19 | 4:30-7 p.m. | Regnier Center 101

To register for the event click: RSVP for College Financing Night

Need a different time? We have flexible meeting options! Contact the Financial Aid team at finaid@jccc.edu to schedule an appointment at your convenience.

The CBYX is a student exchange program that offers young Americans the opportunity to live with a host family and attend high school in Germany for an academic year. CIEE administers CBYX on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.

• CBYX is a fully-funded scholarship sponsored by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and jointly funded by the German Bundestag and the U.S. Congress.
• Academic merit, motivation, curiosity, and flexibility are key components to a competitive application.
• Previous German language experience is not required. Participants become fluent in German.
• This is also an excellent gap year program for students applying as current high school seniors
• Students who are U.S. Citizens born between February 1, 2007 and August 1, 2010 with a GPA of 2.5 or higher are eligible to apply.
• Visit our website www.ciee.org/cbyx or email cb@ciee.org for more information.

The online application can be found at https://usagermanyscholarship.org/ The deadline to apply is Friday, November 1, 2024. Visit our website www.ciee.org/cbyx or email cb@ciee.org for more information.

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.

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