Knightly News
January 24-31, 2025
Week at a Glance
Monday, 01/27:
Kindness Week Begins
Student Council Mtg 8:05A
6th Grade Enrollment Visit 9:00-11:45A
Boys iLeague Basketball 3:50P
Cheer Club 3:50P
Boys Basketball Games vs IW @ IH 5:00P
Tuesday, 01/28:
Principal’s Advisory Council 8:45A
Cheer Club 3:50P
8th Grade Info Night @ SME 6:00P
Wednesday, 01/29:
Junior Board 7:45A
6th Grade Enrollment Visit 9:00-11:45A
Art Club 3:50P
Board Game Club 3:50P
Boys iLeague Basketball 3:50P
Cheer Club 3:50P
Green Team 3:50P
Boys Basketball Games @ Westridge 5:00P
Thursday, 01/30:
Battle of the Books Competition @ Hocker Grove 9:00A
Jazz Band 3:50P
Friday, 01/31:
N/A
Weekly Recap
The learning continued this week at Hills! Art students explored the question, "What is art?" and reflected on its purpose. Musical practice began as our Cinderella cast prepares to shine! Students also worked on emotion regulation and goal-setting through Character Strong lessons. Plus, we had great participation in the IHMS Spelling Bee!
7th to 8th Grade Enrollment
7th-grade students should have turned in their completed enrollment form and entered their desired 8th-grade classes into Skyward this week.
*Additional Forms may be picked up or dropped off at the front desk in the main office.
Check out the IHMS Enrollment Website for information about IH classes.
Here is the 25-26 Program Planning Guide for district course descriptions.
Any enrollment questions can be directed to 7th-grade counselor: Tanner Laird at tannerlaird@smsd.org
2024-25 Spelling Bee
A big thank you to all the students who participated in the IHMS Spelling Bee! Congrats to our Champion, Eleanor, and runner-up, Sawyer! 🏆📚 #SpellingBee
Drop-Off / Pick-Up Procedures Reminder
As we begin another school semester, it's important to review our drop-off and pick-up procedures regularly. These guidelines are in place to ensure the safety of our students and families. Below are the procedures we’ve been following this school year, along with a video we shared to assist you at the start of the year.
Front Circle Drive: Buses ONLY 8:20-8:45 a.m., and 3:20-3:55 p.m.
West Lot (63rd St.): School-issued car tags ONLY
South (Delmar) Lot: Available for drop-off from 8:05-8:45 a.m., or pick-up from 3:45-4:05 p.m.
No left turns are allowed out of any parking lot between 8:15-9:00 a.m. and 3:40-4:30 p.m.
When picking up students at the end of the school day in the south (Delmar) lot or the west (63rd Street) lot, it is extremely important that cars continue to pull forward. Cars should only stop along the curb, leaving the inside lane unobstructed for moving cars. Cars should avoid parking along Delmar. Parking on Delmar causes parents who are trying to enter the car line to be double-parked thus impeding traffic. Cars impeding traffic can/will be ticketed.
8th Grade Information Night
Shawnee Mission East looks forward to hosting IHMS 8th grade families at our 8th Grade Information Night on January 28, from 6-8pm. The event will begin in the SME Main Gym. Please see this schedule for information and details. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about enrollment, sports and activities, and all things Shawnee Mission East.
We look forward to seeing you then!
This Week in Character Strong - Session 11
7th Grade: Practicing Emotion Regulation
This is the 3rd of 3 sessions related to emotion understanding and regulation. Handling powerful emotions requires learning strategies for calming down, we will learn two new strategies and revisit one that was learned last session.
8th Grade: Creating Goals
Family Character Dare: Lyrical Conversations
Spring 2025 Parent Teacher Conference Info
Conferences will be held in both gyms and our brand new Hills Hall on Thursday, February 6th and Friday, February 7th.
Thursday, February 6th:
5:00- 8:00 PM- Open conferences (no parent sign-ups necessary)
Friday, February 7th:
8:15 AM- 12:00 PM- Individual teacher conferences by appointment through Skyward (closed conferences)
1:00- 4:05 PM- Team conferences (closed conferences - teacher teams set-up with specific parents/students)
Skyward Conference Scheduler Instructions for Families
Skyward Conference Scheduler Instructions for Families (Spanish)
Panorama Results
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:
Log into Family Access in Skyward
Choose your student(s)
Choose “Grade Cards & Academic Awards”
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.
Kansas History Month
It’s almost Kansas’s birthday but we will celebrate all month! Here are some books in the IHMS library that have a Kansas setting, Kansas author, or Kansas history. Check them out!
Artists of the Week: Aaron Glueck & Amelia Halstead
Attendance: Building Routines
As we approach the 100th day of school, if your student has missed 10 or more days, they are considered chronically absent.
We understand absences can’t always be avoided due to illness or family matters. The purpose of this message is not to assign blame, but to increase awareness about chronic absenteeism and its effect on learning
This week’s focus is building routines. Establishing a routine of daily attendance helps reduce stress at home, and supports a habit of attendance that will help your teenager get and keep a job. Here are some examples of age appropriate routines:
Sit down once a week to plan out the week.
Visual schedules can help kids feel a sense of order and predictability
Create consistent drop off and pick up plans to eliminate confusion or unpredictability
Instructional Spotlight
Future City Competition
On January 18th, SEEK students showcased their creativity and engineering skills at the Future City Regional Competition. This year’s theme, “Above the Current,” challenged middle schoolers to design a floating city, incorporating innovative solutions to ensure the city’s functionality and citizens’ safety. Students collaborated to write an essay, create a virtual city model, and present their ideas to a panel of judges. While the Indian Hills team didn’t win the top prize, they developed valuable skills in teamwork, problem-solving, project management, and public speaking.
Spring Testing Schedule
Please see the dates in the image for Spring Testing. We would appreciate your support in making sure your student(s) have a good night sleep and a healthy breakfast prior to testing. We will send more information in the weeks prior to testing to help provide clarity and support in the testing process.
Research & Development Forum: April 22-24, 2025
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 R&D Forum is a districtwide celebration of student innovation and achievement- featuring a Student Showcase open house and The Next Great Idea pitch competition.
1) 📅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.
2) 💡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 are due March 7, 2025. Learn more at this Pitch Info Session at 6 p.m. on January 23 on WebEx! Here’s the link to join.
3) 🖼️ Select 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 R&D Forum. This event is a great chance for our whole community to see the innovation and creativity of our students. If you have a project that you are unsure of where it fits as an entry, please complete the interest form on the R&D website. The submission deadline is March 28. Click here for the Research and Development Forum website. We also thank the Regnier Family for their long-standing support of this Shawnee Mission event.