Maize South Intermediate School
October 2024
Hello Maverick Families!
Thank you for your support during the first nine weeks of school! We have been working hard to establish strong leading and learning habits to help our students become successful and productive. This includes being organized, responsible, and taking pride in their work, persevering through challenges, leading in the classroom and around school, and making new friends. We appreciate your partnership in fostering these essential life skills.
With conferences quickly approaching, it's an ideal time to set goals with your child and establish good habits at home to support their success. Here are some ways you can assist at home:
Create a Study Space: Designate a distraction-free area for homework.
Limit screen time: Set a time for family to turn off phones/computers and keep an eye on social media and group chats.
Establish a Routine: Set a consistent schedule for homework and family time.
Encourage Reading: Provide a variety of books and discuss them together.
Set Realistic Goals: Help your child set achievable academic and personal goals.
Stay Involved: Attend school events and stay updated on your child's progress.
Promote Healthy Habits: Encourage physical activity and nutritious eating.
Celebrate Achievements: Acknowledge accomplishments to motivate continued effort.
If you need additional support for your child, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Our teachers, counselors, or Mr. Klein and myself would love to help in any way possible.
Thank you for your support! Together, we are better!
STAY GOLD MAVS!
Maize South Intermediate School Wildly Important Goals
At Maize South Intermediate School, we are committed to improving literacy skills and boosting student attendance.
Our school's first Wildly Important Goal (WIG) focuses on improving literacy. Our goal is to have 80% of our students achieve proficiency on the Kansas State Assessments. We are implementing vocabulary and comprehension strategies across classrooms to enhance student performance. To keep our school community engaged, we are using common strategies and visible scoreboards to track our progress.
Additionally, boosting attendance is our second WIG. Currently, 71 percent of our students attend 95 percent of school days, and we are prioritizing efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism, defined as missing more than two days per month. Chronic absenteeism can lead to significant academic struggles, which is why we hold weekly meetings to track unverified absences and identify at-risk students. Maize South Intermediate School emphasizes the importance of belonging, noting that students who are chronically absent often feel disconnected. To address this, our counselors are developing positive attendance plans for those struggling, while teachers are focused on building meaningful relationships to foster a sense of community within our school.
Thank you for your dedication and support in these initiatives. Together, we can make a positive impact on our students' success.
Best regards,
Karen LaMunyon
Principal, Maize South Intermediate School
Counselors Corner
Happy October!!
We are getting into the swing of things and loving getting to know our students more!
This month’s Character trait is Self-Direct. Sixth grade completed/will complete the O’NET interest profiler to identify possible career choices. They identified 1-2 career choices and researched what education would be needed. They also created a pros and cons list and made goals to reach their career choice. Ask your student what career choice they chose :).
Fifth grade is finishing up our lessons on empathy and understanding perspectives. This month we are learning about self-direction in daily life and resilience. We started our 5th grade Marathon club toward the end of September and will be starting our Chess and Rubik's Club early October.
We are loving our Kids Marathon Run Club. We currently have almost 100 total kids actively participating. Students receive prizes at the 1 mile, 5 mile, 10 mile, 15 mile and 20 mile mark on their way to a full marathon. It has been so fun to watch the students encourage each other in their fitness goals!
Congratulations to these students for hitting the 5 mile mark: Ian Ramirez, Sawyer Hutton, Henry DeCou, Ryah Cahoone, Rostan Boudjahroune, Jordan Griffits, Julia Penner, Carson Nelson, Anya Mahapatro, Vaughn Lee, Mason Timmerman.
As always, please reach out if you ever have any questions or concerns!
Caitlin Hamilton (Sixth Grade) chamilton@usd266.com
Tyler Slatter (Fifth Grade) tslattery@usd266.com
Mavs Care Closet
With the increased needs in our community, we have decided to expand our Mavs Care Closet to serve students across the district. We are currently accepting donations of non-perishable food items and gently used clothing. If you would like to donate you may drop items off in the front office at Maize South Intermediate and Maize South Middle School.
You may also drop off items in the counseling office at MSHS. We appreciate your support! If you have any questions or are in need of assistance you can contact Caitlin Dailey via email at cdailey@usd266.com
Thank you!
Caitlin Dailey
Mavs and the Media Center
Stop by the Book Fair during Parent/Teacher Conferences October 9-10!
Come be a part of our book fair! We are so excited to be hosting this fair and look forward to seeing you there. The fair promises a wide variety of genres and topics. There will be something for everyone! Make sure to stop by when you are at the school for conferences October 9 and 10.
Students are welcome to shop during their library time Monday or Tuesday and during their Connect time on Wednesday. Following are the days each Connect class will have library and be able to shop:
Monday, October 7: Burkholder, Dooley, Harden, Pfaff, Berry, Fisher, Nicholson, Wilson, & Baker
Tuesday, October 8: Martinez, Wiechman, Dick, Seamans, Dixon, James, Coble, Scribner, Basler, & McEntire
Want to know more about Battle of the Books and Beanstack, our new reading incentive program?
Stop by the library during conferences to pick up information about Battle of the Books. Fliers and permission slips will be available.
Students and families wanting to try out Beanstack can stop by to pick up information about how to access accounts and the October reading challenge. It’s a soft start, so we appreciate your patience as we learn and value your feedback. Thanks to PTO for providing this for us!
Reading & Math Intervention
In August, students took the Fastbridge fall screening assessment in both ELA and Math. At our upcoming Parent/Teacher Conferences, your student’s teacher will share the FAST Family Report with you. This report will provide information on performance from the fall assessment.
For more information, please reach out to one of us.
Betsy Lang
Math Interventionist
Classroom: B117
Andrea Burnett
Reading Interventionist
Classroom: B116
Attendance Expectations
All students are expected to attend class every day. Tardies are counted after the bell rings at 7:20 am regardless of reason. At 8:20 the student will be marked as having missed the hour. If your child will be tardy or absent please leave a message on our attendance line by 10 (462-8501 option 1). Per state guidelines and district policy, after 3 consecutive absences, 5 absences within a semester, and 7 absences in a year, your child will be considered unexcused without a note from the doctor.
This means you will still receive an automated phone call from the district, even if you have called the school.
Cafeteria
Students should all have lanyards to hold their student IDs. This will help as they are moving through the lines in the cafeteria and media center. We will also be able to start using their ID cards for a-la-carte items. If you will be using your cards for a-la-carte, please make sure you have money in your Skyward Lunch accounts. Lost student IDs can be replaced in the media center. The cost for a replacement ID is $3.
MSIS Inclement Weather Plan
Please be prepared for our inclement weather plan. Students will stand inside the cafeteria and library when it is raining, snowing, icy, or feels like 20 degrees or below. They are able to view cars pull up and receive text messages from families as to when they have arrived. There will also be adults outside with a radio to call in to students if necessary.
As the weather gets colder, it may also be a great reminder for your students to dress warm when we do go outside. We will try to get students out as much as possible.
Nurse's Office
The health office now has over the counter stock medications. We have acetaminophen (chewables, liquid and tablets), ibuprofen (chewables, liquid, and tablets), cetirizine (liquid, dissolvable tablets and tablets), benadryl (chewables, liquid, tablets), and tums (chewables). Please see Skyward and complete the Online Form titled 2025 Over the Counter Medication Consent Form. This has to be completed prior to me administering these medications. The health office will ALWAYS call a parent prior to administering these medications to your student.
5th Grade Vision Screening
The Kansas Statute K.S.A. 72-6242 requires a basic vision screening to be completed for every student in fifth grade. I will be starting these vision screenings at the end of October and will be screening every 5th grader individually. Please let me know if you would NOT like me to screen your student by emailing me directly at hweston@usd266.com PRIOR to October 23. Please include your student's name in the email along with stating that you are opting out of the vision screen.
Medications
If your child needs to take prescription medication here at school, please complete this form with the physician’s signature and medication order information.
Illness Policy
As we enter the cold and flu season it’s important to remember that according to the USD 266’s Student Handbook (Section 15.1), all students with a temperature at or above 100 degrees will be sent home. They must be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications before returning to class.
Please feel free to contact me by stopping by my office, calling, or emailing me if you have any questions or concerns about your student. Thank you for taking an interest in your child’s health and well-being!
Hannah Weston, RN, BSN
Phone: 316-462-8506
Fax: 316-462-8502
Email: hweston@usd266.com
Traffic Reminders
Following the procedures below will help our traffic run safely and smoothly each day. A traffic map has been included below for a visual reference. You will see that the parent drop off/pick up traffic drive runs behind the school.
Please note that the traffic drive that runs in front of the school is reserved for buses only! Please do NOT drop off students in front of the building until after the bell rings at 7:20, at which point they will check in through the office and counted tardy.
Thank you for your cooperation.
AM Parent Drop Off Updates:
Dropping off your student should be executed in a two lane drop off procedure. Once you pass the ECC entrance, you will enter the two lines and pull completely forward as traffic allows.
An MSIS staff member will be stationed at the front of the drop off zone with a large STOP sign to indicate traffic should stop. An MSIS staff member will be stationed at the back of the drop off zone with a STOP sign to indicate traffic should stop and wait. Those in between the two stop signs should allow their students to exit vehicles to the sidewalk and enter the school.
Students should only exit vehicles between these two stop signs to maximize the safety of this procedure.
Once all students who were dropped off within the zone are safely on the sidewalk, the MSIS staff member will lower the STOP sign, indicating that traffic should continue towards 37th street.
Please be mindful that left hand and right hand lanes will turn the appropriate directions onto 37th street.
If you arrive after 7:20, please pull up to the front office on the north side of the building. Your child will sign in at the office after this time.
PM Parent Pick Up Updates:
We will utilize a two lane pick up procedure similar to the morning drop off procedure. This will allow us to get more traffic off of 37th street and pick students up safely.
We will have cones set up in the 3rd lane. This 3rd lane will not be used throughout the year. We will have staff set up with stop signs at the beginning and end of the lanes to notify cars when it is safe to pull forward.
Please help us by encouraging your child to look for you and quickly load on the passenger side of the car. Once your student is in your vehicle quickly and safely, wait until you are notified to continue pulling forward.
Please continue to pull all the way forward closing any gaps between cars when picking up students. Encourage your child to walk forward until the gap closes.
Please be mindful that left hand and right hand lanes will turn the appropriate directions onto 37th street.
- Please remind your students if they are walking or riding their bikes to enter/exit the front of the building and follow along the sidewalk areas. The safest sidewalk routes are along the front entrance to 37th and then down Tyler. Please do not ride through the parking lot.
- Please make sure your child’s bike or backpack is equipped with reflective gear for safety. Sometimes it is hard to see early in the morning.
- If they are walking behind the school, please make sure they exit from the main exit on the southwest side, walk to the crosswalk by the ball fields where an adult (counselor) will ensure they cross traffic safely.
- Please be aware that the open field between MSIS and MSE is not safe to walk through.
Volunteer Background Checks
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Maize South Intermediate! Our school is stronger thanks to the help and support of our community members, and you. Safety is a top priority for our school. Background checks are required and must be completed annually. All visitors moving beyond a school front office and its secure vestibule will also complete a Raptor Visitor Management System screening and a temporary visitor’s self-adhesive name tag printed each time they visit.
District-Paid: Maize Schools do not wish to discourage any potential volunteer from getting involved in our classrooms or attending field trips with our students. Please click here to begin the same background process at no cost to yourself, and Maize USD 266 will pay for your background screening.
Thank you for your continued support of our students and district!