Friday News and Events

Mission: To create a community where all students feel safe, enabling them to be confident in gaining knowledge and skills to navigate the world around them

Vision: To make East Antioch a community where everyone feels welcome and students become responsible and productive citizens

JANUARY

13-17 Penny Strike

15 Mathletics Competition at Roseland 4:00-5:00

16 Hocker grove 6th grade open house 5:30-6:30

20 NO SCHOOL-President's Day

21 NO SCHOOL-Professional Learning Day

22-Skate Party, Merriam 6-8

27--31 Kindness Week

28-North Area Band Festival (rehearsal in morning and 7:00pm concert at North)

Choir Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30am

FEBRUARY

3 Math Tutoring Starts again for student that are invited

5 Math Club 3:15-4:00

5 Parent Teacher Conf 9-12, Night Conferences

6 Parent Teacher Night Conferences Pre-K-8 (scheduled with teachers)

7 Parent Conf during day - No School PK-12

10 STUCO Meeting until 4:00

10 Math Tutoring

12 Mathletics Competition-Regionals

13 Math Tutoring

13 PTA meeting 6:15

14 Valentine's Day Parties 2:15

17 No School - Presidents Day

2024-25 District Calendar

2024-2025 District Calendar (Español)

Grade cards are now available in Skyward. We encourage you to review your child's grades and read the comments provided by their teachers. We are proud of the progress our students have made!

Get ready to empty your piggy banks, Panthers! Penny Strike 2025 starts Monday and runs the entire week, ending January 17. Jars are ready to be filled, just stop at the table by the front office. This year is a straight competition for the most money. The rules are:

• Pennies and paper bills count positively, while silver coins count negatively
• You can put any amount in a jar on any day you want
• TUESDAY IS TWICE AS NICE - money counts twice towards the rankings
• Three winning classrooms
• First place will win a class party, pending Mrs. Netolicky's approval
• Second place will earn the PTA popcorn cart at recess
• Third place will be the class with negative money closest to $0.00. Students get a Panther paw water bottle sticker
• Teachers of the three classrooms will receive their own prizes

All proceeds from the Penny Strike go to support the PTA, which plays a vital role in funding activities like the school carnival, field trips, bounce house day, and the chili cookoff.

Dear Families,

We are asking for donations for our student store. Students earn panther tickets as positive reinforcement in the classroom. They are allowed to save them up and shop at the student store once a month and purchase a variety of items. Teachers also have treasure chests and items in the classroom that students can purchase more often. We could use your help if you are able to purchase a few items to donate to keep our store full of lots of fun options. Thank you in advance. Please remember students from first grade to sixth grade shop in the store. We will also take gently used donations as well. It’s that time of the year to clean out and donate. If you have some items that are gently used, we would love to take them off your hands. They must not be broken, dirty or stained. No weapons of any kind and no religious items please. If you are not sure, please email me and ask before you send them in.

Suggestions for the Student Store

*Sticker books

*Crossword Puzzles for kids

*Coloring books for all ages 5-12

*Word Search books for kids

*Pop-its (any kind)

*Match Box cars

*Nail Polish for kids

*Lip Gloss for kids

*Small Plastic Animals

*Travel size games

* Deck of Cards

*Card Games for kids

*Packs of stickers

*Fancy markers, colored pencils, fancy crayons etc.

*Journals/Diaries for kids

*Small art sets

*Make your own jewelry kits

*Small science kits

*Mad Lib books

*Fidgets of any kind

Please send to Ms. O’Dwyer’s classroom! If you have questions, please feel free to email erinodwyer@smsd.org. Thank you so much!

Students in grades 4-6 participated in the building spelling bee on Thursday. Congratulations to Phoebe for earning first place and Lily for being the runner-up. We are proud of all our students for their outstanding performance and effort!

We are now accepting nominations for future East Antioch PTA leadership positions. Any member of the school community can be eligible. Think parents, guardians, teachers, staff, neighbors, grandparents, business owners, etc.

In general, the role of a PTA officer can be as big or as small as you care to make it.

President:

*work with Mrs. Netolicky to plan the PTA Calendar of Events

*set an agenda and run PTA meetings

*oversee committees and assist committee chairs as needed

*oversee fundraising and expenditures

Treasurer:

*pay reimbursement requests

*Manage PTA funds

*Create budget and report on it at meetings

*ensure compliance with tax reporting and insurance

Feel free to nominate multiple people for any and all positions. Self-nominations are also welcome!

*Please include contact information if you have it!

Voting will occur at the March 31 PTA Meeting.

Go to the Google Forms link to nominate: https://forms.gle/KDAmgsRQtD2JFDQeA

You can also find the link on our Facebook page.

Thank you!

The areas with the greatest need are sorted to the top and we could sure use your help! Thank you for helping to ensure bright, full and exciting events for our school community.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F48ADAA2CA3FD0-51030440-2425

We are thrilled that enrollment for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten for the 2025-26 school year begins soon in the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD)! Families will be able to enroll students for the 2025-26 school year starting January 1, 2025.

Know of a family with a child who is Pre-K or Kindergarten age? Help us spread the word! Share this message and let them know SMSD is ready to help their little learners start strong.

Click here to learn more about Pre-Kindergarten in the Shawnee Mission School District

Click here to learn more about Kindergarten

How to Enroll

Click here for enrollment links, which will go live on January 1.

Please note that the enrollment application must be completed on a desktop or laptop computer or a tablet. It will not work on your mobile phone. If you do not have access to one of these devices, please make an appointment to enroll in person. For Kindergarten enrollment, please contact your area school. If you are unsure what school your child will attend, please use School Finder.

For Pre-K enrollment, please visit https://www.smsd.org/academics/early-childhood/pre-kindergarten or contact the Early Childhood department at 913-993-6441. (East Antioch does not have a Pre-K class so students will need to attend a different school for Pre-K).

About Starting Kindergarten in the SMSD

A child must be five years old on or before Aug. 31, 2025, to enroll in Kindergarten, by state law.

Congratulations to Ms. Franz, Ms. Rydzel and Ms. Aspleaf' s classes for being the top star earners during lunch 1st semester. Way to meet those expectations!

We have had a few nice donations of winter coats. If your child is in need of a winter coat, please reach out to the classroom teacher or Mrs. Carroll. We will make sure you get what is needed.

Here at East Antioch, we take part in the Harvester’s Backsnack program, which provides a weekly backpack filled with nutritious, child-friendly food for schoolchildren to take home over the weekend. We have a few additional slots open for this program. If you are interested in your child receiving Backsnacks, which are sent home the last day of the school week in their backpack, please reach out to Teresa Carroll (teresacarroll@smsd.org or call 913-993-3264). Once our list is full, we will start a waitlist.

Big Brothers Big Sisters KC matches children and youth in the 2nd – 11th grade with positive, caring adult mentors. Matches get together for a few hours 2-3 times a month and do normal everyday activities, like playing games, going to a movie, or just hanging out together. Johnson County currently has openings for Little Sisters. In addition, if a student is on the wait list for a match, their family can often take part in community events for free. If you are interested in applying, please visit the website https://www.bbbskc.org/get-a-big/ or email getabig@bbbskc.org. This program is free to families. Feel free to reach out to Teresa Carroll with any questions! teresacarroll@smsd.org

https://www.smac-pta.org/clothing-exchange

Free Underwear and Socks Program:

• Any student enrolled in the SMSD from pre-K-12 grade may receive 5 pairs of new underwear and 5 new pairs of socks each semester.

Broadmoor Boutique: This teen specific space is for students of all backgrounds to participate in promoting clothing sustainability. We invite all students in the district.

First Wednesday of every month

4:00-6:00

School clothes

The Shawnee Mission Area Council PTA Clothing exchange will be open 3 times in December:
Friday, December 6th from 10am-12pm

Thursday, December 12th from 4:30-6:30pm

Friday, December 20th from 10am-12pm

All of us at East Antioch care about the success of your child. It is our goal that your child is healthy and in the classroom learning every day. You can help by following these policies:

Absence and Tardy Policy: Please call the attendance line by 8:30am (913-993-3288) to report an absence/tardy. Please leave:

• Your child’s teacher name and grade
• Your child’s name

• The reason for the absence or tardy

A complete copy of the SMSD attendance policy, is on the East Antioch website in the Student Handbook under the Families tab. https://eastantioch.smsd.org

Per district policy:

When a student has reached 7 absences during the school year, the parents will be sent a reminder letter. After 10 absences, documentation will be required for all future absences. It is required for each subsequent absence/tardy for illness and appointments the student brings a doctor’s note documenting the reason for the absence.

A complete copy of the SMSD attendance policy can be found here.

Weather conditions may make it necessary for the Shawnee Mission School District to close schools for the safety of students and staff. Announcements of this nature will be posted on the main page of the district website, as soon as as the information becomes available. In addition, parents and students are advised to listen to local radio or television stations for a current news report.

When possible, the decision is made during the evening prior to the day of closing. If so, the information will be provided to the media for broadcast on the 10 p.m. television and radio newscasts.

School closing information is available from many different sources:

• SMSD Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
• Local Radio and TV stations
• District's Home Page
• 24-hour information line at (913) 993-7380
• SMSD text, phone and email alerts (sign up for these in Skyward Family Access < Skylert).
  NOTE: You must first opt-in to receiving texts. You can do this on the Alerts webpage.

December 20,2024

December 13, 2024

December 6, 2024