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Wildcat Growl
February 6, 2022
Future Ready Wildcats
De Soto High School staff and students endeavor to model the following core values:
INTEGRITY, INQUIRY, COMMUNICATION, PERSEVERANCE, and REFLECTION.
Principal's Message
Wildcats and Families,
Effective Monday, February 7th, barrier face masks will be optional at De Soto High School.
This change is the result of following the metrics approved by the Board of Education in which the number of student isolations (positive cases) and exposures related to COVID-19 remained below two (2) percent for two consecutive weeks.
Barrier face masks will continue to be required at Cedar Trails Exploration Center (CTEC).
National School Counseling Week 2022, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association, will be celebrated from February 7-11, 2022. Help us recognize and honor our school counselors this week for all their hard work at DHS.
Next week is Homecoming Week at DHS. Congratulations to the Queen/King candidates: Alexis Tranbarger, Macy Carver, Sadie Carver, Emma Klingler, Zander Barkemeyer, Kendan Powers, Owen Gier, and Bryce Englehart.
On Wednesday, February 16th our Pep Assembly will take place during the school day. The basketball games take place on February 18th. The dance is scheduled for February 19th from 8:00 PM -11:00 PM. The theme is ‘Hollywood Nights’. The dress for this event is semi-formal.
We hope you signed up for Parent-Teacher Conferences next week. The virtual conferences will be held on Wednesday, February 16th from 3:30 PM – 7:30 PM, and Thursday, February 17th from 9:30 AM – 8:00 PM.
Information about how to sign up was sent out by each seminar teacher last week. The focus and format for Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences will include a student lead discussion regarding their Individual Plan of Study with their parent and Seminar teacher. We encourage parents to reach out to specific teachers for times to discuss other classroom concerns.
If an in-person conference is needed, please reach out to your student’s teachers. We look forward to the opportunity to connect with you to discuss student progress.
The free ACT Test for junior students is scheduled to take place Tuesday, March 1st. As a reminder, the ACT is used for college admissions, university scholarships, and can predict college readiness. This ACT test can be a reportable ACT test that students can submit to colleges.
Seniors, important information about graduation week was sent to your school email address. You can also find the information on our website (here).
Thanks, and have a great week.
Sam Ruff
Principal
2022 WOCO Candidates
Queen Candidates:
Alexis Tranbarger
Macy Carver
Sadie Carver
Emma Klingler
King Candidates:
Zander Barkemeyer
Kendan Powers
Owen Gier
Bryce Englehart
DHS Scholastic Art award winner Julie Steeb
Mindset of a Clown By Julie Steeb
Spirits By Julie Steeb
Chaos By Julie Steeb
KMEA All-State Instrumental Auditions
De Soto once again had a great showing this past Saturday at the KMEA All-State Instrumental Auditions. All 6 students were accepted into the following groups. Congratulations and we couldn't be more proud!!!
KMEA 5-6 A All State Band
Ryan Handley - 1st Chair Bari Sax
Aidan Hamer - 2nd Chair Trombone
Kellan Flynn - 4th Chair Tuba
KMEA All-State Jazz
Nic Weaver - 1st Chair Trumpet
KMEA All-State Orchestra
Cole Bichelmeyer - 5th Chair Trumpet
Jacob Dority - 2nd Chair Trombone
Varsity Bowling
Varsity Boys Swimming
Freshman Boys Basketball
Reminder of updated Covid-19 exclusion guidelines
Paraprofessionals and Student Nutrition Positions Available Now
Note from the Counselors:
Senior Scholarship Information:
Now is a good time to start looking for scholarships for college. If you haven’t already done so please check out the DHS Student Services site: https://www.usd232.org/Page/3287. Click on the Financial Aid/Scholarship tab. Scholarships for DHS seniors only will be posted in January/February. General scholarships are updated on a regular basis so check the page often.
FAFSA Application Open for the 2022-23 School Year:
In October the 22-23 FAFSA application opened. This is used to determine financial aid which comes in the form of grants or scholarships. It is also used for parents/students to qualify for loans to help subsidize the cost of college. For more information on financial aid go to: https://studentaid.gov/
Individual Plan of Study (IPS):
Every DHS student will have a completed Individual Plan of Study upon graduating from De Soto High School. Students complete different IPS lessons approximately twice each month during seminar. Xello is the platform for IPS and contains all kinds of important information, specific to each student including career matches, personality styles, skills, interests, saved colleges, saved careers, scholarships, etc. Students will review their IPS with their seminar teacher and their parents during spring conferences. This video gives a short summary of why IPS is important and gives students/parents an idea of what is to be expected.
Social-Emotional Lessons (SEL):
DHS seminars are now including SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) activities to help provide tools and resources for students. Upcoming topics include: analyzing emotions, goal setting, perseverance, and managing responses to emotions. The overall health and well-being of our students are important to us. If you are ever concerned about another student or your own, please don’t hesitate to reach out to their counselor or the social worker.
Resources from CollegeBoard:
Parent Action Plan for Seniors
FAFSA Resources:
Quick Video Instructions on how to fill out the FAFSA
Scholarships:
DHS Student Services Scholarship Page (updated frequently)
DHS Counselors and Social Worker
Crissy Johns (A-G): CJohns@usd232.org
Lindsay Hothan (H-N): LHothan@usd232.org
Kaitlin Britt (O-Z): KBritt@usd232.org
Joe Kordalski (Social Worker): Rkordalski@usd232.org
Scholarships for Seniors:
The DHS Seniors Only Scholarships are now available for seniors to access. We are waiting on two more that will be posted by the end of February. Click on the following link: https://www.usd232.org/Page/3287
- DHS CAT Booster Scholarship: Application coming soon!
- De Soto Alumni/VFW Scholarship: Application coming soon!
- Olathe Health Center Health Care Scholarship: Deadline February 22
- De Soto Teachers Association Scholarship: Deadline April 15
- Shawnee Vision Care Scholarship: Deadline April 15
- McCarthy Auto Group Scholarship: Deadline April 15
- Trenton Hughes Scholarship: Deadline April 22
- Casey Blake Johnson Running Scholarship: Deadline April 22
- Jess Johnson Scholarship (Rotary Club): Deadline April 30
Winners will be announced at the Senior Awards Ceremony that is currently scheduled for May 18th.
Attendance
Kansas Compulsory Attendance Statutes
Regular attendance is required of all pupils enrolled in elementary and secondary school under Kansas compulsory attendance statutes. It is a parental responsibility under Kansas statutes to require the regular school attendance “of any child who has reached the age of seven (7) years and is under the age of eighteen (18) years,” unless the child is exempted by statute.
The State of Kansas delegates to the Board of Education the responsibility of determining reasons for excusable absences.
The following are reasons for excusable absence:
1. Personal illness. A physician’s note will be required for chronic absenteeism.
2. Serious illness or death of a member of the family or close friend.
3. Obligatory religious observance of the student’s own faith.
4. Participation in a school-approved activity.
5. Physician or dentist appointments that can be verified by appointment card.
6. Court appearance that can be verified through court services’ officer.
7. Verifiable, emergency situations requiring immediate action at the request of the parent. Limit of five.
8. An absence that has been requested in writing and approved in advance by the building administrator.
Parents will be notified after five, and then again after ten absences making them aware of their student’s attendance record. A student who is absent from class or school without an excusable reason, as outlined above, will be considered unexcused. An unexcused absence for one or more classes will receive disciplinary consequences and credit may not be given for missed classes.
Procedure for reporting absences
1. Parents or legal guardians are requested to call the 24-hour attendance voice mail line (913- 667-6259) on the day of the absence. If a call is not received the day after the absence, the absence may be considered unexcused.
2. A telephone call will be required each day the student is absent unless prior arrangements have been made.
3. When reporting an absence, the parent or guardian should give the following information: • His or her name and relationship to student • student’s name and grade in school (please spell the name) • reason for absence • the date and hours of absence
4. Upon returning to school the day following an absence, the student should go directly to class. If there is a question about the absence, the Main Office will contact the student.
5. If a student leaves the school building during the school day, the student must sign out with the Main Office. Students must sign in at the Main Office upon returning to school that day or arriving at school after the school day begins, even if returning or leaving during a passing period. Failure to properly sign in or out could result in the student’s absence being marked as unexcused.
Children's Mercy Hospitals Prepped and Ready Series
DHS families, Children’s Mercy Hospitals have graciously kept the Prepped and Ready: Experts Edition video series open for the community!
As a reminder, the series is a collection of 3-5 minute videos addressing difficult topics that pertain to raising teens. It takes less than an hour to watch the videos and complete the research surveys. The content touches on a variety of topics, but a major focus is empowering parents with tools to prevent suicides in our community.
Excerpts from the videos are below, and showcase a variety of speakers from CMH and our community:
Intro to Prepped and Ready Trailer - https://youtu.be/ECsW7XbsSqo
Prepped and Ready Impulsivity Trailer - https://youtu.be/TnJcmzcIGLc
Prepped and Ready Asking Tough Questions Trailer - https://youtu.be/O-uvmB8xlhg
Prepped and Ready Ingestions Trailer - https://youtu.be/D_sP7PyQZV8
Prepped and Ready Vaping Trailer - https://youtu.be/34r5_xOIKCg
Prepped and Ready Safe Storage Trailer - https://youtu.be/24SPNXfHAGE
Prepped and Ready Eating Disorders Trailer - https://youtu.be/6k6n_DYP0IA
Securly App
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.