Chisholm students prepare for assessment season

Chisholm Middle School students celebrated past accomplishments and set their sights on doing well on this year’s upcoming state assessments during an assessment kick-off celebration last Friday.  

The celebration began with a parade of students moving through the halls, starting with the sixth graders, and gaining momentum as it passed through the seventh and eighth grade pods, picking up students and teachers along the way and culminating in the gymnasium. Principal Cesar Pena congratulated the students on their past assessment performance by rolling out nine banners commending the school for reaching the state Standard of Excellence in nine areas during past assessments. Pena encouraged the students to work hard to do as well or better on the upcoming tests.

 In addition to the pep talk from the principal, a group of teachers and students led the student body in a rousing round of cheers. All of the students and staff wore matching, black CMS T-shirts, provided by the Chisholm PTO. Following the cheer, a group of Newton High school drama students presented a skit on what can happen if you don’t study, and conducted a contest to see how well-versed students were in the rules and regulations of state assessments.

Chisholm students will begin taking the state assessments March 5, and all tests must be completed by April 16.

USD 373 to host first educator career fair

The Newton USD 373 Human Services Department will host a career fair for educators on Saturday, March 10, 2007, from 10 AM—3 PM, at McKinley Administration Center, 308 East 1st Street.

The career fair is open to both new and veteran teachers, as well as others considering a career in education, to discover what employment opportunities exist in the Newton school district. USD 373 staff frequently attend recruitment fairs at Kansas colleges and universities, but this will be the first attempt by the district to bring potential education employees to Newton to see what the district and the community have to offer.

Attendees are invited to bring copies of their resumes and may schedule on-site interviews with school principals and district administrators who will be present at the career fair. Community tours will also be offered at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM, and Chamber of Commerce staff will share information about the Newton community. For more information contact the USD 373 Human Services Office at 316-284-6205.

Newton Middle Schools host Scholars Bowl

Santa Fe Middle School was the site of the final home Scholars Bowl tournament of the year on January 22. In addition to Newton USD 373, teams from Rose Hill and Circle middle schools competed. Team results were as follows:

8th Grade: 1st place - Rose Hill Team 2, 2nd place - Newton Team 1, 3rd - place Circle. 7th Grade: 1st place - Rose Hill Team 1, 2nd place – Circle, 3rd place – Newton

Santa Fe students perform in state honor choirs

Six students from Santa Fe Middle School were selected to sing in statewide honor choirs on February 23 at Centruy II Convention Center in Wichita.  The students who were selected to perform are Ardys Woodward, David Merz, Shelby Rhodes, (back row L to R) Andi Villanueva, Brianna Ross, and Jacob Beebe.  Beebe and Rhodes were selected to sing in the Kansas Music Educators' Association Statewide Middle Level Festival Choir.  Merz, Ross, Villanueva, and Woodward were selected to sing in the Kansas Choral Director's Association Statewide Treble Choir.

Bunting attends National School Boards Conference                                                                       

Barbara Bunting, USD 373 school board member and president elect of the Kansas Association of School Boards, joined nearly 1,000 fellow school board members in urging the new 110th Congress to support public schools this year.  Bunting was in Washington, D.C., to take part in the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) annual Federal Relations Network Conference, January 28-30, 2007.  

Bunting, a member of the National School Boards Association's Federal Relations Network (FRN), a national grassroots advocacy network, met with Kansas Senator Pat Roberts and Representative Todd Tiahrt to urge them to increase federal funding for public schools, make improvements in the No Child Left Behind law, support voluntary preschool programs, and help districts attract and retain excellent teachers.

Local school board leaders also called on their Congressional members to sign the Pledge to America’s Schoolchildren, a nationwide, grassroots campaign designed to encourage every member of Congress to publicly show their support for America’s schoolchildren.    

“This grassroots effort is designed to positively influence Congressional action in support of our nation's schoolchildren.” said Bunting. 

School board members urged Congress to improve the No Child Left Behind law to more accurately reflect how our schools are doing by using growth models to measure student achievement.   They also urged Congress to give states more flexibility in assessing students with disabilities and students not proficient in English. School boards support H.R. 648, a bipartisan bill introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-AK) that calls for more than 40 specific improvements to the law, and S. 348, introduced by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), that also pushes for many meaningful improvements.

“It is important for our community and our schoolchildren that Congress makes public education a top priority in 2007,” said Bunting.  

"Local school board members are on the front lines every day and understand firsthand what our public schoolchildren need to succeed," said Anne L. Bryant, NSBA executive director.   “They are the best advocates in telling their own stories to Congress.”

The National School Boards Association is a national federation of state school boards associations that represent more than 95,000 school board members who govern the nation's public schools.  The organization's mission is to foster excellence and equity in public elementary and secondary education throughout the United States through local school board leadership.

Chisholm student wins writing contest

Chisholm Middle School student Tyler Prochazka recently won top honors in his age group in the Wichita Eagle's annual Christmas Story Writing Contest. Prochazka, who was encouraged to submit an entry by Chisholm language arts teacher Beverly Hunter, was notified that his ending to the story “Missing Myrtle” was selected as the winner in the age 13 to 19 category. Tyler is the son of Doug Prochazka. His complete story appeared in the 2006 Christmas Eve issue of the Wichita Eagle.

Walton Elementary receives Governor’s Achievement Award

Walton Elementary School has been named a Governor’s Achievement Award winner for exceptional performance in reading and math for 2006. The prestigious award is presented to top-performing schools in Kansas who meet specific criteria.

A school must have achieved the Standard of Excellence in both reading and math for 2006. An elementary school must have made Adequate Yearly Progress in reading, math, and attendance in 2006. And the school must have been among the top 5% in both reading and math for schools of its level on 2006 state assessments.

Walton is among 44 elementary schools to receive the award. Twelve middle/junior high and eighteen high schools also received the award.

The USD 373 Board of Education recognized Walton staff for the achievement at its February 5 board meeting.

Newton teachers publish literacy book

Two Newton Teachers have published an instructional manual for teachers on the topic of Balanced Literacy for Third Grade. Newton USD 373 Instructional Coaches Sharon Skidmore and Jill Graber compiled the comprehensive guide which covers the five national literacy standards: Comprehension, Word Study, Fluency, Writing, and Vocabulary. The book features active engagement exercises to help make learning interactive and fun. The recently released book is published by Kagan Publishing and is available online from the company’s website. Skidmore and Graber were honored by the USD 373 Board of Education at the February 5 board meeting.

Chisholm Middle School receives Challenge Award

Chisholm Middle School was selected to receive a 2006 Challenge Award by the Confidence in Kansas Public Education Task Force. The award was presented for achievement in seventh grade math, based on state assessment scores for 2006. According to an announcement by the Task Force, the award “recognizes schools for outstanding achievement and uncommon accomplishment based on Kansas Assessment results from 2006 and other qualifying factors, specifically the sample size, ethnicity and socio-economic status of those taking the test.” 

The award is Chisholm’s fourth Challenge Award in three years. The school has won previously for seventh grade math and twice for eighth grade reading.

Chisholm and other Challenge Award recipients from across the state were honored at an awards banquet January 31, in Salina.

Spanish language students inducted to Honor Society

Los Ferroviarios Chapter (the Railroaders) of the Spanish National Honor Society held its Induction Ceremony and Reception on Sunday, January 28 at 2:30 in the afternoon in the Newton High School Auditorium. The Society, which is a national organization, recognizes high achievement in Spanish in secondary schools and promotes the continuing interest in Hispanic affairs. In order to qualify for membership students must have completed four semesters of high school Spanish with a 4.0, be currently enrolled in Spanish and have an overall 3.00 GPA. 

The featured speaker for the ceremony this year was Dr. Merrill Raber, Vice-President of Kansas-Paragauy Partners. The sponsor of the Spanish Honor Society is Evelyn Gregg. Officers are: Megan Davies, President; Rachel Voran, Vice President; Allison Isaac, Secretary; and Ashley Adkins, Treasurer. 

The following students were inducted into the Spanish Honor Society for 2006-2007: Atiq Ahmadullah,Ajay Barnes, Leah Bartel, Phillip Bradshaw, Grace Choe, Ryan Clough, Michael Dukes, Mollie Emerson,  Natalie Hagman,  Amelia  Harrison, Kylie Jantz, Katie Klock, Kevin Leary, Sheralynn Neff, Caroline Robb, Lindsay Vannaman and Jalayn Zehr.

Qualifying for membership for the second year and receiving Spanish Honor Society pins were: Kaitlin Attebery, Shannon Buscher, Ashley Denney, Carissa Garcia, Benjamin Jordan  Gatz, Antero  Gonzalez, Virginia Harness,  Scott Rempel, Zach Roberts, Angelica Sanow, Luke Schmidt,  Carrie Schulz, Nicole Skala, Jarrtett Tongish, Rachel Voran and Ruth Wiens.

Qualifying for membership for the third year and receiving Spanish Honor Society t-shirts were: Ashley Adkins, Megan Davies, Allison Isaac, and Peter J. Regier. 

An Honorary membership was presented to Tais Carvalhlo, an exchange student from Brazil.

Special recognition was given to the five students from Paraguay that are at Newton High School on an exchange through Kansas Paraguay Partners for five weeks.  They are Carolina Mussi, Giuliano Mora, Alan Zillich Adriana Rojas and David Cantero.  Their advisor is Elena Sanchez.  A reception followed the ceremony in the commons.