Shawnee Mission Public Schools Lancer Newsletter Shawnee Mission East High School East Lancers 52 Years Message from the Principal Update and Progress: Development and Implementation of Professional Learning Communities We are entering our second year of implementation of the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) process at SME. For those of you who are new to SME, the PLC process focuses on student learning, collaboration, and a results-orientation. As we reported in the August and February newsletters, implementation has gone extremely well. In some teaching disciplines we have progressed further than the goals we had initially established for the year. One of the most important goals we faced last year was to develop a new mission statement for the school which reflected the language of PLCs. A special committee of staff members was assembled to complete this part of the process. After weeks of brainstorming, writing, and editing, the committee presented the new mission statement to the faculty in April for approval. The new mission statement was approved unanimously. The mission of SME is to guide student learning with high academic expectation. As you can see, the mission statement above is simple to remember and aligns with our pur- pose. Copies of the new mission statement can be found throughout the building and in each of our classrooms. In our second year of implementation we plan on working on common assessments. In addi- tion, we want to assist staff members so they understand the value of analyzing data from the assessments to improve teaching in the classroom. Historically, educators have often had lim- ited experience with analyzing data from student assessments. As such, changes in teaching rarely occurred. Our emphasis is to teach assessment analysis to our teachers so they can ob- jectively review data for improving teaching. This past summer we sent eight teachers to a PLC conference (held locally) on assessments and assessment analysis. These teachers will serve as resource people as we begin this phase of implementation. In August, Dr. Dennis King from Solution Tree, Inc. provided additional as- sessment training to our entire faculty. It is going to be important for us to continue with our training as the year progresses in order to ensure that teachers understand and implement the process of assessment analysis. We are also looking into possibly purchasing an assessment statistical software program to help teachers with processing and analyzing data. Once this data has been analyzed, teachers can make the changes necessary in their teaching to promote student learning. On a side note, we would like to share with you that our school did exceptionally well on the Kansas Assessments back in April. Building wide, our scores across all the tested curricular areas were in the range of 94-97% proficiency. Maintaining these high performance scores will continue to be a challenge as we continue to change demographically in our attendance area. Nevertheless, our goal is to be sure all sub-groups (socio-economics, ethnicity, and Spe- cial Education) meet the same levels of expectation. Karl R. Krawitz Ed.D, Principal October 2010—Published On-line Monthly www.smsd.org/schools/smeast Key Dates: 10/4 NO SCHOOL, Improvement Day 10/5 LATE START 9:40am 10/5 PTA General Meeting 11:30am, Village Church 10/7 Picture Retake Day 10/11 Spirit Week 10/13 PSAT & PLAN Tests 10/13 College Clinic 6:30pm 10/15 NO SCHOOL, End of Quarter 10/16 Homecoming Dance 8pm 10/22 Grade cards given to students 10/22 -10/23 Used Book Sale 10/23 SHARE Garage Sale 11/2 LATE START 9:40am 11/3 Parent/Principal Coffee 9am, Library 11/6 Lancer Blues and BBQ Auction, Milburn Country Club 11/15 Winter Sports Begin 11/16 EARLY DISMISSAL 1:10pm 11/17 College Connection 7pm 11/19 MORP Dance 7:30pm 11/24-11/26 NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving 12/7 LATE START 9:40am 12/9 PTA General Meeting 7am, Library 12/22 NO SCHOOL, Winter Break Office Hours The main office at SME is open until 4:00 p.m. each day. The counseling office is open until 3:30 p.m.. Due to changes in staff hours and rotating sched- ules, not all support staff are here until those times, how- ever. Please call the office to verify if you have a question about hours and availability.
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Shawnee Mission Public Schools
Lancer Newsletter Shawnee Mission East High School
East Lancers 52 Years
Message from the Principal
Update and Progress: Development and Implementation of Professional
Learning Communities
We are entering our second year of implementation of the Professional Learning Communities
(PLC) process at SME. For those of you who are new to SME, the PLC process focuses on
student learning, collaboration, and a results-orientation. As we reported in the August and
February newsletters, implementation has gone extremely well. In some teaching disciplines
we have progressed further than the goals we had initially established for the year.
One of the most important goals we faced last year was to develop a new mission statement for
the school which reflected the language of PLCs. A special committee of staff members was
assembled to complete this part of the process. After weeks of brainstorming, writing, and
editing, the committee presented the new mission statement to the faculty in April for approval.
The new mission statement was approved unanimously.
The mission of SME is to guide student learning with high academic expectation.
As you can see, the mission statement above is simple to remember and aligns with our pur-
pose. Copies of the new mission statement can be found throughout the building and in each
of our classrooms.
In our second year of implementation we plan on working on common assessments. In addi-
tion, we want to assist staff members so they understand the value of analyzing data from the
assessments to improve teaching in the classroom. Historically, educators have often had lim-
ited experience with analyzing data from student assessments. As such, changes in teaching
rarely occurred. Our emphasis is to teach assessment analysis to our teachers so they can ob-
jectively review data for improving teaching.
This past summer we sent eight teachers to a PLC conference (held locally) on assessments and
assessment analysis. These teachers will serve as resource people as we begin this phase of
implementation. In August, Dr. Dennis King from Solution Tree, Inc. provided additional as-
sessment training to our entire faculty. It is going to be important for us to continue with our
training as the year progresses in order to ensure that teachers understand and implement the
process of assessment analysis. We are also looking into possibly purchasing an assessment
statistical software program to help teachers with processing and analyzing data. Once this
data has been analyzed, teachers can make the changes necessary in their teaching to promote
student learning.
On a side note, we would like to share with you that our school did exceptionally well on the
Kansas Assessments back in April. Building wide, our scores across all the tested curricular
areas were in the range of 94-97% proficiency. Maintaining these high performance scores
will continue to be a challenge as we continue to change demographically in our attendance
area. Nevertheless, our goal is to be sure all sub-groups (socio-economics, ethnicity, and Spe-
cial Education) meet the same levels of expectation.
Karl R. Krawitz Ed.D, Principal
October 2010—Published On-line Monthly www.smsd.org/schools/smeast
Key Dates: 10/4 NO SCHOOL, Improvement Day
10/5 LATE START 9:40am
10/5 PTA General Meeting 11:30am,
Village Church
10/7 Picture Retake Day
10/11 Spirit Week
10/13 PSAT & PLAN Tests
10/13 College Clinic 6:30pm
10/15 NO SCHOOL, End of Quarter
10/16 Homecoming Dance 8pm
10/22 Grade cards given to students
10/22 -10/23 Used Book Sale
10/23 SHARE Garage Sale
11/2 LATE START 9:40am
11/3 Parent/Principal Coffee 9am, Library
11/6 Lancer Blues and BBQ Auction, Milburn Country Club
11/15 Winter Sports Begin
11/16 EARLY DISMISSAL 1:10pm
11/17 College Connection 7pm
11/19 MORP Dance 7:30pm
11/24-11/26 NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving
12/7 LATE START 9:40am
12/9 PTA General Meeting 7am, Library
12/22 NO SCHOOL, Winter Break
Office Hours
The main office at SME is open
until 4:00 p.m. each day. The
counseling office is open until
3:30 p.m.. Due to changes in
staff hours and rotating sched-
ules, not all support staff are
here until those times, how-
ever. Please call the office to
verify if you have a question
about hours and availability.
Illness at School
If a student becomes ill while at school, he/she must come to the nurse’s office and a parent must be con-
tacted before he/she can leave the building. If a student leaves without checking out through the nurse’s
office, the absence will be considered unexcused.
Please be sure to keep the nurse's office notified of any changes in your phone numbers at home or work
and for your emergency contacts in case your child becomes ill while at school. No students are allowed
to leave unless the nurse's office contacts a parent, so it is imperative that we have current working phone
numbers.
Screenings
We will soon start vision screenings for 9th and 11th grade students and hearing screenings for 10th grade students. If you do
not want your student to have the screenings, please notify us.
Susan Varner, School Nurse
913-993-6616
Library News
This fall eighteen freshmen English classes came to the media center for orientation. Through a
PowerPoint called Survivor, they learned all about online and print resources as well as upcoming
special events such as the Used Book Sale, Dia de los Muertos, and the Poetry SLAM. Following the
presentation, the students used laptops to create passwords to logon and are now ―good to go‖ on the
school computers!
Recently, Kate Pickett, young adult librarian from Johnson County Library, presented book talks for
incoming ninth graders. She shared the newest titles so students could make a selection for outside
reading. Kate will return later in the year to talk to other classes about the classics and biographies.
The library welcomes the following wonderful students as lab aides this fall: Beth Capps, Melissa Gregg, Isabel Huyett,
Chris Pointer, Alex Rory, Rachel Thomas, and Shannon Tuttle. We greatly appreciate these students who are willing to give
back to their school and help in every way possible!
Thanks a million to the following nineteen volunteers who give so generously of their time and talents to assist our library pro-
gram! Margaret Ash, Janet Bates, Betsy Bautz, Julie Bernard, Claire Bretell, Beth Cole, Julie Cook, Laura Cook, Cathy
Dean, Sally Dannov, Linotte Dubois, Sallie Gilmore, Cathy Handy, Paula Longan, Mary McBride, Robin McCullough,
Neil Recker, Patty Soltys, and Jackie Wolf. These parents help with everything from bulletin boards to PowerPoints to the
Used Book Sale. It wouldn’t be the same without them!
Just a heads up about the annual Borders Benefit Days! It will be held the weekend of November 19-21. Borders will donate
15% of your purchase to our library. Plan to start your holiday shopping early and help out your school!
SME Newsletter Publication Guidelines The SME Lancer Newsletter is published online at the end of each month during the school year.
Deadline for submissions is the 2nd Friday of each month.
Submissions in Word are preferable. You may also send articles in other word processing formats or graphically as a pdf
or jpg. Hard copy material can be placed in the ―Newsletter‖ folder located in the PTA mailbox.
Your submissions may be edited due to space considerations.
Questions? Contact Heather Royce, SME Associate Principal at 913-993-6600, [email protected]; or
Joan Beahm, PTA Newsletter Editor at 913-341-3725, [email protected].
SME Newsletter - October 2010 Page 2
School News
SME Newsletter - October 2010 Page 3
School News
48th Annual College Clinic Wednesday, October 13, 2010 6:30-9:00 P.M.
Come to the 48th Annual Shawnee Mission College Clinic!
Representatives from over 200 colleges across the country will chat and share information with high school students. Freshman through seniors – and their parents- encouraged to attend! Admission, parking, and shuttle service is free.
College Connections: Sponsored by the PTA Need Expert Help? Need Ideas? College Connections is for you!
Paying for College - Wednesday, 7:00 p.m., November 17 -- SME Library
College admission representatives and experienced parents discuss "Free Appplication for Federal Student Aid" (FAFSA) &
College Scholarship Service (CSS) /Financial Aid Profile, understanding scholarships, grants and loans. Ideal for seniors, jun-
iors and their families.
Getting Started - Wednesday, March 2, 7:00 p.m. - SME Library
College admissions representatives, experts, and experienced parents discuss ACT and SAT prep, counselor support, testing,
schedules, and deadlines for applying to college.
PTA Website Check out the updated Shawnee Mission East PTA Website at http://www.smsd.org/custom/smeast/SME_PTA-Website/
index.html. You can find a current list of PTA Officers and Committee Chairs; information about PTA meetings; and important
PTA forms.
SME PTA SME PTA SME PTA SME PTA SME
SME Newsletter - October 2010 Page 8
General
Membership Meetings
September 7, 11:30 a.m.
Village Presbyterian Church
October 5, 11:30 a.m.
Village Presbyterian Church
December 9, 7:00-10:00 a.m.
SME Library
February, 7:00 p.m.
Location to be announced
March 1, 11:30 a.m.
Village Presbyterian Church
April 5, 11:30 a.m.
Village Presbyterian Church
May 3, 10:00 a.m.
Village Presbyterian Church
Theatre News for September, 2010 Don’t miss the SME fall production of Machinal, a drama, on November 11, 12, and 13 at 7 pm in the Dan Zollars Auditorium.
The cast is directed by Brian Cappello, with technical direction by Tom DeFeo. Admission for the play is $7; $5 for students
with ID; and free for students in SME theatre classes (with SME ID).
The next Theatre Boosters meeting will be October 12 at 7:00 pm in the Little Theatre. All families of students interested in
theatre are encouraged to attend. At the meeting you will hear from teachers about class activities and Machinal – the Theatre
department’s fall production scheduled for November 11, 12, and 13; get your questions answered; and have the opportunity to
volunteer. Information will also be presented about auditions for Beauty and the Beast, the department’s upcoming musical pro-
duction. An informational meeting about the New York Trip for juniors and seniors will follow the general meeting.
Please check the Theatre Boosters website -- smetheatreboosters.org -- throughout the year for performance details, forms, and
other important information related to theatre activities at East. And join us on our new Facebook page – Shawnee Mission East
Theater Boosters !
Frequent Friday productions will be presented October 8 by director Polly Mytinger and October 22 by director Riley Watson
at 3 pm in the Little Theatre.
Join Theatre Boosters! …for more info, visit smetheatreboosters.org or contact Tara Thomas, Theatre Booster Vice-President,
Important dates to remember: October 5 fall concert; September 30-October 2 Musical Revue ―The Best of Broadway‖; Novem-
ber 9 East Area Choral Festival; and the December 9 holiday concert. Finally, choirboosters will meet at 7 p.m. in the SME
Choir room on Tuesday, November 16. Please join us!
Thanks to Our Renovation Sensation Sponsors The 6th Annual Renovation Sensation Home Tour which benefits the SHARE program at SME was held on September 15th.
The tour was a HUGE success. We would like to personally thank everyone who supported it, by either being one of our spon-
sors or one of our attendees. Thank you so very much, A very special thank you to Liz and Greg Maday who hosted and un-
derwrote a MAGNIFICENT Patrons Party at their stunning home, on September 14th.
Below please find a list of our sponsors and benefactors:
1. Become a member of the SM East All-Sports Booster Club
Multiple sponsorship levels available; Special recognition in the SM East Sports Program; and Receive two free season passes to all home SM East athletic events.
2. Buy an ad in the SM East Sports Program Guide
A cost-effective way to promote your business to the East community; Available in a variety of sizes and prices; East families and friends can also purchase ads; For one price, ads appear in all three – Fall, Winter and Spring – Sports Program Guides; and All ads include two FREE season passes to all home SM East athletic events.
About the SM East All-Sports Booster Club Founded in 1968, the All-Sports Booster Club has a rich tradition of supporting all Lancer sports teams and cheerleading on an equal basis. The Shawnee Mission School District provides approximately $50,000 in funds to support all of our sports programs. Funds raised by the Club provide significant additional support to student athletes and their coaches, helping pay for new equipment, travel, banners, uniforms, special training events, and more.