10000 Dollar Celebrate Your School Contest by Oriental Trading – Enter Weekly to Win!
http://www.celebrateyourschool.com
Oriental Trading is giving away over $10,000 in gift cards! The 11 schools with the most votes will be asked to submit an essay for the chance to win the Grand Prize of $5,000 in Oriental Trading gift cards. The remaining ten schools will receive $500 each in gift cards. Show your school spirit and vote TODAY!

The BBQ was a huge success last year and we hope it’s an even greater success this year!

Please consider the many opportunities to volunteer listed below and complete the form. Completing this form does not commit you to anything, it simply lets us know where your interests lie.

[contact-form 4 "Volunteer Interest Form"]

Her idea:
To begin a group called Heaven’s Gyrlz, Inc. It will provide mentoring and peer groups to girls 3rd thru 5th grade in Wichita, KS. While girls with a need for positive interaction will be targeted, all girls within this age group are encouraged to participate. Groups will focus on social skills, life skills, and future academic planning.This project will take place over the course of 12 by-weekly meetings that offer different focal points. Every month we will incorporate a guest speaker who will highlight positive community interactions and promote diverse career choices. The girls will also have the opportunity to participate in community service projects and events. Membership into Heaven’s Gyrlz is ongoing and those who complete the 12 week program are encouraged to stay active with our quarterly community service projects. Heaven’s Gyrlz will always strive to be a positive face in the community.

How to support this idea:
Vote for it everyday at http://www.refresheverything.com/heavensgyrlz.

School will dismiss at 1:30 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The two-hour event will provide information about the 2010 Kansas legislative session and will also provide an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions of the state legislators.

The first hour of the program is dedicated to brief presentations by several legislators regarding the work of various legislative committees. It also will include a brief overview of the state budget picture, including the recent news of an unexpected $71 million shortfall in February tax collections.

The second hour of the event will provide audience members with the opportunity to submit written questions for the legislative panel, according to Rep. Steve Brunk, R-Wichita, chairman of the 2010 South Central Legislative Delegation.

- via the Wichita Eagle

Go! Speak up! Be heard!
Not saying anything about the cuts to public school funding just leads our elected officials to assume everything is OK…that we agree with them.

What we, and our students, stand to lose

• Professional staff reductions mean reduced help for students: in the classrooms, in the counselor’s office, in the library, in the after school programs
• Staff reductions mean other staff members have to pick up the slack on top of the duties they normally perform
• Enriched programs are slashed: no more field trips, no more art classes, no more extracurricular activities
• Our students’ ability to be engaged is affected when the classrooms are cold, lights are turned off, supplies are limited and when the staff is noticeably stressed

We are looking for the legislature to craft a bipartisan solution to this budget crisis that will provide for vital state services and ultimately restore the damage done in 2009. We cannot allow our schools’ budgets to continue to decrease year after year. The students in our district, the future leaders in our community, have made too much progress to turn back now.

OUR KIDS ARE WORTH IT!!!

In case you haven’t heard, cuts in state funding for public schools have caused USD 259 to face $25 million in budget reductions for the 2010-2011 school year. While the BOE was tasked with a similar situation for the 2009-2010 school year, they did their best to make cuts with as little impact to classroom and staff positions as possible. Unfortunately, this time, it’s going to really hurt…everyone.

So what can we do?

• Come to a Site Council meeting. There will be a special called meeting on Thursday, March 4 at 6:00pm in the library. Childcare will be available in the gym.
• Communicate directly with your personal state representative and state senator – https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org
• Frequent communication throughout the legislative session (January to early May) will be essential to help keep school funding concerns in front of lawmakers
• Stay informed! Join an advocacy group like http://www.fundourpublicschools.com