USD 417 Morris County Schools Awarded “Standard of Excellence”
USD 417 Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Kelly Gentry, reports that all five campuses of USD 417 received awards for Standard Of Excellence from the Kansas State Department of Education. Mrs. Gentry states, “These results of academic achievement are the result of the continuing dedication of our administrators, teachers, . . . read more
Some Important Information Regarding this Year's State Assessments
Education in Kansas, and throughout our nation, is currently undergoing significant change. We have talked about many of these changes in prior messages. One of the significant changes . . . read more
Students return from State Leadership Conference
Wichita, KS - Members, alumni, advisers and guests of the Kansas association of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, or FCCLA, recently attended the 67th annual State Leadership Conference on April 7-9 in Wichita, KS. With the . . . read more
A Story of Two Students, Peter and Jill (Part 2)
For Peter, now in college, being on academic probation was disappointing but it really did nothing to change his work ethic. Habits developed over the majority of his young life were hard to change. Having to retake College . . . read more
A Story of Two Students, Peter and Jill (Part 1)
It has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote. At that time I talked about the high cost to our children for not having a post-secondary education of some sort. Of the students I have known in my 30+ years in education, . . . read more
USD 417 Seeks Assistance from Local Farmers
Monsanto provides for a national program which helps farmers to positively impact their communities by supporting rural school districts. This program gives eligible farmers the opportunity to nominate a public school district in their . . . read more
National Merit Finalist
To become a Finalist, Mary and CGHS had to submit a detailed scholarship application providing information about her academic record, participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, and honors and awards received. . . . read more
Is Your Child Ready for Life After High School: College and Career Readiness?
I want to share some startling statistics that I believe every responsible parent should know when it comes to educating their child. These figures come from the National Center for Education Statistics, the national database for . . . read more
Board Approves Doug Conwell as 2013-2014 Superintendent
After interviewing three finalists last week for the superintendent of school position, the USD 417 Board of Education decided the best person to provide leadership and experience in facing the challenges of public education already was on . . . read more
What Will the Change to Common Core Curriculum Look Like?
In part 1 of this short series of articles, I wrote about the College and Career Readiness and the Common Core standards initiatives that are taking place across the United States. I hope people took the time to access the website that . . . read more
The Common Core Standards and USD 417
It has come to my attention that parents are seeing a different kind of homework coming home with their children and different classroom work as well. The comments I have heard express surprise at the content of the work (what used to . . . read more
2013 Kansas Cable Telecommunications Horizon Award Program Recognizes 32 Kansas Educators
TOPEKA - Thirty-two beginning educators from around the state were named 2013 Kansas Cable Telecommunications Horizon Award recipients recently. The Kansas Cable Telecommunications Horizon Awards are sponsored by the Kansas State Department . . . read more
Financial Aid Information
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Morris County Spelling Bee
The Morris County Spelling Bee will be held on January 23, 2013, at 1:30 p.m. at the Council Grove High School auditorium. The Council Grove, Prairie Heights and White City building winners will compete for the county. The top two winners of . . . read more
How are Benchmark Assessments different than State Assessments?
Benchmark Assessments occur three times each school year: fall, winter, and spring. The dates this school year for benchmark testing “windows” are Sept. 4-14, Jan. 9-17, and May 1-10. All students in grades K-8 are given the . . . read more
The Lexile Framework for Reading
What are Lexiles? Both Benchmark assessments and State Assessments give students, parents, and educators Lexile measures for each individual student. Lexile measures describe the reading level of a student and the complexity of a . . . read more
Parents' Guide to Student Success
The Parents' Guide to Student Success (listed below in English and Spanish) was developed in response to the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics that more than 40 states, including Kansas, have adopted. . . . read more
Celebrate Family Day September 24th
There’s nothing more relaxing at the end of the day than sitting down with your family for dinner. It’s not just about the food. The communication, the togetherness and the bonding are all important parts of the dinner table . . . read more
USD 417 Morris County Schools No Longer on AYP Improvement
Curriculum and Instruction Director Kelly Gentry, announces amazing results across each campus of USD 417 Morris County Schools. First and foremost we are proud of Prairie Heights Elementary School attaining the “Reward School” award . . . read more
RunShunga Donation
The USD 417 Board of Education wants to express great appreciation to the Flinthill’s Family organization for their $4,300 donation to the USD 417 afterschool programs (Council Grove and Dwight). Dr. Ford indicates that the afterschool . . . read more
Kansas receives NCLB waiver
Kansas received approval today for flexibility in meeting certain provisions in the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The waiver, granted by the U.S. Department of Education, will substantially change how Kansas schools, educators and . . . read more
99 Reasons Teachers Rock
The education community has been all gloom and doom recently, with Waiting for Superman , protests with bad press, and more standards on top of foolish mandates coming down from every which way. At TeachHUB, we want . . . read more
Kids Fail Less When They Know Failure Is Part of Learning, Study Finds
Kids perform better in school if they know failure, and trying again, is part of the learning process, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association . The research included several experiments . . . read more
Students to see healthier school lunches under new USDA rules
More fruit, fewer fries. Lots of legumes. Romaine amid the salad greens. And the bread on that peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Whole grain instead of white. School lunches in Morris County and elsewhere will start to . . . read more
Kristina Laizure County Spelling Bee Champion
Kristina Laizure (center), a Council Grove Middle School 8th grader, won the Morris County Speeling Bee on February 9th. Paul Lamberson (left), Prairie Heights 8th grader, placed 2nd, and Madison Miller, White City 6th grader, was 3rd. . . . read more
Governor’s Award Recognizes Top Performing Schools
TOPEKA – Forty-three Kansas elementary schools, 11 middle/junior high schools and 18 high schools were recently recognized as part of the fifth annual Governor’s Achievement Awards, honoring top performing schools in the state. . . . read more
Top TEN Things You Need to Know About Common Core State Standards
Beginning in the spring of 2009, Governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states, 2 territories and the District of Columbia committed to developing a common core of state standards for K-12 English-language arts (ELA) and . . . read more
Improving the Grounds
Kim Bomberger has been working with district staff, mostly Dr. Ford and Rick Evans, to place trees on the high school grounds. Mrs. Bomberger is a north central and northeast district community forester for the Kansas Forest Service, and she . . . read more
BRAVES ROBOTICS
Braves Robotics has been hard at work and have gone from big boxes of bolts to a moving vehicle in less than a month. “Tuesday evening we mounted the wheels and motors to the chassis. Timothy had programmed our remote so we decided to stay . . . read more
CONGRATULATIONS to ALL USD 417 Buildings
Standard of Excellence awards for 2011 were released last week. The following buildings in our district made Standard of Excellence in the following subjects: D0417 5998 Morris . . . read more
Kansas should strive to be number one
In 1970, Avis Car Rental launched an ad campaign that featured the slogan, “we may be number 2, but we try harder.” The slogan has endured, even as Avis has made inroads into being the number one car rental business in America. What does . . . read more
New District Academic Council Member
Welcome to Amber Jones who will be the new Alta Vista community representative on the District Academic Council when it begins in October. Rachel Tompkins will be representing the Wilsey area on DAC, in addition to her duties as DAC . . . read more
Greenbush Leadership Institute
Morris County USD 417 is proud to announce Dave Watkins, Cynthia Schraeder and new Special Education Director Dathan Fischer have been selected to join current and aspiring leaders from 36 Kansas School districts to participate in Greenbush . . . read more
Teenagers and the GOOD things they do!
This summer, Lane Evans and crew installed the letters on Prairie Heights Elementary School for his Eagle Scout project. The letters were purchased with the Florence Stahl Memorial. Lane is from Dwight and is a sophomore at . . . read more
USD 417 Team Building
USD 417 teachers and staff participated in team building activities during teacher in-service. Nick and Dan from Pittsburg, KS were the facilitators of these events and they took staff members through several tasks that are designed to . . . read more
Volunteer
Dear Brave Supporter, It doesn’t seem possible but summer is coming to an end and it is time to gear up for another Braves Activity season. With the start of a new year we are looking forward to a year . . . read more
USD 417 Middle School Sports questionnaire
If your child is a middle school student in USD 417 and is planning on participating in athletics please complete the following questionnaire. MS Sports Questionnaire read more
Class of 2011
. . . read more
Lock Up Your Liquor
Morris County Anti-Drug Task Force is advising against loosening the rules about underage alcohol use with a “Lock Up Your Liquor” request for all parents. In addition to the recent education on the social hosting laws . . . read more
Business Department Moving to the Future...
The high school business department is moving in the direction of two Career Pathways. In 2011-2012, courses will be offered in the areas of Business Entrepreneurship and Management, and Business Finance/Accounting. Students can . . . read more
USD 417 School Staff Member Receives Healthy Habits for Life Grant from the BCBS of Kansas Foundation
Council Grove Middle School and Council Grove High School, USD 417, is the recipient of a $1,000 Healthy Habits for Life grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation for each school. Dana Reddick, RN, . . . read more
Kansas Master Teacher Award
USD #417 Teachers’ Association is very proud to announce the selection of Miss Teresa Disberger as a winner of the Emporia State University Kansas Master Teacher Award. She was one of seven winners from across the state of . . . read more
Thank You!
We would like to thank community members who attended one or both Town Meetings last week in Council Grove or Alta Vista. Your participation, input, and questions were very much appreciated. We would also like to thank those . . . read more
CISL Efficiency Study Executive Summary
Executive Summary The function of the Center for Innovative School Leadership (CISL) is to conduct school efficiency reviews for school districts on a voluntary basis to help them realize greater efficiency and effectiveness. CISL . . . read more
Automated Messaging Information – Why can’t I hear the announcement?
Our school district uses a telephone broadcast system that enables us to notify households by phone within minutes of an unplanned event that causes early dismissal or cancellation. Recently we have received feedback that ‘no-one is . . . read more
January Envision 417 Committee Meeting
The Envision 417 committee met on Monday at Dwight in the PHES gymnasium. Committee members and patrons attending to observe the meeting, were given a tour of the facility and then a presentation of budget concerns from Dr. Ford. . . . read more
Budget cuts for USD 417 Morris County Schools
Our new governor’s budget has verified many of our fears about fiscal cuts to the state. Even though his budget proposal must pass through our state legislature, history has shown that past budgets presented by the governor generally . . . read more
CGMS Sports Location
With the opening of the new facility at CGHS there have been some questions regarding the decision to play CGMS basketball games at CGMS and CGHS (old gym). In efforts to provide the best opportunity for competition and practice for all USD . . . read more
October Envision 417 Committee Meeting
Members of the Envision 417 Committee met on Monday, October 25 and opened with Kansas Learning Network consultant Steve Gering working on team building and direction. The committee redesigned its focus and purpose. That purpose . . . read more
USD #417 Celebrates 44th Annual School Bus Safety Week This Year’s Theme: Avoid Harm, Obey the Stop Arm
National School Bus Safety Week (October 17- 23) is an annual event in which USD 417 supports School Bus Safety Week to help highlight the importance of school bus safety awareness and education. This year’s theme, Avoid Harm, Obey the Stop . . . read more
Standard of Excellence
The Standard of Excellence awards for 2010 have just been released. CONGRATULATIONS! Every building in our district made Standard of Excellence in both Reading and Math Building-Wide . The following buildings made . . . read more
“Kansas Passes Massive Tax Increase,”
“Kansas Passes Massive Tax Increase,” “Largest Tax Increase in Kansas History,” “Highest Taxes in History,” “Huge Increases in School Spending” We have all seen the headlines and heard the hyperbole, and . . . read more
City Lake Court Decision Effect on Morris County School District
The Kansas Court of Appeals denial of the county’s taxation practice for City Lake property could cause a financial shortfall for Morris County School district. Please understand that it may be difficult to explain the shortfall as it . . . read more
Bats in CGHS (a.k.a) Belfry
It would appear that besides the many activities that take place at CGHS, the facility is also home to a colony of bats. Ample amounts of “forensic evidence” have been left behind that indicates the initial few suspected bats are . . . read more
Fictional $10,000 Pipe Replaced
It was discovered on August 9th that the water main feeding into Council Grove Elementary School (CGES) had developed a severe leak (averaging 15,000 gallons a day). The water had filled the basement and tunnels in the east part of . . . read more
Saving the Mighty Oak Tree and the Prodigious Sycamore Tree
School board president Marty White, Dr. Ford and Rick Evans met with Kim Bomberger, a forester from The Kansas Forest Service, to develop a course of action to protect the historical oak tree that stands next to the tennis courts and to save . . . read more
