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Faris Elementary School News
Sixth grade art show online
Feb 25, 2010 To Celebrate Youth Art Month, all sixth graders in the
Hutchinson Public Schools were asked to select one piece of art to
exhibit. As a result, the district is hosting a
Voting for the best of show is open through March 10, 2010.
The top students selected
will be invited to display his or her art at the
For more information, contact Teddy Gingerich, USD 308 elementary art teacher.
Nominations being taken for Davis Teacher
Feb 4, 2010 Each
year, the James A. and Juliet
L. Davis Foundation honors Hutchinson Public Schools educators with the
Davis
Teacher of the Year Award.
The
foundation is taking
applications for the award until March 19.
The
Davis Foundation will grant five awards this year for outstanding
classroom
teachers. Two will be selected from grades K-6, one from grades 7 and 8
and two
from grades 9-12.
Teachers
must be currently serving in the Hutchinson Public Schools system to
receive
consideration. Administrators and other non-classroom and non-teaching
personnel are not eligible to receive these awards.
To obtain a nomination form, call (620) 615-4029.
District uses online auction to sell surplus property
Oct 15, 2009 Looking for
USD 308 has a deal for you -- make
that 59 deals.
Actually,
All the items have been declared
surplus by the district's Board of Education. Unlike auctions of old, however,
you need a computer to bid on the items in 2009 as you have needed to do for
the past several auctions.
The district is employing the Purple
Wave online auction. Purple Wave is the state-approved auction vendor. The
online auctions have allowed the district to reduce handling of auction items
and broadened the potential bidder pool.
The district's auction can be found
at http://www.purplewave.com/cgi-bin/pwdetails.cgi?091208.
The auction closes Dec. 8.
Award nominations being taken
Oct 8, 2009 Nominations
are being taken for the
second trimester Kaleidoscope Award in USD 308.
Theresa Brown, elementary instructional specialist for
the district, received the first such award in the district earlier
this year
in front of 900 of her colleagues during the opening convocation at
the
The district will have two more recipients this year for
the "Kaleidoscope Award." The award is designed to recognize
staff members who are reflections of the districts beliefs, and for
"uncommon
vision" in advancing the vision for the district embodied in the
strategic
plan.
Nominations should include the nominee's name, and
a couple of paragraphs about why he or she should receive the award.
Nominations should be sent to flowersd@usd308.com.
Staff members nominated for the Kaleidoscope Award should
exhibit the qualities of:
- Helping
to
create a system that values every child, no matter how gifted, no
matter how
broken;
- Seeing
potential
where others see defeat;
- Reflecting
what
our beliefs say we are made of; and
- Seeing
hope
rather than fear.
District volunteer to be recognized at Faris
Sep 17, 2009 A long-time district volunteer will be honored in one of
the schools at which he serves Friday.
Harold Doerfler received the Governor's Points of Light
Award earlier this month in
Doerfler volunteers at both Faris and Avenue A Elementary
Schools. To date, he has served more than 1,600 hours with about 900 visits.
The Kansas Governor's Points of Light Award
Program is designed to honor those who have made a commitment
to service in
Doerfler was nominated for the award by Beth Unruh,
YouthFriends reading and tutoring specialist.
For more information, contact Diane Caton.
Teachers recognized during opening convocation
Aug 17, 2009 A 25-year veteran educator received the first-ever
Kaleidoscope Award during the opening convocation of
Theresa Brown, elementary instructional specialist for
the district, received the award in front of 900 of her colleagues during the
first-of-the-year celebration at the
The award, which will be given out three times each year,
includes a hand-made kaleidoscope. Dr. David Flowers, superintendent of
schools, used the kaleidoscope as a metaphor for the district's strategic and
operational plans.
With individual components of a kaleidoscope positioned
on a table in front of him, Dr. Flowers explained how individually the
components may have some limited use. When put together as a system to create a
kaleidoscope, the parts together create beautiful images.
In much the same way, different staff members and initiatives
of the district are brought together in the strategic and operational plans to
serve students and the community in ways individual programs or staff could not.
Mrs. Brown has shown her ability to build capacity for
excellence in others within the district and community, Dr. Flowers said. She
"walks the talk" of educational excellence.
Dr. Flowers asked staff members to nominate colleagues
for the award. Qualities and abilities of nominees include:
- Helping to create a system that values every child, no matter how gifted,
no matter how broken;
- Seeing potential where others see defeat;
- Reflecting what our beliefs say we are made of;
-
Personal courage, to see hope rather than fear; and
- Uncommon vision that transforms ourselves, our staffs or our children
into even more than we have dreamed to be.
Also during Monday's convocation, the Davis Foundation
recognized its Teachers of the Year for 2008-09.
Winners were Janie Hoefer, Hutchinson Magnet School at
Allen, and Melissa Thomas, Avenue A Elementary School for the elementary
division; Cindy Beshore, HMS-7, for the middle school division; and Tobie
Henline and Theresa Smith, both of Hutchinson High School, for the high school
division.
The Davis Foundation was formed in 1953. It first gave
college scholarships to
The district's Kansas Teacher of the Year nominees were
recognized. Theresa Corcoran,
Teachers will spend this week in professional development
and getting their classrooms set up for the 2009-10 school year. School begins
Aug. 24 for grades 1 through 9; Aug. 25 for grades 10 to 12; and Aug. 26 for
kindergartners and 4-year-olds.
District unveils new phone system
Jul 10, 2009 Hutchinson Public Schools begins the new school year with
a new telephone system and new telephone prefix.
After training this week, the district began using its
new telephone system. The new main number for the district is (620) 615-4000.
All phone numbers for district staff begin with the "615"
prefix. The district was able to obtain a block of 2,000 numbers to accommodate
existing and future growth.
The new system is a voice over internet protocol system,
more commonly known as VoIP. The VoIP
system runs on the district's extensive computer network backbone. The new
telephone system replaces a 20-year-old Plexar system with 509 phone lines.
Because the new system has about a $4,000 a month lower
cost and with federal e-Rate assistance, the new system should pay for its
$250,000 cost in less than five years, said Larry Frederick, USD 308 director
of technology.
While costing less, the new system has more capabilities.
It has 60 out-bound phone lines, compared to 35 on the old system.
Even though the system allows for automated attendants,
the district will continue to use receptionists during regular business hours.
While the district has a new phone system, old telephone
numbers published in commercial telephone books will continue to work for the
next year or more, including the former main number of the district, (620)
665-4400.
The numbers have been updated in parent-student handbooks
and other publications families will receive this fall.
A list of the new building phone lines is below.
|
Building |
Number |
|
|
615-4000 |
|
Avenue A Elementary |
615-4950 |
|
Early Head Start |
615-5810 |
|
Educational |
615-5500 |
|
|
615-5000 |
|
|
615-5050 |
|
|
615-4900 |
|
HMS-7 |
615-4700 |
|
HMS-8 |
615-4800 |
|
|
615-5750 |
|
|
615-4100 |
|
|
615-5100 |
|
|
615-5150 |
|
|
615-5200 |
|
|
615-5575 |
|
Wiley Elementary School |
615-5250 |
Summer feeding program expands
May 26, 2009 Hutchinson Public
Schools will provide summer meals in June and July with the program expanded in
2009 to include breakfast at more places. The meals are free
for anyone age 18 and under. No reservations are needed for the meals. The 2009 summer feeding program will
be June 1 through July 31 at Lincoln
Elementary School, 315
East Bigger. In a first, the "neighborhood" feeding site will have breakfast
all summer. Breakfast hours at Lincoln
are from 7:30 to 8 a.m. each day with lunch served from 11 a.m. to noon. There
will be no lunch on July 3, a district holiday. The second all-summer site is at
Boys and Girls Club, 600 West 2nd. Breakfast there will be from 7:30
to 8 a.m. with lunch served from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Both the Lincoln and Boys and
Girls Club sites will serve meals Monday through Friday during the summer,
except on July 3. Meals will be served at Faris Elementary
School, 300 East 9th, during the
Summer Scholars Program, which will run Mondays through Thursdays, June 22
through July 16. There will be no meals served at Faris on Fridays. Serving
time will be from 7:30 to 8 a.m. for breakfast and 11 a.m. to noon for lunch. While meals for youth 18 and under
are free, adult lunches cost $2.85 with adult breakfasts priced at $1.70. The meals are
similar to those provided during the school year, providing an entree as well
as plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Menus will be available on the district's
website as well as Cox Cable Channel 20 in Hutchinson. The program is
funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Mass Bands draws thousands
May 15, 2009
The
22nd annual Mass Bands Concert May 14, 2009, feature about 600 USD 308 students
in grades six through 12 and drew a crowd of nearly 3,000 to the Salthawk Activity Center on the Hutchinson High School campus. There were performances by elementary bands, a
combined middle school band, the high school band and jazz bands before the
actual mass bands performance, which brings together all the students.
The
district has been doing the Mass Bands Concert since 1988. The event is a
chance for students to play with what may be the largest group they ever will
in their lives. It also gives parents a chance to hear what their children are
doing as well as what others are doing in the district. For younger students,
the concert also gives them a chance to see what is in store for them in the
future in band.
After the Mass Bands Concert, there was a reception in the Hutchinson High School Cafeteria for two Music Department staff members who will retire this year. Honored will be Sid Showalter, director of bands at HHS, and Stephen Washington, music and student records secretary.
Both Showalter and Washington were recognized in front of the entire crowd at the concert as well.
Showalter was an organizer of the original Mass Bands Concert. Each concert ends with an arrangement of "A Mighty Fortress" and includes all 600 musicials.
School to end a day early in 2009
Apr 23, 2009 USD 308 is gearing up for unprecedented building construction
across the district this summer. As a result, USD 308's final day for students
will be May 20, a day earlier than earlier scheduled.
Teachers will prepare their rooms for the construction
process or other end-of-year activities. Non-teaching staff will assist or have
the option of starting summer a day early.
The district will turn several buildings over to
contractors on May 26 for asbestos abatement and remodeling work.
Future Problem Solvers qualify for international competition
Apr 13, 2009 Teams of
The team of Emily Fan, Morgan
Elementary; Ellie Rumback,
Also competing for Hutchinson in the
state Junior Division and placing second was the team of Shannon Bellamy, Faris
Elementary; Chloe Miller, Wiley Elementary; Sarah Hansen, Morgan Elementary;
and Jon Hornbaker, Graber Elementary.
Students worked in teams to complete
booklets, during a two-hour time period, demonstrating their application of the
six steps of the creative problem solving process to a futuristic situation
associated with the topic "Counterfeit Economy."
The booklets were evaluated on the
students' use of the creative problem solving process, their ability to
communicate their ideas in written form, critical thinking, creativity, application
of research and futuristic thinking.
The topic of the international competition
is "Pandemics."
The team of Fan, Rumback, Sofia Garcia
and Charlie Garcia also placed first in the Junior Division Presentation of
Action Plan competition.
The Future Problem Solving Program
International involves more than 250,000 students from
For more information, contact Nancy Birgen,
facilitator for elementary gifted for USD 308, at 665-4760.
Career Exploration Day set
Apr 3, 2009 As sixth graders prepare to move from elementary to
secondary school, Hutchinson Public Schools will hold a Sixth Grade Career
Exploration Day April 24 in the
Half the district's sixth graders will attend a morning
session with the other half attending in the afternoon. In all, more than 320
students are expected for the event.
For many of the students, this will be their introduction
to the Kansas Career Clusters, 16 general areas for careers. Coursework in many
of those career clusters is offered at
The day is a "first step" for many students to identify
future career choices. It is designed to bring career awareness to the
students. In all, 10 of the clusters will be represented at the April 24 event.
Interactive displays will include the BEST Engineering
Team from HHS on science, engineering and math; North Central Kansas Technical
College on manufacturing; Wichita Area Technical College on aerospace; the
Hutchinson Fire Department on health sciences and human services; the HHS
Career and Technical Academy's Building Trades Program on architecture and
construction; University Technical Institute on transportation, distribution
and logistics; Hutchinson Credit Union on finance; and Hutchinson Community
College on information technology.
For more information, contact Kent Blessing.
All district schools open Tuesday
Mar 30, 2009 After roof re-inspections by the Hutchinson Fire Department
and interior inspections by Hutchinson USD 308 staff, four schools closed
Monday as a precaution after the weekend snow will reopen Tuesday.
Three district elementary schools -- Faris,
A facility run by a partner agency, the
The wintry weather has prompted two activity
postponements. The final performance of
Additionally, junior varsity boys' golf, initially set
for Monday, has been postponed to 3 p.m. April 13 at
All other USD 308 facilities were in normal operation on
Monday.
District changes pre-enrollment for kindergarten/4-year-old at risk
Mar 6, 2009 Hutchinson Public Schools
will have its pre-registration for kindergarten and the 4-year-old at-risk
program from 4 to 8 p.m. on April 16 at the
This program replaces the
traditional kindergarten roundups in the district.
Staff from the elementary
schools will be on hand during the come-and-go event to answer questions and to
get pre-enrollment information. Families who participate in the pre-enrollment
will receive a packet of enrollment information for their child in July by
mail.
All children who will be 5
years old on or before Aug. 31, 2009, are eligible to enroll in kindergarten in
Hutchinson Public Schools for the 2009-10 school year.
Enrollees in the 4-year-old at-risk
program must be 4 on or before Aug. 31, 2009, and are identified using multiple
criteria, including:
- Poverty;
- Single parent families;
- SRS referral;
- Teen parents;
- Either parent lacking a high school diploma or GED;
- Child qualifies for migrant status;
- Limited English proficiency; or
- Developmentally or academically delayed based on
assessments.
The day of the
pre-enrollment, parents are asked to bring their child’s record of immunizations,
physical and birth certificate to the event.
Families may be asked for
proof of residence for the child's legal guardian.
Hutchinson Public Schools
has half-day kindergarten programs at Faris, Graber,
The 4-year-old at-risk
program is offered at Avenue A, 111 South Madison;
Families also will have
the opportunity to make an application to attend
String Fling set
Feb 26, 2009 USD 308 will host the largest
symphony concert of the year in
The annual String Fling will be at
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at Memorial Hall, 101 South Walnut. The event will
feature all the district's orchestra students from sixth grade through high
school.
About 200 musicians will be involved
in the event.
The event provides all the
district's stringed musicians a chance to perform together. Younger students have
the opportunity to see what is in store for them as they advance in orchestra.
The first and last pieces of the
performance will be performed by all the students. The first piece is Telemann
Sinfonia while the final piece is Shawnee Stomp.
The students are under the direction
of Bruce Boyd, Shelly Duell and Jay Hawkins.
Sixth grade parents' meeting set
Feb 4, 2009 Parents of sixth graders interested
in attending Hutchinson Middle School are invited to attend a parent meeting at
7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, in the commons of at HMS-7, 210 East A.
The parent meeting is part of a
larger pre-enrollment process through which sixth-grade students are going as
they make their selections for the 2009-10 school year.
During the Feb. 12 meeting, parents
and care givers will have the opportunity to meet HMS-7 administration, the
counselor, activities coordinator, school resource officer and International Baccalaureate
Middle Years Programme coordinator.
Additionally,
families will learn about
-
HMS-7 course
offerings, expectations, activities and athletics;
-
the Middle Years
Programme (MYP);
- enrollment
process; and
- see an
electronic presentation and question and answer time.
As part of the pre-enrollment
process, students will have multiple opportunities to learn more about HMS-7.
Through February, administrators and the counselor from HMS-7 will visit each
sixth grade class in USD 308 to provide enrollment information and answer any
questions.
Then on Feb. 25, district sixth
graders will be able to tour HMS-7 and watch an electronic presentation on the
school. At that time, students will be able to turn in enrollment cards, learn
more about HMS activities and athletics and get questions answered.
USD 308 to test AlertNow
Nov 13, 2008 Hutchinson Public Schools will have a test of its parent notification system, AlertNow, the evening of Nov. 17. The message will be sent at about 7 p.m.Parents of K-12 students and staff will receive a test telephone message through the system that will introduce the system to parents and staff.
AlertNow is a high-speed, automated parent notification system that can be used for both emergency and routine messages. Highly customizable, the program will allow district staff to send out notices ranging from school closure information to all parents to reminders about grade-level music programs involving small groups of students.
Families of USD 308 students who do not receive the message should contact their student's school to make sure the school has the correct telephone number.
For more information, contact Ray Hemman, district public information officer, at 665-4429.
Two schools honored with Challenge Awards
Oct 28, 2008 The Confidence in Kansas Public Education Task Force has
honored three different groups in two USD 308 schools for achievement on 2008
Kansas Assessments.
The Challenge Award recognizes schools for "outstanding
achievement 
and uncommon accomplishment" on state tests. The award is based on
sample size, ethnicity and socio-economic status of students taking the tests.
Dr. David Flowers, superintendent, shared news about the
Challenge Awards with the district's Board of Education Monday night (Oct. 27,
2008).
In all the Task Force awarded 111 certificates to classes
in 51 different schools.
The Task Force was established 27 years ago to promote
Schools, classrooms receive SOE recognition
Oct 14, 2008 Five USD 308 schools received the Kansas Standard of
Excellence in eight different areas while 21 grade levels in the district
received the state's SOE for the 2008 Kansas Assessments.
The Kansas State Board of Education will formally release
its Standard of Excellence list this week. The SOE is determined by a formula
that includes the percentage of students in scoring the top two assessment
categories as well as only a small percentage of students in the lowest
category. The SOE standard varies by subject and is different for elementary
schools and secondary schools.
"Our staff is amazing, and these results are just one
indicator of the hard work they do every day in the classroom," said Donna
Davis, executive director of secondary education and assessment. "As a
district, our goal is continuous improvement for all students. By bringing all
students up, we are able to meet individual student, classroom, school and
district goals."
As a school,
At the secondary level,
Farley wins A Day Made Better Award from OfficeMax
Oct 1, 2008
For the second consecutive years, a USD 308 elementary
teacher has been honored by OfficeMax with the A Day Made Better Award.
Kristy Farley, who teaches second grade at Faris,
received classroom supplies and other classroom resources valued at more than
$1,000.
Farley received the award during a surprise school
assembly at Faris Wednesday morning. John Palmer, Hutchinson OfficeMax store
manager, and Tiara Eubanks, Hutchinson OfficeMax store associate, were on hand
to make the award.
A year ago, Kim Theede, received the award at
The A Day Made Better Award is an OfficeMax program. The
program also highlights a charitable program, Adopt-A-Classroom in which anyone
across the nation can adopt a classroom and make donations to help provide
additional resources to the classroom.
