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Volume 3, Issue 7
USD 398 District Newsletter
Warrior Times
Peabody-Burns
Board of Education
Julia Ensminger—Pres.
Bruce Burke—V. Pres
Shayla Clark
Terry Eberhard
Travis Foth
Glendon Parks
Tony Zappone
Information on the
current status of the Kan-
sas Budget
2
Valentine Day Care Op-
portunity
3
PBES Bingo & Reading
Article
4
Principally Speaking 5
Counselor’s Corner &
Calendar Updates
6
Upcoming Events 7
PBES Happenings 8
Lunch Calendar 9
PBES Spelling Bee 10
Free Parenting Class 11
Adventure Club 12
Adventure Club Order
Form
13
2nd Grade & 5th Grade
Articles
14
Bullying Article 15
PBMSHS Music News 16
Inside this
issue:
Can there be any more craziness with
everything surrounding the state’s
financial woes? If the state was as re-
sponsible with its budget and spend-
ing as USD 398 and school districts
everywhere, we would not have issues
of maintaining constitutional laws
concerning its funding of public
schools.
Last year about this time the board
was discussing passing a bond issue
that would focus on taking care of fa-
cilities, HVAC, security, and technolo-
gy that would meet this district’s long-
term needs. After much discussion the
board elected to establish a 5 year
plan with current and look for a 3 mill
increase for 2015-16. In meeting its
responsibilities to this district’s tax
payers they chose to look long term
rather than a quick fix, keeping the
option of lowering mills rather than
being set for 5 years.
Presently Kansas law provides local
boards the authority to establish a
Local Option Budget (LOB) that is up
to 30% of the General Budget without
a vote from the public. The LOB for
USD 398 is a supplemental operation-
al budget consisting of local property
taxes and state aid. The LOB and
General fund are used to pay for daily
operations of the school district. Last
year when the board considered a
bond to address district needs, the
state passed SB2506 allowing local
boards of education to raise the cap on
the LOB from 30% to 33% last July.
The board wisely has waited until this
spring to address it with voters. Why?
Mainly because of the timing with the
large district mill levy drop in the
2015-16 school year.
HB2506 was passed in an attempt by
the Kansas Legislature and governor
to equalize funding for public schools
in response to the Kansas Supreme
Court’s ruling on school funding equity.
The high court ruled school funding equity
is a constitutionally guaranteed right for
public school students. The outcome of
this ruling resulted in a reduction on local
property taxes.
Keeping the LOB at 30% has not generat-
ed any increase in operational dollars for
USD 398 while lowering property taxes.
Giving the board the authority to raise the
LOB to 33% will generate more revenue
and state aid dollars for the district while
local property taxes are reduced more.
Even with the 3% increase, USD 398 is set
for a 15% drop in property tax mills be-
tween this year and next year. The im-
portant point to remember here is that
only by passing approval of a 3% increase
in March can USD 398 meet increases in
operating costs.
In the past two years USD 398 has cut its
automotive program, reduced its instruc-
tors by 4, cut an administrative position,
and reduced support staff. The district has
cut spending in areas of service and pur-
chasing all in the efforts to meet the state
cut-backs to our district. The board has
been fiscally responsible in meeting dis-
trict needs.
In the next month I will have a couple of
meetings to provide more in-depth
information to the public concerning the
mail-in ballot approving the board to go
from 30% to 33% LOB authority, and the
reasoning behind it.
I will be sending out information in Febru-
ary concerning these meetings as well as
updates concerning state decisions affect-
ing district funds. I hope that you take the
opportunity to attend and visit with me
concerning the ballot approval. At that
time I hope to provide any up-to-date in-
formation with what’s going on with legis-
lative actions concerning the current eco-
nomic issues we face.
From the Superintendent…..
February 2015
Valentine’s Day Daycare
Peabody Adventure club is sponsoring a date night childcare ser-
vice for Saturday February 14th.
Bring your kids to Peabody Burn High school from 5pm -9pm on Valentine’s
Day and enjoy an evening with your Valentine. This night will be supervised
by the club members, and sponsors Mr. Green, Mrs. Partridge and Ms Claas-
sen. We are planning to have activities for the children such has basketball,
board games, movies, nail painting etc. The cost is $10 a child and will help
fund the Adventure Club Members trip to Colorado this summer.
Childs name ____________________________________________
Age ____________________________________________
Parent name __________________________________________
Parents phone number_____________________________________
Secondary Contact name and number
___________________________________________________________
Please have money and form returned to school by Friday January 30th. If
you have any questions please contact Mr. Green or Mrs. Partridge at 620-
983-2196.
PAGE 3 USD 398 DISTRICT NEWSLETTER VOLUME 1, I SSUE 1 VOLUME 3, I SSUE 7
DRIVER EDUCATION CLASS INFORMATION: Before you know it, it will be that time of year again when incoming freshmen and those high school students who have not taken Driver Ed will be beginning Driver Ed. classes. Sign-Up sheets are being taken care of by Mr. Simmonds. Enrollment fees are $202 for those students residing in USD 398 during the 2014-2015 school year. Non-District students wanting to take drivers education will be charged $302. Classes will be held on May 15, 18-22, 26-29, 2015. These ten classroom dates will be the only time classroom instruction is given. Students will need to be in attendance each day with no absences or they will have to take driver education next year. Payment will need to be made in full before starting the classes. If you are planning on your child taking driver ed. classes, you can start making payments ahead of time. Just contact Lisa Burnett in the HS office and set up your payment plan.
Celebrate! Monday, March 2, 2015
“Oh, the Places You'll Go when you read!. March 2, 2015 is NEA's Read Across America Day and
this year, the book is the Seuss classic, Oh, The Places You'll Go.” Take the time to sit down and
read some classic Seuss with your young students, they’ll love the time and you will be fostering
the joy of reading!
How can you celebrate?
Turn off the television and read Dr. Seuss or another favorite children’s author to your
child.
Show your student where the “funnies” are in the newspaper and then share your
favorite.
Hold a conversation with your student about what they read in school that day.
Download a children’s book onto your Kindle, Nook or e-reader device and share a book
and technology with your child.
Check out one of these children’s internet sites with your child:
www.lexiacore5.com This is a reading program that we use daily at school. Have
your child use their login from school and show you what reading skills they have
been learning.
www.ixl.com This is a math site that we use to improve math skills.
Tweentribune.com is a news site for kids. This site can be used for children from
kindergarten through high school. You shouldn’t need a login to just read the
articles.
Whatever you do to mark this special day with your child remember:
“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.”
Mrs. Riggs
Title I Reading and Math
PAGE 4 USD 398 DISTRICT NEWSLETTER VOLUME 3, I SSUE 7
B there…..
On February 7, 2015, PBES PTO will be hosting Bingo Night. Bingo will begin at 6:00
pm and will go until 7:30 pm. Bingo games and prizes are free to those who attend. We
will have a concession stand available, with snacks and drinks to purchase. All are wel-
come to attend this event, we simply ask that children be accompanied by an adult. As an
added bonus, we will be doing a Book Fair preview from 4:45-5:45, before the Bingo event.
Families may purchase items at this time or just browse before anyone else. We look for-
ward to seeing you on February 7th!!!!
the National Assessment of Edu-cational Progress (NAEP). This is a nationally monitored test that compares our 8th graders to other 8th graders across the state and nation. Our seniors will be taking the CPASS. The Career Pathways Assessment System (cPass) offers a way to measure high school students' readiness for postsecondary education or entry into the workforce. Rather than focusing on academic skills alone, cPass also measures the
knowledge and skills needed for specific career pathways. With a mix of multiple choice ques-tions, technology enhanced items, and performance based tasks, cPass measures skills both in the classroom and in real-world situation These assessments given assist us in helping our students gain-ing the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in life after high school. We realize that many students should begin the transition from high school well before they receive their diploma. Some hold paid or vol-unteer jobs where they learn re-sponsibility by showing up on time and carrying out duties as-signed. Some of our students have been responsible for their own welfare while others have already received acceptance let-
What is the purpose of high school? In my opinion, our pur-pose here at Peabody-Burns Middle School/High School is to prepare our students for life after high school. Some of our stu-dents will go directly into the workforce, while others may go ahead and receive some post sec-ondary training of some sort. Some of our students will enter the military, while others enroll in four year colleges and univer-sities.
Trying to prepare students for life after school and to be able to meet them where they are is a daunting task. One of the ways that we help make educational decisions for our students is by using a variety of assessments. As you know, in October our freshmen and sophomores were given the ACT Aspire. In Feb-ruary, we will give our sopho-mores as well as a few other stu-dents, the Work Force assess-ment. This is given to assess students in the area of Career and Technical readiness for those students who may want to enter the workforce or receive additional technical education, including the health fields. In addition, we have two other assessments given to a select group of students this month. Our 8th graders will participate in
ters from colleges and universi-ties. However, some of our high school students have spent 12 years in schools that have made most of their decisions for them. These students are often unpre-pared for postsecondary academ-ic learning environments and the world of work. Moving from this structured and contained envi-ronment of the high school to situations in which they conse-quences for their own decisions is a very difficult move. That is the reason that more and more responsibility is placed on our students as they advance throughout our system. We real-ize that it is very difficult to jug-gle school work, home life, and activities. However, isn’t that what will be expected of them as they leave our school? Our in-tent is to give students a little more responsibility each year, so that upon leaving PBHS, the transition into a postsecondary experience is not overwhelming. It is my hope that we can pro-vide an opportunity for ALL stu-dents in Peabody-Burns Middle School/High School where our students can, as shared in our district mission statement, devel-op into productive citizens and become lifelong learners.
Principally Speaking…...Mr. Parry
PAGE 5 USD 398 DISTRICT NEWSLETTER VOLUME 3, I SSUE 7
“Our mission is to train those who will grow up
to be the adults of tomorrow, those who will
live in the world we will leave behind as a
legacy, a world they will have to keep shaping
and constructing on and on. Their success will
also be ours.” ~ Christian Guellerin
Protecting public
education in Kansas
through community
participation
gameonforkansasschools.com
PAGE 6 USD 398 DISTRICT NEWSLETTER VOLUME 3, I SSUE 7
Counselor’s Corner Katie Fooshee kfooshee@usd398.com 620-983-2196
www.peabody-burnscounselorinfo.weebly.com
$AVE THE DATE FEBRUARY 22, 2015
COLLEGE GOAL SUNDAY YOU CAN VISIT www.CollegeGoal.org for more information
The FAFSA is available at https://fafsa.ed.gov/ and the deadline to submit it is
APRIL 1st, 2015
Kansas Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) The Kansas Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) is Federally funded program that helps eligible households pay a portion of their home energy costs. Benefit levels vary according to the following factors: 1) Household income, 2) number of persons living at the address, 3) type of dwelling, 4) type of heating fuel, and 5) utility rates. In order to qualify for this benefit program, you must be a resident of the state of Kansas and you must need financial assistance for energy costs. Visit http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/ees/Pages/Energy/EnergyAssistance.aspx
For more information or contact the LIEAP Program Manager at 785-368-8122.
Access to the online application is found at http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/ees/Pages/Application-for-benefits.aspx or see Katie Fooshee at PBMSHS.
USD 398 Calendar Changes/Updates
Feb. 7th ~ PBHS Forensics Tournament @ Herington
Feb. 11th ~ Marion County Spelling Bee @ Centre Schools at 10 a.m.
Feb. 12th ~ PBHS Forensics Tournament @ Marion
Feb. 28th ~ PBHS Forensics Tournament @ Centre HS
Mar. 10th ~ MS WSL Music Festival @ PBMSHS instead of the 11th
~ No School for 6-12 students, except MS Music students
Mar. 26th ~ PBHS Forensics Tournament @ Derby
Apr. 11th ~ PBHS Forensics Tournament @ Buhler
PAGE 7 USD 398 DISTRICT NEWSLETTER VOLUME 3, I SSUE 7
Book Fair Sneek Peek
February 7th 4:45-5:45
~Before Bingo Night
The PBES Book Fair week will be
February 9th-13th
February 12th the Book Fair will
be open to the public 5:00—7:30 pm
129th Groundhog Day Pancake Breakfast
February 7th 7 am—1 pm
Senior Center
By Donation Grants Awarded at 10 am
Proceeds go to the Peabody Community
foundation for projects in Peabody
USD 398 Parent & Patron Survey
Due to a lack of response, the district survey has been extended to
February 11th. PLEASE go online and complete the survey. This is im-
portant for the Board and Administration in its role to continue to grow
and serve the student needs at USD 398.
This survey is administered electronically and allows participants easy access to the information.
All you have do to participate is go to the following web site;
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RV9229Y
continues.
Try to understand the reasons
behind your child's behavior. In
some cases, kids bully because
they have trouble managing
strong emotions like anger, frus-
tration, or insecurity. In other cas-
es, kids haven't learned coopera-
tive ways to work out conflicts
and understand differences.
Adults can help by letting all kids
know that teasing and making fun
is never OK — that it is unkind,
unfair, and hurtful.
Still, many kids will experience
occasional teasing, and it can be
difficult for them to handle. Kids
with a personal or physical differ-
ences can be easy targets because
the differences are so visible.
Kids who get teased
may need help know-
ing how to respond.
Encourage your child
to tell you if he gets
teased. Calmly listen
and show him that
you understand his
feelings. Then talk
together about some
ways he can deal with
it if it happens again.
Sometimes behavior
between students
does not allow a clear
understanding as to
“who did what”, and
“where it started”.
When this happens it
creates feelings that
the problem is not
being dealt with. But
trust me, the individ-
uals who work with
the kids all day long
have a pretty good
idea what’s going on
and have a handle on
Once again February is shaping up
to be a busy month at Peabody-
Burns Elementary School with
many exciting things going on in
and outside the classrooms.
As the year progresses, activities
are limited to indoor activities, and
interactions are strained. Some-
times bullying behavior manifests
itself more than usual.
Bullying exists in every school in
some form or another. At PBES we
take bullying seriously. We consider
the safety of our children the up-
most priority Teaching these com-
petencies and skills to them is one
of the ways to empower them to
take the necessary action to stop
bullying. Working together , we can
create a safe, caring and respectful
school climate, one that provides an
optimal learning environment.
Kids bully for many reasons. Some
bully because they feel insecure.
Picking on someone who seems
emotionally or physically weaker
provides a feeling of being more im-
portant, popular, or in control. In
other cases, kids bully because they
simply don't know that it's unac-
ceptable to pick on kids who are
different because of size, looks,
race, or religion.
Some kids who bully at school and
in settings with their peers are cop-
ying behavior that they see at
home. Kids who are exposed to ag-
gressive and unkind interactions in
the family often learn to treat oth-
ers the same way. And kids who are
on the receiving end of taunting
learn that bullying can translate
into control over children they per-
ceive as weak.
Let your child know that bullying is
unacceptable and that there will be
serious consequences at home,
school, and in the community if it
the situation...no matter what the
child sometimes say,
On page 15 is a tip sheet for your
benefit. We hope that you join us as
we strive for safe learning environ-
ment at PBES.
As with everything, we try to make
everything a “learning experience”.
As we teach our students their aca-
demics studies we also teach toler-
ance, good behavior, compassion ,
and response.
The students recite this PBES
Creed each morning before the
Pledge of Allegiance;
I will respect myself and others. I
will do my best to learn”
PBES Happenings by Ron Traxson
PAGE 8 USD 398 DISTRICT NEWSLETTER VOLUME 3, I SSUE 7
PAGE 9 USD 398 DISTRICT NEWSLETTER VOLUME 1, I SSUE 1 VOLUME 3, I SSUE 7
WSL Honor Band
Br
avi
ng
the
Ele
The Warrior Times can be found on-line In Color at
http://www.usd398.net/district-newsletter/
Peabody-Burns Elementary held the annual school spelling
bee on Friday, January 23rd. Twenty-one students from 4th
and 5th grades earned the right to represent their classrooms
in the spelling bee.
Contestants were:
Jeremy Sears, Anthony
Huls, Alex Young, Hayli
Newman, Johnathan
Glover, Justin Holt,
Alexis Davis, Spicher,
Jefferson Glover, Sophie
Coover, Ciara Frye, Hel-
en Henry, Sarah Spen-
cer, Kaleb Erlich, Noal
Reynolds, Analiyah
Torres, Lukas Spencer,
Blake Percival, Kael
Hutchison. Not in the
picture; Weston McFall,
Mason Schreiber &
Philip Young
After a great competition from the field, Jonathan Glover spelled
the word, “novelist” correctly to become the champion speller.
Justin Holt placed second in the school spelling bee. Our third
place winner was Alexis Davis. These top two spellers will rep-
resent PBES in the Marion County Spelling Bee. The alternate
will participate if one of the
others is not able to do so.
The Marion County Spelling Bee is on
Wednesday, February 11th at 10:00am
at Centre Elementary - Centre
Schools. The public is invited to
attend, but visitors are asked to be seated by 10:00am
so that the bee may start on time.
PBES holds annual spelling bee
PAGE 10 USD 398 DISTRICT NEWSLETTER VOLUME 3, I SSUE 7
Former USD 398 superintendent John Glover
was in attendance for his grandson’s win.
PAGE 12 USD 398 DISTRICT NEWSLETTER VOLUME 3, I SSUE 7
PBHS Adventure Club
February 2014
Peabody-Burns Adventure Club
February 2015
“It is our belief that bicycling provides a means to nurture physical and emotional health, develop a lifelong
healthy lifestyle and create fun.”
It’s hard to believe that we are already two months into 2015. The New Year has come and is moving right along.
The Adventure Club would like to say thank you to everyone who bought burritos and supported the club in their first
fundraiser for the school year. It is only with your support and encouragement the club can continue teaching and shar-
ing a healthy lifestyle to our young people through mountain biking and other adventure based activities. A lifestyle they
can take with them as they venture on in their lives.
We appreciate all you do for us as you invest in the future of our young people. They are worth every dollar you have in-
vested.
The Adventure Club is now taking orders for Adventure Club shirts and hoodies. The shirts/hoodies have a cool design
this year which represents both the school as Peabody-Burns Warriors and the club as a mountain biking club. To en-
courage safety while riding your bike, the color is Safety Yellow. But, for those of you who might not want yellow, we are
offering this year other colors you can pick from.
For example:
a. Light blue
b. Orange
c. Light Green
d. Royal Blue
We hope to have the color chart available soon.
The cost this year is:
T-Shirt: $15.00
Hoodie: $25.00
Long Sleeve T-Shirt: $18.00
Short Sleeve Performance Shirt: $20.00
If interested, please feel free to contact one of the club kids, club
sponsors, or myself. Call the school at 620-983-2196 and ask for Mr. Green (Gene). I will make sure your order is taken.
Orders are to be in no later than February 19th.
Our Spring Fling Golf Tournament this year is April 11th. The Adventure Club’s goal this year is to have no less
than twenty (20) teams participating in the tournament. The tournament is a 4-man scramble. Start thinking about who
you want to be on your team and plan on being with us. Mark the date on your calendar. APRIL 11th!!!
Also coming up, the club is sponsoring a Valentine’s Day Daycare. This is a date night childcare service for Saturday,
February 14th. From 5:00pm to 9:00pm. The club watches and cares for your children while you and your sweetheart
go out and have an enjoyable and romantic evening with no distractions. The night will be supervised by the club mem-
bers, and sponsors Mr. Green, Mrs. Partridge, Mr. Savage, and Ms. Claassen.
We are planning to have activities for the children such as basketball, board games, and movies, nail painting, etc. The
cost is $10.00 a child. The funds raised will go towards helping the club with their adventure trip to Colorado this sum-
mer.
The club kids and the sponsors thank you again for all your support. We are so glad you are a part of our adventures.
PBHS Adventure Club – The only high school club of its kind in Kansas!
View the newsletter online to see the colors
PAGE 14 USD 398 DISTRICT NEWSLETTER VOLUME E, I SSUE 7
By The …… Awesome Virtual Field Trips
What is a virtual field trip? We followed someone on our chrome-
books that is a virtual field trip. It is cool because we stayed in our class-
room looked at pictures of geese and traveled with a former student of
Peabody-Burns to Israel.
Here are awesome facts about geese.
Did you know that Canadian Geese and Snow Geese don’t mix? Geese only land if they see a
lot of other geese on the ground. In a field can be thousands of geese. Blue Geese and Ross
Geese can be with Snow Geese. Geese are fun to watch!
Here are some facts we learned about Israel.
Camels and donkeys are used for transportation. Palestinians drink water out of the black bar-
rels. Israelites drink water out of the white barrels. There are no sidewalks. The streets go
straight up to the buildings. Did you know that a church is around Mary’s house? Israel is an
old country. There is a boat in Israel that is 2,000 years old.
It was fun to go to Israel and look at pictures of geese. It was awesome, cool, exciting, and
a different way to learn!
5th Grade News
The 5th graders attended their second
performance of the Wichita Symphony
Orchestra at Century I I on Thursday,
January 29. This was an amazing expe-
rience for the students to see and hear.
The Symphony was joined by a group,
Time for Three(Tf3), who played several
entertaining selections for the audience.
The group included two violinists and a
double-bassist dressed in blue jeans, t-
shirts and Converse. One student next
to me said, "They remind me of a garage
band". They are the equivalent of a gar-
age band who has played at Carnegie
Hall, Indianapolis Colts games, the Indy 500, Yoshi's in San Francisco, on the US Intrepid aircraft carrier, in
New York Harbor, and have teamed with Kanye West to produce an anti bullying video.
This kind of field trip experience is meaningful for our students in many ways. They not only are able to hear mu-
sic that awakens theirs senses, but they also are introduced first hand to new instruments and questions that
might not have surfaced in the regular classroom setting. As I close I'd like to share several of the comments and
questions I heard from my 5th graders as we took part in the glorious Wichita Symphony for Young People's Con-
cert last Thursday. One of the students noticed the director for the Symphony was the same as our last visit in
October, Daniel Hege. I told the student he went to Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas, the same college I
attended. The student's response, "But he's a professional? " This came from the same student who, in
class, described a scientist as "a man". Again, the experiences we provide in the classroom and outside of the
classroom are meaningful and influential.
PEABODY-BURNS USD 398
506 Elm
Peabody, KS 66866
Postal Patron
Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE
Permit No. 5 Peabody, KS
♪ Music Department February News ♫ It’s a busy month for the Peabody-Burns Music Department. We would love to see you at any or
all of the following events!
February 1st- Prairie Winds Music Festival Concert featuring four PBHS band students at
the Lied Center in Lawrence at 12:30pm.
February 2nd- Head over to McPherson College to see our Juniors and Seniors perform with
other Kansas Band Students at the Wheat State League Honor Band Concert at 7pm.
February 5th Voices Dinner Theatre Committee Meeting- Interested in helping plan Dinner
Theatre? Meet us at 6pm in the PBHS cafeteria to help plan the menu, set-up and decora-
tions!
February 13th Singing Valentines- Choose a song and have it sung to your favorite someone
by Voices! And don’t worry, we deliver. Chocolate, Candy and Flowers will also be available.
February 15th Wichita Thunder- Support the PBHS Band and buy $12 tickets to the game
and come early to see the pep band perform before the puck drops at 5:05 pm!
February 28th Voices Dinner Theatre- Join us at 7pm in the Brown Gymnasium for dinner
and a show! The menu will be announced shortly and you can buy your tickets ($15 reserved,
$12 General) from any Voices member.
Also, thank you for your support in the Band Fruit Fundraiser before the holidays!
We made somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000! This money will go towards
supplies and sending students to concerts, contests and other festivals.
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