-PHS Update- January 22

January 23 - JH Scholars Bowl @ Uniontown

January 24 - HSBB @ Home vs Moran

January 25 - FFA Poultry @ Paola

January 25 - US Army Rep Lunch Visit

January 26 - HS Scholars Bowl - League @ Marmaton Valley

January 27 - Courtwarming

January 27 - HSBB vs Altoona

January 31 - HSBB @ Crest

February 1 - Early Release

February 1 - STARS Event @ Iola

February 3 - HSBB @ Chetopa

February 6 - JH Scholars Bowl @ Jayhawk

February 7 - HSBB vs Uniontown (Home)

February 8 - FFA Meat Judging @ Paola

February 9 - JH Scholars Bowl @ Arma

February 10 - HSBB vs Oswego

February 13 - BOE Meeting

February 14 - HSBB @ Hume

February 15 - Early Release

February 16 - HSBB vs Bronaugh

February 16 - Parent's Night

February 17 - HSBB @ Cherokee

February 18 - Ice Castles

We would love for our family and community to join us at 2:00 pm on Friday, January 27 for our Courtwarming Pep Assembly

Students and teachers, don't forget to dress up each day and join us for the game on Friday night! Coronation will take place during half-time of the boy's basketball game, and a high school dance is to follow.

At PHS our goal is for each of our students to grow academically, and this can be hard work! This week we saw a sharp increase in our OTI list, students seemed to be struggling with completing assignments and submitting them on time.

We check grades each Monday at 10 am, in order for students to be in "academically good standing", they must be passing their classes with at least a D each week.

If a student is not in "academically good standing" they meet with Mrs. Conley in order to make a plan for improvement. A student can maintain good standing by following their weekly plan. If a student does not follow their plan, then they are unable to participate in after-school events.

If your student is in need of additional support there are options:

1. WIN Time - selecting a study hall or support session is always a great idea!

2. Mr. Heidrick and Mr. Smith stay after school for additional help on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

3. Contact the teacher individually, teachers often have additional time available for support.

Last school year, we revamped our cell phone policy in an attempt to help students to learn to manage their cell phones within a workplace/educational setting. This means that each of our teachers posts the expectation for cell phone usage in their classroom, this is to help students to identify settings when cell phone use is appropriate. Students are expected to adhere to the listed expectation, but due to the nature of teenagers, we do offer a reminder of the expectation.

Unfortunately, we have recently had students refuse to follow the expectation for school cell phone use, which becomes a school discipline issue. Below you will see the excerpt from our school handbook regarding cell phone usage. Please review the policy as a family, as it takes us all to teach teenagers how to manage cell phones.

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CELL PHONE USAGE: The primary focus of the school is to be an institution of learning to prepare for life as a healthy, productive adult. Cell phones have become common for use in the workplace and in the lives of most adults. A cell phone comes with a high level of student responsibility to use the phone appropriately, understand the appropriate time and place for cell phone use, and understand the implications of having a device in an educational and/or workplace setting. In each teacher's classroom, there will be a poster titled “PHS Learning Mode”, this poster will clearly indicate the level at which a cell phone can be present in the teacher’s classroom. It is the student’s responsibility to abide by the teacher’s expectations for student cell phone use. If a student is not adhering to the guidelines for cell phone use then the teacher will call the student’s attention to the PHS Learning Mode one time as a reminder. If the student continues to not abide by the teacher’s expectation, then the following consequences will be documented and followed.

1st and 2nd offense—The teacher will send the student to the office to turn in their phone. The student may pick it up at the end of the day. 30-minute detention will be assigned.

3rd offense—The teacher will send the student to the office and the parent will be called to pick up the phone at the end of the day. 30-minute detention will be assigned.

4th Offense—The teacher will send the student to the office and the parent, student and administrator will have a conference to develop a plan for the student's use of their cell phone at school. The student may lose their cell phone privileges for the remainder of the semester. Failure to comply with any of these requests may result in FNS or OSS.

The primary responsibility of a teacher is to teach class, not to manage cell phones. The teacher will not be responsible for collecting a student’s cell phone or “holding” a student's cell phone. Collected cell phones will be stored in the office vault for safekeeping.

To: Taylor Dodson

From: Maggie Knox

Message:

Tuesday night there were difficulties with the National Anthem, he stepped up and played a solo on the trumpet to get the games started! Thanks so much, you did a great job!

One of our goals this year is to establish a site council. Our site council would be made up of school personnel (certified and classified), parents, and students to help inform decisions that we make at school. The purpose of the school site council is to advise the school on such matters as student learning, education programs, school improvement planning, education planning, and accreditation issues. The site council also plays an advocacy role for the school regarding the same issues.

A site council is a commitment to the school in hopes of making it the best school it can be. It is a time commitment, but it is also a commitment to seek solutions to areas of weakness in our system. A great school is always seeking ways to improve and a site council helps to lead those improvements.

If you would like more information about serving on the Pleasanton High School site council, please contact Sara Conley at sara.conlely@usd344.org.

At any game or event, the worst feeling for an administrator is that they would have to address an athlete, coach, or fan regarding behavior. Passion and pride sometimes mix with frustration and show up in negative ways that can adversely impact the school, team, and community.

At all events, our goal is to provide a positive experience for our athletes and coaches. We want to cheer them on, provide encouragement and support them whether they win or lose. PHS Pride has been a goal this year, and our students have risen to the occasion, they show up and cheer each other on. I am so proud that our student section is growing into a fun and positive environment for our fans and athletes.

Below is the link to Rule 52 from KSHSAA - I encourage you to review these rules with your family. As we approach basketball season, you will see more leadership from our students in the area of sportsmanship, prior to each game our athletes will provide these reminders to fans to help promote a positive environment.

We love to hear from you, if you have questions, compliments, or concerns please feel free to contact us!

Email: sara.conley@usd344.org
Website: https://www.usd344.org/
Location: 1001 Ash Street, Pleasanton, KS, USA
Phone: 913-352-8701
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pleasantonschoolsusd344/
Twitter: @344_usd