Trail Talk

Wishing all SFT families and staff a wonderful holiday season full of peace, love and joy. December has so much SFT fun to offer before we take a long winter break. The Holiday Lights Tour is back and holiday parties and spirit days are coming! As we enter the winter months, it's also a great time to review the inclement weather policy.

As we look to 2023, please consider joining the jolliest bunch of PTA volunteers this side of Shawnee Mission Parkway. We are always eager for more folks to join in the fun. Parents, guardians, teachers and community members donate their time and talent to organize all of the various activities PTA sponsors in support of our students and teachers throughout the year. If you're interested in volunteering at any level, please contact PTA president Mary Birkel at marydeantaylor@gmail.com

Stay connected with the Trailblazer Community throughout the holidays on Facebook and now Instagram!

The Annual SFT Holiday Lights Tour & Contest is back!!

Here’s how it works:

• If you'd like to join the Holiday Lights Tour, please fill out this Google Form. No display left behind! If you have put up any type of decoration, big or small, on the front of your home, consider being part of the tour!
• If you want to also be entered into the Holiday Lights Contest, please notate that on the Google Form as well. You don't want to miss out on our amazing Grand Prize! Note: You do not have to enter the Contest to be on the Tour.
• If you have any questions or are unable to get to the Google Form, you can email your address directly to amycmendez2013@gmail.com.
• Entries are due by Sunday, December 11, 2022.

Contest participants will be voted on by fellow SFT families. Voting will begin the evening of December 12th and last through December 18th. Winner will be announced on December 19th!

Voting will take place via our Facebook group page (SFT Trailblazer Connection), so be sure to join the group. We’ll deliver the grand prize to the winner’s doorstep.

Have Fun and Happy Decorating!!

If weather conditions make it necessary for the SMSD to close schools, the district will implement one of three plans: A, B, or C. Click here to view the plans.

If plan A, B, or C is announced, this information will be shared broadly. Staff and families can receive direct emails, texts, and voice messages. Sign up to receive alerts in the manner that works best for you: Click here for details on how to sign up for alerts.

Additional Resources:

• SMSD Main Page
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Local radio and television stations
• 24-hour information line: (913) 993-7380

No announcement will be made when schools are to remain open.

Keep an eye out for an email containing the Favorite Things lists PTA solicited from the teachers and staff earlier this year. It may be handy to look these over if you wish to provide a small gift for any of our awesome teachers and staff this holiday season!

SFT Families,

The December newsletter provides an opportunity to talk about the things we are thankful for. I think making a list and talking about it is a great idea. Of course, health and family are first, so I hope you will be able to spend time with loved ones during this holiday season.

I am thankful for the skilled, committed staff at Santa Fe Trail that works together

each day to provide the best education and opportunities for our students. They are

focused on each student to help each grow socially, emotionally, and academically. I am

thankful for the students who come to school each day ready to learn, ready to work,

and ready to cooperate. The smooth transitions they make going from one class to

another and one group to another make it possible for the staff to provide the

individualized instruction they each need. I’m thankful for their excitement when they

meet their goals.

I am thankful for our supportive parents who make so many opportunities available for

our students. Without your support of PTA, through the donation of your time and

talent or your support of fundraising, learning for our Santa Fe Trail students would

not be going as smoothly. It is exciting to see student participate in field trips and

assemblies this year.

I hope you have an opportunity to count your blessings; that is, appreciate the things

you are thankful for and to let those around you know they are loved during this

season. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank all the students, staff, and

parents for a wonderful start to this year. It is such a privilege each day to see how

each person in the SFT community comes together to help our students achieve. It is

truly great to be a Trailblazer!

I wish you a wonderful holiday season and thank you for the opportunity to work with

your child each day.

Educationally yours,

Ms. Leiker

An easy way to support our school is to connect your Amazon Smile account to SFT so the school can earn a little extra money--at no cost to you! Happy Shopping and Supporting!

Our charity is listed as Santa Fe Trail Elementary PTA Overland Park KS. Sign up at smile.amazon.com. (Once you're in your account, click on "Account and Lists" in the upper right-hand corner, then click on "Amazon Smile." If Santa Fe Trail PTA Overland Park KS is not listed there, click "change your charity" to find and select it.) Thank you!

Spirit Days

• Dec. 16: Red Day – Wear red to support the Chiefs
• Dec. 19: Pajama Day – Wear pajamas or SFT shirts
• Dec. 20: Holiday Spirit Day – Wear holiday items/colors or SFT shirts

Winter Sing-Along

• Dec. 20, 8:30 am in the gym; families welcome

Winter Class Parties for Pre-K

• Dec. 16, 10 am and 2 pm (pre-K only)

Winter Class Parties for K-6th

• Dec. 20, 9 to 9:50 am
• Room parents may set up in the classroom during Sing-Along

On December 20, school will dismiss at 12:30 pm for K-6th graders. Pre-K does not have school on December 20.

If your child is interested in participating in Chat N' Chew and you have not submitted a form for them, don't miss this final opportunity to sign them up. Please contact Amanda Connell via email at arconnell@gmail.com with CNC in the subject line.

Remember: turning left into the circle drive from 71st Street during arrival and dismissal time is illegal. Please obey the City of Overland Park traffic sign. Trying to turn left there holds up traffic for other drivers, including those heading to school pick-up at John Paul II Elementary right down the street. Also, for our students who use the crosswalk at the entrance to the circle drive, having to watch for cars coming from every which way is dangerous. Please drive around the block so you're positioned to turn right into the drive or pull into the south parking lot instead. Thank you for complying with the posted sign and helping SFT be a good neighbor.

On December 1st SFT students got to experience the first cultural arts assembly in nearly two years! Karen Lisondra and Amado Espinoza Morales from Interurban ArtHouse took the children through a journey of music from indigenous cultures. Instruments from around the world were used to illustrate how our ancestors used sound to express themselves, even in times of hardship. The children were able to tap and clap out rhythms guided by the presenters. The kids discussed the feelings and sounds of nature that they heard throughout the assembly. We are so excited to welcome back the cultural assembly experience.

Keeping our Students Healthy

You may have recently heard news reports about increases of illness this fall, as is typical with this time of year. In the SMSD, we have begun to see increases in absence due to illness with a few physician-diagnosed illnesses and many generalized symptoms.

• One of the most important things to help decrease the spread of illness is for those who are not feeling well to stay home.
• If your child has a temperature of over 100 degrees, has vomited or has had diarrhea, they must stay home.
• Students may return to school when they have been free from fever (without medication), vomiting, or diarrhea for 24 hours.
• Your child may also be ill but without these symptoms. If they have a sore throat, headache, cough, or generally are not feeling well, please keep your child home.
• If in doubt about sending your child to school, contact the school nurse or your child’s doctor.
• School breaks are a great time to go through backpacks, coats, and outerwear and take time to launder them, to help decrease illness.

Thank you for all you do to keep our student body healthy and learning.

Paula Bunde, Coordinator of Health Services, Shawnee Mission School District

Warm up with Panera for SFT Why Cook Wednesday next week!

December 14: Panera Bread in Mission, 4-8 pm

If you know of an SFT teacher or staff member who deserves a high-five for a job well done, the SMSD All Star Award form is available for nominating exemplary personnel throughout the school year. The nomination form is short and sweet: fill out this form.

Please call the school by 8:30 am to report your child’s absence or late arrival. The Attendance Line is available 24/7 at 913-993-5088. You may also email Brigette Jones at: brigettejones@smsd.org to report an absence.

Please have your child dress in layers for school. Temperatures in the school can vary widely so having a sweater or light jacket to wear in the building will help keep your child comfortable. Your student should be sent to school with a warm coat, gloves and a hat for outdoor recess. If they wear boots please send a change of shoes for PE and the classroom.

All students are expected to participate in recess. In general, if a child is too sick to go outside for recess, the child is too sick to be in school.

There will not be outdoor recess when:

• The temperature is 15 degrees F. (-13 C.) or below.
• The wind chill index is 0 (-18 C.) or below.
• There is significant falling moisture.

Finally, it is helpful if all student items are clearly labeled with the child’s name so they do not end up on the lost and found table. This includes tennis shoes, boots, coats, sweaters, jackets, hats, gloves, mittens, book bags, lunch boxes and notebooks. This year we cannot let students dig through items on a table so we are trying to get items back to the owner if they are labeled.

If you have a preschooler at home, here are a few tips for helping them be ready for kindergarten when the time comes.

Success breeds success. All parents want their children to feel confident and successful in school. Helping them at home prior to kindergarten can start them on the right path. If children enter kindergarten with some basic skills and knowledge, they will feel confident. This confidence can increase their desire to learn more and can often decrease behavior issues in class.

There are some simple things parents can do to improve their children’s chance of being successful in school prior to entering kindergarten. Limit or eliminate screen time! The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children younger than two years and only one hour per day for children ages 3-5. Studies have shown a decrease in reading and language scores; decreased social skills; and difficulty learning new concepts in children who engage in too much screen time. Children need time to play independently,

interact verbally, and exercise, without being “fed” entertainment.

For more information and resources on kindergarten readiness contact Dr. Laura Herrick.

Dec. 14 --> WCW, Panera Bread, 4-8pm

Dec. 16 --> Spirit Day, wear red

Dec. 16 --> Pre-K Class Parties, 10:00 am & 2:00 pm

Dec. 19 --> Spirit Day, pajamas or SFT gear

Dec. 20 --> Spirit Day, holiday or SFT gear

Dec. 20 --> SFT Sing-Along, 8:30 am

Dec. 20 --> K-6 Class Parties, 9 am

Dec. 20 --> K-6 Early Release, 12:30 pm

Dec. 20 --> Pre-K, No School

Dec. 21 - Jan. 4 --> No School, Winter Break

Jan. 5 --> School Resumes

Jan.16 --> No School, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Email: sftptapresident@gmail.com
Website: www.sftpta.com
Location: 7100 Lamar Avenue, Overland Park, KS, USA
Phone: 913-993-5000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/371636722923691/