Allison Traditional Magnet
Middle School
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Allison Traditional Magnet Middle School
Home Newsletter Calendar Parents Page Student Page Athletics Staff Announcements |
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School day 7:15 - 2:25 Dr. Laudermilk
STATE STANDARD
OF EXCELLENCE IN READING AND
MATH: FOR THE THIRD
STRAIGHT YEAR!!!
Allison Traditional Magnet Middle School has been recognized as receiving
State Standard of Excellence in Reading and Math for the third straight year.
Our students did an incredible job on the State Assessments that they
took last Spring. We scored high
enough in every category and sub-category to reach the Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP) goals as set by the State of Kansas and monitored by the
Department of Education in Washington, D.C.
This is the criterion that determines accreditation for schools, so it is
important. As a whole building, we scored high enough to be commended for
reaching the State Standard of Excellence in both Reading and Math.
Individual student scores are categorized as: academic warning,
approaching standard, meets standard, exceeds standard or exemplary.
For our building 92% of the students scored in the “meets standard or
above” category in Reading. In
Math, 87.3% of our students met the standards or above.
These are scores to be very proud of.
We have honored our individual students that ranked as exemplary and
presented them with a medal that acknowledges their achievement.
We are sending postcards to each of our eighth grade students from last
year to let them know how super they did, and of course, to encourage them to
continue to excel!! Parents, you need to take a moment to pat yourselves on the back too. Your deep commitment to your child’s education is obvious, and you contribute in a multitude of ways to the success of Allison. It is a pleasure for our really excellent staff to team with you. We will continue to have high expectations and provide a rigorous curriculum. PTA
Involved parents make a difference!!!
Any amount of involvement matters. PTA
here at Allison is in charge of many activities including:
book fairs, school dances and parties, Red Ribbon Week, A-TEAM
recognition, student tutoring, fundraising for school and classroom needs,
teacher luncheons, School Spirit Week, Teacher Appreciation Week, and many other
important events.
Allison’s first PTA meeting will be held on Monday, September 8, at 6:30 p.m. in the Allison Library.
Come and join us!
If you have any questions, feel free to contact a Board Member. Kris
Nicholson 262-4956 Stephanie
Howe 832-1512 Jennifer Karst 807-1181 Allison Site
Council
The Allison Site Council meets the second Monday of each month at 5:30
p.m. in the Allison library. The Site Council is a committee that provides the
parent perspective on important school activities such as budget, student
achievement, student activities, dress code, behavior expectations, marketing of
our middle school magnet philosophy, and much more.
This advisory committee is a critical part of our school.
We welcome parents to attend the first scheduled meeting on Monday,
September 8, at 5:30 p.m. If you
have questions please feel free to contact Carol Weaver at 682-7836.
Allison’s Fall Yearbook Picture Day is scheduled for Thursday,
September 11, 2008, during the school day. Pictures
will be available on a pre-order basis. You
will receive an order packet during the week of September 3rd.
This is a pre-pay packet, and your student must return your order with
payment the day the pictures are taken. Students
are welcome to bring a top of their choice to wear for pictures.
Students are to come to school dressed in their uniform. The teachers
will allow the students to change into their shirt of choice for their picture,
then return to their uniform dress before returning to class. Students must still wear uniform bottoms.
Pictures will be retaken on October 17, 2008, for those students who are
absent on September 11. If you have
any questions, please contact Ms. Beck, 973-4800. Welcome to Our New Staff Members!
This year we have some wonderful
new additions to our super teaching staff. Each
person enriches our program and will help support our students. Ms. Tiffany Allen is teaching seventh grade science. Ms. Allen and her family have recently moved here from Oklahoma. She has five years of teaching experience and served five years in the Army. Ms. Kristi Williams is returning to teaching after taking a couple of years off to be with her young children. She is teaching seventh grade math and science. It is delightful to have her back in the classroom. Mr. Kevin Moler is our new Choir Director. He has four years of outstanding experience in Marion, Kansas. He is originally from Wichita and is already generating excitement in our vocal music program. Mr. Corey Wendler is teaching seventh grade math. This is his first year, and he is enthusiastic and excited. He has already developed a great rapport with his students. Ms. Janice Eden is teaching eighth grade language arts. Her family moved to Wichita from Springfield, Colorado. She has taught students from elementary to college and brings some great insights on teaching strategies. Ms. Susie Killgore is an experienced paraprofessional that is helping our students succeed. She has a calm quiet manner and really encourages students to ask questions and do their best work. LUNCHROOM
UPDATES Letter from Debbie Ollek, Cafeteria Manager:
Welcome to a new Allison school year! I look forward to serving your
children this year. I am very
excited about the new menu choices available this year such as, PB& J sack
lunch, Turkey Chef Salad, Southwestern Chef Salad and Yogurt Parfait.
We have replaced the traditional fried French fries with baked sweet
potato fries, tater tots, potato wedges and diced potatoes. Ask your child about
some of the new menu items that are available.
Breakfast is
available for students from 6:30 a.m.–7:05 a.m.
Students are welcome to go to the cafeteria upon arriving at
Allison. If your student is a
bus rider, he/she may exit the bus upon arrival at Allison and go directly to
the cafeteria for breakfast. The
student receives cereal, milk, fruit and an entrée item for breakfast.
Meal Pay Plus is
a prepayment system that allows parent to make online payments to their
children’s lunch accounts. The
Meal Pay Plus system provides the following benefits to parents: · Parents
may make payments by phone and view what payments have been made to the account · View
child's account balance at any time · View
what has been purchased on a specific day and up to 30 days of history on the
account · Receive
e-mail confirmations of payments and low balance reminders · Allows
parents to set a low balance amount that will automatically replenish their
child's account when it reaches a specified balance, so parents do not need to
be concerned about their child having money in their account for meals · Parents
will no longer have to worry about sending checks or cash with children to
school
Visit www.mealpayplus.com to
register using your child’s lunch pin number.
Ask your child for their lunch pin number or call the cafeteria manager
to get the number. The phone number for MealpayPlus is 1-866-736-9007.
If you are not familiar with our MealpayPlus system, I encourage you to
check out the system by registering and viewing your child’s account.
A la carte is
a “snack bar” area that is open in the cafeteria during lunch only.
Some items that are available include: baked chips, chocolate chip
cookies, sports drinks, and bottled water. The
student may use their lunch account number to pay for a la carte items or pay
cash. Any money on your child’s
account may be used for a la carte purchases, unless you have notified the
cafeteria manager to block the account from using available funds for a la
carte. Please feel free to call me
at (316) 973-4818, with any questions you may have
concerning your child’s account!
FUNDRAISER Allison has one main fundraiser per year. The kick off assembly for the fundraiser is August 26th, that is when fundraiser packets will be given to students. The fundraiser packet orders are due back on September 3, 2008. Please ask your student about the packet they receive from the kickoff assembly! This fundraiser is sponsored by PTA, and they provide money for each teacher, mini grants, enrichment events, and special large purchases. Past purchases include: projectors for classrooms, classroom sets of novels for Language Arts, support for Battle of the Books, science microscope maintenance, students desks, shooting shirts for basketball practice, camera and batteries for yearbook staff, teaching equipment for Vocal music, Instrumental music and FACS. Prizes and $$ are being awarded at the Big Bash reward party scheduled in November. Please help and support your student in their fundraising efforts! PARTNERING WITH
OUR COMMUNITY
We are fortunate to have several organizations and business in our
community that wish to be involved in the education of our students.
Two new initiatives this year are with local churches.
The Pastor and members of the West Side Baptist Church visited with me
and asked what they could do to supplement what we are doing at Allison.
I shared that we had not been able to have our students as involved in
Drama as I would like, so they decided to start an after school Drama club just
for any of our Allison students that wished to participate.
This will be on Wednesday afternoons only.
Parents will need to read the packet and sign the
release forms for their students to walk across the street and
participate and provide transportation home.
This is not a school activity. Your student may ask for a
packet of information from the front desk. This
is through the West Side Baptist Church at 304 S. Seneca.
Questions may be
directed to Elizabeth Spiess, Volunteer at (316) 303-1525.
The second new initiative is from members of the University Friends
Church. They have lined up tutors
for any of our students that need extra support.
They are calling their tutoring program The Outpost and they will tutor
on Thursdays after school at 1840 W. University Ave.
We have brochures available to provide interested family more
information. You may ask for these
brochures at our front desk also. This is not a school activity.
I also want to mention that the neighborhood association that is very
active in the Delano District keeps us well informed of what is going on in the
neighborhood. They make sure we
receive copies of their newsletters and occasionally we have been fortunate
enough to have members of their association serve on some of our school
committees. Thank you President,
Larry Brown.
Welcome back Eagles! I hope you had a very restful and relaxing summer. I
am looking forward to a brand new year for the choirs.
We will have our Fall concert on October 7th at 7:00 p.m. in the
auditorium. This concert includes 7th & 8th
grade Choir and Orchestra classes.
Eight Vocal Music students will be selected by
Mr. Moler to represent Allison Middle School at the (SCKMEA) South
Central Kansas Music Educators
Association Middle Level Honor Choir. This concert will be held on
the first Saturday in November.
I am looking forward to an exciting year
ahead! Sincerely, Kevin Moler, Choir Teacher ORCHESTRA NEWS
The Orchestra classes are off to a
great start! The month of August is spent setting up class procedures,
going over the “Musicians Motto,” going over classroom expectations
and rules, and renting/purchasing the needed string instruments. If you
need help finding a violin, please call me.
Due to the great need, I am working on finding more instruments.
Students should be sharing the ORCHESTRA
HANDBOOK with you. Please help your
child earn those assignment points by signing the last page in the handbook and
returning it to Orchestra class. We are “tuning up” for a great year! Sandra Alvarado-Orchestra Teacher BAND
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome to all new 6th
grade beginning band students, and welcome back to the continuing 7th
and 8th grade band students! We
have an exciting year planned. All
students should receive an “Allison Band Handbook” to take home.
All parents and students need to read the handbook and sign and return
the “Return Sheet” at the back of the handbook.
The Allison Band Handbook contains a lot of important information about
band throughout the year. The first
performance for the 6th grade beginning band
will be held September 30, 2008. Be
watching for more information coming home with students.
Also, the 7th & 8th
grade bands will give their first
performance on October 7, 2008 at the Fall Band, Choir, and Orchestra
Concert. We look forward to a great
year of band music ahead at Allison!
We are pleased to announce library proctors for this year – Garrett
Brockman, Tori Rose, Janae Slater, Emma Manda, Jacob Kress and Alexander
Lansdowne. This is a leadership position and these students contribute
significantly to the success of the library program.
We started the year with about 50 new books. One of the new fun books is
an Internet-linked science encyclopedia. Classes have started checking out
so you should expect to see your students with library books. Students may
check out 2 books each time. Please visit with your students about what
they are reading. You could ask them to summarize the story, describe a
character, project what will happen next, or better yet, you might be enticed to
read the book yourself and compare thoughts!
We are proud of the Allison library and
invite you up whenever you’re in the building. Mary Hollowell—Librarian
The Allison community supports standardized dress. Standardized dress
will contribute to a safer learning environment, a strong focus on academics,
improved student behavior, and reduced peer pressure.
The administration maintains the right to deal individually with students
concerning dress code issues. ·
Tailored
or standardized and worn at the waist (the narrow part of the body between the
abdomen and the top of the hip bone). ·
Pants must be hemmed and may not be
turned up, turned under, bunched above the shoes or have frayed edges. ·
Sagging (wearing of pants, shorts, etc.
below the waistline) will not be allowed, pant legs may not touch the floor. ·
Brand labels (no larger than 1 inch in
size and located in the waist area above the hip pockets) will be allowed. ·
Corduroy will be allowed. ·
Belts will be required if
there are belt loops. No scarves
or other ties may be used for belts. Belt must be tucked into belt loops. ·
Shorts
will be no shorter than 4 inches above the
knee and no longer than the bottom of the knee. ·
No logos and contrasting trim, thread,
etc. •No
overalls • No denim
• No hip hugger pants
• No capris
• No leggings or stretch
pants • No
sweat pants or wind pants Skirts,
skorts and jumpers will be tan or navy in color. ·
Skirts,
skorts, and jumpers will be no shorter than
4 inches above the knee. ·
Skirts and skorts are to be tailored or standardized and worn at the waist ·
No slits in the skirt, skort, dresses,
or jumpers that are more than 4 inches above the knee ·
No logos and contrasting trim, thread,
etc. •
No overalls
•
No denim Shirts,
blouses, and sweaters will be solid white or navy in color. ·
Shirts and blouses must
have a collar. (Turtleneck and
mock turtlenecks are considered collars.) ·
Polo style shirts must have no ruffles,
gathers, etc. ·
Allison logo shirts may be worn in
white, navy and royal blue. ·
Shirts will be tucked
in so that the belt is visible
and must remain tucked when arms are raised above the head. ·
T-shirts
worn under the prescribed shirts or blouses must be solid white or navy with no
design or printing. ·
Sweaters without collars may be worn
only if layered over a collared shirt. (Sweaters
are for warmth; lightweight, form fitting sweaters are not acceptable.) ·
Sweaters do not have to be tucked in,
but they may not rise above the waist when arms are raised above the head. ·
Sweaters may not be longer than hip
length. ·
No hooded sweaters ·
No logos and contrasting trim, thread,
etc. •
No t-shirts
•
No denim
Sweatshirts ·
Solid navy, white, or ash gray
sweatshirts are allowed as well as Allison sweatshirts. ·
Sweatshirts do not have to be tucked in. ·
Sweatshirts without collars may be worn
only if layered over a collared/mock shirt. ·
Sweatshirts may not rise above the waist
when arms are raised above the head. ·
Sweatshirts may not be longer than hip
length. ·
Sweatshirts may not be tied around the
waist. ·
No hooded sweatshirts ·
No
shirt, sweatshirt, or sweater is to be worn inside out. General Clothing
·
Oversized
clothing will not be allowed. ·
All clothing is to be free of holes,
rips, cuts, and frayed edges. ·
Clothing may not be bunched at the waist
or shoes. ·
Shoes will be required for health
reasons. ·
Flip flops, slippers, and house shoes
will not be allowed. ·
Vests in solid tan, navy and white are
allowed. ·
Jackets and coats are to be removed when
entering the building and remain in lockers during the school day. ·
No gym suits will be worn beyond the gym
area. ·
Bandannas of any color will not be worn
or brought to school. ·
Hats, sunglasses, armbands, and
gloves are to remain in
lockers during the school day. ·
Clothing, buttons, jewelry, or other
items, which contain vulgar words or pictures, or promote the use of alcohol,
illegal substances, weapons, or sexual content, will not be allowed.
Earrings may be worn in the ear
lobe only. ·
No writing on yourself or clothing. ·
Extreme makeup and cut or style of hair
will not be permitted. ·
Colorful hair (ie. Purple, pink, green,
etc.) will not be allowed. Allison
standardized dress or spirit shirts will be required at athletic and academic
games. Standardized
dress will not be required for evening or weekend activities, ie. Skate parties,
dances, etc. Special Dress Days will
be designed by the Student Council and approved by the Administration. The
Allison standardized dress will be initiated
and enforced beginning with the First Day of the school year. *** Students choosing not to follow the dress
code will be assigned an after-school detention.
Repeat dress code violations could result in an in-school suspension or
suspension from school.***
Awesome New Teachers Welcomed To Allison
Ms.
Tiffany Allen will be the new eighth grade science teacher for the 2008-2009
school year. Ms. Allen earned a
Bachelor’s of Science in Biological Science from Oklahoma State University,
and became a Medical Specialist in the Army National Guards. She worked in a
large medical laboratory analyzing DNA. However,
she always wanted to teach, so she went back to school and received a Masters
degree in education. She comes to us
with five years of teaching experience. We
are very happy to welcome her to Wichita and of course to Allison.
I would like to thank Jennifer Karst who represented parents on the
interview committee. It was a
difficult job because we were blessed by having so many outstanding candidates.
Mr. Kevin Steiner joined our Allison staff
mid-year and has done an excellent job of assisting our special education
students. He is a graduate of
McPherson College and spent two years teaching at Roosevelt Elementary School in
McPherson. He then moved to Wichita
and spent two years at Stanley Elementary. He is married to Rachel and they
share a Yorkie named Scooter. Mr.
Steiner’s hobbies include sports and reading.
He will also be an assistant football
coach at South High School next year. He
and Rachel just completed a half marathon this weekend in Oklahoma City. May 1st we shared with approximately 200 fifth graders the excitement of starting a new adventure as incoming middle school students. They are nervous, excited and eager all at the same time! During a special Open House for the parents and students of those accepted in our magnet program we explained more about our philosophy, expectations, communication systems and pre-enrollment. This first meeting with next years sixth graders and their parents is such a joyful evening. Welcome! STUDENT FEES
Parents, please check with your child to make sure that they do not owe
any fines, obligations, or fees to Allison.
Fees must be taken care of before the last day of school, May 22, 2008.
Eighth grade obligations will be forwarded to the high schools this year
and 6th and 7th grade obligations will be added to fees due next year!
SITE COUNCIL CO-CHAIRS ELECTED FOR 2008-2009
Site Council celebrated a successful year with cheesecake and flowers for
each member that was present on April 14th.
We are so grateful for the participation of each parent and teacher that
came to even one meeting this year. It
is important to have this valuable committee in place to share information and
opinions.
A special THANK YOU to Carol Weaver and Donna Ferguson who served as
Co-chairs. You did a great job of
keeping us organized and productive. Carol
Weaver has agreed to Co-Chair Site Council for next year as well, so we will
have an experienced person on board as we reconvene. Tammy Drew has agreed to be
our Secretary and Kevin Steiner will be the staff member co-chair.
I believe it demonstrates a real partnership between parents and staff
when we have both represented as Co-Chairs. Our meetings are on the second Monday of the month at
5:30 p.m. in the school library.
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