USD 234 is making preschool for students a priority, according to Nicki Traul, director of curriculum.
“We are very fortunate that students have many opportunities for preschool in Fort Scott,” she said. “This initiative isn’t to compete with those other preschools.”
Many kindergarten students have not had any early childhood opportunities, Traul said.
“Our expansion is so that we can find those students and get them in a program,” she said. ” The district wants to see that every USD 234 child gets at least one year of preschool prior to starting kindergarten. We need all the preschools in town to be able to do that.”
Traul is attempting to contact all preschool providers in town to establish an early childhood professional learning community.
“It helps us as a district to work with the other preschools,” she said. “Why wouldn’t we want to help each other? ”
In an effort to collaborate with other Fort Scott preschools, Traul has organized a meeting.
Invitations will be sent to area preschools for representatives to meet at 1 p.m. on April 12 in the Fort Scott Middle School Community Room.
Sandy Ellsworth, Greenbush Early Childhood Department, will facilitate the meeting.
The community is welcome to attend.
“We are excited at the opportunity to work with others in our community and the good that will come from that,” Traul said. “Our students need to be our focus and our priority, as a community we need to support early childhood and help each other.”
The USD 234 preschool is located at 409 S. Judson, in back of the former middle school.
Traul said the USD 234 plan is to carve out classrooms from an existing gym at the preschool.
The gym is partially used for the cafeteria and storage currently.
Fort Scott Community College invites high school juniors and seniors to Spring Junior/Senior Day on Thursday, March 29.
The event will begin with registration at 9:00 am at the Danny & Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center, 2108 South Horton, Fort Scott.
During the event, students and their parents will have the opportunity to visit and experience FSCC.
College faculty, staff, and students will be on hand to show potential students what it’s like to be a Greyhound.
The event will also include a free lunch and entertainment.
Students may preregister at fortscott.edu/juniorseniorday. For more information, please contact Matt Glades at 620-223-2700, ext. 3520.
Fort Scott Community College President’s Ambassadors have come up with a fun way to fundraise, and add an entertainment venue to the community.
“Last fall, Matt Glades, Jennalee Martin and I went to an escape room in Joplin,” Kassie Fugate-Cate said. All three are staff/faculty at the college.
“An escape room is an interactive game/puzzle where groups of people are locked in a room and have to solve puzzles and find clues to escape, all within 60 minutes,” according to Newsweek Magazine.
Following the Joplin excursion, Glades proposed an idea to the Ambassadors of designing and implementing an escape room for fundraising, Fugate- Cate said. They agreed.
“He got them a room, they did the rest,” Fugate-Cate said.
“We began planning in August,” Haley O’Neal, an FSCC Ambassador said. “We just now got to the point to financially support it.”
The cost isn’t much, but a camera had to be installed in the room.
“We had to install a camera, which was $500,” O’Neal said. “Legally we had to be able to watch so there is no property damage (to the school).
“We did research on designing a room, (and) one of our Ambassadors had been through a lot of escape rooms,” O’Neal said.
The theme the group chose for their room is “Secret Agency.”
The lights are turned off the duration of the time in the escape room.
“Initially, someone must find the flashlight,” O’Neal said.
Waivers must be signed and fees paid 24 hours prior to the assigned time.
Prices are $5 for students and faculty/staff, $10 for community members. A team is comprised of up to five people.
The escape event is available Monday, Tuesday, and Friday from 6 to 8 p..m or by appointment.
Contact the admissions office at 620.223.2700 ext. 3520 or email [email protected] for more information.
Participants must be at the escape room 15 minutes prior to their assigned time. If a time has been scheduled, no refund will be provided.
Several groups have spent time in the “Secret Agency” room for trial runs, Fugate-Cate said.
“The best time they have now is 30 minutes,” Fugate- Cate said.
The storyline will be changed periodically, Fugate- Cate said, to keep it interesting.
“I love that we are trying something new,” O’Neal said. “The Ambassadors are creating a fundraiser to do a fun day together later.”
O’Neal said the group has a plan to Main Event Entertainment in Kansas City on April 14.
Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. signs Executive Order 18-10 Creating the Governor’s Education Council
TOPEKA, KS – Governor Jeff Colyer issued an Executive Order creating the Governor’s Education Council with the purpose of improving outcomes for Kansas kids. This group will provide a platform for connecting educators from Pre-K through higher education with leaders in the business community and state policymakers. Their mission will be to promote policies and strategies to effectively prepare students to successfully enter and thrive in the rapidly-changing 21st-century workforce.
“The future of Kansas depends largely on how we educate the next generation and prepare them to contribute their ideas and skills back in to our state,” said Governor Jeff Colyer, “It is our duty to help our students achieve their full potential and ensure they have the relevant knowledge, skills, and training that will prepare them for the jobs of the future.”
“An integrated educational system, from early childhood through postsecondary success, is essential in providing a world-class education for all Kansas children,” said Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson. “That means collaboration between all education providers — Pre-K through postsecondary — business and industry leaders and other agencies is key. I support Gov. Colyer’s efforts to establish this council, and I look forward to working with him on these important issues.”
This Council’s mission will be the following:
“The jobs created in the new economy require education and skills beyond high school,” said Blake Flanders, president, and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents. “I’m excited to work with Commissioner Watson as Co-Chairs of the P-20 Council, which will focus on the entire educational continuum.”
The Council will be co-chaired by the President and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Education of the Kansas State Department of Education. The Council will include representatives from three Cabinet agencies, 12 education-related organizations, and members chosen by the leadership of both parties in the House and Senate. The Governor will also appoint 3-5 members from the business community to serve on the Council.
The full text of the Executive Order can be found at https://governor.kansas.gov/executive-order-18-10-governors-education-council/
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Theatre in Our Schools Month (TIOS) is a grassroots effort to educate everyone about the benefits of having theatre in the schools, and to draw attention to the need for more access to quality programs for all students. The campaign is jointly sponsored nationally by the American Alliance for Theatre & Education (AATE), the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), and the International Thespian Society (ITS).
Fort Scott High School is promoting TIOS through our upcoming FSHS Talent Show on March 15 at 7 p.m. at the FSHS Auditorium, the publication of theatre education research on our social media outlets (Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram), inviting new students to join our theatre endeavors, and participation in the Theatre Education Advocacy Day at the KS State Capital.
Fort Scott High School is the home of ITS Troupe 7365, the nationwide high school drama honorary society planning TIOS activities. TIOS is a chance for students, parents, communities, school boards, and elected officials to become familiar with the benefits of school theatre participation, which include the development of the 21st-century skills of communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking.
In fact, according to The College Board, in 2015, students who took four years of art classes in high school scored an average of 92 points higher on their SATs than students who took only one-half year or less. But, according to the U. S. Department of Education, only 28 percent of public high schools in high poverty areas offer theatre instruction.
And according to a 2016 poll:
The poll, “Americans Speak Out about the Arts: An In-Depth Look at Perceptions and Attitudes about the Arts in America,” was conducted by Americans for the Arts.
To see ITS Troupe 736, and the FSHS drama program in action, come to the upcoming performances of the FSHS Talent Show on March 15 at 7 p.m. at the FSHS Auditorium ($5 at the door) and the Thespian Improv Comedy Night, April 27 at 7 p.m. at Common Ground.
For more information about TIOS visit schooltheatre.org/programs/tios and follow
#TIOS18 and #TheatreinOurSchools on social media
Submitted by Angela Bin.
The Fort Scott Community College Agriculture Department will host the 42nd annual Aggie Day on Friday, April 6. Approximately 1,400 students representing more than 100 schools will compete in the contest.
“We look forward to hosting Aggie Day each year,” said Ryan Edgecomb, FSCC Agriculture Instructor. “We are anticipating another large event, which will draw schools and 4-H clubs from across the Four States.”
Students will compete in a variety of areas, including agronomy, entomology, farm management, floriculture, food science, livestock, meat evaluation, milk quality and products, nursery/landscape, poultry, speech, and veterinary science.
Sponsored by Purina and Purina Mills Honor Show Chow, this event is the longest running interscholastic competition in the region. “We are honored to have Purina and Honor Show Chow back as our sponsors for a third straight year, and we’re grateful for their support,” said Edgecomb.
Teams should pre-register online at http://www.fortscott.edu/aggieday/registration before Friday, March 30. Registration for the event will begin at 7:00 am on April 6 at Arnold Arena, 2108 S. Horton St. Fort Scott, Kan. For more information, please call Ryan Edgecomb at 620-223-2700, ext. 3280.
Learning is hands-on in Mr. Feagins technology classes.
Attendees of the weekly coffee coordinated by the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce took a tour of the career technology education class Thursday.
Adam Feagins is the instructor of the classes: Intro to technology,
Pre-Engineering, 6th Grade Technology, 7th Grade technology, and
8th Grade Technology.
USD 234 Curriculum Director Nicki Traul told the Chamber attendees that Feagins classes are popular among students.
“The goal is to teach the students basic technology concepts,” Feagins said in a later interview. “Once they learn the concepts they have to use the knowledge in some type of project.”
The following photos are some of the students working on projects in the classroom.
Fort Scott Middle School Principal Brian Weilert spoke to the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Weekly Coffee social Thursday at the school.
An important purpose of the building is safety during tornados.
“We can fit 650 people in this space,” Weilert said. “We can get the student body in here in four minutes.”
The building was constructed of concrete with minimal windows for student safety.
But the school uses what is referred to as “flex space”, for other purposes, Weilert said. “There is a community space, an art gallery, and breakout rooms.”
The brightly painted and colorfully decorated large building can be divided easily for different purposes. It is located on the south side of the school
“This space encourages creativity and it’s good to get out of class once in a while, to change environments,” Weilert said.
The newly constructed space was added to the school in 2017 as part of a district-wide building improvement project.
Pictured below are members of the community who congregated in small groups before the announcement segment of the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Weekly Coffee.
During the coffee event, members can tell about upcoming community events or organizations for a $1 donation, which goes to fund the town trolley car.
At the conclusion of the weekly coffee, the host organization/business/school/church gets a platform to tell about the events or projects that are currently happening.
According to the FSCC website:
Self-Paced Tutorials are used, with these features:
DeAnn Welch started the Adopt-A-Greyhound program eight years ago at Fort Scott Coummunity College because of a need she perceived.
In her job as FSCC Student Success Center Director and Tutoring and Testing Administrator see saw students coming to college from other distant states.
“They come here not knowing anyone,” Welch said. ” Some even come here on a one way bus ticket in hopes of playing football and getting away from a life that they could have ended up dead. It is a sad situation.”
She had an idea.
“I thought, why not place these kids with local families who can give them that home away from home,” she said.
“The families can have this student over for dinner, go to their games if they are athletes, and simply be a support system.”
The program has had many success stories, she said.
“Some families still keep in touch with their student and even travel to see their games when they advance to the next level. It truly has developed many lifelong friendships,” Welch said.
For more information, contact Welch at 620-223-2700, ext. 4300 or [email protected]
