Goessel will host county spelling bee Feb. 12, board told

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN CYNTHIA GOERZEN
by Cynthia Goerzen




Goessel will host the Marion County spelling bee Feb. 13, elementary school principal John Fast told the school board at the Jan. 14 meeting.


Fast also described the multi-disciplinary approach to teaching that elementary teachers are using, with an emphasis on reading skills, phonics and spelling. Each grade level is focusing on a “dirty dozen” list of the most commonly misspelled words in that classroom.


Junior/senior high school principal Stuart Holmes said in his written report that last year’s outstanding state assessment scores will be celebrated with a special day of activities March 15.


Students, staff, parents and school board members will be recognized at the Feb. 12 high school home basketball games. The recognition will follow the girls’ varsity game.


Holmes reported that junior and senior high students combined had earned the Standard of Excellence in five out of eight state assessment tests last school year. However, the high school alone attained it in three out of four tests.


According to Holmes: “This was accomplished by only eight high schools in the state, with another two making the Standard of Excellence in all four tests. That would place our school among the top 10 high schools in the state academically, quite an accomplishment considering there are over 300 Kansas high schools.”


Superintendent Chet Roberts said, “It was a good year for us.”


Board chairman Lynel Unrau added that this kind of accountability is what legislators are looking for.


“We do pursue academics,” he said. “This shows what our staff and administrators do.”


Holmes recognized the efforts of teachers and parents in encouraging students academically.


Roberts said, “It shows what kind of community we’re living in.” He added that parents and values are also components in a high standard of academics.


Roberts described various grants he had applied for. An agriculture challenge matching grant from the Department of Education required 60 pages of forms and would be worth $25,000.


Roberts also told of the possibility of receiving a matching grant to repair the old ceiling and roof on the junior/senior high building. He was involved in obtaining a 20th Century Marion County grant for last year and is involved in that process again. The grant amounts to $500,000. A $4,000 grant is meant for extra projects. Consequently, $2,000 is designated for the after-school program.


Roberts described Kansas legislature education deliberations. He said that under one legislative option, the school district could lose $20,000 for next school year, but with another option under consideration, the district could lose as much as $120,000.


In other business:


–Fast reported that the grade school has three new students: one each in second, fourth and fifth grades.


–Fast said he hopes to take sixth graders to Wichita State University in March to a robotics challenge. He has won a $1,000 grant for robotics materials.


–Fast reported that three Goessel students were named finalists in the Wichita Eagle writing contest. A fourth-grade student won the geography bee and will advance to the next level of competition.


–Holmes reported that the high school student council had sponsored a canned-food drive as a class competition before Christmas. The food was donated to the local food bank.


–The ninth annual career day is scheduled for Jan. 29 for high school students. The board was invited to attend.


–Dewayne Voth reported on the The Learning Consortium meeting he had attended. Roberts said TLC technology is becoming outdated, but it would cost a considerable amount of money to update it. He said junior college classes are offered at all four of the consortium schools, but the only teaching between two high schools on the ITV (interactive television) is between Canton-Galva and Goessel.


–Board member Richard Drake reported on the Marion County Special Education Cooperative meeting he had attended. He said another teacher had been hired for the Oasis school; previously there had only been one teacher for 13 students. He said the co-op had discussed hiring an assistant director, but there is not much support for that, considering budgets and legislative uncertainty.


–The board voted to purchase junior high football uniforms from Sports Connection at a cost of $3,852. The uniforms will include blue jerseys, white jerseys, and pants. Roberts said uniforms are set up on a seven-year rotation. He said helmets and pads are reconditioned, and a few new ones are purchased every year.


n?The board accepted a $75 donation from an alumni group to help pay for a cooking stove for family and consumer sciences.


n?Roberts said the school will need to purchase a Winnebago computer system for the libraries.


“We’re running in the dark ages right now,” he said, referring to the outdated system currently in place. He said technology needs to be a priority.


“We’re going to have to get it,” he said, but recommended waiting because of budget concerns and uncertainty in the legislature. “I feel like we need to be conservative.”


The upgrade would probably cost $3,000.


n?The board approved the request from the Joyful Noise day-care center for an old film-strip projector and film strips with scripts.

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