Cheney USD 268

Patron Newsletter December/January

They say that this is the season to be thankful. Thankful for everything we have been given in this world. We are very fortunate to live where we live and to have the opportunities that we have for ourselves and our children. We should be thankful for the education our children have the opportunity to receive and that they have teachers that are willing to assist them in any academic endeavor that they choose to take on. We are also thankful for all of the support staff we have in this district and all that they do to make our educational experience a well rounded experience for all who attend here or work here. I also know that it is hard to think about being thankful when we are in the economic situation we are facing, not only in our personal lives but with the school district as well. As most of you know, we are facing the same issues as everyone else as it relates to financial concerns. Last year the State Legis-lature handed down some pretty extensive cuts to K-12 education. These cuts affected school districts in many different ways. Our district chose to take the approach that we would try and maintain our personnel as much as possible as we know that they are the backbone of the success of the educa-tional institution. There were several other districts that did not have this luxury. While we were cutting as much as possible away from the classroom, they were taking personnel cuts to balance the budget. We weathered last year’s financial storm and were poised to make it through the year with little effect on the student’s education. We thought that we might be facing some additional financial problems for this year but we were not sure of the extent of the hardship we would have to face. Right before Thanks-giving break we received the news of our fate for the remainder of the year. We are not facing the extent of cut we had to come up with last year but we will face an additional cut equaling close to 50% of our cut from last year. The question is how this will affect the

programs and opportunities we have to offer students. As we work through this situation, we will be gathering information from several differ-ent sources to help make the proper decisions for our district. And as I talk to other superintendents and employees from the Kansas Department of Education, I am reminded to contact my legislators about the concerns for Kansas children and their education. If you do not think that we are facing issues with our school funding, I would like to share with you that we will have lost over $430,000 since the start of school last year to the end of school this year. They are already talking about more cuts for next year. We have good schools in Cheney and we want to keep them that way. Even in tough times, schools have always been the driving force for economic development and the future workforce for our State and community. In the past years when money was put into public education, the results in increased achievement followed. My fear is that if we continue to take money from public educa-tion, will we face the opposite situation. If that be the case, Kansas will lose ground in our National standing of educational excellence. I did not want this letter to be all about the tough times in education, but at this time it is one of the most important facts to share. We have great teachers, staff members, parents and students, and we want to keep it that way. We can do that with your help in contacting your legislator. At our next board meeting on December 14th, the board of education has asked our local Representative and Senator to attend the meeting and discuss the financial issues the State is facing. You are welcome to attend that meeting and listen to their positions on the current financial situation and the stance of the House and Senate on where we might be next year. Wishing you the best during this Holiday Season! Mr. Alstrom

Cheney USD 268 Board of Education, Administration & Staff Wish you a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!

Inside This Issue

From the Superintendent, Thomas J. Alstrom

Cheney USD 268 Board of

Education

Don Albers Van Dewey Greg Giefer Mark Graf

Marcia Kampling Terry Kohler Amy Scheer

Cheney USD 268 Educating Minds...Connecting Hearts…

Touching Lives… Welcome to Our Family

Curriculum/Technology Update

Wellness Corner

CHS News

Counselor’s Corner

CMS News

CES News

Physical Education is Awesome!

Artist’s Corner

PALS News

Parents as Teachers

Curriculum/Technology Update Richard Soash, Director

District Report Card and Individual State Assessment Scores The Kansas Department of Education maintains a website that provides demographic and progress data on each district. You can access information on Cheney USD 268 at http://online.ksde.org/rcard/district.aspx?org_no=D0268. The site includes the results from Kansas State Assessments from 2004 to the present in reading, math, science, history/government and writing. More detailed information is available on the Cheney web page (http://www.cheney268.com/) and then select 2009 USD 268 Assessment Results in the lower center of the page. This site gives a breakdown of results for last spring’s assessments. After assessments are complete, parents are sent a copy of the individual Kansas State Assessments results from the previous spring for each child. If you did not receive a copy, you can contact Amy Wallace at 542-0060.

WELLNESS CORNER Good Food. Good Friends. Good Times

Getting together with family and friends is what we look forward to during the holiday season. Every-one bringing their favorite dish and serving a delicious meal. What we don’t want to worry about is someone getting sick from the food that is being served. Here are some tips to help you, your family and friends prevent getting a food-related illness during the upcoming holiday season. 1. Planning

• What foods are you going to be serving? Do you have adequate refrigerator and freezer space to store them properly?

• Store all raw meat products on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator to keep from getting meat juices on other foods and contaminating them.

• Thaw turkey in the refrigerator or a place where the temperature is no higher than 40 degrees. Remember it will take several days to thaw a turkey in the refrigerator, so plan ahead.

2. Cooking

• Cook meat and poultry completely without interrupting the cooking process; to avoid bacteria growth. • A whole turkey is safely cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees throughout the bird. • The stuffing should also reach 165 degrees, whether cooked inside the bird or in a separate dish. • Using a food thermometer will ensure that the food has reached these temperatures. • Do not serve foods that have raw eggs. Use egg substitutes or look for recipes that cook the eggs.

3. Leftovers • A saying that we use in class is: “Keep hot foods hot, cold foods cold, when in doubt, throw it out” • Refrigerate leftovers immediately. Don’t cool leftovers on the counter top. Divide them into

smaller portions in shallow containers, so they will cool quickly. Happy Holidays! Brenda Quick Family & Consumer Science, Cheney High School

Principally Speaking…..Ron Traxson Parent Alert: Be on the Hookah Lookout

There is a growing trend with teens that parents need to be aware of. It is here, it is being experimented with by Cheney students, it is in viola-tion of student-athlete policy, and it is dangerous to their health.

Hookahs—sometimes called water pipes—are used to smoke specially made tobacco. Hookah tobacco is available in a variety of flavors, such as apple, mint, cherry, chocolate, coconut, licorice, cappuccino, and watermelon. Hookah smoking is typically practiced in groups, with the same mouthpiece passed from person to person. This in its self is a concern for the transmission of diseases that are commonly passed orally, not to mention serious diseases such as tuberculosis and herpes.

Hookahs originated in ancient Persia and India and have been used extensively for approximately 400 years. Today, hookah cafés are gaining popularity around the globe, including Britain, France, Russia, the Middle East, and the United States. There are “hookah bars” in Wichita.

While many hookah smokers may consider this practice less harmful than smoking cigarettes, hookah smoking carries many of the same health risks as cigarettes. The minty, chocolate, or clean herbal taste leads smokers to think that it is safer than smoking a cigar or cigarette.

• Water pipe smoking delivers the addictive drug nicotine and is at least as toxic as cigarette smoke. • Due to the mode of smoking—including frequency of puffing, depth of inhalation, and length of the

smoking session—hookah smokers may absorb higher concentrations of the toxins found in ciga-rette smoke.

• A typical 1-hour-long hookah smoking session involves inhaling 100–200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette.

• Hookah smokers are at risk for the same kinds of diseases as are caused by cigarette smoking, including oral cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, cancer of the esophagus, reduced lung func-tion, and decreased fertility.

Hookah Smoke and Cancer • The charcoal used to heat tobacco in the hookah increases the health risks by producing high

levels of carbon monoxide, metals, and cancer-causing chemicals. • Even after it has passed through water, the smoke produced by a hookah contains high levels of

toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals, and cancer-causing chemicals. • Hookah tobacco and smoke contain numerous toxic substances known to cause lung, bladder,

and oral cancers. • Irritation from exposure to tobacco juices increases the risk of developing oral cancers. The

irritation by tobacco juice products is likely to be greater among hookah smokers than among pipe or cigar smokers because hookah smoking is typically practiced (with or without inhalation) more often and for longer periods of time.

The trend of hookah smoking has doctors and public health experts concerned because — despite claims to the contrary by many users — smoking from a hookah is just as dangerous as smoking cigarettes. As instances have come to our attention, I felt that you as parents needed to be aware of this activity, the risks associated with this activity, and our policy to treat smoking as just that; No Smoking!

Cheney High School-Ron Traxson, Principal

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve always imagined.” ~Henry David Thoreau

CHS, Continued...

Do you want to kick the smoking habit or know someone who wants to start smoking? Read below for some shocking facts: • 20% of American teens smoke. • Each day 3,000 children smoke their first cigarette. • Of the 3,000 teens who started smoking today, nearly 1,000 will eventually die as a result of smoking. • Adolescent girls who smoke and take oral birth control pills greatly increase their chances of having blood clots and strokes. • According to the Surgeon’s General, Teenagers who smoke were:

◊ Three times more likely to use alcohol ◊ Eight times more likely to smoke marijuana ◊ And 22 times more likely to use cocaine.

Go to www.smoking-facts.net for more smoking facts.

Want to kick the habit? Call the Kansas Tobacco Quitline at: 1-866-KAN STOP Facts gathered from www.smoking-facts.net

CONGRATULATIONS KMEA DISTRICT HONOR BAND AND CHOIR MEMBERS!

The following band and choir members will be performing in the Kansas District Honor Groups following their selections at live auditions held Saturday, November 7th at Andover Central H.S. They will have a rehearsal and performance at WSU on Saturday, Dec. 5th. 1000 or more auditioned and approximately 10 percent were selected! This was an extremely good year for the Cheney students. BAND Stephanie Marston- 5th trombone- senior Tim Fry- 3rd tuba- senior Jared Giefer- 3rd percussion- orchestra- freshman Alternates- Allyson Hallowell- freshman and Seth Alstrom- senior CHOIR Kaitlin Nance-Alto I- freshman Brittany Harris- Soprano I- sophomore (2nd year making this) Sara Sagner- Soprano II- junior Michael Miles- Tenor I – senior (2nd time in this) Chad Harbour-Nordahl- alternate Bass I- freshman Cheney will also host the Central Plains League Honor Band and Choir on Saturday, January 16th at 4:00 P.M. and have concerts in the auditorium at that time. Layton Nance- CHS/CMS Vocal Music Director

By Debbie Hillman, CHS Counselor-dhillman@cheney268.com or 316-542-3113

Scores, scores, and more scores.

Test Fest results are back for the EXPLORE (freshmen), PLAN (sophomores), and Practice ACT (juniors). An assembly was held for each class going over the results. The final instruction was for each student to bring home the results to share with their parents. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at the high school. I would also like to applaud the students who have taken the ACT so far this year. You have done a good job, and I know more CHS students will be taking the ACT in the near future. Juniors, make sure you take it on a national test date no later than April or June of 2010. Plans are being made for another ACT Test Prep Session in April. Information will be available in the spring.

Financial Aid

One topic that continues to arise is being able to afford a college education for your son or daughter. Students can do free scholarship searches in order to find possible sources of grants or scholarships. I have advised the seniors, and I will advise all others, to make sure they don’t pay for such a service. There are many FREE ones out there so please take advantage of those. Just to mention a few are Fastweb.com and studentaid.org. There is a scheduled Financial Aid night for senior parents on Thursday, January 7 at 7:00 pm in the high school library. We will go over the FAFSA, and I will try and answer any questions parents have about the financial aid process. One task that can be taken care of prior to that night is obtaining an electronic pin number. The FAFSA is being done online, and parents need to have a way of identifying their signature. The pin number is how that is done. Also, seniors are to obtain one as well. If you have an older student, who is attending college, you can use the same number for all of your children.

Career Readiness

One area we continually need to address is what students plan on doing once they graduate from high school. Every student, unless they are new to our system, has accessed Kansas Career Pipeline. It is a tool that has many features that can provide guidance for possible career opportunities. It addresses college, armed services, workforce, and apprenticeships. There are also links to scholarships and important tasks for obtaining a job. Students also received feedback on their test results about possible career choices.

Miscellaneous

The next registration deadline for the ACT is January 5. Students need to be heads up because this deadline is two days after coming back from the Christmas holidays. The actual ACT test date is February 6. Seniors need to continue with college visits, armed services visits, and job shadowing opportunities. All of these play an important part in planning for the future. If you ever have any questions, please feel to contact me at dhillman@cheney268.com or 542-3113. Debbie Hillman, CHS Counselor

Merry Christmas to ALL and Happy 2010!!

COUNSELOR’S CORNER

By Linda Patterson, CMS Counselor – lpatterson@cheney268.com or 542-0060 With the Holiday season upon us, I would like to take this time to express how truly blessed I feel to have the opportunity to work with such fantastic students! Thank you for sharing your sons and daughters with me and for allowing me to share myself with them. Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season! Classroom Counseling Lessons are going strong in the Middle School. In November, the 6th grade classes spent time reading and discussing “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. Students learned about selfless and selfish behav-iors, qualities that make a good friend, and that gift giving does not have to be material items but can be offerings from the heart. Classes participated in making Friendship Wreaths and labeling non-material gifts they could give a friend or loved one. We will continue spending time discussing the meaning of gift giving and the importance of showing gratitude through the month of December. In 7th and 8th grade counseling, to continue our focus from Red Ribbon Week, students discussed: What influences decision making? How does having knowledge of a situation give an individual power to make better choices? Individual decision-making vs. group decision-making. And, is it easier to prevent unhealthy behaviors than to try to change them once they have been established? Students will continue to participate in Character and Life Skill lessons. Ambassadors and Stuco had a busy month of October with Spirit Week, a Pep Rally, Parent/Teacher Conferences, Fall Dance, and Red Ribbon Week. This month requires a lot of cooperation in planning and organizing activities. I appreciate all the work the kids do to make this month fun and meaningful for all of us at CMS. Red Ribbon Week is a fun time for both staff and students. We all get to learn about the negative effects drugs can have on us and we have a super time participating in all the fun activities sponsored by the student council. Thank you Student Council! New Organization at CMS! Due to the positive influence the SADD Chapter from Norwich had on our students during Red Ribbon Week, a group of students initiated a new organization at CMS called S.O.D.A. This group stands for Students Opposing Drugs and Alcohol. SODA is a peer leadership group dedicated to promoting positive peer pressure, being positive role models and developing strategies to prevent destructive decisions. SODA believes that young people can have fun, enjoy life, and nurture positive personal relationships without the distraction and distortion of alcohol and other drugs. We currently have 65 students signed up to be a part of this organization! I think we have a lot of great things to come with S.O.D.A. As a way to continue to promote our sense of Family, the CMS Ambassadors hosted a “Mix it Up” Day at Lunch on November 12. As students walked through the lunch line, they selected a jolly rancher. The color of their candy was how they found which table they would be sitting at that day. If you drew a watermelon jolly rancher you got to sit at the watermelon table and so on. This day is always fun for the kids. It is a great way to help kids meet new people and develop new friendships. It was fun watching kids introduce themselves to each other making sure everyone knew each others name. Great Job Kids!!! We definitely need to do more “Mix It Up” Days!

COUNSELOR’S CORNER, cont’d...

By Jeanine Long, CES Counselor-jlong@cheney268.com or 316-542-3137 I simply cannot believe it is the holiday season already! It goes faster every year. Some tell me it’s a sign of age but I’d like to think it’s because our year is going so well. We truly have great children at Cheney Elementary. I am fortunate to be a part of this wonderful community. Hopefully you have been hearing more about kind acts from your children. Rachel’s Challenge has been a fun addition here at school. The children are encouraged to acknowledge kind acts by adding a link to our class chains of kindness. They have quite a competition going on between the classrooms. I was thrilled when a parent told me their conversation at dinner the night before had been about our kindness challenge! Our YouthFriends initiative continues to grow. It always makes me smile when our children see their adult friend coming down the hall. I don’t know who’s more excited, the adult, the child or me! We will begin a new component of the program that is a mentoring piece via email. It will require an email a week between the mentor and the student. If this is something you might be interested in, please give me a call. As always I’m happy to visit with community organizations about either program. We had our first Mix-It-Up at lunch day this month. This gives students an opportunity to move across social barriers and make new friends. It is something we will continue to do on a monthly basis. We will be offering Love and Logic parenting classes in January. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn practical parenting skills. Please contact me for additional information. Please allow me to be a resource for you and your child in any way. I invite you to access my page on the school website and to call or email me at any time. And thank you for being willing to share your child with me. We are blessed with wonderful families here in Cheney!

A Note From the Counselors... By Linda Patterson-CMS Counselor; Debbie Hillman-CHS Counselor; Jeanine Long-CES Counselor

Teach them to think, not drink!

Cheney Middle/High School is among 220 districts and 70,000 students that participate in the Kansas Communities That Care Youth Survey offered each year to all schools that have students in 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grades. The survey tracks teen use of harmful substances such as alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. It also provides information for teen participation in, perception of, and attitudes toward social and antisocial behavior at the peer, school, family and community levels. This survey highlights both our strengths (protective factors) as well as our challenges (risk factors). Studying the results help schools and communities make key decisions regarding reducing teen risks and developing drug prevention programs by prioritizing areas of greatest need. Areas of strengths are: Availability of Community Rewards, School Opportunities for Involvement, and Strong Family Attachment. Areas of concern where Cheney students have been identified for being at-risk are: Antisocial Involvement, Low Commitment to School, and Parental Attitudes Favorable to Drug Use. In these areas, we scored higher than both the state and county. There will be an informational meeting on January 26th from 6:30 – 7:30 in the high school auditorium to build public awareness and discuss the survey results.

Did You Know? The average age of a child's first drink is now 12, and nearly 20 percent of 12 to 20 year-olds are considered binge drinkers. While many believe that underage drinking is an inevitable "rite of passage" that adolescents can easily recover from because their bodies are more resilient, the opposite is true. Research has shown that the brain is not fully developed until a person’s mid 20’s. Communication can lead to better self-control about risky behavior. Please talk to your kids.

Promote RESPONSIBILITY “What happens in your home affects the community. Teens naturally want adult privileges. Our job as parents and guardians is to make them understand that alcohol is a drug and consuming it as a teen is harmful to their health and well-being. It is also illegal for the teens to consume it and for adults to provide it.” --Kansas Family Partnership To Keep Children Alcohol Free

Cheney Middle School-Amy Wallace, Principal “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt

In the hustle and bustle of activities, it seems we often times forget to recognize those outstanding individuals who devote so much time to our students in extra-curricular activities. These individuals not only give 100% in the classroom, but also outside the classroom contributing to the total experience of our middle school. When you see them, I hope you will thank them for all they do.

Football coaches: Randy Weber, Jim Gillett, Tim Hiebert and Kerry Morris Volleyball Coaches: Robi Alstrom and Livia Custer Fall Cheerleading Sponsor: Michaeline Kohler Girls’ Basektball Coaches: Randy Weber and Jill Augustyn Boys’ Basketball Coaches: Jim Gillett and Lance Custer Scholar’s Bowl Coach: Joe Shellhammer & Renee Teague Wrestling Coach: Adam Hinkle and Than Underwood League Math/Chess/Robotics: Jim Gillett League Science Competition “Mission Possible”: Jessie Pohlman League Art Competition: Michaeline Kohler League Music Contests: Layton Nance and Travis Johnson Battle Of The Books Sponsor: Mary Butel 8th Grade Play Director: Sherri Conrad Track Coaches: Layton Nance and Nate Jones An asset to our CMS activities is our athletic/activities director, Dustin McEwen. Mr. McEwen works very hard to provide a variety of activities for our middle school and ensures that all students have an opportunity to participate. Thank you Mr. McEwen, for what you do for CMS!

CHRISTMAS PLANS—Wednesday, December 23 will mark the last day we have school until after the holidays. That day we will feature the annual talent show at 12:00 noon in the HS Auditorium. As in the past, exceptional talent is expected. Parents, family members and the public are invited and encouraged to attend. It is always a great production! At 1:30 we will have a variety of activities for the kids to participate in. School will dismiss as normal that day at 3:20.

RED RIBBON WEEK—In October CMS celebrated Red Ribbon Week with the DRUG STORE PROJECT. Students were taken through a variety of skits to show how life is when you drink and do drugs. Many community volunteers helped make this happen! We ended the day by showing kids that you can have fun without these things. HEALTH FAIR—The 2009 Cheney Middle School Health Fair was held on Friday Morning, November 11, 2009. Middle School students enjoyed a plethora of activities where they learned about health concepts. Some activities include: Glo-Germ hand washing activity, Lake Safety, Gun Safety, First Aid, Tobacco Fear Factor, Skip Rope making, and Power Panther Pals. Thanks for all the parent and volunteer support for making the 2009 Health Fair a success! We couldn’t have done it without you! VETERAN’S DAY—CMS had a great celebration this year for Veteran’s Day. Student Ambassadors greeted all of our visitors and helped them to be seated. We opened with a program featuring our band and choir. We also had three essay winners read their essays. They were: Alisha Nolte, Parker Gehrer and Kyle Sherwood. All Veterans in attendance were introduced by our Student Council Members. Some Veterans were able to be introduced by their own grandchildren or children. The moving tribute concluded with Carlea Holt and Jarad Reida playing “Taps.” Following the program, several Veterans stayed at school to share with students their stories. It was a great program and we hope to build on it each year! Veterans in attendance were: Wayne Riggs, Kent Zerener, Dan Stoehr, Jim Meyer, Dean Harding, Elton Long, Mel Wiemeyer, Phil Moorehouse, Don Mace, Jim Kampling, Tom Whitaker, Brent Lies, Homer Henry, Lin Dehning, Mike Brand, Tracy Unruh, Dennis Lyons, Jean Harding, Raymond Rosenhagen, Devvi Walter, Don Lee, and Leo Chance.

STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE AWARDS—January 12 will mark an important date for CMS students. That night between the varsity games, our standard of excellence students will be recognized. On the 2009 assessments, the middle school was honored with meeting the standard of excellence in SIX AREAS:

• 6th Grade Reading and Math • 7th Grade Math and Reading

• 8th Grade Math and Reading CONGRATULATIONS CMS!!!

Christmas Program and Parties – Date Change There is a correction on our calendar for the Christmas program and parties. They will be held on December 23, the last day before winter break, at 1:00 and 2:30 respectively. The concert will be held in the gymnasium and doors will be open at 12:45 for patrons to attend. Our 5th grade band will perform first, followed by vocal music from grades Kindergarten – 5th grade. Patrons in attendance will be invited to participate in carols as the classes transition

from their seats to the platforms, so warm up your singing voices if you plan to attend. The program should last 45 minutes to an hour and then the parties will begin shortly after students get back to their classrooms. If you are in charge of a classroom party, keep in mind that we are making an attempt to encour-age healthy snack habits for all events at school. If you need some ideas for healthy options, please visit our website at www.cheney268.com , click on the Elementary School link, and then go to the PALS link on the right hand side of the page. This will take you to the PALS homepage and “Healthy Snack Food Ideas for Parties” is one of the options you can access. There are some great snack ideas that kids enjoy. Parent-Teacher Conferences We had another great turnout for Parent/Teacher conferences in October. 98% of our parents came in to meet with their student’s teacher! Parent involvement is a major influence in the academic success of your children. Thank you for supporting what your kids are accomplishing at Cheney Elementary. Make a Difference Collection The students at Cheney Elementary participated in a fundraiser for Make a Difference Week. Our student council, led by 4th grade teacher Laurie Thisius, organized a coin collection for the week of November 9th–13th. On Tuesday the kids were asked to bring pennies, Wednesday was nickel day, Thursday – dimes, and Friday – quarters. At the end of the week, $1,275.04 was the total amount of money raised! The money will go to the Cheney Emergency Fund to help residents of Cheney in times of need. Congratulations to our students, faculty, and staff for making a difference in somebody’s life! Parent Contact Information Please keep your contact information updated in the office in case we have a message for you. In the event of inclement weather, CES will need to let you know if school has been canceled or will release early. Some parents have changed jobs, cell phone numbers, and early release routines. Our office needs to know if any of this information has changed since the beginning of the school year.

Cheney Elementary School - Jamie Rumford, Principal “While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” ~ Unknown

CES Continued…. Physical Education is Awesome! By Melanie Tolar, CES PE Teacher The first nine weeks passed by so quickly and we had many activities going on! We hosted our Fourth Annual Jump Rope for Heart Event on Friday, October 23, 2009. We had a fun-filled day with various jumping activities. We had a total of 173 kids participate in our fund raising, bringing in a total of: $9,400! We were so excited! The winning grade level with the most money turned in was our First Grade. They earned a free ice cream party! The class that turned in the most money was Mrs. Keller’s First Grade. They earned a free recess or PE time with Mrs. Tolar. Thank you to all who gave to our students and the American Heart Association, your donations are important in helping save lives! (For every $50 donated, a person can be trained in CPR.) We were awarded the Coordinated School Health grant for a second year. This is a grant that allows us to improve our school health. Some of the activities we will be working on with this grant are school health fairs, a new salad bar cart for the HS/MS lunches, health and wellness challenge for the staff, health presentations, and promotion of healthy lifestyles to our community. We also have the possibility of a milk vending machine in the HS/MS commons. We are very excited to have this grant, it allows us to do some extra activities that we normally can’t do! We had a cereal drive challenge between the classes the week of November 17, 18, and 19. Mrs. Meyer, our music teacher, and I decided we wanted to help out and have a service project for our students. Wow! What a turnout! We ended up with over 340 boxes of cereal, pop tarts, oatmeal and other breakfast items. The fourth grade ended up with the most items brought in with 74 boxes . They earned a movie and popcorn during their PE/Music time. Mrs. Meyer and I delivered the cereal drive items to Inner Faith Ministries and were thanked over and over for our large donation. Thanks to all who brought in cereal items, they will help feed students just like ours and help get their bodies ready for school. Quick Health Facts: A healthy breakfast is a good habit to get into each day! A healthy start to the day begins with good role models! Quick breakfast ideas:

• Cold cereal, banana, low-fat milk • Low-fat cheese sandwiches, tomato slices, low-fat milk • Macaroni and cheese, green pepper slices, sliced pears, low-fat milk

Choose a combination of three from these food groups: Dairy Meat/Substitute Fruit Vegetables Grain low-fat milk beans banana fresh salsa tortilla low-fat cheese peanut butter orange wedges tomato slices rice yogurt eggs berries potatoes bagel Do you want to kick the smoking habit or know someone who wants to start smoking? Read below for some shocking facts: • 20% of American teens smoke. • Each day 3,000 children smoke their first cigarette. • Of the 3,000 teens who started smoking today, nearly 1,000 will eventually die as a result of smoking. • Adolescent girls who smoke and take oral birth control pills greatly increase their chances of having blood clots and Strokes. • According to the Surgeon’s General, Teenagers who smoke were:

◊ Three times more likely to use alcohol ◊ Eight times more likely to smoke marijuana ◊ And 22 times more likely to use cocaine.

Go to www.smoking-facts.net for more smoking facts.

Want to kick the habit? Call the Kansas Tobacco Quitline at: 1-866-KAN STOP Facts gathered from www.smoking-facts.net

Artist’s Corner By Michaeline Kohler, CES & CMS Art Teacher

Cheney Elementary Art News Good news from Cheney Elementary—one of our 5th graders, Ashley Jackson is getting her artwork published on a Kansas calendar for 2010. I was notified recently that from all the 5th graders from across the state, Ashley’s design was runner up and will be featured on the back of the calendar.

5th graders completed copper or silver door designs that are tooled in the metal. They have also entered a book contest for the Great Plains Nature Center. Students chose a species of an insect and painted or colored it in the medium of their choice. 4th graders drew realistic architectural drawings of houses using sketching pencils. They moved on to abstract images of the Brooklyn Bridge with a study of American artist, Joseph Stella. 3rd grade students drew and painted a Victorian Mansion. They are learning the meaning of shingles, siding and trim. They continued their work with video clips of different styles of bridges. They designed their own bridge with an oil pastel background. Blending colors was emphasized. Artists in second grade loved building houses with wood scraps. Their imagination was fantastic. I extend a thank you to Eldon Holt for the supply of wood. They are also looking at bridges and designing an abstract work using oil pastels. First grade students listened to a story by Jan and Stan Berenstain. We noticed that the bears live in a fancy tree house. They designed and used the “collage” technique for their own tree house. They will be studying portraiture. Kindergarten artists designed and painted houses. They also learned to trim doors and windows. They are also using the authors, Jan and Stan Berenstain, for inspiration when they design a tree house. Using construction paper crayons, they added a door and windows to the house. They will also look at the facial features of people for the next unit. Colorful art reproductions are continuing to be displayed in the library for students and staff to enjoy. Our next group of “Artists of the Month” included: 1st graders-Mason Albers and Mason Schneider. They were joined by 4th grade artists-McKayla Nixon, Grace Casner and Delaney Lorenz. Our students continue to be recognized for the outstanding work they do in art.

Cheney Middle School Art News Art I students experimented with clay sculpture. They designed and built clay cars. They also worked on a relief sculpture of a reptile. They built it up with layers of foam board and covered with aluminum foil. Art II drew realistic barns from across the state of Kansas. They moved on to a study of Australian dreamings. These works were originally done by Aborigines. The stylized animals were painted using the back end of a paint brush. Hundreds of dots completed the work. Art III students used a variety of painting techniques to complete a Fantasy Space painting. The stipple and wet on wet technique allowed the students to use their imagination and design planets and a land mass. They also included a “lost city”. Their colorful creations were quite a hit. Clay is used at all grade levels and Art III is no different. They built coil pots testing their skills in design and construction. Student work is always on display in the building for others to enjoy.

PALS News (Parents Assisting Local Schools) By Ann Sigwing The PALS organization is once again sponsoring a fundraiser for the Cheney Emergency Fund. In past years it has been the Cookies by the Dozen bake sale at the Come Home for Christmas celebration. This year instead, we are sponsoring a "Pay it Forward" fundraiser. We are asking for a donation of $2 per family. Donations can be sent with the students to the CES office for collection. The deadline will be Friday, December 4th. The Cheney Emergency Fund will put funds raised by our efforts into their Student Assistance Fund. The funds will then be given back to our schools for various needs our students may have. The CES Christmas parties are approaching. If you are on the list to help with a Christmas party, please contact your chairperson on your party list if you don't hear from them 2 weeks before the party. Good communication makes for a great time for our kids! Please clip those Box Tops for Education labels off products and send them with your child to their classroom. Every one is worth 10 cents. It really adds up in the end. Also, if ordering gifts online, please remember to go through the link www.boxtopsforeducation.com to get to the many retailers of your choice. Cheney Elementary will receive a certain percentage of the money spent on your purchases. Plans are underway for a fundraiser in the spring. Funds are needed to keep PALS operational for the next 2 years. If you would like to help in any way, please contact a PALS officer soon. Committee members are still needed in various areas in our organization. Please try to attend a PALS meeting to see what you can do for your child's school. School Directories are available in the CES office for $1.00. Meetings are held in the CES Library at 6:30 p.m. There is parking and easy entry on the north side of the building. Upcoming meetings: December 1st, 2009 & January 19th, 2010 Ann Sigwing, PALS Vice-President

Parents As Teachers (P.A.T.) Angie Overlees, PAT Coordinator

“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation”

~C. Everett Koop

The P.A.T. program is designed to provide parents with practical and effective information on growth and development of infants and toddlers. Studies show that families who have been involved in this program have children that are more advanced in language development, have better social skills, and enter Kindergarten ready to learn. Participation in P.A.T. is free and is open to all families who live in Cheney USD 268 with a child, birth to 36 months of age. To enroll, contact the P.A.T. office at 542-3137 ext. 2732 or stop by our room at Cheney Elementary School.