USD 257 celebrates Accomplishments

By

opinions

November 27, 2012 - 12:00 AM

Using Thanksgiving as a theme, USD 257 administrators and teachers had several opportunities to demonstrate their appreciation for students and each other.
In early November, the district celebrated thankfulness by recognizing the accomplishments of our USD 257 Elementary Drumming Circle when it was chosen to perform at the Kansas Department of Education annual conference in Wichita. Elementary music teacher Karen Jesseph and her drummers did an incredible job representing our district.
During the first school board meeting in November, the district was very thankful of the fact that our 10-year vision for the development of our schools is coming into a clearer focus. Not only are we thankful because this allows our district to maximize our resources, but the process also allows the community, staff, students, and parents to own the vision collectively.
Later in November, USD 257 got a chance to recognize the accomplishments of three individuals/groups who were finalists for the Thrive Allen County Excellence in Education awards. Marv Smith, long-time coach and educator at Iola High School, was a finalist for the award as was Michael Barnes, the philanthropic custodian at Jefferson Elementary School. Walmart Manager Jeff Livingston and all of the employees at Walmart came away with the award for their outstanding philanthropic efforts to USD 257 and other schools in the area.
As November comes to a close, our district continues to teach and model the principles of thankfulness to our students. Elementary students learned about thankfulness by preparing and serving each other meals through our annual Thanksgiving feasts. The middle school students and staff filled 11 baskets with “Thanksgiving items” so that needy families in the area could celebrate the holiday. In addition, our high school students collected a large amount of food for the Iola Food Pantry and our Crossroads Alternative Learning Center served the community and USD 257 staff.
Looking back, it is easy to see that these important principles were modeled and taught in our school district to students.
However, I am even more thankful that these concepts continue throughout the year with our students, staff, parents, and community. 

Related
December 14, 2023
October 24, 2023
August 2, 2023
May 12, 2022