Message from Mr. Croskey |Student of the Week |Student Gov.t News|
|PTO Information | PTO Officers |
General Information

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Message from Mr. Croskey

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

After 39 years in education, I have made the decision to retire at the end of this school year. It is certainly bittersweet to say the least. There is no other profession like being an educator. I began my career in Kansas City, Kansas District #500 in 1970 after completing my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education at Emporia State University. For the next nine years I taught at my own grade school and later at another school teaching 5th and 6th grades.

After completing my Master’s Degree in Elementary Administration from Kansas University in 1976, I left KCK and came to Olathe as principal of St. Paul School from 1979-1984. After five years, I pursued a job with the Olathe District Schools. From 1984-1988, I taught 4th and 5th grades at Westview Elementary School and Prairie Center Elementary School.

In 1988 I was selected principal of Rolling Ridge Elementary School. After six years there, I was asked to come to Meadow Lane.

Now, 15 years later, I am very proud to say that Meadow Lane has been my home for so long. I have been fortunate to work with so many wonderful staff members, parents and students over the years. That is what makes ML such a great school!

I look forward to continue working with all of you during the last quarter of this school year. The process for finding a replacement for me will begin in the upcoming weeks. The district’s Human Resources Department will meet with the school staff and get their input. Interviews will be held and someone will be selected. You will be informed as soon as possible. I look forward to working with the new principal to make the transition as smooth as possible before I leave in June.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my 25 years in the Olathe District Schools. It has truly been a wonderful ride!

• Parent Teacher Conferences: Once again, ML families showed their involvement with 97.5% attendance. Outstanding! We also had 262 student led conferences. Thank you for continued support!

• Kansas Assessments: We are very proud that last year ML students met the requirements under “No Child Left Behind” of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and the Standard of Excellence. The following Kansas Assessments are coming up in March/April: Gr. 3-6–Reading, Gr. 3 6–Mathematics and Gr. 4–Science. We look forward to our students’ continued academic successes this year.

• Spring Break: The week of March 15-19 is Spring Break with NO SCHOOL. Monday, March 22nd is NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS as it’s a Professional Day for the teachers. Classes will resume on Tuesday, March 23rd.

Sincerely,
Mr. Terry E. Croskey, Principal

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Student of the Week

Each full week of school, the classroom teachers will select students who have made positive gains to be good role models for others. These "Mustangs" are announced as our "Students of the Week" over the intercom. In addition, each student receives a certificate, a pencil, and participates in a group photo to be displayed on the lobby kiosk and hall bulletin board.

January 29th
PJ Gomez, Grant Henrichs, Elise Heidrick, Abigayle Brown, Abigail Logsdon, Nick Reece, Ryne Paepke, Shalika Subramanian, Royce Reeves, Lillian Craig, Danny Bowen, Jacob Little, Kia Anderson, Taylor Evans, Brayden Koch, Emmy Kipp, Maddie Selby, Stephen Holbert and Kassidy Zeiler

February 5th
Will Siuda, Meghana Nukala, Natali Duran, Andre Epps, Clark Avondet, Drew Thompson, Michael Decker, Taylor Elmore, Breyton VanOpdorp, Eric Zhuo, Nicole Meis, Kai Anderson, Harshitha Kandru, Sarah Gasaway, Cierra Fennell, Emily Neff and Tyra Wang

February 19th
Grant Logsdon, Raina Henrichs, Austin Lafferty, Carson Rosen, Kendall Starcevich, Chris Dominik, Drew Thompson, Kate Gault, Cole Proctor, Bennett Jones, Molly Gonzales, Tayler Mahoney, Mitch Higgins, Lauryn Airy, Mani Sandhu, Trey Seaba, Kaitlyn Airy, Harrison Jones and Steven Meis

February 26th
Makenna Taylor, Grace Bishop, Lexi Gibson, Alex House, Kyle Coots, Ella McKee, Jacob Robertson, Molly Neff, TJ Kinkade, Megan Sauer, Dalton Womeldorff, Brady Lockwood, Jade Osborn, Dylan Johnson, Tanner Grigg, Adrianna Marquez, Isabella Jaen Maisonet and Nabihah Shoaib

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Student Government News

• Ronald McDonald House: Thank you for your snack food donations for the Ronald McDonald House. They were very appreciative of the stocked pantry for their guests!
• Suggestions?? Please tell a Student Government representative if you have ideas for the school!

Passive Fundraising for SG:
• Recycle!...Recycle!...Recycle! Remember to recycle newspapers in our collection bin in the west parking lot.
• Pop Tabs: Please remember to save and donate these to the collection bin in the front lobby.
• ML Papa John’s Pizza Night! Be sure to eat Papa John’s pizza on ML nights. A percentage comes back to the Student Government. It is the second Tuesday of each month.

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PTO Information and Events

Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) News

Membership: All Meadow Lane parents/guardians are members of the PTO without any dues.

• PTO Meeting: Thanks to everyone who attended our fourth general PTO meeting Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

Executive Board approved helping Student Government complete the Haiti Relief Packages by purchasing supplies that were short and helping with shipping costs.

A request was approved for new equipment and supplies to be used by all students during PE class.

ML Carnival will be Friday, April 9. Dinner from 5-6:30 from Johnny Brusco’s Pizza. Games will run from 6-8 pm. Thanks to the Carnival Committee and Christine Scarduzio and Wendy Andrew for leading this committee.

It was approved to give ML teachers a small cash gift during Teacher Appreciation Week to help cover their outof- pocket expenses for the school year. This is a ML PTO Tradition and one that is greatly appreciated by our fantastic staff!

The next PTO meeting is Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Library

• Conference Dinners: Thanks so much to Cara Conrad and the Conference Dinner Committee for providing a wonderful meal for the staff during conferences.

• Thank you Room Parents! A BIG thank you to all the Room Parents for a great party season! Your efforts, time and flexibility made all 3 parties successful. We appreciate all the volunteers who either shared party supplies, snacks, treats or some of their time to help with the parties. Without all of the support of our parents, we would not be able to make these parties happen.

• New Passive Fundraiser: ML “Panda Express” Day – Tuesday, March 30th – Panda Express Restaurant http://www.pandaexpress.com/ located at K-7 @ Santa Fe (299 North K-7 Highway). Panda Express is very generous with the percentage they will share with us, 20% of all sales ALL DAY LONG, as long as the customer brings in the flyer or mentions Meadow Lane.

• The Landscape Committee will soon begin our Spring and Summer duties around the school. We would love to have you join us while we trim bushes and make the landscaping beautiful again. Please contact Cara Conrad at toddandcara@comcast.net or 393-3759 if you would like to help.

• Farewell Breakfast: Following ML Tradition, we will have a farewell breakfast for 5th and 6th graders. All those interested in helping with the 5th or 6th grade breakfast please contact: Holly Kabler (5th Grade) 669 5779/ hkabler@sbcglobal.net or Maria Miller 390-1305/ writemaria62@yahoo.com (6th Grade).

• 2010-2011 Committees: Forms will be sent home in April showing our needs for committee chairs and volunteers for the next school year. Please contact Marcy Good at 669-9801 or gmarcy1976@gmail.com if you don’t receive a form or to sign up via email.

• Chess Club: We are looking for someone to chair Chess Club next year. If you are interested and would like to come to a meeting to see what it is all about, please contact Michele at 829-1175.

• Yearbook Committee: If you are interested in shadowing the 2010-2011 Yearbook Chair, Sheryl Higgins, during the next school year, please contact Sheryl at 829-4771. This would be an excellent position for someone interested in being in charge of the yearbook in 2011-2012.

• Picture Lady Program: Maria Miller initiated this wonderful program years ago. With her youngest child will be transitioning to PRT next year, she will no longer be doing this so we will need a new “Picture Lady”. If you are interested, please contact Maria at 390-1305 or writemaria62@yahoo.com .

• Conference Dinner: Thank you to Sarah Askren, Gail Williams, Wendy Andrew, Ronnie Decker, Trina Contreras, Kim Riddle, Jaime Johnson and Cara, Todd & Keaton Conrad for their help in serving the dinner for the staff. It was much appreciated!

The Educator Excellence (E2) Award was established to honor educators who demonstrate the ability to meet the needs of their students; work with others in the educational environment; and bridge the gap to reach parents. It includes a $500 unrestricted cash grant to the recipient. You may fill out an online application at www.olatheschools.com, by going to the community page and then clicking on the Olathe Public Schools Foundation. Once on their page go to the Educator Excellence Award page and fill out the application. LET’S GET SOME OF OUR WONDERFUL TEACHERS RECOGNIZED!!

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In Case of Bad Weather. . .

Snow Line: 780-8000:
If school is cancelled due to snow or bad weather, the information will be available on the District Information Line (780-8000); on the District Web site: www.olatheschools.com and through local television and radio stations.

If Bad Weather Occurs During the School Day:
It is our district's policy NOT to dismiss students early due to bad weather. We must be mindful of such safety issues as transportation, particularly for those students who normally ride the bus or are driven to and from school; lack of supervision at home because of an unscheduled dismissal; and the uncertainty of sending children away from a protected school environment and out into hazardous weather conditions.

If Bad Weather Occurs At Dismissal Time:
Sometimes bad weather, such as an electrical storm, will occur right at dismissal time. If that happens, we will not dismiss students until it is safe.

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FOOD PRODUCTION SETS 2009-2010 MEAL PRICES

2009-2010 School Meal Prices:

  Elementary Student lunches:  $2.05
Secondary Student lunches:  $2.20
Elementary Student Breakfast:  $1.10
Secondary Student Breakfast:  $1.35
Carton of Milk:  $.45
Carton of Juice:  $.45

The 2009-2010 adult lunch price is currently $2.85.  However, by Federal Law, adult lunch and breakfast prices must be set at no less than the current Free Reimbursement Rate. These rates are released by USDA in July of each year.

Here is some additional information that might be helpful to explain how prices are established: The price of a meal pays for a lot more than just the food your child eats. Olathe Food Service pays for all operational overhead with the price of the meal. All Food Services salaries, insurance, utilities, transportation, technology, etc. are paid from Food Services revenue, not school district funds.

The State and Federal Governments reimburse Food Services a portion of the cost to prepare each school meal served to a student.  The reimbursement helps to make up the difference between what the meal costs to prepare and what we charge our student customers.

Adults are not part of the reimbursement program. That's why an adult lunch is priced higher for the same sized meal as the student meals.

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Contacting a Staff Member

All Meadow Lane staff members have access to e-mail. Parents are welcome to communicate with teachers via e-mail however; the teacher’s first responsibility is to the children under his/her direct supervision. Teachers will make every effort to return e-mail and/or phone calls within 24 hours. You can visit the school website for a link to teachers’ email addresses, or use this formula: first initial last name ml @ olatheschools.com
(Example:) smithml@olatheschools.com
Teachers also have voicemail. If you call school during instructional time, you may request to leave a message in the teachers’ voicemail. Be sure to leave a current call back number!

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General Information

Recess Guidelines

Please make sure your children dress appropriately for the winter weather. Please mark your child's coat, hat, gloves, mittens, scarf and boots with his/her name. Here's a reminder of the district's temperature/wind chill guidelines for recess:

We receive weather reports prior to recesses from the district's online weather report and we also check with the National Weather Service. We try to be as current as possible with changing weather conditions. ALL students are expected to go outside during outdoor recess periods. Generally, a child who is healthy enough to be at school, is healthy enough to go outside for brief periods. Please check with the school nurse if your child needs to stay inside for medical reasons. A note from the doctor is needed if a child needs to stay inside due to health reasons.

Cancellation of School

If it is necessary to close, the announcement will be made via an Emergency Information Network set up by the area school districts, area radio and TV stations and area police departments. In general, school will be held if at all possible. Announcements will be made prior to 6:30 a.m. on the day in question. If adverse weather occurs during the time school is in session, the regular dismissal time will be observed . However, students will be released to parents/guardians who come to school. Every effort will be utilized to ensure the safety of our students.

Early Arriving Students

Since school officially begins at 8:20 a.m., students should arrive between 8:00-8:15 a.m. Students who must arrive prior to 8:00 a.m. are required to go into the gymnasium and sit on the bleachers. Parents/guardians will be contacted if their child is not following these expectations. There are NO staff members on duty to supervise students until 8:00 a.m., so we appreciate your help to keep these numbers of students to a minimum.

Front Door Security

Front door access will be controlled through a system that includes a camera, intercom and electronic door lock connected to the school office. All Visitors, including parents/guardians, will be required to push a buzzer to communicate with the school office staff, show an ID if necessary, and state the nature of their visit before being allowed to enter the building. Visitors must then check in at the office and receive a “VISITOR’S BADGE” sticker before gaining access to other areas of the school. The changes were made to enhance and support a safe learning environment for students and staff. Questions regarding these procedures may be addressed with the principal or the district’s security department.

Visiting School

EVERYONE IS REQUIRED to check in at the office and wear a visitor's nametag. This is for the protection of all students and staff members in accordance with school district policy. If parents/guardians bring an item for their child(ren), please come to the school office and we will call your child to the office to pick it up. This is to keep classroom disruptions to a minimum. Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter.

Student Absences

Regular and prompt school attendance is a primary foundation upon which a successful school career is built. School attendance is the responsibility of the student and parent/guardian.

• If a student must miss school or be late, theparents/guardians are requested to call the school office (780-7550) by 9:00 a.m. on the first day of the absence.
• Our voice mail attendance will take your message prior to 8:00 a.m. We will be happy to have assignments sent home with a sibling or another student.
• If we do not receive a call, we will contact you to make sure the student is not absent without parental permission or knowledge.
• Accumulated unexcused absenced of 3 consecutive days, or 5 school days in any semester, or 7 school days in any school year will be classified as a child who is not attending school or required by state law.

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