News & information from Wichita Public Schools

District to offer online enrollment for 2010-11 year

The Wichita Public Schools is offering a convenient option for returning parents when they enroll their child for the 2010-2011 school year. The schools are offering online enrollment to allow parents to complete standard enrollment forms, pay for enrollment fees and school meals, and fill out free and reduced price lunch forms from a computer. The new online enrollment option will help streamline the enrollment process and cut down on printing as many enrollment forms. Some schools will have computers set up at school to allow parents to complete the forms online if they do not have access to a computer at home. The online access will be available July 6.

Parents will need a Parent Assist log on account for their child/children. Parents can go to the enrollment site and fill out the necessary forms that are required for all students. The common forms include the Pupil Information Form (PIF), medical information, policy acceptance forms, and emergency contacts. Schools will be sending the Parent Assist information, along with additional information on online enrollment, home with students soon.

After completing the common enrollment documents, parents will be linked to their child’s school website to receive school-specific enrollment information, including school supplies and fees.

Secondary students will still be required to come to the school during enrollment to get their class schedules, ID badge and to sign policy forms. Elementary schools still encourage parents to come to the building to pay for latchkey and pick up other information. Enrollment for the 2010-11 school year is July 28 – 30 and August 2 – 3.

Lawrence and Mayberry students create art for park

Students at Lawrence Elementary and Mayberry Cultural Arts and History Magnet are helping beautify the park next to their schools. Students during art class helped put together a mosaic that will be added to the walls of a new building at West Douglas Park. The colorful mosaic was designed by art teaching specialist, Tina Murano.
The mosaic will be installed on the new bui
lding during the summer months.
“The students had fun helping with this project,” said Jeff Dohlman, art teacher at Lawrence. “They will be able to go to the park years from now and see the project they helped create. It gives them ownership in their community.”

Wilbur and Horace Mann rewarded for being active

Students at Wilbur Middle School and Horace Mann Dual Language Magnet celebrated their commitment to staying healthy and active. The two schools earned assemblies with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle for their participation in Fuel Up to Play 60. The Fuel Up to Play 60 program, sponsored by the National Football League and the Midwest Dairy Council, encourages students to be active for at least 60 minutes each day and to eat healthy foods.

Students celebrate Earth Day with First Lady

 High school students celebrated Earth Day with help from Stacy Parkinson, First Lady of Kansas. Mrs. Parkinson visited South, Metro-Meridian, West and Southeast on April 22 to learn more about the schools’ student-driven “Go Green” activities.

This year, high school students started a district-wide recycling program in their schools. The students are focusing their efforts on recycling plastic pop and water bottles, along with other recycling efforts. First Lady Parkinson met with the students on August 31, 2009 when the program was just beginning. She said she wanted to come back when the program was established and Earth Day was the perfect opportunity to see the students’ progress.

Students at each high school created decorative trees made out of recycled materials. Some trees are made from plastic bottles, others from scrap metal from the metals classes, others from recycled paper. First Lady Parkinson judged each school’s decorative trees, as well as the school’s recycling initiatives and how they have involved the entire school in the recycling program. At Metro-Meridian, she looked at birds the students made out of recycled materials that are displayed throughout the school. At South, she helped students plant a tree on the school’s grounds.
The schools’ recycling program is completely student-driven. Student representatives from each school met once a month to share their project ideas, how they are getting other students involved, and how they are incorporating recycling into the science, math, language arts and social studies curriculum.

Mayberry students finish first in robotics competition

 Students at Mayberry Cultural Arts and History Magnet brought home the 1st Place Trophy Overall from the state Lego Robotics competition. Seventh-grade students Brett Gile, Nicole Harmon, Karen Johnson, Kobe Mosteller, Zach Powell and Allie Simon competed against 59 teams from across Kansas.

The students spent three months building and programming their robots to get ready for the competition. They competed in 5 events: Speed Limit, Search and Destroy; There and Back, Maze Solver and Mystery Event. The boys’ team earned 3rd place medals in the Mystery Event, where they didn’t know what they had to do until it was announced at the competition. The students had to build and program their robot quickly for the event.

Mayberry’s Robotics Team is coached by Ginger Merlau and Sheri Baringer.