Congratulations to

• April Jacobson and Kayla Finney for qualifying for the DECA International Business Competition by earning 3rd at State!  Jeff Lowery finished 5th - just missing a spot at Nationals.






• The Eaglettes were FABULOUS at NDA Nationals in Orlando, FL on March 6-7. They represented Olathe North in the most incredible fashion. We made it to finals for BOTH our jazz and pom routines which was the first time to make it to finals in pom. They placed 7th in medium jazz and 8th in medium varsity pom...in the nation! This is quite the accomplishment considering a majority of our girls do not have much, if any dance training! It's all from hard work. We are so proud! They also had some of the best sportsmanship at the competition and were definitely a class act!



• The Boys and Girls Striking Eagles!  Our Girls Varsity team walked away with a 3rd place state ranking. Senior Kendra Marr took 6th overall with a 623 series and Sophomore Kacie Hixon took 10th overall with a 613. Boys Varsity placed 4th overall. An individual honor goes to Logan Hoskins who placed 3rd in the overalls by bowling a series of 719.



• The Culinary Program has done it again. We swept the field in the culinary competition for the 5th year in a row taking 1st and 2nd at Nationals!   We had 2 students take 1st in edible centerpiece, and the management team took 2nd. We will now be representing the school, the district and the state at nationals in May at the Overland Park Convention center. There will be more details to come on times. Also, all four high schools were represented and the scholarships money is starting to pour in!
  1st place Culinary  

  • Kealan O'Boyle ONW and Team Lead
  • Miranda Igert ON
  • Tyler Bloom Blue Valley West
  • Matt McIntyre ONW
  • Felipe Martinez ON

  2nd Place Culinary

  • Jessica Jubin ONW and Team Lead
  • Erica Tatham OS
  • Liz Huston ONW
  • Chase Landry Blue Valley West
  • Jeremy Baber OE

  2nd Place Management Team  
  

  • Mandy Cadel Team Lead ON
  • Jared Valburg ON
  • Parker Andrews ON
  • Kalya Dewolf ON

  1st Place Edible Centerpiece

  • Tony Crane
  • Jennifer Alderson
    
    
• Nate Warner, 2008 Olathe North graduate and sophomore Sports Medicine/Athletic Training student at KSU, was offered an internship by the NFL to work training camp and preseason games with the San Francisco 49er's. Nate accepted. He wanted to share his thanks to the Olathe North staff for preparing him for all the opportunities that he has encountered so far.
  
  
• Science Olympiad competed at the regional tournament this weekend at JCCC and placed 3rd in Northeast Kansas! This means the team will again be advancing to the state tournament in Wichita April 3rd. The following students received medals for events:
  - Astronomy - 1st place - Jen Caseres and Jorden Henderson
  - Cell Biology - 6th place - Kayla Sale and Erika Colorado
  - Chemistry Lab - 4th Place - Nick Graff and Aaron Kruger
  - Disease Detectives - 6th Place - Dasha Tyshlek
  - Dynamic Planet - 4th Place - Jen Caseres and Jorden Henderson
  - Ecology - 4th Place - Dasha Tyshlek and Sam Talley
  - Egg O Naut - 3rd Place - Kayla Sale
  - Elevated Bridge - 3rd Place - Aaron Kruger
  - Forensics - 3rd Place - Matt Ramirez and Sam Talley
  - Fossils - 4th Place - Jen Caseres and Jorden Henderson
  - Its About Time - 3rd Place - Kayla Sale and Levi Hogan
  - Mission Possible - 6th Place - Levi Hogan and Ryan Luder
  - Ornithology - 4th Place - Jen Caseres and Jorden Henderson
  - Physics Lab - 3rd Place - Aaron Kruger and Nick Graff
  - Technical Problem Solving - 4th Place - Matt Ramirez and Sam Talley
  - Trajectory - 3rd Place - Aaron Kruger
  - Write It Do It - 3rd Place - Ryan Luder and Levi Hogan
  
  In other words we won medals in nearly every category! Oregon Trail got 2nd place in the junior high division and many of those kids will be at North next year!
  


• Wrestlers: David Blazevic, 189#, Jake Carroll, 215#, and Lucas Vincent, 275# on their Sunflower League Championships.
  
  
• Wrestlers: David Blazevic, 189#, Jake Carroll, 215# on their Regional Championships. Good Luck at State!!
  
  
• Girls and boys’ varsity bowling teams who won 1st place in the Sunflower League Meet Sat. Feb 20th held at Olathe Lanes East. The boys and girls both finished first in team play against 12 tough league teams. Top 10 individual awards going to Louie Newport, sophomore earning 2nd place with a 746 individual series.
  
  Individual awards for the girls is Kacie Hixon, sophomore receiving 7th place bowling a 570 series and Brittany Barker, senior receiving 2nd bowling a 589 series.



• Alex Ochoa, Karen Jimenez, and Jesus Perez on a job well done at BizFest in February (a 4-day conference that teaches students entrepreneurial, leadership and public speaking skills). They will each receive a 2-year full ride scholarship to KCK community college for participating; and Jesus Perez received a $50 award for the student that showed the most perseverance!



• Sophomore, Antonio Ortiz who ranks #1 in the State of Kansas with his score in the 99th percentile on the Level 2 German exam.  There were 88 students in the state who took the test. Also, Preston Smith and Sydney Bryer also did very well with their scores in the 88th and 85th percentiles on the Level 3 exams. 
  
  

SCHOOL FUNDING HITS CRITICAL LEVEL

The Board of Education will hold a series of “Town Hall” meetings in the coming weeks to share information about how the nearly $14 million loss in state funding is impacting the district.

The most recent funding cut of $6 million was announced in November, but area legislators have warned that additional cuts—as much as $9.3 million—may be coming.

“This is a perfect storm,” Superintendent Pat All said. “Our state funding has dropped to below 2005 levels, our enrollment continues to increase, and student needs are increasing. This has happened at the same time that we lost $5.4 million in revenue from the Johnson County Education Sales Tax, which expired a year ago. That brings the total loss to $19.2 million so far.

“We are proud of the recognition we’ve received as a cost-effective district, but our efficiency leaves us with few areas to cut without affecting programs and services.”

Last year, the district offered an early retirement incentive to reduce staff voluntarily, in response to funding cuts. The result? Fewer teachers, counselors, school aides, paraeducators, clerical support staff, and curriculum leaders; and less support for operations, maintenance, training and professional development, and business functions. The drop in funds has also resulted in longer replacement cycles for technology and major building repairs.

“To put this in perspective,” All said, “Only once before in the history of the district have funds been cut. In 2002, the state reduced funding to our district by about $1 million. The current funding loss is nearly 14 times that amount, with another $9.3 million cut possibly coming this spring.”

Meetings will be held at each of the four high schools, with one additional meeting at a non-school district location (see meeting schedule below). Please take time to become informed on this important issue. For more information, go to the district Web site (olatheschools.com) and click on the “School Funding Updates” button.

Meeting Dates—All meetings begin at 7 p.m.
February 25 - MidAmerica Nazarene University, Hager Lecture Hall, Cook Center

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Parents and patrons of Olathe District Schools are invited to sign up for Olathe Alert for important information about our schools. These are sent as text messages directly to mobile phones, pagers, or wireless PDAs. Information can also be sent to e-mail accounts.

It is the policy of Olathe USD 233 not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, national origin, sex, handicap, or disability in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Inquiries regarding compliance with Title IX may be directed to Staff Counsel, 14160 Black Bob Road, Olathe, KS 66063-2000, phone (913) 780-7000. Inquiries regarding compliance with Section 504 may be directed to the Executive Director of Special Services at (913) 780-7024. Interested persons, including those with impaired vision or hearing, can also obtain information as to the existence and location of services, activities, and facilities that are accessible to, and usable by, disabled persons by calling the Executive Director of Special Services.