Olathe School District awards

Ernst Honored by KAESP as Distinguished Principal

John Ernst, principal at Rolling Ridge Elementary School, has been honored as the District 1 National Distinguished Principal for 2015-16 by the Kansas Association of Elementary School Principals (KAESP). Six district honorees will be recognized at the KAESP Fall Conference on Nov. 9 in Wichita.

“John will do anything to support kids and staff at Rolling Ridge,” Executive Director of School Administration/Elementary Programs Brent Yeager said. “He tackles challenges head on and he addresses concerns with high expectations and high levels of support. No matter where John is, he is always committed to doing what is best for kids and what is best for his school. He can even be found shoveling snow and planting grass around the building during his free time, to make sure the building is nice for students, staff and families. He has made a tremendous impact on the school community, on the students, the staff and his colleagues.”

Broken police window due to stress not bullet

From WDAF-TV

Police determined Thursday afternoon that the rear window of  police vehicle experienced a stress fracture that caused the window to buckle, and that no shots were fired at the officer.

Police say the veteran officer at first thought he had been fired upon in the area of Prairie Star Parkway and K-7, where he was conducting radar/speed enforcement. The officer was stopped on the side of the highway when the he felt a percussion in his chest and observed the rear window of his vehicle was shattered.

ACT composite score highest in Olathe district history

Students in the Olathe School District scored a composite score of 24 on the ACT exam, the highest in the district’s history. The test was taken by 71 percent of 2015 graduates. The scores were well above state and national peers.

“As a district we could not be more proud of this outstanding accomplishment by our students,” Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Jessica Dain said. “This type of academic achievement opens many post-secondary educational opportunities and financial benefits to our students as they graduate from the Olathe Public Schools and enter the next phase of their educational careers. Scores like these are a direct result of our district teachers, administrators, and curricular specialists collaborating together with a strategic focus on curricular alignment and college and career preparedness. Today we celebrate!”

Sproles, 3 others to be honored by K-State

From Fox Sports

Kansas State will be adding some pretty impressive names into its Ring of Honor.

Quarterback Michael Bishop,  receiver Jordy Nelson, running back Darren Sproles and safety Clarence Scott will be inducted on Sept. 5 in Manhattan, Kan.

To read the entire article, click here.

Summer offers volunteer opportunities for Olathe students

Olathe South High School cheerleaders spent time opening large packages of supplies so volunteers from Farmers Insurance could more easily get the right number of each item into the backpacks.

Summer time for high school students can mean working more hours in a part-time job or it can just as easily involve volunteering their time. Dozens of Olathe high school students spent part of their summer break helping with projects in district buildings.

At Bentwood Elementary School, members of the Olathe East High School football team lent a hand moving thousands of pounds of classroom furniture, files and equipment from the gymnasium back into the correct place throughout the school. The gymnasium housed all of these items while various aging facilities construction projects took place in the building.