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.

Two Northwest seniors score perfect on ACT

Weston Harder and Connor Neil, seniors at Olathe Northwest High School, have earned perfect scores of 36 on the ACT. Nationally, while the actual number of students earning a composite score of 36 varies from year to year, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students taking the ACT earn a top score.

“We are excited to add Connor and Weston to the elite group of Olathe Northwest students who have scored a perfect 36 on the ACT!” Principal Gwen Poss said. “We are proud of their hard work, achievement and dedication to their studies. The staff at Olathe Northwest continues to cultivate, challenge and grow college- and career-ready students. Olathe Northwest students are recognized across the country for their aptitude in the classroom and certainly Connor and Weston strengthen this reputation.”

Summer educator conference May 27-29

District and national education experts will share their expertise with more than 1,700 teachers and staff at the district’s 24th annual Summer Conference. Nationally renowned educators will gather at Olathe Northwest High School to present more than 150 professional development sessions for pre-kindergarten through senior high school educators, administrators and counselors. The 2015 Olathe Summer Conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 27-29.

“For 24 years the Olathe district has provided a top-notch learning opportunity for our staff through the Olathe Summer Conference,” Deputy Superintendent Alison Banikowski said. “Thousands of educators over the years have had the opportunity to learn from national and local presenters on topics relevant to teaching and education.

9 more at Northwest test positive for TB

Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and Johnson County Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE) report that out of the 218 individuals tested for tuberculosis (TB) at Olathe Northwest High School on May 5^th, nine (9) people have tested positive for the infection.

Health officials have called those with positive TB infection test results and letters were mailed to the homes of those with negative test results (no infection). Anyone with questions about their results can call the JCDHE TB phone line 913-826-1224.

District students, staff win awards

Olathe North High School Senior Earns Scholarship

Olathe North High School senior Rigel Bales-Woods received the Congress-Bundestag Vocational Youth Exchange Scholarship.

He is one of 25 high school graduates from across the United States who will be going to Germany for a gap year to participate in a vocational study program. The Congress-Bundestag Vocational Scholarship provides an opportunity for U.S. high school graduates who have undertaken vocational training to spend a year abroad pursuing their vocational interests.