Newsletters will be available at the school, Norwich Community Library, in local churches and

businesses, and at Suppesville Gas Station. We will send newsletters via e-mail attachment

monthly to all households with students enrolled at Norwich School. If you wish to be added to

the e-mail list and you do not have a student enrolled, please contact Megan Dheming at the

school (620-478-2235), mdheming@knusd331.com), and we will add you to our e-mail

newsletter list. The newsletter will also be posted on the Norwich School Website monthly

(www.knusd331.com).

Preschool Screening Protocol During Covid 19

SCK-SEC have adjusted their screening protocol to meet the requirements for Covid 19. If you have a child that needs to be screened to attend preschool please call the SCK-SEC office at (620)672-7500. Sandra Espino will get your information in order to send you a screening packet. There will not be any summer screenings. In order to attend preschool in the 20-21 school year this is the process you will need to follow. If you have any questions or concerns please contact hhoward@knusd331.com

School Meals Many schools are providing free meals through the USDA Summer Food Service Program due to unanticipated school closure for COVID-19. Meals are available to anyone ages 1-18 who come to a meal site or are part of a mobile route. Free meals will help families save money and stretch their already tight food budgets. Food served is healthy and follows USDA nutrition guidelines. Different from the summer meal program, meals will not have to be eaten on-site but can be taken home. No application or proof of income is needed. Please contact your local school or district office for information about meal options being provided in your community. Lunches will not be served on April 10th or the 13th due to the Easter holiday.

How To Talk To Your Child About COVID-19 Concern over this new virus can make children and families anxious. Acknowledging some level of concern, without panicking, is appropriate and can result in taking actions that reduce the risk of illness. Helping children cope with anxiety requires providing accurate prevention information and facts without causing undue alarm. It is very important to remember that children look to adults for guidance on how to react to stressful events. If parents seem overly worried, children’s anxiety may rise. Families should reassure children that health and school officials are working hard to ensure that people throughout the country stay healthy. However, children also need factual, age-appropriate information about the potential seriousness of disease risk and concrete instruction about how to avoid infections and the spread of disease. Teaching children positive preventive measures, talking with them about their fears and giving them a sense of some control over their risk of infection can help reduce anxiety. The following links provide support when talking with children about the coronavirus: • Talking to Children About COVID-19 (Coronavirus): A Parent Resource, National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)2 • How to Talk to Your Kids about Coronavirus, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)3

So much has happened in a short time. First and foremost, we hope this message finds you well and adjusting to such drastic changes in our lives. As we are finding our new normal during this global pandemic one thing has not changed. Our compassion for our students, families and community has not and will not waiver.

As we progress through our continuous learning plan we will find that communication is key. If you have a student in grades PreK-3 everything you need will be in Class Dojo. Teachers will be posting class links and all information there. Teachers in grades 4-6 will be using email as their main source of communication.

We just made it through week one of our new way of “doing school” and things seemed to go quite well from our perspective. Of course as with anything new there will be challenges but this will give us opportunity to work on our problem solving skills, correct?!

Thank you all for being flexible during this time. If you have any concerns that arise please don’t hesitate to reach out to teachers or myself. Stay healthy and stay home so we can be together again soon! ~Mrs. Howard

News from the Counselor

Child Abuse Prevention

April is Child Abuse Prevention month, and abuse can be a scary topic for parents and families to discuss. Research shows that talking to your kids about sexual abuse, touching, and private body parts can help keep children safe. Our district’s social emotional curriculum has a parent guide that you are welcome to reference for these conversations that can sometimes be difficult.

Child abuse also occurs online. In an effort to educate society and to keep kids safe, Bark Technologies has released a mini-documentary which follows an undercover techie who poses online as a child. It documents just how quickly a 15-year-old and an 11-year-old minor can be approached inappropriately online by adults through social media. The predators were turned over to law enforcement. Warning: the 10-minute video is gut-wrenching, and a definite reminder of the importance of monitoring online accounts of our children, and teaching kids to keep their online account settings private, not public. Whether you chose to watch the video or not, we encourage parents to continually have these sensitive conversations with kids in an effort to keep them safe. Gaggle and Bark are two companies that USD 331 has partnered with to protect students online; Bark is our previous provider and Gaggle is our current provider. Both companies also provide parent monitoring for a monthly fee for anyone interested in extra support in this area. Google Family Link is a free app that may meet parent needs: view activity, manage apps, keep an eye on screen time, and lock devices. This app works for both Chromebook and Android tablet.

Academic Olympics Results Pratt Community College held its annual Academic Olympics on Monday, February 24, 2020. 36 of our high school students participated against local and league schools in the areas of academics, vocational education and fine arts. We extend congratulations to the following students who placed at Pratt, and within the Heart of the Plains League (HOPL). Your Norwich Eagles finished 1st in Division II @ Pratt!

Pratt Finishers

HOPL Finishers Heart of the Plains League also pulls scores for certain academic areas. The following students placed and ranked 4th place overall:

Accounting…Tori Poe 1st place! Algebra II/Trig…Raina Bates 1st place! American Government…Tori Poe 2nd place! Biology I…Judson Hibbs 4th place! Business Math…Leah Durr 1st place! Computer Software Apps…Jaycie Headrick 5th place! English I…Karissa Partridge 2nd place! English II…Raina Bates 5th place! English IV…Kenna Hibbs 2nd place! General Business…Teja Samuelson 1st place! General Science…Hayden Poe 5th place! Geometry…Sydney Hare 5th place! Pre-calculus…Tori Poe 3rd place! Psychology…Kenna Hibbs 1st place! Sociology…Kenna Hibbs 2nd place! Spanish I…Teja Samuelson 4th place! Spelling & Vocab…Lilly Heimerman 4th place!

Seniors – these local scholarship deadlines are quickly approaching! Check your email and visit Mrs. Hibbs’ web page for applications to these scholarships and for other state and national scholarship opportunities. Norwich School > Counseling > Counselor – Carla Hibbs > Local Scholarships

Community Christian Women’s Scholarship (all KAY members – male and female), April 1 Skyland Grain Scholarship, April 1

Haviland Telephone Scholarship, April 1 Jim and Carolyn Poe Scholarship, April 1 Whitetails Unlimited Scholarship, April 1 Kingman County 4H, April 1 Kingman County Young Farmers Scholarship, April 1 Norwich Recreation Scholarship, April 1 Milton/Norwich Inter-Church Council Scholarship, April 1 Norwich Booster Club Scholarship, April 1 Strong’s Insurance, April 1 SKP Scholarship, April 1 Sumner County Farm Bureau Scholarship, Apr 13 Adams Union Sunday School Scholarship, April 15 Farrar Corporation Scholarship, April 15 Kacy Layne Scholarship, April 15 Kingman KNEA Scholarship, April 15 Kansas All-Star Scholarship (seniors who live in Sumner county), April 15 Lucas Lohrman Scholarship, April 15 Norwich High School Alumni Scholarship, April 15 Greg Berry Memorial Scholarship, April 30 Eagle Grocery Scholarship, April 30 Norwich EMS Scholarship, April 30 George R Watson Scholarship, May 30 Conway Bank Salutatorian Scholarship – determined by office Farrar Corporation Valedictorian Scholarship – determined by office 2019-2020 National ACT Dates To register, go to: actstudent.org. The fee for taking the ACT is $52.00 and the ACT with Writing test is $68.00 (both include reports to 4 schools). Students with financial need may qualify for a fee waiver. Visit with Mrs. Hibbs if you think you might qualify.

June 13, 2020 * July 18, 2020

*ACT typically offers an option to purchase “Test Information Release” in December, April & June. This $22 add-on option allows you to see the actual test questions, your answers, and the correct answers. The writing prompt, scoring rubric and scores are also included for students who complete the writing test. This option is a great way to correct your mistakes on the ACT and improve your score. WSU Tech Mandatory Meeting WSU Tech has a mandatory student meeting scheduled for the first week of May for high school students who are enrolled half days on campus next fall. An admissions rep will go over your program and address expectations, assignments and attendance. Attendance is required and will help students with a smooth transition in the fall. 5:30 check-in; 6:00 meetings. If this applies to your student, please prioritize this meeting. If you are unable to attend, you must contact WSU Tech to set up a one-on-one visit.

NCAT – 4004 N. Webb Thursday, May 7

AMT, CATIA, Composites, Machining, Maintenance & Reliability and Robotics

WSU South – 3821 E Harry Thursday, May 7

Interior Design and Police Science

City Center – 301 S Grove Wednesday, May 6

Auto Service, Composites, Construction Science, HVAC, IT Systems, Sheet Metal and Welding

Old Town – 213 N Mead

Thursday, May 7 Healthcare

WSU Tech 2020-2021 Academic Calendar Access the full calendar here

Fall session starts August 17 Spring session starts January 19 Fall break November 23 – 29 Spring break March 22-28 Fall Finals are December 8 – 14 Spring finals May 11-17

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