6 El Dorado Public Schools USD 490 DEc Em b Er 2009

Focus on 490
USD 490 is proud to be the public schools serving El Dorado, KS.
Focus on 490 is designed to keep USD 490 patrons informed of district programs and
events as well as student and staff news. For additional information about your schools,
log on to the district’s web site at www.eldoradoschools.org.

Wellness Update Wellness Update Wellness Update Wellness Update Wellness Update Wellness
Herrs named USD 490 Master Teacher;
Wellness Update Wellness Update Wellness Update Wellness Update Wellness Update Wellness

Hadley/Vides are KS Teacher of Year nominees

 2010 USD 490
Master Teacher
—David Herrs
David Herrs has
been chosen by his
peers to compete in
Wellness Update the Kansas Master
Teacher Award Pro-
gram sponsored by
Free Dental Screenings Emporia State University. He teaches math-
This school year all Pre-K through twelfth ematics at El Dorado High School.
grade students in USD 490 are eligible to receive a In addition to teaching, Herrs coaches
free dental screening. GraceMed Dental Clinic, a three sports: cross country, basketball and
non-profit organization in Wichita, will be conduct- track. He is a member of the EHS Building
Improvement Team, the Extra-Curricular
ing the free screening.
Their clinic is staffed with licensed dentists and Committee, the Apple 1:1 Leadership
registered dental hygienists with Extended Care Per- Cadre and the district Math Cadre. He is
mits. They will bring their portable dental equip- the EHS Math Department Chair and is a
ment to our schools to do a screening at no charge. building Technology Liaison.
Also, parents who wish to have their student’s teeth Herrs said, “I’ve always said that you
cleaned, treated with fluoride and a sealant, may cannot “learn math” without “doing math.”
elect to have this service provided on the same date I believe students need to practice in order
FOR FREE. to improve their skill base and to improve
The cleaning and fluoride treatment services the their ability to recognize when to apply
dental hygienists will be performing are not manda- those skills. I expect my students to be pro-
tory but a service GraceMed is offering our students. ductive every day, and I consider it part of
If a child has Medicaid/Heathwave insurance, my job to help them be productive.”
GraceMed will file an insurance claim to offset their
expenses if consent to file is given by the parent/  Elementary
guardian. If the claim is denied, the parent WILL Teacher of the
NOT be charged for any services provided. Year—Keri
The first school to be screened was El Dorado Hadley
Middle School on December 1st. The schedule for Keri Hadley,
the schools is: December 14—Washington and fourth grade teacher at
Prospect, January 12—Lincoln, January 15—Grand- Washington Elemen-
view, January 28—Jefferson, and February 18— tary, has been selected
Skelly. All students present on these days will to represent USD 490
receive the free dental screening. (The high schools in the Kansas Teacher of the Year Awards
have not yet been scheduled.) Program.
“This program is exciting to me and fills a real She is a member of El Dorado Na-
need,” said School Nurse Janett Doile. She said tional Education Association, Washington’s
GraceMed representatives met with local dentists to Building Improvement Team and is a co-
explain the process and possible referrals.
leader of Kansas Math/Reading Summer
Academy (math). Hadley is also a member
of USD 490’s District Steering Committee
and Facilities Task Force.
To increase achievement in her class-
room, Hadley said she uses data notebooks,
readers’ notebooks, cooperative learning
activities, hands-on activities, landform maps,
spider writing, guided reading groups, dif-
ferentiation and peer groups. In addition,
she has implemented Multi-Tier System of
Supports and Positive Behavior Supports to
increase achievement.
 Secondary
Teacher of the
Year — Lu Anne
Vides
Lu Anne Vides,
math and science
teacher at El Dorado
Middle School, was
named the USD 490 Secondary Teacher of
the Year. She is chairperson of the USD
490 Professional Development Council and
a member of National Education Associa-
tion, Alpha Delta Kappa, National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics, and Associa-
tion for Supervision of Curriculum Devel-
opment. She is a Positive Behavior Support
building coach for the middle school.
Vides said, “My focus in on the learn-
ing environment. I adjust my classroom to
the needs of the personalities and chemistry
of the people in the room. Particularly
when behavior is an issue, we might role
play, use music to jump-start or soothe,
provide snacks when needed, provide an in-
spirational video clip or stimulating visual
setting in the classroom. Anything goes!
The idea is to eliminate the distractions
from the job at hand — learning.”
DEc Em b Er 2009 El Dorado Public Schools USD 490 7

District Highlights: Alumni Court Project nears completion

✏ EMS students selected to League Band: By Scott Ennis, EHS Athletic Director
As the completion of the Alumni Court
Fourteen El Dorado Middle School 7th and 8th grade band
Project draws near, a heartfelt ‘Thank You’ is
students were selected for the Pioneer League Honor Band —
in order to all who have supported USD 490
Kayla Smith, Sally Rowell, Alex Bisbing, Suzannah Bowden,
and the El Dorado High School athletic teams
Madison Armstrong, Dakota Cline, Malachi Walker, Garrett
through this process. Many EHS alums and
Howland, Tad Lafferty, Angelica Winsor, Gage Armstrong,
supporters have taken an interest in this proj-
Skylar Taylor, Logan Cooper and Justice Rice.
ect and have been very generous in their sup-
port. The funding made available through the
✏ EMS students selected to League Choir: Alumni Court Project has complimented the
The following El Dorado Middle School students were se- school district’s ef-
lected for the Pioneer League Honor Choir: Faith Hadley, Vic- fort to upgrade
toria Gricol, Taylor Barnett, Caitlin Fowler, Kiarah Miller, the on-site ath-
Taylor Lawrence, Marissa Sparks, Micaela Cronk, Bryanna letic facilities,
McShane, Wes Haines, Chance Macy, Robert Rodgers, and enhances
Stephen Smith, Lucas Lechtenberg, William Crawford, quite well the
William Friesen, Logan Troxell and Easton Smith. new school
facility.
✏ Teen driver’s licensing law changes in 2010: The Alumni
Kansas passed a graduated driver’s licensing law in 2009 Court Project has
which will go into effect on January 1, 2010. This law will af- been an important ele-
fect any teen applying for a farm permit, instruction permit or ment of the EHS Athletic
restricted license in Kansas on or after that date. Program, not only be-
Some important points of the law: cause of the upgrades it
• At ages 14-15, teens can apply for an instruction permit has provided, but also as a
after passing a written test and a vision test and submit- show of support for our student
ting an application from a parent or guardian. athletes.
• At age 15, teens can apply for a restricted license. A brief summary of upgrades includes:
• At age 16, teens continue to operate under a restricted • Athletic Training Room—refrigerator, two
license for a period of six months. treatment tables, two taping tables, water carts,
• The use of wireless devices is prohibited until the teen painting, storage cabinets and countertops.
has completed the six-month period of late-night and pas- • Coaches/Officials Dressing Room—10
senger restrictions. Seat belt use is required at all times. custom-made lockers, painting and new car-
Details of the law may be found on the Kansas Traffic Safety peting.
Resource Office website: • Multi-purpose Room—rubber protective
http://www.ktsro.org/index.cfm?Page=Teen.
flooring, wall mats, wrestling mat, Wildcat
mascot mural and two indoor batting cages
(in progress).
• Gymnasium—36 padded court chairs, stor-
age caddy for new chairs, painting, name-
plates for chair backs, donor recognition (in
progress) and athlete recognition (in progress).
• Weight Room—plyometric boxes, lifting
platforms, rubber flooring, circuit timer (in
progress) and wall murals (in progress).
• Swimming Pool—non-slip
flooring around the
pool, record
board, wall mu-
rals, bulletin
board and white
board.
• Athletic
Locker Rooms—
re-arrange lockers (in
progress), white boards
and painting.
• P. E. Locker Rooms—paint-
ing and dry erase boards.
• Video Room—meeting table and
chairs, new carpeting, projection
screen and video projector, white
boards, storage cabinets and countertops, and
technology hardware.
Currently, 14 seats are still available for
chair back recognition and donations are still
being accepted as the finishing touches take
place. Please contact Scott Ennis, EHS
Athletic Director, if you would like to con-
tribute to the Alumni Court Project (322-4810).

✏ EHS band earns 1st place trophy:

El Dorado High School Band marched in the 12th annual Cel-
ebration of Freedom Parade on November 7th honoring pres- El Dorado pre-
ent and former members of our Active, Reserve and National Thank You!
Guard Armed Forces. The EHS band was rated “Superior” in
marching and musicianship, earning the Bronze Eagle 1st
schoolers qualify
place trophy. In addition to the trophy, the band received a
$100 honorarium and checks totaling $320 as additional hon-
American Legion Post #81— for FREE books
The post gave each elementary
oraria for the band’s outstanding student participation and Do you have or know someone who
performance.
school a $100 Walmart gift card has a child that is between the ages of birth
to be used for student and build- to age 5 and lives in the 67042 zip code
✏ Students selected for District Band/Orchestra: ing needs. area? If so, they are eligible for the Dolly
Four El Dorado High School musicians were selected for Parton Imagination Library. This is a free
South Central Kansas Music Educators Association District El Dorado Rotary Club—Rotari- book program for children that live in this
Honor Band or Orchestra. Over 600 students auditioned in the zip code area. They will receive a hard
ans recently presented a new cover, age-appropriate book every month
south central district. Selected from EHS for District Orches-
tra was Caitie Coley, 1st chair oboe. Selected for District
dictionary to every third grade until they turn 5 years old as long as they
Band were Rebecca Whitfield, clarinet; Tashina Smith, clar- student in El Dorado USD 490. live in this area. Please contact Sharon
inet; and Jared Erpelding, clarinet. These students have quali- Waugh at the USD 490 Administration Of-
fied to audition for State Honor Band in December. fice (322-4800) for a registration form.