Rural Vista Schools USD 481 - Home of the Heat

We’re excited to invite high school juniors and seniors to our upcoming Junior/Senior Day at Salina Area Technical College on Thursday, March 6, 2025! This event is a great opportunity for students to explore our programs, tour our campus, meet instructors, and learn about technical education. To register before our Monday, March 3 deadline, students can click on the following link or scan the QR code on the attached flyer; https://bit.ly/40RB3fK. For more details, feel free to reach out to me. We hope to see some of your students at Salina Tech on March 6! Ryan Weber Director of Enrollment Services Salina Area Technical College 2562 Centennial Road Salina, KS 67401 Phone: (785) 309-3127 Business Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30am-4:30pm

Due to the projected weather, USD 481 schools will be closed on Wed, Feb 12th. All activities are cancelled/postponed.

Tomorrows(2/11) HSBB @ White City game times have been moved due to impending weather. Varsity girls will start at 4:00 followed by varsity boys. Senior recognition will take place during halftime of the boys game!

"Think Before You Post" Assembly on February 12, 2025 Hope 8:30 - 9:30 White City. 10:30 - 11:30 TBYP, which started in Kansas off the Sports in Kansas brand but really has nothing to do with sports as it is for ALL STUDENTS, has become its own thing and has now been in over 750+ schools across the country since 2019. It is the #1 booked assembly in Kansas and now grown to several other states including Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Wyoming and Oklahoma. Founder, presenter/speaker Chet Kuplen was recently named to the distinguished list of "50 Kansans You Should Know" by Ingrams in 2023. The assembly focuses on digital citizenship, online reputation, cyberbullying, online criminal activity, texting and driving, viral posting, mental health, jobs, networking and much more. Assembly time is 60 min and it is geared for 6th-12th graders.

Regular BOE Meeting February 10th, 2025 White City, KS- School Library 7:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Consent Agenda Approval a. Approval of January Minutes b. Treasurer’s Report (Cash Summary) c. Approval of Warrants 4. Adoption of the February Meeting Agenda 5. Public Presentation a. Citizen’s Open Forum b. Correspondence c. Governmental Relations 6. Old Business a. Policy updates 7. New Business a. Financial Audit 2023-2024 b. Capacity Numbers c. KSDE Audit d. Executive Session - Acquisition of Real Property e. Executive Session - Negotiations 8. Administrative Updates a. Hope Principal b. White City Principal c. Superintendent 9. Adjournment

Farm Bureau is hosting a "I love my teacher because . . ." contest for Valentines Day. This week White City 6th and 7th grade students helped kindergarten and 1st grade students write their Valentine messages for their favorite teachers. The Valentines will be judged by Farm Bureau personnel in Council Grove and the winning teacher will receive a gift card for their classroom.

Since USD 481 was a PowerSchool SIS customer whose information was involved, PowerSchool will be taking the following steps on our behalf. Identity Protection and Credit Monitoring Services: PowerSchool has engaged Experian a trusted credit reporting agency, to offer complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services to all students and educators whose information from your PowerSchool SIS was involved. This offer is being provided regardless of whether an individual’s Social Security number was exfiltrated. Identity Protection: PowerSchool will be offering two years of complimentary identity protection services for all students and educators whose information was involved. Credit Monitoring: PowerSchool will also be offering two years of complimentary credit monitoring services for all adult students and educators whose information was involved. Notifications: Starting in the next few weeks, PowerSchool will be handling notifications to involved individuals and relevant state attorney general offices on USD 481's behalf. If you do not receive a communication from PowerSchool, then your data was not breached.

PAX Good Behavior Game Monday, January 20th USD 481 staff were trained on how to implement the PAX Good Behavior Game. "Using the PAX Good Behavior Game in the classroom can improve the lives of teachers, students, families, the community, and the world." USD 481 recognized the need for a comprehensive behavior model to assist students and teachers. Staff, not just teachers, will be teaching the kernels that build up to the culmination of the PAX Good Behavior Game. This week staff are focused on the PAX Vision. Please review the information below with your student.

Basketball make up dates: Junior High Jan 28th @ Little River High School Feb 6th vs Elyria @ WC High School Feb 13th @ Ell-Saline (Brookville)

Join us in thanking our Board of Education January is School Board Recognition Month and our school district would like to thank each of our board of education members for their incredible service to our community and our public schools. School board members in USD 481 develop policies and make important decisions that help shape the future of our education system. They are entrusted by their communities with the responsibility of an annual budget of $8 million, 297 students, 59 employees and two PK-12 buildings. This January, please join us as we thank our school board members for volunteering their time, for fulfilling this very important civic responsibility, and for advocating on behalf of every child in our community The men and women serving Rural Vista and their years of service are: Tracy Schmidt (President) - 17 years Chad Johnson - 10 years Chuck Hoff - 5 years Jaren Nittler - 1 year Chris Barnes - 9 months Dillon Cook (Vice-President) - 2 years Elizabeth Stroda - 2 years

Dear Rural Vista Family – We are writing to make you aware of a recent cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, a software vendor which provides our Student Information System (SIS). On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, PowerSchool informed our leadership team that they experienced a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain PowerSchool SIS customer data. Unfortunately, they have confirmed that the information belongs to some of Rural Vista’s families and educators. PowerSchool informed us that the taken data primarily includes parent and student contact information with data elements such as name and address information. Across their customer base, they have determined that for a portion of individuals, some personally identifiable information (PII), such as social security numbers (SSN) and medical information, was impacted. They are working with urgency to complete their investigation and determine whether PII belonging to our students was included. Protecting our students is something we take seriously. With PowerSchool’s help, more information and resources (including credit monitoring or identity protection services if applicable) will be provided to you as it becomes available. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Sincerely, USD 481 - Rural Vista

As we continue to monitor the roads and consider the forecast of more snow and freezing drizzle tonight, USD 481 Rural Vista schools will not be in session on Friday, January 10th, 2025. We look forward to seeing everyone back Monday!

To ensure the safety of our students & staff, all classes & activities are cancelled for Thursday, Jan 9th.

Due to the road conditions in Woodbine. The bus will pick up all Woodbine students at the COOP Tomorrow and Friday. Parents, please have your students to the pick up locations by 7:05.

Due to the current road conditions Rural Vista Schools will not be in session on Wednesday January 8th.

Rural Vista schools will not be in session on Tuesday January 7th, 2025.

All classes and activities will be canceled for Monday January 6th for Rural Vista schools.

Tomorrow's HS JV Boys tournament at Hope has been postponed and has been moved to January 18th!

Rural Vista Electronic Device Policy To help facilitate an optimal learning environment, Rural Vista Schools will follow a cell phone free policy. Cell phones or any other, none district assigned, electronic device that can communicate with other devices will not be allowed during the school day. Students will be required to power down their devices and place them into their assigned box once they enter the school. Devices will be able to be retrieved at the end of the school day or when a student leaves for the day. Special exceptions may be made and must be approved by the building principal and superintendent. If at any time a cell phone or electronic device capable of communicating with another device is identified during school hours, this will be deemed a violation of district policy and will be given the appropriate consequences. Consequences for Violation of District Policy: First Violation: A student's first violation will result in confiscation of the device for the remainder of the day. The device will be taken to the office and put into the designated lock box. The office will notify the parent/legal guardian of the violation. Students may pick up the device at the end of the school day. Second Violation: A student's second violation will result in confiscation of the device for the remainder of the day. The device will be taken to the office and put into the designated lock box. The office will notify the parent/legal guardian of the violation and the parent/legal guardian will be required to pick the phone up at the end of the day. Third Violation: A student's third violation will result in confiscation of the device for the remainder of the day. The device will be taken to the office and put into the designated lock box. The office will notify the parent/guardian of the violation and the parent/guardian will be required to pick the phone up at the end of the day. Subsequent Violations: Any subsequent violations will result in confiscation of the device for the remainder of the day. The device will be taken to the office and put into the designated lock box. The office will notify the parent/guardian of the violation and the parent/guardian will be required to pick the phone up at the end of the day and an ISS will be assigned to the student. Policy Refusal: If a student refuses to turn over his/her phone or electronic device that is in violation of the policy, he/she will immediately be given a 1-day ISS. 2-days ISS may be issued if the student has multiple refusals. False Device: If any student is caught turning in a fake device so that he/she can keep their real device, this will be treated as a refusal to turn in your device and “Policy Refusal” consequences will be followed. School Sponsored Activities: Use of cell phones and electronic devices on school sponsored activities will be left up to the discretion of the supervising teacher. Students will be expected to respect and follow the supervising teacher’s wishes. Students will be made aware of the supervising teacher’s expectation before the trip leaves the school. College Class Student’s Electronic Device Agreement As a student taking a college course through a district approved program, students will be exempt from turning in their cell phones or any other, non district assigned, electronic device that can communicate with other devices. Student will still be subjected to the same consequences for violating the following: Students will only be allowed to be on their phones to access their dual login with teacher permission. Once the student has completed his/her login, the cell phone needs to be powered off and put away in the student's bag. If a student is caught on their phone, outside of logging in for class, they will be subject to the same consequences outlined in the district policy. If a phone is confiscated, per district policy, the student will be unable to login for their classes for the remainder of the school day and work will need to be completed outside of school hours. Both students and parent/guardian(s) must read and sign this agreement before students will be allowed to enroll in online college classes. I, ______________________________, have read and understand this agreement. I agree to (Student’s Printed Name) follow the policy and only use my electronic device to login in for my college class. Student Signature:_________________________________ Date:_____________ I, ___________________________________, Have read and understand this agreement that (Parent’s Printed Name) my student will abide by. Parent/Guardian:_____________________________________ Date:____________________

Gym will be open tonight from 6-7 at both schools. HSBB will start practice tomorrow at 10am in Hope. The bus will leave WC at 9:15.