Blogger - Simple/Essential Tool for Communication

All too often the accomplishments and everyday activities that occur in our schools go unnoticed by parents, the community, and staff within our district.  Athletic and extracurricular activities are championed by local newspapers but those papers don't often set foot in the classroom and report on what our teachers and students are accomplishing on a daily basis.

Facebook is a great tool for getting information out to a mass audience but posts can often lack the necessary depth required to effectively share the details of a successful classroom project.

Teachers can share activities and ideas in greater detail by creating a classroom blog in Blogger.  Not only can blogs be created on your laptop but they can be created with apps installed on your smartphone and iPad.  Teachers can snap quick pictures and include them within their blog.  Blogs are more permanent and less likely to get buried in a Facebook timeline.  You can create a classroom blog by going to www.blogger.com and following the setup instructions.

Your blog can be shared with other teachers by posting the link in Google+ which can be done automatically when you post your blog.  Facebook can also be used to promote your blog to parents and the community.

As a district, we use Facebook and Google+ to communicate ideas and promote accomplishments but more often than not the posts are linked to blogs which drive and keep a permanent record of those activities.

Blogs are a vital tool of our communication strategy as a district and can easily become an important communication tool in the classroom as well.  If you wish to setup a blog and need help, please contact me.

Campus Portal Mobile App

The Infinite Campus Mobile Portal app is available for iPhone/iPad and Android.  You will need a six digit district code to access your Campus information.  That code can be found by clicking the link below or you can log into the Campus Portal and click on the "Available on the App Store" icon.

With the mobile app you can check your student's grades, attendance, and assignments.  This can all be done from your iPhone, iPad, Android phone and tablet.

Seatbelts Are For Everyone - SAFE

According to the CDC, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for US teens.  A KDOT survey in 2008 indicated that only 61% of teens wore their seatbelts.  The Kansas Highway Patrol will be stepping up patrols near our schools in an effort to increase seatbelt usage among drivers.  Please make sure you are buckled up when driving.  For more information go to www.ktsro.org/safe.

Norwich Joins iHigh

Norwich joined iHigh this past week and streamed the varsity girls and boys basketball games against Skyline live on Tuesday, February 14.  All games and activities streamed live are archived on the site and can be viewed at a later date.  To access the Norwich iHigh website, go to www.ihigh.com/norwicheagles/.  You can also go to the Norwich website and click on the iHigh button.

Christmas Carolers at the District Office

The USD 331 District Office staff enjoyed Christmas music from Pat Dixon and the KUMC children's choir as they stopped by on Wednesday afternoon.

Streaming Video - Kingman vs Nickerson, Friday, Sept 23

The Kingman High School Video Production class will be streaming live the Kingman vs Nickerson football game Friday, September 23rd.  To watch the video stream or to view it after the game, go to the Kingman iHigh.com site.

http://www.ihigh.com/kingmaneagles/index.html

Kingman High 2011-12 Enrollment

New Students
Tuesday, August 2 from 8 am - noon

Seniors
Friday, August 5 from 8 am - noon

Juniors
Friday, August 5 from 1 pm - 4 pm

Sophomores
Monday, August 8 from 8 am - noon

Freshmen
Monday, August 8 from 1 pm - 4 pm