Welcome to KAIRS Today 2004-05.

This is the monthly electronic newsletter of the Kansas Association of Religious and Independent Schools (KAIRS). KAIRS TODAY is sent as a service to KAIRS members across Kansas. Each issue will also be available on the KAIRS Web site at www.kairs.org.

Our goal is to keep you informed about legislative, regulatory and national news and educational issues. Please look for this on the 20th of each month.

Contact Corey Reese, editor, with questions or concerns – info@kairs.org.

THE AUGUST ISSUE:

1. WELCOME FROM KAREN NORTON, KAIRS PRESIDENT

2. SEPTEMBER 14 MEMBERSHIP MEETING– KANSAS NORTH CENTRAL DIRECTOR TO SPEAK

3. KAIRS WEB SITE IS READY FOR MEMBERSHIP VIEWING!

4. KAIRS CENSUS FORMS

5. IMPORTANT 2004-05 KAIRS DATES

6. KAIRS 2004-05 OFFICERS

WELCOME FROM KAREN NORTON, KAIRS PRESIDENT

Welcome back to all KAIRS members – old and new. This is a busy season for all of us and I’m sure your school or school district has a bit of that back-to-school excitement. As we begin the 2004-05 year, I would encourage you to mark the meeting dates on your calendar. We have scheduled some very informative and insightful meetings for the upcoming year and hope they prove helpful to you and your school.

Please start by earmarking September 14, as this is our first general membership meeting. Last year, we added educational components to our September and April meetings and the response was very favorable. Dr. Nancy Bolz will talk to us about The North Central Association. At that meeting, we also hope to finalize our first Hall of Fame award winners.

In addition, we have a very exciting announcement! The KAIRS Web site is ready for the initial membership viewing. We’ve been working with a web designer this summer and we invite you to go our site at http://www.kairs.org. Please give Corey Reese any suggestions or comments at info@kairs.org as we view this as a work in progress. We hope you’re pleased and that it will serve us well.

In regard to communication, we will continue to have our monthly KAIRS Today, but it will also be published on our Web site. The same will be true with our Annual Report.

As always, we want to hear from you. So please contact myself, any member of the Board of Directors. We welcome two new members: Bill Dieckhoff, Principal, Holy Cross Lutheran, Wichita – Secretary and David Swank, Headmaster, Trinity Academy in Wichita – Treasurer. These gentlemen join Dr. Nick Campagnone, Vice President and Judy Pitts, Annual Meeting Secretary and me.

We’re already planning for our Annual Meeting and look forward to another excellent year.

-Karen Norton, KAIRS President

SEPTEMBER 14 MEMBERSHIP MEETING – KANSAS NORTH CENTRAL DIRECTOR TO SPEAK

KAIRS Membership Meeting: September 14, 10-3, Topeka - Missouri Synod Lutheran Offices

Plan on attending the September 14 membership meeting as it will feature Nancy Bolz, state director for the Kansas North Central Association. She will present "Is KNCA in Your Future?" – to be followed by a question and answer session.

Dr. Nancy Bolz recently completed her Educational Doctorate in Educational Administration and Supervision at Wichita State University. She has served in the public schools in Kansas for 19 years and with Kansas NCA for 3 years. She taught physical education, health, and sex education in Wellington, Dodge City, and Derby; served as the School Improvement and Staff Development Coordinator for Newton; and was the principal at Abilene High School. She is an adjunct professor for Wichita State University.

Lunch will be served, but the discussion will carry on through the lunch hour.

KAIRS WEB SITE IS READY FOR MEMBERSHIP VIEWING!

The KAIRS Web site is ready for our membership to view! You can access it at http://www.kairs.org.. We have worked on it throughout the summer and hope you are pleased. However, we’d like your input and your assistance so we can “launch” it to the public next week.

Here is our laundry list! We would like to use good digital photos of your school building in the top graphics. If you have such a photo, please email it to Corey Reese at info@kairs.org. We are also looking for great digital photos of your students – for the same spot. You would have to provide a release with that photo, and again email the release and photo to Corey.

As you can see on the Web site’s Membership page, we have tried to list our member schools and are in the process of adding your city. We have the opportunity to link the KAIRS Web page to either your school’s Web page (providing you have one that is in working order) or the email address that you have provided to KAIRS. UNLESS WE HEAR FROM YOU, WE WILL ATTACH YOUR KAIRS EMAIL ADDRESS. So you’ll need to give Corey your web address or indicate that you would not like to be linked.

We’re very excited about the Web page and will continue to work on it and make it better! The hope is that it will give KAIRS additional exposure. Feel free to send comments or suggestions!

KAIRS CENSUS FORMS

Each year, KAIRS conducts a census of its membership and compiles it in a printed profile. The census forms will be sent out in early September. Please return them as soon as possible.

From last year’s census, KAIRS demonstrated that member schools educated more than 38,333 students in Kansas, at savings to taxpayers of $185,864,250 in foregone state aid ($5,500 per pupil). We represent 159 schools and more than 25,700 families.

IMPORTANT 2004-05 KAIRS DATES

IMPORTANT DATES

Sept 7: KAIRS Executive Committee Meeting, The Independent School, 9 a.m.

Sept. 14: General Membership Meeting, Topeka, 10 a.m.

Oct 26: KAIRS Executive Committee Meeting, The Independent School, 9 a.m.

Nov 2: General Membership Meeting, Topeka, 10 a.m.

Jan 11 - KAIRS Executive Committee Meeting, The Independent School, 9 a.m. (To finalize Annual Convention plans.)

Feb 7-8: Annual Meeting, Topeka

April 5: KAIRS Executive Committee Meeting, The Independent School, 9 a.m.

April 12: General Membership Meeting, Topeka, 10 a.m.
 

KAIRS 2004-05 OFFICERS

President: Karen Norton, The Independent School, Wichita

Vice President: Nick Compagnone, Salina Catholic Diocese

Secretary: Bill Dieckhoff, Holy Cross Lutheran School, Wichita

Treasurer: David Swank, Trinity Academy, Wichita

Annual Meeting Secretary, Judy Pitts, Bethel Life School, Wichita

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