Feb. 4, 2025
Kansas Music Educators Association All-State Ensembles
Many of our Olathe students performing during the upcoming Kansas Music Educators Association conference at the Century II in Wichita, Feb. 27-March 1!
Three ensembles were selected to perform during the conference.
- Summit Trail Middle School Sabercat Jazz Band – Directed by Josh Hankey
- Frontier Trail Middle School Eighth 8rade Band – Directed by Sara Smitko
- Olathe North High School Wind Ensemble – Directed by Josh Maddux
In addition, 184 students were selected through a rigorous audition process, to perform in one of the KMEA All-State Ensembles.
- KMEA Elementary All-State Choir — Five students (all from Meadow Lane Elementary School) were selected for this choir.
- KMEA All-State Middle Level Choir and KCDA Treble Honor Choir — Seventy students, representing all our middle schools, were selected for these choirs.
- KMEA All-State Full and String Orchestras — Thirty-four students, representing all our high schools, were selected for these orchestras.
- KMEA All-State Treble and Mixed Choirs — Forty-four students, representing all our high schools, were selected for these choirs.
- KMEA All-State Jazz Band — Five students, representing Olathe Northwest and Olathe South High School were selected for this band.
- KMEA All-State 56A Band — Twenty-six students, representing all our high schools, were selected for this band.
KC Symphony “Pro-Am”
Olathe Public Schools Music Teachers Polina Krasnopolskaya (violinist) and Jacob Wilson (trombonist) were invited to be part of the Kansas City Symphony "Pro-Am." They performed on stage in Helzberg Hall with music director Matthias Pintscher and members of the KC Symphony. The KC Symphony “Pro-Am” event allowed for community members to practice and perform with the professional instrumentalists who make up the symphony.
Kansas Council of History Education Elementary/Middle School Teacher of the Year: Winston Heilman
The Kansas Council of History Education seeks to encourage the integration of historical thinking skills and literacy rich learning at all levels of education. Each year, nominations are accepted for teachers who are making a concerted effort to fulfill that mission. Winston Heilman, Prairie Trail Middle School teacher, was named the KCHE Elementary/Middle School Teacher of the Year!
Night at The Lab State Championship Team
Night at The Lab is a research-based competition held in the fall among teams of Kansas high school students. Teams are given a topic related to health care which they will research, create a visual display, and an oral presentation. Together, the students will gain valuable experience in both research skills and professional presentation skills.
Olathe North High School students Arielle Li, Garret Li, and Arshika Kanna won the 2024 state championship for their research on Transcutaneous Osteointegration. By winning they are now invited to share their research at the Kansas Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence research symposium in January.
The second team from Olathe North also qualified for the state finals: Natalie Toth and Emily Ball, who researched Total Hip Replacements.
Both groups of students did an amazing job of representing Olathe North to the medical research community!
Nationally Board Certified Teachers
National Board Certification is often recognized as the most respected professional certification available and one of the highest levels of achievement in education. It was designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide. The teacher must present evidence which clearly shows their teaching meets the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; NBCTs renewing their certification must present new evidence that they are maintaining NBPTS standards in their classrooms. The process is voluntary and not mandated by a state, school district, or program; teachers choose to seek National Board Certification.
In Olathe Public Schools, we have a total of 17 National Board Certified Teachers. Our newest recipients are Kayla Rasmussen (Ravenwood Elementary center-based resource teacher), Meg Shadid (Olathe Northwest High School social studies teacher), Julia Wenzel-Huguley (Olathe North High School language arts teacher).
Kenneth Smith Golf Award
Claire Sullivan, Olathe Northwest High School senior, won the 2024 Kenneth Smith Award! This award recognizes her as the top female high school golfer in the KC metro!
Kenneth Smith Award nominees, submitted by golf coaches and athletics directors, were judged in four areas: performance in high school golf tournaments, academic achievement, leadership on the golf team and in other aspects of school, and community service through school, church or other activities.
Sullivan helped lead her team to two state championships during her time playing golf at Northwest. Her achievements shine on and off the course. Her coach, Mike Grove, shared "she makes every team/organization better for being part of it. She is always there to support her team and teammates in the good times and bad.”
QuestBridge Match
Olathe West High School senior Isaiah Pagnozzi matched with Washington University in St. Louis with QuestBridge! He is one of 2,267 students in the country who matched out of over 25,500 applicants. QuestBridge is a program that connects low-income high-achieving high school seniors to full four-year scholarships at 52 of the nation’s top colleges. This scholarship is made up of a generous financial aid package provided by the college partner that covers the full cost of attendance, including tuition, housing and food, books and supplies, and travel expenses. All finalists who ultimately matriculate to QuestBridge college partners also join the QuestBridge Scholars Network, which connects students to a community of peers and support resources. Pagnozzi’s scholarship is valued at over $300,000!
Olathe North Graduate Named as a Forbes 30 Under 30
Olathe North High School 2014 graduate Tobi Gbile was named as a Forbes 30 Under 30! Gbile, a Nigerian-American based in New York, is the senior manager of collaborations at Gap. There she is tasked with building marketing and partnership strategy and manages relationships between the brands, talent, and stakeholders for the newly-launched collaborations department. In October, Gbile led the integrated marketing efforts for the Gap x Cult Gaia collaboration, which was shared across social media and picked up by multiple news publications as "edgy" yet "classic." Prior to her role at Gap, she was the global senior campaign manager of pop culture initiatives at The Walt Disney Company, where she led an activation that featured nearly 100 talent and brands and $53,000 worth of bespoke pieces which were auctioned off in support of Make-A-Wish®. She also spent nearly four years at Adidas, where she was a product marketing manager for the adidas x IVY PARK collaboration.
“Get on the Bus” Outstanding Leadership Award: Sean DeMaree
The “Get on the Bus” Outstanding Leadership Award is an award given at the annual Real World Learning (RWL) Get on the Bus event. Olathe South High School Principal Dr. Sean DeMaree received this award for his leadership in Real World Learning. Dr. DeMaree embodies a steadfast commitment to Real World Learning (RWL).
Having joined the RWL principal cohort in 2023, he has seamlessly integrated RWL principles into Olathe South’s school culture. He has consistently shared stories on how he’s working with key stakeholders in his building to develop imbedded Client Connected Project opportunities. Looking ahead, Dr. DeMaree is working to bring Junior Achievement’s 3DE programming to Olathe South this fall. Junior Achievement's 3DE program is an innovative approach to high school education that prepares students for success in college and careers.
