I recently learned that the month of February brings an additional 77 minutes of daylight. Spring is just around the corner, although, I am sure that winter will not go quietly. I hope that you've been able to enjoy some of the events that the late winter season brings us. 

For instance, last week, my wife and I went to the theater. Now, over the years, she's learned that when I suggest that we go to the theater, we're heading to a school performance, but we both really enjoy watching our students excel on and backstage. KUDOS to the KHS cast and crew that produced and performed Mousetrap, the murder mystery by Agatha Christie. I'm regularly proud of and impressed by the quality of and passion for Fine Arts in our schools.

Another pride point was the recent response of both staff and students during the evacuation of River View Middle School on February 2, 2017 when a gas line blockage caused a relief valve to exhaust gas outside of the building. The gas was quickly detected and River View administration swiftly enacted the Emergency Response Plan. We were grateful for the immediate response by staff and students, and for the quick repair. I received feedback from a number of non-school staff who were impressed with the positive behaviors of our students. Thank you to everyone who was involved in responding to this incident and keeping our students safe. 

Over the past two weeks, we've also taken the time to reflect on ways that we can improve our procedures when situations like this arise. While we feel District staff did a great job evacuating students efficiently and quickly getting them to safe locations, we've evaluated and modified our external communication procedures to, in the future, more directly and effectively communicate important information and protocol with our parents and families. The use of the  Infinite Campus (IC) Messenger application, along with our website and social media outlets, will help us communicate timely, accurate information. We will continue to evaluate, re-evaluate, grow, and get better every day.

And speaking of this path to success, please take a few minutes to review the District Vision Survey results. These results will provide sound guidance for future decision-making. Here is a quick snapshot of what you'll see: 

Overall satisfaction with KASD from 2014 to 2016 moved our school district from the bottom third to the top third of all School Perceptions schools surveyed (300). This is significant growth. 

Thank you for your continued support of Kaukauna Area School District.

Enjoy the Galloping Ghost Stories,

Mark P. Duerwaechter, Superintendent

Believe it or not, it's almost time to register for Summer School! We've just finalized the 2017 Summer School Course Catalog. Please visit our Summer School page on the Kaukauna Area School District Website to learn more about Summer School, course offerings and when and how to register. 

Kaukauna High School's chapter of the National Honor Society, in cooperation with the Community Blood Center, is hosting our third blood drive of the school year on February 16, 2017. 

Haven't had a chance to sign up? Please do so today, by calling Karla Miller-Flynn at 766-6113 ext. 5826 or emailing miller-flynnka@kaukaunasd.org . 

Plan to donate any time between 6:45 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. We look forward to seeing you Thursday!!

If you missed the first class, no worries! There are still two more classes in the senior citizen computer class series, hosted by members of the Kaukauna High School's chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS). Learn more and sign up here!  

On Friday, February 10, River View Middle School joined other schools across the country in fostering inclusion and acceptance during National No One Eats Alone Day. Read more about the event and the day's activities here.  #kaukaunastrong

As with each winter season, it's been action-packed and full of hard work and fun at Kaukauna High School.  

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Mousetrap, which finished its three-day run this past Saturday. Shows were well-attended and it was a great experience for KHS students that performed and helped run this classic Agatha Christie mystery. 

Our Dance Team  earned a 6th place finish in D2 Pom and 7th place finish in D1 Jazz at the State Competition in LaCrosse on February 4. The team felt they peaked at just the right time and put together one of their best performances at the State Competition. The girls will also run the Winter Ball this weekend, on the evening of February 18.

Girls Basketball beat Oshkosh West on February 4, and are looking ahead to Regional competition on February 21 at Green Bay West.

The Gymnastics Team earned their highest point total of the year on January 30, with 105 points. The team will compete in their Conference meet on February 17 in the field house, and again at Sectionals on February 25. 

The Forensics team placed 5th out of 20 school at Appleton East and earned 3rd place honors at Winneconne. Matt Knick earned 1st place in Demonstration Speaking at Appleton East, and the group of Jake Vosters, Nathan Raatz, Matt Knick and Jacob VanAsten earned 2nd place at Appleton East and 1st place in Winneconne. Autumn Bartelt, Sara Van Cuyk and Alyssa Chandler earned 2nd place finishes at Winneconne as well. Kaukauna High School will host over 30 teams in our home Forensics competition this weekend, February 18 at 8:00 a.m.

The  Polar Plunge is THIS WEEK - February 17, 2017  to be exact. NHS students are registering themselves to take the plunge into Lake Winnebago to benefit the Special Olympics. Sign up today to join the fun!