Corpus Christi Catholic School awarded statewide academic honor

The only school in Lawrence to receive this year’s Kansas Governor’s Achievement Award is Corpus Christi Catholic School, 6001 Bob Billings Parkway.
The award honors the top-performing schools in the state. Corpus Christi was one of 36 elementary schools in Kansas to receive the honor. School administrators said that adjusting curriculum to the specific needs of students is key to the school’s academic success.
“We always teach the individual child, and make sure that they’re continually moving forward and always learning,” said Corpus Christi Principal Mary Mattern.
About 300 students in preschool through eighth grade attend Corpus Christi. The school opened in 1999 with only kindergarten and added additional grade levels in the years that followed.
The school also holds an annual silent auction to fund additional resources for the school. Mattern said that last spring, funds from the auction enabled the school to purchase new textbooks for every subject. Having those resources also makes a difference, she said.
“So along with great instruction, we’re also giving our teachers the best resources possible to help the students,” Mattern said.
In order to receive the award, schools had to receive top scores in state math and reading assessments. Schools that received a building-level assessment score in the top 80 percent in both subjects qualified for the award. Schools also had to be in the top 5 percent of elementary schools or high schools.
As far as the state overall, Blue Valley schools are the clear standout, with 24 of the 57 awards going to schools in its district.

As far as the state overall, Blue Valley schools are the clear standout, with 24 of the 57 awards going to schools in its district. A full list of the 57 schools to receive the reward is available here.


A significant land purchase looks to be in the works for the Lawrence school district. At its last meeting, the Lawrence school board met in executive session to discuss negotiations regarding a property acquisition. Two additional executive sessions have been scheduled for April 25 and May 9 “to discuss negotiations.” I checked in with the district to see whether there are any more details to share, but district spokeswoman Julie Boyle said at this time there are not. The potential purchase was described as “real property,” which usually indicates a purchase of land (and potentially a building as well). It’s not clear what the use of the property will be, but if it is for another school, it’ll be interesting to see where the land is located. Another possibility is that the land could be for the district’s maintenance facility, which has been a topic of discussion lately. I’ll pass along any details as they come along.


In other news and notes:

– Fifth-graders at New York
Elementary will take a fieldtrip to
the Negro League Baseball Hall of
Fame in Kansas City, Mo.

– Fourth-graders at Prairie Park
Elementary will take a fieldtrip to
the Kansas Children’s Discovery
Center in Topeka. Fifth-graders will
take a fieldtrip to Kansas Starbase
in Kansas City.

– The third and final day for the
Sunflower Elementary book fair will be Friday.

– Sixth-graders at West Middle
School will take a fieldtrip to the
Baker Wetlands.

– The second of three days for the
Free State High School Black Box Theater Festival will begin at 7:30
p.m. The KJCL Latin Convention will
be held at Lawrence High School at 3
p.m. in the cafeteria.


Lunch menu options:

Elementary school level

Main dish: chicken nuggets with roll; parfait with muffin; peanut butter and jelly with string cheese; chef salad with breadstick

Sides: mashed potatoes with gravy, honeydew, salad bar, milk

Middle school level

Main dish: chicken nuggets with roll; parfait with muffin; peanut butter and jelly with string cheese; chef salad with breadstick; hamburger; grilled cheese

Sides: mashed potatoes with gravy, honeydew, salad bar, fruit juice, fresh fruit, milk

High school level

Main dish: chicken quesadilla; black bean quesadilla; rice bowl; deli bar; pizza; cereal with string cheese; parfait with muffin; peanut butter and jelly with string cheese; daily sandwiches

Sides: refried beans, perfect pinto beans, honeydew, fruit sorbet, fruit juice, oven potatoes, salad bar, fresh fruit, milk