Dear USD 429 Parents and Patrons:

The new school year is right around the corner for us all.  We will be looking forward to welcoming your children back with us.  A big shout out to our support staff for their work in getting our buildings, classrooms, and grounds ready for staff and students.  Our custodial crew of Brian Clary, Deb Hunzaker, and Amy Smith.  Our grounds crew of Andrew Dominguez and Ty Horner, and our admin assistants, Janel Anderson, Tracie Ferris, Harley Franken, and Shanna Smith have all helped get us ready for the new year.  

We are excited to welcome new staff to USD 429 and want to help them get acclimated to our schools and community.  We believe this group is going to do great things with your kids and our schools. 

The first day and first week is full of excitement and a lot of smiles.  It can also be a time for new schedules, new bus routes, new faces, and new information.  Let’s all be patient and flexible as we work through the first couple days and weeks.  I look forward to seeing all you at the Annual Open House, late Night and beyond that. 

Patrick E. McKernan

Superintendent of Schools

Troy USD 429

USD 429 Troy will now have electronic season passes to purchase as well as electronic tickets for purchase for each event at Troy High/Middle School.  You will now purchase season passes through our Troy School Bound App.  The link pasted here will take you to that site:  GOBound.com/ks/schools/troyhs/tickets.  If you have questions, please reach out to the central office at 785-985-3950.

TMS VB Order 2026

A couple of reminders for the coming days…

Students who are taking Highland online or Vo-Tech (Vo-Tech students only if they’ll need them for their Vo-Tech classes) classes can pick up their Chromebook on Thursday, August 13 in the high school office. I’ll be here from 8am-11:30am and 1:00pm-3:00pm.

The Mandatory Parents’ Sports Meeting is Monday, August 17^th in the C.W. Oliver Gymnasium at 5:30pm. Amberwell will be in the high school cafeteria from 4:30pm-5:30pm for anyone who missed Sway concussion testing today. Amberwell and Booster Club will speak at this meeting. Afterwards, we will conduct individual sports meetings with coaches and parents.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you.

You are receiving this e-mail because you are a contact in our grade book for a middle school and/or high school student at Troy High/Middle School for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year. Your e-mail will be on the WeekAhead e-mail list as we begin school. The WeekAhead is a document started by my predecessor, Mr. Mike Estes, that highlights the next week of school as it pertains to school activities and sporting events and leave times. If you know of someone who may want this information, please send me their e-mail. If you want to be taken off the WeekAhead e-mail list, please let me know.

I hope everyone has had a terrific summer so far. The school has been busy: custodians working hard to make sure the school is prepped for staff/student returns; coaches laying the groundwork for our student-athletes and the 2026-2027 sports seasons; new staff members moving in and organizing their classrooms (you’ll have a chance to meet them at Open House); our counselor, Mrs. Emma Blevins, readying schedules; and our grounds crew, including Mr. Andrew Dominguez and Mr. Tom Etherton, keeping our landscaping fresh and our vehicles running. I am sure I am forgetting someone or something, but I appreciate everyone’s work; the school clock does not stop ticking once students leave.

I have been working on numerous policy changes. The front burner issue is cell phones and the Kansas legislature’s policy on such. Students, according to the legislature, are not to have cell phones during the school day, bell-to-bell (8:00am-3:25pm). I will have more information out soon on how that looks at Troy High/Middle School. As you know, I have been anti-phones-in-school since I started this position, and the Kansas legislature’s policy reaffirms my belief that cell phones create more negative distractions than positive moments in schools.

Also, keep in mind that any policy addressing cell phone usage will also apply to Smart Watches, personal laptops, or any other personal electronic device. This is per the Kansas legislature.

Please work with me as we institute measures for the betterment of our students, our staff, and our school. More information to come.

I would also like to highlight some important August dates for all stakeholders to know:

Monday, August 10:

Sway Impact Testing (concussion baseline) for all Troy High/Middle School students interested in sports for the 2026-2027 school year. 8am-noon at the high school.

Monday, August 17:
               Fall sports practices begin

Mandatory Parent Sports Meeting. 5:30pm. C.W. Oliver Gymnasium – new gym. For all parents who have a son or daughter participating in sports for the 2026-2027 school year.

Friday, August 21:
               The first WeekAhead e-mail will be sent out.

Saturday, August 22:
               Volleyball scrimmage and pancake breakfast. Come support the high school volleyball girls.

Monday, August 24:
               2026 Fall Sports Pictures – 2:00pm – C.W. Oliver Gymnasium – new gym.
               Open House 5:30-6:30pm. Come say hi to familiar staff and meet new ones.
               Late Night Celebration 8:15 pm. C.W. Oliver Gymnasium – new gym.

Wednesday, August 26:
               First day of school. New policies will be enforced immediately. Please consider e-mails and social media posts to serve as student warnings.