Highlights May 2024

Pattonville

Three sworn in to school board, first student rep to board named

- See page 2 for details

Transportation earns perfect inspection

- See page 11 for details

BOARD OF EDUCATION

Mary Kay Campbell, President Jeanne Schottmueller, Vice President

Dr. Dan Wentz, Secretary Lisa Kickbusch, Treasurer

Dr. Brian J. Gray, Director Jan Schweiss, Director Rená Simmons, Director

Dr. Barry Nelson Superintendent

Pattonville is an award-winning public district in St. Louis County, Missouri. The district is fully accredited by the state and is recognized for academic success on the

Setting Sail

First and second graders in the ALPHA gifted program located at Holman Middle School finished a semester-long study of Australia in their Comparative Cultures class. During that time, they explored various aspects of Australian culture, including the unique challenges faced by those living in the central regions of the continent where water sports are limited due to the lack of bodies of water. Students learned about a tradition in Alice Springs called the Henley-on-Todd Regatta, a “boat” race — that is actually a foot race — on the ground where the Todd River once flowed but has since dried up. Drawing inspiration from this tradition and their studies of Australian animals and landmarks, the ALPHA students created their own bottomless boats, naming them after the animals and places they’ve learned about. On the last day of ALPHA, families were invited to an Aussie Barbie (barbecue), complete with lunch, a didgeridoo parade and the thrilling bottomless boat races, similar to the famous Henley-on-Todd Regatta event. Top photo, from left, second graders Kori Blair, Selena Washington and Mimi Eader cross the finish line in the boat race. Above left, from left, first graders Chase Bradley, Sebastian Quinones and Eric Payne race along the route in their boat. Above right, first graders Camilla Littlejohn, left, and Alex Lopez, play their didgeridoo in the parade.

School news for parents, residents and staff of the Pattonville School District

Navigate the digital wave: Pattonville’s essential guide to online tools, resources

Navigating your child’s educational journey is a significant undertaking, and knowing how to access district-provided online tools and resources can make things a lot easier. The Pattonville School District understands this need and has compiled a summary of essential online educational resources into a one-page Quick Links for Families document, which can be found on the district’s website. To support this summary information, an in-depth description of what these tools are and what they do is provided below.

PowerSchool Parent Portal

PowerSchool’s Parent Portal is a family’s primary access point to their child’s district information. Here, families can check student schedules, attendance and reports, including transcripts and report cards. The portal also provides school bus information. Parents and guardians use the PowerSchool Parent Portal to re-enroll their children and grant various permissions for students to participate in special school events or trips and be included in district media.

https://powerschool.psdr3.org/public

Learning Management Systems

Pattonville provides various digital platforms designed to meet the educational needs of students at different levels.

Canvas for Middle and High School: Canvas is a comprehensive learning management system for secondary students. It allows students to access course materials, submit assignments, view grades and receive feedback from teachers. Its real-time, progress-tracking features help students stay on top of their assignments. https://pattonville.instructure.com/login/canvas

Empower for Early Education: Empower is tailored for students in grades K-5, as well as students at Remington Traditional School and in the middle school Pirate Academy programs. This platform adapts the core functionalities of more advanced systems like Canvas to suit younger students. It supports foundational educational activities, facilitating interactive learning sessions that help students grasp concepts and skills in a user-friendly digital environment.

https://empower.psdr3.org

Seesaw for Elementary Students: Seesaw is an engaging and interactive learning platform for elementary students. It integrates multimedia tools that allow students to engage with the curriculum through videos, drawings and other creative forms of expression. This platform encourages active participation and reflection by allowing students to showcase their work and receive feedback from both peers and teachers.

https://app.seesaw.me

College and Career Readiness

Schoolinks offers a robust suite of resources to aid students in grades 6-12 with college and

career planning. This platform is instrumental in guiding students as they navigate the complexities of post-secondary preparation and career exploration. It merges interactive tools with personalized planning capabilities, allowing students to explore various career paths, understand educational requirements and access college application guidance and scholarship information. The platform is designed to align students’ individual interests with their academic and career aspirations, empowering them to make informed decisions and set goals. This proactive approach supports students in developing a clear vision for their future, ensuring they are well-prepared for the next steps in their educational and professional journeys.

https://app.schoolinks.com/login/member

Online Payment System

An online payment system called MySchoolBucks allows families to manage financial aspects of schooling, such as lunch accounts. This platform ensures parents and guardians can make payments conveniently and securely.

www.myschoolbucks.com

Student Safety and Security

The district provides a tool called SecurlyHome, which allows parents and guardians to monitor their child’s school device usage, ensuring safe and productive online experiences.

www.securly.com/parent-login

The district’s emergency information website provides links for staying informed about school closings, extreme weather and crisis planning.

www.psdr3.org/parent-links/emergency-information

SchoolMessenger’s Quick Tip feature allows individuals in each school community to submit safety tips to district administrators, enhancing communication and safety.

https://quicktip.psdr3.org

Menus and Calendars

Keep track of school menus to see what meals are being served at school.

https://psdr3.nutrislice.com/menu

Don’t miss out on important dates with the district’s comprehensive calendar site, ensuring families never miss an important school or district event. Individual school events can also be found on each school’s website.

https://bit.ly/PSDCalendar

Technology Help and School Resources

If you encounter any issues with district-provided technology, help is available through the district’s tech support page. Each school in the district also has its own specific page, which can be accessed through the main district website. This page provides information tailored to your local school community.

www.psdr3.org/help

These tools and resources are just one more way Pattonville is working to ensure our students, parents, guardians and staff have everything they need to excel in and out of the classroom. Thanks for all you do to support your children and the Pattonville School District.

Three sworn in to school board

Three school district residents were sworn into office on April 9 to serve on the Pattonville Board of Education. During the April 2 election, incumbent Jeanne Schottmueller and Jan Schweiss were elected to serve a three-year term and Rená Simmons was elected to fill a two-year position to complete the term of Dr. Amanda Lienau, who resigned from the board in October 2023. All three were sworn into office by board president Mary Kay Campbell.

The school board also voted on officers and annual appointments to various organizations. The officers are as follows: Campbell, president; Schottmueller, vice president; Dr. Dan Wentz, secretary; and Lisa Kickbusch, treasurer.

Campbell was also appointed to the Pattonville Education Foundation (PEF). Kickbusch was appointed as a delegate to the Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA), with Schweiss appointed as alternate. Campbell was appointed as the board member to represent Pattonville on the Governing Council of the Special School District (SSD), with Schottmueller as alternate. Also serving on the board is director Dr. Brian Gray.

In addition, Pattonville High School junior Rylie Faasen joined the meeting as Pattonville’s first student representative on the board, serving in an advisory, non-voting capacity (see story below).

First student rep named to board

On April 9, the Pattonville Board of Education welcomed a Pattonville High School student to serve as a non-voting member on the board. The student representative will serve in an advisory capacity to represent the interests of students in the district. Junior Rylie Faasen was selected as the district’s first student representative.

“The board of education is looking forward to the enhanced partnership with our student representative who will bring a new perspective of student voices to our district,” board president Mary Kay Campbell said.

The student representative will provide information and support to the board during meetings and serve as a resource for board members. Although the student representative cannot vote, they will provide a student perspective on important topics the board discusses and takes action on. In her role, Faasen will also provide a monthly report about activities happening at the high school.

“In addition to her student experience, Riley has been involved with leadership opportunities outside the classroom, including serving on the district’s Calendar Committee and as a member of Sen. Brian Williams’ Youth Advisory Board,” said Dr. Barry Nelson, superintendent. “Her insights and perspective on how decisions at the board level support students is welcomed and appreciated.”

Faasen was selected following an application and interview process. Junior members of BSAAC (Board Student Administrative Action Committee), a group of students focused on school improvement who meet with administrators and board members, were invited to apply to be the student representative in the fall. Their position begins in April and they serve until the following April.

Dr. Barry Nelson Superintendent

Pattonville Board of Education president Mary Kay Campbell, right, swears in newly elected board members, from left, Rená Simmons, Jan Schweiss and Jeanne Schottmueller.

Junior Rylie Faasen serves as Pattonville’s first student representative to the board.

Our Learners Spotlight on

News focusing on students, staff and schools in Pattonville

PATTONVILLE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER

Sun catchers made by students bring joy to residents in area assisted living facility

Students at the Pattonville Early Childhood Center were incredibly focused as they carefully placed beads, pieces of colored tissue paper and other decorative items on sticky paper. They were creating stunning sun catchers to donate to the residents at the St. Andrew’s Assisted Living facility in Bridgeton.

“It’s a smaller assisted living community, but it’s in our community, which is why we chose them,” early childhood social worker Erica Abowitz said. “We have heard that some of the community members don’t have as many visitors. So we wanted to make sure that everybody has something from our younger generation, our younger friends. Let them know our younger friends are thinking about them.”

The building’s Community Service Committee provided all of the supplies for the sun catchers, meaning that no one was left out because they couldn’t contribute any items for the project.

“We are giving our staff and students everything they need to make it happen,” Abowitz said. “It doesn’t require families to do anything. It’s a school-family-community feel-good project that everybody gets to participate in. There are no restrictions. Every single child can participate.”

Teachers shared with the students that the sun catchers would be donated to residents living at St. Andrew’s, trying to make it as relatable as possible. While not all of the students fully understood the assisted living concept, they were excited to gift their artwork to others. The consensus was that they liked using the sticky adhesive paper and that the sun catchers were pretty.

“We’re making sun catchers for the people that live in the grandma home because they are pretty,” Remy Colletti said. “I liked peeling the sticky paper because it’s fun.”

Other students acknowledged that the sun catchers would also impact the residents’ mood.

“They’re going to put them inside their house on their window so they can see the sunset through it,” Amenze Okhomina said. “It’s going to make them feel good. I think it’s pretty.”

When early childhood teacher Christine Kent delivered the sun catchers to St. Andrew’s, she showed pictures of two students holding the sun catchers so the residents could see the love that went into the artwork.

“I met three residents,” Kent said. “One of them, Charlesine, said the sun catchers reminded her of her great niece. She kept telling me how sweet it was that the kids made them for her. Another, Linda, remarked on how pretty the sun catchers were. The third, Terry, asked me to tell the kids ‘Thank you.’”

PATTONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

Throughout the year, the Community Service Committee has organized other opportunities for early learners to give back. They hosted a canned food drive and assisted with the district’s holiday gift giving program. With Pennies for PAWS, students donated spare change to help shelter animals. All of these community service projects also tie in to learning standards such as counting, sorting and building fine motor skills.

“Everything that we do here is about teaching,” Abowitz said. “With the sun catchers, it’s a good combination of teaching and community service. We’re helping with their fine motor skills as well as building, counting and sorting. It’s also about teamwork, working together, showing kindness and caring, all the good things we want them to take with them into life.”

In addition to the sun catchers, students also made friendship cards around Valentine’s Day for people in a different assisted living facility. Now that early childhood staff have made connections with a few assisted living facilities, they would like to continue to build on that relationship next school year by having classroom buddies for residents. Classrooms and residents would continue to build relationships throughout the year by writing letters and students could make gifts for their buddies.

“Our plan is to eventually get to where, because there’s not a ton of them there, to adopt a senior buddy,” Kent said. “We’ll have a picture of their buddy in their classroom and then we’ll send them a card on their birthday and on holidays.”

Students create roller coasters to test energy types, how to learn through experimenting

Freshmen in the Concepts of Physical Systems class built roller coasters to learn about forms of energy.

From left, freshmen Maurice Walker, Ashton Purdy and Raymond Like make a test run of their roller coaster using a marble.

Students at Pattonville High School are taking physics to new heights with their latest project: building marble roller coasters in their Concepts of Physical Systems class, led by science teacher Kathleen Gengler.

Roller coasters, as the students learned, rely on two key forms of energy: gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy.

“On our roller coaster, getting the marble to the top gains potential energy which turns into kinetic energy to keep it going down the track,” freshman Gabriella Davis said.

With materials like foam pipe insulation and tape, students designed their roller coasters to meet specific requirements, including having three hills, two turns and one loop. Additional points were given if a marble stayed on the track and landed in a cup at the end without someone touching it.

For students like freshman Isabel Welch, the project wasn’t just about building a roller coaster — it’s about problem-solving, collaboration and learning from mistakes.

“We had time yesterday to sketch out an idea as a team,” Welch said. “We built it today and are making changes as we go because not everything worked out perfectly the first time.”

Students at the Pattonville Early Childhood Center made sun catchers for residents at a local assisted living community.

Above, from left, Georgia Whittam, Remy Colletti and Autumn Okorn work on their sun catcher. Left, Jackson Nolte holds his sun catcher to the window to see how it looks.

Students plan unique grade-level learning opportunity to see totality during eclipse

Seventh graders at Remington Traditional School had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They took a special trip to Ste. Genevieve to experience totality during the April 8 solar eclipse. The opportunity stemmed from a simple question posed by the students — Can we go? They had the opportunity to do so because of the hard work and planning they did.

In the fall, students were learning about the solar system and space, with part of that being to understand the relationship between the sun, Earth and moon. Naturally, that included lunar and solar eclipses. Students quickly realized that there was going to be an eclipse on April 8 and started investigating its trajectory. When they realized that they could experience totality so close to St. Louis, they asked if they could go see it.

Their science and math teacher Danica Johnson took the question to principal Dr. Don Furjes. As part of the school’s ongoing professional development around its changing learning model, teachers were integrating Launch projects into the classroom. Because the request stemmed from natural student interest and inquiry, Furjes suggested that Johnson and the class make a Launch project out of investigating the possibility.

Students got to work researching spots to view the eclipse, how to get there, how much it would cost to go and other areas that would need to be investigated to detail a plan. They put all of the information into slides and presented it to Furjes, who gave the seventh graders the green light to go to Ste. Genevieve to see totality. Students went into full planning mode.

“I enjoyed the experience because I feel like it was a fun and interesting project,” seventh grader Mary Lako said. “Allowing students to understand and absorb the information about eclipses and how they form is incredible and very fascinating. I was proud to see how we could assimilate together into creating this one-of-akind experience.”

By March, they created a to-do list of everything that needed to be done before the trip and separated the work and themselves into three committees. One committee prepared the permission slip and all the information parents would need. They also made a SignUp Genius with snack options for parents to donate for the bus ride, including Capri Sun, SunnyD, Sun Chips and Moon Pies, as well as a playlist of eclipse-related songs to listen to at their eclipse viewing spot. Another committee prepared the final presentation to Furjes with

Pattonville students, staff participate in April 8 eclipse

On April 8, students and staff in Pattonville waited outside with anticipation of the coming solar eclipse. Around 2 p.m., they experienced 98% totality, with the moon nearly blocking out the sun creating a dusk-like environment. Leading up to the big event, students watched a video on eye safety for viewing the eclipse, participated in a variety of eclipse-related lessons and then had the chance to witness it in person.

Students and staff who viewed the eclipse were provided with certified viewing glasses by Pattonville to ensure safe viewing. Some classes even colored paper plates to put around their glasses to provide extra protection and style. Other activities included creating eclipse hats, making ovens for cooking s’mores in and completing solar-themed word searches. Following the eclipse, former students from Remington Traditional School came back to the building to help fifth grade teacher Karrie Peters dig up time capsules they made during the 2017 eclipse.

While none of Pattonville’s schools were located in complete totality, the experience was still a unique opportunity for students. Both in what they learned in class and what they experienced outside created a learning connection during this rare opportunity.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, completely covering the sun and casting a shadow on the Earth. The April 8 eclipse was called the Great North American Eclipse because it fell over more places in the U.S. than the total eclipse before it did and after it will. Additionally, the length of the path of totality was wider and also passed over more cities and densely populated

areas than the 2017 path did, which was the last time a solar eclipse was visible across the United States. The next total solar eclipse to occur in St. Louis will be in 2505.

all of their plans, including routes to and from Ste. Genevieve, weather contingency plans and costs. The third committee created posters and taught the younger students at Remington about the eclipse, working with those teachers to set a time that was best for their class.

“A part of what we’re doing with the Launch program is sharing what we’ve learned with the community,” Johnson said. “So not only are we actually going out into the community, but we had to take what we learned and share it with Remington. Our students are the ones being the teachers; they are in the center of their learning. Now they get to take what they’ve learned and share it with others and teach other students so that everyone will know what an eclipse is and why it is such a big deal.”

The actual eclipse truly was a big deal for the students. They traveled to Ste. Genevieve and experienced the eclipse from an area park. They were in awe of what they saw and experienced.

“It was so amazing, everything we did to plan it,” seventh grader Madisyn Driy said. “It really was a oncein-a-lifetime experience and to see the sun go away and to feel the weather change, just everything that happened, made everything worth it. You could just see everyone’s face light up with a smile. It was just such an amazing experience. This was special to me because I could never be in the path of totality ever again so to be there and share it with my friends and teachers was really special. I enjoyed the experience because you don’t actually understand how cool it is until you’re really there to experience it in person.”

It was also a learning opportunity for students both in St. Genevieve and at Remington. During the eclipse, a group of students live-streamed totality from Ste. Genevieve back to Remington for students to watch.

The eclipse wasn’t the end of their learning. After returning from Ste. Genevieve, the seventh graders reflected on their experience and shared it with their school. With their English teacher, Lisa Kraemer, they created a reflection describing their experiences using black-out poetry that they hung in the hallway for all students to read. Additionally, a group of students created a video with all of the photos and videos of the trip that included quotes about the students’ experiences.

“My favorite part was seeing the excitement the students had and still have about the experience weeks later,” Johnson said. “The students were so engaged and excited to be in charge of their learning. It gives them something to be proud of. They have the ownership because it was all planned and created by them and they came up with it all. Watching the result of the student’s hard work planning the trip and seeing the excitement on their faces made it all worth it. This was a much more meaningful and engaging way to learn about science than direct instruction or building a model that represents what happens during an eclipse. What better way to learn about science than to actually experience it firsthand.”

Remington Traditional School seventh graders look to the sun while wearing their special solar eclipse glasses during a field trip to Ste. Genevieve on April 8.

Remington Traditional School seventh graders, from left, Patrick McNulty, Advay Sankpal and Nate Remaklus stand with a solar eclipse photo frame during the April 8 festivities in Ste. Genevieve.

Top, kindergartners at Drummond Elementary School observe the partial solar eclipse on April 8. Shown are, from left, Zohib Delawar, Grace Millikan and Desdemona Martin. Above, Pattonville Heights Middle School sixth graders, from left, Uriah Kornegay, Jacob Moore and Ro’Myrrah Steed watch the phases of the eclipse in awe.

Students must recall book, learn law for mock trial

Innocent! That’s how the jury ruled in the murder trial of the State of Oklahoma vs. Johnny Cade. Thankfully, no murder was actually committed. It was all part of a mock trial in Natalie Graneto’s seventh grade SIGMA gifted class at Pattonville Heights Middle School.

In January, students read “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton, which chronicles the conflict between two rival gangs told from the perspective of Ponyboy, who learns about right and wrong throughout the story. The students loved the story, so Graneto used the murder of Bob from the book as a connection to a spring unit on law.

“The main focus was reading the book,” seventh grader Ella Willey said. “Then we spent a bit of time learning about opening statements, objection types, closing statements, arguments, questions, cross examination, just basic law stuff that you need to know for a case. Then we just put together our scripts, got our roles and did the case.”

The mock trial took up the case of whether Johnny killed Bob. The roles were assigned randomly. The defense had an attorney, Ponyboy and Johnny on their side. The prosecution team had an attorney and two witnesses: the investigator and Randy. The students had an incredibly thorough understanding of the book, which was important since some of the witnesses and questions weren’t specifically outlined in the story.

“The investigator wasn’t in the book,” seventh grader Jack Fernandez said. “They were never part of it, so all their lines were improvised. Some other stuff that wasn’t specified in the book was also improvised. We just had to go for it.”

After roles were assigned, students started working on their side of the case.

“We practiced writing opening statements together,” Graneto said. “I showed them a silly one and then they had to write a real one. They did that together. They practiced writing open-ended and closed-ended questions for direct and cross examination. The closing argument they came up with on the fly. That was impressive. They knew they had to do it. I was expecting them to prepare for it and they didn’t. But they did a great job.”

When each person took the stand, they didn’t know what questions they were going to be asked. Some of the things like the questions that were asked weren’t necessarily things that were expressly stated in the book, so they had to decide on the fly and improv.

Fernandez served as the defense attorney.

“I was making sure that Johnny was not guilty,” Fernandez said. “I said that it was an act of self defense. And I also included the fact that Bob and Randy started the fight and they were both under the influence of alcohol while doing so. And they were under age. It was a bunch of other stuff that I had against them.”

In the book, Johnny dies, but for this trial, the class acted like he didn’t, or at least like maybe the trial happened before he did. Seventh grader Julianna Riley played the role of Johnny

“It was interesting because I definitely sided with Johnny more,” Riley said. “But it was interesting to see how people didn’t side with him. That made it easier to act as him. My favorite part was probably getting questioned because you get to answer more and be more immersed in the story. It was difficult because I didn’t know necessarily what to say because you don’t want to lie in court. Obviously, I was just trying to do what made the most sense.”

In the end, Johnny was found innocent.

“I was shocked. It feels good. I was not expecting it,” Fernandez said. “There were multiple times that I was thinking like, ‘I’m in trouble. They got me.’ But I think my statements got them back a bit more.”

Graneto said that even though Johnny was acquitted, Willey, as the judge, researched what punishment would have been appropriate in the 1960s, the time of the book, in case Johnny had been found guilty Because she really didn’t have much else to do before the trial, she assisted both teams in writing questions for witnesses.

“I just thought that was really fun getting to see both sides of the argument and help create both sides,” Willey said. “A Supreme Court justice is my dream job. It’s been that since third grade, so I wanted to be the judge today. You have to be a lawyer first in life, but I would rather do the judge part in this. But that would have been like my second choice of those two.”

Willey and her classmates will have an opportunity to try out other roles in future mock trials throughout the rest of the school year.

“The students want to do more trials,” Graneto said. “They are so excited. They want to try a civil case. We’ve done criminal now and they want to switch and have a plaintiff defense. That’s going to be hard for me, but I’m going to figure it out. That’s how they want to progress throughout the year. We’ll learn a little bit more about the types of crimes and questions that come with it.”

BRIDGEWAY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Students pocket favorite poems

Reading specialists at Bridgeway Elementary School organized the inaugural school-wide celebration of Poem in Your Pocket Day. Held on April 18, the event coincided with National Poetry Month, and encouraged a love of literacy and community engagement among students and staff alike.

Poem in Your Pocket Day, a nationwide celebration, encourages individuals to select a favorite poem and carry it with them to share with others throughout the day. At Bridgeway, various activities aimed at promoting literacy, fluency and public speaking.

Some teachers took their students outside and used the garden and playground areas, while others met with their buddy classes to share poems. Students walked around, took out their poems, read them and shared nice things about each other’s poems.

Second grader Josselin Munoz Chombo said she found her poem through a class assignment.

“My teacher chose some books and I found my poem in one, and that’s how I got my poem,” she said. “I enjoyed reading my poem to other people.”

Similarly, second grader Amina Gearhart expressed her excitement, showing off an additional piece to the project.

“I read my poem and even did an illustration to go along with it,” she said

First grader Maisie McDaniel memorized her poem after finding one she liked.

“My teacher had a poem book, and I found one about cats because I like cats and my grandma had a cat,” she said. “It rhymes, and I kind of sang it, and that helped me memorize it.”

McDaniel’s been spreading the joy of Poem in Your Pocket Day beyond the school walls.

“I’ve told my poem to my friends, my family and my sister. I want to share my poem with everyone,” she said. “My cousin is in Australia right now, but when she comes back, I’m going to tell her my poem because I love my cousin.”

That was the goal the reading teachers, including Erica Parsell, had with creating the celebration. She emphasized its significance in uncovering hidden talents among students.

“I didn’t know that was inside Maisie,” Parsell said. “Sometimes students shine at things like art or music, but it can also be poetry. We always try promoting literacy in different ways, but it all goes back to the joy of reading.”

Students at Bridgeway Elementary School shared their favorite poems with others in their school during Poem in Your Pocket Day. Above, first grader Eleanor Mason, center, reads her poem to fifth grader Aminah Smith. Left, second graders Aaron Juriga, left, and Finn Kahsen swap poems.

SIGMA students at Pattonville Heights Middle School participated in a mock trial as characters in and inspired by “The Outsiders.”

Above, Ponyboy, portrayed by Caleb Guss, right, is interviewed by Jack Fernandez, left, who was serving as the prosecuting attorney. Ella Willey, second from left, was the judge and Jackson Kier was the bailiff. Right, Cora Bland, left, gives her closing statements as prosecutor.

PARKWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Interactive story excites readers

F

Students try adaptive form of baseball DRUMMOND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

irst graders at Parkwood Elementary School are improving their skills by leading reading time with other students. Reading teachers Lauren Abel and Julie Restoff helped a group of students prepare for a special assignment where students would act in the role of teacher and read a book aloud to a group of their peers. They selected an interactive style book, “What Am I?” by Eleanor Janeway, that prompted the reader to guess which animal would be revealed on the next page. To prepare for their presentation, the students practiced reading out loud to different audiences. They rehearsed their reading routine five or six times by reading to other teachers and staff members from the school’s front office.

When it came time to read aloud to a group of their first grade peers, they felt assured of their abilities and were engaged and animated with the storytelling aspects of the presentation. The students took turns reading each page and calling on their classmates who eagerly raised their hands to guess the animal. The readers’ faces lit with excitement when they saw their audience take an interest in the book they were reading and got to call on them to share their guesses.

“My favorite part was reading to them,” first grader Isabella Arnold said. The students who presented said it was fun to read to both staff and to other students. The students who listened to the book enjoyed it just the same. First grader Nevada Lagrone said she liked guessing the animal that would appear next. All of the students who sat as the audience members said they were excited for their turn to be the readers. The first graders were proud of themselves for being able to do a read aloud on their own and their teachers felt the same sentiment.

“I love seeing their confidence grow as readers,” Restoff said. “To see them stand up there and be confident in their words and in the delivery of their talking and speaking was really cool for me to see them do that.”

WILLOW BROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

At Drummond Elementary, Kyle Sherman and his third grade classmates took part in an adapted form of baseball. In beep baseball, players are blindfolded to ensure fairness, eliminating any advantage for those with partial or full vision. After learning how to bat, run the bases and field the ball without sight from Gateway Archers pitcher and MindsEye director of special initiatives Mike Curtis, the students played a game that completely relies on auditory cues instead of vision.

The beep baseball system was brought to Drummond through the district’s partnership with the Special School District (SSD). Candace Hickerson, SSD orientation and mobility specialist, enjoyed seeing the students have this opportunity

“We brought it to Drummond and are letting the kids experience this game being blindfolded, trying to hit the ball and run a base, just having a great time and understanding a little more about what visually impaired people go through,” she said.

Sherman, whose vision is 20/200, falls under the classification of being legally blind. Because of his visual impairment, he encounters challenges when participating in several team sports. Sherman said the day made him feel really good and different than what he normally feels when playing a regular school game.

“It was fun and exciting,” he said. “It made me less nervous.”

PE teacher Natalie Otten, who took an adaptive PE class in college, highlighted the significance of adapting sports for students like Sherman.

“In PE, it can be a struggle for him doing certain sports or being able to participate in different ways,” Otten said. “So today was to kind of bring the kids to his level in a matter of not being able to use their eyes. When we play games like kickball, I pitch closer to him and slow it down a lot. But today, when no one had sight, it was a pretty level playing field between all of us.”

Visits from therapy dogs support reading schoolwide

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n a fifth grade classroom at Willow Brook Elementary School, a group of students sat in a circle around lounging therapy dog Glacier while they took turns reading from a book about baseball player Jackie Robinson. Some of the students gently pet Glacier as they followed along with the story. The visit from Glacier, along with owner Rob Verbarg, is a regular occurrence at Willow Brook as part of the school’s partnership with Duo Dogs and the Paws for Reading program.

Duo Dogs, a national nonprofit organization, trains and connects dogs with people in supportive ways. Some of the dogs are trained for the Paws for Reading program, which partners with teachers to support student learning. The dogs are meant to be an encouraging and calming presence, allowing readers to improve their focus, word recognition and reading comprehension without feeling anxious.

“When I get to read to them and pet them, it makes me feel better about reading,” fourth grader Merlie’Mari Tuggle said. “I don’t like reading in front of a lot of people, but I don’t feel nervous when I read to Glacier and Ozark.”

Verbarg brings either Glacier or his other dog, Ozark, to grade level classrooms as well as the reading and English learner (EL) spaces. The Willow Brook reading department began its relations with Duo Dogs about 10 years ago as a way to motivate and incentivize all students in reading, as well as to provide a unique opportunity for students receiving reading services. The reading teacher team invites Verbarg and his dogs to their classes each week.

“Students who are reluctant readers find reading to

Glacier or Ozark as a safe space,” reading teacher Liz Alexander said. “They seem to just automatically know there will be no judgments if mistakes are made, and they are able to simply enjoy reading. Our students get excited to practice a book when Glacier or Ozark visit. It’s different from reading to an adult or peers. We have seen EL students who struggled reading in a new language read without hesitation to the dogs. There have just been so many success stories through the years.”

The students have become accustomed to seeing Verbarg, Glacier and Ozark around the school and constantly ask if they are coming to school on a given day or week. It encourages students to want to take out their books and practice reading.

“They make me feel confident to go to second grade,” first grader Allison Nguyen said. “I feel like I can do anything I put my mind to when I feel confident.”

In the reading program, Duo Dogs encourages reading beyond the classroom. Each time a student reads five books, they get to choose a book to take home. Verbarg signs each book congratulating students for this accomplishment. When students read 25 books, they are able to donate a book to the Willow Brook library.

“They all love this so much, and parents do, too,” Alexander said. “It is a motivator for practicing familiar books at home. So far this year, Duo Dogs has donated 296 books to our readers and that means that they have collectively read 1,480 books!”

Students each see different types and levels of success because of the Duo Dogs partnership. For example, Alexander credits Glacier and Ozark for

helping students who received extra reading assistance for exiting the reading program. Not all of that success comes in the form of reading, either.

“I love seeing how different students are impacted in different ways,” Alexander said. “While overall, reading motivation is our goal, students also have overcome fears of dogs just by learning more about them and they practice how to interact and care for an animal. They ask questions and are so curious about all things Glacier and Ozark. There have also been so many instances where Glacier or Ozark has calmed behavioral situations or given an English learner student an opportunity to gain confidence reading aloud.”

Drummond Elementary School third grader Landon Miller, left, tries hitting a pitch blindfolded from Gateway Archers pitcher Mike Curtis during a class activity.

Students at Parkwood Elementary School read an interactive guessing book to their peers who are encouraged to participate by predicting what will come next.

Top, at Willow Brook Elementary School, kindergartner Kamille Davis, left, reads with therapy dog Glacier’s owner Rob Verbarg, right. Also shown are, from left, Breyner Calmo, Weston Marsala and Damian Wesley. Above, fifth graders, from left, Chamauri Gates, Carlie Lowe, Josselin Vasquez Alvarado, Noel Reed, Audrina Weatherspoon and Aria Martin take turns reading with Glacier.

HOLMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Holman Middle School students act as doctors and try to accurately diagnosis school staff’s fake symptoms in their Medical Detectives class. Far left, eighth graders Omar Lopez Encarnacion, left, and Levi Daller, center, hear principal Dr. Sarah Moran’s symptoms. Center, sixth graders Dallas Brown-Winston, left, and Jaylyn Tibbs analyze their notes. Left, seventh grader Layla Stuart and eighth grader Harry Vandernoot, center, excitedly wait to hear from teacher Marian Mitchell if they correctly diagnosed their patient.

Medical detectives investigate faux staff health symptoms to determine diagnosis

Agroup of student doctors sat across the table from their patient. Their patient, principal Dr. Sarah Moran, was explaining medical symptoms she was experiencing and hoping her middle school-aged doctors could help. The symptoms, thankfully, were scripted and part of a project for a Medical Detectives class at Holman Middle School.

In the class, students play the role of real-life medical detectives, collecting and analyzing medical data to diagnose diseases and solve medical mysteries through hands-on projects and labs.

“This class is for those kids that want to get into the medical field and see what it’s about,” middle school teacher Marian Mitchell said. “This is a Project Lead the Way (PLTW) class that teaches them the basics of biomed to see if they’re interested in it and it feeds into the biomedical program up at the high school. It shows them kind of what they can expect to start if they want to go into the four-year program in high school.”

Multiple units have been building to students diagnosing the staff at Holman. First, students learned about vital signs and determining how those vitals tie in with a patient’s symptoms, medical history and exam. They also learned how to read lab results, such as rapid antigen tests (like a strep throat or COVID test), and were assigned an illness and had to research what the treatment was. They also used a government website that outlines medications and researched which one would be the most effective.

To help gather what they’ve learned, students created a disease dictionary of about 15 to 18 different diseases from reputable sources like the Mayo Clinic and WebMD, as well as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website, if needed. At the end of the semester,

ROSE ACRES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Students

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the students get to keep all of their work, including the disease dictionary, so they can have a reference to take to the high school.

“It’s a fun class, but it’s a challenging class,” Mitchell said. “But yet, some of our kids really do excel here because it’s hands-on and lots of thinking. Nobody’s working independently; work is always completed in teams,” Mitchell said. “We do that so we can be an encouragement to one another and because in the medical field, you’re never working a patient alone; you always have help.”

Similarly, it allows students to learn how to use their classmates’ skills as resources and consider which skills they may lack that they can ask others to provide.

For the diagnosis activity, staff members at Holman volunteered to serve as patients. They received a symptom list and talking points about their illness so they could provide information to their doctors.

In prior activities, students were given a patient case file, but in this activity, they started from scratch and built their own case notes. The students worked together to develop questions and determined who would ask them to the patient. As they listened to the patient’s response, they took notes. Using that and any other patient history they had, they consulted their disease dictionary to determine what the illness was. Students had two tries to diagnose their patient before it negatively impacted their grade.

“I want you to have a little bit of stress, because in the medical field there are ramifications if you don’t diagnose somebody correctly, but not to the point where the stress is debilitating,” Mitchell said.

After correctly diagnosing the patient, each group had to write down what they were going to talk to the

patient about, including diagnosis and treatment plan.

“I felt so professional,” seventh grader Layla Stuart said. “I just felt like I was a real doctor. It felt like you were helping somebody even though it was fake.”

One of the groups had a patient who had been to the Appalachian Mountains. A student asked where that was and why that was relevant.

“They’re seeing that there is an importance to understanding regions when you’re dealing with medical status,” Mitchell said. “But also, whatever career you’re looking at, don’t you think you’re going to need this knowledge? How to research and learn? We all work together and this is what it is like in a job. You might have to research to find what you need to know. And that’s what they were doing. So when they have to look up, say, the Appalachian Mountains, they’re going to retain this knowledge and connect it to something else. So they’re going to hopefully remember it longer.”

In addition, the class incorporates science, as well as other core content areas, in fun ways. To test their math skills, students had to plate bacteria and measure the zone of inhibition to figure out which medicine is most effective in curing pneumonia.

At the beginning of the semester, students learned about vitals, which is a first indicator when investigating a diagnosis, but also something that is important for them to understand for their own health.

“It’s more than just teaching a class,” Mitchell said. “It’s real life things that they can take with them whether they go into medicine or a non-medical field. They are learning so many skills to help with their own personal health care. I teach them how to use their health app on their phones and how they can be tracking all this stuff. That’s something they’re going to retain.”

create, present business plan in hopes of being selected by PHS “sharks”

n a creative twist on education, fifth grade students at Rose Acres Elementary School dove into the world of entrepreneurship, drawing inspiration from the Gilded Age to Shark Tank. Under the guidance of their teachers, the young innovators embarked on a journey to create their own T-shirt businesses.

“Students had to create a logo, slogan purpose and T-shirt design,” fifth grade teacher Sarah Carter said.

The project, rooted in social studies lessons about the Gilded Age, encouraged students to channel their inner entrepreneurs by conceptualizing, designing and marketing their own T-shirt creations.

“Some of these small businesses turned into larger businesses and became very successful during this time,” Carter said.

Thanks to a grant from the Pattonville Education Foundation (PEF), each fifth grader received a T-shirt with the design they made using Canva. The 35 designs were displayed in the main lobby, and the top 10 designs were selected with the help of the entire school community. All kindergarten to fifth grade students

and staff participated in the voting process, with each person receiving two tickets to cast their anonymous votes for their favorite designs.

The excitement reached a peak when students from Dr. Raghib Muhammad’s Entrepreneurship class at Pattonville High School arrived to play the role of “sharks,” a nod to the popular television show. They listened intently as the fifth graders pitched their business plans, rating each design on a scale of innovation, creativity and marketability.

Diego Escaray Nucette, one of the participating fifth grade students, shared his experience with designing their group’s shirt.

“We were nervous because the shirt wasn’t exactly how we planned it out,” he said. “We found out that if we stuck with it, we could have had a pretty good meaning to it.”

Reflecting on the announcement of their design’s inclusion in the top 10, Escaray Nucette said, “I thought, ‘Oh, people are probably not going to like it since it’s wrong,’ but they did.”

Ultimately, the top five designs were made available for purchase to all staff and students at Rose Acres, with proceeds going toward funding the fifth graders’ trip to camp at the end of the school year.

“We did this to help people pay for camp,” Escaray Nucette said. “The chance to see people wearing something we created is pretty cool.”

Rose Acres Elementary School fifth graders Hazel Edmonds, left, and Ella Buechter present their T-shirt business plan to the Pattonville High School panel of “sharks” who are rating their plans.

BRAGGING WRITES

Honors, Awards and Achievements by Pattonville Students and Staff

PARKWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Composition competition

Fifth grader Cohl McTyer earned second place in the elementary songs with words category at the Creating Original Music Project (COMP) sponsored by the University of Missouri School of Music and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. He was invited to perform at the New Music Festival on April 20. COMP, in its 19th year, showcases new, original music from Missouri student composers and songwriters in grades K-12, offering positive recognition, prizes, performances, educational opportunities and more. McTyer is taught by music teacher Kathryn Leonard.

WILLOW BROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Art exhibit

Fifth grader Jacobi West had his artwork selected by Sen. Tracy McCreery to represent 24th District and be displayed in the Senate exhibit gallery between April 2024 and March 2025. West and his family attended an awards ceremony on April 3 at the Missouri State Capitol. He is taught by art teacher Dawn Lynn.

HOLMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Track athlete

Eighth grader Havyn Smith competed at the New Balance Nationals Indoor championship meet in Boston on March 7 and 8 and earned third place in the 60 meter and 400 meter dash events, earning all-American titles in the middle school divisions of both events. Previously in these events, Smith earned first place and broke the meet and facility records in the middle school division at the MileSplit USA Eastern Indoors meet in Kentucky on Feb. 9. She was ranked by MileSplit USA as first in Missouri and eighth in the U.S. in the eighth grade girls category.

PATTONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

Cheer honor

Pattonville High School sophomore and varsity cheerleader Gabriella Serra was named academic allstate by the Missouri Cheerleading Coaches Association (MCCA). Academic all-state honorees must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 on an unweighted 4.0 scale and an ACT composite score of at least 24 or be in the top 20% of their class. The varsity cheerleading team is coached by Kalli Hunt.

Artists’ Guild

Students from Pattonville High School had their artwork selected for the Young Artists’ Showcase. Students who had artwork selected for display were AP Art and Design students Macy Bunton and Maggie Haselbauer and Ceramics 2 student Lizzy Zacheis. Their art was on display at the St. Louis Artists’ Guild from March 1 to March 30. The Young Artists’ Showcase is a juried, all-media exhibition of artwork created by high school students. AP art students are taught by Beth Kathriner and ceramics is taught by Scott Fader.

Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete

Every year, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete program honors one student from every area school. The student athletes selected are those who have excelled in sports and in the classroom. Senior Kylie Surratt was selected as Pattonville High School’s honoree. Surratt has played on the volleyball team all four years and plans to play volleyball and major in sports medicine at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Additionally, she played lacrosse for a year and served as the boys volleyball team manager for two years. During her high school volleyball career, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) recognized Surratt with its all-American, all-region and Best and Brightest honors. She has been named to the all-state and all-metro teams, all-district and all-conference first teams and earned academic all-state and all-conference all four years. She has also been named all-conference player of the year three times and has earned the Pirate Invitational MVP and Minds in Motion awards. Additionally, she served as a team captain for three years and is the Pattonville High School record holder in volleyball career kills, match kills, match blocks and most matches played. As a student, Surratt has accumulated a 4.239 weighted GPA and has participated in National Honor Society (NHS), National English Honor Society (NEHS) and as president of the student council.

DECA honors

DECA students competed at the district competition and many qualified for the state competition. Students who competed at districts and advanced to the state competition were Krishaben Avaiya, Patrick Clifford, Sai Dorasani, Nmesomachukwu Ezeokafor, Courtney Fox, Natalie Hernandez, Natalee Hunter, Tanjim Kazi, Yishan Lan, Chance Langley, Michael McComb, Isaac Muller, Mackenzie Newell, Paul Pakdaman, Antania Pratt, Nicholas Rice, Tanvir Talukder and Amauri Thornton. Additional students who competed at the district competition were Jamyra Blair, Malachi Jackson, Charlotte Lohman and Sarah Valladares. In addition, Langley, Lohman and Talukder competed in the AdZou Challenge on Dec. 5 and won the Best Team Creative Concept Award. These students are sponsored by business and career teacher Dr. Raghib Muhammad.

PHS senior wins 2023 Congressional App Challenge

U

.S. Rep. Cori Bush named senior Sai Dorasani as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge for the 1st District of Missouri. Dorasani earned the honor for Envo Recycling, an image recognition app for a trash can that helps people decide whether to compost, recycle or trash an item with a snap of a camera. The app can recognize specific items, including an envelope, water bottle, apple or plastic bag and state where to put each item.

“When recycling at home, I find myself often confused,” Dorasani said about her inspiration for the app. “I try to read the instructions in the back, but most of the time, there are no instructions. In sports stadiums, I see a lot of people just throwing all their trash and recycling in one bin, and some are confused about which bin they have to use. This is why I created Envo recycle bins, which help users see if their item is recycled or composted and dispose of those items in one of the three Envo bins.”

The Congressional App Challenge is a national competition highlighting the value of computer science and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. Established by members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015, the Congressional App Challenge allows students from across the country to compete by creating and exhibiting an app of their creation. Students entering the competition must provide a video demonstration explaining their app and what they learned during the competition.

The submitted apps are judged by a panel of

experts from the region and the winning app from each participating congressional district will be featured on the U.S. House of Representatives’ website and as

part of a U.S. Capitol exhibit. The Congressional App Challenge is considered to be one of the most prestigious prizes in student computer science.

Dorasani was invited to Washington, D.C. on April 10 and 11 for the 2024 #HouseOfCode celebration for the 2023 Congressional App Challenge winners. More than 360 winning students from 47 states and territories attended the celebration, where they were joined by dozens of members of Congress and were invited to showcase their app. Additionally, Bush presented Dorasani with a certificate for winning the challenge.

This is the second year in a row Dorasani has won the Congressional App Challenge. Dorasani and her brother, Tanish Dorasani, won the 2022 challenge for Vaidyo - BioChain. Vaidyo, which means doctor in Sanskrit, was their solution to the problem they identified with storing, sharing and maintaining patient records on multiple patient portals.

Gabriella Serra

Macy Bunton

Senior Kylie Surratt is named Pattonville High School’s Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete.

Members of the DECA team include, from left, first row, Sarah Valladares and Sai Dorasani; second row, Courtney Fox, Paul Pakdaman and Yishan Lan; third row, Chance Langley, Natalie Hernandez and Natalee Hunter; and, back row, Nicholas Rice and sponsor Dr. Raghib Muhammad.

Pattonville High School senior Sai Dorasani, left, shares information about her app with U.S. Rep. Cori Bush.

Drill team honors

as well as members, from the left, front row, Aeriana Woodard and Nicole Cobbs; second row, Tori Stewart, Sophia Knize and Reilly Edmonds; and, back row, Lauren Jacobs, Zariyah Rice, Mikayla Shryock and Aliya Curry.

The Pattonville High School varsity drill team placed fifth in the small hip hop category and 30th in the small pom category at the national competition and placed third in the hip hop category at the state competition. Additionally, individual members of the team were named academic all-state. They were: Aliya Curry, Reilly Edmonds, Sophia Knize, MacKenzie Miller and Aeriana Woodard. Additional members of the team included Nicole Cobbs, Lauren Jacobs, Zariyah Rice, Mikayla Shryock and Tori Stewart. The varsity drill team is coached by teacher Anise Glenn with the assistance of Jo Harshbarger.

Technology association honors

Students competed at the Missouri Technology Student Association (TSA) State Championships Conference. Sponsored by teacher Stephanie Carson,

Dylan Cochran; second

Gavin Prater and Rylee Cochran; third row, Elisha Dukes and Matthew Wasser; and, back row, Aiden Alvey, Lucas Konopka and Fred Kadima.

Students from Pattonville High School competed at the Missouri Technology Student Association (TSA) State Championships Conference at the University of Central Missouri. Students placed in several events and competitions. Sai Dorasani earned first place in the children’s stories, T-shirt design and pin design events and second place in the prepared presentation event. The following students were part of the team that earned first place in virtual reality visualization: Elisha Dukes, Rhys Harden, Jared Kellner, Lucas Konopka, Nicholas Shao and Matthew Wasser. Students who placed first in the senior solar sprint event were Abdukodir Djuraev, Fred Kadima, Allyson Maue and Faisal Yousif. Gavin Prater placed second in CAD architecture. Dylan Cochran and Antony Roulhac earned second place in forensic science. Students who placed second in the technology bowl were Dukes, Konopka and Wasser. Rylee Cochran earned second place in transportation modeling. Students who placed third in board game design were Aiden Alvey, Dukes, Harden, Konopka, Shao and Wasser. Placing in the top five in the drone challenge were Djuraev, Kadima, Chuanjie (JJ) Li and Yousif. Students who placed in the top five in fashion design and technology were Rylee Cochran, Djuraev and Maue. Participants who were in the top five in the webmaster event were Dukes, Harden, Shao and Wasser. Finally, placing in the top 10 in audio podcasting were Djuraev, Kadima, Prater, Cody Shaw, Christian Truong and Yousif. The group is sponsored by computer science teacher Stephanie Carson.

Computer science students win Technology Forum

Agroup of Pattonville High School computer science students won the 2024 World Wide Technology (WWT) STEM Student Forum, claiming a $10,000 first place prize for developing the idea for a program that will assist students in selecting classes that are beneficial during high school and college. The program, Anchor, is essentially an AI academic advisor.

“I love that the competition gives all students the chance to experience real-life problems. It provides them with valuable insights into the workings of an actual business environment,” PLTW (Project Lead the Way) teacher and team ambassador Stephanie Carson said. “Our students are exhilarated to see their AI projects come to life and have grown tremendously through the experience of working alongside their peers, with expert guidance from WWT professionals. Congratulations to each student and school for participating in this impactful experience.”

This is the eighth year of the competition and the fifth time that Pattonville computer science students participated. The win marks the third time Pattonville High School has won the Forum. In 2019, a group of students created a clothing store for students in need and built a website, providing a better user experience and, in 2022, students created a project that promoted students’ sense of belonging by helping staff members learn more about their students, including how to say their names correctly.

This year, participating students were challenged to create a technical solution that leveraged AI responsibly and ethically while addressing a problem at their school or improving the academic experiences of students and staff.

“Having the privilege to mentor Pattonville High School students, I found the experience to be effortless, thanks to the harmony between Pattonville teachers and administration in embracing the core

Health occupations honors

Students from Pattonville High School competed at the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) state leadership conference and placed in the top 10 or higher in various exams and events. The following students placed in the top three of their events which qualified them to compete in the HOSA International Leadership Conference that will take place this summer. Paul Palermo placed second in the dental terminology event. Prabhleen Bhullar placed third in the cultural diversities and disparities event. Lucas Konopka placed third in the clinical specialty event. The following students also placed in their events at the state competition. Chellsea Duong placed in the top five in the cultural diversities and disparities event and Krysta Azurdia placed in the top 10 in the medical math event. These students are sponsored by Project Lead the Way (PLTW) biomedical science teacher Jamie Jobe.

values of WWT in their educational methods,” the group’s WWT mentor Arif Rahman said. “Witnessing the students’ commitment, innovative thinking and swift execution of ideas into a tangible product within weeks left a profound impression on me. Their dedication and diligence undoubtedly contributed to their remarkable achievements.”

Members of the team included Isaac Blassingame, Abdukodir Djuraev, Sai Dorasani, Fred Kadima, Allyson Maue, Gregory Oliver, Bryce Reynolds, TyRen Thompson, Faisal Yousif and Zachary Zarosa. They are in Carson’s Computer Science Capstone 2 class.

There were 18 teams in this year’s competition and each team was paired with a WWT employee to help mentor them through the process. After submitting a project video, five schools reached the finals and presented their idea at WWT’s global headquarters in St. Louis on March 9. The five finalists included Bayless High School, Jennings Senior High and College Prep Academy, Parkway Spark!, Pattonville and Troy Buchanan High School.

Pattonville’s team was featured in a segment by KSDK Ch. 5 news, where students were interviewed about Anchor and its potential impact on student learning and success.

Foundry art exhibit

Students from Pattonville High School had their artwork selected for display at the Foundry Art Centre’s High School Student Exhibition. Students from AP Art and Design who were selected were Margaret Haselbauer, Allyson Maue, Ronaldo Romero, Harlee Wood and Elizabeth Zacheis. Aundrea Rosales from Drawing 2 was also selected. The exhibit was open April 5 through May 25. These students are taught by art teacher Beth Kathriner.

Boys basketball honors

Boys basketball students earned individual honors this season. Evan Longmeyer was named all-district and all-conference first team.

Danny Winston III was named all-conference second team. Al-Amin Anderson El and Rashad Smith were named all-conference honorable mention. Nicholas Rice was selected to receive the sportsmanship award. The boys basketball team was coached by Kelly Thames with the assistance of Kent Booth, Antonio Bryant, Travis Harris and Caleb Stroop.

front row left, members of the team include, from left, front row,

row,

Lucas Konopka, left, and Krysta Azurdia earned honors at the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) state leadership conference.

Members of the boys basketball team include, from left, Rashad Smith, Evan Longmeyer and Nicholas Rice.

Members of the varsity drill team include assistant coach Jo Harshbarger, front row left, and coach Anise Glenn, front row right,

Computer science students receive a $10,000 check for placing first at the World Wide Technology STEM Student Forum.

Girls basketball honors

Girls basketball students earned individual honors this season. Hannah Fenton was named all-conference first team. Brooke Boyce was named all-conference second team. Kodie Gordon was named all-conference honorable mention. Antania Pratt received the sportsmanship award. The girls basketball team was coached by Don Boyce with the assistance of Corey Lewis.

Swim and dive honors

The girls swimming and diving team competed at the state championships both individually and on relay teams. Jenna Ridings received a medal at state for placing fourth in the 100 yard butterfly and sixth in the 200 yard freestyle, setting a new school record in both events. She was also named all-state and all-conference first team. Emma Eiswirth placed 10th in the 100 yard breaststroke and 14th in the 200 yard individual medley and broke school records in both events. She was also named all-state honorable mention and all-conference first team. In addition, relay teams also placed at state. The 200 yard freestyle relay team consisting of Christina Bae, Tehya Cox Potter, Eiswirth and Ridings finished 17th and set a new school record. Members of the 200 yard medley relay team that finished 17th were Bae, Eiswirth, Ridings and Emma Whitley. Finally, the 400 yard freestyle relay team finished 24th and was made up of swimmers Bae, Cox Potter, Mackenzie Newell and Whitley. Ella Tinnon also qualified for the state championship team. Tiyah McCoy qualified for the district competition in one-meter diving and was named all-conference second team. The girls swim and dive team was coached by Anna Braswell with the assistance of Ashley Haar and Madeline Marren.

Boys wrestling honors

Boys wrestling students earned individual honors this season. Stephon Brown qualified for the state championships and was named all-conference first team. Mekhi Brown was named all-conference first team. Jace Prabhu was named all-conference second team. Jon-Michael Brown II, Ethan Doerrer and Damian Rodriguez were named all-conference honorable mention. Drew Killian was selected to receive the all-conference sportsmanship award. The boys wrestling team was coached by Brent Mueller with the assistance of Jon-Michael Brown and Jake Kim.

Girls wrestling champions

The girls wrestling team was named conference champions. Wrestlers also earned individual honors. Makayla Gordon qualified for the state championship. Additionally, Gordon, Natalie Henning, Aleeya Thompson and Kalie Vogel were named all-conference first team. Lia Bowman and Sophia Luraschi were named all-conference second team. Jordane Hale and Bailey Leedle were named all-conference honorable mention. Belle Bradshaw was selected to receive the all-conference sportsmanship award. Additional members of the conference championship team were Israela Agnram, Krysta Azurdia and Samantha Mokwa. The girls wrestling team was coached by Paige Mueller with the assistance of Danelle Emerick.

attonville High School is ranked among the top high schools in Missouri and the nation on U.S. News and World Report’s 2024 Best Schools list.

Pattonville ranked as No. 40 out of 618 high schools in Missouri, placing it in the Top 6% of high schools in the state. Nationally, Pattonville ranked 3,711 out of 17,655 schools, putting it in the top 21%. This is the 11th time Pattonville earned a spot on U.S. News’ Best High Schools list in the past 12 years.

The U.S. News Best High Schools rankings include data on nearly 25,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 18,000 schools were ranked on six factors based on their performance on state assessments, how well they prepare students for college and graduation rate.

Pattonville honors MVPs (Most Valuable Pirates)

Staff members at Pattonville High School presented their MVP (Most Valuable Pirate) Awards to 105 students in grades 9 through 12. Each staff member selected one outstanding student to receive an MVP medallion award during a special awards ceremony at the school on April 25. The program was sponsored by the school’s Renaissance program, which encourages a commitment to academic excellence based on recognition of academic performance, attendance and citizenship. Students crossed the stage and met the staff member that selected them as their nomination was read aloud to those in the audience.

Four students received their third MVP Award: Emely Herrera Escobar, Ashley Santel, Wesley Sharpe and Dakota Woracheck.

Receiving their second MVP Award were: Moussa Abraheem, Maya Baum, Chellsea Duong, Malcolm Harmon, Josepha Kabula, Janani Kamalakkannan, Cyan Kelley, Sophia Kelly, Kyla Kobielusz, Jonathan Lopez Godines, Carlton Lowman, Amaya Mays, Jettlend Mercer, Lilyanna Norman, John O’Connell, Nicholas Rice and Naomi Tamirat.

The following students received their first MVP Award: Andrea Aguilar, Jessica Bae, Aiva Barry, Jayden Beckemeyer, Nicholas Benbow, Emmy Benson, Jeremiah Beverly Jr., Jamyra Blair, Kristen Bowers, Kyle Brenner, Olivia Brown, Jon-Michael Brown II, Ethan Bryant, Christina Chirwa, Gavin Clay, Nicole Cobbs, Aunestie Cook, Emily Cremer, Ollie Dallape, Floyd Davis III, Angelina Demille, Katarina Garland, Jose Gomez Licea, Dayana Gonzalez Toledo, Lydia Greenwalt Hamil, Hayden Gust, Addison Gutschenritter, Diego Halbeck, Lucy Hartley, Quinlan Hawkins, Ryan Hayes, Carter Hearn, Antoni Herrera, Paris Hill, Dung Ho, Leo Ingolia

III, Shardae Johnson, Mikayla Jones, Fred Kadima, Troy King, Alyssa Lee, Joseph Lewis, Skylar Lewis, Derick Lopez, Isabella Lopez Ramirez, Neitan Lopez Sontay, Marissa Marsala, Bre’lle May, Isabella McCarthy, Peter McCullough, Kayla Millikan, Mia Munoz, Marleny Munoz Perez, Brandon Newsome Jr., Gabriel Naviengkham, Ellis North, Paul Palermo, Rudra Patel, Terrell Porter Jr., Magnus Prater, Micah Ramsey, Sandra Recoder Hernandez, Clare Ridings, Trinity Robinson, Emily Santel, Nicholas Scherbring, Tatyana Seay, Saliou Seck, Ella Seely, Gabriella Serra, Katherine Sullivan, Andrew Swartwout, Chelsea Tate, Mya Thomas, Faith Thompson, Christian Truong, Nia Warren, Brianna Washington, Elizabeth Zacheis and Jacob Zarosa.

View the photo gallery: pattonvillesd.smugmug.com/2023-2024/MVP-2024

Pattonville High School Project Lead the Way (PLTW) biomedical science teacher Jamie Jobe presents Janani Kamalakkannan with a Most Valuable Pirate (MVP) award.

Members of the girls wrestling conference championship team include, from left, from row Aleeya Thompson and Lia Bowman and, back row, Belle Bradshaw and Makayla Gordon.

Members of the boys wrestling team include, from left, Damian Rodriguez, Drew Killian and Jace Prabhu.

Members of the girls swim and dive team include, from left, front row, Emma Eiswirth and Jenna Ridings and, back row, Tiyah McCoy, Emma Whitley and Tehya Cox Potter.

Pattonville hires director of safety, security

On April 9, the Pattonville Board of Education approved the hiring of Brian Whitfield as the director of safety, security and emergency management, effective July 1. Whitfield is currently the district safety coordinator at North St. Francois County School District and also serves as a counter surveillance/executive protection agent for Allied Intelligence. He has more than 17 years of law enforcement experience, including serving as an officer in the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri State Park Rangers. Whitfield is also a plans and integration non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Air National Guard.

Whitfield has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice

from Missouri Baptist University and associate degrees in logistics management from the Community College of the Air Force and applied science from Mineral Area College.

This new director position will be responsible for managing, supervising, directing and evaluating all safety, security and emergency management activities within Pattonville. Responsibilities will include emergency preparedness and crisis/emergency management, security audits and inspections, safety and security oversight and safety training.

Transportation department earns Excellence Award

he Pattonville School District earned the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Total Fleet Excellence Award. The transportation department team obtained a firstround approval score of 96% during the annual inspection of its buses and the district’s score was 100% at the conclusion of the inspection. The two buses that had minor issues, which were not mechanical, were repaired quickly, reinspected and approved.

Things that worked for the transportation department to exceed the 90% inspection score to qualify for the award were:

• Standardized preventative bus inspection checklist followed by mechanics.

• Mechanics inspecting buses immediately before the bus entered the staging lineup.

• Well-trained driver inspection team.

• Retaining one mechanic at the inspection line for inspector questioning and miscellaneous requests.

In order to receive the Total Fleet Excellence Award, the first-time approval score must be 90% or higher.

Pattonville previously received the award in 2020 and 2021. In 2022 and 2023, the district did not receive the Total Fleet award, but did earn a perfect score at the conclusion of the inspections.

High school named Special Olympics School of Character

At the Missouri Association of Student Councils (MASC) convention in March, Pattonville High School received the 2024 School of Character Award by Special Olympics Missouri (SOMO). Pattonville received the Bronze Award for the student council’s dedication to serving others in the community and at school and for its inclusivity of students of all abilities.

Sophomore Lorelai Otto accepted the award on behalf of Pattonville at the state MASC convention, which took place March 14 through 16 in Carthage. Also in attendance were sophomores Alexandra Wyatt and Annabelle Wyatt. Special School District (SSD) teacher Carrie Cobb serves as the school’s Special Olympics coach. Math teacher Tara Borcherding, academic monitor Lisa Foust and family and consumer sciences (FACS) teacher Samantha Markowski serve as student council sponsors.

To receive a School of Character award, schools go through an application process, providing information on the various activities they have done in the areas of unified sports, whole school engagement and inclusive youth leadership and earn points to achieve either gold, silver or bronze recognition. Schools can earn points based on a variety of things, including:

• Hosting and/or volunteering at a local Special Olympics Missouri event;

• Organizing a Young Athletes program for athletes ages 3-7;

• Starting a unified sports team at school;

• Having a student council member become a SOMO coach; and

• Raising funds through the Polar Plunge or any other fundraising initiative.

Students in the Essential Skills and CBVI (Community Based Vocational Instruction) programs at the high school participate in three Special Olympics events: basketball, bowling and track and field. Special Olympics events provide sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for students served by SSD, in order to give them opportunities in the community that develop physical fitness, courage and friendships with other athletes and non-disabled peers. Pattonville’s student council also hosts a swimming event at the high school engaging the community to help spread awareness of inclusion.

For more than 30 years, MASC’s partnership with SOMO has presented member schools with an opportunity for service and a connection to an organization that holds events across the state. MASC schools across the state provide an average of 12,000 volunteer hours each year and host many Special Olympics events and services. The SOMO School of Character program was established in 2014 for schools that are members of MASC to be recognized for their level of involvement in the Special Olympics movement through unified sports, whole school engagement and inclusive youth leadership.

COLLEGE SIGNINGS

The following student-athletes made a commitment to play a sport at the college level. Those who participated in a signing day event at Pattonville High School on May 16 were: Al-Amin Anderson El, basketball, Central Methodist University; Nicole Cobbs, dance, Lindenwood University; Adrian Hughes, basketball, Central Methodist University; Zoe Newland, basketball, Drury University; Khalil Peterson, volleyball, Westminster College; Riesen Riley, cheer, Grambling State University; and Luke Stevenson, cross country, University of Missouri-St. Louis.

DECISION DAY

Pattonville High School held its own version of Decision Day on May 7, coinciding with National College Decision Day which was on May 1. Pattonville’s celebration extended beyond college decisions to honor all seniors and their post-graduation plans, whether it involves college, trade school, military service, apprenticeships or enter

ing the workforce. Michelle Luraschi, high school college and career preparation counselor, planned the event, which featured various activities. Students participated by writing their name on a Pirate Pete sticker and placing it on a map, pinpointing their next destination. Additionally, there was a photo booth with props, free giveaways and cupcakes. A gratitude station let students express their appreciation by writing thank you notes to those who supported them throughout school.

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Anderson El

Nicole Cobbs

Zoe Newland

Luke Stevenson

Adrian Hughes

Khalil Peterson

Riesen Riley

Seniors Dylan Leedle, left, and Romero King Jr., hold up signs representing Missouri S&T, where they both will be attending college in the fall, during Pattonville High School’s Decision Day event in May.

Pattonville sophomores attend the state student councils convention. They are, from left, Alexandra Wyatt, Lorelai Otto and Annabelle Wyatt.

Pattonville School District’s transportation team earns the Total Fleet Excellence Award for high marks on its annual bus inspection.

Brian Whitfield

Teacher, Support Staff of the Year announced at District Appreciation

Audrey Masek, fourth grade teacher at Parkwood Elementary School, was named district Teacher of the Year and Anaisabel (Ana) Garofalo, English learner (EL) paraprofessional at Bridgeway Elementary School, was named Pattonville Support Staff of the Year. The announcements were made during Pattonville’s District Appreciation Night on May 6.

Finalists for Pattonville Teacher of the Year were Kathleen Gengler, science teacher at Pattonville High School, and Lisa Kraemer, seventh grade teacher at Remington Traditional School. Other finalists for Pattonville Support Staff of the Year were Carole Marsden, paraprofessional at Drummond Elementary School, and Rungsee Suvansri, paraprofessional at Rose Acres Elementary School.

These previously named district honorees and finalists for Teacher of the Year and Support Staff of the Year were building-level honorees for their respective awards. Other building-level honorees/semifinalists for Teacher of the Year were: Kelsey Hibbits, special education teacher at early childhood; Mollie Ahlers, art teacher at Bridgeway; Tanner Lynn, special education teacher at Drummond; Sarah Carter, fifth grade teacher at Rose Acres; Maria Farmer, fifth grade teacher at Willow Brook Elementary School; Edward Stevens, history teacher at Holman Middle School; and Melissa Wetzel, English teacher at Pattonville Heights Middle School.

Other building-level honorees/semifinalists for Support Staff of the Year were: Lula Abreha, paraprofessional at early childhood; Shani Thompson, paraprofessional at Parkwood; Barbara Boddy, lead cook at Willow Brook; Alejandra Wohldmann, paraprofessional at Remington; Brenda Labbe, custodian at Holman; Brittany Edinger, secretary at Pattonville Heights; Maria Saunders, secretary at Pattonville High School; and Christy Kasprzyk, accounting payroll specialist at the Learning Center, representing the district services group.

Andrea Daud, English learner (EL) teacher at Bridgeway, was honored with the Teacher Rookie of the Year award and Jody Brent, social worker at Drummond, was chosen as the Support Staff Rookie of the Year.

Audrey Masek, left, a fourth grade teacher at Parkwood Elementary School, was named district Teacher of the Year, and Anaisabel (Ana) Garofalo, an English learner (EL) paraprofessional at Bridgeway Elementary School, was named Pattonville Support Staff of the Year.

Staff members selected as building Teachers of the Year include, from left, front row, district finalists are Kathleen Gengler, Audrey Masek and Lisa Kraemer and, back row, semifinalists are Mollie Ahlers, Kelsey Hibbits, Tanner Lynn and Melissa Wetzel.

Staff members selected as building Support Staff of the Year include, from left, front row, district finalists are Anaisabel (Ana) Garofalo, Carole Marsden and Rungsee Suvansri and, back row, semifinalists are Christy Kasprzyk and Lula Abreha.

Andrea Daud, left, was chosen as the district’s Teacher Rookie of the Year and Jody Brent was honored with the Support Staff Rookie of the Year award.

Pride of Pattonville honorees named

Ten individuals were chosen to receive the prestigious Pride of Pattonville award. The honor recognizes staff, parents and volunteers for outstanding service to the district. The 2024 Pride of Pattonville honorees are:

• Anna Braswell, PE teacher at Pattonville High School;

• Kevin Couty, school resource officer (SRO) at Drummond Elementary School;

• Kimberly Dannegger, principal at Willow Brook Elementary School;

• Kimberly Dickinson, library technology specialist at Willow Brook;

• Michelle Evans, paraprofessional at Parkwood Elementary School;

• Julie Hilker, district interpreter at the Learning Center;

• Kevin Hughes, physical education teacher at Drummond;

• Kenny Krieg, Pattonville Fire Protection District firefighter;

• Brandon Lynn, building custodial supervisor at Pattonville High School; and

• Travis Williams, PE teacher at Pattonville Heights Middle School. Honorees were recognized during special surprise visits in April, as well as during Pattonville’s District Appreciation Night on May 6.

Retirees receive School Bell Awards for service to Pattonville Volunteers,

Each year, Pattonville recognizes staff members who are retiring or who retired since the previous year’s District Appreciation Night festivities. All retirees have the option to receive a traditional engraved School Bell Award recognizing their service. This year, 29 staff members were honored as retirees. View a copy of the District Appreciation Night program featuring bios of all the retirees at the link at right.

Pattonville honors parents and community members who volunteer their time to lead support organizations for Pattonville. Honored during District Appreciation Night for volunteering were, from left, front row, Danita Stewart, Jerome Littlejohn, Letty Goering, Monyelle Dotson, Summer Johnson and Kristin Simpson; second row, Michelle Evans, Cassie Weber, Lisa Williams, Sarah Barth, Michelle Soltysiak, Julia Hulsey, Shannon Leonberger and Kelly Monroe; and, back row, Sharon Wood, Laura Wick, Sarah Pyle, Frank Spell, Andrea Snowden, Monica Brown-Harris, Tricia Ruby, Sue Silverstein and Teree Davis. To see a full list of volunteers, visit the District Appreciation Night program at the link below right.

This year, 29 staff members were honored as retirees and thanked for their service in Pattonville. Shown are, from left, front row, Judith Chabot, Carla Gardner, Diana Crossland and Carole Garrett; second row, Michael Burgio, Laura Lancaster, Jolene Hilligoss, Kimberly Walsh and Amy Taylor; and back row, Roy Libhart, Vanessa Divine, Dr. Sarah Moran, Dr. Greg Schnatmeier, Sarah Funderburk, Brenda Vitale, Kathleen Phillips and Denny McFarland.

Staff who have been in the district for five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years were recognized at District Appreciation Night. Top right, staff recognized for 35 years of service were, from left, Sarah Funderburk, district technology specialist at Rose Acres Elementary School, and Mark Werner, security guard at the Learning Center. Right, Vincent Licameli, PE teacher at Willow Brook Elementary School, was honored for 30 years of service. To see all of the honorees, see the program at the link below.

the program bit.ly/DANProgram2024 View photos bit.ly/psdDAN2024

Watch Teacher, Support Staff of the Year finalist video presentations YouTube.com/PattonvilleR3

Chosen to receive the Pride of Pattonville award were from left, front row, Brandon Lynn, Kevin Hughes, Kevin Couty, Kenny Krieg and Travis Williams; and, back row, Anna Braswell, Julie Hilker, Kimberly Dannegger, Kimberly Dickinson and Michelle Evans.