Highlights June 2023

Inside

More than 410 Pattonville High School seniors celebrated earning their diplomas during graduation on May 26. Shown at top, the Class of 2023 celebrates their graduation with the traditional cap toss. Above left, Willis Harris hugs successful transition specialist and instructor Chaun Tate after walking off the stage at graduation. Center, Natalie Tyarks, shows off her diploma cover. Right, senior choir students, from left, Patrick Ferguson, Lucas Gerst and Austin Branson join underclassmen to perform one final song together.

From the Superintendent Construction begins on Prop S bond issue work

Goal of waiver to improve assessments

Dr. Barry Nelson

Superintendent

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@Barry_NelsonPSD

Student assessment may not be the most captivating topic, but it plays a crucial role in delivering appropriate instruction and ensuring learning for all students. In the Pattonville School District, assessments such as STAR are utilized throughout the academic year in reading and mathematics to identify students’ progress and inform instructional decisions. These assessments enable teachers to adapt their teaching methods and improve student outcomes. By collecting and analyzing local data throughout the school year, students, parents and teachers gain timely and meaningful insights into students’ progress and areas for growth. This empowers educators to tailor instruction to meet individual student needs and determine whether additional support is required.

In addition to these local assessments, Missouri students in grades three through eight complete English language arts and mathematics assessments, called the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), towards the end of the school year. While these annual state assessments measure progress towards educational standards set by the state, they do not provide continuous data throughout the school year to inform instructional decision making. Relying on high-stakes assessments once a year, particularly towards the end of the school year, offers limited actionable information to improve student learning. Moreover, by the time students receive their results in the fall, they may not find them as relevant since they pertain to the previous school year.

Work on Prop S, Pattonville’s $111 million no-tax-rate-increase bond issue, has begun. Voters in Pattonville approved Prop S in 2022 with a 79.4% favorable vote. Prop S will fund projects at every school in Pattonville, including adding classrooms to address growth in student enrollment; providing safety and maintenance improvements; and updating school facilities to meet teaching and learning needs. Approval of the bond issue did not increase the district’s tax rate. Work on storm shelter additions at Bridgeway, Parkwood and Willow Brook elementary schools and the new gym at Holman Middle School is underway. Additionally, interior renovations at Parkwood, Willow Brook and Holman are also in progress.

Site preparation on the four additions began this summer. During this time, foundation work will begin and the concrete panels that make up the building will be made and shipped. Once those panels arrive, they will be assembled, the concrete roof will be poured and interior work can begin. The timeline for this work is below.

In addition to these updates, the timeline for work on phases 2 and 3 have been revised. Phase 2 has been split into two stages, 2A and 2B. The first stage will include updates to the Pattonville High School science and family and consumer sciences (FACS) labs and work on the current Holman Gym B, which will be adapted for use by the Pattonville printing department and for additional garage space for the transportation department. The space will include four bays and the two bays in the current garage will become wash bays.

Design work on Phase 2A has begun and bidding for that work should start this fall, with construction to be completed before the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.

The second stage, Phase 2B, will include work at early childhood, Drummond and Rose Acres elementary schools, Pattonville Heights Middle School and the remaining projects at Holman. Design on that work will start in 2024 and construction will go through 2026. Phase 3 projects remain the same and include improvements at Remington Traditional School and remaining projects at the high school. Design on that is expected to begin in early 2025 and be completed in 2027.

Changes to the Prop S timeline are due to challenges impacting the construction field, primarily labor shortages. Those shortages are caused by two challenges: decreasing employees in the field and an increase in construction projects. Additional delays are due to continued supply chain issues. As was regularly reported, supply issues started during the pandemic and are still being felt. Areas primarily being impacted are mechanical industries, like HVAC and electrical, as well as items that use computer chips. This is resulting in longer project timelines and the potential for interruptions to daily school operations.

Because the construction timeline has been extended, Pattonville will use the added time to connect with the school improvement teams (SIT) who have projects in Phase 2B and Phase 3 to ensure that planned work continues to meet the needs of the school.

Learn more at bit.ly/PattonvillePropS

To improve student assessment practices and systems in Missouri, Pattonville, along with 19 other school districts, has joined the System Design Zone (SDZ) group within the Success-Ready Students Network (SRSN). On June 6, this group presented to the Missouri State Board of Education, seeking approval for a three-year waiver from the MAP test in order to develop a more meaningful way of measuring learning, demonstrating individual student growth and influencing future success for Missouri students. The ultimate goal is to establish a state assessment system that meets the needs of students, parents, teachers and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) by measuring student learning throughout the school year.

Implementing high-quality student assessment practices is essential to ensuring that every student receives the instruction they need to master the curriculum and be prepared for the next stage of their academic journey. The ultimate goal is to have a unified assessment system for all school districts that accomplishes this at both the local and state levels. Some key components of this new measurement system would include:

1. Measuring student growth multiple times throughout the school year.

2. Providing immediate feedback for students, teachers and families.

3. Increasing student awareness of their progress and fostering engagement in setting future goals.

4. Promoting active student learning through different pathways and flexible pacing.

5. Evaluating student progress based on evidence of mastery, rather than seat time.

6. Engaging students in real-world learning experiences that support high school, college, career and workplace readiness.

The state board is scheduled to vote on the waiver request in August. If approved, it would allow districts in the SDZ group to utilize local standardized assessments for MSIP 6 state accountability and accreditation purposes.

Summer 2023 construction work

Bridgeway Elementary School

• Construction on the exterior paneling of the addition is expected to begin in February 2024 and be completed by December of that year.

• Renovation of the library and STEM classroom is scheduled to be completed in August 2024.

Parkwood Elementary School

• Exterior paneling work of the addition is scheduled to begin in December and be completed in October 2024.

• Office renovations, including making a more secure entry into the building, began in June and is expected to be completed by October.

Willow Brook Elementary School

• Construction on the addition is expected to begin in January 2024 and be completed by that November.

• Renovation work began in June on the new art classes and the cafeteria expansion, both of which are scheduled to be completed by the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.

• The relocation of the front office and counseling and nurse’s spaces will begin in August and scheduled to be finished in January 2024.

Holman Middle School

• Demolition began on the lower level of Gym A in May. Renovations will provide more efficient locker rooms and health spaces. Work is expected to be completed in November.

• Construction on the exterior paneling of the new gym addition is expected to begin in November and be completed by the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year.

Parkwood

Bridgeway

Willow Brook

Holman

Our Learners

News focusing on students, staff and schools in Pattonville

HOLMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL

City’s heritage explored in field trip

Every year, a group of eighth graders make the transition from being middle school students to navigating their first year as high school freshmen. Before they take this step, Holman Middle School coordinates an annual St. Louis heritage field trip for its eighth grade students, a tradition spanning decades at the school.

“We think it is important for eighth graders to see what a great city they live in,” English teacher and field trip chaperone Jessica Smith said. “In ELA (English language arts) class, students explored articles about signature foods, neighborhoods and history before we went.”

Students were accompanied by teachers and staff on school buses and set out for a day of exploring the city around them. This year, the trip included visits to the St. Louis Zoo, the grounds of the St. Louis Arch and the Soulard Farmers Market. Upon returning to school, the trip was topped off with servings of a popular local treat.

PATTONVILLE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER

Special send off signals transition to summer

Eighth graders at Holman Middle School learned about St. Louis during a field trip. Top, Josh Colvin, left, and Emmanuel Boyette point to a bear at the St. Louis Zoo. Bottom, Duncan Gray eats a green pepper at the Soulard Farmers Market.

“PTA bought all students Ted Drewes ice cream,” Smith said. “For many, this was their first time having Ted Drewes and going to Soulard Farmers Market.”

A favorite location for the students was the zoo. They enjoyed walking around and exploring with friends. At the Soulard Farmers Market, many students purchased flowers for Mother’s Day. Smith said a few students always buy watermelons at this stop.

“Many of the students asked if they could stay longer,” Smith said. “I like to tell them now that they are getting older, they can start exploring more as they start to drive.”

Every year, the field trip gives students an often first-time exposure of what the city around them has to offer.

“We love taking students to places that make St. Louis unique or make it home,” Smith said. “St. Louis will always be part of them no matter where they live.”

REMINGTON TRADITIONAL SCHOOL

“There are never enough bubbles in preschool” was the motto at the Pattonville Early Childhood Center on the last day of school. As students left, they were greeted with fanfare fitting of the occasion. Staff members lined the walkway to cheer, wave colorful streamers, blow bubbles and jam to upbeat children’s music. Students walked through a cascade of bubbles and under a line of balloons before going home.

“We have a tradition of sending off students with a little fanfare at the end of the school year,” occupational therapist Suzanne Keiser said. “The send offs are a festive and fun way of wishing our students well as they leave school for summer break.”

No matter how they left school — whether it be on the bus or parent pickup — every student was able to participate in the festivities. Staff met at the bus ramp and at the car lane. Bubbles, music and cheering staff awaited the students at both locations. Additionally, the buses and cars drive the same route to leave the school so staff waved goodbye again as the

Students complete challenges inspired by class book

Fourth graders at Remington Traditional School spent a day trying to figure out how to escape from an ancient city at risk of falling into darkness. Their route was set by a series of challenges created by their teachers at stations around the school’s playground. For these students, it was a warm and sunny day, but their activities mimicked the quest taken by two main characters from the novel they just finished reading, “The City of Ember” by Jeanne DuPrau.

“Julie Linck and I have been using ‘The City of Ember’ as an engaging novel study to wrap up the year to practice all of the reading comprehension skills we have been working on in fourth grade,” fourth grade teacher Alyssa Lipson said.

Lipson and Linck were inspired to put together their own activity to try based on a previous book challenge which was created by Willow Brook El-

ementary School administrative intern Taylor Koenig.

“We adopted the idea and completed a series of academic challenges to ‘escape’ Ember,” Lipson said.

Students worked in partners to accurately complete the challenge at each station as quickly as they could. The tasks they worked through included jumping along a chalk-drawn path, solving a series of fraction problems, discovering a hidden object in a basin of water and putting a puzzle together. The final activity of the day was a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) challenge where students used materials to build a boat that wouldn’t sink. The group whose boat stayed afloat the longest was the winner of that particular challenge.

“At the end of the day, two students won book two in ‘The City of Ember’ series, ‘The City of Sparks,’ to start off their summer reading,” Lipson

cars and buses left.

The tradition began when the Pattonville Early Childhood Center opened, with the first send-off celebration being in spring 2019. With all students and staff in one building, the event became a building-wide tradition.

The first day of school and the last day of school are big events in early childhood.

“In preschool, where playing is learning, we are able to witness remarkable growth and development of our young learners,” Keiser said. “The last day of school is a natural time to reflect and celebrate how much these threeto five-year-olds have grown since the first day of school.”

Despite all of the fun and excitement, the sendoff has educational value as well.

“The send off is definitely a departure from the students’ typical dismissal routines,” Keiser said. “Marking the last day of school with a celebratory send off can be especially helpful for our young students to better understand the transition from school days to summer days.”

said.

Students in Remington Traditional School fourth grade teacher Alyssa Lipson’s class participate in activities similar to those taken by characters in the book “The City of Ember.” Above, Loretta Eckhardt, left, and Bethel Fantahun do fractions at a station on the school playground. At left, Landon Edwards, left, and Abel Tewodros complete a STEM challenge.

Students at the Pattonville Early Childhood Center got a celebratory send off on their last day of school. Left, Isaiah Perez, fourth from right, smiles while walking under a line of balloons. Also pictured are, from left, Khloi White, paraprofessional Tishia Cronk, Ezekiel Schmierbach, Ava Hinzpeter, paraprofessional Sandra Wacker, Eliana Meyer, paraprofessional Jeni Heeren and Robert Norris III. Right, staff cheer out students Karleigh Manis, left, and April Wallis, right, while they hold hands with paraprofessional substitute Kara Corson.

grade teacher Jamie Sievers and first grader Ruth Schweiss.

ROSE ACRES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Students spread cheer throughout school

Agroup of students and staff from Rose Acres Elementary accomplished their mission of spreading happiness when they spent a Friday morning greeting students. As school buses and cars pulled into drop-off lanes, students looked out their windows to see a wave of yellow cheer greeting them. Music played while yellow balloons, poms and posters were held by their peers wearing yellow T-shirts and smiles.

“Kids were waving their hands out of the windows, excited to see them,” district technology specialist Sarah Funderburk said. “One bus driver came and started dancing with everyone and parents were honking as they dropped off.”

As part of the school’s Leader in Me program, students are placed on ships that meet throughout the school year to complete team-building exercises, participate in schoolwide activities and encourage supportive relationships. Each ship is made up of staff and students from all grade levels and has a unique team color, motto and mission. The Felix ship, named after the Latin word for happiness, spent their last ship meeting of the school year brainstorming ways they could spread happiness around the school. Funderburk was one of the staff members on the Felix ship who helped coordinate the plans for that morning.

“Together, we came up with the idea of greeting kids on a Friday morning and spreading joy,” she said.

PATTONVILLE HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Felix shipmates were assigned tasks to prepare. They made posters and designed their own stickers that matched the theme with phrases like “Be happy” and “Spread joy.” They were printed by Pattonville’s printing department and given to students and parents. Adults in the carpool lane also received handwritten notes thanking them for bringing their child to school and wishing them a great day.

“Parents were all smiles as they drove through,” Funderburk said. “It was a great day.”

The Felix team kept busy in the days leading up to that Friday morning. Their plans for spreading happiness also included the idea of “Felixing” rooms in Rose Acres. Students packed goodie bags for every classroom in the building with an assortment of yellow items like bracelets, star stress balls, sunglasses and candy. The students delivered these bags, taking turns in groups of four to hang the bag on a classroom door, then quickly departing.

“It’s like getting ding-dong ditched but instead you got Felixed,” Funderburk said.

Between the surprise goodie bags and the surprise greeting committee, the reactions from staff, students and parents showed that happiness was indeed spread throughout the school.

“Felix students felt really empowered,” Funderburk said. “The reaction from their classmates was pretty incredible. Teachers said we need to do this every month, all the time.”

WILLOW BROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Supplies make lessons come to life

Excavating tools and arctic habitats are some of the things people might come across in a second grade classroom at Willow Brook Elementary School. Using knowledge, innovative skills and supplies from the school’s maker’s cart, students built models to demonstrate learning. A collection of supply bins on wheels, the maker’s cart holds repurposed materials that can be used in creative ways to support students’ learning.

“Students love using the cart and experiencing hands-on learning,” instructional specialist Christine Young said. “It gives them the opportunity to show their thinking and knowledge. They follow the engineering process to identify a problem, explore, design, create, try it out and then make it better.”

In one science unit, Tools of the Trade, students used supplies from the maker’s cart to build a tool to dig chocolate chips out of a cookie, simulating the task of excavating dinosaur fossils. Many of the creations incorporated a plastic fork as the handle and items like toothpicks and paper clips attached together using modeling clay, pipe cleaners and rubber bands.

They also used the maker’s cart to transform empty shoe boxes into a model home for a penguin. Students learned about wildlife environments, specifically focusing on the characteristics of a penguin’s habitat. After learning about elements necessary and suitable for a penguin’s survival, students were tasked to build their own penguin habitat. The supplies in the maker’s cart allowed them to be creative with how they built their habitat to look like elements of a penguin’s natural landscape.

“The students loved being able to design, build and test their penguin models,” second grade teacher Michelle Haupt said.

The maker’s cart has been used in numerous ways this year and is shared with all classrooms at Willow Brook, often to expand science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and project-based learning (PBL) units. Haupt has been exploring resources in an effort to fund a grade-level STEM maker cart for the second grade team to rotate.

“The maker’s cart has been such a hit with our learners,” Haupt said. “It would be a huge benefit to our daily learning.”

The opportunities from the maker’s cart will be expanded with the addition of a STEM lab being built as part of the Prop S bond issue.

“The maker’s cart allows students to use skills like communication, team work, collaboration, problem solving and other skills they use as they grow in school and beyond the classroom,” Young said. “The students will be able to use the cart in addition to the STEM lab to make these skills more accessible.”

Math project teaches life skills to redesign houses

Students at Pattonville Heights Middle School were challenged with renovating a house with a budget of $20,000. Groups had to show their ideas to a panel of judges and explain their decisions in a presentation.

Math teacher Wendy Mathis flips homes with her husband and planned the assignment to provide students with real-life situations. Groups spent about two weeks on the project and were given the dimensions of a room, but were not given the square footage.

“They had to figure all of that out on their own,” Mathis said. “When it comes to flooring like carpet and wood or to painting the walls, that’s where a lot of people get it wrong. They don’t think about the height and width of the room and that is thinking mathematically on a different level.”

The project also forces her Algebra 1 students to work together. Eighth grader Rihanna Carter and her partners had to agree on the style of house to design.

“I wanted to start off with a more modern house and Ellie [Cowin] wanted something more suburban,” she said. “We had to compromise on a lot.”

Cowin said she’s watched a lot of HGTV and some

of that came in handy during the assignment.

“A lot of those shows are about designing, but this was really about budgeting and calculating the materials you needed,” she said. “We needed to figure out everything for the flooring and painting and how much stuff we needed.”

Eighth grader Jeremiah Skarin and his partners took turns going through rooms and coming up with ideas.

“I know the bathroom is a very important part of a house so we had to go all out in the bathroom,” he said. “We actually went over budget at first for our house and we had to take out a couple of things.” One room was off limits, though. “The bathroom,” he said. “We kept the bidet because that was important. I know they’re fancy, and I liked it. It had to stay in.”

Superintendent Dr. Barry Nelson served as one of the judges. Making students work together was one of his favorite things about the project.

“While all the content we teach is really important, the stuff that these kids really need to learn is how to work together and how to present their ideas in front of a class,” he said. “Those are workplace life skills. Just

take the math out of it, that part is still huge. It’s critical. They are learning how to do all those things and are being prepared for the future.”

Mathis liked the students’ creativity and making them think about how math is being used in real life.

“I was very impressed with their math skills, but also with what good color schemes they came up with,” she said. “They understood that you had to have an accent wall and I didn’t tell them about that. I think they’re much more educated on DIY than we used to be.”

Left, Felix team members first grader Irene Moody, left, and third grader Chloe Foss get ready to welcome Rose Acres Elementary School students to school. Right, members of the Felix ship cheer as their classmates arrive at school. They are, from left, second grader Cole Fisher, first grader Audrey Alexander, kindergartners Camden Albin and Murdoch Young, third

Willow Brook Elementary School second grader Cayden Hadley mines a cookie for chocolate chips using a tool he designed.

Pattonville Heights Middle School eighth graders created flipped house designs and presented them to classmates. Shown are, from left, Kaylee Dyer, Sofia Hailstone, Elllie Cowin and Rihanna Carter.

Student-led store gives management experience, offers clothes for purchase

When prom was coming up, Pattonville High School had a place students could go to get affordable and fashionable dresses and suits to wear for the big night. That place was Pete’s Closet, a store run inside the school by students in Dr. Julie Ross’s College Credit Fashion and Interior Merchandising class. Students get first-hand experience in running a business with marketing and merchandising focuses. In addition to running Pete’s Closet, students participate in related classroom curriculum. Pete’s Closet allows the school to incorporate a merchandising class in the fashion and interior design pathway.

“Pete’s Closet is a sustainable, stylish student-run store,” senior Kenedi Jenkins said. “It’s for any kids who are in need of clothing or who just want to come in and shop and can use discounts on clothing. Anybody at Pattonville and the district can come here. Anybody can donate.”

Students are in charge of all aspects of running the store. Every week, they each have different job assignments such as marketing, advertising, social media, sorting donations, price tagging clothes, organizing and cleaning the store, optimizing the presentation of products, repairing clothing items or typing up a merchandising credit.

That is one of the great things about Pete’s Closet. Students who donate clothes can get credit to shop, so it’s a win-win for everyone and helps keep the cycle of getting new clothes going.

“I’ve seen a lot of students in need come in looking around and then they find out they have store credit because we allow people to donate their store credit to a student in need,” sophomore Courtney Fox said.

If someone offers to donate their store credit, Ross works with the school counselor to identify a student to transfer the credit to and then she adds it to their accounts, to keep the student’s name confidential.

“There have been a lot of cases I’ve seen where people are like ‘Oh, I really like this. Can I put this on hold?’ We get to tell them they have store credit and can buy it now,” Fox said.

Not all of the items are used, either. Fox said that they recently received a donation of Ralph Lauren polos

that were brand new with the tags still on.

“Please donate to Pete’s Closet,” Fox said. “It’s a really good cause. A lot of people rely on it for getting new clothes that they need for the school year or for events. Donating helps the cycle of clothes go around and it helps sustainability as well.”

The focus on sustainability is top of mind for Ross. She shared that the world produces 92 million tons of textile waste every year, with the U.S. contributing 17 million tons, which is the second highest behind China. Additionally, between 80 billion and 100 billion new clothing garments are produced globally every year, with fast fashion being one of the biggest contributors.

“Shopping second-hand is a great way to help combat textile waste and is necessary for the sustainability of our planet,” Ross said. “I think this group of students has a great viewpoint on shopping second-hand. There are many who love shopping at second-hand stores and often sell their clothes to earn money. We also have been using Pete’s Closet as a way to promote and inform students about sustainability and the need to reduce textile waste in our landfills.”

Sustainability is something the students are also focused on. When a donated item can’t be sold for money, it either goes on a free rack that is available to all or, if it’s stained or ripped beyond repair or generally not wearable, the fabric is donated and can be used at animal shelters, for quilting and at other service-based organizations.

A lot of work went into reopening Pete’s Closet this year, which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. But it’s been an enjoyable process, and the students love seeing the positive response by their classmates.

“And we’ve turned it into a place where students like to shop,” Fox said.

The re-opening of Pete’s Closet was in January, and for prom, they sold eight dresses and one suit jacket, which everyone was excited about considering the store had only been open to donations and purchases for about four months before the big night. Ross was able to attend prom and could pinpoint those clothing items, but no one else would know.

“Prom is my favorite event to chaperone,” Ross said.

PARKWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

“I love seeing students all dressed up, and it is a great excuse to get dressed up myself. It was such a great feeling seeing students wearing our dresses from Pete’s Closet, they all looked great and no one would have ever guessed they were second-hand/thrifted dresses.”

Ross and the student workers are looking at ways they can expand store hours, which would also open shopping to the entire community.

“Pete’s Closet is just not for high school students,” Jenkins said. “We’re planning on making it for everyone — parents in the Pattonville community who need it, elementary school kids who need clothes or if middle school kids need clothes. It’s the whole Pattonville community so don’t feel like this is only for high schoolers.”

Overall, for Ross, this has been an incredibly positive experience for the students in her class.

“I have loved seeing the pride on my students’ faces as we have grown this program from a room with a bunch of clothes thrown in it to a fully functioning store,” Ross said. “They have worked extremely hard this year to get the store back up and running. They have taken everything with stride and haven’t let all of our hurdles get them down. They all worked together to fulfill our vision, and we had a blast doing it.”

Coding, STEAM unit expends library exploration

Surrounded by books, students at Parkwood Elementary School built structures with Legos, coded a robot, drew with a 3D pen and did more activities beyond the normal searching for books. It was part of the school’s coding and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) experience during a six-week program in the school library.

Their library session began with the normal library activities — like returning and checking out books — but after, students had time to spend exploring various activities to build their STEAM skills.

The unit started in December with the Hour of Code, which is always well-received by students. Afterward, each week, students signed up for a different activity. There are about 20 activities, but library technology specialist Dawn Kasper-Bamberger plans to continue adding new gadgets each year so students have new experiences to choose from.

“I like everything about this,” said second grader Grace McIntyre who was driving a Dash robot. “I like trying new stuff. This robot is pretty fun, but it’s actual-

ly very hard because you have to pick it up to make sure that it’s working and then you can make it move. You have to make sure he doesn’t go off the table because it could fall and probably break.”

Some of the activities included creating with magnetic tiles, driving a Dash robot and using a TracerBot to create a path for a small robot to follow.

“My favorite is the marble maze because it just has a bunch of obstacles but I like trying to figure it out,” second grader Joey Garofalo said. “It’s sometimes frustrating, like this won’t go straight. You have to play with it to figure it out.”

Students partner up to problem solve as they learn to operate each coding gadget or create structures and objects using some of the other kits.

“Coding has become the students’ favorite time of the year in the library,” Kasper-Bamberger said. “They enjoy being able to make decisions about what they want to learn and trying new activities. Being able to work together solving problems with hands-on activities brings student engagement to an all-time high.”

Pattonville High School senior Kenedi Jenkins, left, and sophomore Courtney Fox dress a mannequin outside of Pete’s Closet. The dress they selected was available for someone to purchase to wear to prom.

Second graders in Heather Wilkerson’s class at Parkwood Elementary School participate in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) activities while also getting books from the library. Above, from second to left, Grace McIntyre, Braylynn Reed and Kaysen Preston watch librarian Dawn Kasper-Bamberger, left, demonstrate how to use a TracerBot after they check out books. At right, Haven Thomas drives a Dash robot on the library floor.

BRIDGEWAY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

First International Garden Night lets families explore cultures of school’s students

Students at Bridgeway Elementary School were invited to learn about their classmates’ cultures through activities, stories and food during International Garden Night. It was a first-of-its-kind event at Bridgeway and 25 countries were represented.

The event was organized by Bridgeway staff including English learner specialists Andrea Daud, Keri Gleason and Stacey Hill, math interventionist Jim Gleason, reading teacher Jeanne Fernandez, fourth grade teacher Sarah Galbreath and English learner paraprofessional Ana Garofalo. They had the support of countless other staff and community members.

“This event is a great way to celebrate the diversity of our school, bring people together using common interests like storytelling, playing games, gardening and a parade,” Hill said.

Staff members read books and supported students in artistic and cultural activities from 11 of the countries where Bridgeway students come from. Paraprofessional Jane Ung read “Dumpling Dreams” and then showed students how to make dumplings out of modeling clay. Other books included “Pepe and the Parade” paired with making papel picado, a traditional Mexican craft made with colorful paper sheets and intricate cut-out details; “Mufaro’s Daughter” about Zimbabwe; and “Sitti’s Olive Trees” about Palestine, where students also got to taste hummus and pita.

There were also a number of games that students could play from around the world. They included jianzi, similar to hacky sack, from China; kickball Mexicana; Save the Savannah from Kenya, a card game combining aspects of charades and matching; cincos of Guatemala, a game similar to Connect Four; tripa chuca, a matching game, from El Salvador; and a ball game called doorkeeper from Afghanistan.

One of the most popular areas was the art classroom where attendees could experience the art of henna tattoos. Additionally, the school hosted a fundraiser to support the people of Turkey after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in February. A total of $64.87 was collected that evening, which was added to the $1,174.25 collected by the

DRUMMOND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Pack the Piggy Banks fundraiser by the K-Kids student group.

The culminating activity was a parade of flags around the gym. Each student in attendance was given a flag that featured the native countries that Bridgeway’s students are from. They then paraded around the gym to the song “Wavin’ Flag” by K’Naan.

“The event was created from the desire to celebrate the diverse cultures represented within the Bridgeway school community,” Hill said.

Integrating the garden was important because of the work that has gone into making the space a welcoming place for leisure, for academics and for the cultural impact gardens have. The garden committee, organized by Fernandez, also wanted the garden to highlight the cultures within Bridgeway.

“They have worked tirelessly to create a space for the students at Bridgeway that reflects the diversity within our school,” Hill said. “People use gardening around the world. The spring is a great time to plant seeds and it was a great way to incorporate social studies into our international event with the study of spices and seeds used in Japan. We want our school and its spaces to be a creative place that reflects not just student interest but culture as well.”

Due to rain, the garden portion of the evening was moved inside, but the outdoor oasis was transported into the cafeteria. Students there were able to plant seeds that were native to Japan, including kuroda carrots, shishito peppers and wasabi radishes. They took their new plants home to nurture them so they could start their own vegetable garden. In addition to planting, a box of dirt from the garden was brought inside so students could put their hands in it and even play with worms.

“All students, families, staff and community members benefit from learning about cultures around the world,” Hill said. “Many families, not just our multicultural families, attended and learned so much. We loved hearing the kids tell other kids the next day, ‘Hey, I learned how to play a game from your country. Do you want to play it at recess?’ It is so powerful to watch the kids come together.”

May the Fourth provides opportunity for learning, fun

The Force is strong with the Dragons at Drummond Elementary School. May 4, or May the Fourth be with you, marks a celebration of all things Star Wars.

“I’m just a massive Star Wars fan and May 4 this year was on a Thursday and I thought, ‘How cool would it be to do something?’” fourth grade teacher Courtney Cady said. “It started out as a joke, but we put together a committee and started tossing around ideas on how we could make it a cool day and get kids excited about school.”

Students were welcomed to school by surprise guests. Members of the 70th Explorers Garrison, a subdivision of the 501st Legion, greeted bus riders and students being dropped off at school. Staff members were also outside, some wearing Star Wars T-shirts, but the students (and some parents) were more excited to see the professional quality Star Wars characters like Boba Fett, a Jedi and Chewbacca.

Third grade teacher Ryan Parker knew about the 70th Explorers Garrison, a volunteer-based organization that makes appearances at no charge, and invited its members to visit Drummond. Other teachers have found ways to incorporate the movies into lessons. PE teacher Kevin Hughes created pool noodle lightsabers and has used

them in class activities.

Second grade teacher Nicole Dye said there was a lot of staff and student buy-in for the event.

“Teachers were encouraged to do however much they wanted, but the students were definitely very into it,” Dye said. “There aren’t a lot of days off of school after spring break, but this sort-of holiday was something they got excited about and looked forward to.”

Students and staff wearing Star Wars attire participated in an Imperial March throughout the building led by Parker who was dressed as Darth Vader.

Cady has plans to expand the school’s Star Wars celebration next year.

“We hope to tie in some of the Jedi Code a little bit more because it really embodies what our school’s character education is all about,” she said. “The ideals such as peace and knowledge are some of the same things we’re trying to learn with our character education.”

May 4, 2024, is on a Saturday but there will be another celebration at school. As Yoda once said, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

“We’re doing it again next year,” Cady said. “It might just be May the Fourth be with you tomorrow instead.”

Bridgeway Elementary School hosted its first International Garden Night for families that included activities, food and a parade of flags. Left, community volunteer Samia Jaber, right, add a henna tattoo for Harrison Hardy, left, as his sister kindergartner Amelia Hardy looks at her own henna art. Center, paraprofessional Jane Ung, right, demonstrates making a dumpling out of modeling clay. Participants include, from left, second grader Oliver Naes, kindergartners Everly Naes and Titus Hiltner and third grader Audrey Hiltner. Right, a station for planting seeds native to Japan included kuroda carrots. Shown are, from left, second grader Kaleb David; third grader Caden Braggs; Eli Walker, a younger sibling of a Bridgeway student; and first grader Andrea Martinez Albarenga.

Top, fourth grader Justin Harris, right, identifies Star Wars characters with Chewbacca in the Drummond Elementary School library. Above, third grade teacher Ryan Parker, dressed as Darth Vader, leads an Imperial March around the school.

BRAGGING WRITES

Honors, Awards and Achievements by Pattonville Students and Staff

PARKWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Greater St. Louis Science Fair

Earning a blue ribbon at the St. Louis Science Fair were Helen Besserman and Lucy Johnson. Students who earned a red ribbon were kindergartner Hannah Newton, second graders Madeline Cremer, Josephine Howard, Alesha Kureshi, Apollo Littlejohn and Ezra Shanks and fourth grader Catherine Howard. These students were sponsored by first grade teacher Tiffany Laughlin and fifth grade teacher Regina Wright.

ROSE ACRES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Greater St. Louis Science Fair

At the St. Louis Science Fair, earning a blue ribbon were Tarren Neels, Liam Wilson, who also earned the American Statistical Association Award, and Raelyn Wilson, who also earned the MOST 529 Award. The following students from PEGS earned ribbons: Pearl Krieger and Jackson McCullough earned a blue ribbon and Will Purnell earned a red ribbon. The students enrolled in PEGS were taught by Allison Bennett and Robin Chang. Additionally, a kindergarten classroom earned a blue ribbon for their group project. Students who were part of that class were Camden Albin, Leia Brown, Anita Cabello, Chase Graham, Dominic Harrison, Amias Moser, Irma Rios Pineda, Nayeli Ruiz, Cesiley Sanders, Skylin Sanders, Dash Thornton and Kennady Wagner. These kindergarten students were taught by Nicole Hubbard.

WILLOW BROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Greater St. Louis Science Fair

HOLMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Twirling competition

Eighth grade student Olivia Monroe earned honors for her performances at the Twirling is Fun contest in Cerro Gordo, Illinois. Individually, she placed first for routines in primary basic strut, novice parade strut, primary open solo, novice visitor solo, primary solo and primary basic strut. She was also part of the SugarBabies baton twirling team that earned first place in youth small twirl team and senior show trip as well as second place in junior small halftime twirl team.

Band honors

Students earned a 1 rating for their performance at the Solo and Small Ensemble Festival. They were Moe Baczynski, Camila Hernandez Marquez and Mason Hunt for alto saxophone; Taitum Edwards for bass clarinet; Peter Burk, Raymoen Goodrich

Parkwood Elementary School students who had art featured at DePaul include, from left, front row, Emilia Wood, Ava West, Micah Collins, Kiersten Lohagen, Ava Hall and Ava Gumble; second row, Dayana Al Amri, Addison Claspill, Aubrey Fuchs, Abrish Kainat, Lainey Early and Raeghen Brown; and, back row, Kayley Austin and Mackenzie Pickett.

Art of Healing Wall

Students were selected to have their artwork hung on the Art of Healing Wall exhibit space at SSM Health DePaul Hospital from February to May this year. Since 2012, DePaul has worked with Pattonville art teachers to select, exhibit and honor student artwork. Artwork from different Pattonville schools is featured on the Art of Healing Wall on a rotating basis. Students whose art was on display were: Dayana Al Amri, Cheyenne Archie, Kayley Austin, Easton Beck, Kensley Bowden, Raeghen Brown, Avery Cantrell, Kason Ciaravino, Addison Claspill, Malia Collins, Micah Collins, Malakai Collins, Kiley Craig, Hope Cunningham, Quinn Dannegger, Lainey Early, Dani Eisen, Aubrey Fuchs, Carleigh Gales, Ava Gumble, Ava Hall, Dylan Howard, Bayan Jaber, Zander Jackson, Abrish Kainat, Orlaith Keane, Princess Leahman, Kiersten Lohagen, Amelia MacLean, Elise Merrick, Skylar Mitchell, Amani Moore, Ava Payne, Ethan Payne, Paulette Perez Sanchez, MacKenzie Pickett, Rachel Pierce, Noah Ruffin, Zayn Saleh, Mason Salvato, Nori Stewart, Luke Stranghoener, Wyatt Stranghoener, Owen Strauser, Zoe Valladares-Esquivel, Ava West, Emilia Wood and Aiden Young. These students were taught by art teachers Janel MacLean and Michelle Petke.

Earning honors at the St. Louis Science Fair were kindergartner Lindsey Jamieson, who earned a blue ribbon and the MOST 529 Award, and first grader Holly Rasmussen who earned a red ribbon. These students’ projects were sponsored by Brandy Fowler.

Community development leader

Social and emotional support specialist Lakeisha Griffin was selected as a University of Missouri Extension Leader honoree for service completed as a community development facilitator.

REMINGTON TRADITIONAL SCHOOL Band honors

Band students who earned an exemplary rating at the Solo and Small Ensemble Festival were Hebron Ephrem for alto solo; Gabby Cruz and Juliana Huling for flute solo; Sophia Rassoolkhani for bass clarinet solo; Fiker Zelealem for flute solo; Jaden Zych for percussion solo; Cruz and Rassoolkhani for woodwind duet; and Bami Fekadu, Huling and Parker May for flute trio. The Remington band was directed by Andrew Smith.

Jr., Sarah Hicks, Maritza Lopez Martinez, Zoe Means, Karina Vazquez Jimenez and Kimberly Vidal Herrarte for clarinet; Zion Fowler, Markus Istephan Center, Zoey Pollard, Ann Russell and Esmeralda Vargas for flute; Joshua Bean, Elijah Green, Blake Meriwether, Eva Pulley and Abigail Silverstein for percussion; Edgar Toledo Avalos for trombone; Samuel Guthrie, Emmanuel Hopgood, Jacob Langston, Brody Lee and Jaylen Sleet for trumpet; and Trenton Morell for tuba. The band was directed by Adam Hall and Steve White.

Choir honors

At the Solo and Ensemble Festival, three students earned a 1 rating. They were Dylan Blassingame for choir solo, Mikayla Meekie for choir solo and choir duet and Chloé Tate for choir duet. Selected to the 6th Grade Honors Choir were: Caroline Dachroeden, Deandre Duncan Jr., Alyssa Mack, Sydeny Martin, Alissia Medina, Whitney Murray, Journey Thomas, Taylor Williams and Marcus Young. Students selected to the 7th/8th Grade Honors Choir were Blassingame, Morgan Booth, Jada Duncan, Riley Dye, Ava Flores, Khalei Jimerson, Meekie, Olivia Monroe, Khadime Seck, Rylie Smith and Tate. The choir also earned a 1 rating at the Large Group and Six Flags Music festivals. Members were Blassingame, Booth, Dachroeden, Duncan, Duncan Jr., Dye, Flores, Jimerson, Mack, Martin, Medina, Meekie, Monroe, Murray, Seck, Smith, Tate, Thomas, Williams and Young. At the Large Group Festival, the following students, in addition to those previously announced, participated in the group that earned a 1 rating: Aryana Firrow, Selena Jackson, Arabella Lammers, Aven McClain, Christian McClain, Leon McFarland and Brianna Todd. The Holman choir was directed by Larry

Knobel.

Lindsey Jamieson

Lakeisha Griffin

Parkwood Elementary School students who earned honors at the St. Louis Science Fair include, from left, front row, Lucy Johnson, Apollo Littlejohn and Hannah Newton and, back row, Josephine Howard, Helen Besserman, Catherine Howard and Ezra Shanks.

Rose Acres Elementary School students who earned ribbons at the St. Louis Science Fair include, from left, front row, Tarren Neels, Raelyn Wilson and Nayeli Ruiz and, back row, Jackson McCullough, Liam Wilson, Dominic Harrison and Dash Thornton.

Holman Middle School band students include, from left, front row Brody Lee, Taitum Edwards, Zion Renee Fowler and Jaylen Sleet; second row, Mason Hunt, Camila Hernandex Marquez and Zoey Pollard; and, back row, Kimberly Vidal Herrarte, Maritza Lopez Martinez and Manny Hopgood.

Members of the Remington Traditional School band include, from left, Hebron Ephrem, Bami Fekadu and Juliana Huling.

Choir honorees from Holman Middle School include, from left, front row, Riley Dye, Leon McFarland, Marcus Young and Selena Jackson and, back row, Mikayla Meekie, Chloé Tate and Brianna Todd.

BRAGGING WRITES

Honors, Awards and Achievements by Pattonville Students and Staff

Orchestra honors

Students who earned a 1 rating at the Solo and Ensemble Festival were: Marwa Asadullah, Clare Derhake, Brendon Johnson and Bricyn Love for violin solo and Mila Camenzind, Aria Kuhn, Ayaan Kureshi and Oliver Strauser for string duet. The orchestra was directed by Carlye Feeney.

PATTONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

Orchestra honors

The following students earned a 1 rating at the Solo and Small Ensemble Festival: Dylan Blassingame for cello solo; Chelsey Felder and Zayden Patel for violin solo; Drake Kelly for viola solo; Kloie Cossey and Savannah Hernandez for string duet; and McKinsley Baker, Josiane Mbu and Ciara Ratliff for string quartet. The following students were part of the orchestra that earned a 1 rating at the Large Group Music festival: Addison Blach, Blassingame, Macie Bowersox, Alexis Burroughs, Keegan Clancy, Caleb Correa, Noah Cox, Jimmy Dinh, Gabrielle Dockery, Elijah Durso, Ethan Fajardo, Felder, Kaylee Gooden, Gianna Hamrick, Jaydn Havrick, Isabella Henrixson, Aubrey Holdren, Hannah Hope, Mikayla Johnson, Kelly, Madelyn Kirton, Sophia Lewis, Patel, Alexis Schmid, Naomi Trinh, Ca’Liyah Wallace, Arrianna Watson and Nathaniel Wilfong. The orchestra was directed by Irena Goren-Scheer.

PATTONVILLE HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Band honors

Students from the Pattonville Heights band earned a 1 rating for their performances at the Solo and Ensemble Festival. They were: Olivia Hurd, Lakshman Kamalakkannan and Chi’Marreon Walker for alto sax solo; Noah Bass for bass clarinet solo; Graciela Esquivel and Maya Roberts for clarinet solo; Anna Click, Max Donohue, Olivia Engelke, Caleb Harrington, Hailie Jackson, Alexis Leap, Addyson Peterman, Rana Selli and Lauren Wasser for flute solo; Edward Bagsby, Josh Fulks Jr., Dorian Johnson, Magnus Maclin and Haddie Wiggins for mallet solo; Jocelyn Harris for tenor saxophone solo; Thomas Reddy for timpani solo; Omolola Ogunmola for trombone solo; Thomas Gregory for trumpet solo; Brandon Cuellar Guzman and Evan Spell for percussion duet; Hurd and Isabella Sanfillippo for saxophone duet; Thaddeus Bibb, Gabe Mueller and Penelope Vandernoot for percussion trio; and Scarlet Huber, Roberts, Kemorah Robinson and Londyn Watts for clarinet quartet. The band was directed by Abigail Hall and Liz Pace.

Choir honors

The following students earned a 1 rating for their vocal solo performance at the Solo and Small Ensemble Festival: Kaylee Dyer, Lily Gamino, Sofia Hailstone, Kennedy Lerdahl and Tula Stewart. The choir was directed by Kurtis Heinrich.

Youth in Action Ambassador Award

Junior Faith Thompson was selected to receive the 2023 Youth in Action Ambassador Award. Youth in Action is a service group of sixth through 12th grade students dedicated to helping the St. Louis community. The executive director of Youth in Action presented this award to Thompson for being a selfless and outstanding member of the organization and completing over 500 hours of community service this school year.

Boys/Girls State

Three students were accepted to attend the American Legion Missouri State program. Accepted to attend the Boys State session were Nicholas Rice and Aryan Sankpal. Haleigh Rigdon was accepted to attend the Girls State session. During the program, students across the state gather to develop knowledge of government at the city, county and state levels and the role and impact of politics; gain an understanding of the privileges and responsibilities of citizens; enhance their leadership skills; and realize their own potential.

DECA international/state conferences

Kellen Williams placed first in the principles of finance event at the state DECA conference, qualifying him to compete at the DECA international conference. Additional students who competed at the state conference were: Macy Avery in the business finance event; Damon Stinekraus in the business law and ethics decision making event; Chance Langley and Michael McComb in the business plan event; Pamela Mensah in the business services marketing event; Paige Boyce and Antania Pratt in the financial team decision making event; Bailey Shields in the sports and entertainment marketing event; and Tanvir Talukder in the start-up business plan event. The DECA students were sponsored by career instructional specialist Dr. Raghib Muhammad.

Band honors

Two seniors were selected to the AllNational Marching and Concert bands for the second consecutive year. They were Max McFarland and Sydney Suvansri.

McFarland was also named the 2023 National Band Student of the Year. Additionally, members of the band performed at the State Music Festival after earning an exemplary rating at the district Solo and Small Ensemble Festival. The students who earned a gold medal at the State Music Festival were: Janani Kamalakkannan and Marques Rutlin for soprano clarinet solo; Jack Caesar for trombone solo; Patrick Ferguson and Peter McCullough for trumpet solo; Ivan Bradley, Madelyn Condado and Marlaina Corson for flute trio; Ferguson, McCullough and McFarland for trumpet trio; and Zoe Click, Joey Stewart and Suvansri for mixed woodwind trio. The students who earned a silver medal at the State Music Festival were: Alyssa Moses for flute solo; Bradley and Suvansri for soprano clarinet solo; Kyle Brenner, Colin Darrah, Floyd Davis III, Andrew Koller, Kyle Manker, Ethan Massey, Sheridan Phillips, Adam Reddy and Isabelle Usry for saxophone trio; and Zaire Bradsher, Jayden Essex and Miles Wick for miscellaneous brass ensemble. Additionally, students in jazz band were selected to receive an Outstanding Musicianship award at the Jazz in the Meadows Jazz Festival. They are: Diego Halbeck for piano; Romero King Jr. for tenor saxophone; and McFarland and Hunter Riley for trumpet. The band was directed by teachers Denny McFarland, Laura Livesay and Anna White.

Choir honors

The following students earned an exemplary rating for their vocal performance at the Solo and Small Ensemble Festival: Robye Bozeman-Nettles, Savannah Branson, Jon-Michael Brown II, Olivia Dalton, Patrick Ferguson, Lucas Gerst, Diego Halbeck, Maggie Haselbauer, Kenedi Jenkins, Jahlil Johnson, Miranda Lopez, Xavion Moore, Omolara Ogunmola, Paul Palermo, Aubrie Pena, Jakayla

Townsel and Javan Williams. The choir was directed by teachers Tracy Baker and Melynda Lamb.

Holman Middle School orchestra honorees include, from left, front row, Arrianna Watson and Sophia Lewis; second row, Zayden Patel and Ca’Liyah Wallace; and, back row, Drake Kelly, Keegan Clancy and Chelsey Felder.

Members of the Pattonville Heights Middle School choir include Lily Gamino, left, and Kennedy Lerdahl.

Named to Boys State were Nicholas Rice, left, and Aryan Sankpal.

Choir students who earned exemplary ratings at the Solo and Small Ensemble Festival include, from left, Robye BozemanNettles, Miranda Lopez and Xavion Moore. Participants in the DECA conference include, from left, front row, Antania Pratt and Chance Langley; second row, Tanvir Talukder and sponsor Dr. Raghib Muhammad; and, back row, Damon Stinekraus.

Pattonville Heights Middle School orchestra students include, from left, Brendon Johnson, Aria Kuhn and Bricyn Love.

Members of the high school band include, Jayden Essex, left, and Romero King Jr.

BRAGGING WRITES

Honors, Awards and Achievements by Pattonville Students and Staff

Baseball honors

Five baseball players were named academic all-state: Charlie Burns, Kyle Manker, Max McFarland, Jackson Podmore and Tyler Floyd. Players also earned all-conference honors. Students named all-conference first team were: Mason Lee as a pitcher, Keegan Fowler for infield, Dylan Stewart for outfield and Tyler Pinkley as a utility player. Students named all-conference second team were: Burns and Floyd as pitchers and Manker for utility. Podmore was named all-conference honorable mention as a catcher. Students who were named academic all-conference were: Burns, Manker, McFarland and Podmore. Nate Friedrich was selected to receive the all-conference sportsmanship award. The team was coached by Victor Fink with the assistance of Christian Brinser.

Lacrosse honors

Named all-conference first team were Christina Bae and Jessica Bae. Katie Piña was named all-conference second team. Hallie Friedrich was named all-conference honorable mention. The team was coached by Hannah Cooper with the assistance of Sophia Zegar.

Soccer honors

Allison Schrumpf was named an all-state second team defender and Mattie Ohlsen was an all-state honorable mention midfielder. Both were also named academic all-state. Jordyn Maryas, Ohlsen and Schrumpf were named all-conference first team. Britini Benedict was named all-conference second team and selected to receive the sportsmanship award. The team was coached by Tomi Benney with the assistance of Tom Iffrig.

Tennis honors

Beckett Grabner was named all-conference first team in singles and was selected to receive the allconference sportsmanship award. Students named all-conference second team were Christopher Braggs in singles and doubles and Muhammad Faisal, Grabner and Blake Simpson in doubles. The team was coached by Jeff Grass with the assistance of Shaun Patrick.

Boys track and field honors

Volleyball honors

The following students were named academic all-state: Jon-Michael Brown II, Tyler Egbert, Xander Werthmuller and Isaiah White. Players named alldistrict first team were Kyluan Braselman, Khalil Peterson, Cody Shaw, Werthmuller and White. At the conference level, White was named all-conference second team. Players named all-conference honorable mention were Peterson, Shaw and Werthmuller. Braselman was also selected to receive the all-conference sportsmanship award. The team is coached by Jenell Franken with the assistance of Allison McNamara.

Water polo honors

Water polo players were named to all-conference teams. Logan Finn was named all-conference second team. Lucy Hartley, Janani Kamalakkannan, Riley Steinbecker and Isabelle Usry were named academic all-conference. The water polo team was coached by Tom Crockett with the assistance of Gabe Faron.

Outstanding Cooperating Teacher

Bowling honors

Students participated in the 2023 Missouri State High School Scratch Bowling Tournament. The team went undefeated in the qualifier tournament and placed third at the state competition. Additionally, two students were also named to all-star teams: Donald Simpkins was named to the boys all-star team and DonMonique Simpkins was named to the girls all-star team and also won the U18 Girls Division at the 2023 Pepsi Tournament in April. The Pepsi United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Youth Championships is a nationwide tournament open to all USBC youth members. The following students were part of the third place team: Jacob Baalmann, Charlie Burns, Jaden Jenner, John O’Connell, Peyton Steiner and Nicholas Toler. The bowling team was coached by Darrell Langston and Christine Wheeler.

Golf honors

Lukas Cates was named all-conference first team and Patrick Clifford was named all-conference second team. The team was coached by Scott Hutson with the assistance of David Gross.

Members of the boys track and field team competed at state. Placing sixth at state and second at sectionals was the 4x100 meter relay team of runners and alternate Camden Adams, Anthony Clark, Alfred Jenkins, Joseph Seals and Brandon Slaughter. The 4x400 meter relay team of runners and alternate Adams, Jenkins, Slaughter, Ryan Hayes and Donavon Vogler qualified for state and placed third at sectionals. Qualifying for sectionals was the 4x800 meter relay team of Hayes, Jackson Powell, Luke Stevenson and Vogler. In individual competitions, Stevenson earned 12th place at state and second at sectionals in the 3200 meter race and Slaughter placed first in the 200 meter race at sectionals. The boys track team was coached by Chaun Tate with the assistance of Dominic Licameli, Matt McClellan and William Roach.

Girls track and field honors

Students on the girls track and field team qualified to compete at state and earned individual and team honors. The 4x400 meter relay team of A’Lalji Bradley, Makayla Brown, Camryn Hubbard and Gabrielle Hurd placed third at state. They also earned all-conference honors: Bradley placed second in the 200 and 400 meter dashes and was named Conference Athlete of the Year; Hubbard placed fifth in the 800 meter run and was named all-conference first team; and Brown and Hurd were named all-conference second team. Additional students who qualified for the state championship were Kaylee Corona Damian and Rebecca Simpkins. Additionally, Riley Riesen was named all-conference honorable mention. The team was coached by Corey Lewis with the assistance of Margaret Hall and Kayla Smith.

Pattonville High School science teacher Vicki Emerson was selected by Lindenwood University to receive the Outstanding Cooperating Teacher Award. This award recognizes a teacher for hosting a student teacher candidate from Lindenwood.

DISTRICT

Business Emerald Award

Human resources director Candice Wayne received the Business Month Emerald Award from the Alpha Zeta chapter of Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. This award recognizes an outstanding business professional for accomplishments in business and the community. Wayne was recognized at the organization’s Business Month Awards Dinner on April 30 at the Sheraton Westport Chalet Hotel. Proceeds from the event went to the sorority’s local scholarship fund to help make college more affordable for incoming high school graduates.

Transportation competition

Three Pattonville transportation staff members placed third at the Missouri Association for Pupil Transportation Regional Safety Competition. They were Jim Dickerson, Regina Dunmire and Greg Zemblidge, who also placed first in the individual conventional buses division.

Candice Wayne

Katie Piña

Lucy Hartley

Vicki Emerson

Members of the bowling team include, from left, front row, DonMonique Simpkins and sponsor Christine Wheeler and, back row, Jacob Baalmann, John O’Connell and Donald Simpkins.

Members of the tennis team include Muhammad Faisal, left, and Blake Simpson.

Volleyball players who earned all-state and all-district honors include Khalil Peterson, left, and Isaiah White.

Baseball players named all-conference first team include Keegan Fowler, left, and Dylan Stewart.

Important information about re-enrollment

Parents/guardians of students returning to the Pattonville School District in August will receive an email on July 7 notifying them that returning student registration is available online. The email will provide step-by-step instructions for completing the registration process. If returning student registration is not completed, a student will not receive a schedule or be added to a class list, depending on their grade level. Parents/guardians are asked to take a few moments to complete their returning student registration to ensure their student is ready for the first day of school. The deadline to complete returning student registration is Aug. 7 for middle and high schools and Aug. 11 for elementary schools and Remington Traditional School. The first day of school for the 2023-2024 school year is Aug. 21. Additional information and details on new student enrollment can be found at www.psdr3.org/enrollment.

Oasis tutors honored

Pattonville celebrated the end of the year with an Oasis Appreciation Luncheon on May 24. The Oasis program trains volunteer senior adults to work one-on-one with elementary-aged children on reading, writing and communication skills. During the event, tutors received special recognition for reaching milestones in their service to Pattonville students.

This year, Pattonville had more than 35 tutors commit to spending time each week with a student. Honored for 15 years were Judy Barnett, Margaret Dickinson and Carol Hutchinson. Recognized for 10 years were Paula Brose, Pam Marquardt and Martha Murphy. Marking five years of service were Joseph Molinaro, Janice Reithmaier, Laurel Soltesz-Jones and Anthony Todd.

Those interested in becoming an Oasis tutor can contact Gracie Wrinkle, Pattonville community relations specialist, at wrinkleg02@psdr3.org or (314) 213-8025.

High school recognizes Top 10 seniors

Pattonville High School recognized its Top 10 seniors based on grade point averages after seven semesters of high school. These students had grade point averages (GPAs) that fell between a 4.49 and 4.731 on a weighted scale. The Top 10 seniors in the Class of 2023, their declared majors and the universities they will attend are:

1. Sarah Pieper will major in philosophy, neuroscience and psychology at Washington University in St. Louis;

2. Ben Holland will major in urban planning at Missouri State University;

3. Allison Schrumpf plans to major in data science and earned a scholarship to play Division I soccer at Lindenwood University;

4. Abram Schario was a recipient of the Vice Presidents’ Scholarship and will major in chemistry and be a part of the pre-medical program at Saint Louis University;

5. Sydney Suvansri plans to major in biology and minor in music at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville;

6. Talisa Prabhu received the Saints Scholarship and Dean’s Award in addition to the Chick-fil-A Leadership Scholarship and plans to earn a dual degree in the engineering field at Maryville University;

7. Katherine Kellner plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a certification in secondary education at Lindenwood University;

8. Hallie Friedrich will major in biology at the University of Arkansas;

9. Maichi Nguyen earned the Vice Presidents’ Scholarship and plans to study engineering based physics through the Honors Program at Saint Louis University;

10. Jayne Herter is planning to major in computer science and interactive digital media at Webster University.

PHS honors the Class of 2023 at Senior Awards Night

Members of the Class of 2023 were recognized during Senior Awards Night before graduation. Pattonville High School senior Allison Schrumpf was named the Outstanding Senior for the Class of 2023. The Outstanding Senior is chosen each year from teacher nominations.

The high school also honored several seniors with Outstanding Senior Departmental Awards and other special recognitions. Each department recognizes one student who has shown outstanding academic achievement, leadership and citizenship. This year’s departmental award winners are: Justin Alvey, technology and engineering; Macy Avery, business; Paige Boyce, ECHO yearbook; Natalia Chavez Medina, modern language (French); Delaney Cullinane, health sciences; Ryan Cutrell, science; Samantha Dayrit, Pirate Sports Network; Patrick Ferguson, vocal music; Beckett Grabner, social studies; Jayne Herter, English language arts; Benjamin Holland, modern language (German); Kyle Huynh, skilled technical sciences; Matthew Jacobi, Pirate Press newspaper; Max McFarland, band; Cordelia Matulewic, art; Sarah Nelson, theatre; Juan Pablo Morales Carmona, English learner; Miguel Perez, physical education; Sarah Pieper, orchestra; Talisa Prabhu, mathematics; Paige Rowland, family and consumer sciences; Allison Schrumpf, modern language (Spanish); Rebecca Simpkins, community service; and Tachinnah Tyler, production technology arts (Pirate TV).

Pattonville’s Oasis tutors were recognized for reaching milestone years of service this school year. Show are, from left, Laurel Soltesz-Jones, Joseph Molinaro and Anthony Todd with five years and Carol Hutchinson, Margaret Dickinson and Martha Murphy with 10 years. Pattonville’s Oasis coordinator is Gracie Wrinkle, right.

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The following students were recognized with special awards: Abriana Blue, Thomas Frick Service Award; Schrumpf, St. Louis PostDispatch Scholar Athlete; Alfred Jenkins Jr. and Pieper, Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Award of Excellence; Maliyah Harris, St. Louis County Outstanding Student Leader; Max McFarland, National Band Student of the Year. Special community scholarships were presented to recipients on stage followed by students being recognized with academic and achievement awards.

View a photo gallery from Senior Awards Night at bit.ly/SeniorAwardsNight23.

The Top 10 seniors in the Pattonville Class of 2023 are, from left, Sarah Pieper, Ben Holland, Allison Schrumpf, Abram Schario, Sydney Suvansri, Talisa Prabhu, Katherine Kellner, Hallie Friedrich, Maichi Nguyen and Jayne Herter.

Shown are the students who earned departmental awards during the 2023 Pattonville High School Senior Awards Night.

Allison Schrumpf was named the 2023 Outstanding Senior.

PHS staff, families attend City SC match, see first MLS goal for alumnus Perez

Members of the Pattonville community were in the stands at CityPark to see recent 2023 graduate Miguel “Miggy” Perez score his first MLS goal during the City SC match on May 27. This spring, the Pattonville School District inquired about getting a block of seats for a match to support the VilleMade and Homegrown midfielder. It just so happened that 50 seats for the match, just two days after graduation, were available. Those 50 tickets were offered to Pattonville High School staff, students and families via a random draw raffle system. In total, 16 families were able to purchase tickets to the match. The game, against Vancouver, ended with City winning 3-1 and Perez scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the second half.

Perez entered the match in the 73rd minute. The Pattonville block, along with the rest of the stadium, erupted in cheers. When Perez came in, City was ahead 2-0. About 10 minutes later, Vancouver scored its first goal of the match, closing the gap to 2-1. But in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Perez clinched the game by scoring an unassisted goal.

“It was a very special moment for me and my family as well; they were here,” Perez said in an interview with MLS 360 after the match. “I couldn’t do it without my teammates and the fans. When it (the ball) went in, I looked to my left because that’s where I was going, but my family is to the right. I had to run to them and show them love and then the fans after, they were amazing.”

Two days removed from graduation, the goal came as its own type of graduation gift. Compared to the other graduation gifts Perez has received, this was unique. Perez was able to keep the ball that scored, which will find a home in his room in a display case.

“I think tonight was very special,” Perez said in an interview after the match. “My first goal, I didn’t know what to think. It was amazing. That was a crazy moment.”

The block of seats with Pattonville families was located in Section 200, which provided the perfect sightline for Perez’s goal, which he scored in the net at that end of the field. The goal came after Eduard Löwen’s free kick was deflected at the corner by the Vancouver goalkeeper almost directly to Tomáš Ostrák, who kicked it towards the goal as Perez was running to the box. Perez scored cleanly in the top corner of the open goal.

“It was so special to be there for Miguel’s first goal as a member of the Pattonville High School community,” high school English learner teacher Sarah Holtmeyer-Hollstrom said. “The staff at the high school has been so excited getting to watch his progress as a part of the City team this year, so getting to be there in person to see his first MLS goal alongside many of my colleagues and their families was a really special moment.”

When she was waiting to get on the MetroLink to get to the stadium, Holtmeyer-Hollstrom was looking around the platform and came face-to-face with a massive picture of Perez in an ad for MetroLink recommending exactly what she was doing — taking public transportation to the match.

“It’s moments like this that remind me of how amazing his journey has been,” she said. “One day you’re saying good morning to a student in the hallway, and the next evening you’re seeing him on advertisements! All of his successes just make the faculty at PHS feel like we’re getting the privilege to watch something truly special play out. We are so proud of him. Even though he has graduated and we won’t be seeing him in the hallways anymore, we will all still be supporting him. Miguel has such a strong community of people at PHS who are wishing the absolute best for him, and we hope he has a long, successful career playing for his hometown.”

In addition to the block from Pattonville High School, a number of other Pattonville students, staff

ALUMNI SUCCESS

Graduates in the news

Tom Polcyn, Class of 1987 - Polcyn, who is a partner at Thompson Coburn LLP, and co-chair of the firm’s intellectual property group, was named to World Trademark Review (WTR)’s WTR 1,000 list for 2023. WTR 1000 is a list of the world’s leading trademark professionals and recognizes top trademark professionals and firms around the globe. Polcyn leads the experienced intellectual property team that focuses on strategic counseling, global IP portfolio management, licensing, enforcement, brand protection and dispute resolution for some of the world’s best-known consumer products companies and service providers.

Alyssa Potter, Class of 2014 - In March, Potter was selected as a PRNEWS Top Women in PR honoree in the Rising Star category. Potter is an account supervisor in the St. Louis office at FleishmanHillard. The Top Women Awards recognize supportive, innovative, inspiring women making an impact on their organizations. The honorees were celebrated at a ceremony in New York City on June 7. Potter graduated from Webster University in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations.

Kesley Kobielusz, Class of 2019 - Kobielusz joined the First Alert Weather Team full-time as the midday meteorologist at KOMU 8 in Columbia, Missouri.

and alumni were in attendance at the match on May 27. One of those staff members was Bridgeway Elementary School fifth grade teacher Alex Buerck. He was attending the game with his fiancé Grace Burgos, who teaches fifth grade at Rose Acres Elementary School, as well as Andrew Mahtani, Bridgeway’s social emotional support specialist.

“It was awesome,” Buerck said. “Every time Miguel has entered into the game, my group and I always make sure to remind the section where he goes to school. So, we were once again stoked when he entered the game late on Saturday. Whenever the third goal went in, the section started cheering and jumping around like usual. But it was almost like everyone all at once was turning to people around them and asking ‘Was that Miggy? Did Miggy get that one?!’ Then it seemed to get even louder, which I didn’t think was possible. It was actually kind of emotional. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to see it live in person with my fiancé and two friends that I went to Pattonville with a decade ago. I can’t even imagine what he must have been feeling because I was in disbelief.”

Perez became the second Homegrown player in the club’s history after signing a three-year MLS contract in early 2023. As of May 28, he has played in 11 games and started in five. Perez got his first professional goal in the US Open Cup. Perez said he plans to take some online college courses but is focused on soccer.

“My dream is to play in Europe in the big-time leagues over there,” Perez said. “But right now I’m just focusing on what I’m doing now and trying to get better.”

She began her position full time in February. Kobielusz started with KOMU in February 2021 as an intern and began working there part time in November 2021. This May, Kobielusz graduated from Mizzou with a bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science with a minor in geography.

Tymani Jones, Class of 2020 - Jones was selected as president of the Mahogany-N-Motion dance team at Spelman College next school year. The dance team recently performed at games for the New York Giants and Atlanta Hawks. Jones is a founding member and serves on the leadership team of the Spelman Dance Student Association (SDSA). Jones will be going into her senior year and is double majoring in dance performance choreography and management and organization business. Jones was also selected for a paid summer internship with the

Alvin Ailey Foundation in New York as their extension intern.

Tymani Jones

Alyssa Potter

Kesley Kobielusz

Two days after graduation, Pattonville families attend the City SC match on March 27 to cheer on alumnus Miguel Perez. They saw him score his first MLS goal that evening.

Photo courtesy of City SC Miguel Perez celebrates after scoring his first MLS goal during the match against Vancouver on May 27.

PATTONVILLE CLASS OF 2023

About Our Graduates

• 412 students graduated in the Class of 2023

• 89% plan on continuing their education at four-year universities, two-year colleges or career/technical/ apprenticeship programs

• Four students have enlisted in the military

• 140 earned the honors of summa, magna or cum laude (3.5 weighted GPA or greater)

• 64 earned A+ status, which makes them eligible for paid tuition to any Missouri community college or career education school

• 75 students earned industry-recognized credentials or certifications such as certified nurse assistant, 911 dispatching, education fundamentals, early childhood education, automotive service excellence, Boeing PreEmployment Training and ServSafe certification

• Seniors earned $8.1 million in scholarships

• Nine qualified to receive Missouri’s Bright Flight Scholarship based on earning an ACT score in the top 3% to 5% of Missouri students and attending a Missouri college or university

• Seniors completed 27,651 hours of community service during high school

• 23 earned community service honor cords for volunteering 150 hours or more

• Top 3 seniors for service hours: Rebecca Simpkins (605.5 hours), Katherine Kellner (460 hours) and Devin Scharer (342.75 hours)

IN THEIR WORDS...

Excerpts from the speeches by the Class of 2023

“Iwould like to thank Pattonville for being a safe place where all will learn, and have. You have been an awesome district that I am very lucky to have attended as a lifetimer. You instilled in us passion for many things by giving us many opportunities in and out of school. Without these opportunities, I know many of us would not have found our passions. Without Pattonville, I would not have had the opportunity to participate in our choirs for the last eight years. Making life-changing and binding relationships that I am so very thankful for that also opened the doors for my love of theater and challenging myself to go outside of my comfort zone.”

-From a speech by Miranda Lopez

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“My final piece of advice that I’d like to leave you with tonight is this: never neglect the people in your life. Every person you encounter has an unique set of knowledge and there is something each of them can teach you if you open yourself up to them. Continue to reflect on the lessons you learn, as you never know where you may find one that has a positive impact on the way you think each day.”

-From a speech by John “Wesley” Kiso

Members of the Class of 2023 celebrate on graduation night. At left, Syeda Fatima receives her diploma. At right, Jaren Turner waves at his family during graduation.

Kaylee Cofer shakes hands with Pattonville Board of Education president Mary Kay Campbell during graduation.

Maysen Page sends love to her fellow graduates and family before receiving her diploma.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Laura Rockwell covers her heart during the performance of the national anthem.

Peyton Steiner celebrates by showing off his high school diploma to his family during graduation.

Alex Knight gives a high five to his family after receiving his diploma during graduation.

Miguel Perez, right, shakes hands with superintendent Barry Nelson after receiving his diploma.

From left, Byron McNair, Casandra Medley O’Brien and Ana Mendiola smile while waiting to graduate.

At left, from left, soon-to-be Pattonville High School graduates Kimmea Hamilton, Jada Graham, Sasha Grant, Jasmine Gray and Jayden Hampton walk to their seats during the graduation processional. Right, Sean Hester celebrates on stage after receiving his diploma.