Highlights September 2022

More than 6,000 Pattonville students in preschool through 12th grade started school on Aug. 22. At top, Charlotte Evans, a student in Dan Derby’s fifth grade class at Bridgeway Elementary School, plays a cajon to the song “Run, Children Run” in Shannon Senzig’s music class. Behind her playing tubano drums are, from left, Francisco Caldera, Ezra Samayoa, Aron Kbrom and Henry Wasser. At left, students in Steve Edler’s honors algebra class at Pattonville High School build structures using spaghetti, tape and marshmallows. Freshman Lydia Fantahun, left, and junior Dylan Miklich, right, watch as their structure’s height is measured by Edler as sophomore Brandon Hurtado stands in the background. Above, Pattonville Heights Middle School English teacher Sarah Slane, right, assists seventh grader Thomas Gregory with his class schedule.

From the Superintendent Petrov appointed to fill open board position

Involvement in extracurriculars improves student learning

Ihope the new school year is off to an excellent start for your children. We are excited to have everyone back in school and have enjoyed reconnecting with returning students and meeting all of our new students. While classroom learning and achievement is our primary focus in Pattonville, significant emphasis is placed on learning that takes place outside of the classroom when students participate in before- and after-school programs. Survey and student performance records indicate that the more students are involved in extracurricular programs connected to Pattonville, the better they do academically.

When students engage in extracurricular programming, they build relationships with their classmates, develop teamwork skills, expand problem-solving strategies, work through conflict and collaborate to achieve shared goals and objectives. There are many avenues for student involvement in Pattonville, with school- and district-sponsored options geared toward students’ interests starting in elementary school and continuing through high school.

Some examples of teacher-sponsored after-school programs available at the elementary school level have included Card Games Club, Crafting Club, Chess Club, Fitbit Club, Legos Club and Robotics Club. At the middle school level, some teachersponsored activities have included Band Club, Book Battle teams, Girls on the Run, Kids Boot Camp, Makerspace Club, Orchestra Club, Pattonville Junior Honor Society, Poetry Club, STEP Team and Yearbook Club. Each year, the activities offered change based on student interests.

District-sponsored programs for both boys and girls this fall at the elementary level include cross country, soccer and volleyball. District-sponsored middle school fall programming includes cross country, soccer and girls volleyball. Plans are also being made for field hockey, golf and lacrosse clinics. To learn more, see the story on page 3.

At the high school level, there are many Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA)-sponsored programs and non-MSHSAA clubs and activities for students to consider. To see some of the options available to high school students, visit https://pirates.psdr3.org

With Pattonville being a one high school district, all our students will eventually attend Pattonville High School. It’s never too early to start helping students engage and see themselves progressing in their education. We encourage all of our Pattonville students and families to visit the high school to watch concerts, musicals and sporting events. When our elementary and middle school students attend high school events, they begin to see themselves as high school students and identify programs they might be interested in participating in. Maximizing student exposure and experiences with different programs and activities at the elementary and middle school level will increase the likelihood that students will find programs they are prepared to engage with at the high school level.

If your child is having trouble finding extracurricular activities that interest them, please contact their school. There may be a different or related program the school can connect your child with, or it may be an activity the school can consider implementing in the future.

Thank you for all of the support you give the Pattonville School District. We recognize that you have a choice regarding where you live and where you send your children to school. We appreciate you choosing Pattonville. We look forward to seeing you and your family at district activities.

During a special meeting on Aug. 8, the board voted to appoint Ruth Petrov to fill an open seat on the Pattonville Board of Education that was vacated by board director Andrea Glenn on June 15. Petrov took the oath of office during the board meeting on Aug. 9.

Petrov will serve on the board to complete Glenn’s term, which ends on April 11, 2023. At that time, a candidate elected during the April 4, 2023, election will start a three-year term. This appointment begins Petrov’s 19th year on the board. Her previous term ended on April 12 when she did not run for re-election.

Petrov holds a master’s degree in healthcare administration and is employed at DePaul Hospital’s outpatient surgery center. Petrov and her husband, Larry, are the parents of four Pattonville graduates.

High school seniors attend College Academy

High School’s college and career preparation coordinator/counselor Michelle Luraschi, right, reviews a document with senior Samantha Dayrit during the school’s College Academy this summer while senior Nathanael Damte, left, works on his own project. Below, members of the College Academy attend a college visit.

Fourteen Pattonville High School seniors spent a week before school started learning about and getting ready for college during the school’s annual College Academy. The program gives first-generation, college-bound students support and knowledge about the college planning and search process. The academy covered areas such as goal setting, college resume writing, comparing colleges, how to begin the college search, college admissions, finding and obtaining scholarships, financial aid, letters of recommendation, essaywriting advice, ACT test-taking tips and more. Students also participated in a Q&A session with college representatives. On the final day of the academy, students visited area college campuses.

This year’s participants were Amaya Adegbuyi, Kyahanah Azizi, Khiana Brown, Natalia Chavez Medina, Danna Coss, Nathanael Damte, Samantha Dayrit, Muhammad Faisal, Jasmine Harris, Miranda Lopez, Mikayla Pastorius, Devin Scharer, Fatou Seck and Wilson Thach. The College Academy is led by college and career preparation coordinator/counselor Michelle Luraschi.

College and career planning events and resources

For parents and students, it’s never too soon to begin preparing for the future. Pattonville offers the resources and support to help families navigate college and career planning. Students begin exploring college and careers before starting high school. In addition, Pattonville High School employs a full-time college and career preparation coordinator/counselor to assist students/ The high school hosts events, field trips and evening meetings throughout the year to assist families in the college and career planning and financing process. A calendar and more information can be found on the college and career counseling website. Find it under the “Students/Parents” tab at phs.psdr3.org. Families can also find information on that website on how to sign up to receive text messages for important reminders and deadlines. Other provided information includes a link to recent newsletters which include details about upcoming college visits, ACT and SAT test dates and resources and more.

Dr. Barry Nelson Superintendent

Follow on Twitter:

@Barry_NelsonPSD

Ruth Petrov, left, is sworn in as a director of the Pattonville Board of Education by board president Dr. Brian Gray. Petrov was appointed to the position by the board and will complete the term of Andrea Glenn, who resigned in June.

Above, Pattonville

Maria’s Backpacks School Supply

Drive collects, donates 5,778 items to Pattonville students

ommunity members showed their support by contributing to the Maria’s Backpacks School Supply Drive this year. The campaign collected 5,778 items. Representatives from the City of Maryland Heights dropped off the donations at the Pattonville School District Learning Center on Aug. 26.

The drive is named after Maria Lucas who worked at the Maryland Heights Community Center when she died in a tragic incident. She enjoyed giving back to the community through education and began her career as a special education teacher in the Ritenour School District. The school supply drive is held in her memory and begins every year on her birthday, July 3.

Donations were accepted at the Maryland Heights Community Center, City of Maryland Heights Government Center and Maryland Heights Fire Protection District House 1. The Maryland Heights Parks and Recreation Department, Maryland Heights Police Department and Maryland Heights Fire Department all participated in the second annual event.

District social worker Amanda Thieme and other Pattonville staff members accepted the donations. Thieme will work with school social workers to distribute the items to all of the school buildings.

The City of Maryland Heights accepted school supply donations from the community that were delivered to Pattonville School District on Aug. 26. Left, Maryland Heights Policy Department public relations officer Terry Mancusi wheels in a portion of the donations. Below, representatives from Maryland Heights and Pattonville pose with the donations.

Isabel DiSalvo, Class of 2018 - DiSalvo was featured in a segment on KSDK news channel 5 on Sept. 7. DiSalvo joined Bridgeway Elementary School this year as a second grade teacher. Her classroom is the same one she learned in as a first grader. While in second grade, DiSalvo decided she wanted to be teacher and dreamed of returning not just to Pattonville School District, but to Bridgeway.

“Everything I worked for my entire life was right in front of me,” she said. “This place and the people here really made me into the person that I am today, and so I knew I wanted to be that person for my own students.”

To read Pattonville’s story on DiSalvo, visit bit.ly/GreatGradsDiSalvo To see the KSDK story, visit https://youtu.be/mxyKg2Zooq8

ALUMNI SUCCESS

Graduates in the news

Find out more: alumni.psdr3.org

Updates to free/reduced meal program for 2022-2023

Breakfast is free to all students in Pattonville and students who are eligible for free/reduced meals can receive lunch at no cost. In order to qualify for free/reduced meals, an application for this year must be completed online. To learn more, visit Pattonville’s meal eligibility website at https://bit.ly/PSDMeals. Additional information about meals, including school menus, are available on the food services website at www.psdr3.org/services/food

Louie Perez, Class of 2019 - Perez was named the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men’s Soccer National Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 30. The Missouri Baptist University senior forward was the American Midwest Conference nominee in Week 1 after scoring five goals over two games. Perez had a hat trick of both goals and assists in a season-opener 9-0 win against Brescia University and tallied both goals in the Spartans’ 2-1 defeat of No. 9 MidAmerica Nazarene. In two games this season, he has scored 13 goals, surpassing his 2021 season total of 12. Perez has been named an American Midwest Conference (AMC) Offensive Play of the Week four times and has been AMC all-conference honorable mention the past three seasons. Perez holds the Pattonville High School single-season goals record scoring 34 times during the 2018 season.

Registration open for K-8 fall activities

Students in elementary and middle school can participate in activities through Pattonville’s community and staff engagement department. Fall activities begin in September and include cross country, disc golf, soccer and girls volleyball. For more information or to register, visit https://bit.ly/K-8Activities.

Elementary students from last school year participate in a girls basketball program through Pattonville’s community and staff engagement department. Shown is the spring girls basketball tournament.

Pictured is current Rose Acres Elementary School fifth grader Kayla Newsome, center shooting the ball. Current Pattonville Heights Middle School sixth grader Elena Zoll, who attended Bridgeway Elementary School last year, left, and current Bridgeway fifth grader Elizabeth Peterman attempt to block the point.

Bridgeway Elementary School teacher Isabel DiSalvo completes a number activity with her students. DiSalvo teaches second grade in the class she learned in as a first grade student when she attended the school.

Missouri Baptist University (MBU) senior forward Louie Perez celebrates after scoring a goal during a soccer game against Brescia University on Aug. 24. The MBU Spartans beat the Bearcats, 9-0. Perez had three goals and three assists. Photo by Noah Adams, MBU Athletics.

PATTONVILLE GOES Back to School

Above, speech/language pathologist Jordyn Graham, left, works with students in Amy Bopp’s classroom at the Pattonville Early Childhood Center. They are, from left, Barrett Earnest, Stryke Booth and Jaxon Poelker. Below, second grader Sean Hudson works on an activity in Jennifer Rogers’ class at Willow Brook Elementary School.

Above, students in Morgan Kiffmeyer’s third grade class at Drummond Elementary School volunteer to guess which statements about their teacher are true and false. They are, from left, Kaiden Mathurin, Elvira Jimenez Mejia and Mesa Baczynski. Below, Rose Acres Elementary School fourth grade teacher Mary Spitzmiller works with Austin Newton, left, on an activity about getting to know their teacher while Natalie Minguia Smith, right, completes her assignment.

At left, second graders Carter Zerbe, left, and Eliza Keeven laugh while coloring in Mallory Hamilton’s class at Parkwood Elementary School. Above, Remington Traditional School kindergartners Bennett Hess and Vera Jay practice writing their names in Ashley Fults’ class.

View more photos

See more photos from the first day of school on Pattonville’s SmugMug page at https://bit.ly/FirstDaypsd22 or check out the district’s posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Above, Ava Gumble builds a truck in Abby Beckermann’s kindergarten class at Parkwood Elementary School. Below, reading specialist Liz Alexander welcomes kindergartner Annie Foxworthy, who is in Samantha Stuppy’s class, on the first day at Willow Brook Elementary School.

Above, students in Jennifer Calva’s sixth grade science class at Holman Middle School introduce themselves to each other by lining up and answering a question prompted by Calva. After meeting the person in front of them, one line shifted and the process repeated with two new classmates. Below, students in Chantel Nickens’ algebra class at Pattonville High School practice teamwork by building a structure using strings and cups. They are, from left, freshmen Summer Stuart, Lathan Stevenson, Courtney Bradley, Kate Bockhorst and Leloni Hugger.

Sixth grader Reagan Lerdahl holds up the sign with her name on it during an introduction activity in Sarah Huber’s math class at Pattonville Heights Middle School.

Above, Bridgeway Elementary School kindergarten teacher Amanda Brodbeck, left, watches as Samiah McKindles spells her name aloud after tracing it with Play-Doh.

PATTONVILLE GOES Back to School

Brianna McCadney Humphries, left, and My’Ela Fulton build a structure in Taylor Thuet’s fifth grade class at Drummond Elementary School.

Rose Acres Elementary School fourth grader Adriana Urbina, right, raises her hand to answer a question in Grace Burgos’ class. Fellow students Parker Gliedt, left, and Benjamin Li look on.

Above, students in Kristen Hagemeier’s reading class give a thumbs up to signify they are ready to learn at Holman Middle School. They are, from left, eighth grader Carter Mackay and seventh graders Roemell Baldwin and Ibrahim Hamed. Below, teacher Janna Zaitz, right, watches as Kylie Bishop rolls PlayDoh at the Pattonville Early Childhood Center.

Above, secretary Maria Saunders helps freshman Jace McConnell with his schedule at Pattonville High School. Below, first grader Mahogany Holmes works on a craft in Allison Grigone’s class at Remington Traditional School.

BRAGGING WRITES

Honors, Awards and Achievements by Pattonville Students and Staff

ROSE ACRES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

mySci Summer Institute participant

Fifth grade teacher Sarah Carter attended the July mySci Summer Institute at Washington University in St. Louis. She joined more than 30 other area educators for a day-long professional development opportunity to support area science teachers who use the mySci curriculum and resources to engage students with handson science learning. mySci is an innovative program developed by the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis (ISP).

PATTONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

Driver education Teacher of Excellence

Tom Iffrig, driver education teacher, was selected as a national Teacher of Excellence award recipient by the National Road Safety Foundation and the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association (ADTSEA). Five Teachers of Excellence were honored on July 25 at the ADTSEA national conference in Vancouver, Washington, where they also presented innovative lesson plans to their peers. In May, Iffrig was named the 2022 Missouri Teacher Excellence Award nominee by the Missouri Driver Safety Education Association (MODSEA) during its annual state conference. Iffrig, a Pattonville alumnus, started teaching in Pattonville in 1997 as a middle school health and PE teacher. In 2007, he moved to Pattonville High School as a driver education teacher.

PLTW Outstanding Teacher

Science teacher Jamie Jobe was selected as one of 59 teachers across the U.S. to receive the Outstanding Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Teacher award. She is being recognized for her work in the PLTW biomedical science program. Each year, PLTW honors outstanding teachers and administrators who play an immeasurable role to prepare students to thrive in college, careers and beyond. The award recognizes educators who demonstrate a strong record of delivering an inspiring and empowering student experience while expanding access to PLTW programs and transforming teaching. Jobe has been a teacher at Pattonville High School for six years and teaches Principles of Biomedical Science, Biomedical Interventions and Medical Interventions. Students enrolled in each of those classes can earn college credit.

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Homecoming is almost here!

Mark your calendars for Oct. 7 and 8

The entire Pattonville school community is invited to join in as Pattonville celebrates homecoming on Oct. 7 and 8. Pattonville will celebrate homecoming with a variety of activities open to the Pattonville community. This year’s homecoming theme is “Karaoke Night.” Below is a list of community activities scheduled to date.

Friday, Oct. 7

Football Game

7 p.m.

Watch the varsity Pirates take on the Seckman High School Jaguars. During halftime, the homecoming court will be announced and a homecoming king and queen will be crowned. Tickets for the football game are $5 for adults, $3 for students with ID and free for children 7 and younger.

Saturday, Oct. 8

Half-Mile Fun Run

9:40 a.m.

Students in kindergarten through eighth grade are invited to participate in this run. The run will start at the corner of Bonniebrook Drive and Bennington Place and ends in the Pattonville High School parking lot. For more information on the cost and how to register, call the Pattonville community programs office at (314) 213-8095 or email commuityengagement@psdr3.org or go online to https://bit.ly/PSDFunRun2022

Homecoming Parade

10 a.m.

Parade floats will stage at Grace Church (2695 Creve Coeur Mill Road). From there, the parade will proceed south on McKelvey Road, then right on Chatham Drive, left on Nantucket Place, right on Booniebrook Drive and right on Bennington Place until it reaches Pattonville High School. Floats and walking groups from all Pattonville schools participate, as well as many community groups and alumni classes. Additionally, the Karaoke Night theme will be included in school floats. Each high school class has selected its grade’s focus. Freshman are taking on country music, sophomores are pop, juniors are rocking to rock and roll and seniors are rap/hip hop.

Want to receive Pattonville news directly to your inbox? Sign up at https://bit.ly/PSDEnewsSubscribe to be added to the Pattonville at Work e-newsletter, delivered after each regular board meeting.

Sarah Carter

Tom Iffrig

Jamie Jobe

PATTONVILLE GOES Back to School

More than 6,000 students in preschool through 12th grade began classes in the Pattonville School District in August.

Students in Emily Difani and Natalie Walker’s Pirate Academy class at Holman Middle School review notes their classmates posted around the library. Shown are eighth graders Khalei Jimerson and Dakyrah Joplin.

Above left, Parkwood Elementary School kindergartner Angel Banks, in Abby Beckermann’s class, hugs Parker the Panther, the school mascot. Above right, sixth graders Demi Gray, left, and Karley Marsala laugh while completing an art activity in Katrina van Ryn’s 2D Design class at Pattonville Heights Middle School.

Above left, first graders in Katelyn Thompson’s class at Rose Acres Elementary School get to know their classmates. They are, from left, Willamina Krieger, Thompson, Maci Linkogel and Noah James. Above right, Bridgeway Elementary School third grade teacher Natasha Malone poses a question to her students as Trevor Sunderman and other students raise their hand.

Paraprofessional Cierra Brown reads with Elsa Dominguez in Ashley Hopkins’ class at the Pattonville Early Childhood Center.

Second grader Jayce Rodgers shares his excitement about the first day in Holly Kopp’s class at Willow Brook Elementary School.

First grade teacher Shelley McManus reads to her class at Drummond Elementary School.

Remington Traditional School students Cassidy Mitchell, left, and Maya Medina play rock-paper-scissors during a get-toknow-you game. They are students in Karrie Peters and Ben Johnston’s fifth grade classes, respectively.