Summer 2024 Newsletter

SUMMER 2024

C o n g r a t u l a t io n s , Class of 2024!

EDUCATION MATTERS On the Cover: Valley Park High School Class of 2024

VALLEY PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT

One Community. One Campus. Limitless Learning.

EDUCATION MATTERS VALLEY PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS

BOARD OF EDUCATION Kim Bellchamber, President Phyllis Geary, Vice President Rebecca Menley, Secretary Richard Schmitt, Treasurer Yasmin Chittakhone, Director Pete Coates, Director Lisa Finder, Director Dr. Tim Dilg Superintendent of Schools Jaime Gast, Editor Director of Communications

St. Louis Post Dispatch Scholar Athlete KATELYN MANN

CUMULATIVE GPA (unweighted): 3.814 Sports: Softball, Basketball and Soccer.

College: Jefferson College Goal: “My future plans are to attend Jefferson Community College to play softball and become a Physical Therapy Assistant, with an end goal of going to a 4 year university to study Exercise Science.”

Favorite subject: Anatomy and Math

Congratulations to our Valley Park Seniors!

Fifty-nine graduates and more than ten million in scholarship dollars awarded!

Elizabeth Papalotzi Valedictorian

Angelina Dern Salutatorian

Miguel Sauceda Principal‘s Leadership Award

Katelyn Mann Hawk Award

Marissa Miller Salutatorian

CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE VALLEY PARK STUDENTS

Seal of Biliteracy Honors

VALLEY PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT Student Spotlight At our monthly Board of Education meetings, our Valley Park leaders celebrated students for their exemplary academic efforts, character, community service, citizenship, and volunteerism in and out of the classroom to make the world a better place.

These are the second half of the school year awardees!

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A+ Scholarship Honors

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The Missouri Seal of Biliteracy and Distinguished Missouri Seal of Biliteracy is awarded to graduating high school students in districts with a DESEapproved program, who have demonstrated achievement in English, a Language Other Than English and sociocultural competence. All Missouri students studying any of the world’s languages are potential Seal candidates. Congratulations to our awardees!

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Teacher Proud Tuesday!

Teacher Proud Tuesday is a Missouri statewide social media initiative that is designed to recognize outstanding teachers and promote public education. These are our awardees from January - May 2024.

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This year, the Class of 2024 had 37% earn A plus honors. The A+ Scholarship Program is a meritbased scholarship that provides scholarship funds to eligible graduates of A+ designated high schools who attend participating public community colleges or vocational/technical schools, or certain private twoyear vocational/technical schools. Congratulations to our A+ program honorees!

RUARY FEB Kelly Kaiser K-8 Gifted Teacher

APRIL

Susan Sears Speech Pathologist Kelly Hawkins VPHS Mathematics

MAY

Zach Turner Secondary Physical Allison Hungate Wood Education VPMS and VPHS Choir Teacher

Spring Sports Recap CONGRATULATIONS TO TARRON WALKER-TOWNSEND '24!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE VALLEY PARK GOLF TEAM FOR SENDING THREE GOLFERS TO THE DISTRICT TOURNAMENT!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GIRLS' SOCCER TEAM FOR ADVANCING TO THE DISTRICT SEMIFINAL GAME!

CLASS 2, 6TH PLACE IN THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 100M DASH FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR, FINISHING AT 11:09!

BOYS BASEBALL - 3RD STRAIGHT CONFERENCE & DISTRICT CHAMPS!

Stay up to date on all of the Valley Park Hawks Happenings!

Congratulations to Will Geary 1st Team All State - Infield

LIKE AND FOLLOW US: @VPHAWKAD @VPHAWKSAD

2023-2024 Athletes of the Month August

Katie Mann Jesse Sabatino Steele

January

Myles St. Clair Jada Lanasa

September

Selena Monroe

Peyton Walker

February

Jayden Boulding

Aubrey Dibble

October

Isaiah Will Geary Hawthorne

March

Gavin Hubbard

November

Austin Cary

Grace Vogt

April

Naomi Weston Milne Madison Baumann Schumacker

December

Tim Coleman

Maggie Lencz

May

Tarron WalkerTownsend

Peyton Walker

VALLEY PARK HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS RECOGNIZED AT STATE FESTIVAL!

Congratulations to these musicians!

Three students from the music program proudly represented Valley Park High School at the State Music Solo and Ensemble Festival held at Mizzou.

Lana Feldman '25 received a Gold rating for her clarinet solo, Jermisha Lewis '26 received a Gold rating for her vocal solo, and Elizabeth Papalotzi '24 received a Silver rating for her flute solo.

Congratulations to these young ladies for their hard work and dedication. Their exceptional talent and dedication to excellence have brought tremendous honors to our school. We look forward to seeing their continued success in the future.

WELCOME TO VALLEY PARK!

New Faculty & Staff!

Katie Alexander Secondary P.E. Teacher

Aaron Burd Valley Park Elementary School Principal

Lauren Fahy Instructional Coach

Caitlyn Gillman Valley Park Elementary School Reading Specialist

VALLEY PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL 8TH GRADE PROMOTION!

Faith Jeffries Executive Assistant to the Superintendent and Board of Education Patrick Kreitler Valley Park Middle School ELA Teacher Elizabeth Lopez Valley Park Elementary School Kindergarten Rachel Schlotzhauer Valley Park Middle School Math Teacher

Congratulations to our Valley Park Middle School 8th graders on their promotion to Valley Park High School on May 15, 2024. Student speakers James Doherty, Saliyah Harris, William Clark, Abigail Lofton, Marie Bishop, Haylie Pratt and Sarriah Wilson added special touches to the ceremony with their remarks. A special thank you to our VPMS Choir directed by Allison Hungate Wood for their amazing performance of "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield and to the Valley Park Band directed by Laura Porter. We are so proud of you all! Good luck on the next chapter of your adventure here at Valley Park School District!

Ashley Serage Valley Park Elementary School Second Grade

Kasey Sindel Valley Park Middle School Science Teacher Michelle Wirick Valley Park Elementary School STEM Teacher

Join Our Team!

www.vpschools.org/careers

CONGRATULATIONS TO DANA EVANS, DANIELLE FOX AND A FOND FAREWELL TO JERRY DURRWACHTER! Lasting Impression Awardee: Dana Evans The Lasting Impression Award honors SSD staff who positively impact students through support outside the classroom. This year's honorees reflect the vastness of this talented group and demonstrate that every job at SSD offers us the opportunity to be a part of something special.

Congratulations, Dana!

Keys to the Classroom Awardee: Danielle Fox The Keys to the Classroom Award celebrates the profound effect this teacher has had on the lives of her students and colleagues, as noted in the nominations submitted by SSD families, colleagues, and community members. A judging panel of SSD administrators carefully considered each nomination. Congratulations to Danielle for winning this award!

HAPPY RETIREMENT TO THESE VALLEY PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT FACULTY AND STAFF! Congratulations on reaching this wonderful milestone! As you step into retirement, we want to express our deepest gratitude for your years of dedication, hard work, and commitment to education. Your contributions have profoundly impacted countless students' lives, shaping their futures and inspiring them to achieve their dreams.

Karen Clark 27 years

Trish Cwiklowski Jerry Durrwachter 20 years

6 years

Kelly Lowe

Jan Monroe

Mary Patton

Angie Whitener

3 years

16 years

31 years

25 years

SERVICE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS! Thank you for your continuous contributions and for being such valued members of our Valley Park School District team. Here’s to many more successful years together!

5 years

Megan Basler Tim Dilg

10 years

Jaime Gast

Sara Magalli

Laura Porter

20 years

Debra Wolfe

Stacy Castro

Tricia Cwiklowski

Lorraine Edwards

Rick Neal

Stephen Schwartz

Marianne Wecker

15 years Caitlyn Ryan Luhning Christian Gillman Werner

Carly Warhurst

25 years

Angie Whitener

We are excited to join other school districts in partnering with Right at School to provide before-school and after-school services to our Valley Park families. We encourage you to visit Right At School's website, www.vpschools.org/ras, for more information about their organization and dynamic curriculum.

Registration is now open!

We look forward to enhancing the educational experience of our students and families through this exciting partnership.

Preschool Summer Events FAMILY PLAY DATE: JULY 10TH 10-11AM TWIN OAKS PARK SAFETY FAIR: JULY 13TH 9:30-1:30PM VALLEY PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT VALLEY PARK PARENTS AS TEACHERS

Thousands of Parents as Teachers sites can be found nationwide...local programs working with parents to provide them with parenting support and information on their developing child. Parents as Teachers is designed to foster strong, loving relationships between parents and their children.

You and your child deserve the support Parents as Teachers offers. Give your child the best possible start in life because your baby was born to learn!

Call (636) 923-3531 to speak with someone about the Valley Park School District Parents as Teachers program, visit www.vpschools.org/pat or follow us on facebook at www.vpschools.org/patfacebook Personal Visits Parent Meetings/Group Connections Developmental and Health Screenings Referral Networking

Valley Park School District EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Preschool Program Children who are three to five years of age by November 15, 2024.

Children may attend full-day sessions or half-day sessions in the morning or afternoon, Monday-Friday.

Parents may choose 2-5 days to attend a week. Before and after care is also available.

For more information, please visit the district website https://www.vpschools.org/ecc or contact VPES at (636) 923-3632.

Valley Park School District KINDERGARTEN All-day Kindergarten Children who are five years of age before August 1, 2024.

Valley Park kindergarten is a FREE program. Bus transportation is provided for all kindergarten students who reside in the attendance area. For more information visit www.vpschools.org/kindergarten.

VALLEY PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT ONE MAIN STREET VALLEY PARK, MO 63088

STAY UP TO DATE ON DISTRICT NEWS

Thank you to the volunteers for providing lunches for our Valley Park students all summer!

The TWIGS program volunteers have been serving lunches for all Valley Park students throughout the summer months.

Meals are served Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM at three different locations for all students 18 and under.

Locations: Cheryl Lane Apartments Valley Park School Campus Meramec Valley Baptist Church Thank you to our community partners for helping serve our Valley Park students. Questions? Contact (618) 580-0770.

Valley Park School District www.vpschools.org Facebook.com/Valley.Park.School.District Twitter @ ValleyParkSD Instagram @valleyparkschools Valley Park High School Facebook.com/valleyparkhs Valley Park Middle School Facebook.com/Valley-Park-Middle-School Valley Park Elementary School Facebook.com/valleyparkelem Valley Park Early Childhood Center www.vpschools.org/ecc

OVER 60?

Call (636) 923-3690 to join our Golden Club.

Get the scoop on special events and get in FREE to all district-sponsored events!