School Hours: 7:30 am - 2:00 pm

School Phone: (816) 359-4510

Principal: Tara Kalis

School Based Therapist: Matthew Fey

Administrative Assistant: Amy Rockey

Nurse: Melissa Coleman

My, oh my, these dragons have had a busy month!! We had our first quarter award ceremony. They went on their first field trip as our end of the quarter celebration to watch The Wild Robot movie at AMC. We had our first DEIB Council meeting of the year. We started sense of belonging groups where students could select activities that are interesting to them and join mixed age groups. Our Brewing Deck Coffee Bar opened this month and our essential skills students have been serving people throughout the building and across the district. Then to top it all off, we celebrated our Annual Fall Carnival this week. Check out some of the fun things we have caught them doing.

Green Team not pictured, they were out providing a service to the community by picking up trash.

November 19th - Fall Picture Retakes

November 22nd - Cultural Appreciation

November 25th - November 29 - No School - Thanksgiving Break

December 20th - Jolly Jamboree - Parents Welcome

December 23rd - January 3rd - Winter Break

Each year the Department of Workforce Development provides DESE with a list of high-demand occupations that require more than a high school diploma and less than a bachelor’s degree. Many of these programs are provided at local high schools and area career centers as well as at the community college level.

https://dese.mo.gov/media/pdf/high-demand-occupations

Career centers across the state provide training on a variety of occupations, including those occupations in which a critical need or shortage of trained personnel exists in the labor market of Missouri. Training in most of these occupations results in industry-recognized credentials and certificates that are valued by employers. Park Hill School District partners with the Northland Career Center (NCC). Interested individuals are encouraged to contact their high school counselor to determine what occupational training is available and to get information on licensing requirements.

• Information on how to obtain industry-recognized certificates and credentials
• Information on how to obtain a license and the requirements for a license when licensure is required for an occupation

Additionally, the following information may be found in Xello. To learn more, please speak with your school counselor or case manager.

• Access to assessments and interest inventories that provide insight into the types of careers that would be suitable for students
• Resources that describe the types of skills and occupations most in demand in the current job market and those skills and occupations likely to be in high demand in future years
• Resources that describe the typical salaries for occupations and salary trends
• Information on how to obtain financial assistance for postsecondary education
• Information on how to choose a college, school, or apprenticeship that aligns with the student's career goals and values
• Information on self-employment
• Resources related to creating a resume, interviewing, networking, and finding job opportunities
• Information on the skills and traits necessary to succeed in various careers

Additional Resources:

MERIC Occupations Studies Several resources can be found on the MERIC site including occupational data, career resources, target industry real time briefs, and workforce studies are found.

MERIC Industry Studies Resources including information on employment and projections, industry and business in Missouri, industry clusters, target industry briefs, information on exports, and various special projects can be found here.

Critical Shortage Areas: MERIC 2016-2026 Statewide Industry Projections

In Makerspace, students are shifting from hands-on building projects to building things online. Students will get to learn programming skills and try their hand at writing code using different applications such as Kodable and Scratch.

Skills streaming update:

Your students have been working hard on Tuesdays or Thursdays in their skills streaming groups! We have been working on lots of skills such as setting goals, identifying emotions, how to take and receive a complaint, recognizing how others feel, and more! This has all been done through wonderful group discussions, lots of examples, and some role-playing where your students get to be the actors to situations. They are doing great, and we have really enjoyed working with them and getting to know their skill sets even better.

Restorative circles:

The therapy team is also excited to announce that we will be implementing weekly restorative circles with students and classrooms! This will be done every week but will switch off bi-weekly between elementary and secondary. These will serve as community building time for students, as well as a chance to dive deeper into some social-emotional skills that are also being worked on in the classrooms.

Hearing and Vision Screenings by the Nurse
During November, each student will participate in hearing and vision screenings. The Vision screening is completed using the SPOT Vision Screener. This is a machine used to quickly and easily detect vision concerns and does not require any verbal responses from the student. This screening does not substitute a full eye exam by an eye doctor, which is recommended for students every year. If your student wears glasses, their screening will be completed with their glasses on.

You will receive a referral letter and the SPOT screening result if your student's Vision screening results are "outside of the normal limits" for their age.

If you have used ICare4Kids before for eyeglasses, please contact the nurse at (816) 359-4514. You can also contact ICare4Kids to schedule an appointment (816) 413-9009.

Dental Cleanings and exams are recommended every 6 months

Miles of Smiles is an income-based dental program and they can provide services right here at school! Please visit the website to complete an online registration form to see if your student(s) qualify. You can also call the Miles of Smiles office at (816) 413-9009.

Please call the School Health Office if you have any questions or concerns.

Melissa Coleman,LPN

Russell Jones Education Center - Nurse

Office: (816) 359-4514

Mental Health is a Muscle Webinar-Nov. 19

The next webisode in the Park Hill Family Webinar Series is entitled Mental Wellness is a Muscle. The webisode will be held on Tuesday, November 19, 6:00-7:00 PM. You can register for the webinar by clicking here.

We all have mental health, like we all have physical health – and just like there are things we can do to improve our physical health, there are things we can do to improve our mental health. When we think of mental wellness as a “muscle” we can “workout,” we open the door to a world of possibilities for becoming a healthier and happier you! Participants will learn about the importance of mental health and mental wellness, and the valuable tools we can use to exercise for positive mental well-being.

The presenter is Taylor Cline, the Youth Suicide Prevention Specialist at Beacon Mental Health Services (formerly Tri-County). Taylor holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master in Social Work from the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she concentrated on youth mental health and gained valuable experience from working with local child welfare agencies and schools. As a Youth Suicide Prevention Specialist, Taylor works with schools and other community partners to provide educational mental health and suicide prevention programs to local youth and their families.

You can view past and upcoming webisodes in the Family Webinar Series by visiting the Student and Family Support page, scrolling down to Mental Health and Healthy Living Resources, and expanding the Family Webinar Series section.

If you need access to services to support your family, please reach out to our School Based Therapist, Matthew at (816) 359-6914 to seek more information or access the link below.

The Park Hill School District PTA runs a clothing center that provides free, gently used clothing, plus new socks and underwear to district students. Please visit our Facebook page for updated information.

The PTA Clothing Center serves all Park Hill School District students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The PTA asks you to bring proof that you are currently enrolled in the Park Hill district. This could be a student ID, dated letter from a principal or social worker, class schedule, or enrollment form. You can also show us the district portal with student information in it.

The Park Hill Clothing Closet is available to all Park Hill Families on the following dates and times during the 2024-25 school year:

• November 5th & 19th 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm
• December 3rd & 17th 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm
• January 7th & 21st 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm
• February 4th & 18th 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm
• March 4th & 18th 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm
• April 1st & 15th 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm
• May 6th 4pm-6pm

• Catholic Charities of Kansas City – Christmas Shining Star: Seasonal clothing, food pantry, diapers, and other resources are available across the Kansas City Metro.
• Call Catholic Charities at (816) 221-4377 or email assistance@ccharities.com
• City Union Mission – Mission Christmas: Income-qualified families are invited to ‘shop’ at our Christmas Store for gifts for their families. They select from items like new pajamas, tool sets, basketballs, dolls, small appliances, and baby blankets that have been donated by the community. Families will also receive a food box filled with items to prepare a complete holiday meal.
• Scheduling begins the first week of November: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.
• Special Holiday Hours in December: Monday to Thursday 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, Friday 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.
• Call the Community Assistance information line for more details and guidelines: (816) 474-9380.
• Fox 4 Love Fund for Children: The Love Fund helps to meet the needs of thousands of children in our community, providing infants, toddlers, and school children with shoes, clothes, warm coats, bedding, holiday gifts, school supplies, and even medical equipment and care.
• Must be referred by a youth serving agency for assistance. Please reach out to Matthew Fey (feyj@parkhill.k12.mo.us) or an outpatient treatment provider for assistance.
• Salvation Army Angel tree: Accepting applications online.
• United Way Holiday Resources List: Call United Way 2-1-1 for additional resources.
• USPS Operation Santa: Send a letter to Santa for holiday gift assistance. Accepting applications online.

The Jones Center uses Positive Behavior Intervention & Support (PBIS) as a systems approach to establishing the whole-school social culture and intensive individual behavior supports needed for schools to achieve social and academic gains while minimizing problem behavior for all students.

PBIS has helped us decrease behavior, improve our school climate, and overall provides us a safer school community and allows more time for meaningful instruction to occur. Students positive behaviors are reinforced through Dragon Dollars. Students get to use the Dragon Dollars they earn to purchase items from our school store. If you have questions about our PBIS implementation, I encourage you to ask your student about it, then follow up with their classroom teacher to learn more!

The Matrix below identifies the expectation for each area in our building. The expectations focus on:

• Being Safe
• Being Respectful
• Being Responsible

Park Hill School District uses Infinite Campus as our student information system. You can access your child’s essential school information and district information quickly! This includes Attendance, Grades, Schedule, Bus Information, Technology Fees and School Communications.

Infinite Campus - Parent Portal

You can also use the FirstView® bus-tracking app, provided by our transportation provider, First Student. You can download the FirstView® app on your smartphone or use the app on your computer by visiting firstviewapp.com.

Using FirstView®, you can track your child’s bus in real-time, set up alerts to notify you when their bus is at a certain location, and you can link up to three email accounts. The app is password protected, to keep your child safe.

FirstView - Getting Started

Our employees are the real deal and the reason we are so successful. We would like to recognize them for all they do for our students. Each month, the district recognizes a pre-K or elementary teacher, a secondary teacher and a support staff member. Nominate an employee for this award by clicking the button below.

Student Hours: 7:30 am - 2:00 pm

Office Hours: 7:00 am - 3:00 pm

Principal: Dr. Tara Kalis, (816) 359-6305

Social Worker: Matthew Fey, (816) 359-6914