What's Happening Weekly @ MRH

It is that time of the year! We are asking all families to help us by completing the semi-annual MRH School Climate Survey: Families developed by the University of Missouri.

Why take this survey? Good question! Here are answers to frequently asked questions:

• How long does the survey take? Not long! 5 minutes or less.
• Is there a deadline? We are keeping the survey link active for one month. It will close on Sunday, December 8.
• Is the survey anonymous? Absolutely. We do not collect email addresses and have no way of determining who completed the survey.
• Do I have to answer all of the questions? Based on the feedback from you, our families, we did make some questions optional. If the question is marked with an asterisk, it must be answered, but there are several that do not have asterisks. Of course, we would love answers to all of the questions, but hopefully the updated version makes it easier to complete and increases the accuracy of the results. Thanks for the feedback! It was very helpful.
• How many are we trying to collect? While we would love to have 100% participation, we are setting incremental goals each year. Last fall, we received 385 completed surveys. This year, we would love to collect 500+ surveys. There are approximately 1500 students at MRH (representing about 1000 families).
• How is this information used? We share this information with the entire community. Our school board, District leadership team, building leadership teams, MTSS teams, and families. We review the data, and use it to create District /building climate goals.
• If I have more than one child in the district, do I fill one out for each student? That is totally up to you. The survey has the capacity to be completed for an entire family, but if your student is having vastly different experiences at their schools, feel free to complete one per student.
• Will the results be shared publicly? Yes! These results are shared publicly at our school board meeting, and posted on the school board agenda.
• Will other stakeholders be taking a school climate survey? Yes! Students (grades 3-12) and all MRH staff members will also be taking a survey this month.

Note: if you do not want your student taking the school climate survey, simply contact your child's principal or assistant principal and they can opt out.

A formal ribbon-cutting and building tours took place on Saturday, November 9 for the new Maria J. Langston Administrative Center. The facility at 2531 S. Big Bend Blvd., formerly known as the Clayton Sleep Center, accommodates MRH Central Office department directors and coordinators and some support staff. MRH collaborated with Legacy Contracting for the project, which is anticipated to come in at budget.

The building was named in honor of Maria J. Langston, a former longtime Board member and parent of two MRH graduates. At the ceremony, Ms. Langston was joined by her husband and two sons, current and former MRH Board members, teachers, mayors and city managers of Richmond Heights and Maplewood, Mid-County Chamber of Commerce leaders, MRH students and Central Office staff members.

The new center features a technology-laden meeting room for the Board of Education and other groups, eliminating the need to hold Board meetings at the High School campus. Additionally, moving into this District-owned property has enabled the MRH Central Office team to vacate its leased office space on Hanley Road, a fiscally prudent move in the long term.

While the ribbon-cutting was taking place, the annual Kiwanis Club of Maplewood Pancake and Sausage Breakfast was in full swing at the High School cafeteria. Proceeds from the breakfast benefit the Seed to Table programs at each MRH school, the High School Key Club and the Boys Basketball program. Veterans always eat free, as the breakfast is scheduled on the Saturday nearest Veterans Day. Shout-out to the Blue Devil boys basketballers for facilitating a shoot-around for youngsters in the gym and to the Key Club for volunteering their time for set-up and clean-up.

What a wonderful evening! Thank you to those who joined us at our November 6 community workshop on Personalized Competency-Based Learning. This was the first of three opportunities this year to connect and share ideas, and we're truly inspired by the insights and conversations we had.

Please pencil in 12/10/24 for our next session which will be held virtually. We'll invite you as the date approaches.

If you're interested in learning more about i4PL, their website is located here.

If you're interested in how this connects to our strategic plan under "For Our Students."

Thank you again for being a part of this learning and please bring some friends to our next session!

Our next topic: Supporting and Addressing Student Mental Health Needs. We'll explore how the District supports students’ emotional well-being through counseling services, social-emotional learning (SEL), and mental health initiatives, with tips for parents to reduce anxiety at home. Our special guest will be MRH Student Services Director Vince Estrada.

Two director positions, each holding three-year terms, are open on the Maplewood Richmond Heights Board of Education in the April 8, 2025 election.

Filing for the Board of Education election will begin on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, at 8 a.m., and continue through Tuesday, December 31, 2024, at 5 p.m.

Candidates must file in-person at the St. Louis County Board of Elections Office, 725 Northwest Plaza Drive, St. Ann, MO 63074. No filing will take place at the District office. Candidates may file between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Filing ends at 5 p.m. on the last day of candidate filing only. The Board of Election office will be closed on December 25, and may also close due to inclement weather.

For the first day of filing, a lottery will be conducted to determine ballot placement. Candidates who file after the first day will be listed in order of filing.

If you have any questions regarding candidate filing, please contact Kat Norton at 314-644-4400 or kat.norton@mrhschools.net, or the St. Louis County Board of Elections at 314-615-1851.

The MRH cross country team finished in 10th place at the Class 3 State Championship in Columbia, MO. Under some wet and muddy conditions, the team was led by sophomore Alex Fuoss who finished 40th out of 162 runners. The senior trio of Graham Colvin (64th), Enzo Gilbonio (81st), and Trey Maxwell (90th) along with junior Silas Tanner (97th) rounded out the top five who had a team score of 217 points. Junior Logan Sharp (135th) and Aiden Bernard (140th) were part of just the fourth cross country team to make it to the State Championship and the first in Class 3. The 10th place finish ties the team’s best finish at the state meet. Thanks to everyone who braved the weather to come out and support the team and congratulations to the team on a great season.

Congratulations to Samantha Miller, who won a decisive 3-0 victory versus last year's state champion (XboxGamer from Hickman High School in Columbia) in Chambra STAR league. Sammie is a senior this year and has worked hard with her trainer Satina Miller to develop her skills. XboxGamer was undefeated this season and suffered his first loss in the finals on Friday. Thank you to Candice Viers for leading our STAR league at MRH. The match is here (Final round starts at 1:02:00)

Congratulations also to Eddie Bang, who placed 4th and had a ton of growth this season. He mastered blocking at the finals and even took a game from XboxGamer!

The action picks up again this week:

Monday: Round 1 of Varsity Smash Brothers (Isaiah Jamison is currently ranked 1st with many other MRH students in contention for a state run)

Wednesday (still TBD): Possibly Smash Brothers STAR league (Can Sammie take two state championships this season?)

Thursday: Top 8 of Varsity Middle School (top 4 move on to state.) We currently have Andrew Page (ranked 1st), Nathan Dickman, Declan Garrison, and Cooper Skaggs fighting for a state spot.

Catch all the action on Coach Graham’s YouTube channel; streams start at 4pm.

Working your sources is an everyday practice for MRH Career Connections Coordinator Joe Sausele. And it’s his students who benefit. Some prime examples:

Thanks to a collaborative effort by Coach Sausele and Otto Schultejans, the Mobile Journalism (MOJO) teacher at MRH High School, students are producing videos for Fairmont Senior Living in Clayton. The videos will be used on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook to promote Fairmont’s work, solicit new clients and recruit employees.

Rich Metz, Community Relations Director at Fairmont, says the MRH students are fulfilling a serious need for local content on the company-owned website. Metz met Coach Sausele at a recent Mid County Chamber of Commerce meeting, where they struck up a conversation which resulted in the social media agreement.

“The idea of having interns from the local school district was very appealing. Our company COO is considering the idea of pursuing similar arrangements with schools at our locations in other cities,” said Metz.

Another lucrative apprenticeship networking example is tied to the ongoing renovation work at the Maplewood Public Library.

Coach Sausele has long enjoyed a supportive relationship with design and architecture firm Trivers, one of the primary contractors on the library job. This week, one former MRH student, Niya Lagrone (‘23), and one current student, Christina Esbeck, spent an afternoon off from classes stomping through the muddy worksite with Madison Booher, who is overseeing the design work on the library rebuild. Niya is a Mechanical Engineer's assistant at The CD Companies, studying to be a Mechanical Engineer. She started there a year ago as part of her after high school plan through Career Connections. Christina is a sophomore with an interest in environmental engineering. (Junior Logan Sharp was unable to participate.)

Ms. Booher attended the MRH High School Career Connections Focus Day last month and offered interested students the opportunity to see how she is integrating various engineers to this extensive renovation project adjacent to our campus.

MRH is grateful to these great community partners for providing enriching experiences for our students.

The MRH swimmers just completed their second season as part of a cooperative arrangement with the School District of University City. Coach Andrew Wool calls it a great season featuring personal records for the Blue Devils:

Elliot Dick: 4th place in the 50 Free (25:50); 4th place in the 100 Backstroke (117.08)

Robert Chandler: 9th place in the 100 Backstroke (129:28)

The full co-op team finished 4th out of eleven in the conference finals!

District Central Office and school building phone numbers

The MRH Communications Tree: Find the right person to contact with your questions/concerns.

MRH Calendars for 2024-2025 and 2025-2026

Absence Reporting/Why Regular Attendance Matters

If you haven't already, download the instructions below to get text messages from your school and Central Office.

This week, the Blue Devil shines his light on David Spellman, afternoon childcare worker at MRH Early Childhood Center. David, just beginning his 4th year at MRH, is described by his nominator as having boundless energy and extraordinary rapport with parents. Betty Pearson, supervisor of the after-care program Discover Club, says "David is very dependable, reliable, caring, and dedicated to his position. He clearly enjoys being here and treats each child as an individual. The interactions between the students and parents are positive and thoughtful. He provides a nurturing environment on a daily basis. We are fortunate to have him on our team!"

An unsolicited letter from two ECC parents stated: "One of our littles had taken a toy car from Discover Club that was not his. When we realized what occurred later that evening, we discussed how we'd need to return it the following day. Upon picking him up from DC that next afternoon, he was seated with Mr. David, playing, and we explained that we needed to return the car that was not ours. Mr. David handled the situation beautifully - no shame involved, thanking our kiddo for doing the right thing, and reinforcing the messages/lessons we were hoping our child would learn from the situation."

Thank you, David, and we're proud to have you on our team!

Do you know someone within the MRH community who deserves special recognition for supporting our mission? Don't keep it to yourself! Contact the editors of What's Happening Weekly @ MRH and we'll shine a light on them.

The MRH chapter of the National Honor Society is working with Webster University again this year for a Children's Book Drive. This program provides books for kids who may have little or no access to reading resources. NHS would love to exceed last year's collection of more than 700 books. Use the High School entrance at 7500 Lohmeyer Avenue for drop-offs. Thanks in advance!

November 19: Community Conversations with MRH Admins

November 21: Board of Education monthly business meeting

November 27: No school for students, teachers

November 28-29: District closed for Thanksgiving

MRH Youth Sports' wrestling registration for 1st-8th grades is open through January 6, 2025, at MRHYS.org. Financial aid is available. Reach out to mrhyouthsports@gmail.com with any questions, and we’ll see you on the mats!

MRH Youth Sports

7616 Williams Ave

Maplewood, MO 63143

The Maplewood Richmond Heights School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, sexual orientation and/or perceived sexual orientation, or genetic information in its programs and activities. View Notice of Non-Discrimination or Board Policy AC.