What's Happening Weekly @ MRH
June 12: Board of Education monthly meeting & budget workshop
June 19: District closed for Juneteenth holiday
July 4: District closed (Independence Day)
August 12: Staff-Only Opening Day event
August 16: Back to School Fair
Dirt Turned on Track & Field Improvements
Mere days after MRH students vacated the campus for summer recess, construction contractor Byrne & Jones descended upon the High School/Middle School track and field to begin renovation work. As one of the projects made possible by voter passage of Proposition B in April, the existing track surface and underlying cushion will be removed and replaced with all-new material designed to improve drainage and provide a slip-resistant surface to enhance athletes’ safety. The field itself, which currently exhibits a pronounced “turtle shell hump,” will be laser-leveled. Excavation work will also take place beneath the bleachers for the purpose of eliminating muddy runoff during heavy rainfall.
Apart from the surface work, MRH is reviewing bids to replace the lights and controls for the floodlight standards on each corner of the athletic field.
MRH Families,
Last spring, we asked you to weigh in on one of our top goals: to provide clear and concise communication between families and schools. Based on your feedback, we made refinements to the newsletters you receive from our principals and teachers, as well as the District Central Office. We are back now with a follow-up questionnaire as part of our continuous improvement plan.
Please take five minutes to complete THIS FORM no later than June 20 to let us know if our revised communiques are meeting your needs. You may complete this survey more than once, based on the number of your children attending MRH schools. Results will be shared with you before the start of the next academic year.
Thank you!
Ed Rich, Director of Communications
Maplewood Richmond Heights School District
The MRH Board of Education on June 5 selected Loretta Colvin to fill out the final year of an unexpired three-year term created by the recent resignation of a former Board member. She received the oath of office and assumed the position immediately.
Ms. Colvin holds a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Saint Louis University; Masters of Science, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner concentration - University of Maryland; Bachelors in Nursing, University of Missouri. She is a nurse practitioner with SSM Health and serves on the Clinical Faculty of Walden University School of Nursing.
Ms. Colvin has extensive experience in the life of MRH:
Vice chair, MRH Speech and Debate & Mock Trial Booster Club, 2024 - present
Treasurer, Keep MRH Strong, 2025 - present
Parent of two current and former MRH students
“As a supporter of public school education, I value the role school board members play in supporting our schools. Service to the MRH Board of Education allows me to give back to the school district my children have attended since Kindergarten and the MRH community as a whole. In the next three years, it is important for the MRH Board to focus on certain key areas to support quality curriculum and education for our students. One aspect of supporting student education is supporting our educators and staff to allow them to be the best possible in their roles. Maintaining a good partnership with the NEA is important to gain an understanding of the needs of their members and identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement in our district. The MRH Board must also prioritize fiscal responsibility to meet the needs of students today and also into the future, which will include decisions on the implementation of the recently approved Propositions B and E. Additionally, I value the diversity within our students and our community as a whole and appreciate what the MRH Board has done to celebrate and support our students as they acquire the skills they need to grow and prepare for life as an adult in our community. ”
By: Ilyena Valencic, Isabella Ward, and Will Beenders
From January to May of 2025 our Topics in Sustainability class of 8th grade students worked on a project that would not just be school-wide but district-wide. As a class we decided what we wanted this project to focus on bees, biodiversity, and our own campus ecosystem. Our small class of 11 students did many things that focused around these topics: we designed and taught a lesson to children at the Early Childhood Center about bees and their importance; moved the beehives and numerous plants from the former middle school garden which was sold; two students attended an all-day beekeeping workshop; and we redesigned and replanted the landscaping islands that are in our parking lot to support pollinators.
We noticed that our parking lot was boring and did not have many bee-friendly plants. So we researched native plants that do well in the harsh site conditions and picked two or three to add to each of the six landscaping islands. We chose flowering perennials in different shapes, colors, and blooming season so the parking lot can look good and support pollinators year-round. We raised the money for the plants by selling our bees’ honey at the ECC Farmers Market. The last weeks of the semester, we prepared the beds and planted and mulched 112 new plants. In doing so, we increased biodiversity, supported our honeybees and other pollinators, and improved how the school campus functions as a sustainable classroom, by giving us a place to continue our long-running pollinator study. Staff and visitors to our school can enjoy the new flowers around our parking lot now and for years to come. We're proud of the impact we made!
Read the individual student responses HERE.
MRH Youth Sports fall sports registration opens on Sunday, June 15, at 7:00 a.m., and runs through Monday, June 30, at MRHYS.org.
Fall sports include:
Soccer: Pre-K through 8th grade (For Pre-K through 1st grade only, registration will remain open through Sept. 7 so new families at the ECC can register.
Volleyball (girls): 3rd grade through 8th grade
Cross country: 6th grade through 8th grade
Tennis (girls): 7th and 8th grade
Registration is first-come, first-served, and teams/sports are dependent upon parents volunteering to coach, as well as registration numbers and league availability. Financial aid is available.
Reach out to mrhyouthsports@gmail.com with questions.
MRH Youth Sports
7616 Williams Ave
Maplewood, MO 63143
Missouri SuN Bucks is a program to help families buy food for their school-aged children during the summer months of June, July, and August. Families will get a one-time $120 benefit per qualifying child loaded onto an EBT card. These funds can be used to buy nutritious foods at authorized locations. Eligible children can also participate in other summer meal programs, and receiving SUN Bucks has no effect on immigration status.
