Cougar Update
October Edition
Please read the message from Dr. Smith, Principal.
Congress Cougars!
Wow! Can you believe we are already moving into October? School is full speed ahead and moving in the right direction. We have an entire month of activities planned for our students that are purposeful and fun activities that brings awareness to several campaigns. Congress will join and celebrate one of our breast cancer survivors, Mrs. Victoria Bradford, ISS / Recovery Room and CARE Center Supervisor. Students and staff can donate any amount to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and wear jeans and hats all week. Within the same week, Children's Mercy and Sporting Kansas City are working with us to help prevent bullying in our school by bringing the message to Congress students and staff, shouting There's No Place for Bullying.
One way to help us prevent bullying is for all to speak up and share any concerns immediately with any building staff member. Gearing up for Sophie's Run, we are asking all to bring in "Coins for Communication" as we celebrate Augmentative and Alternative Communication Month (AAC). AAC provides communication devices, systems, strategies, and tools that replace or support natural speech to help support a person who has difficulties communicating using speech. We will finalize our month ending with Red Ribbon Week, celebrating life and living drug-free.
We are grateful to have an amazing custodial team who keeps our school clean and safe for all students and staff. We also would like to thank our bus drivers for their hard work and dedication to Congress Middle by starting our students off to a great start each morning with a warm welcome. Both the custodial and driver positions are essential and sometimes underappreciated, so this month, we will spotlight and share our encouragement and appreciation to all the employees who help to keep our schools running smoothly.
Finally, parents and guardians, please know that we are approaching the end of the quarter, and as the educational journey is a partnership, we ask that you check with your student for missing assignments. If you need more information from the team, please check the team website for updates. We further ask families to partner with us and monitor their student's social media accounts. We have received information on social media trends and are asking parents to speak with their children on appropriate postings. Our students are outstanding, and I, as the building principal, appreciate the joy that each one brings.
Sincerely,
Dr. Smith
Parents We Need Your Help!!
Join Congress PTA
Parents, how exactly could a 100% participation hurt Congress Middle School? With after-school activities, working late while trying to prepare a meal for the family can seem unbearable, but if you cannot join us in person, join us online. We are having in-person and virtual meetings to accommodate our families. We would like to do so many things this year but need your support. Our Congress Middle School staff appreciates all you do for our students and staff. Our PTA ROCKS!! . It starts with your membership. Just joining you will help us provide needed resources for staff and students. Our second meeting will be on Monday October 3rd virtually at 6:30 PM. Please use the link below to join the meeting.
Meeting ID: 251 903 294 460
Passcode: RZYRx5
Download Teams | Join on the web
Or call in (audio only)
+1 816-702-6527,,292575451# United States, Kansas City
Phone Conference ID: 292 575 451#
Become a member online at:
Message from Sprigeo
We created Sprigeo so people would feel safer at school. When a person really needs help or there is a safety threat at school we hope you will step up and send in a report. Sending in a false report makes it harder for your school to help the people who really need it. If necessary you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. You can find out more about Sprigeo and the School District Safety Evaluation at Sprigeo.com. Thanks for using Sprigeo!
Joe Bruzzese, Founder of SprigeoIf you feel unsafe or know someone who feels unsafe, please report it here. After you fill out the form below, Sprigeo sends an email to a school administrator with all of the details from your report. You can also download one of our apps from the Apple Store or the Android Marketplace to submit a report.
- Safety threats, bullying, harassment or intimidation at school
- Safety threats, bullying, harassment or intimidation outside of school
- Cyberbullying; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.
- Fights, drugs, alcohol or weapons at school
- Friends who talk about hurting themselves
Check Out the Gerner House
Shoutout to our SC1/SC2 staff, who have been doing fantastic work to prepare our students for the 21st-century workforce and active citizenship. In addition to developing and demonstrating skills essential for professional success, students learn how to balance the social and emotional aspects of working with partners and preparing for life after high school. By understanding the importance of these skills, we hope they recognize the first step in achieving lifelong success is taking a chance to learn something new.
Library Media Center
“September is an exciting and busy time in the Congress Library Media Center! Every year we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and Banned Books Week. Students came in with their reading classes to learn about why some groups have wanted to ban some books throughout history. Many excellent ideas and perspectives were shared during our discussions. We are also offering an incentive for students to read this year’s Truman and Mark Twain Award nominated books. If a student reads 4 of the 24 books and fills out a short review of the book, then we’ll invite them to attend a donut party in March!”
Please read the message from Mrs. Kahler, Assistant Principal.
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Everything is going great here at Congress. This morning, our AVID elective students visited classrooms across the school and led team activities with students in classrooms in the 6th through 8th grades. Our administrative team was out and about in classrooms capturing these whole group activities on camera. I am incredibly proud of our AVID elective students and how they led these activities today.
This week, I have begun to see social media accounts impacting some of our students here at school. We do our best to keep our students focused on learning, but we also need your help in this area. If your student has access to a cell phone and/or social media, please talk with them about when and where it is okay to use their cell phone and social media. As an administrative team, we need to focus on instruction, and the student should focus on learning. Additionally, schools cannot manage the social media use of each student. Instead, we encourage parents to limit social media use, especially during school hours.
At this time, we are past midterm and getting closer to the end of 2nd quarter. The last day of the 2nd quarter is October 20th. Students must submit their missing assignments to their teachers before the end of the quarter. We know how important it is to keep parents informed of their student's grades. One way we do this is by ensuring that teachers keep their grade books up to date in Infinite Campus.
Middle school students still need help managing assignments, work completion, and getting assignments turned in to their teachers. Our teachers do a fantastic job at keeping the grade book up to date and accurate. A benefit of using Infinite Campus is that parents can see their student's grades by accessing the parent portal. You can also check to see if your student has missed assignments. Please refer to the guide below to help with access if needed. If you wish to call our front office, we will assist you.
Please find time to check the grades of your student and while this is not needed every day, maybe twice a week, ask and check by asking how they are doing in particular classes. If a student has a question or wishes to retake an assessment, please encourage the student to email their teacher. Setting a place in your home where your student can have quiet time to complete homework may be helpful. These study habits will help prepare your middle student for success this year and beyond.
Have a wonderful weekend! I look forward to seeing those of you attending the Park Hill vs. Park Hill South football game tonight!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kahler
Congress Families,
We want to congratulate our Cross Country Team as they finished their season on September 28th with the Buffalo Stampede, which hosted 40 area middle schools.
Our Congress/Plaza Football Team is halfway through the season with a current 2-1 record. We want to push our players to keep the momentum as we have three games remaining—the annual Park Hill vs. Park Hill South Middle School game will be on October 11th.
Shout out to the Volleyball Team as they just passed the halfway point and brought home two trophies from the mid-season tournaments. The A team finished in second place, and the B team brought home first place.
On October 24th, we will have Basketball tryouts, and students will need a current physical and impact test. Please make sure all required forms and physicals are completed before the 24th. Based on MSHSAA requirements, students must also be academically eligible to try out for any sport. We have three weeks remaining in this first quarter; please make sure we focus on our coursework.
Please check our school website, Get Involved at Congress, for all updated sports-related information.
CMS Cross Country Schedule
CMS Volleyball Schedule
CMS Football Schedule
ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL
Car Riders Drop Zone - GREEN SPACE ONLY
Bus Riders - RED ZONE ONLY (For your Childs' safety DO NOT DROP IN THE BUS AREA.
Walker - GREEN/YELLOW ZONE
First Hand News Header:
Transportation Update
Like other school districts and organizations around the region, Park Hill is working through bus driver shortages and transportation efficiencies.
As we navigate the first two weeks of school, our transportation provider, First Student, will be evaluating the routes, ridership numbers and timing for efficient arrival and dismissal at our schools. Depending on our bus driver numbers and ridership numbers, they may have to adjust routes, stops and timing after the first two weeks of school. We commit to consistent communication about these adjustments as we gain more accurate ridership information. And remember, you can track your child’s bus in real-time by using the FirstView® Bus App. Visit the School Bus Information page of the district website for more information.
Specific adjustments could be:
- Longer routes
- Increased distance between bus stops
- Altered bus stop locations
- Altered bus stop timing
Additionally, First Student is actively looking for bus drivers to support our extra-curricular activities and athletic trips after school. We simply do not have enough drivers to support some of our after-school events.
With this, we may need to ask our parents to help arrange their child's transportation to and from an event. This may include a parent transporting their child or arranging for their child to be transported to or from the event by another student or adult. This is not necessarily new, as we had some forms of this already happening for our events in the spring.
We may also use charter buses and other forms of outside transportation to help fill the gap of any First Student bus driver shortages for after-school activities and athletics.
Can you help?
Again, First Student is actively looking for bus drivers. Would you like to spend time driving our students and athletes to practices, games and events? First Student is ready to provide paid training for adults who’d like to be part of our fleet of professionals taking care of student transportation needs. Please contact First Student at 816.359.4560 or visit WorkAtFirst.com if you can help.
PARK HILL STAR AWARDS
Our employees are the reason we are so successful here in the Park Hill School District, and we would like to recognize them for all they do for our students. That is why we present the Park Hill Star award once a month to a pre-K or elementary teacher, a secondary teacher and a support employee. Anyone can nominate an employee for this award by using the form below.
Our District is Hiring!
Are you or someone you know looking for a well-paying job that allows you to make a difference for students?
If so, join our team of dedicated Park Hill School District staff members. We have full-time and part-time support staff positions open, including nutrition services, childcare and substitute teacher positions.
We recently increased the pay for these positions, and our Adventure Club school-age childcare program and nutrition services positions will get a $1-an-hour bonus twice a year, paid on January 15 and July 30.
If you know of someone who would make a great addition to our Park Hill School District family, please let them know about these opportunities.
Apply here: https://parkhill.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx
22-23 Nutrition Application
22-23 - NO FREE LUNCH
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Meal pricing as of July 1, 2022 is provided below. Free and Reduced Meal Applications for the 22-23 school year will be available after August 1, 2022.
Elementary school meals Prices
Breakfast $1.50
Lunch $2.70
Middle school and high school meals
Breakfast $1.75 (regular)
$1.90 (premium)
Lunch $3.10 (regular)
$3.50 (premium)
Beverages
Milk $0.70
Juice $0.40
Athletics Information
Students seeking to participate in any of our sports this year must have a current physical and ImPACT test on file. All information related to our sports may be found on our school website under the Get Involved Tab. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to Assistant Principal Athletic Director Brian Van Horn (816) 359 – 4230.
Read more about ImPACT testing.
The IMPACT test is valid for 2 years so if your athlete took it last year, they do not need to re-take it this year. Please have them double check if they are unsure.