Pathfinder Press

Hello Pathfinder Families!

Thank you so much for bearing with us as we navigated the start of this new quarter. We know these transitional times can be busy and sometimes challenging, and we truly appreciate your patience, support, and partnership as we settle into the rhythm of a new semester.

We are thrilled about the opportunities that lie ahead for our students and are looking forward to an exciting semester filled with learning, growth, and memorable experiences. Whether through academic achievements, extracurricular activities, or personal milestones, we’re eager to see our students thrive and continue to build a strong community together.

Your involvement and encouragement mean so much to us, and we’re grateful to have you as part of our school family. Here’s to a wonderful semester filled with success and shared accomplishments!

-Dr. Bohn and Mrs. Miller

Pirates R.O.C.K. (Raising Outstanding Character Kids) is a program designed to surround our families with examples of strong character traits through school experiences, at home, and reinforced in their community. Each month our community focuses on a specific character trait and students are recognized for exhibiting these traits: Self Confidence, Pride, Responsibility, Citizenship, Compassion, Individuality, Self Control, Integrity, Perseverance, Respect, Honesty, and Cooperation.

January's #PiratesROCK trait is INDIVIDUALITY: setting yourself apart from others.

Leader in Me connections to INDIVIDUALITY:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive - You are in charge of you.
• Habit 3: Put First Things First - Do the important things first.
• Habit 4: Think Win-Win - Find ways where everyone can win.
• Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood - Listen first, then talk.
• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw - Take care of yourself.

Character Strong connections to INDIVIDUALITY:

• Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Relationship Skills, Honesty, Respect

Today's guest was Andrea James from Central Bank of the Midwest. Andrea does all of the marketing and graphic design for the bank and their sister companies. She shows her individuality by creating unique designs to promote the bank. She has also been working hard on a financial literacy platform specifically geared towards kids! Today, our leaders drew superheroes and had to include certain elements in their design: superhero name, their sidekick, include a shape on their uniform and a superpower! We had some very unique superhero designs!

This year we are partnering with SchoolStore to raise funds to help our school raise money. On Monday, January 27, an envelope explaining how the program works will be sent home with your student. Parents, please read over the information describing how you can participate. Your student will earn a participation prize when they return the filled-out envelope to school. You can register at www.schoolstore.net using code 361581. They can earn more great prizes when your family and friends help our school raise money, so don't forget to send the filled-out envelope back to school. Thanks for your support.

February 10-14 is our Pirates ROCK "Character Warms the Heart" week, when we warm up with our good character and great leadership with fun spirit week activities! This year we are teaming up with PCHS FBLA to collect items (art supplies, stuffed animals, books, games, etc.) for Happy Disciples, a student-run non-profit that provides care packages to children fighting cancer. Participate in our spirit days and send in any donations to our schools! The class, PLT, or Advisory in each school with the most donated items will receive a donut party!

On Thursday, we'll either be making our own hand-made notes for cancer patients, or using this form to create a digital note.

Reminder: Friday, February 14 there is no school for our Professional Learning Day. See flier for details on our spirit days and come cheer on our Pirates and participate in the activities at the Home Basketball games on February 11!

Do you have a free day or a few hours to spare? Pathfinder teachers would love to have volunteers in their classroom or helping with extra jobs! These tasks may vary among teachers but some examples are:

• Copying

• Cutting laminate

• Organizing supplies

• Working with a small group or one-on-one (reading, writing, or math help)

• Reading with students

Please reach out to your student’s teacher if you would like to volunteer.

Thank you for your support!

Our weekly attendance numbers are in, and we’re setting our sights on exceeding the district goal of 90%! Let’s pull together and make sure Pathfinder has the best attendance in the district.

We know you’ve got this, Pirates—let’s show up strong and make it happen!

This question will be placed on the April 8, 2025 ballot. If approved by voters, the approximately $62 million bond issue would fund the following projects identified in the District’s Long-Range Facility Plan:

• Completing Phase 2 of rebuilding Platte County High School, creating a consolidated high school building with all classrooms and programs under one roof
• Constructing site amenities at Platte Purchase Middle School activities complex
• Constructing playground facilities at Pathfinder Elementary
• Expanding parking and improving traffic flow and safety at Compass Elementary

For more information, click here, or attend an Informational Meeting:

• Monday, March 3, 2025, 6pm, Platte Purchase Middle School
• Tuesday, March 11, 2025, 6pm, Platte County High School

Children who have turned five years of age before August 1, 2025, are eligible for kindergarten for the 2025-26 school year. Families are encouraged to view the Attendance area boundary map linked here, or call the District office at 816-858-5420 for confirmation of attendance area.

Kindergarten Kickoffs will be hosted in each elementary on Tuesday, April 15. Incoming Kindergarten families will complete new student enrollment via our online registration process. Stay tuned for our 2025-26 new student registration forms.

Safety is our District's top priority. PCR-3 has a system of safety and security measures in place, including trained security staff (now at every building following the passage of the Prop C Waiver/Levy Transfer), secure entryways, ongoing monitoring, and partnership with local law enforcement.

We remind parents, staff, and students that school safety is the responsibility of the entire school community. Please follow the principle of "see something, say something." If anyone (student, parent, staff member, community member) sees or hears anything of concern, please contact the District office at (816) 858-5420 so that those concerns can be investigated. You and your child can also easily report tips on bullying, harassment, or any safety issue you're concerned about through our online Safe Schools Alert system. Every tip is immediately logged in the system and our administration is notified so that they can investigate and take appropriate action. Tips may also be submitted anonymously. Each building's website has the Safe Schools icon located within the “quick links” bar on the homepage.

Invest a little of your time to make a big impact! When parents work together, amazing things happen for our kids and our school. By joining the PTA, you can support our students, strengthen our school community, and help create opportunities for success. Many hands make light work, so let's lighten the load together!

Exciting news: PTA Board Member elections are coming up in March. Join us now to learn more, get involved, and make your voice heard.

If you're interested, email us at pathfinderpta@gmail.com. Together, we can achieve great things!

The PCR-3 Treasure Chest is a stocked resource center providing food, milk, and toiletries for PCR-3 students and families in need. Qualifying families will receive a weekly form via email to sign up or can call 816-858-7001 for assistance.

Families will receive an email with approval to come to the Treasure Chest on Wednesdays from 4-6pm at the new Treasure Chest site (south side of Paxton building).

• January 27- School Store Kick Off.
• January 29- Fifth Grade Field Trip
• February 13- 3 hour early release
• February 13- Student Showcase
• February 14- PLD. No School.
• February 17- President's Day. No School.

Click on the image below to access a printable Parent Calendar that includes all of our important dates, our Specials rotation, and upcoming events! We will continue to include this in subsequent issues of the Pathfinder Press at the bottom of each edition.

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Please make sure that your children come to school dressed for the weather – pants, socks, winter coats, hats, gloves when necessary. There will be outdoor recess unless the "feels like" temperature is at 20 degrees or below. During times of year that temperatures can be unpredictable, dressing in layers is preferable.

As we work to ensure a smooth and orderly end to each school day, we kindly ask that there be no student checkouts in the office after 3:25 pm beginning Monday, October 28. During this time, teachers are focused on important end-of-day activities, including helping students pack up, reviewing key information, and closing circles in the classroom. Late checkouts have become disruptive to this process and can also interfere with the flow of the car rider line, making dismissal less efficient for everyone. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in helping us maintain a smooth and efficient dismissal process!

Click here for information on school cancellations/modifications due to inclement weather, how the District will notify parents, as well as information on recess, Y Club, and Inclement Weather Virtual Learning Days. For the 2024-25 school year, PCR-3 will implement Inclement Weather Virtual Learning Days for the first five canceled school days. These days will not need to be made up. Any additional canceled school days may be waived, or may need to be made up (added to the academic calendar).

Please refer to the chart below to find your child's lunch time. Make sure to register using the link provided. We kindly ask visitors to arrive a few minutes before the scheduled lunch time and bring a government-issued ID. Visitors will be capped per grade level so please use the sign-up to ensure that there is space available. If you choose to eat school lunch, please be prepared to pay $4.05 via cash or check. Unfortunately, we are unable to charge a student's account for an adult lunch. We appreciate your understanding.

In the next few days, you’ll notice some changes to the car rider dismissal line. Parents will continue to enter through the first entrance, but the line will now split into two lanes in the back before merging back into a single line for pick-up. Check out the graphic below for details.

All transportation changes need to be made by calling the office at 816-436-6670. We will not take your child's word for any transportation change. All changes need to be made prior to 3:00 PM each day.

K-12 Payment Center is now Linq Connect, where parents can deposit money for meal transactions. Parents can access Linq Connect through this link or when signing in to PowerSchool Parent Portal. In addition to allowing for better and faster service to students during meal times at school, the online portion of this system allows guardians to set up scheduled meal deposits or deposits to accounts when falling below a certain amount. Please be advised that 2023-24 balances will carry over to 24-25.A transaction fee will be applied based on the amount of funds added. The Fees are 3.95% of the transaction total with a $2.85 minimum to be paid by the parent/cardholder.

To set up your student's account, you'll need their student ID number, which can be found on your Parent Portal. Parents can still deposit money for meal transactions by sending payment via check or cash to their child's school.

The Platte County Health Department distributes food every 2nd Thursday of the month from 1-2:30 pm.

The Before and After School Program available to families in the Platte County R-3 School District is Y Club. With Y Club before and after school, children in kindergarten through 5th grade will benefit from homework enrichment, physical activity, and small and large group activities with a focus on building community, youth voice, and leadership. Full-time and part-time Y Club is available at each of our elementary buildings (Barry, Compass, Pathfinder, and Siegrist), along with Y Club on days when school is out of session for inclement weather, seasonal breaks, and other days off (enrollment permitting). Operating hours are each weekday from 6:30 a.m. until school begins, and again after school until 6:00 p.m. Registration is now open.

If you have any questions about the Y Club program, please contact YMCA at (816) 360-3390.

We want families to stay connected to all Pathfinder information. In addition, we invite you to visit our social media and platforms below.

• Like us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter
• Visit our Website

You can always pick up the phone and give us a call anytime. The school number is 816.436.6670. If you have a specific question for administration, please email us at bohn.anna@pcr3schools.org (Dr. Anna Bohn, Principal) or miller.emily@pcr3schools.org (Mrs. Emily Miller, Assistant Principal).

• If you haven't already, please sign up for the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Parent Portal allows parents access to class schedules, attendance, homework, grades, and will have links to meal payments and fees.
  
• Parents should receive their initial Parent Portal Access ID and Password (for each student) during registration or by calling your child's school." to "New families should receive their Parent Portal Access ID and Password (for each student) at back to school nights or by calling your child's school. If any returning families have not set up Parent Portal, please contact the school.
  
• Click here to create an account and login.
  
• Students will be able to login to Student Portal using their school email address and password.
  
• Click here for a Guide to Parent Portal.

A district communication medium is our School Messenger system that we use for phone calls and text notifications. As with any school district, PCR-3 must often contact hundreds of parents quickly for sudden changes in schedules due to emergencies, cancellation, or just important announcements.

If you have provided a cell phone number, parents can opt in to receive text alerts and messages. Simply text "YES" to 67587 (standard text messaging fees apply).

Email: bohn.anna@pcr3schools.org
Website: https://pathfinder.plattecountyschooldistrict.com/
Location: 1951 NW 87th Terrace, KCMO, MO, United States
Phone: 816-436-6670
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pathfinderelementary/
Twitter: @pathfinderelem

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