What's Happening Weekly @ MRH
October 21, 2024
SURVEY: What Topics Are Most Important to You?
Community Conversations Survey: Your Feedback is Important
We are seeking your input to better understand the interests and needs of our MRH families. We've developed a brief survey to help us gauge your interest in potential engagement opportunities. Your feedback is important as we continue to provide resources that benefit our students and community.
Play a Role in Strategic Planning, Budgeting
The MRH Board of Education offers myriad ways for you to become involved in key decision-making across the District. Here's how to get started:
- Review this budget presentation on our website, then take a few moments to complete this VERY SHORT survey asking for your preferred areas of emphasis for District spending.
- Consider joining any of several Strategic Plan advisory committees by filling out our online form. The committees are linked to the 5 keys sections of the Plan: "For Our Students, Our People, Our Health, Our Resources, and Our Community."
MRH Teachers Association, Board Hold First Communication Lab
On Tuesday, October 8, officers of the MRH NEA (National Education Association) met with the District's Board of Education and administrators in closed session for their first scheduled Communication Lab. The meeting was held in a closed session format to allow for discussion of identifiable personnel matters as raised by survey feedback and MRH NEA recommendations for action.
The meeting’s agenda was to discuss the data from the MRH NEA survey of staff conducted in May of 2024. The goal of the survey was timely data-sharing between MRH NEA and MRH School District to improve climate and culture, which will improve learning outcomes for students. Initial full data results were shared in August, at which time the Board requested a synthesis of the information to be presented at the Communication Lab. The synthesis focused on one positive and two growth items for each of six groups and a summary follows, along with the goals set by each group.
The Communication Lab Summary is linked below.
"Community Conversations" Goes Virtual, October 29
Mark the Date: Districtwide Open House, November 9
No appointments necessary; our teachers and administrators are eager to show you around and answer your questions. In addition to our school buildings, we will open up our new Maria J. Langston Administrative Center at 2531 S. Big Bend Boulevard. We hope to you see on November 9!
Sustainability in the ECC Studio
Earlier this month, twenty visual arts teachers from the Rockwood School District came to visit the MRH Early Childhood Center Art Studio to have conversations around the topic of sustainability. The ECC Art studio is steeped in the Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood and the TAB pedagogy for Art Education (Teaching for Artistic Behavior.) Both pedagogics of education are inherently sustainable practices. Art teacher Kari Schepker-Mueller was asked to present on this topic by the Missouri Art Education Association in a webinar this fall and the School District of Rockwood requested further exploration of the subject.
In addition to a tour of the studio and ECC, a guided group conversation was hosted in the studio around:
teaching children to care for art materials
building studio ownership among young learners
choosing sustainable storage
creating thoughtful spaces in the studio for children to engage in ephemeral experiences
loose parts and community involvement in materials collection
how to guide children working through collaborative creation and saving materials
introducing natural materials as creative tools
including sustainable artists into your curriculum
helping children gain confidence as creative stewards
tips and tricks to environmentally safe practices in the studio
how sustainability works with the National Visual Arts Standards
how sustainability works in the favor of the studio art budget
"If you consciously choose to offer sustainable and culturally appropriate resources, you will have the chance to support your children’s understanding of the environment, promote sustainable practices and develop their responsibilities as global citizens." - Janelle McArdle, myteachingcupboard.com
Middle School Students Get Creative With Technology
MRH Middle School students in Dr. Curtis Graham's "Creativity in Technology" class have finished their final projects, and they are a hoot! They will be on display in the Richmond Heights Memorial Library (8001 Dale Avenue) until the end of the month, but you can also check them out in these videos:
Can You Dig It? New Alt Ed Time Capsule
Two weeks ago, we brought you the story of the unearthing of a decade-old time capsule buried and then unearthed by MRH Alternative Education students behind the house where they formally received instruction. Now, in this EXCLUSIVE follow-up, we can report that a NEW time capsule has been entombed on the southeast corner of the big campus at Manchester and Big Bend. The major difference between this one and the previous one: this one actually has a water-tight lid!
Want to know what's in it? We'll publish that revelation in October of 2034.
Resources & Opportunities for Families
District Central Office and school building phone numbers
The MRH Communications Tree: Find the right person to contact with your questions/concerns.
Are You Set Up to Receive Text Messages from MRH?
If you haven't already, download the instructions below to get text messages from your school and Central Office.
Join us for this year's Virtual Autism Conference on November 7 and 8 for two mornings of building and growing our understanding of autism. This year’s conference will feature Keynote Speakers Lianne Holliday Willey, psycholinguistics expert and bestselling author, and Jennifer Cook, bestselling author, autism advocate, and public speaker.
November 7 | 8:30 AM – 11:45 PM
November 8 | 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM
See the full schedule, session descriptions, speaker bios, and additional registration info by clicking here. If you have any questions about the event, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at tara.wehmeye@esmw.org or ashley.hartmann@esmw.org.
The Blue Devil Spotlight for October 21
This week, the Blue Devil shines his spotlight on a particularly "humerus" front yard on Flora Avenue in Maplewood. "Skeletons of St. Louis" was born in the pandemic month of October 2022 at the home of Dan Richter and Kelsey Laitinen-Richter, parents of a preschooler and a kindergartener at MRH Early Childhood Center. Dan explains that he wanted a means of entertaining his neighbors during that difficult period when most folks were confined to their homes. The couple purchased an array of posable skeletons which they reconfigured daily in whimsical scenarios. The non-profit for which Dan works occasionally donates furnishings, as does the Moms of Maplewood group. The display has garnered attention from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as well as hundreds of local spectators. No bones about it; it's worth your time to swing by daily and set what the skeletons are up to lately. But don't delay; come November 1, these skeletons crawl back into their graves!
Dates to Know
October 24: Mid-County Chamber Pumpkin Glow
October 24-26: HS Thespians Production of "Clue"
October 26: Trunk or Treat at MRH ECC
October 28, 29, 30: Parent/Teacher Conferences
October 29: Community Conversations with MRH Admins
November 5: No school for students/Professional development for staff/Election day
November 9: MRH Districtwide Open House; Kiwanis Club of Maplewood Pancake Breakfast
MRH Youth Sports Winter Registration
MRH Youth Sports winter sports registration is now open at MRHYS.org. Winter sports include basketball (1st-8th grades) and wrestling (also 1st-8th grades). Basketball registration closes TODAY, and wrestling registration will close on Monday, January 6, 2025.
For more details on team sizes, practice schedules and game info, please visit OUR SITE. Financial aid is available. Reach out to mrhyouthsports@gmail.com with any questions, and we’ll see you on the courts and mats!
Fall Play "CLUE" Opens This Week
Scan the QR Code to Purchase Tickets in Advance or Pay at the Door
MRH Trunk or Treat, October 26
What's Happening Weekly in Our Community
Visit the "Boo Devils" Tent at The Great Pumpkin Glow, October 24
Non-Discrimination Statement
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.