What's Happening Weekly @ MRH

MRH is asking all families to complete the semi-annual MRH School Climate Survey: Families developed by the University of Missouri. Why is this important? 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. 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). We received 170 completed surveys this past week. Thank you to those who participated so far.
• 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.

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.

A research paper was recently published in the Early Childhood Research Quarterly that shows participation in the Missouri Parents as Teachers (PAT) Parent Education Program is positively associated with third-grade math and English language arts proficiency. This research contributes to the literature on the importance of home visiting programs and is one of the few studies examining the effects of a voluntary, universal parent education program. Read more about this research HERE and learn more about the MRH chapter of Parents As Teachers on our website.

The MRH Boys Basketball Program is leading the charge to raise funds to acquire a unique technology called Hudl, a platform that helps teams and individuals capture, organize and analyze video and data to improve performance. But the Hudl package will allow MRH to showcase much more than athletics; it will be used to highlight other groups, clubs and events (i.e. graduation) via live-streaming.

• Video: Hudl allows teams to host, share and review video. Users can create highlight reels for recruiting, and athletes can create their own highlights to share with recruiters.
• Data: Hudl tracks stats and analytics for every player. Users can interact with stats and create automated reports to help build a more effective game plan.
• Film organization: Hudl helps users organize and distribute film within hours.
• Data analysis: Hudl analyzes and tracks everything that's captured.
• Hudl Assist: Hudl Assist is a service that provides film breakdowns for teams and individuals. Users can submit a game or opponent video, and Hudl Assist will analyze the data and provide a visual report.

The first 100 donations of $20.00+ receive an original, limited edition digital art print from sophomore Em Watkins (samples below).

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.

Nicole Kinkelaar of Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle School has been selected to receive Emerson’s 2024 Excellence in Teaching Award. Ms. Kinkelaar is among more than 100 teachers from across the St. Louis area receiving this award, which celebrates outstanding examples of educational excellence.

The Emerson Excellence in Teaching Awards is one of the area’s most recognized teacher recognition programs. Emerson sponsors this program annually to help the St. Louis region show gratitude to educators who go above and beyond for their students and school communities.

In her third year at MRH, Ms. Kinkelaar teaches communications arts. She was selected as the MRH District Teacher of the Year for 2023-2024 and was named Educator of the Year by the Mid County Chamber of Commerce in September.

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

Enjoy traditional holiday tunes courtesy of MRH Elementary School choir members at the Mid County Chamber of Commerce holiday event on Friday, December 6. Students will take the stage at CNB Park at 5:50 p.m. Following the lighting of the Maplewood tree, enjoy merchant open houses, visits with Santa, carriage rides and more throughout downtown Maplewood.

Build A Gift

Saturday December 7, 2024

10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Build a gift for family and friends for FREE! For children ages 3-12 years; free coffee & breakfast foods for adults & children while you wait!

Gift options for children to handcraft include: Reindeer Food, Bead Icicles Ornaments, Water Bottle, Look & Find, CD Snowman Ornaments, Dragonfly Button Craft, Wood Photo Holder, & other crafts.

Maplewood United Methodist Church

7409 Flora Avenue

Maplewood, MO 63143

314-781-5902

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.