Pathfinder Press

Hello Pathfinder Families!

This week, we acknowledge that life can sometimes start us off in a tough place. Challenges and unexpected hurdles often greet us when we least expect them. Yet, these moments offer an opportunity to reflect, reset, and move forward with purpose. Together, as a community, we are committed to supporting one another, cherishing those around us, and creating a positive environment where our students can thrive.

A quick reminder that there will be no school on Monday, January 20, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This day serves as a powerful reminder of Dr. King's enduring legacy of equality, justice, and unity—principles that inspire us to be our best selves and to contribute meaningfully to our communities.

We’re excited to announce that our SchoolStore will kick off next week! Other schools in the district are participating with great success, and we’re looking forward to bringing this opportunity to our community as well.

We look forward to welcoming your children back on Tuesday, ready to learn, grow, and embrace the opportunities ahead. Let’s make this a week of progress and gratitude, holding close the values that bring us together.

-Dr. Bohn and Mrs. Miller

With the uncertainty of our recent winter weather, we want to ensure all students are prepared in case we need to implement our final AMI (Alternative Methods of Instruction) day next week. To avoid the challenges of last week when students didn't have their devices following winter break, we will be sending your student home with their school-issued device this weekend.

Please remind your child to keep their device charged and ready to use. Thank you for helping us stay prepared and ensuring a smooth transition to learning, no matter the weather!

Be on the lookout for a colorful Parent Information Envelope coming home soon!

You will find important information about a safe and easy way your family can help our school get the essential tools our students and teachers need to succeed. It will also let you know how your child can win fun prizes just for helping!

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!

The Platte County R-3 School District is grieving over the loss of Pathfinder Elementary 2nd grader Jeffrey Hatcher, and kindergartner Charlotte Hatcher, who tragically passed away on January 2. Our thoughts are with the Hatcher family during this difficult time.

We have and will continue to mobilize our community resources, including having additional counselors, social workers, and other staff available to support our students and staff members. If you need additional support, please call PCR-3's Student Services Department at 816-858-5420 x. 2206.

For resources on how to help your child process grief, you may find this guide from the National Association of School Psychologists helpful: Addressing Grief - NASP.

Jeffrey & Charlotte's services have been scheduled for Saturday, January 18th with a visitation from 1-2 PM and memorial services from 2-3 PM. Their obituaries and service details can be found here (Jeffrey, Charlotte). Any and all staff and students are welcome.

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

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 17- Grade Cards Go Home
• January 20- No School. MLK Jr. Day.
• January 21- School Store Kick Off.
• January 29- Fifth Grade Field Trip

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!

It is that time of year where students have access to costume-like accessories, which can cause a distraction in the classroom. Please remember to adhere to our school dress code. Thank you for your partnership in maintaining the learning environments at Pathfinder.

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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