SDUC Newsletter 11/1/24

“Is that a Delorean?” That's the question a dad asked while focusing his camera for a closer look as the car, driven by father and son team Harvey (Co1967) and Jay Seigel, cruised through the lion gates – giving historical context to the parade theme, “Back to the Future!” University City High School students, staff and alumni, inspired by a recent screening of the movie and meeting writer, producer and UCHS Hall of Famer, Bob Gale, put their best creative spins on floats, costumes and performances to bring the theme to life.

I wore a white wig like scientist Doc Brown while others put on their best Marty McFly face. Our inimitable Board of Education and administration commemorated the movie era with retro costumes and tunes! It was a beautiful view and an amazing feeling as I walked down Delmar behind candy tosses, cheers and hugs as autumn leaves, like colorful confetti, fell at our feet. We are very grateful to our school and greater community for their support and for such a warm embrace of our schools. Our students will not forget the feeling and neither will I.

I am proud of each school and participating clubs, organizations, alumni and supporters who paraded alongside us. This year, our parade judges had a very hard job but finally rested on three top parade award-winners. Taking first place was Pershing’s iridescent Delorean hand crafted from cardboard and supports; second place went to Jackson Park students whose spirited performance had the audience literally dancing in the streets, and the Class of 2026 (UCHS juniors) focused on music.

Alumni parade cars and tailgates at the high school helped to remind today’s students that pride in their alma mater and the friends they make here will last a lifetime. I want to thank Gary Boyd, president of the Alumni Association, and alum Kenny Schwartz for their support along with UCHS’ Chris Blumenhorst and Justin Wilhite who coordinated the day's events.

We are grateful to the University City Police Department for ensuring a safe progression from the loop to the high school. And, once again, we truly appreciate the families that lined the sidewalks to watch the University City “black and gold” take center stage among the autumnal colors. It means so much to our students that so many people came to cheer them on. It also means a lot to us. The parade allows us to give back to the community that has always shown tremendous care and support for the District.

With a football win on the Thursday before, Homecoming weekend 2024 was magical and it was truly a celebration filled with wonderful tributes to the District that made everyone want to take a walk, “Back to the Future.”

Please keep reading so you don't miss a beat!

In Service of Our Children,
Sharonica L. Hardin-Bartley, Ph.D., PHR

Superintendent

Congratulations to our UCHS Lions with their win of 12-8 against the Jennings Warriors at our 2024 Homecoming Football Game! Although the homecoming game was relocated this year due to extensive renovations at Muhl-Schemmer Stadium, our football team, the Golden Explosion Marching Band, the Golden Girls, and our University City community brought the U. City Pride!

Looking back to spring of last year, student proficiency was tested as part of the Missouri School Improvement Process (MSIP) process. We recently received a first look at the Annual Performance Reports and we will spend the next few weeks analyzing the data. Allowing for the winter breaks, we will present the results to our community in January 2025. Please watch for more details including a registration link in a future email.

Tuesday, November 5, is the General Election. Please remember to vote and, if you can, take your student along for a personal take on the experience! Our students are still excited about their own, all-District Youth Voting learning opportunities last week! Students received special, age-appropriate ballots and voted over the course of two days. We thank our Curriculum and Instruction team and teachers districtwide for organizing and supporting this opportunity.

As a reminder, if you are registered to vote in St. Louis County, you can do so at any designated polling place. However, for your convenience, four of our schools are polling sites: Barbara C. Jordan (1500 82nd Blvd), Jackson Park (7400 Balson Ave), and Flynn Park (7220 Waterman Ave) Elementary Schools and Brittany Woods Middle School (8125 Groby Rd.).

Looking forward, if you are interested in running for a seat on our Board of Education, please know that there are two possible seats available for the April 2025 election. The District recently entered into an agreement with the St. Louis County Board of Election Commission (BEC). Potential candidates will now register through the BEC for a spot on the April election ballot. Position on the ballot will be determined by a lottery and will not be first-come, first served. More details will be available soon at ucityschools.org/BOE.

It is my pleasure to welcome musician Christopher Thomas to the District as the 2024 University City Arts and Letters Commission’s Returning Artist. Thomas has visited classrooms and shared experiences growing up in University City. The Commission will host a reception in his honor on December 2, at 7 p.m. in the UCHS library. Please register to attend at ucityschools.org/RA2024.

More than 300 families attended the Student Services’ Winter Warm-Up | Family Resource Fair. Partners and donors helped to provide a mid-year support including flu shots, clothing, shoes, crafts and free books from the University City Public Library – (Did you see their cart in the parade?)

We appreciate our partners and thank them for helping to make these events possible for our families.

Please mark your calendars for November 14 National Pickle Day! It also happens to be the same day as our STEAM EXPO and the first tasting of Brittany Woods sustainability students’ (Brittany Brand) new pickled products, which will be for sale at the expo. Congratulations to Education for Sustainability Facilitator Anne Cummings, whose recent certification makes this new activity possible!

Please click here to read last Saturday’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch article about Dr. Pam Lester and students enrolled in the UCHS Agriculture Program.

• November 1: No School - PD Day
• November 4: No School - Plan Day
• November 5: District Closed - Election Day
• November 7: Board of Education Work Session | 5:45 pm
• November 14: District STEAM EXPO and Brittany Brand Pop-Up | 6:00 - 7:30 pm
• For more information, please visit ucityschools.org/STEAMEXPO
• November 16: SLIFF "Farming While Black" Showing | Sponsored by BWMS students
• Advanced registration is encouraged. Please click here to reserve tickets.
• November 19: FP 2nd & 3rd Grade Concert | 6:30 pm
• November 21: District-wide Book Fair at Barnes & Noble, Ladue Crossing | 5:00 - 7:30 pm
• November 21: Board of Education Meeting | 7:00 pm
• November 25-29: No School - Fall Break (Thanksgiving)
• November 27-29: District Closed (Thanksgiving)
• December 2: Returning Artist 2024 Reception - Christopher Thomas | 7:00 pm
• To register to attend, please visit ucityschools.org/RA2024
• December 3: BCJ K, 2nd, & 4th Grade Winter Concert | 6:30 pm
• December 5: BWMS Band and Orchestra Concert | 6:30 pm
• December 6: UCHS/BWMS Choir Concert | 6:30 pm




To view SDUC's District Website Calendar, please visit ucityschools.org/calendar.

In this edition of SDUC's School Spotlight, we'd like to highlight Brittany Woods Middle School!

Brittany Brand is the name of the homegrown and class-made food items created by BWMS sustainability students. These students are involved in all aspects of the business - harvesting, pickling, canning, processing, marketing, selling, and more! The school is in its fourth year of garden-to-table production and is expanding its product line to include pickled green beans, tomatoes, peppers and onions harvested from their chemical free garden.

Education for Sustainability Facilitator Anne Cummings says, “What's wonderful about our class is we can meet a lot of (educational) needs at once. We use problem-based learning and critical thinking in ways that don’t exist in most schools; a product of our district’s commitment to sustainability across all grades levels.”

From agriculture to business skills, they’re cultivating knowledge and nurturing the planet - one seed at a time. Be sure to stop by to grab some sweet potatoes grown in their very own garden, honey sourced from their very own bees, and so much more!

As Proposition U (Prop U) priority projects start moving from the drawing board and into facilities and fields districtwide, our community will start to see significant returns on their investment of trust and support in The School District of University City. That includes the transformative benefits of Prop U and working together in support of students and families.

The District will center reports around the fall, winter, spring and summer seasons in four basic categories:

➢ DESIGN: Development and approval of the full plan
➢ PROCUREMENT: Bid process/permits
➢ CONSTRUCTION: Progress from groundbreaking to installation
➢ COMPLETION: Ready to go!

Playgrounds at Jackson Park and Pershing are on the rise as our contractors are assembling the new equipment on site and under the watchful eyes of students and community. We are proud of the fact that these playgrounds are important to not only our schools, but our neighbors who are welcome to use them when school is not in session. These facilities, set in a soft surface, will be safe and state-of-the-art. They will promote exercise, eye-hand coordination, critical thinking and just plain fun!

To learn more about our Prop U projects in progress, visit ucityschools.org/PropUinProgress.

It may still be fall, but The School District of University City geared up for the winter season at the first ever Winter Warm-Up!

This resource fair gave our families an opportunity to receive coats, books, flu shots, connect with local community resources, and some even won gift cards from our raffle. We want to give a huge thank you to all of our partners and volunteers that came to share with our U. City community!

What time is it? GAME TIME!

To kick off the Homecoming 2024 football game, UCHS hyped up students and staff at their pep rally with special appearances from the band, cheerleaders, step team, dance team and more! Student council hosted the event, which included games, giveaways and even a dance battle between students and staff.

We want to give a big thank you to Raising Canes for donating awesome swag and gift cards to our homecoming court! It was the perfect gift for our kings and queens! #OneLove

Address: Ronald E. McNair Administration Building | 7700 Olive Blvd., University City, MO 63130

Contact: cco@ucityschools.org