PattonvilleWork@March 14, 2012

An e-newsletter from the Pattonville School District

Vision 2025Process outlined for updating strategic plan, making sure students achieve on international standards

On March 27, Pattonville will begin work with parents, students, community members, staff and area leaders to update its strate-

gic plan. The process was outlined during the March 13 board meet-ing. The updated plan would focus on four outcomes: • Build a vision for 2025 (when kindergartners from August 2012

graduate) by designing schools that prepare students to meet interna-tional learning standards;

• Update the district Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (Pattonville’s strategic plan, also known as CSIP) goals and identify specific action steps (building and district) Pattonville must take during the next five years to meet international learning standards as reflected in the nation’s Common Core State Standards;

• Identify and address budget issues to ensure identified goals, targets and action steps are funded; and• Ensure Pattonville is highly competitive academically and in the quality of its programs when compared

with other St. Louis metropolitan schools and school districts. The CSIP update process will include members of each school’s school improvement team, as well as parents, teachers, board members, administrators and community members collaborating in various work groups. The work groups include:

• “Resources” – This group will share information and develop strategies regarding economic develop-ment, city-school district partnerships, budget priorities, staffing and facilities planning.

• “Community Connections” – This group’s purpose will be to share information and develop strategies regarding community needs related to housing, mobility, resources and opportunities for students and families.

• “Before and After-School Activities” – This group’s purpose will be to develop programs and col-laborations that provide activities and athletics for students in preschool through 12th grade; enhanced opportunities for student involvement and student achievement; and the ability for students to develop their talents to open doors of opportunity for post-secondary education.

The district meetings for the CSIP update will be held on March 27, Sept. 13 and Dec. 4, with the goal of presenting an updated plan to the Board of Education in winter 2012-2013.

Don’t forget...Spring Break is March 19 through 23Classes resume Monday, March 26

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The Pattonville Board of Education appointed Ralph Stahlhut, school board treasurer, and Ron Orr, Pat-tonville’s chief financial officer to a TIF (tax increment financing) commission for the city of St. Ann. The

city of St. Ann is currently considering using tax increment financing for a 112-acre mixed-use redevelopment project to be located at the Northwest Plaza shopping center.

State law requires a TIF commission review potential redevelopment projects where TIFs may be used and make recommendations to the municipality’s governing body about the advisability and feasibility of the proposal. The TIF commission consists of 12 members, two of which are appointed by the school boards of districts who are included in the redevelopment area. By agreement with the Special School District (SSD), Pattonville’s appointments will represent both Pattonville and SSD. Other commission members include: six members appointed by the St. Louis County executive; three members appointed by the city; and one member appointed by the governing boards of all other taxing districts that levy a tax in the redevelopment area (i.e., fire district, etc.). The commission will tentatively begin meeting at the end of April.

A TIF is a way for municipalities and other government entities to encourage new construction or redevel-opment projects by diverting new property tax revenue generated on a new or redeveloped property to fund the improvements. Generally this means taxing entities which rely on property taxes for funding sources (such as school districts, fire districts, etc.) would not receive any of the increased tax revenue they would have normally expected to receive from the new development until the established period of the TIF incentive ends. TIFs can be in place for a number of years and are intended for use in areas that are deemed “blighted” or dif-ficult to develop or redevelop.

Two appointed to TIF commission for Northwest Plaza

Pattonville will hold its 23rd annual Wellness Run/Walk on Saturday, April 28, beginning at Pattonville High School, 2497 Creve Coeur

Mill Road in Maryland Heights. The 5K run/walk (3.1 miles) will begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by a one-mile medal run/walk for children at 9:30 a.m. Trophies will be awarded to the overall male and female finishers and the top three age division finishers in the 5K. Trophies will also be awarded in the one-mile fun run. Refreshments will be available after the races, and atten-dance prizes will be awarded during the awards ceremony. The cost of the event is $10 per individual or family rates (for family members at the same residence) as follows: $20 for two, $25 for three, $30 for four or $40 for five or more. Fees for all categories increase by $5 if paid on race day. For more information, contact Claire Steiner, Pat-tonville wellness coordinator, at (314) 213-8010 or csteiner@psdr3.org.

Pattonville Wellness Run/Walk set for April 28

Taste of Pattonville coming March 29

Pattonville High School will host its sixth annual Taste of Pattonville Sampler Night, a fun event featuring samples from restaurants and businesses in the Pattonville area. Proceeds will benefit the school’s Renais-

sance and Character Education Committees. The event will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m., Thursday, March 29 in the Pattonville High School cafeteria at 2497 Creve Coeur Mill Road. Tickets are $12 for adults and students in sixth grade and older; and $8 for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Children age 5 and under are admitted for free.

The following restaurants have signed up to participate thus far: Applebee’s in Bridgeton, Buffalo Wild Wings, Candicci’s, Chevys, Dairy Queen, Einstein’s, Jimmy John’s, Lehmann’s Landing, Lone Star, Macaroni Grill, McAlister’s Deli, McArthur’s Bakery, McDonalds, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Pattonville High School Culinary Arts, Pei Wei, Raj’s Rasoi, Shamrocks Pub and Grill, Smoothie King, Sports Café, Starbucks, Stir Crazy, Sweet Tomatoes, Tony’s Donuts, Tornatore’s, T.G.I. Friday’s, Trainwreck Saloon, Viviano’s and Waffle House.

To order tickets, contact Beth Moritz at Pattonville High School at (314) 213-8051 or bmoritz@psdr3.org or download a ticket order form at www.psdr3.org/NewsInfo/pdf/TasteOrderForm12.pdf.

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Pattonville celebrates “Read Across America”Pattonville’s elementary schools recently participated in Read Across

America, a reading motivation and awareness program tied to March 2, the birthday of children’s author Dr. Seuss. The awareness program is sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA). Here’s a sam-pling of activities at each school:• Briar Crest – All students in the school met with their buddies for

buddy reading time while The Cat in The Hat visited. Some classes conducted activities such as studying Dr. Seuss and making a time-line of his life; making green eggs and ham; conducting a mini author study on Dr. Seuss and analyzing similarities and differences in his books; and watching Dr. Seuss movies and comparing them to the books.

• Bridgeway – Bridgeway celebrated the week by dressing in a “Salad Dressing” theme. Each day of the week was a different flavor of dressing such as Thousand Island (wear Hawaiian clothes), blue cheese (wear blue) or house dressing (which in this case was wearing Bridgeway bulldog gear).

• Drummond – Drummond had a week-long celebration that included guest speakers/readers ranging from an Elvis impersonator, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, two Air National Guard service-men, Drummond’s namesake (former board member and current Drummond OASIS tutor Robert Drummond) and district employees. The Cat in the Hat also made an appearance for students in kindergar-ten through second grade. The week was topped off with a visit from the Show Me Jumpers and a school-wide assembly to kick off Jump Rope for Heart. Drummond also received a donation from Target of Dr. Seuss books that were handed out to students who showed good character throughout the week. Theses students were honored with a special Cat in the Hat visit and picture with their book.

• Parkwood – The Cat in the Hat also visited Parkwood. The lower grades made Cat in the Hat hats, some classes made green eggs and ham, and a few others made Dr. Seuss soup. Each ingredient added was based on a book that the class had read.

• Rose Acres – Rose Acres celebrated Read Across America with a visit by the Cat In The Hat at lunch time. The Rose Acres PTA also gave bookmarks with a special Dr. Seuss saying on it to each student. Some classes had individual incentives for students reading Dr. Seuss books on this day. Later in March, the second-grade stu-dents also staged a concert with songs from “Seussical” the Broad-way musical, giving an evening performance for family members and another the following day for the entire school.

• Remington – The school cafeteria made green eggs and ham for students in kindergarten through first grade. In addition, the Cat in the Hat visited with students during breakfast and later ventured to primary grade class-rooms.

• Willow Brook – The school held a week of spirit days centered around Dr. Seuss. Students and staff dressed according to the theme, such as wear green for Green Eggs and Ham Day, mismatched clothes for Wacky Wednesday or silly or mismatched socks for Fox in Sox Day. Principal Montize Aaron also read Dr. Seuss’ “The Sneeches” to the kindergarten classes.

Michael A. Fulton, Ed.D., SuperintendentSuperintendent’s Update

Above, County Executive Charlie Dooley reads to students at Drummond Elementa-ry. Below, Chris Bauer and Jada Stephen-son from Briar Crest Elementary enjoy a hug from The Cat in the Hat.

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Michael A. Fulton, Ed.D., SuperintendentSuperintendent’s Update

Left, Pattonville Education Foun-dation President Cheryl Sprengel presents a Friend of the Founda-tion Award to Mary Vaughan.

Pattonville Education Foundation raises funds, honors “Friend”The Pattonville Education Foundation honored a “Friend” for her contri-

butions to the foundation’s work during its March 3 Dinner/Dance/Auction. The Foundation raises funds for innovative programs to benefit Pattonville students. The Foundation honored Mary Vaughan with a Friend of the Founda-tion Award for her ongoing support and volunteer work with the Foundation. Vaughan, who is director of parks and recreation for the city of Maryland Heights, served on the Foundation board for 12 years, volunteering on vari-ous committees. She also served as president of the Pattonville Education Foundation for four years.

Assisting in the event were Holman Middle School teacher Jonathan Striebel, who served as emcee, and Pattonville alumnus Steve Augustine, who served as auctioneer.

The Pattonville Education Foundation is dedicated to serving Pattonville chil-dren and the Pattonville school community by providing funding to support inno-vative educational programs in Pattonville schools. Since its inception in 1994, the foundation has awarded more than 330 teacher grants worth more than $170,000.

Pattonville students take field trips to Tunisia via technologyThe students in Pattonville High School’s Gifted

Honors Seminar and Gifted Honors English 3 class-es are taking three technological field trips to Africa this spring. Pattonville was selected to participate in the Youth Talk interactive videoconference program and was paired with an after-school high school program in Tunisia to conduct video discussions in February, March and April. The next videoconfer-encing field trip will take place on at 9 a.m., Friday, April 20 at Pattonville High School.

During the video chats, the students from both countries showed a short video they had created that depicted what they considered to be a normal day for teenagers in their respective countries. The video gave both groups of students the op-portunity to not only reflect on what makes them a teenager in their own country but also what makes them unique. The students also discussed the cultural differences and similarities between the United States and Tunisia and weighty issues such as human rights and education. During the last videoconference on April 20, the students will exchange ideas on the topics of government, citizenship and foreign policy. Each conference also includes discussions on the media’s role in each of the topics.

Pattonville High School Gifted Honors teacher Dr. Janet Baldwin and instructional technology support spe-cialist Jamie Richter applied for the funding, provided by the Bridges for Understanding Program, to participate in the Youth Talk. Each video chat costs about $1,500.

Youth Talk is a new program created through the Global Nomad Group. The goal of the Youth Talk dy-namic interactive videoconference program is to create global understanding by providing interactive learn-ing and cultural exchange between the United States and the Arab World. Through face-to-face dialogue and project-based learning, the program explores topics relevant to today’s issues, including culture, media and society, education and human rights and government and foreign policy.

Pattonville junior Ming Chan asks a question to students in Tunisia (shown on video screen) during a videoconference between classes in Pattonville and Tunisia.

Board ActionsThe Board of Education on March 13• Reviewed an upcoming trip by the Pattonville High

School orchestra;• Approved $2,280,275.16 in regular bills;• Approved $124,119.80 in cafeteria bills;• Approved paying $278,103.89 on Pattonville’s purchas-

ing cards, which earned the district a rebate of nearly 1 percent (or $2,558.56);

• Approved an economic agreement for the 2012-2013 school year with the Pattonville National Education Association with the overall teacher salary percentage increase, including benefits, of 0.75 percent;

• Approved curriculum course format change recommen-dations for the 2012-2013 school year for several high school courses;

• Approved $175,701.20 in change order contract adjust-ments for bond issue projects;

• Approved an upcoming trip by the Future Educators of Americas’ national vice-president, a Pattonville student, to attend training in Washington D.C.;

• Approved paying $930.10 to Kohn, Shands, Elbert, Gianoulakis, and Giljum, LLP for legal services;

• Approved a five-year lease-purchase agreement with Ap-ple computers in an amount not to exceed $3,386,877.91 plus interest;

• Awarded a bid of $114,261 to Midwest Service Group for asbestos abatement; and

• Approved the renewal of agreements with Wagner Por-trait Group for the elementary and middle school pictures for the 2012-2013 school year at the same terms, condi-tions and pricing as the company’s original bid; (The district has no financial responsibility for this bid).

New Hire• DeborrahAdams,cook, Drummond

In Memory• ArlinFunk,physical education teacher at Remington

Traditional School, who died Feb. 29; Mr. Funk served Pattonville for 16 years.

Business Bits: Actions taken at the March 13 school board meeting

CalendarsClick on the calendar tab to view an activities calendar of all school and district-level events; or an athletic calendar BoardDocsDetails of items discussed at board meetings can be found online. Click on any tab in the Web Tools menu to find Pattonville’s BoardDocs page.

Pattonville Online www.psdr3.org

Your Board of EducationBob Dillon, PresidentJeanne Schottmueller, Vice PresidentRon Kuschel, SecretaryRalph Stahlhut, TreasurerCindy Candler, DirectorTami Hohenstein, DirectorRuth Petrov, Director

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Making NewsSpecial recognition of Pattonville students, staff and volunteers

Pattonville High SchoolMissouri Fine Arts Academy

Eric Bateman, a junior at Pattonville High School, was selected to participate in the Missouri Fine Arts Academy. The academy is a three-week summer residential program that takes place on the campus of Missouri State University for 150 of the state’s artistically talented rising high school juniors and seniors. During the program, students have the opportunity to take classes and co-curricular activities in dance, music, theater and visual arts.

FEA international vice presidentChrish Johnson, a senior at Pattonville High School, was elected as the International Future Educators Association (FEA) vice president. She and the organization’s elected president will work together with government officials and will also speak at state meetings. Chrish is also president of the Missouri FEA and the Pattonville chapter of the FEA.

Optimist Oratorical Contest winnersThree students from Pattonville High School were awarded honors in the Optimist Oratorical Contest in February. Dani-elle Siegel placed first, with Warren Li and Madison Farrar placing second and third, respectively. The students were coached by gifted English teacher Maureen Hoeft.

Florissant Valley Art ExhibitThree Pattonville High School seniors had artwork selected for the Florissant Valley High School Art Exhibit. Alyssa Gibson had two ceramics pieces selected, and Kaitlyn Griz-zle and Kaitlyn Hirschbeck each had two paintings selected. The students were taught by art teacher Beth Kathriner.

District FBLA competition winnersFive Pattonville High School students earned honors during the District Future Business Leaders of America Compe-tition. Senior Meagan Galluzzo placed first in the client service category, and junior Brigitta Davis placed first in the economics category. They will compete in the state compe-tition in April. Ray Dunmire, Paige Goss and Chelsea Sims placed fourth in the entrepreneurship category. Goss and Sims also placed fifth in the emerging business issues cat-egory. The students were coached by teacher Sandy Recor.

Eric Bateman Chrish Johnson

Pattonville High School student Warren Li is shown with teacher Maureen Hoeft.

Kaitlyn Grizzle Ray Dunmire

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District DECA competition winnersTen Pattonville High School students competed at the Dis-trict DECA (marketing education) competition. Julia Mul-lineaux placed first in the apparel and accessories marketing and leadership delegate categories. Chelsea Sims placed first in the human resource management category. Kim-berly Hulse and Jacob Masek placed first in the buying and merchandising team category. Sydney Finn and Sarah Marx placed first in the hospitality services team category. Justine Galluzzo placed second in the human resource management category. Mikala McGhee placed second in the sports and entertainment marketing category. Kaci Hulse and Brian Pedrotti placed second in the marketing communications team category. These students will next compete at the state competition later this month. The students were coached by teacher Holly Martinez.

State robotics competition honors

Two Pattonville High School teams competed in the Missouri FTC Robotics State Champion-ship competition. Team 2867 was awarded the first-place Inspire Award, the highest honor possi-ble. They were also nominated for the Motivate Award and competed in the finalist alliance. The stu-dents on Team 2867 include Mike Brown, Nik Frier, Joey Hakanson, Katie Harris, Warren Li, Grant Matthews, Brandon Mazzola, Jed Menard, Aidan O’Donnell, Doan Trieu and Khoa Trieu. These students will advance to the World Championship which will take place in April. Pattonville’s second team, Team 2866, was nominated for the Connect Award. The team consists of Aaron Ger-shman, Mitchell Hale, Kyle Hall, Daniel Herzberg, Daniel Jack, Brianna Johnson, Craig Lasserre, Leah Perry, Mark Raymond and Donovan Yard. The teams were sponsored by teacher Lori Cole and mentored by Brian Bateman and Jonathan Cole.

Pattonville High School students Kaci Hulse and Julia Mullineaux took honors at the district DECA contest.

Robotics Team 2867 from Pattonville High School earned a first-place award at the state robotics competition and qualified for the World Competition in April.

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Robotics Team 2866 from Pattonville High School also competed at the state robotics con-test and was nominated for the Connect Award.

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Girls Swimming - Suburban North ChampionsThe Pattonville girls swimming and diving team was named Suburban North Conference Champions. In ad-dition, members of the team were awarded individual honors. Elise Amo was named swimmer of the meet, a conference champion in the 500 and 200 freestyle and 200 and 400 freestyle relays and a First Team All Conference swimmer. Jennifer Baker was named a conference champion in the 200 medley relay, 50 freestyle and 200 freestyle relay. Amanda Chung was named a conference champion in the 200 freestyle relay. Rachel Collins was named a conference champion in the 200 medley relay. Kaitlin Gant was named a conference champion in the 400 freestyle relay. Kaci Hulse was named a conference champion in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay, and Allison Van Buren was named a conference champion in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay. All of these girls were also named First Team All Conference swimmers. Laura Fulton was named a conference champion in diving and a First Team All Conference diver. Other First Team All Con-ference honorees include Ellaina Adams, Sarah Langston, Jackie Model and Rachel Murphy. Second Team All Conference honorees include Sarah Dilallo, Haily Doyle, Jazmine Kenney, Ayla Loeb, Kara Myers, Erin O’Keefe and Leanna Siebert. Other members of the conference championship team include Maddie Baker, Sierra Brown, Sarah Chappell, Christina Collier, Megan Cox, Michelle Cummings, Grace Edkins, Erin Farrell, Sara Haar, Jessica Jarell, Avigayil Levy, Asia Marion, Hannah Mitchell, Kelley Myers, Danielle Nagelvoort, Sarah Perrin, Shelley Puchbauer, Jazzmin Rice, Mackenzie Rogers, Doris Runnels and Chris Sharp. The team was coached by Anna LeBlanc, Kelsey Gjerstad and Madeline Marren.

Shown are members of the Pattonville High School girls varsity swim team with Coach Anna LeBlanc (standing left, sec-ond row).