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The Eagle Express
Dr. Sachetta's Quarterly Newsletter
August 7, 2024
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A message from the Superintendent
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Happy August, Eagles! As our families and staff members are preparing for another great school year, we wanted to share a quick roundup of reminders, tips, and important dates to keep in mind. Below, you'll find a Back-to-School guide, complete with discussions about open house, school supply list links, instructions for completing your student's Annual Information Update, and more.
School doesn't start until Aug. 20, but our buildings are open NOW, so please feel welcome to reach out to your school secretary or other staff if you have questions.
We look forward to seeing our students very soon! In the meantime, we hope you're wrapping up a relaxing, peaceful summer with family and friends in anticipation of the fall semester.
Warm regards,
Dr. Kerry Sachetta
Joplin Schools Superintendent
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Get Ready for the 2023-24 Academic Year!
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- 4:30-6:00pm Wednesday, Aug. 14: EMS & NMS 6th Grade
- 5:30-7:00pm Wednesday, Aug. 14: SMS 6th Grade
- 4:30-6:00pm Thursday, Aug. 15: 7th & 8th Grades, all middle schools
- 5:00-7:00pm Thursday, Aug. 15: Joplin Early Childhood
- 5:30-6:30pm Thursday, Aug. 15: Elementary Schools
- 4:30-6:30pm Wednesday, Aug. 28: Joplin High School
Many of these Open House events occur on the same day: Thursday, Aug. 15. We encourage families whose students will attend multiple buildings to attend their buildings in this order: middle school first, elementary school second, Early Childhood last. Please know you are welcome to attend in whatever order works best for your family. Parents are welcome to bring Early Childhood and elementary school supplies to Open Houses but this is not a requirement.
The JHS Open House date is Aug. 28th - that's not a typo! For many years, JHS hosted open house after school had already started, and only in more recent years have held open house prior to the start of school. In an attempt to encourage stronger attendance, JHS has chosen to try a later date once again. We also hope this will be beneficial to parents due to the high volume of schedule changes that take place that first week of school, so parents can meet the correct teachers. We're looking forward to seeing you there!
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There is no official High School supply list, but teachers will inform students of their needs during the first week of school. As a rule of thumb, it's always a good idea to show up on the first day of middle or high school with a charged Chromebook, pencils and a pen, and notebook paper.
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Do you have an incoming Kindergarten or First Grade student this fall? Bring them to Bus Camp for a fun way to get them ready for riding the bus!
Students will join rotations to learn about bus stop safety, take a bus ride, meet Buster the Bus and Eddie the Eagle, visit with local vendors, play games, and more. We hope to see you there! Stop by from 9 am to noon Saturday, Aug. 17 at Junge Stadium. ALL area K-1 students are welcome!
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Annual Student Information Updates
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Families are asked to complete Annual Student Information Updates for each of their students prior to the start of school. These digital forms take the place of most paper forms in schools, boosting efficiency and accuracy.
To complete this year's forms:
- Log into your PowerSchool Parent Portal account.
- Click on Forms, then All Forms.
- Even when a form shows "submitted" or "approved," if the Last Entry timestamp is from a previous school year, the information in that form must be verified and re-submitted.
- Verify the contents of each form, scroll to the bottom and click "I verify this information is accurate as of today," and click Submit.
New in PowerSchool forms this year are MSHSAA forms for students in grades 7-12. Parents will complete these forms as directed; students must also complete MSHSAA forms in their own PowerSchool accounts. Coaches or activity sponsors can help students as needed.
For help logging in or with PowerSchool Forms, please contact your school secretary.
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Meal prices for all Joplin Schools cafeterias have been updated for the 2024-25 school year. Please complete your family's Free/Reduced Meal Application at SchoolCafe.com as soon as possible, even if you think your family will not qualify.
PreK-12th Breakfast: $1.00
Adult Breakfast: $1.75
Reduced Breakfast: $0.30
PreK-5th Lunch: $2.25
Middle School Lunch: $2.40
High School Lunch: $2.60
Reduced Lunch: $0.40
Adult Lunch: $3.50
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There's an all-new JoplinSchools.org!
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We're proud to welcome our parents, staff, and community members to the NEW JoplinSchools.org! This website is hosted in conjunction with ParentSquare for seamless integrations and lots of compatibility. We hope it's easy to navigate and find the answers to just about any question in our District with a well-organized, fresh look. Here are some quick-links to get you started:
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School starts on Tuesday, Aug. 20!
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Introducing the Community Bulletin Board
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To keep up with the many local organizations and businesses who want to share flyers and opportunities with Joplin Schools families, we will now be using a Community Bulletin Board at JoplinSchools.org/flyers.
Organizations can submit a flyer that will be shared on the website. We will send periodic reminders to families through ParentSquare and/or Social Media to check for new flyers so they can stay informed. We hope this helps streamline the way our community gains access to our Eagle families!
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Summer is one of the busiest times of year for our District Building & Grounds crews, who work hard to complete as many facility upgrades and solutions as possible without interruption to the academic year. Here's a glimpse into just a few projects they've completed so far:
- Deep-cleaned all schools, including floor waxing at every building.
- Remodeled the playground at Royal Heights Elementary for safety and accessibility.
- Replaced expired field turf at JHS baseball facilities.
- Continued work on professional development classrooms at Memorial Education Center (MEC).
- Replaced boilers at EMS and MEC.
- Replaced roofing at MEC.
- Completed Phase 1 of bus garage parking lot repair.
- Installed sod playground areas at Kelsey Norman and Jefferson Elementaries.
- Completed a 3-year asbestos inspection.
- Installed new speakers in the JHS Performing Arts Center.
- Upgraded to LED lights in parking lots across the district.
- Sprayed new track surface at JHS.
- Added security cameras across the district.
- Installed Access Controls district-wide.
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We're looking forward to a fantastic 2023-24!
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For questions about open house, student enrollment, schedules, calendars, school supplies, meal accounts, or anything else that will help your family feel ready for the new school year, please contact your building secretary. See you soon!
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