3/2, 3/3, 3/15 & 3/16 - PreK Registration and Screenings @ Truman Learning Center

3/15/23 & 3/16/23 - Grades 9-12 Parent Teacher Conferences

3/17/23 - No School For Students; Staff Professional Development

3/21 & 3/23 - Knights Wellness Clinic at FMS (immunizations/physicals)

3/21/23 - Board of Education Meeting 5 pm Truman Auditorium

3/28 & 3/30 - Knights Wellness Clinic at FHS (immunizations/physicals)

3/2 - National Read Across America Day

3/5 - 3/11 - National Social Work Week

3/6 - School Maintenance Employee Appreciation Day

3/6 - 3/10 - Math, Engineering, Technology and Science Week

3/12 - Girl Scout Day

3/14 - Pi Day

3/17 - St. Patrick's Day

3/20 - 3/24 - School Board Recognition Week

3/21 - Bird Appreciation Day

3/26 - Pioneering Black Women's Day

3/26 - Veterans of Operation Iraq/Enduring Freedom Day

3/30 Vietnam Veterans Day

March Is...

Dance In Schools Month

Youth Art Month

Theatre In Our Schools Month

National Music In Schools Month

National Nutrition Month

Women's History Month

Last year Leah Coppaway decided to take paramedic lab courses at Mineral Area College and had no idea at the time how that decision would alter her academic path. Leah fell in love with the program. Her instructor, Rita West, saw Leah's excitement and passion for the program and asked if Leah wanted to do a ride along in the ambulance rig for Washington County. Leah's parents signed off, and she was trained for CPR on the day of her ride along with Rita.

During the ride along, Leah and Rita responded to a call where a man had a heart attack. Rita began CPR and handed the BVM to Leah to breathe for the patient. On the spot, Rita taught Leah how to give breaths correctly. Without Leah breathing for the patient, he could have died. Leah says, "After that call, I just wanted more and more. Rita saw my potential and, I think, saw a bit of herself in me." Rita noted, "I also started my EMS career at age 17 while doing ride-alongs with my uncle. One call, and I wanted more and more. So I, in fact, did see lots of myself in Leah!"

Leah was hooked and proved to be a natural for the program. Leah was awarded a scholarship to take her EMT course at MAC this past Fall, which she did in the evenings during her senior year. Leah graduated from the EMT program at Mineral Area College this past December, an entire semester before she graduates from Farmington High School!

Leah's work isn't finished, though, as she is currently enrolled in CNA and EMR at Farmington High School. Congratulations to Leah and thank you to Mineral Area College for the opportunities they provide area high school students!

Upcoming screenings and registration for our PreK and Kindergarten programs will begin this month. Call Truman Learning Center today to schedule your appointment. (573) 701-1300 ext. 2257 or 2350

Students must be 4 before August 1, 2023 to enroll in PreK. Students must be 5 before August 1, 2023 to enroll in Kindergarten.

Free immunization and physicals for FSD middle and high school students are coming in March! Great Mines Health Clinic will be offering the free clinic to students at FMS and FHS. Students must have signed permission slips in order to participate. Forms are available in the nurse's office or are available here: https://t2m.io/LFPHWSh

We are thankful for this partnership with Great Mines Health Center!

March 5-11, 2023 is National School Social Work Week, an opportunity for schools, communities, and partners to acknowledge and recognize the impactful work school social workers do to support students, families, and their communities.

The FSD school social workers are a hard-working and humble group of professionals who spend their workday advocating for students. The theme for this year’s School Social Work Week is “We Rise.” School Social Workers rise to share hope. They rise to listen and understand. They rise to challenge inequities. They rise to support all students.

Thank you to Dr. Julie Downs, Mrs. Amy Greif, Mrs. Marsha Petty and Mrs. Penny Robinson for the vital role you play for the students and families of the district.

The Farmington School District has a fantastic maintenance crew who keep our facilities up and running. Thank you to their supervisor Gary Davis and his crew for the work they often do behind the scenes to support the students and staff throughout our district. Additionally, this group of unsung heroes helps us save significant taxpayer dollars by working on renovating new and existing spaces to meet the needs of our students. A perfect example is our newly acquired Southbrook facility and future home to Expanded Health Science Certifications, a Certified Childcare and Early Learning training facility as well as the EMT program, just to name a few.

March 20th begins School Board Appreciation Month in Missouri. The FSD Board of Education is comprised of seven community members who are elected to their positions. The members of the Farmington School Board are elected and serve the Farmington community on a volunteer basis. They spend countless hours reviewing policy and supporting our administration, teachers, and staff in Farmington’s mission to provide a world-class education for our 4000 students in PreK through 12th grade. Thank you to the FSD School Board for your support and helping make our district an amazing place to work and support students.

Requirements to serve on the school board:

• Be citizens of the United States
• Be resident taxpayers of the Farmington R7 School District
• Have resided in Missouri for a minimum of one year immediately preceding their election or appointment
• Be at least 24 years of age
• Not be delinquent in the payment of any state income taxes, personal property taxes, municipal taxes or real property taxes on their place of residence. If an applicant is a past or present corporate officer of any fee office, that office cannot be delinquent in the payment of any taxes owed the state.
• Have not been found guilty of nor pled guilty to a felony under the federal laws of the United States of America or to a felony under Missouri law or an offense committed in another state that would be considered a felony in Missouri.
  
• Not be registered or required to be registered as a sex offender pursuant to § 162.014, RSMo.
  
• Have filed, or the treasurer of an existing candidate committee has filed, all required campaign disclosure reports with the Missouri Ethics Commission, when applicable, for all previous elections in which they were candidates.

Classroom Teacher Grant winner for February - Sarah Falch, Lincoln

The CTA Officers were chosen to present at the MSTA Leadership Conference this July! We are so excited to share what our CTA does! The title of our presentation is called #CTAStrong

Building Teacher of the Year voting will happen the first week of March. Winners will be announced via Facebook Live soon!

NIGHT TO SHINE is a special WORLDWIDE dream prom for high school special education students (9 - 12th grades) that would qualify to participate in Special Olympics or are in the MAP-A program. New Heights Church, Leaders from Farmington High School, the Tim Tebow Foundation, and community supporters hosted the event at the Farmington Civic and Centene Centers on February 10th.

On hand were hairdressers, shoe shiners, make-up artists, coat checkers, dinner (menu created by surveyed SPED students),dessert, limousine/party bus rides, crowns, flowers, paparazzi, photo booth, DJ introductions, and dancing. Each guest had a High School Buddy to enjoy the evening side-by-side.

62 participants, 62 buddies and over 200 volunteers were on hand at this years event. Participating school districts included Farmington R7, North County, West County, Arcadia Valley, Bismark, Central, Fredericktown, Potosi and Kingston. Thank you to all who helped make this night so special!

The Farmington School Board has approved the 2023-2024 school year calendar. The calendar can be found on our website via this link and is pictured below. We will also send out a calendar highlight later this Spring. School starts August 22nd next year.

The Farmington School District is pleased to announce the hiring of Ms. Gretchen Hill as the new Director of Special Services for the Farmington R7 School District. Ms. Hill will take over on July 1, 2023, for Mr. Dan Thompson, who recently announced his retirement.

Ms. Hill grew up in Ellington, Missouri. Her career began in the West County Schools as a social studies teacher at the junior high and high school levels. She obtained her Master’s Degree from Southeast Missouri State University. Ms. Hill has since served as a school counselor, McKinney Vento coordinator, curriculum coordinator, and district assessment coordinator. For the past three years, Ms. Hill has served as the high school principal and federal programs coordinator for the Puxico School District. Through these leadership roles, Ms. Hill has diverse experience supporting and providing oversight for special education by regularly serving as LEA, monitoring student progress, interpreting evaluation data, coordinating transition services, developing functional behavior assessment plans, and utilizing multi-tiered systems of support. Additionally, she has been a speaker on RTI at the secondary level at both the Powerful Learning Conference and the MOASSP Spring Conference.

Ms. Hill resides in Ellington, Missouri, where she is an active member of her church. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, reading, and traveling to the Smoky Mountains.

Regarding her new position in the Farmington School District, she notes, “I am beyond excited for my transition to the Farmington School District! Farmington has a rich tradition as a district of excellence, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of that story.”

The Farmington School District would like to welcome Ms. Hill and looks forward to having her join the FSD team for the 2023-2024 school year.