We hope everyone had a great winter break and is ready for the start of a new year and semester. It is hard to believe that we are 1/2 way through with the school year. With the new year upon us I encourage you to set down with your family and create some goals for this upcoming year. My family, with a little nudge from me, set two types of goals. The first is a simple goal. This is a goal that can be easily accomplished or even just improved on something you are currently doing. The second is a stretch goal, and it is exactly what it states. This is a goal that will stretch you either physically, mentally, or emotionally and is something new that you wish to accomplish. Set some goals as a family and I look forward to hearing about these when the students return this week.

Here is to a great 2022!

Dr. Doll and Mrs. Bohn

In December, the Board of Education approved the District’s latest version of the School Opening Plan, outlining a shift from universal masking to masks being recommended in school buildings. Static seating charts, physical distancing to the extent possible, and masking on buses per federal order are still in place. Contact tracing procedures have shifted to the local health departments of Platte County Health Department or Kansas City Health Department on COVID-19-related matters.

Families, students and staff are expected to continue to report suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 to Dr. Jen Beutel, beutelj@platteco.k12.mo.us or 816.858.5420 ext. 2199. The Centers for Disease Control issued new guidance for individuals positive for COVID-19, changing isolation to five days from symptom onset, provided symptoms are resolving and the individual is fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications. The CDC recommends masking for an additional five days.

• Click here for our 2021-22 School Opening Plan which outlines our mitigation measures
• Click here for our 2021-22 COVID-19 Reporting Dashboard

An important component of school is recess. Winter sometimes causes modifications in recess play, but we feel it is still important the children go outside when weather permits. There will be no outdoor recess when the “feels like” temperature is 20 degrees or below.

We assure you the teachers who supervise playground activities are aware of the weather conditions and would not deliberately jeopardize any child’s well-being; but, these teachers also know the importance of 10 minutes of healthy play by appropriately dressed children. The outdoor recess will be at the discretion of the staff.

We ask for your support in this matter by doing the following:

• Remind your child to wear their gloves, hat, etc. when going outdoors.
• Send us a note from your child’s physician if it is necessary, due to medical reasons, for your child to remain indoors longer than 2 days. We realize some conditions are chronic (i.e. bronchitis) and an open-ended, one-time note from your doctor indicating the outdoor temperature conditions to avoid will be sufficient.

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 2021-22 school year, PCR-3 will implement traditional inclement weather days (no school and no virtual learning), until we reach a threshold that would push the school year past Memorial Day. We will make those days up per our academic calendar, and if we go past four inclement weather days, we will implement our Inclement Weather Virtual Learning Days.

Our first semester and 2nd quarter will come to an end on Wednesday, December 22nd. Due to the High School schedule and their finals, our report cards will be sent home Friday, January 14th.

Hot off of the presses we would like to present our Pathfinder community with our first-ever Pathfinder student newsletter. Our Newspaper Student Leadership Team has been working hard to get this information ready and they have represented Pathfinder well and captured all of the great things that take place throughout our school. Please click on the link below to check it out!

If you know of someone who is interested in joining our team, please encourage them to apply here. We currently have the following positions posted: teacher, social worker, paraprofessional, custodian, permanent substitute teacher, lunch monitor, bus aide, bus driver, long term substitute teacher, substitute teacher, substitute custodian, and substitute nurse.

The District uses text messaging and automated phone calls to notify parents of upcoming events and days off, school closings due to weather, and during emergency situations. Newly enrolled families will automatically receive an opt-in message from 67587. If you missed it, simply text “Yes” to 67587 to receive text messages.

Hello Pirate Families! At the beginning and middle of each school year, we ask parents and guardians to fill out our Resource Checklist on paper. This year we are asking you to complete the Resource Checklist electronically using this form. This brief questionnaire is your School Social Worker's first and primary way to help you access support services. It also lets us know if you are interested in giving back to your school community. Please do not hesitate to contact your School Social Worker if you have any questions.

Please click here to access our Pathfinder parent calendars for the month of January.