Patrick Henry Celebrated as a National Green Ribbon School
On Earth Day, 2023, Patrick Henry was announced as a National Green Ribbon School by the US Department of Education! This is an incredible honor that took our school years to achieve, and we were only able to achieve it through hard work, strong collaboration across many departments in the district, and partnership with our community. For more about this award and how Patrick Henry was named a Green Ribbon School, please click here.
This week, we held a school-wide celebration for our students, staff, district, and community partners to congratulate everyone on their incredible achievement. We were honored to host the celebration with Mayor Tishaura Jones, St. Louis Public Schools Board Members, and Superintendent Nicole Williams. Our students were able to meet with Mayor Jones, the first black female Mayor of St. Louis, and receive words of wisdom from her in this special moment. Students then participated in a fantastic celebration throughout our garden that included healthy snacks, activities that allowed them a creative expression of themselves and their environment, a smoothie bike station where they powered up their own blender to create a smoothie, and of course, gardening!
We want to thank Mayor Jones, SLPS Board Members, Dr. Nicole Williams, and SLPS district staff for joining our celebration and making this an extra special day. We also want to thank our community partners who made this honor possible and who came to celebrate us this week!
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May 1st - May 5th is Educator Appreciation Week
Each day this week, we celebrated our amazing Patrick Henry staff with a special treat to say THANK YOU for the hard work of every staff member. Our staff members bring something special to the table every day and provide an incredible educational experience for our students, and they deserve to be recognized. This is not an easy job! Our staff members work very hard to be a part of a team that serves, protects, and empowers our student population to have whatever future they can dream of for themselves, and we want to make sure we support them along the way.
Thank you to our incredible staff for the impact you make every single day in the lives of our students. Each of you make this a beautiful home away from home for our students!
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Monday: Flowers and Treats Each staff member received flowers and candy indulgences along with thank you notes tailored to their specific contributions to our staff. Our staff is full of beautiful and diverse personalities and backgrounds, and each member of our team makes up a bouquet of Patrick Henry beauty. | Tuesday: Marigold Tshirts This year, we read an article called "Find Your Marigold," which taught us that there are some people in your life who act like a marigold in the garden - protecting other plants, giving life to other plants and creatures in the garden, and making sure the WHOLE garden prospers. This tshirt is a reminder to our staff to love and serve each other in this challenging work so that we collectively succeed! | Wednesday: Self Care Kits All staff members received two books to help them along their way to self-care success: "A year of Self-Love Journey" to help them journal their way to reflective happiness, and "A Wellness Journal with Mindfulness Practices for Teachers." Teachers are famous for taking care of everyone but themselves, so these books are meant to help teachers stop and take a moment for themselves! Staff also received spa kits to treat themselves to some R&R when they need it most! |
Monday: Flowers and Treats
Each staff member received flowers and candy indulgences along with thank you notes tailored to their specific contributions to our staff. Our staff is full of beautiful and diverse personalities and backgrounds, and each member of our team makes up a bouquet of Patrick Henry beauty.
Tuesday: Marigold Tshirts
This year, we read an article called "Find Your Marigold," which taught us that there are some people in your life who act like a marigold in the garden - protecting other plants, giving life to other plants and creatures in the garden, and making sure the WHOLE garden prospers. This tshirt is a reminder to our staff to love and serve each other in this challenging work so that we collectively succeed!
Wednesday: Self Care Kits
All staff members received two books to help them along their way to self-care success: "A year of Self-Love Journey" to help them journal their way to reflective happiness, and "A Wellness Journal with Mindfulness Practices for Teachers." Teachers are famous for taking care of everyone but themselves, so these books are meant to help teachers stop and take a moment for themselves! Staff also received spa kits to treat themselves to some R&R when they need it most!
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Thursday: Snack Packs and New Chairs The Patrick Henry staff has not had a new chair in more than 8 years! While teachers are famous for never sitting down, sometimes they need a comfy place to rest for just a minute. New chairs were assembled by Mr. Nick Keplar and Ms. Kelsey Jones, so thank you to them for their incredible labor efforts! Staff also received yummy treats, socks, and keychains as small reminders of how great they are in this work! | Friday: Catered Lunch Thanks to local catering company, Holly Berry Catering, the Patrick Henry staff was treated to a delicious and healthy lunch that appealed to all of their taste buds! St. Louis' Best Boxed Lunches were brought in to nourish our staff and keep them feeling great even this late in the school year! |
Thursday: Snack Packs and New Chairs
The Patrick Henry staff has not had a new chair in more than 8 years! While teachers are famous for never sitting down, sometimes they need a comfy place to rest for just a minute. New chairs were assembled by Mr. Nick Keplar and Ms. Kelsey Jones, so thank you to them for their incredible labor efforts! Staff also received yummy treats, socks, and keychains as small reminders of how great they are in this work!
Friday: Catered Lunch
Thanks to local catering company, Holly Berry Catering, the Patrick Henry staff was treated to a delicious and healthy lunch that appealed to all of their taste buds! St. Louis' Best Boxed Lunches were brought in to nourish our staff and keep them feeling great even this late in the school year!
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May 9 and May 10, Field Trip to Forest Park
Patrick Henry has received a grant to send five classes to Forest Park's Nature Playscape! Students will meet with park rangers and environmentalists who work to preserve this beautiful park and protect the plants and animals native to Missouri.
Please make sure your Kindergarten/1st grade student is on time on May 9th, and your 2nd/3rd grade student is on time on May 10th so they do not miss out on this amazing field trip opportunity!
May 10, Last Day to Sign Up for Summer School
Click here to register your child for Summer School! Families must register by May 10th in order to secure transportation. All Patrick Henry families will go to Jefferson for Summer School.
May 22 - May 25, No Afterschool Program
Patrick Henry will not have Afterschool the last week of school. Parents, please make sure your child is picked up between 2:52pm and 3:07pm. If students are picked up late the last week of school, they will not be able to be a part of the Afterschool program next school year.
May 22, Whole School Field Trip to the St. Louis Zoo
Make sure your child is on time on Monday, May 22nd for our whole school field trip to the Zoo! Students will be with their homeroom teacher at all times, but we always need chaperones! If you're able to chaperone this field trip, please contact your child's teacher. All chaperones need to provide their own transportation to and from the Zoo. We will be there from 9:30am - 1:00pm.
May 23, Field Day
All classes are invited to attend Field Day on May 23rd from 1:00-2:30pm. Parents are welcome to come and help at this event - please email deborah.rogers@slps.org or contact your child's teacher if you are able to come and help the class move through their stations!
May 24, 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony
On Wednesday, May 24th, Patrick Henry will host a Promotion Ceremony for our 5th grade students. Only family members of 5th graders are invited to attend, and we will also live stream our ceremony on Microsoft Teams. The link will be emailed out to all 5th grade parents and can be shared with other family members by forwarding the email. The Promotion Ceremony will begin at 9:00am in the Patrick Henry gym.
May 25, End of Year Awards Ceremony for PreK-4th Grade
On Thursday, May 25th, Patrick Henry will host an End of Year Awards Ceremony for our Preschool - 4th Grade students. Family members of PreK-4th graders are invited to attend in person, and we will also live stream our ceremony on Microsoft Teams. The link will be emailed out to all families and can be shared with other family members by forwarding the email. The Awards Ceremony will begin at 9:00am in the Patrick Henry gym, and will include the following class times:
- 9:00-9:10, Welcoming Remarks
- 9:10-9:40, PreK (Ms. Smith, Ms. Munnelly, Ms. Womack, Ms. Young)
- 9:40-10:10, KG + 1st + 2nd Grade (Ms. Willard, Ms. Versen, Ms. Ivory)
- 10:10-10:40, 3rd + 4th Grade (Ms. Ivory, Ms. Fales, Ms. Hammock)
- 10:40-10:45, Closing Remarks
May 25, Last Day of School
All SLPS schools will have their last day of school on Thursday, May 25th. All SLPS schools are closed on Friday, May 26th. Have a wonderful and safe summer vacation!
