SG R-II Connection
Parents & Guardians Edition — Feb. 25, 2024
Good afternoon, SG R-II families,
Recently, SG R-II hosted a collaborative professional development event held annually called the River Summit, where three school districts come together to learn, collaborate, learn together and build our network of educators. I want to share a few thoughts with you about this day:
- This event showcased what makes SG R-II special. Not only did our faculty and staff knock it out of the park, but our student volunteers truly made a difference. We saw teachers beaming with pride as they watched our students engage with our guests, Jefferson R-VII and Dunklin R-V. Numerous educators from both visiting districts commented on the large number of students who signed up to volunteer, their excitement to be there, and their welcoming and helpful attitudes. Our students’ spirit and love of our schools and culture is a testament to the amazing young people you have raised, and the relationships they have built with our faculty and staff.
- Our keynote speaker for the event was Monica Genta, an educator well-known for being able to relate to a wide range of educators through her humor, honest takes, and down-to-earth demeanor. She shared her own stories with students that mirrored many of our own teachers’ experiences—making our educators feel seen, and reminding them of why it is so important to focus on the good that happens with our students each day. Her candor and enthusiasm sparked valuation discussions among our staff, and I am thankful for her positive impact.
I am always honored to call myself a Dragon. I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead,
Dr. Paul Taylor
Superintendent
2024-2025 DISTRICT CALENDAR
The Board of Education approved the 2024-2025 District Calendar. Annually, faculty and staff are encouraged to provide input on the calendar via a survey. Comments and suggestions from the survey are taken to the SG R-II Calendar Committee for consideration as they work to create a final draft. A recommendation is sent to the Board for review and approval. Below is an overview of the calendar:
- Dead Period: Aug. 3 - Aug. 11, 2024 (Board Approved Aug. 29, 2023)
- New Teacher Professional Development Days: Aug. 5 - 7, 2024
- First Day of School: Monday, Aug. 19, 2024
- Professional Development Day: Monday, Sep. 30, 2024
- Parent-Teacher Conferences: Early Dismissal at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024
- Veterans Day: No School on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024
- Change - Thanksgiving Break: Begins with a full day off on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024 (This is a consistent request on the survey each year, as many travel for the holiday weekend. This year, the committee was able to build in a full day off here, and swap those hours for a full day the Friday before Winter Break (see below))
- Winter Break: Begins at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024
- 2nd Semester: Begins with a Professional Development Day for all employees on Monday, Jan. 6, with students returning on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025
- River Summit Professional Development Event: Friday, Feb. 14, 2025
- Presidents’ Day: Monday, Feb. 17, 2025
- Spring Break: March 24 - 28, 2025
- Easter Break: Early Dismissal at 1 p.m. on April 17, 2025
- Graduation: Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 7 p.m.
- Last Day of School: Tuesday, May 20, 2025
- Professional Development Day for Teachers: Wednesday, May 21, 2025
- Scheduled Make-Up Days: May 21 - May 28, 2025
- Last Possible Make-Up Day for Students: Wednesday, May 28. Again this year, the first two inclement weather days will be snow days and the next five inclement weather days will be Alternative Methods of Instruction Days (AMI) days before returning to snow days.
- Semester Balance: There is a balance of 83 days first semester / 86 days second semester.
- Student Hours: 1,092.5 total hours of student attendance. The state minimum is 1,044.
COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION GRANT
We are excited to share that Ste. Genevieve County R-II was recently awarded from the Competency-Based Education (CBE) grant program. Our district was one of six individual Missouri school districts to be awarded funds, with our district receiving an approximate $400,000 to be used to support local CBE programming.
At its core, competency-based learning is identifying what we want students to know and do before they leave us to prepare them for life after graduation. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lance McClard explained that the grant funding will support and expand upon the work that our educators are already doing to provide students with Real World Learning experiences that support high school, college, career and workplace readiness. He explained that this funding follows a timeline that spans several years, but that this timeline is flexible and can move and change with our district as our framework regarding CBE evolves. In addition, the grant aligns with the work of the Success-Ready Students Network (SRSN), a collaborative group in which the district has been a member for two years now.
The other grant recipients include: Lebanon R-III, Maplewood-Richmond Heights, Pattonville R-III, Ritenour, and Sedalia 200, as well as 28 LEAs collaborating on CBE work through the Success-Ready Students Network. You can see a news release from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) here.
PROP SG UPDATE
Romy Uelk, President and Principal in Charge of Programming for KRJ Architecture, and Colin Rogers, President of Project Management for Brockmiller Construction & Construction Manager At Risk (CMAR), co-presented an update to the Board of Education regarding Prop SG. This included an overview of the facility projects, design plans and current timelines and cost estimates. The five project areas discussed are below:
Bloomsdale Elementary:
- The new secure entrance for Bloomsdale Elementary is composed of an approximately 1500 sq. foot addition as the new main entrance. This addition is complete, and allows the school office to securely welcome visitors and route them either into the office space or into the building. This space includes a double-gated entry, offices, a work space and a restroom. The existing spaces where the offices were previously located were also renovated.
Ste. Genevieve Middle School:
- The addition consists of an elevator spanning three floors in order to make our middle school accessible, and is located in the back corner of the school to avoid detracting from the traditional facade of the front of the building. The three floors are as follows: access to the nurse’s office, elevator and corridor on the basement level; elevator and new counseling suite on the first floor; and elevators and bathrooms on the second floor.
- This addition is currently in the “finish” phase of construction, with plans to start installation of the HVAC units next week and begin flooring around that time. The elevator installation is scheduled for the first week of March. This project should be substantially completed by the end of March, right on schedule.
Early Childhood Center:
- We would like to congratulate Mrs. Bethany Koetting, our new Director of the Early Childhood Center. The Board approved Mrs. Koetting for this position at the Feb. 20, 2024 meeting. This position will direct the operation of this new Center, which includes early childhood education, early childhood special education, Parents as Teachers, before / after school programs and other programs in the District that focus on early learning for children. District administration and the Board of Education discussed the importance of launching this position at this stage in order to utilize the director’s expertise in planning the operation of the new Center, as well as the transition and implementation of programming.
- The Early Childhood Center is under construction, with a floor plan of 10 classrooms, as well as a kitchen, multipurpose room, and more.
- The foundations are complete, as well as the under-slab rough-in for the plumbing and the underground electric. This week, crews are slated to start rocking the pad to prepare for slab pours.
Ste. Genevieve Elementary:
- The preliminary design of Ste. Genevieve Elementary’s new gym and on-grade, ADA-accessible entrance with offices can be seen here. This project is in the “design” phase, with ongoing discussions among the architects, engineers and CMAR regarding materials and specifications.
- The district is hoping to address parking issues in conjunction with the launch of the Ste. Genevieve Elementary project construction. The District has worked with Bauman Excavating to identify possible parking opportunities to undergo in early summer prior to the SGE project construction beginning.
Wrestling / Athletic Facility:
- An athletic facility continues to be on the project list and at a minimum, a wrestling facility will be completed. A metal building offers an economy of scale and a cheaper price point, meaning that districts receive more square footage for a lower price.
- Our hope is that through value engineering and continuing to take advantage of cost-saving measures with the expertise of our CMAR and architects, we may be able to do more and provide a facility that will benefit many more students and programs here at SG R-II. Below, a wrestling facility is identified as our priority, as well as two alternates:
- Priority: Wrestling Facility: a 100 x 120 ft. wrestling space with restrooms, storage and an office space. A preliminary design can be seen here. This project would be 12,000 sq. ft. and is estimated to cost about $2.4 million.
- Alternate 1: Wrestling Facility with Shell: a 100 x 120 ft. wrestling space with restrooms, storage and an office space, with an additional unfinished shell to be finished with turf at a later date. A preliminary design can be seen here, and this project is estimated to cost about $3.9 million.
- Alternate 2: Athletic Facility with Wrestling & Turf: a 100 x 120 ft. wrestling space with restrooms, storage and an office space, with an additional finished space with turf to be utilized by multiple SG R-II programs. A preliminary design can be seen here, and this project is estimated to cost about $5.1 million.
Timeline:
- An updated timeline was shared and can be viewed here. It is important to note that these timeframes shift continually for the ongoing and future projects.
- Once the timeframe for the upcoming Ste. Genevieve Elementary project is solidified, more information will be shared regarding athletic facility possibilities and its timeline.
Budgeting:
- Dr. Taylor shared that throughout the Prop SG process, the district’s priority has been to both invest and spend the bond monies wisely in order to gain the most from our taxpayer dollars for these building needs across the board. To date, the district has earned more than $1.8 million from the sale of the $20 million bonds, as well as interest on those monies.
- The cost estimates provided below include not only construction and design fees, but also ancillary costs such as soils investigation, furniture budgets, sewer work, asbestos abatement, land purchases, and more. To this point, there have not been any major unexpected costs.
- So far, estimates for the projects have been near the actual cost. The Bloomsdale Elementary project saw a savings of about $46,000, the Ste. Genevieve Middle School project has seen a savings of about $51,000 so far, and the Early Childhood Center has seen a savings of approximately $170,000 so far.
Current Cost Estimates:
- Bloomsdale Elementary Project: $836,794 (Project Complete)
- Ste. Genevieve Middle School Project: $1,722,471.34 (Projected Cost — Based on Bids Received)
- Early Childhood Center: $9,260,846 (Projected Cost — Based on Bids Received)
- Ste. Genevieve Elementary Project: $5,227,060 (Projected Cost — Based On Design)
- Athletic Building: $5,598,850 (Projected Cost — Based On Design)
- Wrestling Facility: $2.4 million
- Alternate: Wrestling Facility with Shell for Turf: $3.9 million
- Alternate: Athletic Facility with Wrestling and Turf: $5.1 million
*This total includes the full athletic facility with wrestling, restrooms and turf.
“I can tell you from other school districts we work with—especially north of here—your pricing so far is wonderful,” Colin Rogers said. “You’re bringing in pricing with local subcontractors and economical and efficient designs, and you’re really yielding the benefits from all of those variables. We’re pleased to work here, because we know the type of subcontractors you have here in Ste. Genevieve and the type of quality they bring, because they do good work.”
“(KRJ Architects, Brockmiller Construction, and Taylor Engineering) have done a fantastic job as partners, looking for ways to save money and trying to solve issues proactively, so we are really pleased with the process so far,” Dr. Taylor said.
BOARD OF EDUCATION UPDATES
- Filing for Board of Education Election: The annual school board election will be held on April 2, 2024. The filing period closed Dec. 26, 2023, at 5 p.m. Four candidates are running for two positions: David Bova, Geralyn (Geri) Diesel, Mike G. Wolk and Norman Vogt. We encourage everyone to remember to vote on April 2, 2024.
- Board Briefs: Check out the Board Briefs and the Board Minutes from the Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, Board of Education Regular Meeting. This unofficial document includes more context and details than our official Board News. All Board documents, such as the Board News, the presentation and these Board Briefs, are located on the “Board of Education” page of our district's website.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION FOR 2024-2025
- Kindergarten Registration for the 2024-2025 school year will be held at:
- Ste. Genevieve Elementary on March 2, 2024, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Bloomsdale Elementary on March 23, 2024, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Families should contact the elementary offices to schedule appointments.
- Ste. Genevieve Elementary Parents As Teachers also offer FREE Community Developmental Screenings year-round for all children within district boundaries ages 3 months to 5 years. Screening is the process of measuring a child's general health, vision, hearing and development. The areas of development focused on during this screening are motor, language, concepts, social/emotional, and adaptive. To schedule a screening, call PAT at 573-883-4500 ext. 2424.
2024 POLAR PLUNGE
You’re Invited! Join us for the 2024 Polar Plunge on Saturday, March 23, benefiting our SG R-II Special Olympics team and inclusion events! See event details below, and click here for information about donating or becoming a sponsor!
Travel to Costa Rica:
SGHS and SGMS students can travel to Costa Rica with Mrs. Danielle Yamnitz in Summer 2025. Register for the information meeting here to learn more about this exciting opportunity!
"Mamma Mia!"
You’re Invited! Join us for SGHS Theatre Club's musical performance, "Mamma Mia!" See event details below: