Cardinal Connections
A Bi-Weekly Clinton Schools Community Newsletter
February 17, 2020
rootEd Update
The Clinton School District is one of only a few districts in the nation to be a part of rootEd Alliance, a collaborative philanthropic effort committed to clearing a path to a stronger future for students after high school. Clinton High School alum, David Steward played a pivotal role in bringing rootEd Alliance to the district.
Current CHS students are the first students in the district to be a part of this unique program. Lindy Johnson, CHS Access Counselor, oversees the rootEd program for the District. Mrs. Johnson provided us an update on this program and the great things it is doing for our students and their futures'.
*In October, Clinton High School saw a 133.3% increase in FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) completion. Currently, 81 of our high school seniors have completed their FAFSA, compared to 39 students at this time last year.
*In the Fall, the rootEd program transported over 50 students to various campuses for college visits. Students traveled to MU, UCM and College of the Ozarks. In the Spring, students will visit State Fair Community College in Sedalia, UMKC and MSU.
*In January, high school staff had the honor of meeting with The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis who has partnered with rootEd alliance. This collaborative partnership has paved the way for the rootEd Undergraduate Scholarship program, which provides the opportunity to apply for need-based awards of up to $10,000. There are other scholarship opportunities that come along with this collaborative relationship as well.
*On April 3rd, CHS will transport all juniors to the State Fair Community College Clinton campus for an all day post-secondary exploration event. Students will have the opportunity to explore a variety of post-high school options, including; technical programming, 2-year, 4-year and military programs. Lunch will be catered by the Ayers and rootEd Foundation.
*On May 13th, at 1:30, the District will hold their 2nd annual Decision Day celebration, with the honor and privilege of having Mr. Steward, rootEd personnel and Mr. and Mrs. Ayers present. Families of seniors are invited to attend as our seniors announce their decisions post-high school. The seniors will be served a catered lunch before the event and take part in photos and games in celebration of their special day.
The District is very thankful for the opportunities that the rootEd Alliance, in partnership with the Ayers Foundation and BDT & Company, is providing our students.
Spreading the Love on Valentine's Day
Giving back to the community is important to the Clinton School District.
Clinton Intermediate School students, along with members of the First Presbyterian Church, enjoyed delivering Valentine's Day treats to their friends at The Arbors of Glendale Gardens.
See more pictures here.
Girls State
Congratulations to the following CHS students who were selected to represent our community as delegates at Girls State this summer:
Katie Mitchell
Alana Alexander
Emma Gover
Morgan Hendrich
Gretchen Harrelson
The following students will serve as alternates to the Girls State delegation:
Madison Goucher
Camryn Kemper
Lydia Harrison
Jasmine Branscombe
Hannah Harrelson
Mackenzie Russell
Olivia Kiely
Candidates were interviewed by a panel of judges from our community. All students did an amazing job and the decision was a close one!
Front Row: Katie Mitchell, Madison Goucher, and Camryn Kemper
Middle Row: Lydia Harrison, Jasmine Branscombe, Hannah Harrelson, and Alana Alexander
Back Row: Mackenzie Russell, Emma Gover, Morgan Hendrich, Olivia Kiely and Gretchen Harrelson
Career and Technical Education Month
Clinton Technical School is celebrating Career and Technical Education month during February. Today’s cutting-edge, rigorous and relevant Career and Technical Education (CTE) prepares students for a wide range of high-wage, high-skill, high-demand careers.
CTE has come a long way in the last decade. CTE programs not only teach students real-world knowledge and skills, but increasingly provide opportunities for dual enrollment, industry recognized credentials, and meaningful work-based learning experiences.
CTE works for high school students. High school students involved in CTE are more engaged, perform better and graduate at higher rates. More than 70% of secondary CTE concentrators (students with at least three semesters of CTE) pursued postsecondary education shortly after high school.
CTE works for college students and adults. Postsecondary CTE fosters postsecondary completion and prepares students and adults for in-demand careers. Four out of five secondary CTE graduates who pursued postsecondary education after high school had earned a credential or were still enrolled two years later.
CTE works for the economy. Investing in CTE yields big returns for state economies. And finally, CTE works for business. CTE addresses the needs of high-growth industries and helps close the skills gap. The top 10 hardest to fill jobs are in skilled trades.
Clinton Technical School programs include Automotive Technology, Building Trades, Computer Network and Repair, Health Occupations, Machine Tool Technologies, and Welding. Additional CTE programs are offered at Clinton High School in the areas of agriculture, business, and marketing.
Our instructors are experts in their field and have over 250 years of experience in industry and education. Our programs have state-of the art equipment. This allows our students to graduate with industry-recognized credentials and the skills to be college and career ready.
Hometown Field Trip
Thanks to Henry Elementary School's Bright Futures partner, Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, for providing a great experience for 120 2nd graders at last week's 5th annual Mini MASH Camp.
Second graders rotated through 6 different stations as they learned about germs, CPR, the composition of their blood, bones and more. During the process, students also had the chance to hear about the many different jobs at the hospital.
Thank you GVMH for providing this fun and educational field trip right here in our hometown!
No-Tax Increase Bond Issue
The Clinton School District Board of Education is asking voters to consider a $4,000,000 no-tax increase bond measure on the April 7, 2020 election ballot. Go here to learn more.
Important Dates:
Deadline to Register to Vote: Wednesday, March 11, 2020 (more info on registration can be found here)
Election Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020 (6:00 am-7:00 pm)
Absentee Voting: Begins Tuesday, February 25, 2020 (more info on absentee voting can be found here).
New School Hours
The district has utilized all of their built-in calendar hours for school closures. With the last weather-related school closure on February 13th, the district must begin making up hours missed.
Beginning on Tuesday, February 18th, Henry Elementary and Clinton Intermediate School, will be increasing their start times by 10 minutes. CIS will begin classes at 8:05 and Henry Elementary at 8:10 (doors at both buildings will still open at 7:30 and morning bus pick-up times will remain the same). The district's other buildings already attend school 10 minutes longer than Henry and CIS, thus their start times will not be affected.
Adding minutes to the school day allows the district to make-up the minutes missed, without adding additional days to the end of the calendar.
Please remember that the new start times mentioned above will also be the start times for Henry and CIS during the 2020-2021 school year.
If you have any questions, please contact your child's school principal.
No School, 2/27 and 2/28
Parent Teacher Conferences
Spring conferences will be held next Thursday, February 27th. Please see the info below for your child's specific building.
- CHS (8:00am-8:00pm)-Enrollment Conferences in the gym for current freshmen, sophomores and juniors. Twenty minute conferences are being scheduled by Cardinal Time teachers. Please contact your child's Cardinal Time teacher if you have questions.
- CMS (1:00pm-8:00pm)-Teachers will be located in their classrooms during conferences and available to speak with parents on a first come, first serve basis. Additionally, in preparation for the 2020-2021 school year, students and parents are asked to sign up for elective course preferences in the library. Please also visit the Book Fair in the library.
- CIS (12:00pm-8:00pm)-Please contact your child's teacher if you would like to schedule a conference.
- Henry (12:00pm-8:00pm)-Please contact your child's teacher if you would like to schedule a conference.
- CECC (8:00am-8:00pm) Teachers have contacted parents to schedule conferences. If you have additional questions, please contact your child's teacher
Retiree Event
Job Openings
*Computer Science/Information Technology Instructor (20-21 School Year)
*High School Assistant Principal (20-21 School Year)
*First Grade Teacher (20-21 School Year)
*Fifth Grade Teacher (20-21 School Year)
*Speech Language Pathologist (20-21 School Year)
*High School Social Studies Teacher (20-21 School Year)
*High School Paraprofessional (20-21 School Year)
*Special Education Teachers (20-21 School Year)
*Bass Fishing Sponsor
*Head Start Teacher's Assistant
Interested in working with us? You can apply online at this link.
2020-2021 School Year Calendar
The 2020-2021 school year calendar was recently approved by the CSD's Board of Education.
You might notice some changes with next year's calendar. One of those changes is that a new state law mandates schools cannot start more than 14 days before Labor Day. Clinton Schools' first day of school will be August 25th.
Another change for next year will be that Clinton Intermediate School and Henry Elementary School will be lengthening their school days by 10 minutes. Next year, CIS will begin school at 8:05 and Henry at 8:10 (doors at both schools will still open at 7:30). With these additional minutes, all buildings in the district will be attending school the same number of minutes every day.
You can find a printable version of the 20-21 school year calendar at the end of the newsletter.
From the Nurse's Office
It is that time of year when we start seeing more illnesses in our students. We just want to remind our families when students need to stay home.
- Students need to stay home if they have a fever of 100.0 or greater.
- They should not return to school until they are fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.
- Students need to stay home if they are having diarrhea and vomiting and should not return until they have had 24 hours of no vomiting or diarrhea
- Sometimes your doctor will recommend your child stay home longer for certain illnesses. Please follow your doctor's advice.
- If your student stays home sick, please call their school office to notify them.
This is a great time to remind students to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer often and to keep their hands away from their eyes, mouth and nose.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's school nurse.
Inclement Weather Procedures
Do you know how the CSD communicates school closures due to inclement weather?
*DOWNLOAD OUR APP (Search for "Clinton School District" on Google Play or the Apple App Store. When school must close due to inclement weather, you will receive push notifications directly to your phone!)
*PHONE CALL/TEXT MESSAGE/EMAIL (You will only receive phone calls and text messages if we have your current contact information on file. Please provide your current phone numbers and emails to the office. Also, you must opt-in to receive text messages. Text "Y" to 67587.)
*FACEBOOK/TWITTER (Follow us on both platforms to stay informed. Facebook-"Clinton Schools" Twitter-@ClintonMoCards)
*NEWS MEDIA (School closing information will also be provided to KDKD and Kansas City news stations)
Substitute Teachers Wanted
Looking for a part-time position with competitive pay, the ability to choose your building assignments and have your nights, weekends, holidays and summers off?
The Clinton School District is seeking Substitute Teachers for the 2019-2020 school year.
Candidates should possess 60 hours of college credit, currently have a substitute teaching certificate or be able to obtain one, as well as pass a background check. This position is on an as-needed basis, and the pay is $90 per day. Also important to note, the district reimburses the fingerprinting fee after you substitute teach one time.
Substitute teaching application packets are available at the Administration Office located at 701 S. 8th Street, or on the district website at this link.
For more information, please call 885-2237.
Get to Know....Bethany Pierce
Bethany Pierce joined the Clinton School District all the way from her hometown of Madison, Alabama.
This is Bethany's second year as a Clinton Cardinal. She currently teaches English II, Photography, Media Productions (Journalism), and Yearbook at Clinton High School and last year she taught 6th grade Reading and Writing at Clinton Middle School.
Ms. Pierce grew up as a "teacher's kid" as her mother is a Gifted Education teacher in Huntsville, AL. Her father is a NASA Propulsions Engineer. Bethany has one younger brother, Tim, who is one of her best friends on the planet. Bethany has a beautiful daughter, Luna, who is the most loving (and wild!) pit-mix there is.
In her free time, Ms. Pierce enjoys graphic design, playing with Luna, traveling, and spending time with her friends.
"This year and last year, my administrators and coworkers have been nothing but supportive, kind, and helpful. Beginning my teaching career in the CSD is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I love what I teach, who I teach, and my incredible coworkers. I moved here alone from Alabama and the CSD staff became my family."
About Us
Email: alawson@clintoncardinals.org
Website: http://clintoncardinals.org
Location: 701 South 8th Street, Clinton, MO, United States
Phone: 660-885-5585
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Clinton-Schools-257810614245734/?fref=ts
Twitter: @ClintonMoCards