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September 6, 2018
In This Issue
STAR Summit Call for Presenters
Cooperative Advanced Degrees
Chats with Chance Dates
RepMO Hero Nominations Open
Smore Now Available for All Buildings!
Request to Complete Research Process
HR Information
Cub Care for 9/21 SI Day
District & Community Events
Upcoming Dates

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Preparing Each Student for a Successful Future

As a reminder, the Staff Communicator will be distributed each Thursday that we are in session, and two summer issues are also distributed. Archived copies can be found on the "Communications Department" web page. 
STAR Summit Call for Presenters
The sixth annual Shaping Teachers Across the Region Summit will be held November 6, 2018. Teachers and staff from Nixa, Ozark, Republic, and Willard School Districts will collaborate at this educational conference. The day will start with all the districts participating in sessions at either Republic High School or Willard High School (additional details to be shared soon) and a keynote session in the afternoon at the James River Church in Ozark.

We are securing presenters at all grade levels and all content areas. We hope that you will consider presenting at this event! If you have a unique learning project or want to share your high impact instructional strategies - WE NEED YOU!
The maximum number of sessions that you can present is two 50-minute breakout sessions or one deep-dive session (1 hr 40 min). Payment is $50 per 50-minute session or $100 per deep-dive session (co-presenters share the session pay). If you choose two sessions, you can do the same presentation twice, or do two different presentations.
 
Possible suggestions include:
Developing your PLN
Trauma Informed
Socio-Emotional Learning
Multi-tiered support--RtI
Suicide awareness
21st Century Skills
Leader in Me
Literacy
Disciplinary literacy
Numeracy
Inquiry
Deep level questioning
Blended Learning
Student Voice & Choice
Effective Collaboration (PLC)
Creating opportunities for transfer
Equity
Other
 
The call for presenters will be available September 5th - Sept 26th. Complete the form at the below link to submit your presentation. A more detailed agenda of the entire day will be shared in the upcoming weeks.
 
Follow the link to submit a proposal:
 
Call for presenters will be available through September 26.
For questions or comments please contact:
 

Cooperative Advanced Degrees
Republic School District is excited to partner with local universities to provide specific benefits to Republic educators interested in seeking advanced degrees. 

Chats with Chance Dates
Below is the schedule of meeting times for " Chats with  Chance." As a reminder, each month Dr. Wistrom will visit a building to host conversations with employees. These meetings are casual opportunities where employees can visit with Dr. Wistrom regarding any topic of their choice. Building libraries will be the location of these meetings with the exception of EC (classroom) and the Transportation Department (meeting room). 

ALL employees are invited to EVERY meeting, if you'd like to attend! Dr. Wistrom looks forward to visiting with many of you through this opportunity! 

CHATS WITH CHANCE SCHEDULE
September 11: Lyon library at 7:30 a.m.
October 2: RHS library at 6:30 a.m.
November 13: McCulloch library at 7:30 a.m.
November 27: Transportation meeting room at 8:30 a.m.
December 4: RMS library at 6:30 a.m.
January 8: Sweeny library at 7:30 a.m.
January 22: Early Childhood classroom at 7:30 a.m.
February 12: RHS library at 6:30 a.m.
March 5: Price library at 7:30 a.m.
April 2: RMS library 6:30 a.m.
May 7: Schofield library 7:30 a.m.

 
RepMO Hero Nominations Open
The Republic School District looks forward to honoring staff members who go above the call of duty through the  RepMO  Hero program! Each month (September-April) either a certified or classified employee from each of the building/department groups listed below will be honored for their part in implementing our district mission of preparing each student for a successful future. Those individuals will be recognized individually by their building/department group and by Central Office. 

Then, a committee will review the nominations of those individuals and one employee will be chosen as the  RepMO  Hero of the Month. The  RepMO Hero will receive $500 to be used at his/her discretion to purchase resources for his/her building/department. In addition, the  RepMO  Hero of the Month will be recognized at the following month's Board of Education meeting and through district communication channels.

RULES/GUIDELINES:
  • There is no limit on how many different employees you can nominate per month. 
  • Nominations will be accepted throughout each month using the deadlines below. Nominations will carry over. 
  • You can nominate ANYONE! They do not have to be a part of your nomination group (listed below).
NOMINATION GROUPS:
1. Custodial, nurses, aides/paras and food service building employees will be nominated by schools.
2. Departments will nominate staff members according to the schedule.
3. School Resource Officers, Maintenance, and IT will combine for the nominations.
4. Central Office (including SPED office, Federal Programs office, and Food Service office) and CIA will combine for the nominations.
5. Transportation will nominate staff members according to the schedule.
6. STRIPES 360 Staff members can be nominated by STRIPES or sites.
7. Sites can nominate an additional person from any of the departments in numbers 2 through 6. 

NOMINATION SCHEDULE:


Per the above schedule, classified employees will be honored for the month of September. Between now and September 30 use the link below (form link also under the "Staff" tab on the website) to nominate a classified employee for RepMO Hero.

 
Smore Now Available for All Buildings!
Last year the district asked for feedback regarding Smore (e-newsletter distribution tool), and EC and elementary teachers overwhelmingly supported the purchase of a district account. Grade level accounts for each elementary building and EC were created and implemented last fall, and those are still available for use this year. Several secondary teachers have come forward asking for access to Smore. In response we have now added three accounts at RMS (6th, 7th & 8th grades) and three accounts at RHS (1st, 2nd and 3rd floors) to accommodate any secondary teacher who would like to use this e-newsletter service! An account for specials teachers along with extra-curricular activities are available as well. 

An introduction email was sent last fall that included helpful information and directions on how to access Smore accounts.  CLICK HERE for that information. A video tutorial is included, but can also be found in Google Drive. Keep in mind, the video and original information was geared toward EC and elementary teachers, but is pertinent for any Smore user.   

**Please disregard the renewal notice at the top of Smore accounts. The district has renewed its subscription, but the notification hasn't been removed.**
Request to Complete Research Process
The Republic School District encourages educational research by advance degree candidates, agencies and institutions of higher learning. As a reminder, all research projects to be conducted in the schools must have prior approval by the Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services and the Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. The document found HERE identifies the forms/documents that must be submitted and describes procedures of the approval process. This can also be accessed by contacting your building administrator. Also, don't forget to submit a final product to the CIA Department.

Human Resources Information 
Important information from the Human Resources Department was shared with employees via email on August 21. Please take time to review this information, CLICK HERE. 

Cub Care for 9/21 SI Day



D istrict & Community Events  Find More on Peachjar HERE!







Upcoming Dates
September 6: McCulloch, Price and Sweeny Grandparents' Night  5:00-6:30 p.m.
September 6: All Day Preschool Classes Grandparents' Night  5:00-6:00 p.m. 
September 7: RHS Progress 1 Reports Distributed
September 12: K-8 End of Progress 1
September 20: K-8 Progress Reports Distributed
September 20: RHS End of Progress 2
September 20: Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 p.m. at Central Office
September 21: School Improvement Day, No School for Students
September 28: RHS Progress 2 Reports Distributed
September 28: Football Homecoming


**Every Friday during the regular school year students are dismissed one hour early for teacher collaboration time. Visit https://www.republicschools.org/fridayearlyrelease for details.** 

 
For additional dates, please view the website calendar HERE.           
For questions or comments please contact [email protected] or call extension 6008.
  
Sincerely,
  
Josey McPhail
Republic School District