Raymore-Peculiar School District News

Dec. 22, 2023

Board Hears About New RPHS Activities

Ray-Pec students will have additional athletic and activity options, starting this spring.

In a report to the School Board on Dec. 21, Chief of Staff Dr. Al Voelker talked about several new high school activities, including Esports, Girls Flag Football, and Boys Volleyball. He also told of plans to expand activity offerings for middle school students.

Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games in an organized team or individual environment. Many school districts in the Kansas City metro area already have Esports teams in place. Ray-Pec High School plans to begin practicing and competing in March. There are 64 students interested in participating. The Missouri State High School Activities Association lists Esports in the category of emerging sports and activities.

Girls Flag Football is also slated to begin this spring through a partnership with the National Football League and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have offered a two-year financial commitment that includes coaching pay, player uniforms, and equipment. The high school currently has 47 athletes interested in participating. Competitions are scheduled on Saturdays in the spring. There are many area schools who also plan to pilot flag football in spring 2024. (A sneak peek of the flag football uniform is pictured above.)

Boys Volleyball is set to begin in spring 2025 at Ray-Pec High School. Boys Volleyball is a MSHSAA-sanctioned sport, starting this year. There will be a state championship beginning in the 2024-2025 season.

For middle school students, the District is exploring the introduction of an intramural program in the areas of swim, golf, dance, and soccer. More information will be shared in the coming months.

For more details, read Board meeting presentation here.

Students May Be Evaluated for 2024-25 LEAP Program

Logic, Enrichment, and Academic Pursuit (LEAP) is an intervention program for students who have been identified as gifted learners. The Raymore-Peculiar School District LEAP program services gifted students in grades 2-12.

Nomination period: Jan. 3 to 26, 2024

Each year, parents or teachers may nominate students in grades 1-7 for candidacy to be evaluated for LEAP. LEAP flyer

Students must meet qualifying levels on identified assessments in order to participate in LEAP. The levels are prescribed by the Missouri Board of Education and have been adapted to the Ray-Pec LEAP program.

A student is required to qualify in three of the four following areas:

Academic Achievement: A student must score at or above the 95th percentile on a standardized achievement test.
Intellectual Ability: A student must score at or above the 95th percentile on an acceptable IQ test.
Reasoning, and Problem-solving Ability: A student must score at or above the 95th percentile on an acceptable Reasoning and Problem-solving test.
Other Documentation: A student must receive a superior score on an acceptable measure that documents characteristics of gifted children and provides evidence of exceptional performance; or have participated in a previous gifted program.

PARENTS or TEACHERS seeking to nominate a 1st-7th grade student for candidacy to be evaluated for the LEAP program may complete the Nomination form. For more information about our gifted program please contact the counselor at your child's school.

Ray-Pec Tests All Water Outlets

In 2022, the Missouri legislature passed the "Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act."

The act requires schools to test for lead in all potable water distribution sources districtwide.

When an elevated level of lead is detected in any water sample, the district develops and implements a mitigation plan. This includes removing and replacing fixtures, and re-testing the sources.

Any fixture with an elevated lead level is unavailable for use as drinking water or food preparation until it is repaired and replaced and passes the testing.

The deadline under the law is Aug. 1, 2024, but in the Ray-Pec School District, the inventory and testing of water sources is already under way.

All Ray-Pec drinking fountains, water bottle filling stations, and sinks used in cooking stations were tested and the results fall within the state requirement. The Ray-Pec School District has removed from use any fixtures with results above the reporting limit. None of these included drinking fountains, water bottle filling stations, and sinks used in cooking.

For more information and test results, go here.

Important calendar dates:

Please note these dates:

Dec. 22 to Jan. 3: No school, Winter Break.
Jan. 4: Classes resume.

Inclement weather procedures: Read more

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Raymore-Peculiar School District