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December 1, 2022

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Hello Josey,


We hope you had a great Thanksgiving break and are feeling ready to take on the next few busy weeks before we part ways for the winter holidays!


As a reminder, the Staff Communicator will be distributed each Thursday that school is in session, as well as once in June and once in July. It may also be distributed as needed throughout the year. Archives can be found HERE.

Early Retirement or Resignation Notification Incentive, $1,000 Deadline January 7

In order to secure the best possible candidate pool, the Board of Education is offering an early retirement or resignation incentive of $1,000 to any certificated professional staff member who submits retirement or resignation notification by the end of the day January 7. The resignation or retirement must be effective for next school year.

 

This incentive is included in Board of Education policy E-155-E on page 38 of the Employee Manual, and will be available annually, although the monetary amount is subject to change.

District Drink Drops

The first “District Drink Drop” is tomorrow, December 2! Any employee can order and pay for a drink of your choice from Rise Nutrition using THIS ORDER FORM, and it will be delivered to your school/department on Fridays using the below schedule:


Order up until 8am on Fridays!

  • Lyon, Sweeny & Fed Programs/Food Service/SPED Building: Fridays between 9:00 and 9:20 a.m.
  • EC, Price, McCulloch & Schofield: Fridays between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m.
  • RMS and Transportation: 10:00-10:15 a.m.
  • RHS: 10:30-10:45 a.m.


An email will be sent to those who order once your drink is delivered.


CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR RISE NUTRITION DRINK FOR DECEMBER 2 DELIVERY!


“District Drink Drops” are being implemented in hopes of providing our employees with an easy way to access a “treat” or “pick me up” from our local businesses. This effort will expand to include Black Lab Coffee beginning in early 2023!

Winter Break December 22 - January 3

Winter Break is coming soon! There will be no school for students from December 22-January 3. Families with students in Kindergarten through 6th grade needing childcare during this time can sign up to participate in Cub Care for the dates listed in the graphic.


The deadline to register is Thursday, December 15 at 4:30 p.m.


Visit https://www.republicschools.org/Page/1144 to register.


**Teachers, please share with your families!**

SISK12 Change

We have recently learned that our student information system provider, Tyler SISK12, is planning to discontinue its services after next school year (2023-2024). This means we are being forced to find a new vendor to house all of our student, staff and family information, which we rely on throughout daily operations.


We don’t want this news to cause any stress for any of our staff. Fortunately, SISK12 will continue to be available for some time, allowing us the opportunity to choose and migrate to a new system over a period of time. It’s important to note that SISFIN will be remaining operational for the foreseeable future. 


We've created a committee representing departments across our district as we carefully select a new vendor. In addition, this week, an email containing a link to the SIS Replacement Survey was sent to groups of employees who routinely use SISK12 in their roles. If you received this email, please take time to complete the survey by, TOMORROW, December 2. We value your feedback as we begin this transition process!

Mornings with Matt

Each month, Superintendent Dr. Matt Pearce will visit a building to host conversations with employees. These "Mornings with Matt" meetings are casual opportunities where employees can visit with Dr. Pearce regarding any topic of their choice. Building libraries will be the location of these meetings with the exception of EC (multipurpose room) and the Transportation Department (meeting room).


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


December 8: EC multipurpose room, 7:30 a.m.

December 14: Price library, 7:30 a.m.

January 18: Transportation meeting room, 8:30 a.m.

February 15: Lyon library, 7:20 a.m.

March 22: RHS library, 6:30 a.m.

April 19: Schofield library, 7:30 a.m

Annual Giving Opportunity

We are proud to offer the opportunity for our employees to give back to local philanthropic organizations. Through a one-time (deducted each January) or monthly payroll deduction, employees can donate any amount to the Republic Community Foundation or to Care to Learn Republic.


Republic Care to Learn addresses health, hunger and hygiene needs for OUR students! All funds go to support REPUBLIC students! https://caretolearn.org/southwest-missouri/republic/


Republic Community Foundation seeks to promote community betterment for Republic and its citizens through philanthropy, collaboration and a giving spirit. This foundation awards numerous grants to local philanthropic organizations including to Republic teachers. http://cfozarks.org/republic/


If you are a current participant, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO COMPLETE A NEW FORM THIS YEAR. Your donation amount and frequency will be rolled over from last year.


So, if you were a one-time donor, the same amount you asked be deducted in January 2022 will be taken out of your January 2023 paycheck. And if you are currently a monthly donor, the amount that currently comes out of your paycheck will continue coming out for 2023. If you want to continue your 2022 donation amounts, NO FURTHER ACTION IS NEEDED.


To review your current donation amount, log in to SISFin (requisition portal) and look up your pay stub from January 2022 (for one-time donors) or from any other month if you are a monthly donor. The password to download your pay stubs is the last four digits of your SSN.


If you'd like to change or cancel the frequency or dollar amount you donate, please contact Missy Lester at milissa.lester@republicschools.org by December 18.


If you are a new employee and/or are currently NOT SIGNED UP TO DONATE and would like to do so, follow the link below and complete the form. Deductions will begin in January 2023.


LINK TO SIGN UP FOR NEW DONORS: https://goo.gl/forms/jzqyygNdHmXSxANu1

Nominate a RepMO Hero!

Don't forget to nominate a CERTIFIED employee for the December RepMO Hero of the month! CLICK HERE for the nomination form!

HRA Reminder

The Republic School District participates in a health insurance consortium with 85 other school districts which allows us to qualify for the most competitive rates on the market. To continue qualifying for these competitive rates the consortium has implemented a requirement for participating districts. This requirement is that at least 50% of the district's employees who are eligible for insurance coverage MUST complete an annual Health Risk Assessment (HRA) in order for that district to participate in the consortium. 

 

Without participation in this, consortium insurance costs are guaranteed to increase significantly.



As an incentive to receive the 100% Board-paid insurance, we're asking all employees eligible to receive insurance coverage to complete a Health Risk Assessment (either through a district event or through their primary care provider) between July 1, 2022, and May 1, 2023.


Employees who do not participate will be required to pay the cost of the monthly premium increase. For the 2022-2023 school year this increase was approximately $35.00 per month.


If you choose to have your HRA completed with your physician's office, please have THIS FORM completed and returned to Melissa Bennett by May 1, 2023.


As in the past, on-site HRA visits will be held in district during the spring of 2023.

Board of Education Recap

At the November 17 Board of Education meeting, the adoption of the agenda and approval of consent items (found on BoardDocs) took place after the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Veteran John Lenz, Bus Driver. In addition, President Travis Edwards provided a Board Update.


Report Items:

  • Ms. Rebecca Baker from KPM CPAs & Advisors presented the FY22 audit report.
  • October RepMO Hero, Thomas Maerke, was honored.
  • Dr. Kara Boehmer, Lyon Elementary Principal, provided a building update, including a video about its student-led learning.
  • Executive Director of Operations Mr. Jason Perkins presented an update on district growth.
  • Superintendent Dr. Matt Pearce presented a district update regarding Veterans Day, RepMO Hero, survey plans, attendance and enrollment.
  • All administrative reports can be found on BoardDocs.

 

The Board took action and approved the following items (Details on BoardDocs):

  • Board Election Filing Dates
  • Lease Purchase Resolution
  • Revised Budget FY23
  • Revised Classified Salary Schedules 22-23
  • Audit FY22
  • Selection of Architect


The next regular meeting is scheduled for December 15 at 7:00 p.m.

Weekly Wellness

As you may know, our new CSIP includes a focus on overall wellness for our students and staff. Through that effort, our Staff Wellness Facilitator, Nancy Leonard, will provide information in this section of our Staff Communicator every week. We hope this will support all of our team members on their wellness journey! 


If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Nancy Leonard at nancy.leonard@republicschools.org or Ext. 6050.


NEW! Nutrition Learning Opportunity

Please join us for another nutrition presentation on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, in the Republic Middle School library from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. All employees and significant others are welcome! Donna Webb, founder and owner of Bright Sky Nutrition, will be presenting on Healthy Eating During the Holidays. 


Donna Webb is a licensed dietitian and a certified diabetes instructor. She has helped people just like you achieve their health and wellness goals for over 20 years.


Every part of our body is affected by the nutrition choices we make every day. Bright Sky Nutrition offers diet counseling (also known as Medical Nutrition Therapy), which is the only preventative service that reduces risk and improves overall health of our entire body. In addition, this benefit is COVERED under our Board-paid health insurance at no cost. 


Learn more about how the team at Bright Sky Nutrition can help us implement health strategies in easy and simple ways at www.brightskynutrition.com.


You will NOT want to miss this free educational event! Please RSVP HERE!

Access to Medical Care

When you need healthcare, especially immediate care, it may not be something you are ready for. The quick reference guide below is intended to show you how to access the care you need, when you need it, and in the way that works best for you.


Employees with board paid Anthem insurance have access to the Symptom Checker, 24/7 NurseLine, and Virtual Text and Virtual Primary Care Visits through the Sydney Health app (more information in the November 3 Staff Communicator) at little to no cost.


Find more information about these services HERE.

Reminders & Events

Click HERE for additional events listed in our Peachjar mailing.

December 2: Progress 2 Reports Distributed (Elementary) & End of Progress 5 (RMS/RHS)

December 9: Progress 5 Reports Distributed (RMS/RHS)

December 15: Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 p.m. at Central Office

December 21: End of 1st Semester - All Schools

December 22-January 3: Winter Break


CLICK HERE for the website calendar.


REMINDER: Every Friday during the school year, full day preschool through 12th grade students are released one hour early for teacher collaboration time.

Republic School District | republicschools.org

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