As a reminder, the Staff Communicator will be distributed each Thursday that school is in session, and also distributed as needed throughout the year. Archives can be found HERE.
November RepMO Hero Nominees
We are #repmoproud to have the following individuals on our team who are being recognized as RepMO Hero nominees for the month of November! Each of them goes above and beyond to serve our students and fellow teammates!
EC - Connie Stellwagen - Nurse Lyon - Lisa Jones - Nurse McCulloch - Michaela Moore - Nurse Price - Trevor Shepard - Lead Custodian Schofield - Abigail Hopper - Library/Instructional Aide Sweeny - Cierra Galyon - Computer Aide RMS - Kendra Page - School-Based Clinician RHS - Kim Dilley - SPED Para CO/CIA/Maint/IT/Security - Chris Smith - Bookkeeper Transportation - Marty Thomas - Bus Driver STRIPES - Hayley Moore - STRIPES Staffer
GOCSD Mobile App
GOCSD now has a free mobile app which features some wonderful and helpful resources. Download it now by searching 'GOCSD" in your app store!
Winter Break
The Republic School District will be closed for Winter Break on December 23-January 4. Students will not attend school on Monday, January 4 for a teacher work day. The second semester will begin on Tuesday, January 5. For families in need of childcare, Cub Care through the STRIPES 360 program will be available for kindergarten through 8th grade students on limited days throughout this break and preschool students enrolled in PALS on January 4.
Please review the information at https://conta.cc/3lDb7Nh in regards to updated quarantine protocols in response to the CDC's new guidance released yesterday. This information reduces the required days of a traditional quarantine to 10, and also provides an option to "test out" of quarantine for release on day 7.
Modified Quarantine
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department has released information in regards to schools implementing modified quarantines. This allows students to continue attending school after a properly masked, low-risk exposure to COVID19.
In response, the Republic School District now requires all students in kindergarten and older in addition to all adults to wear masks while on campus or on our buses.
Take note, if a student is exposed and qualifies for a modified quarantine parents/guardians will receive an email notification, not a phone call. However, if a student needs to traditionally quarantine due to a high-risk, unmasked exposure parents/guardians will receive an individual phone call.
Email Signatures
As a reminder, your school email signature should mimic the one pictured below. In addition, you are welcome to add any special certifications and/or your Strengthsfinder strengths. Please be careful of any links you might include in your signature as we've received reports that some employee emails are being blocked due to Google viewing these links as "spam" or "advertisements".
Technology Support Directory
To assist our employees with "all things technology" pleaseCLICK HEREto reference the new "Technology Support Directory." This can also be found under the "Staff" tab on our website.
Loan Forgiveness Information
In accordance with state law, the Republic R-III School District is required to provide all new employees with information regarding eligibility for the Public School Loan Forgiveness Program. Employees who work full-time in a public school district might be eligible for this program. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program forgives the remaining balance on Direct Student Loans for borrowers after they have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan, as long as the borrower is not in default. For more information about the program and to determine if you are eligible under this program, go to the Missouri Department of Higher Education's website at: http://dhe.mo.gov/resources/publicserviceemployees.php
Athletics & Activities Guidelines: Winter 2020-21
Employee Assistance Program Service Summary
As a reminder, the services detailed in the below graphic are available at no cost to our employees through Anthem.
District and Community Announcements
Upcoming Dates
December 11: Progress 5 Reports Distributed (RMS & RHS)
December 17: Board of Education meeting, 7:00 p.m. at Central Office
December 22: End of Semester K-12
December 23-January 3: Winter Break
January 4: Teacher Work Day (no school for students)
January 5: Start of Semester 2
January 8: Grade cards distributed
*Reminder that every Friday of seated school (phase 1) during the school year full day preschool-12th grade students are released one hour early for teacher collaboration time.
For questions or comments please contact me via email or by calling 417-732-3605.
Sincerely,
Josey McPhail
Director of Communications Republic School District
Please review the information at 
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department has released information in regards to schools implementing modified quarantines. This allows students to continue attending school after a properly masked, low-risk exposure to COVID19.
