May 17, 2024

Watch PCHS Graduation Live!

The PCHS Broadcast Department will once again be livestreaming PCHS's graduation ceremony this Sunday. Forward this link to family and friends who can't make it to commencement: www.youtube.com/PCR3Activities. PCHS's graduation ceremony will be shown LIVE starting at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday May 19, 2024. Congrats to our #PCR3Classof2024!

Online Re-Enrollment of Existing K-11th Grade Students

Parents of existing Kindergarten through 11th grade students: If you haven't already done so, please complete online re-enrollment forms and electronic proof of residency by Wednesday, May 22, via your PowerSchool Parent Portal Account and clicking on the "Returning Student Registration 2024-25" link. Approximately 2,900 student forms have yet to be completed. If you need assistance, please contact your child's school.

Teacher and Service Person of the Year Announced

With a surprise addition to an all-school assembly and a special interruption of a staff meeting, and Platte County School District announced its Teacher and Service Person of the Year this month. This year's Teacher of the Year is Danille Collins, Special Education Teacher at Compass Elementary; and Service Person of the Year is Candi Rawlings, Student Services Specialist at Northland Career Center. Fellow staff members nominate their peers for consideration in both the Northland Chamber of Commerce's Excellence in Education honors, as well as the District's staff recognition program; then nomination forms are completed and finalists are interviewed. Click here to read more, including snippets from their nominations.

Barry Elementary's Nancy Denig Named Christa McAuliffe Winner

PCR-3 represented well at the 38th annual Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Education Banquet, held on May 1. The event draws nearly 1,000 attendees from 11 Northland school districts and celebrates outstanding students, teachers, staff, and supporters of Northland education. Sixteen PCR-3 staff members were nominated for two categories: Excellence in Classroom Teaching and Excellence in Service to Education. Seven were honored with a special award, and Nancy Denig, 4th Grade Teacher at Barry Elementary, was awarded the Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Classroom Teaching honor. Click here to read more.

Y Club Enrollment for 2024-25

The Before and After School Program available to families in the Platte County R-3 School District is Y Club. With Y Club before and after school, children in kindergarten through 5th grade will benefit from homework enrichment, physical activity, and small and large group activities with a focus on building community and youth voice and leadership. Full-time and part-time Y Club is available at each of our elementary buildings (Barry, Compass, Pathfinder, and Siegrist), along with Y Club on days when school is out of session for inclement weather, seasonal breaks, and other days off (enrollment permitting). Operating hours are each weekday from 6:30 a.m. until school begins, and again after school until 6:00 p.m. Registration is now open. Click here to register.

If you have any questions about the Y Club program, please contact YMCA at (816) 360-3390.

Join our Team at PCR-3!

Join our team at PCR-3 and be part of a community dedicated to nurturing young minds! We are currently seeking talented individuals for the following roles: Teaching Positions at all levels, Process Coordinator, School Psychologist, District Safety Personnel, Instructional Coach, Executive Administrative Assistant for Human Resources, Paraprofessional, Bus Drivers, and more!

Be a part of our community, our family, our team, and our tradition! Visit the Careers section of our website to explore current openings and submit your application today.

Pirate Pride: PC2

For the Pirate Pride portion of the May meeting, the Board recognized Platte County Prevention Coalition (PC2), a team of individuals and agencies who focus on the health and safety of students, families, and the greater PCR-3 community. The coalition includes Beacon Mental Health, Platte County Police Department, Northland Regional Ambulance District, Kansas City Missouri Police Department, the Platte County Health Department, and the Platte County R-3 School District. 

PC2 develops programs and campaigns that send a unified message: youth can reach their full potential in safe, healthy, and drug-free communities. They have been a partner in a variety of prevention efforts with PCR-3 including Arrive Alive, this year's Breathe Easier anti-vaping campaign at our middle schools, student-led prevention campaigns at PCHS, the Got Character program, among many others.

SCHIVIR Me Timbers Staff Recognition

Each month, PCR-3 recognizes staff members who are living our vision, mission, and values, by presenting the "SCHIVIR Me Timbers" award. SCHIVIR is an acronym for our values: Student Focus, Collaboration, High Expectations, Integrity, Visionary Leadership, Innovation, and Results Orientation.

At the May board meeting, Amanda Griffin, School Counselor at Platte Purchase Middle School was recognized for living all of our values! Mrs. Griffin has been instrumental in carrying out several programs and initiatives across our middle schools to support the goal of increasing the sense of belonging for all students.

Board Approves 2024-25 Salaries and Benefits

At the Special May 2, 2024 Board Meeting, the Board approved the 2024-25 Salary and Benefits Recommendation with various enhancements to salaries and benefits for District employees, as part of the District's strategic goal to attract, retain, and develop high quality staff. The recommendation includes implementing schedule adjustments for all positions based on market analysis to position the district within 5% of the market median, providing incremental step movement for all employees, increasing the base salary by 4% for certified, support, and professional/technical staff and 3% for administrators, and additional salary enhancements. Salary schedules are posted under the Careers channel of our website.

Construction Manager at Risk Selection

At the May meeting, the Board of Education approved the selection of Newkirk Novak Construction Partners to provide construction manager at risk services for the anticipated spring of 2025 no tax increase bond program, based on qualifications of personnel, management approach, applicable resources including bond rates and strength of financials, overall fee structure, references, and completion of similar projects. The proposed 2025 Bond Program will include Phase II improvements to PCHS, Platte Purchase Middle School site amenities, Pathfinder Elementary playground improvements, and Compass Elementary parking and traffic improvements.

Elementary Strategic Plan Update

Leadership teams from Barry, Compass, Pathfinder, and Siegrist Elementaries, along with Dr. Jen McClure, Director of Elementary Education, provided the Board with an elementary school strategic plan update at the May meeting. Click here to view the presentation.

Student Services Key Process Update

Dr. Chad Sayre, Director of Student Services, shared with the Board a Key Process Update of the District's Student Services. Program evaluations were also submitted for School Counseling Program, and A+ Program.

As part of the District's efforts to provide each student with a relevant education in a safe and caring environment, Dr. Sayre highlighted the following opportunities for improvement:

• Develop/deploy student attendance strategic plan
• Implement Safe and Civil School behavior framework
• Refine use of eduClimber in the areas of discipline coding and data
• Deploy and enhance alternative support program for long-term suspension students at PCHS
• Build out Tier 2b intervention processes with counselors and school social workers

PCC Registration Open

Pirates Cheerleading Club registration for the 2024-25 season is now open for incoming Kindergarten through 6th graders. See flier and visit www.pirates-cheerleading-club.com for more information and to register.

PCYFL Registration Open

Platte County Youth Football League registration is now open for the 2024 season for incoming Kindergarten through 6th graders! See flier for details and click here to register. Camp will be held July 22-23 at Platte County High School. Register for camp here.

Platte City Summer Concert Series

Enjoy some music on the Platte County Courthouse lawn in Platte City from 7-9 p.m. on the second Saturday of June, July, and August, sponsored by the Platte City Friends of the Arts. See flier for details.

Platte County Rugby Club Camp - June 1

Join PCRC for their first annual rugby camp held June 1 at Platte Purchase Middle School! All 6-12th graders welcome! Come see what rugby is all about. See flier for details and visit plattecountyrugby.square.site to register.

Community Education Classes for Kids

NCC Community Education is offering the following opportunities for our elementary students in June! Click here to register.

• Game On Brick Adventure Lego Camp (Grades 1-5) June 17-20 at Barry
• KC Chess Club Summer Class (Grades K-5) at Barry (Tues/Thurs June 14-13) and Siegrist (Mon/Wed June 3-12)

Summer Reading Program - Jun 1-Aug 24

When readers aged 0-19 complete 20, 40, and 60 days of reading, they will earn a prize book from their local branch, and can be entered into a drawing to win grand prizes. Attend the Platte City Branch kick-off on June 1, and sign up for the program here.

PCR-3 Summer Athletic Camps

Several athletic camps are available this summer for our students. Please see the fliers/registration forms linked below. Note that the grade will be the grade your child is entering in the 2024-25 school year.

• Boys Basketball (2024-25 Grades 4-6, 7-9): May 28-31, 2024 (Register by May 20)
• Golf (2024-25 Grades 9-12): May 28-31 and July 22-26, 2024
• Wrestling (Ages 5-14): June 4-5 and June 4-6, 2024 (Register by May 23 at www.plattecountywrestling.com)
• Tennis (2024-25 Grades 9-12): June 10-11, 2024
• Girls Basketball (2024-25 Grades 4-6): June 11-12, 2024 (Register by May 31)
• Girls Basketball (2024-25 Grades 7-8): June 11-12, 2024 (Register by May 31)
• Soccer (2024-25 Grades K-8, 9-12): June 17-21, 2024 (9-12th grades) & June 17-19, 2024 (K-8th grades) (Register by June 3)
• Swimming (2024-25 Grades 4-9, 9-12): July 8-11, 2024
• Volleyball (2024-25 Grades 7-8): July 16-17, 2024 (Register by May 24)

May 18: NCC Graduation

May 19: PCHS Graduation

May 24: Last Day of School, 3-hour early dismissal

May 31-June 28: Summer School

June 19: No School, Juneteenth

June 20: Board of Education Meeting, 6:30pm, (reconvene from closed session which begins at 5:30pm)