In honor of #LoveTeaching week, we want to highlight a group of teachers who continue to champion lifelong learning to improve student outcomes. The District celebrates “teaching, leading, and learning in a way that unites and invigorates educators and those they inspire all around the world.”
A team of educators attended the National ESEA Conference at the beginning of February. The team learned along with educators across the country best practices in the areas of literacy, math, ways to increase opportunities for parent engagement and involvement from early childhood through high school as well as updates for federal programs and guidelines. The team included Dr. April Williams, Mrs. Melissa Keeney, Mrs. Traci Bahr, Mrs. Misty Hutchcraft, and Mrs. Amy Brewer. They were excited to note the many things that St. James is doing well and also learned about ways we could improve outcomes for students.
"Some of my favorite sessions were about building relationships between students, teachers and families so that everyone feels like they have a role in the child's education, and your role is just as important as everyone else's. I also attended a session that was about empowering teachers using the data from their students," said Brewer about her experience. "This session taught me that the work we are doing during PLC Fridays is crucial in meeting students where they are and giving teachers and parents a clearer picture of where their student was in the beginning vs. where they are now. Another one of my favorite sessions was about creative ways to use Title I Funds that involve the community, promote family and school relationships, and support incoming early childhood students."
St. James R-1 School District strives for academic excellence among not only students but our staff as well. By providing opportunities for professional development, we encourage individual growth and active participation in lifelong learning.
#LoveTeaching #lifelonglearning #stjschools #tigerpride
Students and staff have been sharing kindness and spreading the love with words of affirmation, Valentines cards, artwork, and treats. Days like today remind us how a small gesture can go a long way in building caring relationships.
Happy Valentine's Day, Tigers!
#missionmakers #caringrelationships #stjschools #tigerpride
High school students visited Tiger Cubs yesterday to help our preschoolers make Valentines!
Student-to-student outreach empowers all involved to develop caring relationships. Our mission strengthens across the District with each caring gesture, kind word, and smile. We're proud to see our students living the Tiger Way.
#caringrelationships #stjschools #tigerpride
It's TIGERS Tuesday and Valentine's Day! Keep reading to find out why our staff loves St. James R-1 School District:
"I enjoy working with children and love how supportive our District is of the staff," Daly responded when asked why she stays in our District. "My child goes to school here and I feel she’s getting the best education possible in our area. Our district has also been providing professional development opportunities for current staff that are interested in obtaining our teaching certification. The Grow Your Own program here is providing education about our path to becoming classroom teachers that a lot of other districts do not currently have. They see our value and provide so much support.”
Proposition TIGERS is a $0.65 operating levy increase to RETAIN quality staff through salary increases. The levy will also be used to save money to MAINTAIN current buildings and increase safety in the St. James R-1 School District.
For more information: https://www.stjschools.org/page/prop-tigers
#PropTIGERS #retainandmaintain #stjschools #tigerpride
PARENT REMINDER: There will be NO SCHOOL for students this Friday, February 17, 2023, for a planned Teacher Professional Development Day.
Also next week:
- Monday, February 20, 2023 there is NO SCHOOL for Presidents Day.
Enjoy your four day weekend, Tigers!
#stjschools
Our Tigers are showing off their Superbowl LVII spirit across the district!
#redfriday #stjschools #tigerpride
Tiger Highlight!
St. James FBLA attended the District 11 Conference on February 1st at the Cowan Civic Center in Lebanon, Missouri. St. James R-1 High School had thirty-two students compete against eighteen other schools at the district level. They had been working diligently leading up to the District Conference where they presented individual projects, tested on various topics, and evaluated and presented case studies. Twenty students qualified to compete at the State Leadership Conference held in Springfield, Missouri from April 16-18th.
Congratulations to our Tigers!
#FBLA #academicachievement #activities #stjschools #tigerpride
Learning Highlight!
St. James R-1 High School Spanish I students have been working on family vocabulary words, using them in a sentence, and describing family members. Next, they will create family trees and a digital storybook about themselves and their family. Once their storybooks are complete, students will visit Lucy Wortham James Elementary and read them to our younger Tigers!
#academicexcellence #caringrelationships #stjschools #tigerpride
Tiger Highlight!
Tiger Training, a before-school enrichment program focused on building foundational skills in athletics, music, and critical thinking, has started back up this semester. Critical thinking students became Lego Masters this morning using teamwork and imagination to build scenes.
#tigertraining #academicexcellence #stjschools #tigerpride
In partnership with St. James Senior Center , the St. James R-1 School District will hold its first Community Conversations event on February 22, 2023 at 11:30 AM.
Stop by and visit with Superintendent Webster while having lunch!
#communityconversations #propTIGERS #stjschools
It's Mission Monday and we're celebrating National School Counseling Week!
Thank you to each of our counselors for their dedication to building caring relationships with our students through support, encouragement, and wisdom. Please join us in thanking our school counselors by leaving a like or quick line of appreciation here.
Lucy Wortham James Elementary School: Sarah Hammonds and Shelley Giacolone;
St. James Middle School: Sarah Baker and Jillian Doddema;
St. James R-1 High School: Barb Wilson and Chelsie Fulton.
#nationalschoolcounselingweek #missionmakers #caringrelationships #stjschools #tigerpride
Congratulations to our 2023 Courtwarming Royalty!
Queen: Jordan Cairer
King: Treyton Culp
Mini-Queen: Avery Moffet
Mini-King: Harrison Abel
Queen Candidates : Rylee Hancock, Hanna Salter, Aubrey Boyer, and Ally Carroll
King Candidates: Blake Redburn, Hunter Redburn, Peyton Gruver, and Jake Wilson
Junior Attendant: M’Lynn Steen
Sophomore Attendant: Maddie Giesler
Freshman Attendant: Jaci Foust
#stjschools #tigerpride
Learning Highlight: Fifth grade students are heading west along the Oregon Trail!
The last few weeks students participated in a Westward Expansion Makerspace where they applied their learning from the unit to complete 4 objectives:
1) Build a Westward Expansion Era model (a fort, a cabin, a teepee, or a wagon),
2) Create a map marking specific items with a path an Ozobot can follow,
3) Create a piece of writing to reflect trials of the era (newspaper, journal entry, letter, obituary, birth announcement),
4) Create a newscast against the green screen of an era specific event.
Students worked and researched in student-led, teacher facilitated teams that required collaboration, communication, and teamwork.
#academicexcellence #LWJE #stjschools #tigerpride
Tiger Highlight!
Stacy Blakley, St. James educator and President of Missouri State Teachers Association(MSTA), was the Master of Ceremonies for MSTA State Capitol Day on January 31st!
Over 100 MSTA members gathered in the Missouri State Capitol to meet with legislators about the realities teachers face in the classroom and to voice concerns about legislation that would be harmful to education.
Guest speakers during the MSTA Capital Day were Governor Mike Parson, State Senator Karla Eslinger, House of Representatives Speaker Pro Tem Mike Henderson, and Senator Doug Beck.
#MSTA #stjschools #tigerpride
Snow much fun in Kindergarten today!
Mrs. Tory Witt's students took advantage of all that snow. Sensory play encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, and problem solving.
#academicexcellence #stjschools #tigerpride
Tiger Highlight!
Lana Meeks, a fifth grader at Lucy Wortham James Elementary School, recently participated in the All State Children’s Choir. The All-State Children’s Choir is open to 4th and 5th grade students in Missouri. Auditionees had to submit an audio recording of “Happy Birthday” sung without accompaniment and in the key of their choice. The Choir performed at the 85th Missouri Music Educators Association (MMEA) In-Service Workshop/Conference.
The St. James R-1 School District supports arts in education and we thank Mrs. Ament and Mrs. Martin for cultivating creativity.
Congratulations, Lana!
#MMEA #stjschools #tigerpride
Learning Highlight!
Mrs. Evers and Mrs. Y’s students have been learning all about cold weather and polar animals. They’ve had many fun winter-themed learning activities such as magnetic ice fishing for letters/animals and cooking their catch of the day on the “camp fire.” They also completed a Service Learning Project for the St. James Senior Center : winter placemats!
These activities work on social skills, fine and gross motor skills, and alphabet recognition. They also developed their critical thinking skills while investigating what objects will/won’t attract to magnets. We love seeing our students learning through play the Tiger Cubs way!
#academicexcellence #stjschools #tigerpride
Congratulations to our January Leading the Tiger Way winners!
LWJE: Hannah Perona and Tori Parker
Middle School: Tamara Story and Carrie Carroll
High School: Cheryl Harlan and Stephanie Jackson
The "Leading the Tiger Way" teacher and staff of the month program is designed to spotlight one teacher and one classified staff from each building every month. We want to recognize our most dedicated and talented employees. Peers get the opportunity to nominate a teacher and staff member who exemplify the character and professional traits we strive for as a District.
#leadingthetigerway #TeacherTuesday #stjschools #tigerpride
Mission Monday Highlight!
Fourth and fifth graders in Junior Beta Club started the new year by creating an Inspiration Wall at Lucy Wortham James Elementary School! During their January meeting, students filled out cards with words of wisdom and affirmations about how to have a great year together. We strive to empower our students through caring relationships and creating a physically and emotionally safe environment for our students. We love seeing our Mission Makers in action!
#caringrelationships #missionmonday #stjschools #tigerpride
Learning Highlight: Mrs. Siders' and Mrs. Waldmann’s middle school classrooms were transformed into a Starbooks Cafe for the day!
Dim lights and soft jazz greeted students as they stepped into Starbooks this morning. They placed their drink and snack order to their “barista.” After ordering, students were given a book menu and assigned to a station for a book tasting. At each station, they read a synopsis and the first few pages of the books at the table. Then students filled out their "book menus" with their top four choices. Later they will be assigned to groups based on their selection. Within those groups, they’ll spend over a month analyzing the chosen text. Each student will rotate through jobs in the group: Discussion Leader, History Buff, Vocab Veteran, Captain Connector, and Amazing Artist.
#caringrelationships #academicexcellence #stjschools #tigerpride
