Chief Weekly

Familiar face, new role! Dr. Jenna Sladek returns as the new Zitzman Elementary Principal for the 24-25 school year. Sladek has been in the Meramec Valley School District for the past 7 years. Most recently, she was the principal of Truman Elementary. She spent her first two years in the district as the Assistant Principal of both Coleman and Zitzman Elementaries. She previously taught for 6 years in the Hazelwood School District.

Dr. Sladek holds a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Lindenwood University and did her undergrad work at Webster University. She resides in Pacific with her husband and two sons.

Zitzman Elementary will also start the school year with a new assistant principal. Mrs. Christine Pruett will be stepping into the new position. Pruett has worked in Meramec Valley School District since 2017. She was a 5th grade teacher at Coleman Elementary before moving into the role as the district curriculum and instruction coach for the last 5 years. She previously taught 11 years for Ozark R-VI Schools.

Mrs. Pruett is a graduate of Missouri State University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education and master's degree in reading. Most recently, she earned an Educational Specialist (Ed. S.) in K-12 Leadership from Northwest Missouri State University. She is married to her husband Adam and has 2 children.

It is with great excitement and my pleasure to serve as the principal of Zitzman Elementary. I hope this newsletter finds you and your family well, and I truly hope that you were able to enjoy some time away this summer, even with all the busyness and all the demands of life! Mrs. Pruett and I have been preparing for the 2024-2025 school year which starts with our Open House on Wednesday, August 14th where you will meet your child’s teacher and tour their classroom and our building. Due to the amount of families attending during a one hour time frame, please try to abide by the 30 minute split sections based on the letter of your last name:

6:00-6:30pm A-M

&

6:30-7:00pm N-Z

On August 9th, the parent portal through Infinite Campus will be officially open for you to access your student's teacher placement.

Additionally, your child’s teacher will be contacting you prior to Open House.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer! See you soon!

Dr. Sladek

The school day begins at 8:35 AM and students will be released at 3:40 PM.

Students should not be dropped off before 8:05 am; there is no supervision available. Students dropped off between 8:05 - 8:20am will either eat breakfast or wait in the cafeteria.

*If your child is a morning car rider and will not eat breakfast, we strongly encourage you to drop them off after 8:20am.

SACC is our before and after school care program.

If your child needs morning childcare before 8:05 am, contact the school office at 636-271-1440

or visit the School Age Child Care Program website to register.

For more information please see the flyer below:

In compliance with our Healthy Generation School goals, Zitzman will focus on healthy celebrations. Student birthdays will be recognized on our daily announcements.

To comply with the national health guideline, we do not accept birthday or holiday treats.

*Every student at Zitzman Elementary will receive a free book for their birthday!

(We celebrate 'half birthdays' in order to make sure we get all the kiddos who may have a summer bday!)

The annual online student information update for the 2024-2025 school year was already emailed out - please make sure you take time to complete this process or call the office (636-271-1440) to get some support in completing this task!

During our Open House you are welcome to come to the front office and the secretaries can assist families with the online update.

Additionally, Free/Reduced Meal Applications will be available at Open House as well as will be sent home in electronically and paper form! It is important that this application is completed by ALL families, even if you think you will not qualify.

Our goals as a community will be obtained with strong partnerships between the home and school. Please check out our website, download the free MVR3 App, and like us on Facebook.

Our Zitzman parent newsletter, called Chief Weekly, will be sent out every Thursday. This is intended to help your family best prepare for the week ahead so you have plenty of time to know about the 'next' thing going on!

We continue to request that parents bring their students to school in the manner they plan on using for the school year. If your student will be a bus rider we encourage them to ride the bus to and from school on the first day. Students need to meet their bus driver and get into the routine of those normal procedures starting on day one. Help your child be successful and have a smooth transition to school by starting their day off with our friendly bus drivers. Parents are welcome to meet their student at school, on the first day, after they arrive on the bus and snap a picture outside.

Bus Routes (Coming Soon)

It is the goal of the Meramec Valley R-III School District to provide a safe environment for students. The district recognizes that rules regarding dismissal of students are a necessary part of the district’s safety program. All visitors must enter the school through the office doors. Students who are going to be picked up before the end of the school day will be released through the office only.

We will be using Kid Account to dismiss this year - there will no longer be car rider tags for your car - we will provide you with more information on the Kid Account parent app or provide you with a card that is specific to your student. This card will be scanned at pick up to ensure each child is released to the correct guardian. We will also use Kid Account as students get on the bus each day to ensure all students are released to the correct bus.

Open House is a great, quick, whirlwind night to do all the things...student supplies can be dropped off, meet the teachers, nurse, finish enrollment, enroll in SACC, PTO involvement, and much more!

To make this event more enjoyable for each student and their parents, PTO will have two different Food Trucks; Hot Tamales and an Ice Cream Truck (there is a possibility of a third truck: a Funnel Cake Truck but that will be a last minute confirmation). These trucks will be available for you and your family to enjoy dinner and dessert! The food is at your own cost. The trucks will be here the entire time of the event...which is prime dinner time... so if you would like to have a meal the trucks will actually be parked inside our intermediate playground area. We will have outdoor seating or inside cafeteria seating as a cooler option. Feel free to eat outside of your 30 minute Open House last name letter time; that way you can use your whole 30 minutes getting to know your teacher and following our scavenger hunt to learn the layout of the school and all greatness that lies inside our hallways!

Zitzman also has a new nurse this year! We will ask that everyone take time to stop by and meet her during Open House.

A copy of the most updated shot record should be turned into the office as many shots are required by law. Special health conditions regarding your student should be reported through our Medical Information Form filled out during registration but a follow up with Nurse Lang is always great confirmation with communication!

Studies show that a healthy breakfast gives children a head start to a successful day. The cost of breakfast is $2.10 per day; lunch is $3.30 per day. Students may purchase extra milk for $.75 per carton. All money to be deposited into your student’s lunch account should be placed in an envelope with the student’s name, grade, teacher’s name, and the amount enclosed. There is also a feature through the parent portal to load money onto your student's account electronically.

MVR-III asks ALL families to complete the meal application to ensure continued funding to support ALL students in our district. Students from households that meet federal income guidelines are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals. Periodic notices will be sent home regarding meal account balance and can also be accessed through the SIS Parent Portal System.

You can access the Zitzman Elementary School Menu by clicking on the links below:

The district is also expanding the Watch D.O.G.S. (dads/moms/guardians of great students) safety program at each K-8 building in the district. If you are interested learning more about this program or volunteering even 1 day a year as a Watch D.O.G.S. in your child’s school.

Watch D.O.G.S. is a national innovative program focusing on the prevention of violence in our children's schools by using the positive influence of fathers and father-figures for two purposes:

1) To provide positive male/female/adult role models for the students, demonstrating by their presence that education is important.

2) To provide extra sets of eyes and ears to enhance school security and reduce bullying. WATCH D.O.G.S. are fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and any other father-figures who volunteer as a positive presence for at least one whole school day each year at an official WATCH D.O.G.S. school.

Please complete the sign up below if you are interested in serving as a WATCH D.O.G.S. at Zitzman Elementary

Zitzman has an active Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). The organization has traditionally sponsored activities such as Parking Lot Bingo, Trunk or Treat, Breakfast with Santa, Trivia Night, Homecoming parade, Teacher Appreciation week and fundraisers to support the school, staff, students and our community! This year we are planning to hold similar events.

Regular meetings will occur on the third Wednesday of each month at 4:00pm. We will host our first meeting on August 21. There will be childcare provided by PTO if you are unable to find childcare for you kiddo and want to attend!

As we head into the 2024-2025 school year, our district has focused a lot on the idea of Growing Together. Over the past three months, we have done a lot of reflection on ways we will focus on growing together this year within our buildings, district-wide, and throughout our community. This is such a positive and uplifting focus and allows up to continue with a forward vision of creating a caring community of life-long learners here at Zitzman Elementary.

This summer, Zitzman's Building Leadership Team came to the conclusion that in order to truly 'grow' together (and to settle some of the unknowns this year may bring) our focus at Zitzman should be to focus on our roots.

The motto of Root and Rise is as simple as you read it. It is the focus on making strong roots with relationships, communication, consistency, and a teaching approach that goes back to the basics. Together we can RISE up and grow in all aspects of what comes on our journey together.

• August 3rd - The Bridge Foundation Back-to-School Bash serving MVR-III families will be held Saturday, August 3rd, in the Pacific High School Cafeteria from 9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Back-to-School Bash was created to provide under-resourced MVR-III families with a little extra support before they start school. The event will supply each student with a backpack, hygiene supplies, basic school supplies (based on the student's grade level), a new pair of shoes, and additional resources (while supplies last).
• August 14th - Open House 6:00-7:00pm
• August 19th- First Day of School!!!
• August 21st- PTO Meeting @ 4:00pm in the ZE Library
• September 2nd- Labor Day - NO SCHOOL
• September 16th- ZE Fall Picture Day!
• September 22nd- Zitzman Day at the Cardinals Game!

At the end of each weekly newsletter throughout the year I like to leave a feel good, inspiration, or self reflection of some sort because some days 'adulting' and 'life' win and other days WE win. It is always nice to know our Chief Family understands and is there for us every step of the way.

Today I will leave you with this hope for the coming school year:

Leading is tough, teaching is tough.

Being a student can be tough. Parenting is tough.

This year, let’s show grace and not be afraid to ask for help. Safe schools are more than locked doors, policies and rules. Safe schools accept each individual for who they are, wherever they may be in their journey and I know the staff at Zitzman have big hearts that want our daily workplace and your child's home away from home to be a safe haven!

We look forward to seeing all the Zitzman families at the Wednesday, August 14th Open House event from 6:00-7:00pm!

If you have any questions concerning the 2024-2025 school year, please contact me at 636-346-6156 or email me at jsladek@mvr3.k12.mo.us