Chief Weekly

Monday - Staff Development

Tuesday - Staff Development

Wednesday - Open House @ 6:00pm

Thursday - Staff Development

Friday - Last Friday Before School Begins!

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:

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.

The district has worked hard this summer and it is a goal to start stream lining home to school communication with minimal parents apps and ease with two-way communication.

We will NOT be using Class Dojo as a form of communication this school year. You will find out more about the new communication platform called ROOMs at Open House and in the coming months.

For the time being we ask that you communication via email or phone call as needed!

We will be utilizing Facebook, our website, the MVR3 App, and these parent newsletters to keep communication clear, effective and efficient!!!

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.

Dear Parents of Bus Riders:

Meramec Valley R-III School District is excited to announce BusRight, our new transportation software aimed at designing more efficient bus routes for our students and providing better communication to our families, which will be launched starting Monday, August 19th. The 2024 bus routes are located on the Transportation Webpage.

As you may have seen in prior communication, we’ve partnered with BusRight to allow you to keep track of your child’s school bus route to and from school directly from your smartphone.

The BusRight app will allow parents to, in real-time, follow their child’s bus route to and from school, receive notifications when the bus begins and ends its route, view the expected arrival time at your child’s designated bus stop, and receive communications from the Transportation Department. Parents will get an email on Tuesday, August 13th from support@busright.com with the subject “You’re Invited to BusRight.” Your invite will contain a link to create an account with BusRight and will officially go live with bus routes on the first day of school.

Once launched, if you log in to the system and observe the bus appearing to be offline, it does not mean the bus route is not in operation - it is most likely the result of one of the following reasons:

• The bus route has completed its run and is back at the bus lot and not turned on.

• The driver is using a spare bus that is not equipped with BusRight's GPS tracking system.

• The GPS Tracking system on the bus is not online due to technical issues.

• If the route does not show as an option on your route list, you may not be assigned to the stop in the BusRight system, but you can be added by contacting the Transportation Department Office at (636) 271-1470 or email Ruby Taylor at rtaylor@mvr3.k12.mo.us.

Please note that if you have students on routes that are not yet being launched on BusRight, you may also see the live locations of those vehicles, but they may not be accurate until officially launched.

Questions or issues regarding the use of the BusRight app should be directed to

support@busright.com. As always, questions about your child's bus stop or route should be directed to the Transportation Department at (636) 271-1470.

We appreciate your support and patience as we implement the BusRight safety system.

Sincerely,

Meramec Valley R-III School District

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!

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 IC Parent Portal System.

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

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 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!