School Hours
Office Hours: 8a-5p
School Hours: 9:10a-4:10p
Arrival/Breakfast: 8:55-9:10a
**Please do not drop off students before 8:55a. Students eating breakfast should report to the cafeteria between 8:55-9:10a.
Dismissal: 4:10p
**We will begin helping students make it to their dismissal locations at 3:50p.
Contact Information
Address: 7100 NW Hampton Road, Kansas City, MO 64152
School Phone: 816-359-4310
Website: www.UnionChapel.parkhill.k12.mo.us
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnionChapelElementary
Technology Support: 816-359-5000
Principal: Dr. Sarah Sieminski
Assistant Principals: Mr. Marquis Hall & Mrs. Kristen Mitchell
Counselors: Beth Dusin & Rebecca Irwin
Social Worker: Ellie Logan & Nurse: Madeline Laun
Office Staff: Angela Barlow & Susan Sadler
Union Chapel is a Latex-Free School.
Please make sure you/your child avoid bringing anything with latex to our school. Some examples are:
- rubber bands
- gloves
- balloons
- tape
There are people at our school with severe latex allergies, and we want to be sure to keep everyone safe. Please reach out if you have any questions!
Students were issued a Union Chapel lanyard at the beginning of the year. These lanyards are break-away to ensure student safety (especially on playground equipment). Please encourage students to keep their school-issued lanyard. If their lanyard is lost, please ensure they are using a break-away lanyard, at a minimum. Additionally, please remind students that their badges and lanyards should be free from items that may block their picture (e.g., stickers, stuffies, keychains, etc.).
Our Union Chapel DEIB Council met for the first time this school year on September 12th. This council is intended to include families, students, and staff. Our goal for this year is to use feedback to identify an action team then develop a chart of work the team will execute during the 25-26 school year.
During our meeting on September 12th, we considered the district's board approved DEIB Drivers and Narratives and recognized alignment between these and feedback collected during the 23-24 school year. Members shared additional feedback which we will consider at our next meeting when we are finalizing our action team and beginning to develop our chart of work.
2024-2025: Accepting Imperfections
All students should have received information and an entry form (sent home in their binders) for the 2024-2025 Reflections program, an amazing opportunity for students to express themselves creatively through various artistic mediums.
This year’s theme is Accepting Imperfections.
The art categories in which students can participate are: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography and Visual Arts.
The deadline for entries is Friday, November 15th.
Please note that to win amongst the Union Chapel entries and to advance to the state competition, the completion of the Artist Statement is extremely important for each entry. The statement should clearly and creatively tie to the theme and the artist’s work.
Please encourage your child to participate! We are so excited to see all of our very own artists put their best and most creative work forward!
We have been hearing from many families that are in need of childcare before and/or after school. Many are on the waitlist for Adventure Club. If you are a parent/guardian in the Union Chapel community that would have an interest in providing childcare for students either before or after school (or already do provide these services), please contact Ellie Logan, our school social worker. She may be reached at 816-359-5733 or by email at logane@parkhill.k12.mo.us. She will work to connect parents who need this childcare with those who have an interest in providing care.
We continue to get frequent updates from the construction team and the Park Hill Facilities team. Although most renovations were completed before the first day of school, the team continues to actively work toward completing our school kitchen. The Park Hill Nutrition Services continues to ensure students have the option to purchase a school breakfast and/or lunch each day.
Families who may qualify are encouraged to apply for Free and Reduced Meal Benefits. This is typically advertised as Free and Reduced Lunch, but there are many more benefits available.
Families who qualify for Free and Reduced Benefits have access to:
- Free/Reduced Price Breakfast and Lunch
- FREE insurance for student device
- FREE WiFi Hotspot from Park Hill School District
- …and more!
At Union Chapel October 2nd – 23rd, 2024
Miles of Smiles, a program of Level Up Kids, provides free dental care to children in the Northland who do not have access to oral health services. The dental care will be provided to students at UNION CHAPEL during the school day October 2-23, 2024! All care is provided by a licensed dentist and assistants and all patients receive a comprehensive exam, cleaning and x-rays.
Please register ASAP if you would like your student to be seen during the school day. We highly encourage online registration, which is quick, easy and convenient! You can register right from your phone!
https://practisforms.com/milesofsmilesinc/forms/milesofsmilesinc-registration-form
https://practisforms.com/milesofsmilesinc/forms/milesofsmilesinc-formulario-de-inscripcion
Please contact Karen Schaff (816-359-6175) or Ellie Logan (816-359-5733) if you have any questions or need help registering your student.
Parents can purchase additional insurance protection for accidents that may occur during school classes and while students are away from school, at home, during weekends and vacation periods, including the summer months. For information regarding this optional coverage, visit www.kidguardinsurance.com for additional benefit and on-line enrollment information.
In an effort to be clear and consistent with students, we came to consensus as a staff regarding our building rule. During our conversation, people discussed ensuring we are preparing students for middle/high school/their future and helping them develop appropriate coping strategies. Ultimately, we decided to adopt a Hats/Hoods Down, Heads-Up mentality. Students will be prompted to remove hats/hoods by all adults when they are in common areas. Classroom teachers can continue to use hats as an incentive within their classroom when they turn-in Gator Golds. Additionally, we will continue to encourage students to wear hats/hoods as cold weather protection.
Thank you in advance for your support as we reinforce this rule.
We understand the desire to send students to school with cell phones and smart watches. Please see the important passage from our Park Hill Parent-Student Handbook below regarding their use during the school day (p. 48):
Personal electronic items, such as cell phones, smart watches, iPads, earbuds, etc., should not be seen, heard, or used in the school building during school hours. Students will be expected to place these items in designated areas for the full school day. If a student violates this expectation, the student is subject to disciplinary action, and the item will be held in the office until the parent/guardian can pick it up.
Students will be asked to turn off these devices and stow them in their backpacks upon entry to the school and through the school day. In special circumstances, staff may give a student permission to use electronic items within the classroom (e.g., earbuds may be more comfortable than headphones, etc.). Thank you for your support with maintaining our educational environment.
This week we awarded 19.534 Gator Golds!
Union Chapel staff are working hard to recognize students for all the great things that they are doing. When staff notice students following our school PBIS expectations (Own Our Actions, Respond Respectfully, Stay Safe) they often award students a Gator Gold.
If your child is going to be absent, please call our office (816-359-4310) before school so we are assured of your child’s safety. If you forget to call, you will receive a call to verify the absence.
If a child’s attendance becomes a matter of concern, the classroom teacher, our social worker, Mrs. Ellie Logan; or counselors, Mrs. Beth Dusin or Mrs. Rebecca Irwin, may contact the parent or guardian to offer support.
Research shows a direct relationship between school attendance, academic achievement and success in school. The state’s Missouri School Improvement Plan (MSIP6) expectation for public school attendance is 90% or above. We are striving to ensure that at least 90% of students are here at least 90% of the time.
At the end of 1st quarter, we will share an update about the percentage of students who have met that goal by grade-level, but until then we will share the average attendance by grade-level each month.
See below for the average attendance by grade-level from September 1st-25th.
Kindergarten: 94.58%
1st Grade: 94.40%
2nd Grade: 95.33%
3rd Grade: 96.42%
4th Grade: 94.28%
5th Grade: 93.96%
School: 94.81%
- We will begin allowing parent/guardian visits for lunch after Labor Day.
- A visitor wishing to purchase lunch from the cafeteria must order no later than 10a by contacting Mrs. Chrysie Franksen, 816-359-4316.
- There will be designated seating for the guest and student in the cafeteria.
- Other students will not join the guest and student for lunch.
- Guests must provide identification every time when visiting.
Volunteers are important to the success of the Park Hill School District, and we appreciate their service to our schools. In order to keep our children safe, all volunteers who will be around students without an employee present must be screened. Thank you for making a difference for our students and thank you for helping us keep our students safe.
Any volunteer who will be alone with students, including field trips, must have a full screening, which includes a criminal background check, a check of the child abuse and neglect registry, and a check of the sexual offender registry.
Click here to fill out screening paperwork. Please submit all paperwork to the Park Hill School District Central Office.
Students may bring a birthday treat or favor to school to share with their classmates, as long as they come from our list of treats that contain none of the eight (8) major allergens - milk, wheat, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, fish and shellfish.
Thank you for understanding that all classroom treats must come from this list because we do not have the staff capacity to check for allergens that could threaten the health of some students.
Please bring birthday treats ahead of time (two hours after the start of school, at the latest).
Our employees are the reason we are so successful here in the Park Hill School District, and we would like to recognize them for all they do for our students. That is why we present the Park Hill Star award once a month to a pre-K or elementary teacher, a secondary teacher, and a support employee. Nominations from families are so meaningful to our staff!
We will keep this link within the helpful links section of this newsletter throughout the school year for your easy-access.
Our Vision
Building Successful Futures * Each Student * Every Day
Our Mission
Union Chapel is a safe, caring environment that upholds high standards and inspires students to achieve their personal best so they will become successful lifelong learners and citizens of character.
At Union Chapel Elementary School, we value:
- A positive and structured environment.
- Open line of clear and regular communication.
- Collaboration.
- Students feeling valued, respected and safe.
- Variety in learning approaches to meet individual learning needs, styles, and interests; and
- High standards and a clear purpose for learning.