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!
Families must notify the teacher if the student is to have re-takes. Teachers will only send students for re-takes if they have been notified AND proof/packets are with students on November 15th
Get ready—the Scholastic Book Fair is coming soon to our school! This is a great opportunity to connect with your child over the thrill of bringing home new books to dive into again and again. Studies show that kids read more when they choose books for themselves. And fostering a love of independent reading leads to a wide variety of benefits—including academic success and improved mental health.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Book Fair:
Dates:
November 11-15, 2024 Preview and create wish lists in library class
November 18-22, 2024 Shop before school, during library class and after school, 8a-5p
Location: Union Chapel Media Center
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!
The next webisode in the Park Hill Family Webinar Series is entitled Mental Wellness is a Muscle. The webisode will be held on Monday, November 18th, 6:00-7:00 PM. You can register for the webinar by clicking here.
We all have mental health, like we all have physical health – and just like there are things we can do to improve our physical health, there are things we can do to improve our mental health. When we think of mental wellness as a “muscle” we can “work out,” we open the door to becoming healthier and happier people! Participants will learn about the importance of mental health and mental wellness, and the valuable tools we can use for positive mental well-being.
Union Chapel Elementary proudly announces the grand re-opening of its newly remodeled kitchen, a transformative project designed to enhance meal quality, service efficiency, and food safety for students and staff. This marks the first-ever renovation of the kitchen facilities since the school’s establishment, representing a significant investment in modernizing food service operations to meet the growing needs of our school community.
Closed temporarily for renovations at the start of the school year, the kitchen now features upgraded equipment, improved workflow layouts, and expanded cold storage. These additions allow the nutrition services team to prepare an expanded menu with a focus on fresh, healthy options. The new kitchen layout and equipment will also improve food safety and efficiency, helping our dedicated staff serve students and faculty faster and more effectively.
After a slow soft opening, we hosted an official ribbon-cutting event on Thursday, October 31 at 10:55 a.m. to celebrate the launch of this new space.
“Our goal was to create a safe, efficient environment that not only supports our nutrition team but also elevates the dining experience for our students,” said Grennan Sims, Director of Nutrition Services. “We are thrilled to offer an expanded menu with more fresh produce options, which our students are already loving!”
This remodel demonstrates Park Hill School District’s commitment to providing students with nutritious meals in a safe welcoming space. The improved cold storage capacity will enable the school to consistently offer fresh fruits and vegetables, further supporting student wellness and overall satisfaction.
For more information, please contact:
Grennan Sims
816-359-5968
We wanted to share some exciting updates on the school-wide incentives students have been earning! We are always celebrating students, but our quarterly assemblies are a time when we make big announcements regarding incentives. Rockin' Recess, Golden Spatula, and Blissful Bus support us with fostering a positive and engaging learning environment while upholding high expectations for student behavior. These initiatives help us reinforce our gator expectations in a positive way by ensuring that students follow our school-wide matrix of expectations that is aligned with our big 3:
- own our actions
- respond respectfully
- stay safe
The "Rockin' Recess" award is an opportunity for students to earn extra recess! For this award, classes can earn stickers by following our gator expectations. The class that fills out the most sticker charts each quarter is awarded the coveted Rockin' Recess Trophy and an extra recess!
Similarly, the "Golden Spatula" award, is presented to the class that completes the most sticker charts during their lunch time each quarter. Winners of the Golden Spatula award get to enjoy a delicious treat as well as the Golden Spatula trophy.
This year, we've also implemented the "Blissful Bus" initiative. Students who demonstrate exemplary behavior on the bus are rewarded with stickers, which they can use to fill up their bus sticker charts. A variety of prizes are given to buses that fill up their charts!
Congratulations to the classes who were celebrated first quarter!
If there were to be a "snow" day this year, students would continue to learn from home by having an Alternative Methods of Instruction (AMI) day. As we approach the winter months, we want to share our school's plan for what learning will be on an AMI day.
The state allocated five AMI distance learning days, which means that on bad weather days, all students will learn from home from 9a to 3:40p. On the sixth bad-weather day, the district would call a snow day, which would mean all students will not have school.
District staff will communicate directly with families using communiation preferences families have opted for (e.g., text, call, email, etc.). Dr. Sieminski will email ALL Union Chapel Families at 8:00a to let them know that they will receive communication from their child's classroom teacher no later than 9:00a. Your student's teacher will communicate learning plans for the day, including any times for online meetings and the specific learning plan for your student(s).
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.
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.
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!
Check out the linked Curriculum Connections below to see what our Gators will be working on in each subject area during the month of November! We want to share the learning topics at all of the grade levels so that you are familiar with what topics and content are taught this month!
In the month of October we awarded 43,514 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 a 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.
Kindergarten: 82 out of 96 or 85% of students have a rate of attendance that is at least 90%.
1st Grade: 76 out of 89 or 85% of students have a rate of attendance that is at least 90%.
2nd Grade: 91 out of 109 or 83% of students have a rate of attendance that is at least 90%.
3rd grade: 85 out of 96 or 89% of students have a rate of attendance that is at least 90%.
4th Grade: 89 out of 109 or 80% of students have a rate of attendance that is at least 90%.
5th Grade: 85 out of 111 or 77% of students have a rate of attendance that is at least 90%.
As a school, 508 out of 612 or 83% of students have a rate of attendance that is at least 90%.
- Parents/guardians are welcome to join their child for lunch.
- 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.