March 2023 Newsletter

The Parkway Alumni Association sponsors multiple faculty and staff awards each year, including Teacher of the Year, Light of Parkway and the Albert Awards. These programs are funded entirely by donations made by Parkway alumni, friends and businesses. Here's a look at this year's award winners!

Join in congratulating our most recent Albert Award winners!

Alayna Furjes [PSH'18] – Math, Northeast Middle

Anton Ruiz {PSH'15]– English Language Arts, South High

Kate Wynveen – 4th-grade teacher, McKelvey Intermediate Elementary

Each year, the Albert Award is presented by the Parkway Alumni Association (PAA) to three exceptional first through fifth-year Parkway teachers – one at the elementary, middle and high school level. The award recognizes new teachers for the energy and enthusiasm that they bring to their students, as well as the creative and innovative practices they use in their classrooms.

Liza Bangert – Choice Programs Specialist, The Nines

Shaquita Cooke – Staff Secretary, Shenandoah Valley Elementary

Mary Fischer – Receptionist, Administration Center

The Light of Parkway award is designed to bring recognition to the district’s extraordinary operations (non-certified) staff members who have helped to create a positive and caring environment for the people they serve and honors the memory of Sandy Finch, a former Parkway bus driver known for her exceptionally upbeat attitude and helpful interactions with staff, students and parents. The award for operations staff is made possible by the PAA's Sandy Finch Light of Parkway Fund.

Twelve individuals have been selected as 2023 Pillars of Parkway. This prestigious award is presented to individuals who have provided extraordinary service to the Parkway community and exceeded expectations.

The Pillar honorees are:

Melissa Biehl – Teacher, Bellerive Elementary

Ashley Deckelman – Assistant Principal, Oak Brook Elementary

Wendy Finch – Teacher, Hanna Woods Elementary

Linda Goldman – Retiree, Community Volunteer

Megan Huether – Parent, Community Volunteer

Lisa Moldafsky – Coordinator Parents as Teachers, Early Childhood Center

Gina O’Brien – Administrative Secretary, The Nines

Matt Pikaard – Teacher, Central High

Leslie Rothrock – Nurse, Oak Brook Elementary

Carter Snow – Coordinator Student Assessment, The Nines

Mitch Stevens Sr. – Parent, Community Volunteer

Nikki Stover – Administrative Assistant, Administrative Center

#ParkwayProud

Anne Erehart, math teacher at South High, was selected as the District Teacher of the Year, and the High School Teacher of the Year.

Zora Shields, first-grade teacher at Wren Hollow, is the Elementary Teacher of the Year, and Jeffrey Stephenson, social studies teacher at Central Middle, is the Middle School Teacher of the Year.

The elementary, middle, high school and district teachers of the year are selected by a committee comprised of former Parkway district-level teachers of the year. The Parkway Alumni Association supports the Teacher of the Year program with cash awards.

Join us on the second Tuesday of each month for an all-alumni networking event. The group meets in person at the Parkway Administration Center. Hear from alums about their current work and network with other Parkway alumni in our community. To attend, email parkwayalumni@parkwayschools.net to be added to the meeting invite list. Include your name, school, class year, profession, business name and contact info.

Calling all reunion planners! If your reunion information isn't on the PAA website, please let us know your details so we can post it. Classmates are inquiring.

The PAA is happy to assist reunion planners by providing contact information and general guidance on having a successful event. We would also be available to provide volunteers to register your guests at the event. Please call the PAA at (314) 415-8074 or email ParkwayAlumni@ParkwaySchools.net, to learn more or to notify our offices of your upcoming reunion.

Mark your calendars for June 17th because we're bringing back the fun with a 7v7 flag football game! Get ready to show off your skills and reconnect with old classmates. Stay tuned for more details on this exciting event. Don't miss out!

The Parkway Alumni Association is seeking nominations for the 2024 Parkway Alumni Association Hall of Fame class. Parkway graduates chosen for the Parkway Hall of Fame are those who have made a noteworthy impact on the lives of others through their work in their respective career fields or through their unique contributions to their community. Make a nomination here online.

Dear fellow alumni and friends,

Our Alumni Association is thrilled to announce a series of exciting events and opportunities in the upcoming weeks! As you peruse our newsletter, you'll find information about each of these events, including how to purchase tickets and attend. However, we want to take a moment to draw your attention to the prestigious awards that each year our Alumni Association sponsors - Teacher of the Year, Light of Parkway, and Albert Awards.

These awards recognize individuals who demonstrate outstanding dedication and commitment to making our district a better place to learn and grow. Teachers, staff, and faculty members who go above and beyond to inspire students, create a positive learning environment, and make a lasting impact on our community are eligible for these awards. By sponsoring these awards, our Alumni Association is proud to honor the exceptional work of these individuals and celebrate their contributions.

We invite you to consider making a generous gift today to continue supporting these awards. Your donation will help to provide the recognition our incredible Parkway staff and faculty deserve, and it will enable us to continue honoring their hard work and dedication. You can easily make a donation by visiting our website.

We cannot overstate the impact of your support in making these awards possible. Your generosity allows us to continue recognizing the remarkable individuals who make Parkway a truly outstanding place to learn and grow. Thank you for your consideration and support. Together, we can continue to recognize and celebrate the exceptional achievements of our district's finest educators and staff.

For This Generation,

Dr. Thomas M. Smith

At first glance, earning an architecture degree might not seem like an obvious path to becoming a shoe designer. But Kristina Grimm (Parkway West) turned the problem-solving skills she learned as an architecture student at Washington University into a long and successful career at Reebok. Read more >>

Congratulations to our very own St. Louis-based cartoonist and alumni, Steenz Stewart! Read more >>

Twenty-eight Parkway seniors have been named finalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program! These students represent less than 1% of high school seniors in the United States.

• Central High: Gaayathri Binoj, Emily Huang, Allison Loudenback, Nisha Murali, Sonali Paranjothi, Refah Reza
• North High: Aman Pai
• South High: Maanvi Aggarwal, Ria Chopra, Ashok Kothamasu, William Sorg, Lauren Turco, Karyss Vedder
• West High: Owen Arneson, Nikita Bhaskar, Joseph Britt, Allison Byergo, Bennett Christofferson, Rohan Daggubati, Ethan DeLuca, Katherine Evans, Wilson Gao, Mitchell Harms, Jacob Rushing, Noah Schell, Shiv Sharma, Alan Song, Nathan Zhou

A finalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. These academically talented high school seniors have the opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $28 million.

After 4 years of hard work, senior Janiah Jones made history by being the first South student to win state for girls wrestling. ⁠

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As devoted to wrestling as Jones is, she said it didn’t start that way.⁠

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“I started wrestling because I missed the bus my freshman year, and my friend dragged me down to tryouts. I eventually began to learn, love, and understand the sport,” said Jones.⁠

West High hosted a Special Olympics basketball event for 200 athletes from the Special School District of St. Louis County. Now in its 20th year, the event is organized and led by the high school's student government council and student volunteers.

We need help at your school! We have nearly 10 openings for bus drivers, and many others for custodians and grounds crew employees needed to support our families. If you know someone who is interested, please share this with them. Interested applicants can call 314-415-8401 for more information or visit this website.

Your support makes a difference! There are many ways to give to the Parkway Alumni Association. Whether you make a general donation or direct your contribution to one of our funds like the Light of Parkway or Albert Awards, your support will be used for programs that benefit alumni, students, staff and the Parkway community as defined in our mission statement. Give today by making an online donation.