Monday - First Day of School | A Day

Tuesday - B Day

Wednesday - PTO Meeting @ 4:00 | C Day

Thursday - D Day

Friday - A Day

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.

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!

Please communicate any Dismissal Changes THROUGH THE MAIN OFFICE! We will be using the Kid Account system to update teachers as you call in.... this includes SACC dismissal too! Our main office needs to know before 3:00pm each day if there is a change in your child's normal dismissal schedule; whether it be they go to SACC, go home on bus or are now a Car Rider.

*I do understand that emergency's and last minute plans can happen so if something comes up after 3:00pm please notify the office immediately. It get's confusing if you go to the teacher first so for consistency and safety all dismissal changes and communication should go through the front office.

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.

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.

Below you will find a picture of our entire dismissal process. There is a lot happening from 3:30-3:50 to make sure that we dismiss safely, efficiently and timely.

We will use Kid Account at all dismissal locations; SACC, each individual bus and for the car lane.

• SPED buses will dismiss out of the SACC/Odyssey Entrance (SPED Car Riders are welcome to use this pick area too as it will be less rushed and congested if you would like please just let the office know!)
• We have 7 buses this year and we will load 4, release them and then load the back 3 and release them.
• Our VIP PARKING SPOTS there were won at Trivia Night this past year will be located at the three spots by the stairs. Your students will be walked out to your car for you to exit ASAP! *Walkers and Bike Riders can be released to the parent under the main entrance Foyer as soon as a staff member has scanned them into the Kid Account system.
• Car Riders - This will look a little different but should move a little faster. We will come to you car window and scan a kid account card or type your child's last name into your system and log who is picking up your child - Please make sure anyone that is allowed to pick up your child is on their portal and approved by you. This is the safety feature that helps us accurately know who we are releasing students too. IF an adult is picking up your child and they are NOT listed on the emergency contact we will be asking for an ID - to keep the line moving we may as you to pull out of line and move to the front lane by the stairs until we can confirm ID and office contacts the child's guardian. The red dots represent the TWO LANE waiting area where we will have our overflow line. We would like for it to go down to ONE LANE when entering our actual Zitzman Parking lot and lining the outer curb of the lot. This will allow us to line students up orderly, and load them quickly. We will stop the single line at the top of the hill and the green dots in the picture represent the cars we will LOAD. We will load SIX cars at a time. THE FRONT CAR CANNOT LEAVE UNTIL ALL SIX CARS ARE LOADED. We don't want any moving vehicles while loading students. WE ASK THAT IF YOUR CHILD NEEDS HELP GETTING SITUATED THAT YOU PULL OUT AND PARK IN ANOTHER LOCATION TO GET OUT AND HELP THEM. ALL DRIVERS WILL NEED TO STAY IN THEIR CARS AND WE WILL HELP THE KIDDOS IN.

***There are no visors or tags that you will need for car dismissal anymore. We will be passing out your official Kid Account Card on Monday. Every student only gets TWO cards. If you have more people that may pick your child up it also works if you take a picture of the card or like I said above we can type in the last name and search for your child. The line and scanning move quicker with the card ready which is our main goal.

Studies show that a healthy breakfast gives children a head start to a successful day. The cost of 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 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!