Strafford Community,

Welcome to the start of the 2022-2023 school year! The start of a new school year is always an exciting time, not only for students, but for families and our staff as well. In this spirit, as we prepare to start the new school year it is my pleasure to welcome the students, families and staff of Strafford Schools back, ready to continue the important work of our school mission – Strafford R-VI School will develop the potential in every student by providing a learning environment conducive to developing individuals who display positive character traits and contribute to our changing society.

Nearly 1,400 Preschool – 12th grade students will return to school on August 22, eager for the opportunity to see friends, participate in a variety of activities and engage in learning. Our staff renews their commitment to unlocking the potential of every student to help them be successful in this work.

I feel a renewed sense of excitement for the start of this school year because of the energy our students, staff, parents and community bring to our school community and all the possibilities that working together provide. Our school district excels because of this collective effort, focus and commitment. I look forward to the work we will accomplish this year.

As always, thank you for your continued support,

Dr. Mark D. Hedger, Superintendent of Schools

The first day of school will be here soon! Make sure to mark your calendars now for important events and watch for more details to be announced closer to time.

Monday, July 11 - New Student Registration Sign-Up Begins - Please see more information at the link found HERE.

Monday, August 1 - Daycare and Pow Wow Programs Open

Monday, August 8 - High School Fall Sports Practices Can Begin

Monday, August 15 - Middle School Fall Sports Practices Can Begin

Tuesday, August 16 - 5th Grade Orientation - 6:00-8:00 PM

Thursday, August 18 -

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Elementary Open House

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Early Childhood Center Open House

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM 6th-8th Grade Open House

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM High School Open House

6:30 PM – 7:45 PM Freshmen Orientation/A+ Informational Meeting

School Supply Lists can be viewed at the link found HERE.

Monday, August 22 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

Parents and guardians, please go to your LUMEN parent portal to complete your current student registration/update AND the free & reduced lunch application.

The FDA Free Food program, which provided free meals for students the past 2 years, has ended and students will be required to pay for their meals this school year. It is VERY important for parents to fill out the free & reduced lunch application. This program helps your family financially AND aids our district with funding for various programs.

If you need help with your LUMEN login information, please visit the link found HERE and on our website. Helpful instructions on how to complete the student update can be found at the link HERE and also on our website.

We are looking forward to seeing all of our students on Monday, August 22!

From the High School Office,

The 2022-23 school year will begin with a full day of classes on Monday, August 22, at 8:00 a.m., with breakfast being served in the classroom.

In order to receive your Chromebook, schedule, locker combination, and parking pass all forms and fees (Student Update Form, Student Health Form, Random Drug Testing / Commitment to Safety, Technology Acceptable Use Policy & Usage Form, Technology Usage Fee) will need to be completed online via the link (emailed to SHS parents) prior to arriving to your assigned registration time. You will also need to update your information on Lumen via your Parent Portal log in. If you do not have your login information, please contact the High School office at (417) 736-7000 ext.1400.

Pick up times are below:

Seniors – Wednesday, August 10th from 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Juniors – Wednesday, August 10th from 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Sophomores – Thursday, August 11th from 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Freshmen – Thursday, August 11th from 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

At this time, Officer Clark will be available to collect parking fees and issue tags. We will also collect technology fees, if applicable.

You will need to enter the High School via the front entrance during your appropriate registration time. All forms must be completed and fees must be paid in order to receive your schedule, locker, parking pass and Chromebook.

OTC students will begin classes on Monday, August 22nd. The OTC bus will leave the high school parking lot at 7:20 a.m. sharp. All students need to be on the bus and seated by 7:15 a.m. Students are not allowed to drive to OTC.

Schedule changes may be completed during the registration time designated or thereafter in the guidance office. No schedule changes will be allowed after Thursday, August 18th unless approved by the building principal.

At Strafford, we value the importance of good attendance. We believe that regular attendance is a predictor of future success. In light of that we have updated our attendance policy which you can find in our handbook via our school website.

Open House will be held on Thursday, August 18th. We look forward to a great 2022-23 school year, and as always contact our office if you have any questions, 417-736-7000 ext. 1400.

Doug Fields

High School Principal

Brett Bough

Assistant High School Principal

SMS Parents/Guardians:

The 2022-23 school year will begin with a full day of classes on Monday, August 22, at 8:00 am.

In order for your student to receive their Chromebook, schedule, locker combination, etc, all forms need to be completed online via the link emailed to all parents.

5th grade Orientation - Tuesday, August 16 beginning at 6:00 pm in the auditorium. 5th grade parents and students are asked to attend. After we are finished in the auditorium you will be free to stop by and meet the 5th grade teachers and put things in lockers until 8:00 pm.

6th-8th grade Open House - Thursday, August 18 from 6:00-8:00 pm. This will be a come and go to meet teachers and put things in lockers. If 8th grade students would like a locker they will need to stop by the middle school office.

Student schedules/homeroom teachers will be complete on Monday, August 15. You will be able to access those items through the Parent Portal after 10:00 am that morning. Please update your information on Lumen via your Parent Portal login you receive in that email.

We look forward to a great 2022-23 school year, and as always contact our office if you have any questions!

Marci Chadwell

Middle School Principal

Steve Frank

Assistant Middle School Principal

Dear Strafford Elementary Families,

On behalf of the Strafford Elementary Team, we are happy to welcome you to the 2022-2023 school year! Please be sure to read the following carefully:

STUDENT REGISTRATION: Once again this year students registration/updating will be online through the Parent Portal. Instructions can be found on the website. If you do not have Parent Portal login information, please email the office at elementary@straffordschools.net or 417-736-7000 ext. 2200. We ask for this to be completed by Tuesday, August 16th.

TEACHER ASSIGNMENT: Again this year, you will be able to view your child’s classroom teacher assignment through Parent Portal. Please be on the lookout for an email from your child’s teacher regarding important back to school information coming soon.

OPEN HOUSE: Again this year, we will be hosting a modified school wide open house on Thursday, August 18th. In order to limit the amount of people in our buildings, your child’s teacher will be emailing you important information including a sign up for a time slot to see the classroom and meet the teacher. Please look for the email next week to sign up.

IMPORTANT BACK TO SCHOOL INFORMATION: Parents were emailed a link to fill out required IMPORTANT information. This online form must be completed prior to August 19th.

STUDENT SUPPLIES: Please bring your child’s $35.00 supply fee to Open House. Checks should be made out to Strafford Elementary.

SCHOOL MEAL PRICES: The FDA Free Food program, which provided free meals for students the past 2 years, has ended and students will pay for their meals this school year. It is VERY important for parents to fill out the online Free & Reduced Lunch Application which is within your LUMEN Parent Portal. This program helps your family financially AND aids our district with funding for various programs. The prices for school meals are listed below:

Breakfast $2.25

Reduced breakfast $.30

Reduced lunch $.40

Elementary student lunch $2.75

Please visit the link found HERE for the details to our Free & Reduced Lunch program and find out if your family qualifies.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: Monday, August 22

We are looking forward to an amazing school year!

Dr. Ashley Bough
Elementary Principal

Crystal Tebbenkamp
Elementary Assistant Principal

ECC Parents/Guardians:

The 2022-23 school year will begin with a full day of classes on Monday, August 22, at 8am. Early childhood earliest drop off time is 7:40am, with dismissal beginning at 2:35pm. Parents are welcome to walk students in on the first day of school, but the drop off line will be used every day after.

ECC open house will be held Thursday, August 18th, from 5-7pm. Please bring your $30 ECC school supply fee in the form of cash or check.

Parent Portals are updated with your child's current information. If you have questions or need your login information feel free to call the ECC office: 417-736-7000 x1100.

We look forward to a great 2022-23 school year!

Dr. Michelle Gardner
Early Childhood Center Director/Executive Director of Student and School Services

The first day of tryouts and practices for our MS and HS sports/events are quickly approaching. Reminder to parents, all students participating must have the required annual documents and a current physical turned into our HS/AD office or the coach/sponsor to begin the first day. Visit the link HERE to see the forms/documents required for all MSHSAA activities.

*** Your child can get a physical at Meek Chiropractor for $25 and they will donate the $25 back to our Strafford Booster Club! Just tell them where your child goes to school.

For questions, please contact our Athletic Director, Brett Bough, at 417-736-7000 ext. 1444.

• HS Volleyball: 1st Practice - August 8th, 6:30 am, Main Gym

• HS Football: 1st Practice - August 8th, 7:00 am
  

• HS Cross Country: 1st Practice - August 8th, 7:00 am - Meet in front of the Max Evans Gym
  

• HS Girls Golf: 1st practice - August 10th, 3:00 pm

• MS Cross Country: 1st Practice - August 15th, 6:30 am, Meet in front of the Max Evans Gym

• MS Football: 1st Practice - August 15th, 3:15 pm

• MS Volleyball: 1st practice - August 15th, 3:15 pm, Max Evans Gym

We are pleased to provide a much needed new position for the 2022-23 school year. Mrs. Brenda Grass will be serving as a school based clinician this year.

The role of the district school based clinician is to provide mental health services for at-risk

students. This position will work with students in grades Pk-12th grade. Some of the essential functions of this position will include:

*Assisting school counselors with coordinating interventions with students, acting as an intervention specialist.

*Providing appropriate clinical assessments and interventions for students and families.

*Provide individual, group and family therapy, based on need and based on mental health standards and ethics.

*Enhance awareness of mental health needs, services; and to promote community understanding of mental health and to enhance community response to mental health problems.

We are confident Mrs. Grass possesses the expertise, qualifications, and experience to benefit our students in a positive manner.

The Board of Education approved promoting CJ August as the Special Education Director for the Strafford R-VI School District beginning with the 2022-23 school year.

Mr. August brings 10 years of experience in special education, 3 of those in the Strafford School District.

We are excited and looking forward to the leadership contributions Mr. August will bring to the Strafford special education department!

We currently have two exciting projects taking place in the Strafford School District. More information will be shared throughout the year, however a brief overview of each project can be found below:

The district received the FEMA Grant at the end of last year. We are utilizing the funds to build a cafeteria between the middle school and high school. This project has broken ground and is scheduled to be completed by June 2023. This will provide every student and staff member in the district with access to a hardened tornado shelter space on campus.

The district is finishing up construction of the HPER (health, physical education, and recreation) building onsite. This facility will be available to be utilized by all students, not just as an athletic practice facility. Physical education classes will be using the facility throughout the day as well as band, elementary indoor recess, and other areas of curricular focus, not just athletics. The project is currently scheduled to be completed by Oct. 1, 2022. We are looking forward to this tremendous addition to our campus!

(Please click the picture below for some resources to help parents to better get to know their child's new teachers)

I believe it is important to continue to connect with our Strafford Alumni. I know Strafford has tremendous pride in their schools and graduates, which is well deserved. It is also important for our current students to be able to see our graduates reach levels of success and use that as motivation and inspiration to strive to achieve at a certain level as well. I will be including this spotlight on our graduates in a newsletter I send out. If you know of a former student who would be a good fit for this honor, please click on the yearbook photo or the button below:

Please click the picture and link below for the Ozarksportszone preview of Strafford Indians Football and Volleyball.

If you are interested in any of the following positions, please click on the picture above to apply through our new online employment system.

We are blessed to have an incredible custodial and maintenance team here in Strafford. If you see them around, please be sure to thank them for all their efforts over the summer to have the school facilities ready for students and staff to return. Things are looking wonderful!

The Strafford School District is excited to offer our annual advertising campaign to businesses. With this sponsorship program, your business will have an ad or logo displayed on the main gym video board during all home events and be included in all 3 issues of the Maroon Nation magazines. To find out more information and pricing, please contact Marcy Easterly at marcye@straffodschools.net or (417) 736-7000 ext. 1503.

Superintendent of Schools

Strafford Schools

Email: markh@straffordschools.net
Website: straffordschools.net
Location: 201 West McCabe Street, Strafford, MO, USA
Phone: 417.736.7000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/straffordpublicschools/
Twitter: @SuptMarkDHedger