Flynn Park Family Pride
9/7/25
Greetings Flynn Park Family,
Happy Sunday! Thank you to our students, staff, and families for another wonderful week of school. With the ever changing temperatures we have noticed an uptick in students experiencing a mixture of allergy and illness symptoms. Please inform your child's teacher, in addition Nurse Klooster of any symptoms that may be visible. Please keep them home if they are running a fever, or any other symptoms that might indicate a more serious infection, outside of allergies.
We appreciate your positive feedback and teacher and staff shout outs. Your messages of positivity go a long way toward filling our staffs' "buckets". Please continue to send them in to Mr. Murdock at damurdock@ucityschools.org. They will be shared with the staff as they are received.
Thank you in advance for partnering with us and supporting our school community this year. Please check your email inbox weekly for the Flynn Park Family Pride Newsletter for important updates about all things related to our school community. Have a great evening!
School Wide Expectations
At Flynn Park we are building and growing a safe and inclusive environment for all students. This means that we take care of each other's physical well being, as well as our emotional well being. We want all students to feel loved, valued, respected, and safe.
As a school community, we expect all of our learners to meet the following expectations.
1. We keep our hands and feet to ourselves. We do not solve problems by using physical violence. If and when a learner makes physical contact with another student, we ask that the person harmed tell an adult so that the adult can keep them safe and report it to the principal to be handled. We ask that parents reinforce this value at home.
2. We use kind words. If we do not have anything kind to say to another student learner or adult, it is ok (and actually preferred) to not say anything at all. It is never ok to use unkind words.
3. We use walking feet when traveling throughout the building. It is never ok for students to run or be unsafe with their body while they are transitioning in or outside of the building.
4. We respect others. This includes adults and peers. We respect each other's personal space. We respect each other's personal belongings (we don't take anything that doesn't belong to us), and we respect each other's feelings. We don't always have to agree, but we always have to remain respectful.
5. We make amends when we hurt others. Flynn Park is a restorative practices school. When issues arise, restorative conversations conducted by a member of our SEL team are a foundational aspect of "building and growing together."
6. We take accountability. It is human to make mistakes. We understand that members of our school community will make mistakes. It is important that when we make mistakes, that we hold ourselves accountable, work to repair the harm that was done, and make efforts not to make the same mistake again.
We ask that our families review the expectations with students, and reinforce the messages included above as often as you can. Thank you in advance for your help in making our school community a great place to "building and grow together."
Important Dismissal Information - Students Must Be Picked Up By 4pm
Please note that students must be picked up from school on time each day. School supervision begins everyday at 8:30 when our doors open, and ends everyday at dismissal at 3:40pm. All students must be picked up each day, no later than 4pm. While we understand that emergencies happen, we ask that you develop a back up dismissal plan for your student learner, in case you are running behind or unable to make it. Please note that any students needing supervision after 4pm must be enrolled in Unleashing Potential aftercare.
Every Minute Matters - Student Attendance
We want to remind all families that it is vitally important that our students attend school every day that they are healthy enough to do so. If your student learner is sick, please keep him or her at home until they feel better. Please note that when students attend school, they are expected to attend school for the full instructional day (8:30am - 3:40pm).
When students arrive late and are picked up early, it is disruptive to their learning experience, as well as that of the rest of the students in the classroom. It is also very detrimental to students' attendance. The Missouri Department of Education (DESE) tracks the number of minutes that students attend each day. When students arrive late and leave early, those minutes are counted up and totaled for the week, and it negatively impacts their attendance status.
For example, if a student arrives 20 minutes late and is picked up 40 minutes early each day, the state calculates the number of minutes missed for the day, and totals the number of minutes missed per week/month, etc. So if a student has a consistent late arrival and early pick up (as outlined above) that student would miss 5 hours of instruction per week, and 20 hours of instruction (2.5 days) of instruction per month.
Please reserve late arrivals and early pick ups for doctor's and dentist appointments, and note that proper documentation will be required. Help us to help our students by making sure that they are here on time and attend for the full instructional day! Thank you in advance!
PLEASE COMPLETE THE CITY CONNECTS SURVEY FOR FLYNN PARK
We’re excited to share that Flynn Park Elementary School is partnering with the City Connects program as part of a district-wide initiative to strengthen support for our students and families. This partnership will help us build a system that not only enhances support at school but also connects you with out-of-school resources and enrichment opportunities.
An important step in building this new program is to hear your thoughts on the challenges facing your student(s) and the strengths and needs of our school community. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey–your voice is critical to this process.
City Connects Family Survey for Flynn Park Elementary School
The survey is available in both English and Spanish. All responses are anonymous and will not be shared with anyone at the school or district level.
Thank you for helping us build a stronger community of support for every child.
In Service of Our Children,
Sharonica L. Hardin-Bartley, Ph.D., PHR
Superintendent
Notifying Flynn Park Staff About Changes in Student Dismissal
When and if you need to change your student's dismissal plan for the day, please note that you should email the child's teacher and CC Ms. Rivers @brivers@ ucityschools.org and Mr. Murdock @ damurdock@ucityschools.org. Please remember to include all 3 staff members on your email regarding any changes in dismissal. Please make sure that all changes to student dismissal are reported no later than 2pm each day so that we can ensure that students get home safely. Thank you in advance!
Late Arrival Update
Arrival for Flynn Park students begins at 8:30am each day. Staff will be present to greet students from 8:30am to 8:45am. Our entrance doors will close at 8:45am, and families arriving after that time must escort their student into the building and sign them in. Please do not send students into the building alone. They are required to be signed in if they arrive after 8:45am.
Inclement Weather Dismissal Plan For Car Riders and Walkers
Please be reminded that our inclement weather plan for car riders and walkers was shared last week via school messenger, but we wanted to provide it again for any families that may have missed it.
Our Inclement Weather Dismissal Plan for car riders and walkers is as follows:
Kindergarten will dismiss from the Kindergarten hallway. One staff member from Kindergarten will be at the designated door to assist parents as they arrive.
1st Grade will dismiss from the cafeteria using the glass doors to dismiss students. Students should be lined up, waiting for their parents to pick them up. A member of the first grade team will at the designated door to assist parents as they arrive.
2nd and 3rd grade will dismiss from the gym, using the exterior doors between the PE storage and the breezeway (double glass doors that we use for recess). A member of the 2nd and 3rd grade team will at the designated door to assist parents as they arrive.
4th and 5th grade will dismiss from the gym, using the exterior doors near the stage (opposite end of the gym from where 2nd and 3rd will dismiss from). A member of the 4th and 5th grade team will be will at the designated door to assist parents as they arrive.
Please note that this will only be followed if/when we experience inclement weather that impacts dismissal. For regular dismissal, all car riders and walkers will dismiss from the blacktop and there will be cones to designate where each grade level should stand and wait for families to arrive.
Please Help to Keep Our Students Safe - Food Allergy Alert
At Flynn Park, we prioritize safety and overall well being for our students and staff. This year, we have a number of students and staff with allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and a host of other allergens. We ask that you refrain from sending ANY food products that may contain peanuts and tree nuts of any kind. This includes food items that may be part of a home packed breakfast, lunch, or snack. As we compile a more comprehensive list of our students’ and staff allergens, we will provide it to all families.
Reporting Absences and Late Arrivals
Parents needing to report an absence of any kind, must call the school at 314-290-4420, to report their child’s absence or tardiness from school as soon as possible. If you know in advance that your student learner will be absent for a doctor's appointment or dental visit, please notify your child's teacher, and our office coordinator, Ms. Brandi Rivers at brivers@ucityschools.org via email. Please provide corresponding medical/dental letters/documentation to the main office upon your student learner's return to school.
Please share your Pictures with Us
This year, we'd love to incorporate family friendly pictures from our school community, giving us a view into your world, your vacations from this summer, or cool and interesting things you are doing around the community. Please send any pictures you'd like to share to fppics@ucityschools.org . Please note that by sending them, you give us permission to share the pictures in our newsletters and/or Brightsigns (tv displays) in our building.
September 9: Curriculum Night/Open House @ Flynn Park from 5-6:30pm
September 15: 1UCity Community Connect @ Brittany Woods from 6-8pm
September 15 - October 15: National Hispanic Heritage Month
September 18 - 1UCITY Flynn Park Prowl - Family Pride Night from 6-8pm
September 19: NO School/District Professional Development
September 22: Flu Clinic at McNair Building
September 22 - September 24: Rosh Hashanah
Always Remember...
We truly appreciate you for all that you do for our students and our school community. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful school community of families and teachers. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at damurdock@ucityschools.org. Looking forward to seeing you soon! Until next time, please remember the following…
U MATTER!
U MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
U ARE WELCOME HERE!
U ARE VALUED!
U BELONG!
U ARE LOVED!
Warmly,
Darion Murdock, Ed.S
Principal
Flynn Park School