January 2023 Newsletter

Did you know 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 the awards we will be giving out this spring.

Each spring, the Parkway Alumni Association sponsors the Parkway Teacher of the Year recognition program. Staff members at each school select a teacher as their building teacher of the year. From this group, the district selects an elementary, middle-school and high-school teacher to represent their building levels. One of these three teachers is selected by the district to represent Parkway at the state-level competition for teacher of the year.

Teachers are selected for teacher-of-the-year honors based on a set of criteria determined by the district.

The PAA provides recognition and cash awards (total $2,000) for all of Parkway's teachers of the year and honors them at the district's annual Appreciation Evening event in the spring.

Each year, at least three operations staff members are selected to receive this meaningful award. Nominees are evaluated on how well they demonstrate Sandy Finch’s principles for living. Those principles are:

• Show respect to others
• Show joy in your job
• Laugh with each other
• Smile more
• “Be the miracle for someone else each day”

Each winner receives recognition and $500 from the Parkway Alumni Association.

Each year, the Albert Awards are given by the Parkway Alumni Association to three exceptional Parkway teachers (one elementary, one middle and one high school teacher) who are in the first five years of their career. The award recognizes these 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 classroom.

Each winner will receive recognition and $1,000 from the Parkway Alumni Association.

Join Parkway Alumni and friends for one of two nights as we gather to cheer on the St. Louis Blues.

Tickets are available for the following games:

• Thursday, February 16, 2023 game vs. New Jersey Devils, 8:00 pm
  
• Tuesday, March 28, 2023 game vs. Vancouver Canucks, 7:00 pm

Save the dates and reserve your tickets here online.

Make plans to join us at The Lodge Des Peres for Parkway Trivia Night on Saturday, April 1 at 7 p.m.!

Gather your friends and family to join in this fun event.

The theme this year is April Fool's Day! Grab your table decorations and costumes and join in the fun. There will be a prize for the team with the best decor.

Be one of our event sponsors and get your name/logo on screens while players contemplate their answers - see the chart at the bottom of this webpage; pay by clicking on the menu below. Sponsors will also be included in social media posts and the PAA Newsletter. Proceeds will benefit PAA programs that include Granting Dreams for Parkway students and recognition for exceptional teachers and operations staff.

You won't want to miss our games and raffles/auctions where you can win Cardinals tickets, an adult beverage package, local restaurant certificates, lottery tickets, 50/50 cash and so much more! Reserve your table and/or sponsorship online today.

Join us on the second Tuesday of each month for an all-alumni networking event. (The February meeting will be held on Thursday, February 16) 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.

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 man the registration table at your event. Please call the PAA at (314) 415-8074 or email ParkwayAlumni@ParkwaySchools.net, to learn more.

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.

Happy Ground Hogs Day!

Can you believe it? February is already upon us. There are so many things happening in our association. Just last week, Sandy (our Executive Director) and I presented to the Parkway PTO Leadership meeting, sharing the tremendous impact the Association is making to the Parkway Community.

Year end saw many of you making helpful contributions, helping us finish fiscally strong in 2022. Our work, however, is just beginning for the 2023 projects. Make sure you sign up for the upcoming Trivia Night and consider getting involved in any of our Spring events. I have personally enjoyed getting to meet many of our members at the Parkway Networking Group.

In this Newsletter you can read of all the events and opportunities you could choose to be involved with. Also, make sure you note the reunions coming up.

I could not be more excited about the direction the organization is heading, and so appreciate the

excellent board members who volunteer their time and efforts! If you would like to become a board

member or volunteer for other activities, check out the PAA website and send in your information. We would love to have you as part of on the team!

I look forward to meeting you soon, and hope you consider making a gift to the PAA as a way of “giving back!”. Stay warm and remember how fortunate we all are for our Parkway education.

For This Generation,

Dr. Thomas M. Smith

Spruce tips. Chestnuts. Persimmons. Wine. Cherries. These are all ingredients head brewer and Parkway North grad Kyle Matthias has incorporated – or is planning to – into the beers at Sandy Valley Brewing Co., a small-batch, experimental brewery located inside Villa Antonio Winery in Hillsboro, Missouri. http://ow.ly/aSkc50MCwqz

Are you ready for some baseball? The St. Louis Cardinals have found their new play-by-play announcer for the upcoming season. Chip Caray - West'83 will join the St. Louis Cardinals as their new play-by-play announcer. Congratulations, Chip! LEARN MORE ABOUT THE UPCOMING SEASON >> http://ow.ly/295x50MCwGY

Over winter break, Blaine Gabbert, Parkway West High Alumni and NFL Quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was first to respond to an emergency helicopter landing off the coast of Florida.

Gabbert was part of a rescue effort that pulled four people from the Hillsborough Bay waters and helped them to safety on the shore.

"I got two on my jet ski, my brothers (Tyler [PW'10] and Brett) got one. The pilot was still in the water, and that was when you guys (Tampa police and fire departments) pulled up and I dragged him a little bit towards the boat and he got on. Luckily we were probably 250 meters from the beach, so we got them to the beach. The fire department, everybody was there, and the rest is history,” Gabbert said.

Serena Liu, a junior at West High, was one of 11 winners of the 2022 New York Times student editorial contest. The New York Times received 16,664 contest entries. You can read her essay “Stolen Art: Why We Need Repatriation” below.

She was also on the honorable mention list for the 2022 New York Times Student Review Contest. Congratulations Serena!

The 2022 totals are in from the Parkway Food Pantry! In 2022, the Parkway pantry was able to share over 168,625 meals with families and staff, serving an average of 148 families per month. Thank you to everyone who volunteered, hosted drives or helped families access services. With your help, our community was able to make a significant impact.

Central High students and sisters Emily and Serena Huang won first place in the 2nd District’s Congressional App Challenge for their app Lively: Daily Planner and Journal.

They were awarded based on the beautiful user interface, choice of technologies and functional design. Check out the winning app below.

Emily and Serena will be invited to participate in the 2023 #HouseofCode this spring. Their app will also be featured on the U.S. House of Representatives' website and as part of a U.S. Capitol exhibit.

The Parkway Alumni Association (PAA), through the Suzy Esstman Charitable Fund (SECF), is offering grants to Parkway teachers for projects that enrich the education experience for their students.

Projects can be designed to enhance any area of the Parkway curriculum inside or outside the classroom, or in a virtual environment. The ideal project will maintain an educational component while encouraging students to think freely. Preference is given to projects that inspire learning through fun and creative approaches. Grant requests could be materials for literature, manipulatives, equipment, digital resources, field trips, guest speakers, admission/travel expenses, and other things that support learning for students. The grant is not intended for professional development.

The maximum individual grant amount is $500.

Applications should be submitted here online by February 17, 2023 at 5 p.m.

The Granting Dreams program offers three grant opportunities for Parkway students who have a dream to learn outside their regular classroom: Dream Grants for Parkway K-12 students, Thomas Phelps Entrepreneurship Awards for students (grades 9-12) interested in business, and John Baker Music Scholar Awards for band students (grades 10-11).

Applications are now open for all Parkway students. >> http://ow.ly/92BM50MqrQ5

Parkway Swim Club is looking for volunteers to help with its swim school program. Parkway Swim School is a learn to swim program offered to children ages 4-9 at Parkway West HS and Kirkwood HS. The only requirements are that you are good with kids and are comfortable being in pool water where you can stand. Fingerprinting is required (paid for by Parkway School District) and a volunteer application will need to be completed. The only expectation is that you commit to working at least 1 day a week on most weeks. Help is needed at both schools but there is a greater need at Kirkwood HS at this time. If you are interested please contact Tyler Cook, Swim School Director, at tcook4@parkwayschools.net.

We need help at your school! We have nearly 50 openings for bus drivers, custodians, grounds crew employees and other staff 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.