| | |
DON'T FORGET: Online Registration Annual Verification (ORAV) opened on July 1
| All FHSD families with students entering grades 1 through 12 are required to complete the Online Registration Annual Verification (ORAV). Previously an optional process, ORAV is mandatory for all families. | | |
Back-to-School Checklist
The first day of school will be here before you know it. In this special Back-to-School issue, we’ve included a checklist of tasks that need to be completed before students return on Monday, August 18.
| | | | |
Review your communication preferences. Parents and guardians listed in Infinite Campus are automatically subscribed to email communications from FHSD, including the District Digest and your child’s school eNews. To unsubscribe, use the "Unsubscribe" button at the bottom of any email. Non-guardians can subscribe to these newsletters on the FHSD website.
FHSD utilizes the SchoolMessenger system to communicate time-sensitive information such as weather alerts and emergency information with families via robocall, text message and email. All parents/guardians listed in Infinite Campus Parent Portal are automatically registered to receive these important alerts. Your contact information must be up-to-date in Parent Portal before the start of the school year. Parents/Guardians who are new to the District must opt-in to receive text messages from SchoolMessenger. Opt-in by texting “Y” or “YES” to 67587. Returning families do not need to opt-in every year.
| | | | |
Schedule immunization and physical appointments with your healthcare provider, as needed. Missouri law requires children enrolled in Kindergarten through 12th grade to be immunized against certain preventable diseases.
The Francis Howell School District is partnering with Compass Health to offer a free back-to-school immunization clinic on August 12 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Francis Howell North High School for Kindergarten through 12th-grade students. Missouri law requires various immunizations for students, including DTaP, IPV, Hepatitis B, MMR, and Varicella, with additional Tdap and Meningococcal vaccines for grades 8-12. Updated immunization records are required for students entering Kindergarten, 8th grade, and 12th grade. Learn more.
This year, families will be directed to the Health Form as part of the ORAV process. You will also have an opportunity to upload your child’s immunization record as well. Follow your school's communication for any updates and reach out to your student’s school nurse with any questions.
| | | | Fill out the 2025-26 Free- and Reduced-Price Meals application. To continue receiving meal benefits, eligible families must complete a new application each school year. Information provided on the application is confidential and will be used only to determine eligibility. Not sure if you qualify? Check the income limits on the USDA website. For the 2025-26 school year, a family of 4 with an annual income of less than $59,478 qualifies for the program. | | | | |
Review student account passwords and make a plan to reset if needed. At the beginning of the 2024-25 academic year, all secondary students were required to update their accounts with a unique password. Some of those passwords will begin expiring at the beginning of next school year, so inform your students to make a plan to reset that password when they return.
-
Secondary students' passwords will expire if not changed by September 1.
-
New secondary students and all elementary students for the 2025-26 academic year will begin the year with a new default password of Learn!######, where ###### is their student ID.
-
All elementary student accounts will be reset to this new password on August 1.
- Any new student accounts will be set to this default password when the account is created.
| | | | Keep an eye out for MAP/EOC test scores. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has recently released student MAP/EOC state testing scores. Student scores will be sent electronically to parents/guardians via email the week of August 11. Additionally, a paper copy of your child’s score reports will be available at your child’s school beginning the week of September 8. If you have questions about our state testing or your child’s score report, please contact FHSD's Director of Curriculum and Assessment, Dr. Angeline O’Neal-Hogrefe. | | | | |
Check meal balances and add funds to your child(ren)’s lunch account. FHSD uses two systems to manage and monitor school lunch purchases.
-
FHSD Webstore - Check your child's lunch account balance and add funds via the FHSD Web Store. To make a payment, click the Food Service Payments button. The system accepts Visa, MasterCard or Discover (credit or debit cards). Cash and checks can also be sent with your child to school to be added to their lunch account. The system is also able to accept electronic checks. Need help? Read these detailed instructions on how to add money to your student's lunch account.
-
EZSchoolPay - Once you’ve set up an account through the FHSD Web Store and added funds to your child’s lunch account, visit EZSchoolPay. Here you’ll be able to see exactly what your child has purchased for breakfast and/or lunch each day. Parents/guardians can also set spending limits through EZSchoolPay. Please note - meal payments cannot be made through EZSchool Pay and must be made through the FHSD Web Store.
| | | | |
Request bus transportation changes by August 8. Student bus information for the new school year will be available in the Parent Portal on Monday, August 4. Bus routes for the 2025-26 school year are set based on how a student ended the prior school year. If transportation preferences for the upcoming school year are the same as the 2024-25 school year, additional action is not required.
- If your child rode the bus this spring and they are not subject to the 1-mile walk rule for secondary students, they will automatically be assigned a bus route for the upcoming school year; no action is required on your part.
-
If your child did not ride the bus last spring, or only rode one-way, and you require something different this year, you must contact the school to request changes by August 8, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. All changes received after that date and time will be effective on Monday, August 25, 2025.
-
Here's an example: Last year, my 5th grader attended the aftercare program at Vacation Station and did not ride the bus home in the afternoon. This year, as a middle schooler, my child will not attend Vacation Station and will need to ride the bus home. In this example, the parent/guardian must contact their child's school by August 8 to request afternoon bus transportation.
| | | | Review school supply lists. Make note of what your student will need to be prepared for the first day of school. Make note of Missouri’s Sales Tax Holiday, August 1-3, 2025. Certain back-to-school purchases, such as clothing, school supplies and computers, may be exempt from sales tax during the holiday. However, not all Missouri counties and cities are participating. Learn more. | | | | Mark your calendar for Transition Day on August 14. Incoming 6th- and 9th-grade students will have the opportunity to get familiar with their new school buildings on Thursday, August 14. Transition Day will start at the same time as a regular school day (using 25-26 bell times) and buses will run their assigned routes. Schools will communicate additional details, including dismissal times, in the coming weeks. | | | |
Look for communication from individual schools regarding additional information. This includes schedule pickup, parking permits, locker requests, yearbooks, senior photos, and more.
| | | | Join our team. We are seeking caring, energetic, and fun-loving people to work with children. We have several openings for bus drivers, substitute teachers, custodians, and food service workers. Please share our job opportunity website or view open positions. | | | | Get certified to be a school volunteer. We are grateful for the more than 1,870 dedicated parent and community volunteers who serve our schools each year. Want to join them? Visit the District website to review the step-by-step process and complete the volunteer application, training videos and background check. | | | | Review public notices, including FERPA information and opt-out options. If you do not want your child's name, photo and other directory information as defined in Board Regulation 2400 to be disclosed, you must complete a FERPA opt-out form by September 1. Please read the options carefully as your selection may impact your child's ability to be included in the school yearbook and other recognition programs. If you previously submitted an opt out form, your selections will remain in place each school year unless you notify the school in writing. | | |
Francis Howell School District updating cell phone usage policy following new Missouri law
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe has signed Senate Bill 68, a broad education bill that includes a statewide ban on student use of personal electronic devices during the school day. The Francis Howell Board of Education will vote on a recommended electronic device policy at the July 17 meeting to align with the new law.
The cell phone guidelines shared earlier this spring (prior to the state law) are no longer valid. All grade levels will now be required to have cell phones and other electronic devices put away for the entire school day, including during lunch and passing periods. More information will be shared with families and students after the Board policy has been approved.
| | |
|
JULY 17 | 6:30 PM
Board of Education Meeting
801 Corporate Centre Drive
| |  |
|
AUG. 14
Transition Day
Incoming 6th and 9th graders
| | |
|
AUG. 18
First Day of School
All Schools
| | |
|
AUG. 21 | 6:30 PM
Board of Education Meeting
801 Corporate Centre Drive
| | | | |
