This special Summer Edition of the Eagle Express will cover everything you need for Back-to-School! Read on for:

Open House Dates
New Communication Tools
Special ways to help Joplin students
A note from Dr. Sachetta
Important calendar additions
Cafeteria meal prices
Attendance trends
and some 2022-23 flashbacks!

Kerry's Corner

A Message from the Superintendent

Welcome to the Back-to-School season! It’s been an honor to spend the past year working with our teams as they’ve created and guided intentional plans for district-wide improvement. We finished the 22-23 year with a lot of momentum in terms of academic progress, which continues to be our number one task. I anticipate building on last year’s successes as we tackle the challenges ahead.

In fact, this year’s focus at Joplin Schools will revolve around the power of teamwork, guided by the principle that Today's Challenges Create Tomorrow's Successes. Together, we will dig in and Choose Challenge in order to build a strong foundation for our students. I am eager to jump into the worthy challenges of this coming school year.

One of those challenges, and an incredibly important facet of providing an excellent education, is student attendance. School districts locally and across the country are facing attendance rates that have fallen as much as four to five percentage points from pre-pandemic levels, and Joplin is very similar. Because regular attendance is crucial for academic success and personal growth, we'll spend a lot of time and effort working to support strong daily attendance rates. And it will take all of us working together - parents, community partners, and our students themselves - to reverse the post-pandemic attendance trend.

I believe our collective efforts will help our students rise to their fullest potential this year. As we prepare to return, I know plans are in place to welcome our students back into the classroom with open arms, believing each of them uniquely capable of great things and ready to Choose Challenge as we help them grow into those capabilities.

See you soon!

Kerry

Contact Dr. Sachetta

Get Ready for Open Houses!

Community Connection

Looking to make sure all of our Eagles get a great start this year with the tools for success? All Joplin Casey's locations are now accepting school supply donations for Bright Futures Joplin! We are so thankful for the ways our Community Partners support Joplin students.

BFJ's most needed items this year are headphones and earbuds, full-size backpacks, markers, protractors, plastic pocket folders, and spiral notebooks. If you or your organization wants to help, contact amandastone@joplinschools.org for more details or drop a few items off at any Joplin Casey's location through Aug. 18. #EveryChildNeedsAChampion!

District Calendar

Athletics Calendar

Staff Calendars

WELCOME TO PARENTSQUARE!

All parents and guardians of Joplin students are encouraged to join ParentSquare, the district's new mass and direct communication tool.

ParentSquare allows administrators, teachers, coaches, club and activity sponsors a streamlined way to stay in contact with families. Throughout this school year, other third-party apps (like Class Dojo, Remind, GroupMe and more) will be phased out, so that our parents can enjoy a one-stop-shop for all school and district communications.

Even if parents and guardians do not download the app or register for an account, they will still receive alerts through texts, emails, and dialers as in years past. But for more functionality and features, we encourage all families to register for ParentSquare, setup their notification preferences, and download the free app today.

CLICK HERE to register (using the same phone or email address the school has on file for your contact info) and stay connected!

Share This Email

School Bus Camp with Buster

Area incoming Kindergarten and First Grade students are invited to this year's Bus Camp from 9am to noon Sat. Aug. 12 at Junge Field!

Attendees will meet Buster the Bus, take a bus ride, and learn how to stay safe on and off the bus. Free backpacks and school supplies will be given to the first 100 K-1 students! There will also be vendors, games, and free hot dogs.

Thank you to our Transportation Department for planning this fun, helpful event!

Parent Portal in PowerSchool

Confused about how to do the annual update of your existing student's information in PowerSchool's Parent Portal?

You're not alone! As with any new system, it takes time to work out the bugs. But we are excited about the improved efficiency and accuracy of online enrollments, so we're here to help while continually working to ease the transition.

First, log into your PowerSchool Parent Portal using your username and password. If you're unsure of your username or password (or if you were unaware you had these), please contact your school secretary for help. They are ready to provide you with all the access you need.

Once in Parent Portal on your student's page:

click on FORMS on the left sidebar
click on ALL FORMS at the top
click into each form on the All Forms list to verify that the existing information in each form is correct
check the "verify information" box at the bottom
click the Submit button at the bottom

Even if each form has a green "submitted" or "approved" checkmark beside it on the All Forms page, you must still click into that form for this annual verification. Once completed, you'll notice that the timestamp under each form's title on the All Forms page has been updated to reflect your most recent verification.

Thank you for verifying your students' information as we get ready to see them in the classroom this year!

Nutrition Services Update

Click on the image above to fill out a new Free/Reduced Meal Application. For help with the application, please call Nutrition Services at 417-625-5315.

A Look Back:

Congrats, Grads!

JHS 2023 Graduation

It's time for these Eagles to SOAR! We walked alongside many of last year's graduating class since Kindergarten, and we are so proud of all they've persevered through and set their minds to accomplishing. These scholars will always have a home in Joplin Schools!

Once An Eagle, Always An Eagle

This is not goodbye, but farewell, to our 2023 Retirees.

As these esteemed educators and district staff -- pillars of Eagle Nation -- bid us farewell, they leave behind an indelible mark. They've shaped the fabric of our district by nurturing understanding, supporting coworkers, and building community connections that will continue to resonate in and around Joplin Schools for years to come. We offer our thanks for their shared commitment to supporting bright #PathwaystoPurpose for our students.