BRAVO! Today, PCHS Theatre students received their Blue Star nominations for their fall musical The Addams Family. They received 12 nominations, which is the most PCHS has ever received! Blue Star is essentially the Tony Awards for Kansas City High School students. Each night during the musical there were adjudicators judging our show. PCHS competes against other area high school musicals and the awards ceremony is held at Starlight on Wednesday May 17. Click here for more details.
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DISTRICT CELEBRATIONS AND NOTICES |
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PCHS Counselor Heather Brown Earns Honor
On Friday, April 14, PCHS Counselor, Heather Brown, was named the Northwest Missouri School Counselor Association (NWMSCA) Secondary School Counselor of the Year for her efforts in supporting students within PCHS's comprehensive school counseling program. Mrs. Brown is now eligible to advance and be further recognized at the state level.
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FBLA Sends 19 to Nationals
PCHS FBLA recently competed in 35 events at the State Leadership Conference and brought home numerous awards, including the Gold Seal of Merit award, Gold Chapter of the Year award, Outstanding Service award to Makayla Morris, and 11 State Champions! A total of 19 PCHS FBLA members qualified to compete at the National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, in late June. Click here to read more.
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PCHS Encouraged to Arrive Alive
Thank you to PCHS Pirates Serve, DECA, and Student Council students for planning another successful Arrive Alive event last Friday! This event, designed to raise awareness about distracted driving, is hosted by PCHS in collaboration with many partners with the common goal of promoting safe driving for teens. Student volunteers conduct a seatbelt check prior to and after Arrive Alive, and have consistently found that seatbelt wearing increases following the event. Click here for more information and photos from the event. |
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Board Members Take Office
At the annual reorganization meeting held April 13, Board Secretary, Vicki Diggs administered the oath of office to newly elected board members, Amy MacCuish, Sharon Sherwood, and Tyler Fadler, and members re-elected Doug Doll as Board President and elected Shawn Chiddix as Board Vice President.
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PCHS Summer School Enrollment/
Driver's Ed Interest Form Open
PCHS Summer School enrollment will be open until May 19 or until courses are full. The Driver's Ed interest form will be open until April 28. All interested applicants will be placed in a lottery system where up to 25 students will be randomly selected and accepted into the program.
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Current K-7th grade students can register for K-8th grade summer school online via the e-Form available on Parent Portal. |
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PCR-3 Announces Compass Principal
The Board has approved the hiring of Eric White, who will serve as Compass Elementary's next principal, starting the 2023-24 school year.
Current Compass Elementary principal, Dr. Kim Archer, will be returning to the classroom as a teacher next year at PCMS to allow for more time with her family.
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Long-Range Facility Plan Update - Public Feedback Sessions
The Long-Range Facility Planning Committee has met since November 2022 to analyze data, refine the District's planning criteria for future facility projects, review planning priorities and scenarios for the District's next facility projects, deferred maintenance, and ultimately create a recommendation to the Board of Education for the update to the Long-Range Facility Plan. The Committee has filtered various ideas and has developed a plan of projects for the next 1-5, 5-10, and 10-15 years.
Two public feedback sessions are planned for May 1 and 3, so that stakeholders can share their thoughts on the timeline and facility options narrowed by the committee. Feedback will be used to further refine the plan before making a recommendation to the Board.
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May 1, 2023, 6-7pm
Platte County High School Cafeteria
1501 Branch Street,
Platte City, MO
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May 3, 2023, 6-7pm
Pathfinder Elementary Library
1951 NW 87th Terrace,
Kansas City, MO
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PCHS Senior Demi Riechers Awarded Belcher Scholarship
At the April meeting, PCHS Senior Demi Riechers was announced as the regional winner of a $1,000 scholarship awarded by FutureBuilders, the education foundation of the Missouri School Boards’ Association. A scholarship is awarded to a student in each of MSBA's 17 regions. From that group a statewide winner will be selected. Applicants were judged on the basis of academic performance, extracurricular activities and the quality of an essay. More than 250 applications were submitted this year. MSBA and FutureBuilders established the scholarship program in memory of John T. Belcher, who was instrumental in developing innovative financing programs for Missouri school districts. The learning environment for thousands of Missouri's public schools’ students was improved as a result of his work.
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Pirate Pride: PCHS Author Ella Villareal
For the Pirate Pride portion of the April meeting, the Board recognized PCHS student and published author Ella Villareal. Ella has written a three-book series about the adventures of a raccoon named Lucky Light and an Arabian horse named Moon Rivers. For more information on Ella's books, click here. |
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SCHIVIR Me Timbers Staff Recognition
Each month, PCR-3 recognizes staff members who are living our vision, mission, and values, by presenting the "SCHIVIR Me Timbers" award. SCHIVIR is an acronym for our values: Student Focus, Collaboration, High Expectations, Integrity, Visionary Leadership, Innovation, and Results Orientation.
At the April board meeting, Susie Murphy, Administrative Assistant for Pupil Services and Great Beginnings, was recognized for her Integrity, Collaboration, and High Expectations. Ms. Murphy is a consistent and supportive team member to the students and staff of Great Beginnings and the Pupil Services Department by anticipating needs and filling various roles.
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2021 Bond Program Update
At the Platte Purchase Middle School Project, interior construction finishes are continuing in the classroom areas and include drywall and paint. Casework and ceiling tile are being installed in the administration, commons, and kitchen area. Kitchen equipment and the elevator are being installed, and the wood flooring has started in the gym. Work on site continues with the sidewalks on the North and South sides. Brick is wrapping up on the classroom wing and metal wall panels are starting to be installed throughout the building perimeter. Turf is installed and the asphalt track will be next.
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Board Approves 2023-24 Salaries and Benefits
At the April meeting, the Board approved salary increases in various staff categories as part of the District's strategic goal to attract, retain, and develop a high quality staff. Team Platte County (consisting of a representative team of teachers from across the District), as well as classified (support) staff representatives, recommended a "Step Replacement Strategy" for all salary schedules and increased all salaries by 3.03%. This strategy places the dollar equivalent of a step movement, plus additional dollars into the base salary amount which maximizes the ability for every position within the schedule to become more competitive. This strategy is not to be confused with a schedule freeze, as all employees will receive a raise. In addition to base salary increases, several classified range changes were recommended: accompanists; library media assistants; network technicians; registrar; lunch monitors; district safety monitors; custodians; paraprofessionals; and physical therapists.
The recommendation ensures all available dollars are distributed based on the District's ranking and market comparisons, as well as retention patterns of every job classification. Utilizing the Step Replacement Strategy will make all salary schedules and positions more competitive, thus increasing the District's ability to attract high quality staff. |
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Middle School Strategic Plan and Activities Update
Leadership teams from Barry School and Platte City Middle School, along with Dr. Aaron Duff, Director of Secondary Education, provided the Board with a middle school strategic plan update at the April meeting. Click here to view the presentation.
Dr. Devin Doll, Executive Director of Operations, and Gabe Middleton, Activities Director, also presented a plan for middle school activities starting with the 2023-24 school year. With the opening of Platte Purchase Middle School and additional facility space for practices, as well as anticipated participant rates for various activities, plans for unique or combined programs with Platte City Middle School and practice locations for 2023-24 were presented.
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Human Resources Key Process Update
In line with the District's efforts to attract, develop, and retain a high quality staff, Dr. Gardner reviewed demographic information of our current workforce, recruitment data, and staff retention results. In addition, Dr. Gardner highlighted several areas for opportunities for improvement:
- Provide competitive salary and benefits to attract and retain employees
- Provide a personalized onboarding experience for classified and certified staff
- Utilize grant dollars to recruit and retain high quality teachers
- Ensure opportunities for staff feedback, decision making, and engagement exist to improve employee satisfaction and retention
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COMMUNITY EVENTS/INFORMATION |
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PCHS Theatre - Spring Play - April 25-27
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Pirates ROCK End-of-Year Celebration - Apr. 28
Calling all character superheroes! The Pirates ROCK End-of-Year Celebration and Sharpen the Saw Challenge Course will be at Barry-Platte Park on Friday, April 28. Course is open from 5-7pm, with the character recognition ceremony at 6pm. Pre-register here and see flier for details. |
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DRUM! May 5
Join us for DRUM! on Friday, May 5, 7pm at PCHS Wilson Auditorium! Percussion students from PCHS, Barry, and PCMS will present a percussion showcase you don't want to miss! Tickets are $7, and all of the proceeds go back to the percussion program.
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PCHS Evening of Jazz - May 12
'An Evening of Jazz' is an annual fundraiser for the PCHS Jazz Band. The north gym at PCHS is transformed into a Jazz Club. It's the perfect night out! Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. For tickets contact Connor Callahan: 816-858-2822 ext. 1271. See flier for details. |
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PCHS Art Exhibition - May 7-12
PCHS's annual art show will be held May 7-12 at PCHS in the Welcome Center near the Pirate Statue, with a reception on Sunday, May 7 from 1-3pm. See flier for details. |
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Mother's Day 5K - May 13
Equal Start invites you to participate in the annual Northland Mother's Day 5K. The event will raise money to purchase school supplies for eligible children for Equal Start's Platte County Back to School Fair. Register by April 28 to receive a race t-shirt and medal. See flier for details and click here to register. |
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PCHS Dance Team Tryouts - May 1-2, 4
Auditions for the 2023-24 PCHS Treasures Dance Team are May 1, 2, and 4. Current 8th-11th graders interested in trying out should sign up here. See flier for details. |
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Pirates Cheerleading Club - Registration Begins May 15
Junior Elite and Elite competition squad tryouts are May 1-3 (clinics) and May 4 (tryouts).
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April 26: PLC Day, 2-hour early dismissal
May 10: PLC Day, 2-hour early dismissal
May 8-12: Staff Appreciation Week
May 12: PCHS Senior's Last Day
May 18: Board of Education Meeting, 6:30pm, (reconvene from closed session which begins at 5:30pm)
May 21: NCC and PCHS Graduations
May 26: Last Day of School, 3-hour early dismissal
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Thank you to our Pirates ROCK Stars!
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Vision: Building Learners of Tomorrow...
Mission: To prepare individual learners for success in life,
the Platte County School District provides meaningful experiences in a safe and caring environment.
Values: Student Focus, Collaboration, High Expectations, Integrity, Visionary Leadership, Innovation, Results Orientation
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