​At the July 19 Rockwood School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Eric Knost announced that Kristi Davis was approved as the interim assistant principal for Selvidge Middle School. 

Ms. Davis currently serves as a fifth-grade teacher and team leader at Woerther Elementary School. She is a graduate of the Rockwood Ignite Leadership program and leader in her professional learning community. She has also participated in mentor administration shadowing at Selvidge Middle School. 

Ms. Davis earned her master's degree in science education from Southwest Baptist University. Her bachelor's degree in elementary education is from Missouri State University. She is currently working toward her educational leadership specialist in administration from Southwest Baptist University. 

She replaces Dr. Kelly Mignerone, who was named the interim assistant principal at Rockwood Summit High School. 

 At their July 19 meeting, members of the Rockwood School Board approved annual nonresident tuition rates for the 2018-19 school year. 

The rates for a full-time student are as follows: 

--high school $11,514 
--middle school $11,297 
--elementary school $11,553 

The board established the transportation rate at $636. 

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) requires the board of education annually to approve these rates. The calculation of the nonresident tuition rate, using the DESE worksheet, is based on the adopted 2018-19 budget for each of the three grade levels using the 2017-18 average daily attendance. 

Superintendent Dr. Eric Knost led the Rockwood Administrative Conference in preparation for the new school year. It was time for Rockwood principals and administrators to reflect and learn. 

"I've encouraged our Rockwood leaders to make a commitment to be champions for our kids," shared Dr. Knost. "When students have positive relationships in school, they are more successful. I believe when students feel valued, cared for and loved, they go on to thrive in this world." 

According to Dr. Knost, the school climate and culture are vital. "Do you want to change the world?" he asked. "Begin by telling our students these things every day. You matter. You are smart. I believe in you." 

Knost shared that these are the building blocks for students. "As we provide for and support their social and emotional growth, we positively impact their academic growth." 

Rockwood administrators continue to prepare for the new school year. Teachers new to the district begin Aug. 2, with regular teacher orientation scheduled for Aug. 8. 

The first day of school for students is Tuesday, August 14. 

Did you know you can sync your Google calendar with Rockwood district and school calendars, so school-related events will automatically populate your schedule? 

Go to the interactive calendar on the school district website, and click on the "select your calendars" link in the upper-right hand corner.  You'll have the option to check the school calendars you'd like to follow.  Each calendar is color-coded to the school, so you can determine locations and events. 

Then click the calendar icon by a calendar's name to access a code which will allow you to sync that calendar to your desktop or mobile device. 

This will enable you to view all your child's school events on your own Google calendar from the convenience of your smartphone!

​To prepare for the new school year beginning in Rockwood, Aug. 14, visit our website where public notices are easy to access. 

Click here for information on​:
--Disability Services Notice 
--Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) 
--Free and Reduced Meal Notice 
--Child Nutrition Services and meal accounts 
--Immunization Requirements 
--Notification of Rights Under the Protection of Pupil Right Amendment 
--Nondiscrimination Notice 
--Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
--Student Attendance 
--Student Discipline Notice 
--Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 
--Title Programs for Non-Public Partners ​​

Rockwood middle and high schools will have immunization clinics at upcoming student orientations. 

If you are interested in your child receiving their vaccination(s) at one of these clinics, please click on the link below and reserve your vaccine.

Be sure to bring the completed VNA Vaccine Consent Form​​ with you​ to the clinic and check out the accepted insurance plans. 

LaSalle Springs Middle Social Worker Debbie Gegg has been chosen as the Missouri School Social Worker of the Year. 

The honor comes from SSWAM, the School Social Workers Association of Missouri. 

"I am so honored,"​ said Gegg in late July, while setting up her office for a new school year. "I think it's the result of the accumulative things that school social workers do every day. We connect students with necessary resources. As needs come up, we're trained to notice and help students meet those needs." 

Gegg has been at LaSalle Springs since 1999. She explained her school social work philosophy. 

"I try to treat children the way I would want someone to treat my own kids," she said. "I respect the notion that children belong to their families, first, and we just borrow them for a while during the day. We're here to assist those families in being the best they can be." 

Rockwood Coordinator Deed Education Equity and Diversity Brittany Hogan said, "We are so thrilled to celebrate this special recognition of Debbie! For 19 years she has made the commitment of supporting, nurturing and truly caring for our students. I'm glad to see a social worker who is beyond deserving receive this award." 

Learn more about the work social workers do in Rockwood School District.​ 

​Please join us in welcoming our new district leaders and principals for the 2018-19 school year.  These individuals have shown an understanding of Rockwood's mission and vision that we do whatever it takes to ensure all students realize their potential.

New Coordinators, Principals and Associate Principals

   ​                
              Christine Davis,                              Dr. Michael Franklin,
                   Principal,                                       Associate Principal,
           Ballwin Elementary                                  Lafayette High

Dr. Emily McCown,  Principal,  Rockwood Summit High

​ Dennis Rhodes, Coordinator,  Center for Creative Learning

​​​​   Dr. Shawn Riley,   Principal,    Wild Horse Elementary

Ayo Alfred,  Coordinator,  Individualized Learning Center

​ Andrea Lockwood,  Principal,  Babler Elementary

​​                   Thomas Potteiger,   Interim Associate Principal,   Rockwood Summit High

                 

​               

           Special School District                  Early Childhood Special Education         LaSalle Springs Middle

New Assistant Principals and Administrative Interns

​ Matt Borzillo, Assistant Principal,  Selvidge Middle​	​​ Andrea Darmon, Administrative Intern,  Pond Elementary	​​ Cody Dusenberry, Administrative Intern,  Stanton Elementary
​ Michelle Fitzsimmons, Administrative Intern,  Fairway Elementary Dr. Charity Schluter, Assistant Principal,   Rockwood South Middle  ​	​ Cameron Poole, Assistant Principal,  Rockwood Summit High   ​Dr. Kelly Mignerone,  Assistant Principal,  Rockwood Summit High	​ Dr. Christi Sanderson, Administrative Intern,  Center for Creative Learning   Daniel Hannon,     Assistant Principal,    Geggie Elementary
Kristi Davis, Interim Assistant Principal,   Selvidge Middle

District Leadership 

​ Jordan McGaughey, Coordinator,  Social Studies, K-12​

​​ Dr. Renee Trotier, Director,  Professional Learning Development

​​ Brenda Kirchhoefer,  Coordinator,  Purchasing Department

​Please join us in welcoming our new district leaders and principals for the 2017-18 school year.  These individuals have shown an understanding of Rockwood's mission and vision that we do whatever it takes to ensure all students realize their potential.

​​District Leadership

​​​ Paul Northington, Chief Financial Officer	​​​ Deb Ketring, Chief Information Officer	​ Dr. Shelley Willott Executive Director, Learning and Support Services
​ Chardae Rigdon, Coordinator,  Early Childhood and Behavior Services	​ Bretta Slagle,  Director,  Technical Support Services	​ Natalie Fallert, Coordinator, Literacy and Speech (6-12)

​​New Principals and Associate Principals​​

​ Dr. Karen Calcaterra, Principal, Lafayette High

​ Dr. Matthew Irvin, Associate Principal, Lafayette High

​​​

New Assistant Principals and Administrative Interns

​​ Dr. James Allison, Assistant Principal, Rockwood Valley Middle	​ Kimberly Alwood, Administrative Intern, Ballwin Elementary	​ Adam Kealen, Assistant Principal, Wildwood Middle
​ Kara Knollmeyer, Assistant Principal, Rockwood South Middle	​ Erin Koch, Administrative Intern, Bowles Elementary	​ Corinne Luczak,  Administrative Intern, Woerther Elementary
​ Tracey Waeckerle, Assistant Principal,  Marquette High	​	​

​New Activities Director​

​ Todd Zell,  Lafayette High ​​

​​​

​​

The 2018 Missouri tax-free holiday is the first weekend of August, Friday-Sunday, Aug. 3-5. 

Purchases of clothing, school supplies, computers and certain other items defined by state statute are exempt from sales tax for this time period only. 

Find your school supply list online. 

Construction is visible on the new, two-story Eureka Elementary School, which will be located on 13.5 acres east of Six Flags, at Rockwood Arbor Drive and Workman Road. 

The 108,000 square foot facility will be Rockwood's largest elementary school. It will be the school district's first new school building since Fairway Elementary in 2004, and it is designed to accommodate about 600 students. 

Rockwood Facilities Director Chris Freund said, "There is structural steel going up in the kindergarten wing right now. The pre-cast panels for the storm shelter are almost complete. When you pull up on the structure you can see the gym area that is going to be the storm shelter. You can see where the elevator shaft will be located because that is being constructed as we speak." 

Rockwood Chief Financial Officer Paul Northington said the new school is scheduled to be completed by July 2019. 

"The project at Eureka Elementary seems to be going as scheduled," said Northington. "In fact, it's been moved up to mid-June." 

Freund said the building will contain 27 general education classrooms with extended learning areas for each grade level. The parking lot will contain 190 parking spaces. Rockwood officials are planning to open the building for the 2019-20 school year.  

Rockwood Superintendent Dr. Eric Knost said, "We're excited to bring a new Eureka Elementary School to the community. The school will allow for enrollment increases, and it will bring an exciting new learning environment for our students." 

Learn about bond issue progress at other Rockwood schools.​ ​

Rockwood School District bond issue voter-approved maintenance and construction has continued this summer at Marquette and Rockwood Summit High Schools, and Babler Elementary. 

Rockwood Chief Financial Officer Paul Northington said at Marquette crews installed a concrete overlay on the parking lot. 

"This is a change from what we've done in the past," said Northington. "As opposed to using asphalt, this was a concrete overlay project that started in early June and will be completed just prior to the start of school. The benefits include that look and feel of the concrete overlay, but also the extended life we hope to get from that type of material." 

Rockwood Facilities Director Chris Freund said, "We have a similar system we installed at Crestview about 15 years ago, and we knew from that experience that material lasts longer than asphalt. We were able to procure a concrete system this year with the bidding process, and we're thrilled to have it for one of our bigger parking lots. We foresee we won't have to do any maintenance on that parking lot for next 10-20 years. We think it's going to be far more beneficial than an asphalt overlay." 

Also at Marquette and Rockwood Summit High Schools, crews filled in the commons floors. 

"We did fill-in the two depressed areas in the floor, so it's now level all across," said Freund. "When you see them empty, it's a huge, open space and the flooring is down. We also had the high overhead steel cleaned, so the area should look brand new when students arrive Aug. 14." 

At Babler, crews are finishing a multi-phase HVAC replacement. 

Freund said, "Babler is one of our largest elementary schools and it was a full system replacement, so it actually spanned two summers. A year ago we addressed some of the large areas like the library and gym. This year we got into all the classrooms and corridors. We knew it was going to be tight toward the end of the summer, but they're right on schedule." 

Learn about bond issue progress at other Rockwood schools.​​ 

Eighteen Rockwood high school students recently completed the University of Missouri-St. Louis STARS program, a six-week summer program that pairs talented rising high school and college undergraduate students with more than 60 local scientists.  Those professionals work in the fields of biology, chemistry, computer science, earth science, engineering, environmental science, mathematics, medicine, physics and psychology. 

The mentors are top researchers from partner institutions including Confluence Discovery
Technologies, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis University, Washington
University in St. Louis and the host institution, UMSL. 

This year's STARS students hailed from high schools throughout the St. Louis region, as well
as Iowa, Illinois, New Jersey, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin. Students also attended from Anatolia
College's International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in Greece. 

Lafayette High School students include Mohammed Arif, Christopher Bakker, Alec Brooks, Michael Lu, Ethan Lumbantobing, Ayush Ray, Shree Samavedhiand Elvis Wei. 

Marquette High School include Ganasri Aleti, Neha Bollam, Smridh Chandra, Kartik Deshpande, 
Varun Devraj, Shreya Gautamand Yijin Huang. 

Students from Rockwood Summit High School include Sathvika Jangaand Daniel Steinmeyer.

Rockwood Transportation officials and bus drivers are ready to welcome students to another school year! ​​

Parents are now able to view their child's preliminary bus stop information for the 2018-2019 school year on e-Link. 

Parents must know their child's student number, which can be found in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. Using the student number will provide specific information for your student(s) bus info. 

• USER ID: student number
• PASSWORD: student number
• Click on "Work with Students"
• Click on "View my Students"
• Click on student name

Login to e-link >>

According to Mike Heyman, director of transportation, Rockwood bus drivers are out on the roads getting to know their routes. "Our drivers take the time to perform dry runs before school starts, and we'll need to make final adjustments as needed to be sure to check e-link for updates," he says. 

Heyman asks that families have their children at the bus stop about 10 minutes before the posted pick-up/drop-off during the first two weeks of the new school year or until a consistent schedule is established.  "Our bus drivers are accommodating the needs of our families and the increased traffic around our schools so we want to be prepared to arrive to school on time." 

Do you have questions about your child's bus route or bus stop? ​The Rockwood Bus Call Center is now available! Call (636) 733-8500 for school bus transportation. 

Our VST students will receive a postcard in the mail with bus stop information. Parents will find out their bus stop information from VICC Transportation, and may call the VICC transportation office at (314) 721-8657​ for more information.

See you on the first day of school, Aug. 14! 

  Workers in the Rockwood School Bus Call Center
  answer questions about bus routes.

At Geggie Elementary School, construction continues on an eight-classroom addition and a new, 3,500-square foot media center. 

Rockwood Facilities Director Chris Freund said, "Regarding a timeline, it looks like the media center will be complete around mid-September. We're putting a plan together to transition their temporary library space into the media center at that time. Then it looks like the classroom addition will be ready for winter break. At semester we'll put in the new furniture and students and staff will transition over when they come back after the first of the year." 

Principal Dr. Mary Kleekamp said, "It is such an exciting time for Geggie as we enjoy the progress made on our construction.  The added wing and conversion of existing space will enhance student learning!" 

Superintendent Dr. Eric Knost said, "These are improvements to the Geggie campus that are long overdue and much needed to accommodate our growing populations. The new appropriately sized library-media center will be a modern, exciting addition for our students and staff." 

Learn about bond issue progress at other Rockwood schools. ​

The start of the 2018-2019 school year is right around the corner.  As we prepare to welcome back students, we are also preparing to welcome new teachers to Rockwood. 

"I am most looking forward to getting to know my students this upcoming school year and creating our classroom community," said Brittany Meldrum, a Lafayette High graduate who will be teaching kindergarten at Green Pines Elementary. "I want my classroom to be an environment where my students feel safe and comfortable to take risks as they grow as learners throughout the school year." 

At LaSalle Springs Middle, Tracy Cross will be teaching eighth-grade science. 

"I am so excited to be able to watch my students grow from start to finish," she said. "Having the opportunity to help my students become their best selves is going to be just simply amazing! They are why I am here." 

New teacher Emily Cissi is also returning to her district alma mater to teach tenth-grade language arts at Rockwood Summit. 

"In a lot of ways, it feels like returning to home," said Cissi. "I've been welcomed with open arms and encouraged to reach out if I need anything. While it's still an adjustment for me to call former-teachers-turned-colleagues by their first names, they've completely accepted me as a colleague and part of the Summit family." 

Cissi said she is eagerly anticipating the opportunity to develop positive, lasting relationships with her students. 

"Tenth-graders are such a fun age group because they're exploring their new freedoms while acting as role models for the incoming freshmen," she said. 

The New Teacher Orientation will be held Aug. 2-7 at Wildwood Middle. It will offer new teachers more insight into Rockwood. They will learn the different departments within the district and work with their mentor teacher. Special sessions will be dedicated to first-year teachers and teachers who are new to Rockwood. 

Learn more about New Teacher Orientation, and view the agenda. 

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​The new school year brings exciting updates to Rockwood's 1-to-1 laptop computer program.

According to Deb Ketring, chief information officer, Rockwood Technology will be providing Chromebooks to middle school students who are new to the district, as well as high school students the first two weeks of August.

Ketring said the district is ahead of schedule on the rollout process.

"Buying new devices for sixth- and ninth-grade students increased the number of gently used Chromebooks available to repurpose," she said. "We combined devices collected from the eighth-grade return with existing devices at the high schools."

This implementation will change the way many of our students learn in the classroom.

"It gives students access to their assigned online resources, other online research and productivity tools when they need them," said Ketring. "They don't have to schedule time to use technology to complete assignments or verify information."

Students are also allowed to take their assigned Chromebook home.

Ketring said, "It opens up learning whenever and wherever the students want it to occur. In addition to Rockwood-provided resources, students can access the online learning site Lynda.com, available through the St. Louis County Library."​​