SPS schedules more H1N1 vaccine clinics for students
Oct. 30, 2009
Springfield Public Schools expects to have at least 480 H1N1 vaccines to administer the week of Nov. 2.
The vaccines will be administered at Central High School Monday, Nov. 2. Staff will also finish vaccinating students at Bowerman Elementary School that day.
Upon completion of these two clinics, SPS will have administered about 580 H1N1 vaccines at 10 schools.
On Thursday, Nov. 5, a vaccine clinic will be held at Gray Elementary School.
Parental permission is required for a student to receive the vaccine. Parents will receive instructions from their child’s school about how to obtain a permission form, which must be signed and returned to the school nurse before the scheduled vaccine clinic.
“We expect to receive weekly shipments of vaccine,” explained Jean Grabeel, coordinator of health services. “But we don’t know in advance how many or what type will be available, which makes it difficult for us to know how many schools we can serve each week.”
It is anticipated that the week of Nov. 9, vaccine administration will begin at schools in the Kickapoo High School attendance area. As additional vaccines are available, clinics will be scheduled at schools in the following order: Hillcrest High School attendance area, Glendale High School attendance area and Parkview High School attendance area.
For the most current information about vaccine availability and clinic schedules, parents are encouraged to visit the Influenza Information page on the district’s web site at www.springfieldpublicschoolsmo.org.
Classes dismissed Nov. 6 for SPS students
Oct. 30, 2009
Springfield Public Schools students will not have classes Friday, Nov. 6, to allow for parent-teacher conferences. Parents should contact their child's teacher if they would like to schedule a conference.
Carrol Lund named Foreign Language Association President
Oct. 27, 2009
Kickapoo High School foreign language teacher Carrol Lund was named president of the Foreign Language Association of Missouri (FLAM) at the annual conference at Lake Ozark Sept. 23-25.
Lund has served as president elect for the past two years for the association. The new president-elect of the FLAM executive board is Central High School foreign language teacher Lisa Lilley.
Rountree Readers will visit neighbors Oct. 29
Oct. 27, 2009
The Rountree Readers will dress-upas known storybook characters and will walk to neighborhood homes to visit community members and read books Oct. 29 at 3:30 p.m.
Rountree Readers is a community organization designed to enhance school and community relationships through literacy. The mission of the group is to build confidence in elementary students' reading and relationship skills while providing positive interactions with members of the Rountree community.
Kickapoo presents 'Into The Woods' Nov. 19-22
Oct. 27, 2009
The Kickapoo High School theater department will present the musical "Into The Woods" Nov. 19-22 at the Kickapoo auditorium, 3710 S. Jefferson Ave.
Inspired by the book by Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment, the musical adaptation written by James Lapine combines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Showtime's are at 7 p.m. Nov. 19-21 and at 2 p.m. on Nov. 22.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for students and seniors and can be reserved in advance online www.KickapooTheater.com.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Program meeting Nov. 5
Oct. 27, 2009
Central High School will host an informational meeting about the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium at school located at 423 E. Central St.
All interested 8th-grade students and their parents should attend the meeting. The IB Diploma Program is a rigorous college preparatory program open to all qualified SPS students. To qualify, students must apply in November of their 8th-grade year.
Applications will be available at the meeting. For more information about the IB Diploma Program, go to http://sps.k12.mo.us/chs/.
KHS students to host event during National French Week Nov. 5
Oct. 19, 2009
Kickapoo High School French language students will host an event in honor of National French Week Thursday, Nov. 5 in the newly renovated lobby at the school.
The students will be celebrating the French language and the importance of learning a second or third language by creating a museum displaying an assortment of artifacts, mostly made of recycle goods, to illustrate the following questions:
-Why is it important to learn a second language?
-Where is French present in the world?
-What are the contributions of French in the areas of science and technology, medicine, art, sports, music and foods?
The event will also include an open forum discussion featuring guest speakers Dr. Madeleine Kernen and Dr. Alessandra Pires from Missouri State University's modern and classical languages department and poetry readings from Evangel University's French Club students. The evening will conclude with the showing of a French film.
Also during French National Week, Kickapoo students will read to children at two area libraries on Nov. 7.
Kickapoo to host 8th Annual Ozarks Food Harvest Carnival Oct. 24
Oct. 19, 2009
Kickapoo High School student organizations together will host the eight annual Kickapoo Ozarks Food Harvest Fall Carnival on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the school student center and cafeteria.
The event provides both a safe place for Springfield parents to take their children to trick-or-treat and food for The Ozarks Food Harvest. Admission will be a minimum of two canned food items. The most needed items are canned fruits, canned vegetables, canned tuna or salmon, boxed meals like Hamburger Helper, instant potatoes, bread and cake mixes. The carnival will feature games, trunk or treating, a haunted house, tattoo parlor, face painting, cookie decorating, pumpkin painting, crazy hair, fake your own injury, and more.
The Ozark Food Harvest currently feeds more than 90 kids per night, five nights a week or more than 162,000 meals a year. Sponsors of the Carnival are Kickapoo High School’s Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society, Student Council, FCCLA, Key Club, and many more. Last year more than 2,000 pounds of food were donated to the program.
For more information, contact Lynn Coffey at Kickapoo High School 523-8500.
Parkview student honored with selection to Army marching band
Oct. 19, 2009
Bryce Heffington, a senior at Parkview High School, has been selected as a 2010 member of the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band. He is the first student from Parkview to be selected for this honor. An all-school assembly, hosted by the US Army, honoring Heffington will be held Monday, Oct. 19, at 9:45 a.m. in Parkview’s gymnasium.
Over 1,200 students across the United States auditioned for the 94-piece band. Heffington is one of 16 trumpets selected to perform the half-time show at the All-American Bowl Game. He will receive an all-expense paid trip to San Antonio, Texas, in January to rehearse and perform. The Bowl game, to be held Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010, will be televised before a live national audience from the Alamodome by NBC; the half-time performance will be webcast in its entirety for family and friends back home to enjoy.
For more information, please contact Linda Wegmann, assistant band director, or Matt Hudson, assistant principal, at 523-9200.
Cleanup at Pipkin progresses
Oct. 16, 2009
Following the detection Oct. 15 of mercury at Pipkin Middle School and two other district buildings, Department of Natural Resources has been on site overseeing the cleanup process. As of 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, cleanup had progressed as follows:
- Several areas of Pipkin Middle School have been cleared by DNR including the basement, gymnasium, cafeteria, the classroom where the barometer originated, some hallways and common areas.
- The nurse’s office and two classrooms will require further cleaning.
- SPS dispatch has been cleared to return to Employee Services Center. There are still a few areas of the building that require additional cleaning.
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Agency will take new readings Saturday.
- Classes for Pipkin students are expected to resume Monday, Oct. 19. However, a final decision about whether classes will be held at the school building or an alternative site will be made Sunday based upon the most current information available from DNR.
- Pipkin parents will receive an AlertNow telephone message Sunday, Oct. 18, updating them on the status of the cleanup.
Cleanup efforts require Pipkin to close Friday, Oct. 16
Oct. 15, 2009
The presence of mercury has been confirmed at Pipkin Middle School. To ensure the safety of students and to allow for the cleanup, there will be no classes at Pipkin Middle School Friday, Oct. 16. Pipkin staff will report for work Friday to an alternative site, Trinity Lutheran Church Educational Center, 1415 S. Holland.
The mercury escaped from a large barometer which was being removed from the building in a concerted effort to round up and dispose of instruments containing mercury. When it was discovered that mercury may have leaked Thursday, precautionary measures were taken to limit student and staff exposure.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is currently overseeing the cleanup of the mercury spill. In addition to Pipkin Middle School, it has been determined that mercury is also present at the Employee Services Center, 1131 N. Boonville, and Doling Building, 1423 W. Atlantic. This occurred while the barometer was being transported to the collection site designated for mercury instruments.
DNR has determined that clean up will also be necessary at Employee Services Center so staff are being relocated. A small amount of mercury was detected in an isolated area at Doling so it is not necessary to relocate staff from that building.
"Our top priority is the safety of our students and staff." said Les Ford, executive director for elementary schools. "An update will be sent to Pipkin parents and staff on Sunday, Oct. 18, via the AlertNow notification system."
Anyone who is concerned about potential exposure to mercury, may contact the state Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology at 573-751-6102 or their personal physician for more information.
Delaware Elementary dismissed through Friday, Oct. 16
Oct. 13 , 2009
Springfield Public Schools has dismissed school at Delaware Elementary for the remainder of the week because of an elevated absentee rate the past three days related to flu-like symptoms. Taking that into consideration and the fact that Delaware has a high number of medically fragile students, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department has advised the district to close Delaware through Friday, Oct. 16. Notification of this decision will be distributed to parents today via the AlertNow telephone notification system and a note from the school. Students and staff at Delaware Elementary should not return to school until Monday, October 19. In the meantime, custodial staff will thoroughly sanitize the building.
Currently there are confirmed cases of Type A influenza throughout the district.
If your child displays flu-like symptoms, you can help us by reporting the symptoms of illness to the office at your school, as well as keeping your child home for at least 24 hours after the fever disappearswithout the use of fever-reducing medications.
Springfield Public Schools is doing everything possible to minimize the impact of influenza in our schools. We appreciate your cooperation at this time.
The tried and true methods of prevention still apply. Encourage children to regularly wash their hands, cover mouths when coughing and do not share personal items. Adequate sleep, reducing stress and drinking plenty of fluids are also important preventative steps you can personally take to avoid the flu.
Keep checking the district’s web site, www.springfieldpublicschoolsmo.org, for more information as it becomes available. The district will also keep parents informed via the AlertNow telephone notification system. For more information about the flu and prevention visit these sites:
- Springfield-Greene County Health Department, www.springfieldmo.gov/health.
- www.flu.gov
- Centers for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/
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