Lion's Link #lionpride

July 2023

Pride in Self, Pride in Community, Pride in Learning

K-5 School Supply Lists

This year, we are not collecting the supply fee for school supplies for elementary students. Here is a link for the school supply lists for grades K-5. At Open House, Community Betterment will also have some basic school supplies, so be sure to visit their table. If your student needs assistance with school supplies, please let Mrs. Kirtley, the principal, Ms. Hopkins, the school counselor, or your child's teacher know, and we will make sure they have what they need.

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New Cell Phone Policy

As of the 1st day of the 2023-24 school year, we are implementing a new cell phone policy for students. Due to the disruptions to instructional time and the discipline issues caused by student cell phone use during the school day, students will no longer be allowed to carry their cell phones or use them between 8:00 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. Board Policy 2656 was revised to reflect these changes, and they can also be found in the K-8 Student Handbook and the High School Student Handbook. We will provide secure storage during the school day for students who do not drive to school and cannot leave their phones in their vehicles.

High school athletes who need physicals must have them before the first day of fall practice on August 7. Talk to your head coach for more information.

Lunch Bills and Extra-Curricular Eligibility

As we get nearer to the beginning of the school year, it will soon be time for extra-curricular practices and activities. One of our district policies which can be found in our Extra-Curricular Activities Handbook is that students who owe $50 or more in their meal account are not allowed to participate in these activities, including practices, until their bill is paid. These activities include all of our athletics, academic team, and archery.

If your student owes $50 or more, we will be sending letters within the next week notifying you of this. The building administrative assistant will be available to accept payments beginning Tuesday, August 1st, M-F, during working hours. If the amount owed is more than $200 for each student and you cannot pay the entire amount, we have a payment contract which you can sign which will allow your student to participate while you pay off the meal bill. You will need to make an appointment with the superintendent at (573) 369-2375 ext. 105 to sign the contract and arrange the payment terms.

Check Out Our New Calendar!

Last year as we went through the year, I tried to always keep my ears open for things that our students, staff, parents, and community wanted from us. One of the things I repeatedly heard was that we needed a single calendar that had everything on it--so here it is! Check it out for information about Open House, Kindergarten Meet & Greet, sports schedules, and lots of activities including Pig N Pickle, FFA Alumni Truck & Tractor Pull, Drama Club's fall play, and many more that are already on our schedule.

Our goal is to have all school events on it as well as community events that involve the school facilities or in which a number of our students will participate. As things change, we will get the information updated ASAP. Our goal is to keep from having events conflict with each other by making all events visible as soon as they are scheduled so we don't have to change them later. We also want you to have easy access to it. It will be a permanent link at the bottom of the Lion's Link every week--just look in Quick Links--and it is available on the district's web page under All Activities Calendar.

Keep the suggestions coming--we'll do our best to make our communication between the school and community the best that it can be!

New Registration Procedures for This School Year

In order to keep from overloading our office during Open House, we are going to have specific days that parents can come by the building and register students during the first week of August. You can pick up enrollment paperwork and bring it back, or you can complete it here. We will, of course, still have enrollment available on the night of Open House for those who can't make it on a registration day. Our dates for various grade levels are as follows:

Tuesday, August 1: K-4
Wednesday, August 2: 5-8
Thursday, August 3: 9-12

We will be extending the building office hours from 7:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on these dates to accommodate as many working parents as we can. If you can't come by on the day designated for your student's grade, you can come by on one of the other two, and, of course, if you have multiple students, you can register all of them at once.

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Lead Testing Results

RSMo 160.077 requires school districts to test all drinking water sources for lead content beginning with the 2023-24 school year. Miller County R-III School District has complied with this requirement, and all of our drinking and food service water sources tested under 5 parts per billion (ppb), which meets the standard for safe drinking water. The full results of the report can be found here.

Job Postings

The Miller County R-III School District has the following openings available:

Transportation, no CDL required, must have clean driving record. Driver to transport 2 students to Lebanon using school vehicle daily, 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. $13/hour, plus benefits and retirement. Apply during school hours in central office, or email tspencer@tuscumbialions.k12.mo.us for an application.
Full-time Custodian, immediate opening. $13/hour, 2:00-10:00 p.m. during school year, daytime hours in the summer. Insurance and retirement included. Apply during school hours in central office, or email tspencer@tuscumbialions.k12.mo.us for an application.
9-12 Math Teacher, 2023-24 school year. Would hire a retired teacher on critical shortage. Forward resume' and letter of interest to tspencer@tuscumbialions.k12.mo.us.
K-12 Music Teacher, 2023-24 school year. This could be full-time or part-time daily. Would hire a retired teacher on critical shortage or work with someone who is willing to get a substitute certificate who has the ability to teach vocal music. Forward resume' and letter of interest to tspencer@tuscumbialions.k12.mo.us.
Part-time dishwasher, 2023-24 school year. Four hours per day, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., M-F.
Substitute Bus Drivers, as needed, $31.60 per route (a.m. or p.m.). If you do not have a CDL, we have an on-site trainer who will train you if you commit to substituting for our district.