North Kirkwood Middle School (NKMS) in the Kirkwood School District (KSD) has been nominated by Missouri to join the esteemed community of National Blue Ribbon Schools.
Faced with overcrowded classrooms and lack of adequate instructional space in its schools, the Kirkwood School District Board of Education unanimously voted on Monday, Jan. 25, to place a zero-tax rate change bond proposal on the April 6, 2021 ballot.
The National Merit Scholarship Program has now determined which of the 16,000 Semifinalists named in September 2020 have met all requirements to advance to Finalist standing in the competition. All Finalists will be considered for National Merit Scholarships to be offered in 2021. The seven students are: Sabrina Baggstrom, Lillian Bartin, Jonathan Henry, Zoe Krug, Rayhana Niyogi, Jonathan Plants, and Daniel Tobias. A Certificate of Merit from the National Merit Scholarship Competition (NMSC) was mailed to each of the finalists.
Corey Nesslage, Kirkwood High School athletic director, will recommend to the Board of Education at the upcoming meeting on February 22 that Jeremy Maclin be named the next head football coach at Kirkwood High School. Maclin will succeed Coach Farrell Shelton, who announced his retirement at the end of the 2020 football season after six successful seasons as head coach of the Pioneers. Maclin has been part of the Kirkwood High School football program as both a former player and assistant coach. While at KHS as a student-athlete, Maclin dominated in multiple sports, propelling him to an All-American career at the University of Missouri. Maclin was named a member of the Kirkwood High School All-Century Football Team in 2007 and inducted into the Kirkwood Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.
During a ceremony on Thursday, February 4, Kirkwood High School recognized 20 student-athletes continuing their academic and athletic careers at the collegiate level.
National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. As part of its celebration for National School Counseling Week, KSD would like to recognize our school counselors listed below for the wonderful work they do!
In October 2020, the New York Times conducted their second annual personal narrative writing contest. The contest encouraged students to submit short, powerful stories about meaningful life experiences. Kirkwood High School AP Language and Composition students in Ms. Meyers and Mr. Rowland’s classes submitted essays. Over 9,000 entries from around the nation were submitted. Of those 9,000, three Kirkwood High School students finished in the top 1 percent and announced as finalists. They are: “First Flight” by Megan Glasgow “X.” by Lainey Hogg “Saudade” by Vivian Simpson According to the New Your Times article, the essays were judged on storytelling, moving messages, and artistic use of language.
On January 25, 2021, Encompass Resolution provided a report on the initial assessment of climate and culture confidence related to handling allegations of sexual abuse, misconduct and inappropriate behavior. The full report may be found online.
Dozens of performing arts students at Nipher, North and Kirkwood High School were selected in the St. Louis Suburban Music Educators Association All-Suburban Bands and Orchestras. Students auditioned by sending in recordings of themselves playing. St. Louis Suburban Music Educators Association announced results in mid-January. In addition, two KHS Symphonic Orchestra students were selected for the Missouri All-State Orchestra. They are Mallory Mihm, for the viola and Margaret Klein, for the violin. The performing art students are taught by: Dr. Chris Bartz, and Eric Chrostoski, Fariga Drayton-Conway, Rebecca Friesen, Matthew Banks, Jeff Panhorst, Kaela Barnett, and Alison Smith.
(KSD) is seeking feedback from the community, including families, residents, and staff, in an upcoming survey. KSD asks the community to complete the survey now, through Wednesday, January 20, 2021. kirkwoodschools.org/survey
Megan Campbell, an eighth-grade student at Nipher Middle School, and Kat Crawford, a freshman at Kirkwood High School, created an app called InBeTeen Jobs for the Congressional App Challenge. Their app was announced as the winner of Missouri’s 2nd District Congressional App Challenge. Judges of the contest, including Head Judge Everett Johnson and the LaunchCode team, awarded their app the highest possible points in concert, design, and skill. The app aims to help teens find work and volunteer opportunities. A video highlighting the app features can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMOVo2rmdPM&feature=youtu.be
This week, the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) announced the All-National Honor Ensembles. Abigail was announced as a member of this ensemble for the National Association for Instrumental Music National Honor Society. She was selected to the French Horn section via a recorded audition submitted last spring. Abigail will now join the “best of the best” at the NAfME 2020 All-National Honor Ensembles (ANHE) Virtual Event January 7–8, 2021. The first-ever All-National Honor Ensembles virtual event will include several rehearsals with the 2020 ANHE Conductors and workshops with renowned clinicians. Each ensemble will create a final, recorded performance premiered online during the NAfME Music In Our Schools Month® in March 2021.
Kirkwood High School (KHS) senior Amaya Marion was announced as a recipient of a 2020 QuestBridge National College Match and will receive a full four-year scholarship to Stanford University. Amaya is known as a poetic change-seeker within the halls of KHS. She avidly studies history, civil rights, and Chinese and is leading a charge of change. She also finds time to volunteer tutor students at Robinson Elementary and seeks out other opportunities to volunteer. One of her favorite places to volunteer outside of KSD is at Christian Friends of New Americans. There, she helps teach adults English Second Language (ESL) classes and citizenship classes to adults. Her favorite thing about volunteering is the relationships she builds with people. Amaya’s proudest moment was when she received the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship to study abroad in Xi’an, China during her sophomore year. At that time, she was in her fourth year of studying Chinese and yearned for the day she would be able to visit the country she spent so much time learning about. The program accepted 19.5% of student applicants. While in China, she learned extensively about the language and culture, but also about herself. The next year she decided that she wanted to take AP Chinese, even though KHS does not offer the class. Amaya bought a textbook and self-studied for the exam. She ended up scoring a four on the AP exam. For Amaya, her family has always instilled the importance of a hard work ethic. Growing up, her parents were business owners. Her mom baked cakes, and her dad is a car electrician. They both put in long hours to support her family while still doing what they loved the most. Her parents have instilled in her that happiness and success are intertwined. Amaya knows that through finding happiness, you can achieve success in what you hope to gain from life. Amaya also has a brother named Evan, who attends Nipher Middle School in KSD.
At its meeting on November 30, the Kirkwood School District Board of Education call for the annual school board of election to be held on April 6, 2021. Two positions for director of the Kirkwood Board of Education will be decided. The two board members whose terms expire in 2021 are Jean Marie Andrews and Angie Bernardi. The opening date for filing for the April 6, 2021 Annual School Election is Tuesday, December 15, 2020 from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. The closing date for filing for the April 6th election is Tuesday, January 19, 2021 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. School is closed for winter break from December 23, 2020 through January 4, 2021; in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 18, 2021; and may also be closed due to inclement weather. Due to COVID-19, except for opening day on December 15, 2020 and closing day, January 19, 2021, all other filing dates will be by appointment only. You can set up an appointment by calling 314-213-6101. Persons interested in filing for those positions may do so in the Office of the Superintendent at the Administrative Services Center, 11289 Manchester Road. According to Missouri law, section 115.124, if the number of candidates who have filed for the office is equal to the number of positions in that office to be filled by the election, no election shall be held for such office and the candidates shall assume the responsibilities of their offices at the same time and in the same manner as if they had been elected.
Webster Groves and Kirkwood High Schools have jointly made the difficult decision to end our 2020 football seasons as of today, November 13, 2020. The decision was made in response to an increasing number of concerns related to COVID-19 cases and quarantines which have limited the ability of both programs to have consistent practices over the last few weeks which as a result could lead to an increased number of more traditional safety concerns associated with playing football. This decision means that the annual Turkey Day football game between the two schools will not be played this year.
Kirkwood High School students Thaddaeus Morgan, Lucy Schene, and Nate Vaughan have been chosen as Semi-Finalists in the St. Louis Teen Talent Competition. KHS Senior Thaddaeus Morgan is competing as a solo drummer. In 2019 and again in 2020, he and his brother Emmanuel Morgan made it to the semi-finals together playing the piano and drums in their band, Consecrated. KHS Sophomore Lucy Schene is competing as a solo vocalist. KHS Senior Nate Vaughan is competing as frontman and guitarist with his band, Guilty Pleasures, along with four students from other schools. Thaddaeus, Lucy and Nate have all been involved in KHS choir and drama programs. We are very proud of all of them!
Three Kirkwood School District students are members of troop 313G who earned their eagle scout award in the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. They are Kirkwood High School (KHS) sopmore Kyra Goudsmit, freshman Addie Ludbrook, and senior Maggie Pennington.
From over 263,000 applications, and only 267 recipients, Kirkwood High School (KHS) ‘2020 graduate Hadley Weyerich was selected to the 15th class of Stamps Scholars. Hadley currently attends the University of Oregon and is studying biology. According to the Stamp Scholars website, students selected as Stamps Scholars are an accomplished network of highly driven individuals who are committed to leaving an impact on their local and larger communities.
The Kirkwood Human Rights Commission hosts an annual essay contest for all juniors enrolled at Kirkwood High School, Vianney High School, or Ursuline Academy, all junior Kirkwood residents enrolled elsewhere, and all 11th grade home-schooled students residing in Kirkwood.
Over the past several weeks, Kirkwood High School performing art students have learned about various acceptances into orchestras and arrangements.
