RAYMORE-PECULIAR SCHOOL DISTRICT

Congratulations to Ray-Pec Special Olympics athletes who competed at the bowling tournament on Nov. 11, 2023, in Raytown. Each of the pictured teams placed first in their categories. https://www.raypec.org/page/special-olympics

Congratulations to Ray-Pec Soccer Team recipients of All-Conference Honors! All-Conference Defensive Player of the Year – Grayson Niswonger All-Conference 1st Team – Grayson Niswonger and Cian Solis All-Conference 2nd Team – Joseph Boyce and Kellen Niswonger All-Conference Honorable Mention – Matt Como, Will Day, and Holden Kephart All-Conference Coach of the Year – Andrew Fletcher

Congratulations to the October Students of the Month at Ray-Pec East Middle School! They were selected for being "upstanders." 8th Grade: Drue Jones, Saniyah Russaw, Amelia Zernickow, Annalise Merritt, Javen Moritz, Kayla Williams 7th Grade: Maverick Haydon, Citlali Ramirez, Charli Roller, Konnor Chipps, Lucas Dame, Blake Raymond 6th Grade: Lyric Joyner, Ezra Ramos, Evangeline Simonsen, Ryan Forth, Newton Nguyen, Lilah Sager

As of yesterday, parents of Missouri children birth to age five will be able to register their eligible children on the Imagination Library national website at dollyslibrary.com. All Missouri parents will have the option to select the statewide program after entering their zip code. There have been some issues navigating to the website due to high traffic. If you have issues accessing the site, you may need to try again at a later date.

Seniors at Ray-Pec Academy in Jennifer Ramirez' class have been exploring the food service industry. They have been focused on learning what it takes to be an entrepreneur, branding a business, and building empathy for local business owners and their experiences. Students have been able to work with a local client, touring their facility, helping brand their food truck, collecting customer data, and helping create a menu based on customer requests and cost analysis. They have also been learning about the Portrait of a Ray-Pec Graduate, striving to be strong communicators, collaborators, and critical thinkers. Students were able to earn an Industry Recognized Credential while working on their project as well. The group took a trip to the Cass County Health Department in Harrisonville, took their exams, and 100% of them earned their permits. Real World Learning opportunities like these are one of many ways that Ray-Pec strives to be a School District of Choice and help students find gainful employment opportunities during high school and beyond. Students pictured include: JoVaan Arthur, Libby Atkinson, Elijah Boyd, Mekhi Boyd, Dominick Brenson, Mason Cooper, Reagan DeDonder, Alyvia Dwerlkotte, Karessa Lemen, Davion McKenzie, Isabella Mendenhall, Natalie Murray, Trinity Plumb, Camille Prickett, Mazie Shideler, Alex Suarez, and Janaya Turneur. Not pictured: Hannah Jackson and Kaitlyn Sousley

🎥 Staff Spotlight! 🎥 Raymore-Peculiar School District Superintendent Dr. Mike Slagle visits with Joe Ketchum. Joe is the Electrical Studies instructor at the LEAD Center and career electrician. https://youtu.be/n2Udqv7PEf0

Congratulations to the Ray-Pec High School Students of the Month for November! Kendall Johnson and Benjamin Robinson are being recognized by the Belton-Raymore Rotary Club. Sam Larkins and Ashton Jermain are being honored by the Ray-Pec Sunrise Optimist Club.

Ray-Pec strives to be a School District of Choice for all of our students. In this month's episode of Ray-Pec Connect Dr. Slagle sits down with Director of Secondary Education, Dr. Glenna Bult, to discuss the "balanced smorgasbord" of offerings at the middle and high school levels. Listen here: raypec.org/page/ray-pec-connect-podcast

The School Board recognized 12 orchestra students in middle school and high school who auditioned for and were accepted to perform in community orchestras. These are prestigious performing arts organizations, and students from all around the Kansas City area audition to be considered for participation. Eleven students were accepted into the Kansas City Youth Orchestra: 7th Graders: Lizzie Howe - Violin Zoey Smith - Violin Addison Stambaugh - Violin Isabella Venega s- Violin 8th Grader: Maverick Hedgpeth - Cello 9th Graders: Charlotte Fobes- Violin Gabriel Lupardus- Cello Ashly Silva- Violin Lillian Spruell- Cello Elleah Watson- Cello 10th Grader: Katie Howe-Violin In addition, Sophomore Dailyn Rodrigues was accepted to play cello with the Northland Symphony Youth Sinfonia. Students are pictured with Board Member Carol Barnes.

The School Board tonight recognized the Ray-Pec High School Football program. Earlier in October, the Ray-Pec football teams from 2004 through 2006 were inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Coached by Tom Kruse, Raymore-Peculiar won Class 5 state championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006. They were 36-3 those seasons, including a pair of 13-0 seasons in the first two seasons. Assistant coaches in that time period were Ron Barnes, Mark Cook, Matt Copeland, Sean Martin, James Merrell, and Limbo Parks. Pictured, from left: Ron Barnes, Tom Kruse, Board Member Carol Barnes, Matt Copeland, and Current Head Coach Sean Martin. Not pictured: Mark Cook, James Merrell, and Limbo Parks.

With a 7-1 VICTORY over Troy Buchanan your Lady Panthers claim 3rd place 🥉 in the MSHAA Class 5 State Championship! They also finish the season with a 33-3 overall record. What an incredible season! 🥎

In this week's installment of Staff Spotlight Superintendent, Dr. Mike Slagle, visits with Bobbi Bond. 🎥 Bobbi is an Occupational Therapist at the South Middle School, Creekmoor Elementary, Timber Creek Elementary and the Success Academy. She is also the owner of the cookie company Baked by Bobbi, which can be found at bakedbybobbi.com. 🍪 https://youtu.be/bg1tUZdGJBA?si=iD4fZIWjeNdG-BAa

More congratulations are in order! 🎶 EIGHT RPSINGS singers were selected to the All-State Choir. This ties the school record. Four additional singers were also selected as All-State Honorable Mention. Soprano - Jillian Collom (2 years member) Soprano, 2nd alternate - Reagan Sheedy Tenor - Audrey Shepard Tenor, 1st alternate - Landen Sugar Bass - Devin Fisher Bass - Landan Moots Bass - Mason Rew Bass, 2nd alternate - Cameron Slavin All-State Honorable Mention: Soprano - Serena Bursley Soprano - Gracie Chambers Alto - Elizabeth Burton Alto - Annaliese Busse

What a season it was! Girls' Golf 🏌️‍♀️ competed at the State Tournament and finished 6th as a team - one of the best team finishes in school history. Addie Swan's T23 and Sam Larkins' T30 finishes led the way. McKenna Raymond T56, Celia Barber T72, and Ansley Harper T88 also competed in the two day tournament at Silo Ridge Golf Course in Bolivar, MO and had very impressive seasons. Congratulations ladies!! ⛳️

👩‍🏫📚 October is National Principals Month! 🏫👨‍🏫 Let's take a moment to celebrate and appreciate our incredible principals who dedicate their lives to shaping the future of our students. 🙌👏

🌟 Happy National Custodian's Day! 🧹🪣 Today, we want to take a moment to celebrate the unsung heroes who keep our schools clean and safe. 💪🧽 Behind the scenes, custodians work tirelessly to ensure we have a clean and pleasant environment to learn, work, and thrive in. They are the ones who make sure our spaces sparkle and shine, even when we're not looking. ✨ To all of our custodians, we are incredibly grateful for all that you do. 🙌❤️ #NationalCustodiansDay #ThankACustodian

STATE BOUND! Congratulations to junior Dulce Dunham, who punched her ticket 🎟️ to the Missouri State Championships in singles! Dulce defeated Lee’s Summit 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-finals to earn the state birth. Your panthers begin team play this week in the hopes of joining Dulce at State, hosting Joplin on Monday.

Last night Creekmoor Elementary hosted their annual World Fest! All of the countries represented at Creekmoor are encouraged to show off their country, culture, and food. What wonderful way to celebrate our diversity and our community! 🇦🇺🇧🇬🇨🇳🇨🇿🇩🇴🇪🇨🇸🇻🇭🇳🇮🇳🇮🇹🇲🇽🇳🇬🇳🇴🇵🇰🇵🇭🇵🇷🇷🇺🇹🇭🇺🇸🇻🇪

Last night the School Board recognized Ray-Pec High School Seniors Mackenzey Spiller and Gunnar Poland. Mackenzey was recognized for her work with the Student Voice Project, which is which is a collaborative effort between the Real World Learning Team at the Kauffman Foundation and Startland and involves students throughout the metro area. She participated in the Student Voice project last year. This year, Mackenzie and a student from Staley High School in North Kansas City are leading the entire project. Gunnar was recognized for being named the Young Professional of the Month for August 2023 at Cass Career Center. Gunnar is a senior at Ray-Pec High School and is a student in the Advanced Welding Program at CCC. After graduation, Gunnar plans to attend a trade school. They are both pictured with Board Member Patty Phillips.

Ray-Pec Connect returns! 🎉 In this episode Superintendent, Dr. Mike Slagle, sits down with Ray-Pec Chief of Staff, Dr. Al Voelker, and Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Kristel Barr, to talk about what it means to become a school district of choice and what that will look like for the Ray-Pec School District moving forward. You can find Ray-Pec Connect anywhere you listen to your podcasts. https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-9jiev-14b138d