Please talk to your student about the importance of these tests and encourage them to approach each day with their best effort. Breakfast is an important part of being prepared to rock the test!
Attendance Matters
Did you Know?
•Students should miss no more than 9 days of school each year to stay engaged, successful and on track to graduation.
• Frequent absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school work, dealing with a bully or facing some other difficulty.
• By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school.
• By 9th grade, attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores
Please talk to your student about the importance of these tests and encourage them to approach each day with their best effort. Make sure students are well rested prior to testing so they can have their best performance.
This week is Afterschool Professional Appreciation Week. The Elsberry R-2 School District started Explorer's Club in 2011 and E2 in 2016. Currently we have students attending these programs before and afterschool in preschool through eighth grade. Currently 83 students are enrolled at Explorer's Club in preschool through fifth grade and 30 students are enrolled at E2 which serves sixth through eighth grade. The funding for afterschool comes from the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant.
Mya Pflasterer is our 2025 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete. During High School Mya has participated in Golf, Softball, and Basketball. She has also been actively involved in National Honor Society, Student Senate, Renaissance, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, and is on our A+ Honor Roll.
Mya has received many accolades in her athletic career at EHS. In Softball she has been recognized with EMO All-Conference honors all 4 years. She received All-District Softball honors consistently for four years. Mya was recognized for All-Region for three years. She also received All-State recognition for two years. While playing softball her team won the Conference Championship for two years and claimed the District Championship title all four years. In Basketball Mya was the Bowling Green Tournament MVP her sophomore year. She was on the Bowling Green All Tournament team her entire career at EHS. Her sophomore year she was part of the Clopton All-Tournament team. Her senior year she was selected for the Winfield All-Tournament Team. Beyond tournament recognition, Mya was selected for the EMO All-Conference Team for four years as well as receiving All-District honors all four years. Mya was selected for the All-Area Team for two years. During her Junior year she was named the District Player of the Year. The EHS Girls Basketball Team won the District Championship in 2022 and 2024. Mya consistently received the Academic All-State Award throughout high school. Mya plans to continue her education at William Woods University and will continue her basketball career as an owl. Mya is the daughter of Greg and Kelly Pflasterer.
In its 59th year, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete program honors one student from every area school, a requirement being that they participate in athletics and excel in the classroom. The Scholar Athlete Program was the brainchild of Hall of Fame Baseball Writer Bob Broeg in 1965. Broeg wanted to honor high school seniors whose success was not only on the field, court or ice rink — but students who excelled in the classroom as well. Those honored are athletes who lettered in at least one varsity sport, are in the top 25 percent of their graduating class and are in good standing at their respective high schools.
Happy Administrative Professionals Day to our amazing office secretaries! These ladies go above and beyond to help our students, parents, and staff throughout the school year. We appreciate you!
We are entering MAP and EOC testing District wide. Please talk to your student about the importance of these tests and encourage them to approach each day with their best effort. We want our students to shine and show all that they’ve learned this year!
Our very own third grade teacher, Molly Hatcher, has been nominated for the Missouri Regional Teacher of the Year! We are so proud of your nomination Miss Hatcher! It's a great day to be an Indian!
We are hiring! Full time custodial position available Monday-Friday. Hours are from 12:30-8:30 p.m. daily. Hours do shift to 3:30 to 11:30 p.m. on evenings with home events. This happens most often during basketball season. Application available at:
https://www.elsberryschools.com/page/human-resources
The Elsberry R-2 School District welcomed new board member Carla Talbot and incumbent David Killian during the April board meeting. The District would like to thank Adam Heitman for his 6 years of service on the school board.
Attendance Matters
• Starting in preschool and kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school.
• Missing 10%, or about 2 days each month over the course of a school year, can make it harder to learn to read.
• Students can still fall behind if they miss just one or two days every few weeks.
• Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.
• Absences and tardiness can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.
Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves. Start building this habit in preschool so they learn right away that going to school on time, every day is important. Eventually good attendance will be a skill that will help them succeed in high school and college.
On Paraprofessional Appreciation Day we want to give a shout out to the support staff at the Elsberry R-2 School District. Paraprofessionals are educational rockstars who make everyday better for students. They inspire, encourage, instruct, motivate, and create relationships that last a lifetime. They're a big deal and our school is so lucky to have such an incredible team of paraprofessionals on staff.
Please join us for the ADHD Parent Panel on Thursday, April 10 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the elementary library.
Come join us in an informal conversation about ADHD. Is ADHD having a large impact on the your daily life and your family? How do families cope? What works well; what doesn’t? Is medication the only answer? How do you navigate medication? You are not alone on this journey. Come interact with a panel of honest parents, teachers, and community members for a discussion about ADHD. Feel free to join us for the first time or come to join us again to continue the conversation.
April is here!
We look forward to seeing you on April Fool's Day! No joke, school resumes April 1. Hope you enjoyed your spring break and are ready to have a great end of the school year. Some important dates are attached.
Reminder, we have some upcoming Mondays in session due to making up snow days and Easter Break. Please make sure to double check you have these on your calendar.
2 Snow Make up Days
In Session Monday, March 17, 2025
In Session Monday, April 7, 2025
Easter Break Week from Original Calendar
In Session Monday, April 14
No School Friday April 18
Kindergarten Registration is Monday, March 17 and Tuesday, March 18 at the elementary doors. Please note, the Elsberry R-2 Proof of Residency policy was updated during the March School Board meeting. Please review the new guidelines in the image.
March is School Board Appreciation Month! We are very thankful for the dedication of our school board. These community leaders are playing a vital role in the success of the Elsberry R-2 School District.
President- Mr. Adam Heitman
Vice-President- Mrs. Margaret Byers
Treasurer- Mrs. Megan Pratt
Members
Mr. Andy Burkemper
Mr. Matt Hartley
Mrs. Angela Young
Mr. Dave Killian
Attendance Matters:
A habit of attendance IS a school readiness skill. Along with social-emotional and readiness skills, consistent on-time attendance is a habit that lasts. Children who are chronically absent in early grades are far more likely to be chronically absent in later grades.
