Great news from our partners at Be Great Together. A $10,000 grant award for our Elementary Advanced Learning Program teacher, Mr. Scott Bounds. The money will provide advanced technology for students to expand their learning at all four of our elementary schools.

Monthly food pantry at our warehouse at 8700 Troost is this Friday morning. Volunteers needed to serve our families in need. Click below to sign up.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0848AFA929A6F58-46580897-friday#/

Check out the Center School District Comnunity Newsletter for December! Scholarships, School Board elections, Math Relays winners and more!
https://www.smore.com/smu94

Please join the students and staff at Center Middle School for a holiday musical celebration, Sounds of the Season at 7pm on December 7th. The program will feature the CMS band and choirs performing holiday music. No admission charge - we'd love to see you there!


Red Bridge Elementary School will be welcoming Grandparents to enjoy lunch with their students and a book fair on Thursday, December 7th. We need some volunteers to help with the setup, lunch, and the book fair. Click the link below to sign up.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCgx1lBPa_3wK3av7DDoRBLQqLOYpWpMOSS5MON0FMOIhhOw/viewform

The Center School District Board of Education will hold a Regular Session meeting on Monday, November 27th at 7pm. The meeting will take place at Indian Creek Elementary School at 9801 Grand beginning at 7pm. Click the link below to view the agenda and also get the link to view the meeting virtually.
https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=229&MID=14188

Thanks to Ward Parkway Shopping Center, the Boone Elementary Choir, and the Center High School band for a wonderful evening of music and celebration last Friday. The kids sang beautifully, the band rocked the holiday spirit, and the tree was spectacular. Lots of families and Center community members turned out to enjoy the evening.






The Hive Society Employee of the Month Award for November goes to Mr. Daniel Reikena, Art Teacher at Center Elementary School. Mr. Reikena was nominated by his peers for his dedication to students and helping them thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.
Check out the video of the presentation - https://youtu.be/1RYn-NM57Us

This story from KCUR is about David Muhammad, who is the head instructor at Integrity Martial Arts in the Red Bridge Shopping Center. Many of our Center families participate in martial arts under his guidance. Family after family praise his skills and the positive impact he has had on their kids. Best of luck at Nationals!
https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2023-11-17/a-black-karate-master-from-kansas-city-will-represent-the-u-s-at-a-world-kickboxing-tournament

Tomorrow (Friday) night is the annual Tree Lighting at Ward Parkway Shopping Center. The program features the Boone Elementary Choir and Center High School Band. The weather forecast is pretty darn good for mid-November (temps in the low 50's). Come on out and support our kids, have a great time, and maybe even share some wishes with Santa. It all starts at 6pm at the Food Pavilion at Ward Parkway!

Last Saturday Center High School and Middle School scholars participated in the Prep-KC math relays. Scholars from KCPS, Hickman Mills, Grandview, and Center competed in a wide variety of activities designed to test their math knowledge and problem solving skills. At the end of the day, the winning school district with the MOST POINTS was Center School District!!!!
Congratulations to the 31 scholars who competed along with their coaches Diane Harris and Diana Elkishawi from CHS and Alanna Mangum from CMS.
Individual 1st place winners from Center included:
Algebra/Pre-Algebra - Dipanto Bhowmik, CENTER-MS
Algebra - Gamma - River Moreland , Center HS
Geometry- Pre-Alpha – Dipanto Bhowmik, CENTER-MS
Geometry - Gamma –Kevin Li, CENTER-HS
Number Sense - Pre-Alpha - Violet Noel, CENTER-MS
Data - Gamma - River Moreland, CENTER-HS
Data - Delta - Josephine Mosby, CENTER-HS
Amazing Race - team - CENTER M.S - Ignacio Gonzalez, Bhowmik, Haskins
Escape Room - team - CENTER HS - Mosby, Willard, Poole Williams, Besong
KU Engineering Scholarship; winners - Gamma—River Moreland, CENTER, HS
Delta- Josephine Mosby, CENTER, HS
Great job to all our Mathletes.

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is now open for Missouri families! They provide a FREE BOOK every month mailed directly to the family for kids under the age of 5. Here's the link to register - https://imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability/
Please share with others.

Please join the Boone Elementary choir and Center High School Band as we celebrate the annual tree lighting at Ward Parkway Shopping Center this Friday, November 17. Musical performances will start at 6pm on the main stage in the Food Pavilion. Tree lighting will take place at about 7pm. Free food samples and prizes provided by Pied Piper Pizza.

Monthly food pantry for our neighbors in need is this Friday morning. We need some volunteers to help with distribution of food. Sign up at the link below:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0848AFA929A6F58-45917878-friday

Center Elementary School kicked off Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month with a storyteller. Yazmeen Elzen, a member of the Cherokee Nation and also the mother of School Social Worker Roslyn Christopher, read a story to students that was based on actual events in Mississippi prior to the Civil War. A family of slaves was led to freedom by a group of Choctaw Native Americans. The book took about 20 minutes to read, but the students paid close attention throughout and asked some very good questions at the end.


Center High School Theater Department presents "Emotional Baggage". Tonight (Friday) at 7pm at Center High School. Lots of hard work results in a great production! Check it out!

It's Trunk or Treat season and there are a number of events in our community. Here's the schedules. See photos below for details.
Saturday, October 28: Evangel Church - 11am - 2pm; Elks' Lodge - 5pm - 7pm, Center High School - 6pm - p9m
Sunday, October 29: Holmeswood Baptist Church - 11:30am - 1pm
Monday, October 20 - Center Academy for Success - 4pm to 5:30pm
Tuesday, October 31 - Red Bridge Shopping Center - 4pm - 6pm
Have a FUN and SAFE Halloween!






October’s Hive Society Employee of the Month exemplifies our core value of "Highly Qualified and Diverse Staff." This innovator actively engages in opportunities to learn and lead with creativity, originality and initiative.
From his nomination form: "Mr. Bill Langholz from Center Middle School has quietly led with the history team for many years now. I can't even count the number of history teachers he's coached and mentored.
Mr. Lanholz always makes the SpEd students feel included and he works with staff to make sure that their individual needs are met. He also includes reg ed students in similar tasks, activities, and testing, so that the SpEd students are part of the normal activities within class. He does so with both grace and accountability.
He is a softspoken leader for our Center MNEA union members. He frequently stops by to check on students, teachers, and to ask about parent contacts.
For many years, Mr. Langholz has used part of his summer to take groups of students to places like Washington D.C. Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City. Each of these trips were designed to help the students truly connect with how history happened in these places that formed our country today."
Congratulations, Mr. Bill Langholz!!

2023 CHS graduate, Reece Damiano, recently passed away from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident. In memory of Reece, the Center High School National Honor Society is organizing a Community Blood Drive on October 25th at Center High School. Reece required a lot of blood while he was in the hospital, and this is a really good way to honor his memory and the many friendships he had in our community. The Blood Drive will be held in the Gold Gym at Center High School from 8am to 2pm. Click below to sign up for a time slot. Please share this with others in our community as well. https://donate.savealifenow.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/81670 Thanks in advance for your support. Rick


