Thanks to everyone who supported the recent Major Saver card fundraiser! Almost $31,000 was raised for the Ray-Pec Public School Foundation and the participating elementary and middle schools. Kelly Osborn, President of Major Saver, attended the Administrative Council meeting on April 8 to announce the fundraiser's results.
Ray-Pec Cheer is kicking things off with its information meeting on 6 p.m. March 12 in the RPHS Library. Mandatory clinics will occur from 3:15 to 5:30 p.m. on April 8 and 9 in the RPHS Gym. Middle School Tryouts are on April 10, and High School Tryouts are on April 11. Results for all squads will be posted by 10 p.m. on April 11.
The School Board recognized AsmaulHusna Suleiman as the runner-up at the District Spelling Bee. She is a 7th grader at East Middle School. She is pictured with Board Vice President Deanna Olson.
Spellers from the seven elementary schools and two middle schools competed in the the event on Jan. 15 at Ray-Pec High School. The winner was McKenzie Dubert, an 8th grader at South Middle School. After nine rounds, McKenzie won the bee by correctly spelling the word “sorbet.” McKenzie will represent Ray-Pec at the Cass County Spelling Bee. McKenzie was unavailable to attend the Board meeting.
Ray-Pec plans to have in-person school tomorrow.
We don’t usually send a message when schools are going to be OPEN, but after last week, it seems like a good idea! If there is a change to our plans for tomorrow, we will communicate by 5:30 a.m.
Please remember to use caution while driving, especially in the southern parts of the district; be patient about possible bus delays, and make sure that students dress warmly. Monday morning temperatures are predicted to be cold!
Due to the severe winter weather conditions, there will be no school on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.
This will be a traditional inclement weather day and no virtual learning classes will be held.
This is a significant storm that will take time to clear and make roadways and walkways passable. Our goal is to have students back in our buildings as soon as we can, but we realize that the timing and severity of this storm presents us with challenges. Our Ray-Pec building and grounds crews will continue to work with our cities’ and county public works departments and our bus transportation provider to bring us back to workable conditions as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
A decision as to how to make up today’s inclement weather day will be made later in the school year.
Activities
All elementary school, middle school, and high school after-school activities and evening events will be canceled and/or rescheduled.
Child Care
BOOST (Best Out of School Time) is the program that provides before- and after-school care. BOOST will be closed on Monday, Jan. 6.
Congratulations to the Ray-Pec East Middle School Students of the Month for November! These students were recognized for their effort.
8th Grade (front row): Gentry Howard, Nathan Larsen, Kade Skinner, Emma Dudley, Justice Jackson, and Aaron Woo.
7th Grade (middle row): Dondrell Cheeks, Jude Harrison, Bryn Johnson, Hunter Fann, Gage Hatfield, and Caden Williams.
6th Grade (back row): Owen Dallas, Brylee Predmore, Amarion Spencer, Olivia Ly, Nolan Milligan, and America Cristal Vega Espinoza.
You are invited to enjoy the Winter Concert presented by the Ray-Pec Orchestras! 6 to 9 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center
Ray-Pec 7th and 8th grade choir students participated in the West Central Missouri Music Educators’ Association 7th and 8th Grade Honor Choir event on Nov. 2 on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. Students were responsible for preparing music in advance, and spent many hours in rehearsal on Nov. 2 before performing the music in a concert that afternoon on the Hendricks' Hall stage. East Middle School 7th Grader C.J. Gooch was chosen to sing a solo out of 40 students auditioning. Shea Twenter is the vocal music teacher at East Middle School. Lezlie Waltz is the vocal music teacher at South Middle School.
Participants from East Middle School:
Back row, from left: Emma Dudley, Julia Mayberry, Emma Paxton, Laney Testerman, and Irelynn Miller. Front row: Emme Mundy, Lyndlee Vandiver, Harper Linn, C.J. Gooch, and Dexter Stone.
Participants from South Middle School:
Back row, from left: Makayla Prince, Lizzie Howe, Kennedy Smith, Allie Compton, and Bri Taylor. Front row: Ky Price, Cannon Bennion, Johanna Matlock, Elle Orstad, and McKenzie Dubert. Foreground: Teacher Lezlie Waltz
Five students at Ray-Pec East Middle School have entries that are finalists for journalism awards by the National Scholastic Press Association. RPEMS is the only middle school in Missouri to be named finalists.
- Aliyah Maslak and Drew Lyon are finalists in the Design Category for their Yearbook entry, “The Middle.”
- Hendrix Fern and Sierra Lopez are finalists in the Design Category for their Yearbook entry, “Robotics, Scholar Bowl, Forensics and Debate”
- Connor Franklin is a finalist in the Story category for his Broadcast on The Husky Minute. His entry was “The New Weight Room at RPEMS.”
At the middle school and junior high level, there are nine contests in three categories:
- Design: Literary Arts Magazine, Newspaper/Newsmagazine, and Yearbook
- Photojournalism: Feature Photo and Sports Photo
- Story: Broadcast, Multimedia, News, and Feature
The winners will be announced on Nov. 9 at the NSPA Awards Ceremony during the Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Philadelphia.
🎥 New Staff Spotlight episode! 🎥
This week Ray-Pec School District Superintendent Dr. Mike Slagle sits down with Jared Hill. Jared is a first year Spanish teacher at the East Middle School. Hear about his unique path to teaching, and what brought him back to Ray-Pec.
https://youtu.be/kbAv1kLJx30?si=lPfSQNGjhDaQQ84Q
This school year, a special house will be constructed on the grounds of Raymore-Peculiar High School. It will be located on the south side of the school, between the two loading docks. The Integrated Learning House will be an actual house designed for students with special needs to practice the skills needed to live on their own. Students will not live in the house, but will use the house as a classroom to learn a variety of tasks.
Here are two concept drawings of the Integrated Learning House.
Here's a link to the longer story on the website: https://www.raypec.org/article/1769083
Boys' Soccer plays host to Spring Hill tonight under the new lights at Ray-Pec East Stadium! Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm! ⚽️
Don’t forget! All schools will be closed on Monday, 9/2, in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Schools will also be closed on Tuesday, 9/3, to allow for staff collaboration and planning activities.
Don’t forget! All schools will be closed on Monday, 9/2, in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Schools will also be closed on Tuesday, 9/3, to allow for staff collaboration and planning activities.
The Ray-Pec High School Boys' Soccer Team invites you to eat at Culver’s in Raymore from 5 to 9 p.m. tonight, Aug. 26. Ten percent of sales, plus tips, will be donated to the team. Team members will deliver food to patrons eating inside.
The annual sales tax holiday begins tomorrow! Certain back-to-school purchases such as clothing, school supplies, computers, and other items are exempt from state sales tax and local tax. The perfect time to load up on school supplies!
raypec.org/page/back-to-school-overview
🚨 REMINDER 🚨
To assure that your student is assigned to a bus route for the first day of school, please complete registration by Aug. 2. Students who are registered after Aug. 2 can still receive bus transportation, but it might not be routed for the first day of school.
Begin the registration process using the new Focus student information system: https://www.raypec.org/page/focus-for-parents
The grades of students involved in a sport or activity continue to be higher than the grades of students who do not participate in an activity. In her annual program update, Activities & Athletic Director Dr. Kristina Martin shared yearly GPA averages for the 2023-24 school year:
Athletics: 3.42
Band/Choir/Orchestra: 3.5
Drama: 3.695
Scholar Bowl: 4.31
No Sport or Activity: 2.86
1,051 students at Ray-Pec High School were involved in one or more sports or activities last year, including the newly added esports program and Girls Flag Football who was one of 32 teams to compete for a national championship, representing the Kansas City Chiefs. An additional, 1,416 students participated in an activity at the middle school level.
See the entire presentation here: raypec.org/page/2024-2025-board-meetings
The middle school Coding and 3D Printing camp wrapped up today with their showcase event! Check out some of their cool creations! 🤯
Ray-Pec East Middle School's Choir Director, Shea Twenter, was named Missouri Choral Directors Association's Outstanding West Central Director for 2024! Congratulations! 👏👏👏
