Thank you for participating in the District wide spirit week! Having all the departments and grade levels Pre-K through high school participate helped promote school pride throughout the District. I was extremely excited about this activity and have been pleasantly surprised by the participation and enthusiasm it created. Provided are some of the incredible pictures that were shared this week. It solidifies my belief that We Do Things A Little Bit Better at Fort Osage! As discussed at Convocation, the District has entered into a performance contract with Navitas, an energy management company. As part of the contract Navitas performed an energy audit of each building in the District. Based on their findings the District selected various energy efficiency projects which will save energy costs for years to come. The District will use the savings to complete three much needed roof replacements (Elm Grove, Fire Prairie, High School). Navitas will begin the energy saving measures (converting lights to LED and water efficiency measures) in October. The lighting will be changed over gradually after school hours and should not impact instruction. The roof projects will be performed one building at a time beginning in November at Elm Grove. All the roofs should be replaced by the end of the school year. As you know, beginning in 2020-2021 new legislation requires Missouri schools to start school no earlier than 14 days before Labor Day. In order to decide how best to adjust the calendar, I have received input from groups such as Team Fort Osage, building administrators, support directors, and the Board of Education. During these conversations I’ve learned a great deal about the potential impacts of each of the options we’ve considered. After reviewing and considering a variety of options for the 2020-2021 calendar I'm planning to take to the October board meeting the option that moves the school start and end dates by three days. This calendar keeps the rest of the originally adopted calendar the same. This does create an imbalance of days for the two semesters (78/92) but next year Labor Day is the latest possible date (September 7). Therefore the imbalance of first and second semester will be the greatest next year and get better in subsequent years. After speaking to secondary administrators whose semester classes are impacted by this, they believe this is still a viable option. In my opinion, second semester should be longer due to spring standardized testing and the potential for inclement weather. This calendar also has three PD days during first semester which allows for some important learning and some needed breaks for students and staff After a lengthy bidding process, Fort Osage will be moving to Cigna as our health insurance provider beginning January 1, 2020. We have been meeting with Cigna to prepare for the transition and will be communicating with staff regarding important information until the transition is complete. If you qualify for insurance I encourage you to attend one of open enrollment meetings listed below to learn about any plan changes for the coming year. October 22 9:30 am- Career and Technology Center Multipurpose Room (for food service, transportation and night custodial staff) 2:45 pm- High School Performing Arts Center October 23 4:30 pm- Elm Grove Gym If you participate in the Humana Go365 program you must redeem your Go365 bucks by December 31, 2019. If you have any specific questions regarding this information please contact Laura Ford, Benefits Coordinator at [email protected]. Located on Buckner Tarsney Rd. in Sibley, the Sibley Orchard & Cider Mill is a terrific place to visit in the fall. They have fresh produce, pumpkins, cider, and offer hayrides. A $25.00 gift card to Sibley Orchard will be given away to one lucky winner utilizing the RNG. For those of you interested, please send an email to [email protected] with ‘Orchard' in the subject line. Entries will be accepted until 8:00 am on Monday, September 30. Give Away prizes are not purchased with District funds. Only Fort Osage employees are eligible to enter the drawing. |
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