001That motion passes. Next is the motion to approve the consent agenda items as submitted. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Yes. I'd like to speak to item 6.08, the public gifts. We have two gifts this evening to acknowledge. The first one is from the members of the Fenton uh Bonhome Masonic Lodge number 45. And they made a donation of $12,000 to the district. And this is for monetary donation to assist with covering negative meal balances for eligible students. And the second one is from Chesterfield Elementary PTO. This is for in the amount of $55,000 for equipment to improve their school's courtyard including installation of turf tables and benches and a custom metal wall art. We appreciate the support of our community and our parent and caregivers who give so generously to our
002students and schools. We can't do it without you. Thank you, Tamman. And thank you to all of you for recognizing that. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Any oppose? Say no. Any oppose say no. Hearing none. The eyes have it. And the motion passes. Now we're moving on to our awards program. Am I awake? Good evening. Good evening. >> Let's try that one more time. Good evening. >> There we go. And welcome to our Rockwood Board of Education Awards ceremony. Before we begin this evening, I have an announcement to make about some new members of the Rockwood team. Earlier tonight, the board of education approved four new hires for our Rockwood administrative team. Dr. Christine Ree is our new director of gifted and talented education. Dr. Aaron Steppp is our director
003of non-traditional learning. Kelly Nor is our coordinator of benefits and Mega Manella as an assistant principal at Selvage Middle School. Christine is replacing Denny Rhodess, Aaron is replacing Todd Menachello, and Kelly is replacing Brenda Tinsley, all of whom are retiring at the end of this school year. And Megan is replacing Dr. Dr. Brent Pearson, who has been hired as a high school assistant principal at Eureka High School. All four of these individuals will begin their new roles effective July 1st. Christine has more than two decades of experience in the field of education. She currently serves as the founding principal of Steam Academy Middle School and the director of gifted education in the Ferguson Florescent School District, a position she has held since 2017. Prior to that, she served as the district's elementary science instructional coach
004for two years and a fifth grade teacher at Combmes Elementary School. Under her leadership, Steam Academy Middle was awarded the Missouri Gold Star distinction in 2025. Christine earned her Bachelor of Arts in elementary education from the University of Missouri St. Lewis, a master of science and education from Lindenwood University, a master of education in educational leadership from Mville University, and a doctorate of philosophy and education from the University of Missouri St. Louis. She also obtained her gifted certification and steam certification from Mville University. Aaron serves as the associate principal of Francis How North High School and she's done that for 5 years. Prior to that, she was an assistant principal at the school for seven years. She was the dean of students at the school for a year and also served as a Rockwood Summer
005Academy administrative intern at Cresby Middle School in 2012. Aaron taught middle school band and K8 music in the London School District for a year and was the assistant band director at Marquette High School for 5 years. She earned her bachelor of music education from Missouri State University, a master of education in educational administration from the University of Missouri St. Louis, and her doctorate of education in educational leadership from Mville University. Kelly currently teaches business at in the Melville School District, a position she has held for the past three years. Prior to that, she served as the director of human resources at the Dotto Public School District for four years, and she worked in the human resources department in the Fox School District for three years. Kelly is also the business department chair and supervised the
006business experience coordinator position currently in the Melville School District. She earned her bachelor of arts in business management from the from Southern New Hampshire University, a master of art in business administration with a concentration in human resource management from Mville University and her educational specialist in K12 school leadership from Northwest Missouri State University. Megan has taught 8th grade US history at Cresby Middle School since 2015. She has served on multiple district and state committees and she was presented at the national and she I'm sorry and she also presented at the National Council of Social Studies conference as well. She was named a Milin Award winner last school year and she earned a fellowship to the LOL Milin Center for unsung heroes. In 2019, she was named Crestview Middle School teacher of the year, the Rockwood
007Middle School teacher of the year, and the Rockwood School District Teacher of the Year. She went on to be named a St. Louis region teacher of the year and was a semi- finalist for the Missouri Teacher of the Year. She has received two rose nominations and in 2020 an Emerson in excellence an Emerson excellence in education teaching award. Megan earned her bachelor of arts in middle school social studies and her English language arts education from Lynenwood University, a master of arts in instructional technology from Southwest Baptist University, and a specialist in educational leadership from Northwest Missouri State University. Please join me in welcoming Christine Aaron Kelly and congratulating Megan on her new role in the Rockwood School District. So tonight, as we come together to recognize some outstanding achievements of our students, our staff, and
008of our community that truly helped to contribute to the excellence in our schools, we have some honored folks that we want to share that are here to um actually share the evening with us. I would like to take a moment to recognize a special guest who is joining us tonight, Matteline Castle, who is uh the St. Louis District Director for US Senator Josh Holly. We appreciate she has been here multiple times and we appreciate her continued commitment to supporting what is happening in the Rockwood School District. Maline, thank you for being here. I would also like to introduce a dedicated group of individuals who truly serve our district and our community exceptionally well. It is our board of education. Board members, please stand as I call your name. Carrie Bocker, director. Sarah Ber, director. Bob
009Katigan, director. Phil Milligan, director. Dr. Mara Vorek Warren, director, Tammy Romberg, vice president, and Lynn Midette, president. Let's give them a round of applause. Our communications team will be taking photos of our award recipients this evening. All photos will be available for download tomorrow on our Rockwood website by using the QR code which is actually embedded within your program that you have in your hands right now or by visiting rsdmmo.org. After tonight's ceremony, please join the board of education and our honored recipients for a reception outside of the theater. At this point in time, I would like to call Mrs. Mary Le Pac to the stage. Good evening. I'm Mary Leac, chief communications officer for Rockwood. We are thrilled to have you all here this evening. Before we kick off tonight's ceremony, we have a
010special group of volunteers to recognize and thank. During the month of March, communities across the state will honor the dedicated service of local boards of education during school board recognition month as proclaimed by Governor Kho. Missurrians benefit every day from the dedicated energies and countless hours devoted by the more than 3,600 local schoolboard members in every community across the state. As citizens who serve students and represent their communities, school board members face complex and demanding challenges. Here in Rockwood, we are very fortunate to have outstanding board members dedicated to ensuring all students have access to highquality learning opportunities. Our board members play a vital role in leading our highly regarded district and we appreciate that they are willing to volunteer their time and talents to ensure that all students realize their potential. We have prepared
011a special video we would like to share at this time. >> Thank you. >> You help me make decisions so our school can be safe >> and great places to learn. You help leaders, >> plan for the future, >> and support the things that matter most to us, >> like teachers, >> books, >> PLAYGROUNDS, >> and cool learning opportunities. We >> just heard from our students, they said the best. We're so very thankful to our board of education for your contination. You most definitely deserve service. At this time, please join me in welcoming President Lynn Mugette to begin our ceremony this evening. Good evening and thank you, Mrs. Leak, the board members and I truly enjoy reading the messages of gratitude created by students and we are touched by their thoughtfulness and appreciation. That was
012an awesome video. We are pleased to have you join us tonight for the board of education awards ceremony as we honor our students and staff's outstanding contributions and accomplishments. We gather in celebration as the Rockwood Board of Education recognizes individuals with four different awards. Two are presented to recipients at their schools or departments. They are the superintendent certificate which recognizes those who have contributed to the success of educators in Rockwood to the education in Rockwood. The second is the community service community service certificate that goes to those who support the district and its communities through service projects intended to benefit a worthy cause. The other two are presented here tonight at the board of education awards ceremony. The Above and Beyond award recognizes individuals or organizations who have shown outstanding contributions through service or volunteerism
013by supporting projects or programs that impact Rockwood or its surrounding communities. The board of education recognizes people or organizations that have achieved the highest standards of excellence that embody the Rockwood spirit. On behalf of the school board, I want to thank Lafayette High School for hosting this evening. At this time, I would like to ask Vice President Tamara Romberg to the stage to help me with tonight's awards and Eureka High School principal Dr. Corey Sink to begin this evening. Thank you. Leave my glasses there. Thank you, President Minette. Good evening. To begin our ceremony, I'm proud to recognize two Eureka High School students for the Above and Beyond Award. These students exemplify the spirit and the honor through their professionalism, composure, and initiative when they rendered life-saving aid to a teacher who had suffered a
014serious fall. Without hesitation, these two South Tech EMT students assessed the situation, provided immediate care, and contacted the fire department for assistance, all while continuing to monitor and treat the injured teacher until help arrived. Their calm demeanor, strong teamwork, and adherence to their training were remarkable, especially under such high stress situations. I'm proud to present this award to Sam Peacocks and Jacob Yawi. At this time, I'd like to call Dr. Chris Brend, principal of Crestview Middle School, to the podium. Hello. The Scholastic Writing Awards are the longest running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teenagers. Works are recognized by a panel of creative professionals for their outstanding merit in originality, skill, and vision. I'm proud to introduce our eighth grade recipient who earned the gold key award in both the scholastic writing and art
015award. She received the art award for her drawing win art headbones and the re writing award for her critical essay category titled language decays the cognitive cost of brain rot. Congratulations Annabelle Zo. I would now like to ask Dr. Gary Jansen, assistant superintendent for secondary education, up to the stage to present for Rockwood South Middle School. Thank you, Dr. Branderf. I'm pleased to recognize the student who also received the gold key from Scholastic Writing Awards competition. He is the only seventh grade student to receive this honor and was awarded in the short story category for his piece, The Experiment. Congratulations to Michael Zimmer. I'd now like to call Dr. Sink back to the podium. Thank you, Dr. Jansen. We will now move to the board of education awards for the high school level. I'm proud
016to present the awards for the Eureka High School and recognize students for their accomplishments. We begin with the students selected for the Glory Missouri Awards, an honor recognizing excellence in leadership, service, character, and achievement. Later this month, these students will be formally recognized at the Missouri House of Representatives at the state capital. Please join me in recognizing Aninsley Sites, Fiora Ship, Emmy Leone, Zar Rener, Jace Menddees, Carson Robottom, Sam Peacocks, Alex Ashbos, Luke Deutschman, Emily Eldidge, Savannah Wy, Jackson Joggerst, Anna Covert, and Bailey Tibo. Well, In girls athletics, we had an individual place fourth in the 200yard freestyle at the Misha swimming and diving state championship. Congratulations to Paige Samson. In addition, we recognize the team for earning an amazing second place finish in the 200yard freestyle relay. Congratulations to Evan Lashley, Kelsey Morrison, Natalie
017Groberg, and Paige Samuelson. To conclude our awards this evening, we're proud to recognize a remarkable achievement that took place last week at the Michigan Girls Wrestling State Championship. Please join me in congratulating our state champion, Meera Richardson. I'm proud of of each of these students, their dedication and achievements. I'd now like to call Dr. Emily Macauen to the podium. It's dark down here. Thank you, Dr. Sink. It is my pleasure to recognize the outstanding achievements of Rockwood Summit students this evening. We begin with our Gloria Missouri awards as well. An honor that reflects leadership, integrity, scholarship, and service to others. Please join me in congratulating the following. Will Vanderhar for charity. Gabriel Fielder Fielder for education. Bailey Walker for enterprise. Zire Fiser for equality. Carson Diffley for fraternity. Na Gilbert for honor. Aiden Ammy for
018justice. Aditi Mangala for knowledge. Sarah How for law. Lydia Lacader for liberty. Kamari Fowler for progress. Summer Anderson for temperance. Adam Kverick for truth. And Maria Domian for virtue. Just want to say Next, we turn to journalism. The 2025 publication staff earned all Missouri recognition from the from the Missouri Intercolastic Journalism Association for its 2025 edition, one of the highest marks in the state, reflecting a near-perfect score. Congratulations to our Pinnacles yearbook staff. Joining us is Trevy Guest and Tracy Vu. We now celebrate our Falcon athletes for the outstanding efforts in fall and winter sports. First, our football first team MFCA honores. Congratulations to Mason Caso, Evan Wade, and Devin Walker. Next two athletes earned first team from the Missouri State High School Soccer Coaches Association. Congratulations to Braden Boger and Nick Nesser. We'd also
019like to recognize with these two athletes two that earned second team. So congratulations to Wyatt Etchin and Chase Palmer. In addition to their individual honors, these soccer athletes helped lead their team to a third place finish at the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championship. Please join me in congratulating our boys varsity soccer team. Moving into the girls athletics, we proudly recognize is the athlete that earned second place at the Misha Girls Swimming and Diving State Championship in the 100yard butterfly. Congratulations to Briana Wilkinson. To conclude Rockwood Summit's awards, we celebrate the student that earned second place recently at the Amisha Girls Wrestling State Championship. Congratulations to Kamari Fowler. Congratulations to all of you and I am proud of your accomplishments. I would now like to introduce Dr. Tracy Wackerley, principal of Marquette High School.
020Good evening. It is my pleasure to present the accomplishment of our Marquette students and celebrate their hard work and the talents they bring to our school. We will begin with the Glory of Missouri award. These students along with the other Glory of Missouri award winners will have their names carved into the walls of the Missouri House of Representatives chamber in the state capital. Congratulations to Abigail Morgan. Charity Shrees er justice Lily Russo equality Clay Highland liberty Micah Rogers temperance and Grace die truth. Next, we recognize academic excellence beginning with the students who advanced as national merit finalists. These students are recognized for exceptional academic performance, scholarship, leadership, and dedication to excellence. Congratulation to Drew Bosakar, Grace Dy, Somia Urlapati, Shreas Ayer, and Ivy Wang. The United States Presidential Scholars Program is one of the highest
021honors a high school senior can receive. Recognizing exe exceptional academic achievement, leadership, service, and character at the national level. We are proud to share that we have four students selected as presidential scholar candidates. Congratulations to Eric Chen, Jamie Park, Téju Vancades, and Ivy Wang. The Missouri Thespians Award recognizes students excellence in theater performance and technical production. This is the highest achievement in school theater. Marquette had six students who were awarded the Thespie. Please join me in congratulating Maddie Bailey, Payton Bonek, Evie Dean, and Lily Harbor. Moving into the visual arts award, two students earned gold key recognition from the Scholastic Art Midwest Regional Competition, an honor awarded for both inception and original work. Congratulations to S Sabrina Laroo in ceramics and glass for her piece titled Green Wavy Litted Vessel and Caitlyn Skyles in drawing
022and illustration for her piece titled Killing Time. Continuing with Scholastic Awards, we celebrate a student who attained the gold key in writing for his critical essay titled Comparing Generative AI and Human Translation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Congratulations to Wong Shulu. Not here. Who do I have over there? Not the next one. Okay. Where did Ivy go? Is Ivy back? Okay, I think we might have lost her. Okay, we'll recognize the excellence. I'm not sure where she went, but we'll get her. We now recognize excellence in music beginning with all state band. Congratulations to Ivy Wang. There she is. And now for all state in orchestra. Congratulations to Nathaniel Bean, Eric Chen, Jean Park, and Ivy Wang. And now celebrating an all state in the collective. Ive congratulations to Tam Lamonte Rucker. Our next recognition highlights
023achievement in cyber security. This team earns second place in the platinum level of the AFA cyber patriot national youth cyber defense competition which is the world's largest cyber security competition. This event challenges students to identify and correct systems of v vulnerabilities while developing real world cyber security skills. Congratulations to the Cyber Patriot team one, Adam Basa, Cooper Blake, Jonathan Lee, Carter Russell, Kyota, and Charlie Wang. Turning to athletics, we begin we begin with two cheerleaders that earned the MCCA All State, which is the highest recognition awarded by the Missouri Cheer Coaches Association. Congratulations to Trista Morgan and Avery Wilson. They were Go ahead, J. They were unable to be here tonight, but I know their families are in the audience, so I wanted to make sure to celebrate their their wonderful success. In addition to
024their individual honors, they helped lead their team to a second place finish in the MCCA game day competition. Congratulations to our varsity Marquette cheer team. Closing out Marquette's recognitions, we celebrate the Misha Girls Swimming and Diving State Championship results. Starting with the individual performance that earned both third place for the 100yard butterfly and taking first place for the 20ard freestyle. A double congratulations to Page Blum. And Paige along with her team earned third place in the 200yard freestyle relay at the state championship. Congratulations to Paige, Grace Hagar, Alexia Kden, and Olivia Briski. We are honored to celebrate you all tonight and are incredibly incredibly proud of your dedication and commitment. I would now like to call Lafayette principal Dr. Karen Calciteria to the podium. Good evening. My name is Dr. here in Kolkata and it
025is a privilege to recognize our Lafayette students here tonight to celebrate their achievements. We begin with the Glory of Missouri award honoring students character and values. Congratulations to the following students. Olivia Olivia Dresser, education. Luke Hinton, Enterprise. Mahi Chachani, Equality. Emily Warner, fraternity. Timothy Washington, honor Ellen Nolan, Justice Vadant Chim McCarthy, Knowledge Chase Rider, Law Owen Wackerly, Liberty, Aushi Boret, Progress, Julia Tev's, Temperance, Michelle Chen, Truth, and Cooper Meyers, Virtue Yeah. Next, we recognize the top academic achievers who earned the National Merit Finalist Distinction. Please join me in congratulating Oliver Erit, Shrea Bosipa, Abby Boa, Michelle Chen, Bant Chimiky, Mav Devipal, Mark Damsala, Gian Carlo Fernandez, Alistair Hannah, and Hannah Holder. Each year up to 161 students from approximately 4,000 candidates are ultimately named scholars in the US Presidential Scholars Program, making it one of
026the nation's highest honors for high school seniors. We are proud to recognize our student who has been selected as a candidate for this pre prestigious distinction. Congratulations to Michelle Chen. Okay. Now we highlight the visual arts through the Scholastic Art Awards and students who earned the gold key recognition the highest regional honor and advanced consideration at the national level. Congratulations Michelle Chen and Luke Kinton. Michelle is also recap first. Michelle who is also recognized for her painting scars and Luke Kinton who earned three gold keys for sculpture and ceramics and glass work. One of his pieces, Mother's Egg, has been nominated for the American Vision Award at the national level. Congratulations. We would also like to recognize Luke for receiving three pieces selected for the National K12 Ceramics Exhibition Award, an honor that is bestowed
027upon to only 150 works in this grade category. Congratulations, Luke. In theater, we had a student earn the the from the Missouri Thespians Awards and Education Theater Association for her achievements. Congratulations to Audrey Ren. Superior liveaction short film. Go Audrey. Let's go. We had journalism students that earn best of school newspaper online. Only a small percentage of submissions are chosen for their excellence in writing, reporting, and storytelling. Congratulations VAI and Rasheed Sahani. We now turn to music. We had a student who was selected by Music for All to perform in the Bands of America Honor Band in the 2026 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. As a me player, he will perform at Bandfest and is in the nationally televised Tournament of Roses Parade, a prestigious honor bringing together top musicians from across the country. Congratulations
028to Jace Long. Chase and I were laughing. It never rains in Pasadena and it was the only day it rained. Continuing with music, we have all state honors. Starting with All State band, congratulations to Alistair Hannah. And congratulations to All State orchestra recipient Gian Carlo Fernandez. Concluding our music honors, we have a group of outstanding students chosen to perform at the 2026 music Missouri music educators association in service workshop and conference last month. The ensemble is among only 33 from around the state that performed and only one of seven high school bands. This is the first time a Lafayette band has performed. Congratulations to our wind ensemble. Everyone's Now we move on to our activities and athletics. Congratulations to the team that competed over two days in their games that earned second place in the
029Missouri Scholastic Esports Federation state competition at the fall brawl. Congratulations, the Valerant esports team. We now recognize a student athlete that earned second team state honors from the Missouri High School Soccer Coaches Association. Congratulations to Canon Roseman. In MSA boys wrestling, we had three student athletes medal at the state championship last weekend, starting with third place medal. Congratulations to Max Row. Second place Carter Welsh and state champion Carter Brown. Congratulations to our Lancer students and to all Rockwood students. At this time, I would like to ask Dr. Kaine back to the podium to present the school and staff awards. The accomplishments that we've recognized tonight reflect the dedication and commitment you bring each and every day. So before we conclude, I would like to take a moment to recognize our schools as well as our
030staff awards. First, we are proud to honor a school for earning the distinction of National School of Character. This recognition is awarded to schools that demonstrate an exceptional commitment to character development, strengthening academic excellence while also cultivating a positive school culture. Congratulations on this remarkable accomplishment. Babler Babler Elementary School. Next, we are honored to recognize staff excellence beginning with national board certification. This honor is considered the highest standard of excellence in teaching awarded by the national board for pro for professional teaching standards. This achievement reflects a strong commitment to student learning. Please join me in congratulating our national board certified teachers, Ryan Alche. Gregory Bomb, Kim Kirby, Rebecca Lawrence, So, up next, we are proud to recognize the 2026 special school district teacher of the year. Jenna Kavoric is truly a champion for students. an
031advocate who helps every child so that they can in fact do hard things. In her classroom at Bowwin Elementary, she empowers students to grow in confidence and in independence. From launching the studentr run Bear Bites, which is a snack cart, to coaching Special Olympics and mentoring fellow educators, her impact reaches far beyond her classroom. As a national board certified teacher and a school leader, Jenna builds not just skills, but community, opportunity, and a lasting belief in each and every student that she serves. Congratulations, Jenna, on being named the 2026 Special School District Teacher of the Year. Next we have an outstanding educator in physical education who was selected as the MOSH shape which is the Missouri Society of Health and Physical Education Teacher of the Year. He is recognized for excellence in teaching, leadership, and
032advocacy for health and physical education. Congratulations to Joe Jackson. Director Milligan, would you join me on the stage, please? You've already joined me on the stage. I appreciate that. Um, and to conclude tonight's awards, we are proud to recognize Excellence in Music Education. This band director was named the recipient of the Missouri Music Education Association Outstanding Music Educator Award. This prestigious honor recognizes music teachers who demonstrate excellence in music instruction, leadership, and in service to their schools. Congratulations to Brad Blog. Let's give all of our recipients another round of applause. >> Congratulations to all of you. I would now like to turn the stage over to President Lin Medette. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Kaine. How about one more round of applause for everybody? It's amazing. So, that concludes our ceremony for this evening.
033Congratulations to our students and staff, and thank you for being here tonight. We now invite you to join our honor recipients outside of the theater for refreshments. Have a great evening. This board of education meeting is now adjourned.