💙💛 Fordland Forward | September Newsletter 🦅
Happy Labor Day Weekend! Our latest Fordland R-III newsletter is here! Take a few minutes to catch up on what's happening across the district, important dates, celebrations, and what's ahead.
Read the September newsletter here:
https://app.smore.com/n/nk6mv1
Thank you for being part of the Fordland community. Fordland Forward!
Immunization Deadline is September 11th.
Watch for the big yellow buses! We all want to protect our kids. See the graphic for new consequences for failing to stop. #fordlandforward
This week’s Fordland Forward Staff Spotlight is Jennifer Venable — soon to be Jennifer Phinney! 🎉 Jennifer serves as our District Nurse and is celebrating her 10th year in education — all 10 right here at Fordland!
Jennifer’s path to Fordland is pretty incredible. Before becoming a school nurse, she spent 15 years working with newborn intensive care patients, including serving as a NICU flight nurse, transporting critically ill babies by helicopter and ambulance.
But becoming a school nurse was actually a dream that started much earlier.
While in high school, Jennifer shadowed her school nurse and told her that someday she wanted to be both a school nurse and a softball coach. Her nurse told her that probably wasn’t possible.
Jennifer says:
“My school nurse died in a car accident before I ever got to tell her that I did it…I became the exception! So here I am. Doing the job I said I would do and getting to fulfill my love for a game that has been a part of my entire life.”
One of Jennifer’s favorite parts of Fordland is watching students grow into their own person. She especially values being there through both their triumphs and their failures.
Her perspective? A failure is only a failure if nothing is learned from it. Otherwise, we’re simply “failing forward” and choosing which path to take next. 💙
A few fun facts about Jennifer:
🥩 Favorite snack: Beef sticks — NOT jerky! Apparently there is a very important distinction. 😂
🥤 Favorite drink: Purple Cotton Candy Alani — but only after at least 40 ounces of water!
🍽️ Favorite restaurant: Galloway Grille
📺 Favorite show: Superstore — she can probably recite entire episodes.
🏈⚾ Sports: Chiefs, Cardinals and Mizzou Tigers! MIZ!
And when we asked Jennifer to finish the sentence “Fordland is special because…”, her answer was simple:
“I feel like I am at home. I grew up in a small town and so I feel at home here with the people.”
We're glad Fordland became home! Thank you for spending the last decade taking care of our Eagles! 💙💛🦅
#FordlandForward #FordlandEagles
Front: Sidney Payne (5th Grade), Megan Spence (PreK), Hailey Hanson (MS ELA), Chris Russo (Secondary Math), Storm Massey (Secondary Assistant Principal), Ethan Drake (Ag/FFA)
Back: Emma O'Dell (2nd Grade), Gage Miers (PE/Girls Basketball), Molly Regier (3rd Grade), Laura Hilgenberg (PreK), Leanna Corum (Life Skills), Nathan Clutter (HS)
Opening Day is coming soon! #FordlandForward
Fordland R-III is thrilled to be a recipient of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines Member Impact Award through a partnership with Seymour Bank. This award will invest $15,680 back into our kids' education. Funds will be used district-wide for a variety of student activities including; school supplies, STEM equipment, fine arts supplies, and literacy tools. Thanks @TheSeymourBank and @FederalHomeLoanBank!
We're hiring at Fordland Elementary!