SPS Staff and Families,

This might be a weird thing to start off my last 2022-2023 update with, but it’s important:

• Summer Email and Google Drive Access

  • High school students (those completing 10th - 12th grade in May 2023) will maintain access over the summer.

    • Seniors, please review your accounts thoroughly, make copies of anything you want to save. Anywhere you’ve used your SPS email address (ACT account, colleges, etc.), please change that to a personal email address, because at the end of the summer you’ll lose access.

  • On Monday, May 22, all other accounts will have Gmail and Drive disabled, but maintain their Clever login with Google functionality. 

    • Summer academy students will maintain Gmail and Drive access during the June session.

    • If students have anything they want to access over the summer on their Drive, they need to download a copy.

Thank you all for a great first year as your superintendent!

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
                    -Dr. Seuss

#PioneerProud
What a year! State Championships, some back to back. Our FFA took home more national awards than any other STATE. The community passed Bond 2023. (THANK YOU!) Our musicians brought home so many superior ratings. Orchestra went to London. Visual artists won contests. Academic excellence abounded in so many areas. SJHS’s fledgling Robotics program excelled. We tried new things. Pep Band played at an OSU game. Our first downtown art show. Athletes broke school records. Students from PreK to 12th grade explored careers. They experienced world class performing artists at the McKnight Center (and I’d say, from their peers in the PAC). SPEF raised funds for so many teacher grants. And, once again, SHS had more OSSAA groups with the highest GPA than any other school; way to go: Volleyball, Football, Choir, Orchestra, Band, and Soccer!

The children, parents, and teachers of this district work together to do amazing things in the areas or the Arts, Academics, and Athletics. Those are sections of our website, the things we value. What we do value, but don’t have in that menu bar,,is “Heart.”

Heart is something these kids and this community excel at. SMAC raising more than $100,000 for charities each year. Lincoln Academy students volunteering at Turning Point Therapeutic Riding and helping Humane Society dogs get adopted. Moments of kindness, learning, and laughter between PreK children and the residents at Golden Oaks. Peers tutoring each other in the SHS Student Center. Assemblies cheering for veterans. Being silly to make someone smile. Clothing and food drives. Hugs during moments of mourning and fear. Pioneer Pathfinders growing their skills and spreading joy by selling their handcrafted items. Staff helping first time parents navigate PreK life. Raising funds to fight cancer. Volunteers cheering on athletes at Special Olympics. A community working to not only understand, but celebrate, each other’s cultures, differences, and individuality. I don’t think anyplace in the world does “Heart” as well as Stillwater.

We’re incredibly proud of all the accolades we’ve acquired this year, those group honors and individual ones. We’re also incredibly proud of all the kids who didn’t win an award and those challenged to get the credits they need to graduate. A big thank you and hugs to the moms, dads, grandparents, caregivers, and foster parents who stuck by them as they survived the challenges of this school year. You all deserve a pat on the back. Kindness, creativity and tenacity often don’t get the recognition they deserve.

 

What’s Next?

• For Teachers and School Year Staff

  • To those of you retiring, or with a life path leading elsewhere, please know that we much appreciate your time with SPS supporting our Pioneers.
    
    

  • To those of you returning, enjoy a restful summer. We can’t wait to see you back this fall for our Back to School Rally on Aug 8.
    
    

  • I truly believe there is no career more noble than that of a public educator. Thank you. 

 

• Summer Staff

  • Not everyone realizes that many of our staff work through the summer. Know that your hard work hiring, training, maintaining grounds and facilities, upgrading tech, ordering and sorting curricula, and prepping for the next school year is deeply appreciated.
    
    

  • I know the work never ends, but please be sure to find some time to take off and relax!
    
    

• For Parents with returning Pioneers

  • Have an amazing summer with your kids! We’ve sure enjoyed our time with them.
    
    

  • Some kids struggle with the sudden change to summer. A structured day can help with that, along with maintaining contact with friends from school.
    
    

  • As you can, please keep the learning and fun going with trips to the library, SPS Book Bus, free summer meals, camps, trips, frequent conversations, exercise, family meals, time with friends, parks, splash pads, and playgrounds, documentaries, arts & crafts, music, lots of active outdoor time and less sedentary screen time.
    
    

  • 2023-2024 calendar available here. 

    • Elementary 

      • Enrollment verification - July 26

      • Meet the Teacher - Aug 8

    • Secondary Schedule pickup

      • SMS & SJHS - Aug 2

      • SHS

        • SRs - Aug 1

        • JRs - Aug 2

        • SOs - Aug 3

      • Lincoln - Aug 1

      • SPVA (6-12) - Aug 7

    • First Day of School - Aug 10

• To Our Graduates (Families, I’d love it if you’d share this message with them)

  • More than 370 different journeys start after graduation. Each is unique and important to the world - brave soldiers, inquisitive academics, innovative tradespeople, nurturing parents, uplifting ministers, leading politicians, stellar engineers, compassionate doctors, emotive performers, inspiring teachers, and more. Some of you will attain doctorates, others skill certifications, and some will never take another class, but you’ll all keep learning.
    
    

  • You may not know your exact life path, and that’s okay. Your families and friends are still here to help you. The career services office at your college or trade school can help you explore not only what you’d be good at, but what you’d like doing. If you go straight into the workforce, find a mentor to help. Don’t be afraid to seek help finding a future that makes you happy.
    
    

  • The world may be scary at times, but it is a beautiful place. It is made better just by you being here, and… you have the power to make it even more amazing by your contributions. Be brave, but seek help when you need it. Be a hero when you can, and let others take care of you when needed.
    
    

  • Whether you started in our schools as Panthers, Rockets, Ridge Runners, Cubs, Eagles or Mustangs or came to us from elsewhere, I hope SPS teachers have inspired in you a passion for knowledge, an appreciation of the beauty of life, the pursuit of excellence and teamwork, and most importantly, the heart of a Pioneer.

 

“Never Doubt That A Small Group Of Thoughtful Individuals Can Change The World.”
                  -Margaret Mead

See ya later

Around 2008 or 2009 when we were developing the new S and Pioneer logos, we held some focus groups with SHS and SJHS students. We asked them what it means to be a Pioneer and how they feel about school. The high schoolers mentioned they couldn’t wait to get out of there, while the junior high kids said they couldn’t wait to get in there. I commented that it was funny. “You can’t wait to get in, and you can’t wait to get out!”

An eighth grader said that they had seen all the great things that high school kids get to do - sports, arts, events - and can’t wait to be a part of them.

A senior said, “And we can’t wait to get out and experience the world you’ve taught us about.”

I probably wouldn’t remember this moment if not for what that eighth grader said next.

“And then we’ll come back here, because this is a great place to raise kids. Stillwater will always be home.”

 

I love Stillwater, 

Uwe Gordon
Superintendent
Stillwater Public Schools