McKay takes reins as St. Regis School begins new year
St. Regis School was evacuated on Sept. 20 after a student found a note which threatened to burn down the school and said that there was a bomb in the building. A K-9 team searched the school and no bombs were found (Kathleen Woodford/Mineral Independent).
The first day of school for St. Regis is today!
Parents and guardians have already gotten the kids out the door and have received information from Principal Shaun Ball as he starts his sixth year in this position.
“We are so excited to have all the students back,” he beams as he shares
the biggest change the school has. “We are losing a great leader in Joe Steele,” said Ball. “Our former superintendent served in this capacity for 5 years. He and his wife moved to Arco, Idaho, where he serves as their superintendent.
"However, not all is lost. We are excited to have Judy McKay as our interim superintendent. She is an amazing educator who is all about the kids. She plans on being in this position for about three months.”
Ball continues with changes at the school.
“We have a new English teacher in Dorothy Zeisler Vrlstad. She served as an English professor at Eastern Washington University. Gary Strate retired last year as custodian. He will be missed greatly. To fill his position, we hired Morris and Barb Hill. Barb and Morris are also pastors at New Day Fellowship in St. Regis. They also clean in the kitchen and drive the bus for us on occasion. They are amazing people who are always willing to serve.”
For anyone looking for a fulfilling parttime position, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, and substitute teachers are in need.
Activities, administration, holidays, etc. can be found at www.stregisschool.org plus their Facebook page has become a valuable tool for communicating with family directly from the school.
The first big event of the year is Friday, Sept. 3 with their Homecoming Parade at noon. This is followed by ‘Back to School Night’ which will start at 1:30 where parents will meet their child’s teacher/mentor teacher.
As an incentive for parents to partake in this social setting, they will receive tickets for the Homecoming football game against Thompson Falls at 7 p.m. with a free meal before kickoff.
The 2021-2022 school year is starting off with 212 students and 152 of them are kindergarten through eighth grade.
“Other than a few open positions, our turnover rate had been low. The district has worked really hard at keeping and retaining staff members. five years ago, we had to hire 10 positions," Ball said. "We've only had to hire four positions over the last 2-3 years. We have an amazing staff at St. Regis. They are selfless, kind, and are always putting kids first,” Ball said. “Our Covid plan at this point is to recommend masks. We will continue to social distance and sanitize to the best of our ability. If Covid cases do rise, masks could become mandatory for a period of time.”
Please check the school website for updated Covid news, extra curricular information and the current bus schedule.