News at Rossman

Sixth Graders Volunteer for Salvation Army

Nineteen members of Rossman School’s sixth grade class joined their teachers outside of the Schnucks at Ladue Crossing on Saturday to ring bells and collect money for the Salvation Army. Rossman's volunteers raised $1,211.63 for the Salvation Army, which is the largest amount raised by any group this year!

The students volunteered for one hour shifts between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., with help from Rossman School Sixth Grade Teachers Jim Holmes and Annie Menees. The holiday service project was optional for sixth grade students, and was an opportunity to exhibit the “Rossman Rules” of kindness, honesty, respect and responsibility.

Rossman School Raises $384 for Circle of Concern

Rossman School students and teachers recently broke the school’s dress code for a good cause.

Rossman School raised $384 to buy blankets for Circle of Concern by holding a “No Dress Code Day.” Participants paid $2 on Friday, December 2, to the school’s student council for the right to disregard the school’s dress code for the day.

The fundraiser coincides with a schoolwide effort in December to collect everyday items for Circle of Concern. Circle of Concern feeds the hungry and provides long-term and emergency assistance to low-income families in western St. Louis County.

Rossman School Featured in TOWN & Style and Ladue News

Rossman School was recently featured on the cover of two St. Louis publications — Ladue News and Town & Style.

• Click here to read the November 4 Ladue News cover story about Rossman School.
• Click here to view an online version of the November 30 edition of TOWN & Style, which featured Rossman School on its cover.

Christopher, Kriegshauser Receive Schwaner Award

In keeping with a longstanding tradition at Rossman School, the Helen Schwaner Faculty Professional Development Award was presented recently at a special luncheon for the school’s faculty and staff.

In 1996, the Cummings family established an endowment to fund this award, which is given annually to a member or members of the Rossman faculty. The intent of this award is to provide opportunities for furthering their professional development. The Cummings family is related to the late Helen Schwaner, who founded Rossman School with Mary Rossman in 1917.

This year, Anne-Marie Christopher and Melissa Kriegshauser, the school's second grade teaching team, received the Schwaner Award. The award will be used to purchase a wireless microphone headset system to be used for school events and student performances.

The teachers' proposal stated, “We thought it would be a great idea to invest in some wireless microphone headsets that the participants could wear while performing to enhance the sound of their voices while speaking and/or singing.”

Rossman School Salutes Veterans

Rossman School students, faculty and staff honored our country's veterans on Friday with an all-school assembly. Two Rossman parents who are veterans, Jay Butka and Brett McMillan, spoke at the assembly about what it means to be a veteran. McMillan, who is an active member of the military, also discussed the importance of giving thanks to the families of veterans. The assembly, which began with the Pledge of Allegiance and "You're a Grand Old Flag," closed with the entire school singing "God Bless America," led by the fourth grade class.

Watch our fourth graders sing "God Bless America" at the assembly by clicking below.

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Five Members of Class of 2006 Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Congratulations to five members of Rossman School’s Class of 2006 who received a prestigious honor this fall.

Rossman alumni Trisha Bhat, Alexander Galluppi, Nicholas Goel, Turner Rapp and Jake Simpher were named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. All five honorees attended Rossman School for at least six years before graduating in 2006.

Currently, Alexander attends MICDS, while the other four Rossman alumni attend John Burroughs School.

Four of the honorees — Alexander, Jake, Nick and Turner — have older siblings from Rossman’s Class of 2004 who were also National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.

Of the 1.5 million students who entered the 2012 National Merit Scholarship program, only 16,000 were named semifinalists. Approximately 15,000 finalists will be named in February. To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an outstanding academic and service record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. Merit Scholarships will be awarded beginning in March and continuing through mid-June. Approximately 8,300 finalists will be awarded scholarships.

Rossman Raised Most Money in Missouri for Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops for Heart in 2010-11!

The American Heart Association recently announced that Rossman School raised the most money in 2010-2011 of any Missouri school that held both Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops for Heart.

In the two fundraisers, Rossman students raised a total of $11,175.50, which was almost $3,000 more than the second-place school. Ninety Rossman students in grades 2-6 participated in Jump Rope for Heart. Almost 40 Rossman students in grades 3-6 participated in Hoops for Heart. Both events were held in February.

Rossman School has participated in Jump Rope for Heart for nearly 25 years. This was the second time the School participated in Hoops for Heart. In 2009-2010, Rossman School was the top fundraiser for the two events in the St. Louis area and third statewide. The students’ fundraising efforts honor the School’s commitment to character education and the four Rossman rules of Kindness, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility. Co-coordinators for Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops for Heart at Rossman are Jenna Babcock and Larry Huusko.

Author Patrick Carman Visits Rossman

Popular children’s author Patrick Carman visited Rossman School on September 14. Carman spoke at an assembly, telling students in grades 3-6 about his childhood, describing the writing process and answering questions. After the assembly, he signed books in Ball Library. Rossman School librarian Lin Edmonston worked with Pudd’nHead Books in Webster Groves to make the visit possible. Click here to see pictures from Mr. Carman's presentation and book signing.

Alumni Visit Sixth Grade

Three alumni from Rossman School’s Class of 2010 visited Rossman’s current sixth grade class on Friday, August 26, to tell students what to expect during their sixth grade experience and secondary school. The eight graders represented three different secondary schools — Academy of the Visitation, MICDS and St. Louis Priory School. Pictured, from left, are Head of Rossman School Pat Shipley, Ava Sansone, Rossman School sixth grade teacher Annie Menees, Connor Stokes, C.C. Chalfant and Rossman School sixth grade teacher Jim Holmes.

Rossman School Students Excel in National Geography Challenge

Students at Rossman School earned three impressive finishes in the National Geography Challenge this spring, including second place in the nation among fifth graders.

The fifth grade team’s average score in the 2010-2011 National Geography Challenge was 90.5 percent, earning 362 of a possible 400 points. They finished only two points behind the national champions from Brick Township Elementary School in New Jersey.

Rossman School earned seventh place among fourth graders, with a 93.7 percent average.The Rossman School sixth grade team finished fourth in the nation, with a 92.5 percent average.

In the challenge, the scores of the top 10 students are combined to determine the team score. The National Geography Challenge is administered by the National Social Studies League, and is sponsored by the National Council for Geographic Education. The challenge provides standardized testing for children in grades 2-12. At Rossman School, students take the test in grades 4-6. The written exam tests general knowledge of geography, map skills, interpreting charts and graphs and reading comprehension.

Mary Jane Carissimi teaches Upper School Social Studies at Rossman School.

Retiring Teachers Honored

Rossman School saluted three retiring teachers — music teacher Jane Brader, art teacher Gail Crosson and fourth grade teacher Ann Walther — on May 18. During their time in Rossman classrooms, Ann, Gail and Jane have touched the lives of more than 1,200 students! The School held an assembly in their honor and an open house to give former teachers, administrators students and their parents an opportunity to pay tribute to these treasured teachers. Watch a song performed by the students and faculty below.

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Please click here to read news from the 2009-2010 school year.
Please click here to read news from the 2010-2011 school year.