Prairie Dell Elementary School

Last night at our regularly scheduled January Board of Education meeting, the Board approved the hiring of Mr. Ryan Klein as the 26/27 Assistant Superintendent of Operations. Mr. Klein is currently the principal at Prairie Dell Elementary. Prior to his position at PDE, Mr. Klein was the assistant principal at Central Elementary. Before coming to Union, Mr. Klein served in a variety of roles in Iowa. This includes: elementary principal, middle and high school assistant principal and high school special education teacher.

Mr. Klein earned his specialist degree from Northwest Missouri State and is expected to complete his doctoral degree in 2027 from William Woods University. Mr. Klein resides in Washington with his wife, Andrea, and their three children.

This is what Mr. Klein had to say about serving our community in a new capacity:

“Though I’ve only been in Union for five years, I view the Union R-XI School District as my home. And I honestly couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to continue working in the district I love. Of course, I am sad to be leaving all the amazing staff and students at Prairie Dell Elementary, but I look forward to helping them in a slightly different way moving forward. We have an outstanding district with the best staff, students and parents, and I’m honored to be part of it all.”

Mr. Klein is filling the vacancy of Dr. Dan Kania who was recently appointed as our 26/27 district superintendent.

Please take a moment to congratulate Mr. Klein!

#Uproud

Please take a look at the January PDE newsletter. https://app.smore.com/n/aqe03

Thank you Kiwanis Club of Union for handing out popsicles to our students at lunch today.

Here is our latest PDNN episode. The first one of 2026. https://www.canva.com/design/DAG-VIVFX1o/fzkgatvEkBzMh91ALRR8uw/watch?utm_content=DAG-VIVFX1o&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=he47b85e1db

We had some students meet their Reflex goal this week.

This week we are excited to have Emma Teems, 3rd grade teacher at Prairie Dell Elementary, as our Wildcat of the Week.

Emma, thank you so much for taking the time to share a little information about yourself!

#Uproud

Friendly reminder... there's no school next Monday, 1/19/26 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Have a great rest of your week, #unionrxi!

#Uproud

We hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing break. We look forward to seeing all our students back at school on Monday, 1/5/26.

Thank you and #Uproud!

Here are the menus for January.

*Food Service Update*

Effective Monday, January 5, we unfortunately will no longer be able to offer free breakfast. This is a result of SNAP benefits being reinstated which were temporarily paused during the government shutdown.

If you have any questions about our food service program, please don't hesitate to reach out once our offices open back up on Friday, January 2. We can be reached at: 636.583.8626

Thank you and #Uproud

The 2026 -2027 Kindergarten registration is just around the corner. More information will be available on the district website starting in mid-January. www.unionrxi.org

Check out the latest episode of PDNN!
https://www.canva.com/design/DAG7CKHY-Ok/hkYG3Q2qPSh3pr_DAv-SoQ/watch?utm_content=DAG7CKHY-Ok&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h356f3f464e

Please fill out the Slick City waiver for your student before the 16th.

https://slickcity.com/mo-st-louis-west/waiver/

Next week is winter holiday spirit week December 15th - 19th.
Monday: Festive Headwear
Tuesday: Cozy Winter Dress (flannel, pjs, scarf, etc.)
Wednesday: Winter wonderland ( blue, silver, or white)
Thursday: Holiday Socks and Accesories
Friday: Merry and Bright (bright colors, glitter, etc.)

It is that time of year again to win that VIP parking at dismissal. Please see the attached flyer.

🎄✨ALL ABOARD! ✨🎄

Our First Grade students will be performing a musical adaptation of The Polar Express on Tuesday, December 16 in the PDE Gym!
Doors open at 5:30 PM, and the concert begins at 6:00 PM.

⭐ Student Drop-Off: Please drop students off at the Learning Steps.
⭐ Dress Code: Students should arrive wearing their favorite pajamas or a festive Christmas outfit!

🎶❤️We can’t wait to see our first graders shine on stage! ❤️🎶

Several parents have asked what our teachers like, so we compiled a list to help.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10_pU64MqlHNLGuPltPbPVeiXW7-3V56mKm4qoGzamLI/edit?usp=sharing

Please take a moment to read through the PDE newsletter.
https://app.smore.com/n/ewt4v