Superintendent's Message

October 18, 2021

Greetings Cardinals,

 It is crazy how fast time goes by when we are in the hustle and bustle of life. I am sure the 1st day of school was just a couple of weeks ago, but that is not the case at all. We have concluded the 1st quarter of the school year, and it feels like we are moving at warp speed toward the holiday season. Although the days seem to fly by, I am confident that each day holds the same amount of time, and the speed at which they seem to move is caused by the amount of positive energy being pushed into them by our entire school community. On any given day, our students and staff engage in new learning, new adventures, and a chance to grow as individuals. 

 Each day also brings an opportunity for us to work together and utilize our collaborative efforts to be a stronger team.  The perfect example I have to illustrate this is the recent accomplishment of our competitive cheer squad. If you haven’t heard, they competed in the Kansas City Regional Cheer Competition on Saturday, October 16, in the “Coed Small Division.” Now when I say small, what I mean to say is fewer than 14 total squad members. The competition our squad came up against was anything but small. Our cheer squad competed with seven high schools with an average enrollment of over 1400 students each. Yet, they were victorious by placing 5th and earning the right to compete at the state competition in December. This was a massive #CARDINALVICTORY and was only possible because of each member’s dedication to each other and their team goal.

 To say I am proud of our cheer squad accomplishment is an understatement, and I base my pride on the fact that we have a unified mission of  “Developing the Cardinal Community as Life-Long Learners.” Still, it is more than just because we have a mission. More importantly, it is because we have a shared vision to maintain  POSITIVE ATTITUDES, INTEGRITY, SCHOOL PRIDE, COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, RESPECT, and SUPPORT of each other. When we put all this together, it becomes #TheCardinalWay, making our school #TheNest.  

 In closing, I want to say thank you to our school community. We greatly appreciate all that the community does to support our students and staff. It’s great to be a Cardinal!!!

 Michael Stephenson
Superintendent
816-669-3792
mstephenson@stewartsville.k12.mo.us