Dexter Senior High School- This listing of activities is a service offered by the ShowMe Times, working in partnership with the Dexter Public Schools for your convenience.

The ShowMe Times would like to encourage all of our readers to support our local school system. The education and growth of young people in our community is important to everyone's future.

We would like everyone to join us as we encourage these young students in their pursuits. 

So lets get involved by supporting the events at our schools.

If you would like to submit information and a picture of a student and his/her accomplishments, send it to news@showmetimes.com.  We would love to hear from you.

Dexter T.S. Middle School-This listing of activities is a service offered by the ShowMe Times, working in partnership with the Dexter Public Schools for your convenience.

The ShowMe Times would like to encourage all of our readers to support our local school system. The education and growth of young people in our community is important to everyone's future.

We would like everyone to join us as we encourage these young students in their pursuits.

So lets get involved by supporting the events at our schools.

If you would like to submit information and a picture of a student and his/her accomplishments, send it to news@showmetimes.com. We would love to hear from you.

Dexter, Missouri - Mrs. Thurmon's 6th grade students at T.S. Hill Middle School in Dexter raised over $1,000 to purchase wreaths for the Wreaths Across America event at the Bloomfield Veteran's Cemetery. 

About 40 of the students braved the cold rain to attend and participate in the event.  The students not only raised the money to buy the wreaths, but helped place wreaths on graves.

Thank you for all that you do and the veterans and their families really appreciate their efforts.

Written by

Erin Lauters, SMT Writer

Dexter, Missouri - While adults bring in the new year in their own ways, teenagers are often left to entertain themselves. Many teenagers will go party, but listed below are some fun, safe, and responsible ways to have fun this season.

1. Game night. Invite some friends over for a night filled with unique board games, card games, a verbal games. Some suggestions are Catch Phrase, Hedbanz, Sorry!, and Guesstures.

2. Movie night. Have a movie gathering with all the friends you want! Have everyone bring something to eat or drink an have an ice cream buffet. Come up with crazy combinations like strawberry ice cream with pretzels, or chocolate ice cream with gummy worms and popcorn.

3. Have a spa night with the girls or have a video game night with the boys. Recommendations for girls: toenail painting, facials (you can buy one for around two dollars at Walmart), hot oil hair treatments, and chick flicks. Boys, stock up on junk food and sodas and do some damage on your new Xbox playing Call of Duty Ghosts with your buddies.

4. During the day, or any decent hour at night, you can play sports in Dexter. Gather up a group and go play tennis at Boone Park, baseball at East Park, or basketball at West Park. These option are free and fun!

5. Make a scavenger hunt and try to find items around your house. Make sure you make it crazy, you never know what you have in your house! You could say: something cold that isn't in the fridge or freezer!

6. Have a potluck/baking contest! This exciting activity is a creative way to get your competition on! For your potluck have everyone make their favorite food/dessert. If your having a contest with dessert, have 3 people blindfold themselves and choose the winner.

7. Make matching T-shirts or pillowcases with a group of friends. Buy tye-dye kits or puffy paint to decorate your items.

These options allow you to be safe over the break. Don't forget to eat your black-eyed peas and Happy New Year!

 

Written by

Erin Lauters, SMT Writer

Dexter, Missouri - Everyone knows what opportunities New Year's Day brings. The chance to start fresh, and change your way of living brings excitement. Since they are limited because of the size of Dexter, the New Year's Resolutions that these teens conjure up are pretty straight forward.

1. Get better grades. I know cliché, right? The teens of Dexter High School are for the most part always trying to improve themselves academically. In order to stick to this resolution, the teens will need to study more and ask more questions in class.

2. Make healthier food choices. Not only does this mean getting in your fruits and veggies, but balance good and bad, as well as portion control. This could be an easy task if you make snack choices like swapping out potato chips for yogurt, an apple, or even carrots and ranch.

3. Lose weight. Even though some people who make this resolution don't necessarily need to lose weight, their Christmas food splurging allows them to feel overweight. There are many options to start trimming off the pounds. There are two gyms in Dexter, as well the Bearcat Event Center open to the public for free walking/running.

4. Manage stress and finances. These items go hand in hand, especially if you have payments due. For all your smartphoners out there, there are about a dozen free financing/budgeting apps out there. The way for sure to relieve stress is to begin exercising. (This is a plus for those of you wanting to lose weight.) If you aren't into that, start writing in a journal.

5. Reduce, reuse, recycle. You may think this is hippie-like, but you could actually make a little money by recycling. If you are interested in helping the environment, this is a great option for you. Bootheel Recycling takes almost anything from aluminum to plastic.

6. Make time for yourself. This can be hard in a teenager'a schedule, but it's much needed especially after the stressful holiday season. If you are a female, you could listen to different music, read magazines, dive into a book, or get a pedicure. If you are a male, you could play video games, experience a new movie, or play a new sport.

7. Improve yourself. We all have faults, so pick one and make it your goal to make that quality what you want it to be. For example, if you are slightly antisocial, and want to change that, take it step by step and slowly come out of your box by connecting with someone new at school or a social event. Face-to-face conversation is truly a lost art.

8. Learn something new about yourself by volunteering. While you have friends and are getting into a cycle, you could spice things up by doing some extracurricular activities. By joining groups like StuCo and Rotary Interact, you are doing work, making friends, and becoming something bigger than yourself.

9. Get more organized. By organizing your life and making plans, you are saving your self time and removing some stress. Keep an organizer/calendar and write everything down. Be sure to keep your organizer with you. Get an organizing folder for homework and other assignments.

9. Improve relationships. In order to do this, you need to be honest with the person, or people. Be sure to stay calm when solving or addressing any problems. Be true to yourself and it should be easier to express yourself to others.

10. Be more courteous and less selfish. We all do it, so try to improve on it. Try not to bully others or say hurtful things. Be cautious of what you say and how you say it, and remember that not everything is about you. Other people are involved in life as well. Try to realize what your habits are, and if they are negative, try and change them.

New Year's Resolutions can be hard to follow. Make someone hold you accountable in order to have a higher success rate. Happy New Year!