The Designing Women Foundation honored its scholarship recipients and Charlie Classics Reading Contest winners during a reception held last month at the Bloodworth House, awarding $11,500 to students of Poplar Bluff Schools over the course of two years.
Thousand-dollar scholarship recipients of the Class of 2021 were Veilka Griffith, who is majoring in business administration; Morghyn McCain, nursing; Madison Moore, business; Lauren Robertson, medicine; Maria Polasek, nursing; and Austynn Dover, who received a technical scholarship to study aesthetics at the Technical Career Center.
The Foundation also honored Class of 2020 recipients, not recognized in person last year due to the public health crisis, including: Rhianna Johnston, undeclared major; Madison Smith, engineering; Elizabeth Gill, nursing; and Savannah Hudson, elementary education.
Charlie Classics winners included freshman Mackinley Cox, who won $600 for reading 58 books over the past two years; junior Emmalein Pendley, who won $600 for reading 35 during the same time period; and Hannah Tuttle of the Class of 2020, who was awarded $300 for reading 14 books during her senior year.
The Designing Women Foundation is dedicated to the cultural and educational enrichment of deserving young people, and aims to promote literacy through its annual reading program open to Junior and Senior High students. The nonprofit organization also provides competitive scholarships to women, regardless of age, race or religion.
(Left to right) Madison Moore, Savannah Hudson, non-traditional scholarship recipient Kama Djambo, DWF board member Kathern Harris, Maria Polasek, Lauren Robertson, non-traditional student Amber Gargas, and DWF board member Dr. Kylie Divine.
Article and photo submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District
Walmart has recently donated a pallet of hand sanitizer to Poplar Bluff Schools, among several other school districts in the area.
Over 75 cases containing nearly 1,000 individual bottles will be distributed to educators across the school system to help reduce the spread of germs in classrooms, according to a representative of the Supercenter.
Poplar Bluff school officials are appreciative of their community partners who have helped the district keep its doors open during the public health emergency.
Pictured: Dave Wooldridge of the R-I Maintenance Department picks up a pallet of hand sanitizer arranged by Amber Shepard, Walmart consumables team lead, on Tuesday, June 8.
Article and photo submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District
The Poplar Bluff High School library added over 75 books to its collection with a $1,200 donation from the Class of 1992 in memory of alumna Misty Ziegler.
“Misty was an avid reader and loved all books,” stated Independent Living Center of Southeast Missouri Director Jennifer Brown, an organizer of the fundraiser. "Misty was an LCSW [licensed clinical social worker] and worked hard helping people celebrate who they were and deal with their issues [so that they can] live their best life."
Librarian Marcia Priest researched the selection of titles—about diversity, acceptance and overcoming challenges—and noted that the inspirational genre was popular among High School students. The books will contain an inscription within the cover dedicated to Ziegler, who passed away unexpectedly in October.
The Class of ‘92 also plans to make a smaller donation to the Junior High library with the rest of its collection generated by alumni through GoFundMe, according to United Cancer Assistance Network Director Melody Chailland, fundraiser co-organizer.
Pictured: Left to right) Jennifer Brown and Melody Chailland of the PBHS Class of 1992 make a memorial donation to the Poplar Bluff High School library, overseen by Marci Priest.
Article and photo submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District
Top fundraising students for this year’s Math-A-Thon were treated to pizza and a movie for helping to generate almost $30,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, bringing the district’s accumulative contribution to over $1.1 million.
The students are typically invited to tour St. Jude in Memphis, but since the medical center is not accepting visitors at this time, Pizza Inn opened its game room and a special showing of Disney’s “Cars” was arranged on Wednesday, March 24, at Kay Porter Theater
The group of students—three per participating building—included last year’s top fundraisers who missed out on the reward due to the district’s wellness break. Students also received gift bags with items donated by First Midwest Bank, Lemonade House Grille, McDonald’s, Sonic and St. Jude.
The Poplar Bluff School District has been a part of the Math-A-Thon since the 1988/89 academic year under the direction of former O’Neal Principal Lorenzo Sandlin, and the fundraiser went district-wide over the next decade.
Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the childhood cancer survival rate from 20 to 80 percent, according to the medical center’s website.
Pictured: Students pictured (in alphabetical order, not the order in which they appear) are Madeline Allbritton, Brookelyn Ballow, Liam Bates, Blayne Bell, Bree Blackwell, Karter Brown, Peyton Brumitt, Dalilah Burkeen, Dakota Collins, Austin Crismon, Chandler Crunk, Logan Crunk, Stella Cummings, Maddi DeHart, Jake Fickert, Kaitlyn Hillis, Chadrick Joehrs, Natalya Johnson, Nash Ligons, Ace Luecke, Jayden Massa, Natalie Meyer, Kyleigh Moffitt, Macy Mustain, Kayden Robbins, Dalton Rommel, Natalea Rommel, Chloe Rowland, Miles Sandlin, Sheldon Schaefer, Jace Silman, Bailey Smith, Reagan Sparkman, Kerris Taylor, Maddox Wilson and Presley Wilson.
Photo and article submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District
Poplar Bluff Municipal Library Director Sue Crites Szostak received the 2021 Friend of School Libraries award from the Missouri Association of School Libraries during a virtual conference that began on Monday, April 19.
The director was nominated for the statewide award by O’Neal Elementary Librarian Ashley Robertson, who previously worked with Crites Szostak at the public library.
“We are so fortunate to have the PBML in our community,” stated Robertson, noting that the materials made available serve the entire district. “From animated books for younger students to electronic resources for older students. They are helping our students inside the library and outside their walls.”
The library maintains a website featuring children and teen sections with databases such as Hoopla, OverDrive and Tumblebooks. To access the resources for research or homework, the library has issued eCards, and continues to provide Wi-Fi hots spots and free photocopies for students.
From the district’s 1:1 laptop initiative in 2013/14 up until a virtual learning option was offered this school year in response to the public health emergency, library staff has reached out to identify ways to help. “It’s just what we do,” said Crites Szostak, who credits her team for the award.
“I think we did things any community can copy and emulate, within our budget, using resources we had on hand,” she continued. “eCards don’t cost anything. We already pay for databases; why not make them available to a broader audience? The website we already had; might as well make it school and parent-friendly. [Our staff] is already here.”
The library recently opened up a secondary branch in addition to its historic downtown location, on Kanell Boulevard. According to Crites Szostak, the expansion was designed to create a study space and provide services closer to where the district has shifted along with the population over the decades.
Pictured: Sue Crites Szostak, director of the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library, received the Friend of School Libraries award for her working relationship with the R-I school system.
Photo and article submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District
