Written by
Beth Farrar, SMT Writer
Essex, Missouri- Richland High School is having a great time during their Homecoming Week (January 14th through 18th). This year’s theme is Under the Sea and their competitor for the Friday night basketball game is the Zalma Bulldogs. There are many games, competitions, and dress up days that the students grades seven through twelfth will be participating in throughout the week. The winners of these activities will earn their class extra points, which gives each grade level a chance to be the overall victors of Homecoming Week.
Monday was kicked off with pajama day. The students and teachers had a great time during the lunch hour where they participated in the wheelbarrow race. The faculty also rewarded the kids with hot chocolate and homemade cookies in between classes.
Each high school class was responsible for creating a bulletin board that went along with the Under the Sea Homecoming Dance theme. Students from each grade level put a lot of work and effort into their boards, hoping to win the overall competition. The winner of the competition will be announced on Friday during the Pep Rally.
“Twin Day Tuesday” was a favorite dress up day among the kids, where the students dressed up with the same hairstyle, pants, shirts, and shoes. Richland’s PTO also rewarded the kids with free sodas during the lunch hour, where the High School StuCo also scheduled the Oreo eating contest, which is a Minute to Win It game that requires each contestant to wiggle and squirm to get an Oreo cookie from their forehead to their mouth without touching it with their hands.
“80’s Wednesday” was also a scheduled dress up day that has currently been rescheduled for the Monday following Homecoming Week due to the snow day. On Monday, students are encouraged to pull out their leg warmers and tease their hair to create the 80’s-like theme. The musical chairs competition that was supposed to take place during the lunch hour will now take place during the Pep Rally later on this week.
Thursday is Nerd Day, which means that the students will be wearing suspenders, glasses, and pocket protectors. Nerd Day has been a fairly popular day and has been included in nearly every Homecoming Week throughout the past four or five years. Thursday’s game during the lunch hour was the annual Rock Paper Scissors Tournament, which was won by the junior class.
Friday is Rebel Day, all students participate by wearing red, gray, or other Richland Rebel attire. A Pep Rally will be held in the afternoon where the Pep Club (The Rebel Rousers) will perform a skit from the Adam Sandler movie The Water Boy.
One of the competitions during the pep rally will be the Cheese Ball Toss. One student from each grade level will cover their face in shaving cream while a second student will stand a few feet away and see how many cheese balls they can stick to the shaving cream beard. This game has been voted as a favorite by students that have participated in other Homecoming Week activities in prior years. The limbo, musical chairs, and a scavenger hunt will also be played that afternoon. The famous game of Tug-of-War will also be played in the gym.
Once the pep rally has been completed, the results of Homecoming Week will be calculated and the overall winners will be announced. As of now, the senior class is in first place, followed by the junior class, and in third place is the seventh grade class. The pep rally could drastically change these results and the other classes that follow the top three have a great chance at winning.
The Rebel students have had a great time this week and are excited for the other upcoming events that will take place throughout the day on Friday and the game and pageant that follows at 6:00pm. The Homecoming King and Queen will be crowned in between the junior varsity game and the varsity game. The Homecoming Dance (produced by Student Council) will take place right after the Homecoming game and will end at 10:00pm.
All pictures are credited to Richland's Yearbook Staff
ShowMe Times would like to encourage all our readers to get involved with our public schools. The upcoming activities are posted weekly in hopes of encouraging more people to get involved in the academic and athletic growth of our school system.
Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Poplar Bluff, Missouri - Three Rivers College is transitioning the way it serves students who need to strengthen the skills necessary to be successful in college-level courses.
“Three Rivers has been using a $2 million Strengthening Institutions grant to redesign the traditional classroom model of developmental classes. We have developed a Transitional model that uses computer modules and individualized instruction to help students master higher level skills more quickly and effectively,” said Three Rivers Math Instructor Kevin Wheeler. Wheeler is helping lead the team of college instructors and staff members using the federal Department of Education grant to develop innovative approaches to better prepare students for success.
Using ACT scores or computerized placement assessments, Three Rivers evaluates the math, reading, and writing skills of all new students. The Transitional courses will replace developmental courses for students whose scores indicate they need to boost their math, reading, and/or writing skills in order to be successful in college level courses, Wheeler said.
The Transitional courses provide a more individualized way of learning than the traditional classroom developmental model in which an instructor lectures and all students do the same homework problems, he said.
“The most important advantage is that the Transitional model helps students progress through developmental classes more quickly and can save students money,” Wheeler said.
He gave the example of a pre-nursing student who completed all three math classes in one semester. Because of the Transitional program, she was able to apply for the nursing program a year earlier than would have been possible with the traditional model.
The writing and reading Transitional classes are set up in a similar way to take advantage of computer modules. With writing, students work through grammar skills modules with writing skills taught using the traditional classroom model.
“Studies show that the more quickly students can progress through developmental courses, the more likely they are to persist to get a degree. This is part of our effort to help students reach their education goals,” Wheeler said.
The Transitional courses were offered in a pilot program at the Poplar Bluff campus during the Fall 2012 semester, with more being offered during Spring 2013, he said. The program will expand to Three Rivers centers and other off-campus locations in Fall 2013.
Three Rivers College offers quality, affordable college and career courses on campus, off-campus and online. For more information about the wide variety of programs offered, about enrolling and about financial aid, call (573) 840-9665 or visit trcc.edu.
Dexter High School- This listing of activities is a service offered by the ShowMe Times, working in partnership with the Dexter Public Schools for you convenience.
The ShowMe Times would like to encourage all of our readers to support our local school system. The education and growth of the young people in our community is important to everyone's future.
We would like everyone to join us as we encourage these young people in their pursuits. So lets get involved by supporting the events at our schools.
Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Cape Girardeau, Missouri - Dexter Senior High School students are glad to hear that for the third consecutive year, Southeast Missouri State University has been ranked as the safest public four-year university in Missouri by StateUniversity.com, the leading website for college information.
Jessica Loflin, DHS senior stated, "I want to know that they are doing everything they can to keep the students and teachers safe. There are a lot of my fellow classmates that will be going to SEMO and they don't want to have to worry about bad things happening on campus."
The Safest Schools findings are based on incidents of campus crime as reported by campus safety officials. The 2012 rankings are available online at http://www.stateuniversity.com/rank/safety_score_rank.html.
Doug Richards, director of the Department of Public Safety, said Southeast’s ranking as the safest public university in Missouri is the direct result of the University’s efforts over the past several years to put measures in place to ensure campus safety.
“We have 24/7 police patrols and a well-trained force,” Richards said. “We have technology in place with cameras across the campus providing ongoing video surveillance to help dispatchers monitor and record activities. We offer emergency text messaging for our students, faculty and staff, and we have an excellent outdoor warning system. We also have an urgent alert system to quickly send emergency communications to networked computers on campus. In addition, our campus has lighted corridors and a campus shuttle system running at night.
“We also have officers who provide A.L.I.C.E. (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate) training to our faculty, staff, and students, and area schools, employers and the public to help prepare them on how to handle intruder situations,” Richards added.
“Campus safety has been a major emphasis at Southeast,” he said. “The administration had the forethought many years ago to put the technology in place that we needed. This (ranking) did not happen by accident. We are very aggressive on campus safety, and the Department of Public Safety is constantly visible.”
Dr. Debbie Below, vice president for enrollment management and student success and Dean of Students, said, “Southeast Missouri State University continues to be one of the fastest growing universities in the Midwest. Campus safety is among the important factors families consider when evaluating colleges. The safety and security of students are of utmost importance to Southeast. Numerous people and resources on the campus and in the Cape Girardeau community are dedicated to the goal of providing a safe learning, working, and living environment for our student body.
“We encourage students to do their part as well,” Below added. “Students themselves play a vital part in helping to assure that the Southeast campus is a safe place. Throughout the year, students are exposed to a variety of safety and security topics through programs offered by numerous university departments including the Department of Public Safety, the Office of Residence Life, Counseling and Disability Services, the Dean of Students Office and others.”
The safety rankings are the latest in a series of rankings lists compiled by StateUniversity.com, including Top Ranked Schools Overall.
