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Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Dexter, Missouri - Southwest Elementary School announced the hiring of their new principal for the 2013 - 2014 school year due to the fact Sherry Matthew, current principal, is retiring in June.
Our newest Bearcat will be Bethany Deal who is currently the principal at Valley R-VI Jr. high and High School in Caledonia, Missouri. Mrs. Deal has been in the public schools as a counselor and principal for the past four years. She was also named Southeast Missouri School Counselor of the Year in 2010.
Bethany earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Central Methodist University with a major in elementary education. She also holds a minor in early childhood education.
She continued her education by receiving a Master of Science degree from Missouri Baptist University majoring in educational counseling. She is also currently pursuing a specialist degree from Southeast Missouri State University - Cape Girardeau in educational administration.
Bethany has four children and is married to Russel Deal, a retired physical education teacher.
We welcome her to her new position and look forward to seeing her at Southwest Elementary School.
Photo provided by the Dexter Public School.
Written by
Beth Farrah, SMT Writer
Essex, Missouri - Richland’s high school and elementary students celebrated their one hundredth day of school today. Richland Elementary was packed full of fun games and competitions in honor of their one hundredth day of learning since school began in mid-August. The faculty in the elementary decorated the halls with giant one hundreds and streamers.
Some of the younger kids got to play a lot of games in the afternoon after finishing their class work. Most played puzzles, colored pictures, and did special projects. Last week, the students of fourth through sixth grade drew and colored pictures of themselves today and what they think they’d look like in a hundred years.
In Mrs. Roberts’s fourth grade classroom, the students had many activities planned for the afternoon. The fourth graders got to create a “Book of One Hundreds”, which was a small booklet that each of them drew that contained ten of their favorite colors, ten of their favorite people, ten of their favorite places, and other favorite things placed in groups of ten.
Other students competed against each other in the game of “One Hundred Words”, which small groups of students got together and raced against time and the other students to try to get one hundred verbs, proper nouns, and adjectives.
The kids also got to enjoy a One Hundred Second Estimate Game. This game included the students seeing how many times they could sing their ABCs or count to ten in one hundred seconds. They also got to see how many jumping jacks they could do or how many times they could sit down and stand up in their chair. The students really enjoyed the games and today’s class work, which all had something to do with one hundred.
Although the kids in elementary were having a fantastic day, the junior high and high school students also got a special treat from the faculty. Today, they were surprised by their superintendent, Frank Killian, with a special lunch. Killian brought out the barbeque grill and grilled burgers for each of the students in honor of the hundredth day of school. They were also given 100 Grand candy bars to remind them that they are over halfway done with this school year.
It was an overall great turnout today and both the students and faculty are ready for the final stretch of the school year with only a couple more months to go. The one hundredth day of school has always been celebrated by the Rebels with a sense of accomplishment and a pat on the back for all the goals that have been met by the students this far and for all of the goals that they plan to meet before the school year comes to an end.
Written by
Beth Farrar, SMT Writer
The Homecoming candidates for Richland High School had a close call for the Homecoming King and Queen last night during the Homecoming Basketball Game against the Zalma Bulldogs. The high school students casted their votes on Thursday morning during third period and the King and Queen of Richland’s 53rd Homecoming was announced last night in between the junior varsity and varsity basketball game in Richland’s gym. There were eight contestants in this year’s Homecoming Court, which made it a tough decision for the students at Richland to decide who to vote for.
The 2013 King and Queen titles were given to juniors Dustin Robbins and Katlynn Rofkahr. Both students were surprised and ecstatic as they were crowned by the 2012 retiring King and Queen, juniors Tyler Maddox and Mckenzie Hillis. Although it was a close call, the juniors officially took the crowns. The other nominees were also recognized and congratulated.
The freshman nominee for Homecoming Queen was Skie Pinkley, who was escorted by DJ Kimbrel. Pinkley and Kimbrel are both members to many clubs and organizations that are offered at the high school. Pinkley was recently nominated as the Student of the Month for December for the freshman class and she recently competed in the Fall Festival Pageant. Kimbrel was a Miss RHS escort earlier in the school year. The two were very anxious for their first Homecoming at Richland but enjoyed the competitions, games, and pep rallies that came along with it.
The sophomore candidates included Nickol Tilley and Marcus Grayson. Tilley is involved in many clubs, including FBLA, Beta, Yearbook Staff member, Student Council, Quiz Bowl Team member, FCCLA, FCA, and FFA. Grayson is a varsity basketball player and is often the top scorer and is also involved in various clubs. Tilley has competed for Miss RHS and Fall Festival Queen in previous years. This year was the first year that they competed for Homecoming Court but were excited to see the turnout.
The junior class elected Katlynn Rofkahr and Dustin Robbins as their Homecoming candidates. Aside from being the newly crowned Homecoming Queen, Rofkahr is a varsity volleyball player, retired Miss RHS, and is a highly active member of FCCLA, FBLA, FFA, FCA, Pep Club, Prom Committee, and Beta. Homecoming King, Dustin Robbins, is also a very active member in many clubs and has been a nominee for Homecoming King in previous years.
The senior nominees were Baylee Taylor and Logan Rodgers. Both Rodgers and Taylor have had their fair share of experience with pageants and competitions similar to Homecoming during the past four years. The duo competed side by side for Miss RHS in 2011. Taylor is a varsity volleyball player, the FFA President for Richland’s chapter, and is also a member to Beta, Student Council, FCA, FCCLA, FBLA, and Pep Club. Rodgers is a former basketball player and a member of FFA and Pep Club. The two were very excited about the competition and greatly enjoyed their last Homecoming Week at Richland High School.
With Homecoming Week officially coming to an end, the students and fans are finally settling down after hearing the results. The participants and contestants for Homecoming Court were excited to be a part of such an important and meaningful week to the alumni and graduates that returned to watch the game on the home court tonight.
We would like to congratulate all the contestants and participants that competed for King and Queen tonight and all of the Richland basketball players that played in the Homecoming Game. We would also like to thank the Student Council members and their sponsor for allowing Homecoming Week to run smoothly and efficiently. Overall, the night was a great success in the eyes of many.
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
