Written by
Beth Farrah, SMT Writer
Essex, Missouri – National Young Readers Week is taking place all over the United States. Richland Elementary will be participating in this widespread event November 11th through 15th. The faculty planned a week full of reading activities for the students.
Monday was Teacher’s Choice, which involved Myon Read-Alouds or other favorite books that the class read together. Tuesday is Read and Feed. Make sure you wear your western attire on Wednesday for Round Up a Good Book. Elementary principal Mrs. Merritt will read wild western book excerpts throughout the day and will plan a western activity for all grades to participate in. Curl Up with a Good Book will be on Thursday, so be sure to wear your pajamas and bring your favorite book! Friday will be a special day for the third, fifth, and sixth graders because they will be performing plays for the lower grade levels throughout the day.
In Richland’s Junior High, the seventh graders just received a pizza party for having the highest Myon Reading scores. Myon is a reading program that Richland just accepted for their elementary and junior high readers and is currently being introduced to the high school students. Myon is a personalized reading program that can be accessed on iPads, Tablets, Nooks, and Kindles, which is perfect for the school’s new Bring Your Own Device Program. The personalized reading program helps the students find books that match their interests, reading level, and books they might like based on what they already read. The digital library has books for everyone at any reading level, so there are endless amounts of books that keep the students ready to read.
This year’s National Young Readers Week will be filled with activities in the elementary throughout the school day but students are encouraged to take a good book home too. The elemtnary students aren’t the only ones reading though. The high school students involved with the elementary, such as Cadet Teachers and A+ Tutors will be reading their favorite children’s books to their selected grade level.
National Young Readers Week was founded nearly twenty years ago by the Pizza Hut Bookit Program along with other library related foundations. Richland has been participating in the Pizza Hut Bookit Program for many years and takes great pride in celebrating this special week and opening doorways for young readers in all grade levels.
Dee Loflin SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri - This is the third year that T.S. Hill Middle School has held an essay contest with their 8th grade students. Mrs. Dement began teaching at middle school this year and was instrumental in carrying out this project and making it a success.
The theme for this year's contest was, "How can I show my pride in being an American?"
This year they had one student's essay chosen as honorable mention and that student was Madi Wright. The winner was Bryson Huggins and his essay will be entered into the National American Legion Auxiliary American ism Essy Contest.
Bryson then took the stage and read his essay. It was truly remarkable. We thank Bryson for sharing his essay with the crowd and Veterans.
Written by
Dee Loflin SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri - Students at Central Elementary in the 5th grade classrooms worked very hard on their posters to commemorate the military and Veterans. They wanted to show Veterans how much they appreciate them and these students know that without Veterans' sacrifice they would not have the right to express themselves through art.
A special thanks to Mrs. Bowman and to all of the 5th grade teachers for allowing some time in class to work on their projects and to also learn about Veterans Day. Mr.s June Lawrence, art teacher, helps each year with the students and encourages participation in this project.
The following students won with their artwork:
Chloe McRoy - Mrs. Allen's classroom
Mattilyn Williams - Mrs. Bolin's classroom
Jackson Allen - Mrs. Guethle's classroom
Clay Prance - Mrs. Lummakka's classroom
Hannah Jones - Mrs. Moore's classroom
Lea Malone - Mrs. Muzny's classroom
Lanie Medler - Mr. Scott's classroom
Baily Chamberlain - Mrs. Stone's classroom
Each student received a necklace with their own dog tag. Thank you 5th graders for honoring our Veterans by working so hard on your posters. You all did a great job!
Written by
Dee Loflin SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri - The winners of the 2013 2nd Grade Poppy Coloring Contest were announced at the Veterans Day Observance Celebration in the Bearcat Event Center today.
Students were read an informational book about Veterans Day and the symbolism of the Poppy flower during Mrs. Banken's Art Class. The students were then asked to color a Poppy in honor of all Veterans. Winners were selected from each classroom.
Quinton Perry was selected from Mrs. Justice's classroom. Victoria Ferguson was selected from Mrs. Bell's classroom. Mrs. Neson's classroom winner was Sophia Stevens. Dustin Carter won with his Poppy and he is from Mrs. Mick's classroom. Rylee Corlew was selected from Elfrink's classroom. Ashton Dvorak was selected from Mrs. Leonard's classroom and Tommijo Mitchell won with his coloring of a Poppy in Mrs. Moore's classroom.
All of the second grade students at Southwest Elementary worked very hard and did an excellent job in coloring their Poppy flower.
Written by
Beth Farrah, SMT Writer
Essex, Missouri – Richland High School’s annual Family Fun Night event took place on Friday, November 8th. The school hallways were filled with painted faces painted by the high school students, balloon animals made by JoJo the clown, Autumn Queen candidates, and avid bingo players.
Family Fun Night is one of the biggest fundraising nights of the year for the high school classes, clubs, and organizations. The senior class recently went out to gather donations from local companies and businesses for their silent auction and bingo night. The class of 2014 received a lot of support from the community that helped their biggest fundraisers become a success. Thank you to all who participated in the silent auction and bingo or had the heart to donate!
The school also rented huge bouncy houses and an eighteen foot slide, which was placed in the gym for elementary students to enjoy. It was a child’s paradise with face paintings, balloon animals, a bouncy house, and bingo prizes.
The FCCLA club (led by Judy Ackman) once again created the Rebel Café in the cafeteria. The students waited on and served their customers dinner for a majority of the night while the guests enjoyed multiple games of bingo. The club was very busy back in the kitchen making barbeque sandwiches, Frito pies, chili, and hotdogs. They are currently preparing for their regional meeting that will take place on Wednesday, November 13th in Dexter at the Bearcat Center. Richland currently has two regional officers in their club and the club recently travelled to Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach to attend a leadership conference and the members are very excited to participate in the regional meeting as well.
The cost of Family Fun Night this year was different from all the other years Richland has hosted this event. The Richland Schools are currently having their canned food drive for their Backpack Program, so they asked that each person wishing to participate in Family Fun Night would help them reach their goal and provide food for less fortunate children in their community throughout this holiday season.
Although there were fun and games out in the hallways, the main event of the night was the Autumn Queen Pageant. There were a total of eight contestants, each representing a class or club that nominated them to participate. Sophomore Mariah McLard, freshman Gerlynn Grossius, freshman Aleena Robbins, junior Aimee Whitney, junior Hailey Laws, junior Whitney Teeters, junior Alexis Accord, and junior Madison Passley all participated in the pageant.
The pageant is judged by three guests that are not associated with the school. The contestants are judged on their attire and the answer to the question they are asked. The Autumn Queen was crowned by Student Council President Kayla Uhles, who was also crowned as the Autumn Queen in 2011, since the reigning 2012 Autumn Queen could not attend the pageant.
Freshman Aleena Robbins received second runner up, freshman Gerlynn Grossius received first runner up, and junior Aimee Whitney received the title of Autumn Queen. Whitney’s question was “What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced and how did you overcome it?” Whitney answered thoroughly, explaining how she lost her grandmother to cancer and the importance to keeping a positive attitude during tough times while never taking any moment for granted.
The 2013 Autumn Queen received a bundle of fall flowers and a crown. Since she is a junior this year, she will be crowning the 2014 Autumn Queen next fall. The junior class was proud to be represented by Whitney and Student Council thanks all of the contestants that participated in the pageant.
