Local Schools
Dexter Students Dissected Owl Pellets and Learned About Food Chains
March 07th 2019 by Dee Loflin
Naturalists and an education consultants with the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center visited third and fifth grade classrooms in Dexter and Oran recently to give nature programs. These visits are part of a large effort to take nature programs to students who might not otherwise get to visit the center.
“We taught the students about food chains while exploring owl adaptations and pellets,” said Sara Bradshaw, a MDC education consultant. “All of our nature programs teach about animal conservation, habitats, nature appreciation and connect to classroom science studies.”
Bradshaw said the lessons are part of MDC’s Discover Nature Schools (DNS) program. DNS emphasizes hands-on learning, teaches problem-solving, and provides authentic and local contexts for learning. Its lessons teach students from pre-K through high school about Missouri’s native plants, animals, and habitats and connects them with nature. This particular DNS lesson is Nature Unleashed, featuring information about animal adaptations, food chains, and owl pellet dissection activity.
“Many people don’t know what owl pellets are,” Bradshaw said. “But they actually teach us a lot about these fascinating raptors and provide a perfect exploration of the food chain.”
Bradshaw said an owl pellet is a tight little ball of items that an owl cannot digest. When an owl eats small rodents, birds and bugs each night, its stomach can’t digest things like fur, teeth, feathers and bones, so the owl will regurgitate these items in the form of a pellet. She said the pellets are heat sterilized before the dissection activity, which kills any living organisms that might still be present in the pellets.
“These extra parts tell us what the owl has been eating,” Bradshaw said. “It’s a very fun, educational activity the kids really get excited about.”
Bradshaw said the schools get excited about saved costs when naturalists visit. DNS lessons provide a field experience without the costs of a field trip. She hopes the programs help teachers see how they can tie nature as a theme into their current teaching strategies using DNS curriculum as the lesson or supplement to their lessons. Schools that participate in DNS are provided free curriculum and become eligible for field trip grants.
Last Updated on March 07th 2019 by Dee Loflin
https://showmetimes.com/Blogpost/vc8n/Dexter-Students-Dissected-Owl-Pellets-and-Learned-About-Food-Chains
Reality Fair Teaches Budgeting to Students
March 07th 2019 by Dee Loflin
More than 60 Poplar Bluff High School students signed up to participate in the fifth annual Reality Fair to learn about money management during an event similar to a poverty simulation held Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Three Rivers College.
Administered locally by the Ozark Federal Credit Union in partnership with business leaders, the program was developed by the University of Missouri at Kansas City and the Department of Economic Education.
“One person changes career paths eight times in a lifetime,” Ozark FCU Business Development Specialist Davine Conover explained to over 200 students, including those of Neelyville and Naylor.
Students were randomly assigned family scenarios on an app through which they received a unique profile that included a career path, income, spouse, children, a credit card bill, insurance co-pay and student loan debt.
They were tasked with visiting several booths in order to make mock financial purchases, both major and minor, then gathered in the Tinnin Center theater for a lecture about the importance of wise financial decisions.
“Everything we do revolves around money,” stated Conover, who has been teaching financial literacy for over 14 years. “These [healthy] habits start today.”
Pictured: Realtor Terry Stewart walks students through various pricing options for mock expenditures.
Photo and article submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District
Last Updated on March 07th 2019 by Dee Loflin
https://showmetimes.com/Blogpost/vc8f/Reality-Fair-Teaches-Budgeting-to-Students
PBHS Rolls Out Coffee Service
March 05th 2019 by Dee Loflin
Poplar Bluff, Missouri - The Poplar Bluff High School Coffee Crew began serving refreshments to teachers on Tuesday, Feb. 12, in an effort to provide students an opportunity to work on pre-vocational skills for their post-graduation transition.
Every Tuesday and Thursday during first and fourth hour, the students bring around a cart to faculty members who order coffee, tea or bottled water. Punch cards designed by the Technical Career Center computer graphics class are purchased my staff for $5 for 10 drinks, plus one freebee.
The concept of the Coffee Crew came after a visit to Jackson High School earlier in the academic year, according to Mindy Garrett, R-I special services director. The cart was purchased through a mini-grant teacher Jeanette Miller was recently awarded from the Academic Assistance Group, and special aprons were designed by teacher Alexis Blevins. Chartwells supplied the containers.
Jaden Sharp, a senior who works at Starbucks, donated several pounds of specialty coffee to help launch the program, which is sustained by generous contributions.
Pictured: Foreign language teacher Charley Harper receives a hand-delivered herbal tea, after teaching students how to say ‘coffee’ and ‘tea’ in Spanish.
Photo and article submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District
Last Updated on March 05th 2019 by Dee Loflin
https://showmetimes.com/Blogpost/vc75/PBHS-Rolls-Out-Coffee-Service
Annual PTO Valentine’s Day Coronation
March 05th 2019 by Dee Loflin
Poplar Bluff, Missouri - Eugene Field’s seventh annual Valentine King and Queen Coronation was celebrated on Thursday, Feb. 14, generating $850 for the elementary school’s activity fund.
Students of each class selected a king and a queen based on the characteristic of kindness, then a grade level winner was named for raising the most money for the Parent Teacher Organization.
Classroom royalty from the first, second and third grades were honored during a ceremony held in the gymnasium, with parents invited as special guests. Students from the Media Communications Team emceed the event, profiling the winners, listing the families, hobbies, career goals and favorite Leader In Me habits of the students.
Top fundraising students included Malori Morandi and Chadrick Joehrs of the first grade, Miley Baker and Aiden Field of second, and Abby Kearbey and Bryden McElhaney of grade three. Reigning queen and king Aliya Tafoya and D’Quaylin McCoy presented the crowns to the 2019 court.
The popular fundraiser began on Valentine’s Day in 2013 under the direction of counselor Esther Luna.
Pictured: Malori Morandi and Chadrick Joehrs of Kristen Spain’s first grade class receive their crowns.
Photo and article submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District
Last Updated on March 05th 2019 by Dee Loflin
https://showmetimes.com/Blogpost/vc77/Annual-PTO-Valentines-Day-Coronation
Three Rivers College Music Department Faculty Attends MMEA Conference
March 05th 2019 by Dee Loflin
Poplar Bluff, Missouri - Three Rivers College Music Department faculty recently attended the 81st Annual Missouri Music Educators Association (MMEA) Workshop and Conference, "Appear and Inspire" for professional development, musical enrichment, and time to learn from the collective wisdom of the musical community.
The instructors are pictured at the Southeast Missouri State University alumni reception held at the MMEA conference; from left, Jerry Lintner, Sheri Mitchell, Cindy White, and William White.
Last Updated on March 05th 2019 by Dee Loflin
https://showmetimes.com/Blogpost/vc81/Three-Rivers-College-Music-Department-Faculty-Attends-MMEA-Conference
