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You've got eMule!
Vol. 12 No. 2
Welcome back to The eMule! Here is the latest news from Poplar Bluff Schools to help start your year on the right hoof.
| Veterans Honor Tour returns to PBHS for send-off |  | |
The Poplar Bluff School District helped to provide area combat veterans a hero's send-off as a local group was escorted with chaperones to Washington, D.C. free of charge to take a three-day tour of the nation’s capital, and visit various memorials.
The PBHS student body hosted an assembly for 30 retired servicemen and women through the Veterans Honor Tour featuring the JROTC, Sho-Me Band, Choir, Cheerleaders and Pom Squad. The charter bus was led off campus by community first responders and a motorcycle convoy as Oak Grove Elementary students held up homemade posters and flags.
Paul Hopkins, who was named director of the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center last year, urged the high schoolers in attendance to reflect on the sacrifices made as the veterans “answered the call of duty to defend our country.” Because of their service, “you have the freedom to pursue education, express your opinion and follow your dreams,” Hopkins said.
In thanking the veterans for serving the “greatest military in the world,” making America the “superpower that it is today,” R-I Superintendent Dr. Aaron Cornman quoted Pres. John F. Kennedy, stating: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” Cornman noted that he understands the sacrifices military families make in service of the country, as the son of a U.S. Army veteran during the Vietnam War. Also sharing how she descended from a “long line of veterans,” Principal Dr. Valerie Ivy helped welcome the esteemed guests, each of whom was given hand-written cards from students.
Of the dozens of sites on the itinerary over the weekend, veterans would go on to visit World War II, Korean and Vietnam memorials, along with the Arlington Cemetery, U.S. Capitol and White House. PBHS last participated in the send-off in 2018, the final year that the Honor Tour was led by founder Rob Callahan, who in 2007 brought the initiative to Poplar Bluff after learning about a comparable nonprofit called Honor Flight. It is the fifth year past participant and Vietnam War veteran Jerry Sneathern has taken over organizing the Veterans Honor Tour for the community.
Above: Veterans are escorted into the gymnasium with the Sho-Me Band performing the “Patriotic Spectacular” on Friday, Sept. 8, at PBHS.
Below: Oak Grove students line Tom Hoover Way as a bus exits campus en route to the airport to participate in the Veterans Honor Tour.
Click here to view all of the photos in our running album, and be sure to Like/Comment/Share!
|  | Principal leads voluntary effort over summer to make ‘walls talk’ |  | |
Poplar Bluff Middle School administrators spent their free time over the summer adding words of inspiration and color to the long hallways of the Victory Lane campus in an effort to motivate students.
Beginning at the end of May, about 20 murals have been either spray painted or wrapped throughout the facility, each one knocked out in a day or so. Entering his fourth school year as principal, Dr. Josh Teeter estimates his team may be about a quarter of the way into fulfilling their vision of making the “walls talk.”
“This summer after work I would bring some paint clothes, and once I got my work done, I would climb up on the ladder,” recalled Teeter, admitting that sitting still is not in his nature. When asked about the time commitment, he replied: “It has taken a lot of time away from home, but a principal’s job is never-ending; a good principal is always thinking about school, whether at home or at work.”
Once Teeter started the project, Assistant Principal Shelly Ridens “kind of got the bug,” he noted, and started using her personal Cricut machine to add quotes over the murals so they are “not just art,” he said. Since Karmen Carson was promoted to assistant principal in July, Teeter added, she began pitching in as well.
“This all started with Dr. Teeter designing the murals, and then I jumped on the projects after him with words, motivational sayings/quotes, reminders, et cetera,” Ridens explained. “…Education is still a passion of mine and I want each and every student to be excited at school, feel safe and loved, and get the very best from us while here.
Examples of the sayings include, “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible.’” Building themes are also highlighted, such as patriotism, with the school’s longstanding Veterans Day parade tradition – or the game of chess, as a nod to the Middle School’s popular Chess Club.
“This gives you the opportunity to signify the character traits we want our kids to focus on,” Teeter elaborated. “I can talk about growth mindset on the announcements each morning, or tell them every week about it in a newsletter, or I can pin it out front for every time they walk the hall. They’ll see that eventually.”
Teeter pointed out how the smaller elementary schools are “bursting with color,” while the lengthy hallways of the Middle School “looked blank, and that can be intimidating for a kid.” Future plans include possibly soliciting a local artist to do a professional mural. The Art Department also intends on creating a new ceramic tile collage featuring a contribution from the entire student body.
“It’s a lot of little things that make a big thing,” Teeter continued. His original vision was to research a few concepts in order to lay the foundation, then “pass the torch” to the Junior Beta Club or Student Council. His ultimate goal, Teeter said, is to launch a school beautification club over which he serves as adviser for the students, “because ultimately this is their school,” he concluded.
Above: A student passes a new mural while walking along the front addition of the Middle School building, formerly the High School campus, on Tuesday, Aug. 29.
Below: As the host site of the district’s largest community event organized annually in observance of Veterans Day, an American flag mural has been designed at the bottom of the staircase to lower A building of the Middle School.
|  | Teacher awarded grant for new drama production class at PBJHS |  | |
The newly created drama production class at Poplar Bluff Junior High was awarded a $500 grant, one of 11 grants presented last month out of 24 applications in Region 12 of the Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation, according to officials.
Hilary Taylor authored the successful proposal, marking the third year in a row the teacher has received the MRTF grant of five total she has acquired over the last seven years. One or more Poplar Bluff teachers have been selected as recipients annually through the foundation since 2017.
“Students will design promotional posters, research and help find props and costumes, rehearse the parts, and design, build and paint the set,” Taylor wrote. “…The items purchased through the MRTF grant will allow the initial production to have actual flats for the students to design and decorate for a much more complete production.”
The budget outlined in Taylor’s write-up included lumber, foam sheets, screws and paint. There are presently 23 students enrolled in the year-long class. Taylor previously led a drama class, which was only a semester, and additionally incorporated elements of public speaking, she explained.
With the expanded curriculum, students will research and evaluate different script choices, vote to determine which production they will audition for, and then put on a full-length play in the spring, she said. “Theater is something that I’ve been involved in since I was 5 years old,” shared Taylor, who serves as board treasurer and prop/costume coordinator for the Stage Company, a community theater group.
Taylor also teaches game design, robotics, credit recovery and the gifted program (SINGS). Her grants through MRTF—totaling $2,500—have helped cover start-up costs for the electives, along with English, which she taught when she first transferred to Junior High from Oak Grove Elementary several years ago. After applying the seed money, Taylor hopes to sustain the class with revenue from ticket sales.
The foundation is the fundraising arm of the Missouri Retired Teachers Association, made up of retired educators whose purpose is to promote the professional, social and economic welfare of all retired school employees, according to its website. The grant funds are generated during the annual delegates assembly of the association. Butler County is one of 11 counties in Region 12, out of 14 districts throughout Missouri.
Above: (Left to right) Linda Surber, Butler County Unit president, and Region 12 Vice President Mark Cook, present a $500 grant to instructor Hilary Taylor along with Candace Warren, Junior High principal, on Monday, Aug. 14.
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Rivalry Week
Mules Varsity Football will host Jackson at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, at Mules Stadium. Gates open at 5:30. Cost to enter is $4, with no charge for non-school aged children.
Kiddie Camp
Registration for Poplar Bluff Cheerleading Kiddie Camp will take place from 5-5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18, in the PBHS auxiliary gym. The annual camp, for children preschool aged-sixth grade, will run Monday through Thursday, Sept. 18-21. Cost is $30 per child.
Mules Café
The Mules Café returns from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 28-29, at 1110 N. Westwood Blvd. Cost per meal—including an entrée, choice of sides, dessert and soft drink—is $9. To place an order or make a reservation, guests are asked to call 573-785-5768 a day prior. Click here to view our menu.
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On Tuesday, Aug. 29, the DAR reported about our annual back-to-school convocation.
On Wednesday, Aug. 30, Poplar Bluff Living featured Drs. Aaron and Leigh Ann Cornman as the cover story in its monthly magazine.
On Thursday, Aug. 31, the DAR reported about a Middle School student receiving free hearing aids through a charity.
On Friday, Sept. 1, the DAR featured our PBHS Student Council as guests on “The Scoop” podcast.
On Saturday, Sept. 9, the DAR reported about the Missouri State Bears football team visiting PBHS for a walk-through practice at Mules Stadium in preparation for a matchup in Tennessee.
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