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You've got eMule!
Vol. 12 No. 7
Welcome back to The eMule! Here is the latest news from Poplar Bluff Schools to help start your week on the right hoof.
| Best-selling education author returns to discuss classroom management |  | |
Back by popular request, Todd Whitaker, one of the nation’s leading authorities in the education field, returned to Poplar Bluff to speak with faculty about classroom management during Collaboration Day on Friday, Oct. 6, at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center.
“Great is the standard here because it’s so important,” said Whitaker, opening the initial session with teachers over grades preK-6. “In other professions, we settle for below standard. In education, we really do have that imprint – since that’s what everyone wants.
“That’s what makes it so hard,” he continued, “but that’s what also makes it so special.”
Whitaker, an author of over 60 books, originally served as keynote speaker for the 9th annual PB Connect in January. In soliciting feedback following the district’s internal workshop, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Patty Robertson said Whitaker’s message, “What Great Teachers Do Differently,” really resonated with faculty.
Booking Whitaker to speak to the entire staff split among two groups was deemed the most economical option for the professional development budget, according to Robertson, when inquiring about a future virtual session or book study with the education leader.
During his visit this month, Whitaker provided strategies for dealing with students misbehaving in class, including redirecting the attention so educators can keep teaching and not disengage the rest of the students who remain on task. “Great teachers know that’s the least important kid in the room while they’re misbehaving,” he said.
“Everything a great teacher does is prevention, not revenge,” Whitaker went on. He talked about establishing his own positive referral program, similar to what Poplar Bluff practices with positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) and Capturing Kids’ Hearts. “My philosophy of education is the same as my philosophy in life: Raise the praise. Minimize the criticize,” he concluded.
Piggybacking off Whitaker’s comment that “High achievers are the only ones who want everyone to be successful,” Poplar Bluff Superintendent Dr. Aaron Cornman quoted John Mason’s “An Enemy Called Average,” stating: “Remember in the eyes of average people, average is always considered outstanding.”
In thanking the speaker for providing some more ‘Whiti-cisms’ for staff to reflect upon, Cornman noted that Whitaker’s “Shifting the Monkey” made an impact on his early career in the superintendent ranks. Whitaker’s original speaking engagement last school year happened to be Cornman’s introduction to the R-I district, having attended the conference prior to beginning his superintendency in Poplar Bluff.
Robertson recalled first hearing Whitaker speak back when she was an administrator at the former 5th & 6th Grade Center. A lifelong educator, Whitaker still serves as a professor of educational leadership at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
Above: Dr. Todd Whitaker speaks to certified staff members, grades preK-6, on Friday, Oct. 6, at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center – followed by a session for educators over grades 7-12.
| Municipal Library opens its doors to kindergartners |  | |
Poplar Bluff kindergartners had the opportunity to explore the newly completed mural in the sensory garden of the Municipal Library during a series of field trips arranged last week.
“I don’t know who has more fun, us or them,” commented Assistant Library Director Belinda Birrer about the hour-long tours scheduled by class Tuesday through Friday, Oct. 10-13. Birrer noted how she enjoys the enthusiasm of the students who brag about having “been here before.”
The kindergarten students first enjoyed a music and movement session, story time and a pumpkin experiment led by Children & Youth Services Librarian Connie Roberson. Then they broke out into groups with library personnel, visiting the various activity stations designed to engage young readers.
“We just want them to get familiar with our services so we can help support early literacy,” Roberson explained. A former principal at Sacred Heart, Roberson said the library has always been dear to her heart, as her late mother Jean Parsons also retired from the public institution as a clerk.
A scavenger hunt was orchestrated on the painted walls surrounding the raised flower beds of the recently unveiled piece entitled “Familiar Wonders” by watercolorist Mattilyn Grace Stacy, depicting the seasons, plants and wildlife of Southeast Missouri. Stacy, 19, attended Poplar Bluff Schools for several years, and was otherwise homeschooled.
When asked, kindergarten teacher Shelia Skorcz informed her students that she had been to the library "100 times." Growing up in Fisk, she can remember visiting the North Main Street facility as a young girl on Saturdays, participating in story hour and checking out books. “We were country kids and my mom would read a lot,” she said.
According to Skorcz, the students have been taking field trips to the library since before the present-day Kindergarten Center opened in 2010, and was then located at what is now Mark Twain School. She started with the district in 1997, when the former 5th & 6th Grade Center had first opened, shifting the elementary grade configuration.
Above: Kindergartner Zolah Jones of Margaret Peacock’s class sits beside an autumn scene from the new mural in the sensory garden of the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library.
Below: (Counterclockwise beginning in front) Charlotte Patterson, Madelynn Hampton and Drake Griggs of the Poplar Bluff Kindergarten Center color with pencils on Tuesday, Oct. 10, in the children’s section.
Click here to view the rest of the album, and be sure to ‘Like’ your favorite shots!
|  | Sho-Me Band percussion section places first at Invitational | |
The Poplar Bluff High School Sho-Me Marching Band brought home two first-place victories, winning second overall in its division on Saturday, Sept. 23, during the Wright City Marching Invitational.
The PBHS percussion section competed against 10 other schools at Wright City High School, winning first in both the indoor and outdoor marching festivals, upon receiving top ratings from a panel of three judges, reported Band Director Stephen Winters.
For the indoor portion of the competition, the percussion students performed the entire marching show by themselves, according to Winters, and then they played the same music outdoors on the field with the rest of the band.
Above: The percussion section of the Sho-Me Marching Band celebrates its first-place victories, with Assistant Director Joel Hettenhausen, on Saturday, Sept. 23, at Wright City High School.
| Bonus: Superintendent celebrates Poplar Bluff’s rich history |  | |
Dr. Aaron Cornman was provided some local history last week, with a guided tour of the Poplar Bluff Museum, followed by a visit to the Bloodworth House.
The engagements served as a continuation of the superintendent’s introductory Listen, Learn, Lead tour when he started with Poplar Bluff Schools over the summer. Cornman previously resided in the community in the early 1990s.
In the Bloodworth House—established by writer, director and producer Linda Bloodworth Thomason of Poplar Bluff—Cornman was informed that around 100 scholarships have been awarded to female students through the Designing Women Foundation, and students have earned in excess of a quarter million dollars in reading incentives via the associated Charlie Classics program.
At the Poplar Bluff Museum, sold by the school district for $1 to the City of Poplar Bluff following the 1987/88 school year, Cornman toured the Abington Haworth School House, Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame, Kanell Hall Veterans Museum and Hall of Heroes, and the U.S. Forest Service and Missouri Conservation Commission room.
Above: Dr. Aaron Cornman views historic class records and portraits of former superintendents in an extension of the Abington Haworth School Room with museum board member Clinton Salyer on Wednesday, Oct. 11. Also present were members Jay Githens and David Johnson.
Below: Superintendent Cornman stands in the library containing 200-year-old reclaimed Scottish pine, according to Linda Surber, who led the Bloodworth House tour along with fellow board members Kathern Harris and Fathom Hefner Riffle, on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
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Bus Safety Week
National School Bus Safety Week, observed Monday through Friday, Oct. 16-20, serves as a reminder for students, parents, teachers and the community to keep school bus safety in the forefront. Bus evacuation drills for grades K-6 will be scheduled throughout the week.
Plant Sale
Poplar Bluff High School is selling mums grown by agriculture students from 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday through Friday, in the front office: 3209 Oak Grove Road. Mums in assorted colors are available for $15, or two for $25. All proceeds support the PBHS FFA!
5K and Fun Run
The PBHS Unified Champions will host a 5K fundraiser beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at Rodgers Theater on West Pine Street. Cost to enter and receive a shirt is $30 per person. Proceeds support the club, which aims to promote an all-inclusive school environment for students with intellectual disabilities seeking to play sports. Click here to register!
Close the Gap Grant
Based on household income, parents may be eligible to receive a one-time grant of up to $1,500 for each student to use toward allowable educational services and products, such as internet connectivity, tutoring and more. Applications are open through Wednesday, Oct. 25. Learn more from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education here.
Movie Night
O’Neal Elementary will host its annual Movie on the Playground Night, sponsored by Southern Bank, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, at the elementary school. A costume parade will be held prior to the airing of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Hotdogs, popcorn and soft drinks will be provided.
Costume Dash
Lake Road Elementary will host its inaugural Costume Dash 5K/1-mile fun run at 8 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at 986 State Hwy AA, with check-in starting at 7. Cost to participate in the 5K is $20, and $10 for the fun run/walk. All proceeds go to the elementary school activity fund. Halloween costumes are encouraged!
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On Monday, Oct. 9, the DAR reported about our second $500K grant toward the Culinary Arts Center.
KFVS12 included the Mules in its Heartland Football Top 12 plays of the week.
KWOC helped promote our Unified Champions 5K fundraiser.
On Tuesday, Oct. 10, KBSI Fox23 reported about our People’s Choice award at the Iron Horse Car Show.
KWOC reported about our cheerleaders placing at the MCCA St. Louis Regional.
The DAR reported about our annual Pink-Out Day fundraising event for UCAN; and published a photo gallery from our Pom Squad Kiddie Camp.
KFVS12 reported about our Esports Club launched at PBHS.
On Wednesday, Oct. 11, WBRC6 also aired the segment about our renewed esports efforts to enter the competitive circuit.
KWOC reported about our students being named to the All-District Choir.
On Thursday, Oct. 12, KFVS12 reported about our newest therapy dog at Junior High.
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