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You've got eMule!
Vol. 11 No. 10
Welcome back to The eMule! Here is the latest news from Poplar Bluff Schools to help start your week on the right hoof.
| Veterans Day Parade caravan has record turnout of vets |  | |
About 50 veterans participated in the Poplar Bluff Middle School’s annual Veterans Day Parade on Friday, Nov. 11, as students lined the Victory Lane campus holding up handmade signs.
Veterans were led by the High School JROTC, Sho-Me Marching Band, Cheerleaders and Pom Squad; Middle School Honor Choir and Safety Patrol; Marine Corps League; Three Rivers Shrine Club; Poplar Bluff Fire Department; Butler County Sheriff’s Office; and classic car enthusiasts.
“There’s a lot going on today at the VFW and the [Black River] Coliseum, and we’re just happy this is becoming one of the Veterans Day destinations,” said Dr. Josh Teeter, Middle School principal. “It’s less solemn, with the kids hooting and hollering and cheering, but we want ours to be a celebration.”
The school counselors are responsible for coordinating with dignitaries, and participation has simply grown by word of mouth, according to guidance counselor Britney Stahl. She pointed out that the parade is the “perfect bridge between school and community.”
“I really think it’s been impactful,” added colleague Susan Brown, noting that tears were shed as vehicles were exiting. “They’re just very appreciative, and thank us for showing kids how important this day is.”
The Middle School has been hosting a parade for the past three years before which the campus held a Veterans Day Assembly dating back to 1997 at the former 5th & 6th Grade Center. The event is the largest of multiple gatherings honoring veterans throughout the school district.
Above: U.S. Air Force veteran Dana Cobb, mother of sixth grader Conner, waves as students hold up miniature flags.
Below: (Left to right) Braylynn Dugger and Olivia Fields of the fourth grade hold a sign in honor of a group from the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center. (Editor’s note: Please pardon the typo on the sign).
Click here to view our running album, and be sure to Like/Comment/Share to help honor our veterans!
|  | Poplar Bluff School District donates $2,300 to Animal Welfare Alliance |  | |
A chance visit to a local dog groomer by a teacher has led to a month-long series of student fundraisers generating thousands of dollars for the no-kill animal shelter in Poplar Bluff.
The Middle School art department and the High School Student Council recently raised over $2,300 for the Animal Welfare Alliance of Southeast Missouri.
“It was a lot of little things that built up to make a big thing,” explained Dr. Josh Teeter, Middle School principal. The faculty plans to make it an annual tradition and perhaps push the initiative out to the rest of campus.
The partnership started when Kelly Lawson took Obi, her Bichon Frise, to Doggy Designs over the summer. After Lawson mentioned that she worked at the Middle School, owner Mark Panagos inquired whether she knew the art teacher. Once he discovered he was coincidentally speaking with her, Panagos asked if students would hold a silent auction with pet portraits to help fundraise for the AWA, a nonprofit over which he serves as board member.
Lawson brainstormed with her colleague Veronica Brassfield, and art students soon began auctioning portraits, selling stuffed animals for adoption and making charm bracelets among other ideas resulting in over $1,000 raised during the month of October. The duo chose autumn to coincide with the AWA’s annual “Howling at the Moon” event.
“The kids ate it up,” Brassfield said. Lawson added: “Everybody loves animals here, and the kids just like being involved. It brought a lot of people together.”
Lawson also credited PBHS senior Bralin Duckett, who assists in her classroom through the A+ students as mentors (SAM) program, for helping to coordinate the various activities. Duckett, the Student Council president, further selected the AWA as the service project for the recent Missouri Association of Student Councils Southeast District meet held as PBHS. An impromptu coin war was initiated among the 29 participating schools, generating an additional $1,300 for the regional organization.
“For each district meet we have a service project,” Duckett explained. “We were searching for what we can do, and we got that accomplished in just a half-hour.”
A little over a year ago, the AWA opened a no-kill shelter in the former Hillcrest Animal Hospital on South Westwood Boulevard. Since that time, the organization has had one pet adopted per day on average, according to board president Marge Van Praag. The organization gained its 501c3 status in 2009, and has spent over $120,000 on spay and neutering vouchers for pet handlers in need, according to board secretary Charlotte W. Craig.
While it is presently at capacity, the AWA accepts cats and dogs – that can be purchased for an adoption fee, which covers fixing costs and up-to-date shots. The nonprofit services Butler, Carter, Ripley and Wayne counties. For more information, visit www.awasemo.org, or search for the organization on Facebook.
Above: (Left to right) Sixth grader Gage Sparks; Dr. Josh Teeter, Middle School principal; AWA president Mary Van Praag and secretary Charlotte W. Craig; sixth grader Marley Wertenberger; art teacher Kelly Lawson; fifth grader Kayden Hadley-Rommel; high schooler Bralin Duckett; and art teacher Veronica Brassfield.
| Junior High teams up with emerging Billie Hart Foundation |  | |
Before Abdul Rishard entered Poplar Bluff Junior High School to forge a new partnership, he paused at the door to close his eyes and take a breath.
He was channeling his late grandmother Billie Hart, whom he would have previously received encouragement from before stepping out of his comfort zone, he later revealed.
Rishard made his first donation to the PBJHS art department on Monday, Nov. 7, a small portion of the proceeds from fundraising under the emerging Billie Hart Foundation.
“We’re all one organization, striving together for the community, we just have different names,” Rishard stated. "My philosophy is to team up together to make Poplar Bluff a better town."
Rishard grew up in the South Side of Chicago until his grandmother, who raised him, moved the family to California, where he attended the Orange County School of the Arts as a sophomore. When Hart died in May, Rishard started the foundation in her name.
“I remember the day she passed, she said, ‘Let me go, and do good,’” Rishard recalled. He said Hart would do “whatever it takes to make people happy” regardless of her financial status. To fundraise for his organization, he is planning a series of events centered around the holidays.
The profits from the activities, he continued, will support other nonprofits in Poplar Bluff, such as the Child Concern Center or the Bread Shed, where he serves as volunteer chef during free community meals for those in need on Sundays at the North D Street location. Rishard is also employed at Dexter BBQ.
The Billie Hart Foundation has vowed to adopt Junior High to help meet outstanding needs and support programs that organizers feel may otherwise be overlooked. Junior High Principal Candace Warren said she would use the initial donation of $75 made on Monday, Nov. 7, toward replenishing art supplies for the second semester in instructor Amanda Ayers’ class.
The president of the board is Joseph Clark III of the PBHS Class of 2022, who directed the foundation to the art department. The suggestion resonated with Rishard, who says the arts helped him discover where he fit in as a teenager. He also pledged to support the softball program, set to launch in the spring, after learning about the effort to provide the girls an opportunity to be more competitive beginning at an earlier age.
Inquiries to the Billie Hart Foundation may be made at billiehartfoundation@gmail.com. The organization can also be located on Facebook, where Rishard plans to make announcements about upcoming fundraising events.
Above: On behalf of the Billie Hart Foundation, (from left) Joseph Clark III and Abdul Rishard recently present a donation to Junior High Principal Candace Warren.
| Several hundred attend MASC meet at Poplar Bluff High School |  | |
Poplar Bluff High School hosted a meet for the Missouri Association of Student Councils on Friday, Oct. 28, featuring 29 schools in the Southeast Missouri District, including over 600 students and about 50 advisers.
“This is the first meeting that has not had limited attendance from school due to Covid,” said Jennie Randolph, PBHS StuCo co-adviser with colleague Stephen Patty. “The State Convention had about 800 students, so this was big!”
StuCo members, many of whom had not experienced a district meet prior because of the pandemic, were largely involved in the planning of the district meet, according to Randolph, noting that the last time the districts were held here was in 2019. The Disney-themed event featured Poplar Bluff students running discussion groups; a regional election; and fundraising activities for Special Olympics Missouri and the Animal Welfare Alliance.
Project Lead the Way instructor Jodie Berry of Poplar Bluff Junior High was named the Southeast District Middle-Level Adviser of the Year. She was nominated by PBHS for initiating the Junior High Student Council’s involvement in hosting the SOMO spring games.
Evangaline Parker-Guest, a motivational speaker and entertainer from Arkansas, delivered the keynote address about being yourself; and additional presentations were made by incoming MASC Director Chad Rizner, and SOMO Development Director Penny Williams.
R-I Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill and PBHS Principal Dr. Valerie Ivy welcomed the guests; student body president Bralin Duckett and vice president Addison Shell emceed the event; the PBHS Choir sang the National Anthem; JROTC presented the colors; and the Sho-Me Band’s drumline performed.
Above: PBHS student body president Bralin Duckett greets guests at the MASC district meet alongside choir member Emma Tinsley, who helped sing the National Anthem.
Below: PBHS Student Council poses with their Disney-themed attire for the district meet held last month in the gymnasium.
|  | Middle School interventionist receives MSTF grant |  | |
Poplar Bluff Middle School reading interventionist Krissey Whitlock has been awarded a $100 grant from the Missouri State Teachers Foundation to go toward hands-on manipulatives for multi-sensory learning.
The grant is one of 24 the MSTF announced the organization would award this school year. With the funding, Whitlock plans to purchase four magnetic pan and letter sets for her classroom to help build alphabet fluency and support advanced readers in learning decoding skills, she explained.
“Kids all learn in different ways and this is another strategy I have in my pocket to use,” Whitlock said. In her grant proposal, she noted: “Several of my students are more than two grade levels behind, therefore I am working with them on basic phonics.”
The MSTF provides resources to help teachers and students achieve more through funding programs and scholarships, plus fosters collaboration and learning opportunities, according to its website.
Above: Karmen Carson (left), Poplar Bluff chapter president of the Missouri State Teachers Association, presents Krissey Whitlock with a grant on Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Middle School.
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Bake Sale
The Mules Café is hosting a bake sale with a choice of pies for $10, cupcakes for $8 and a half-dozen cookies for $3. Items must be preordered by Tuesday, Nov. 15, and picked up on Thursday at 1110 N. Westwood Blvd. To place an order, call 573-785-5768.
Thanksgiving
Students will be off for Thanksgiving break from Monday to Friday, Nov. 21-25. School resumes on Monday, Nov. 28. Happy Thanksgiving!
Collect the Caps
The PBHS Beta Club is collecting teal bottle caps on Dr. Pepper products through Jan. 31, 2023, for a chance to win up to $10K through the annual Collect the Caps contest, co-sponsored by Pepsi MidAmerica. The special caps are being accepted in 50-gallon barrels at the 3209 Oak Grove Road campus from the following 16&20-ounce, and 1&2-liter bottles: Diet/Cherry/Dr. Pepper, Diet/7Up, Squirt, Crisp & Clear water, and Orange/Grape/Strawberry Crush. Last year, the student organization won $6,000 through the contest, and $2,500 in 2019.
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On Tuesday, Nov. 8, KFVS reported about our HVAC program at the Technical Career Center incorporating solar power into its curriculum.
On Wednesday, Nov. 9, the ShowMe Times reported about our Bright Futures Poplar Bluff ‘reboot’ event.
The DAR reported about PBHS senior Clara Rahlmann signing a National Letter of Intent to play softball for Three Rivers College.
On Thursday, Nov. 10, KWOC reported about our PBHS Pom Squad qualifying to compete with the National Dance Alliance; and our PBHS band students selected to perform with the Southeast Missouri All-District Band.
On Friday, Nov. 11, the DAR posted a photo gallery from our Veterans Day Parade.
KWOC promoted our annual Community Thanksgiving event.
On Saturday, Nov. 12, the DAR reported about our Mark Twain students volunteering at the Nutrition Center; Eugene Field making a donation to Shepherds Fold Ministry; and Mules Football competing in the MSHSAA Class 5 District 1 championship.
On Sunday, Nov. 13, the DAR recognized our Middle School Honor Roll.
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