Three Rivers College’s Educational Talent Search program has donated a stockpile of gently used STEM kits to the Middle School for its hands-on elective.

The recent donation included “two cars worth of drones and other really cool gadgets,” reported sixth grade guidance counselor Britney Stahl, who serves as the Middle School’s ETS liaison. She said program officials offered the items to the science, technology, engineering and math program out of the “kindness of their hearts.”

The new tools for classroom activities include Animation Labs, Vortex Labs, KiwiCo Tinker Crate Glowing Pendulums, Laser Projectors, Light-Chasing Robots, Electroluminescent Wire Sculptures, Drone and Test Tubes for Mentos Geyser Experiments, Snowmaking, Jelly Marbles, Water Absorbing Polymer Cubes, Growing Plants in Test Tubes, Rainbow Tubes, Magic Sand, Energy Beads, Water Gel and Orbs, according to STEM instructor Melanie Schalk.

The kits were left-over from the end of the program’s five-year grant cycle, during which ETS officials applied for additional funds to start a STEM club to help keep Junior High students engaged, and used the products for weekly Zoom sessions through the pandemic, according to ETS Director Brandi Brooks.

“We were asking around to see who could possibly use the kits, and ‘Bingo,’ this was the perfect fit,” Brooks said. “I’m excited to see what they do, and thrilled that someone can use it; it’s really cool for the students. I was terrified it would sit here.”

Funded through the U.S. Department of Education, the ETS program provides monthly in-school workshops, college campus tours and cultural enrichment opportunities for Poplar Bluff students, beginning in grade six. Established at Three Rivers over three decades ago, ETS is the largest such TRiO program in Missouri, with a seven-person team of outreach specialists.

Eligibility is based on whether students will be first-generation college attendees, whether they qualify for free or reduced school lunch, and if significant assistance would be needed in order to finance higher education. Around 1,000 students are served in the region, comprised of 10 school districts, with Poplar Bluff being the largest.

“We provide that link for them—whether it’s exposure to college campuses, or helping them go through the application process—to show the importance of something postsecondary in terms of education or a certification program that will advance whatever training it is that you need,” Brooks explained. “We work with the whole student, not just college heavy stuff; tutoring services, soft skills. And every year we build just a little bit more until they get to that [pivotal] junior year.”

Above: STEM students of the Poplar Bluff Middle School pose next to a representation of the activity kits generously donated by the Three Rivers College ETS program.

Fifty universities, technical trade schools and branches of the military were represented during the return of the College Fair on Tuesday, Oct. 19, at Poplar Bluff High School.

“Our juniors have not had a normal year since eighth grade,” pointed out Sara Woodard, PBHS counselor. While the public health crisis “created some virtual opportunities students didn’t have before,” she continued, the opportunity for students to have questions answered in person is unparalleled.

The hope, Woodard noted, is to offer students “as much exposure” to postsecondary options as possible. The annual event, organized through the Missouri Association for College Admission Counseling, is open to PBHS juniors and seniors, as well as Top 30 sophomores.

There were a few institutions represented for the first time in recent memory, according to the counseling department, including the University of Mississippi and the Nossi College of Art in Nashville.

Michelle Donovan, Nossi admissions representative, explained how the art school was looking to branch out into the Missouri market, and the St. Louis National College Fair was canceled. Specializing in just five select programs, Nossi recently added dormitories, and offers a fixed-tuition policy with no out-of-state fees.

Another resource available for high schoolers is a full-time college and career adviser, Jade McCain, who began at her alma mater last month. A collaboration between the Missouri College Advising Corps under the University of Missouri Extension and AmeriCorps, the position is offered at host schools with a high percentage of low-income, underrepresented and first-generation college students at risk of not enrolling.

Advisers, like McCain of the PBHS Class of 2017, are often from backgrounds and schools similar to the students that they serve. The “near-peer approach” is different than other programs in that they are available to all students on campus for postsecondary planning, apprenticeship opportunities and coordinating group activities, according to MCAC literature.

Click here to visit the PBHS senior website with various information for students, including a directory of scholarship applications.

Above: Students stop to learn about culinary arts and other degree programs offered at Sullivan University in Louisville.

Below: PBHS senior Joseph Clark III performs pull-ups for a fitness test required by the U.S. Marine Corps.

O’Neal Elementary hosted its 6^th annual Movie Night on Thursday, Oct. 21, in celebration of Halloween.

Above: O’Neal Elementary staff and family, accompanied by Principal (queen bee) Dr. Amy Dill, dressed up according to the “Bee Movie” theme last week.

Below: Pumpkinpalooza projects are lined up to be displayed outdoors for public voting during the annual Movie Night at O’Neal.

On Monday, Oct. 18, KFVS12 reported about Mules Softball winning the Class 5 District 1 championship.

On Tuesday, Oct. 19, FOX 2 reported about Poplar Bluff having three elementary schools named among the top 15 in Missouri, according to new education rankings released by U.S. News and World Report.

KWOC also reported about our Softball district championship. 

The DAR additionally printed a spread about our district title.

On Wednesday, Oct. 20, the DAR reported about our popular Middle School Chess Club; Aleanna Moore’s regional honor; and a special guest speaker in our PLTW design and modeling class.

On Thursday, Oct. 21, the DAR reported about Michelle Adams receiving an MRTA Cash for Classrooms grant.