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You've got eMule!
Vol. 11 No. 21
Welcome back to The eMule! Here is the latest news from Poplar Bluff Schools to help start your week on the right hoof.
| Collect the Caps: PBHS Beta Club wins $6K for second consecutive year |  | |
The Poplar Bluff High School Beta Club has been awarded $6,000 for placing first in the Collect the Caps promotion over a five-state region for the second year in a row.
A partnership between Dr Pepper and Pepsi MidAmerica, the contest has helped provide a budget for the student organization of recent, beginning in 2019 when PBHS won $2,500 for placing third, bringing the grand total to $14,500 in four years.
“The dedication of the faculty and students show the care they have for their school and community,” said Taylor McDermott, Pepsi MidAmerica marketing manager. “I am beyond proud of Poplar Bluff High School and look forward to watching them win for years to come.”
PBHS “blew the competition out of the park,” continued McDermott, noting that the total weight of the collection was nearly eight pounds compared to the second-place winner, which turned in under two pounds worth of the teal caps. The service region encompasses Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Communication arts teacher Dr. Stephanie Kuper, who serves as Beta Club co-adviser with business teacher Pam Davis, said the proceeds would be used in part to subsidize the cost of sending 34 students to the National Beta Convention in June in Louisville.
“It’s helped for kids to never have to choose from going to the national convention and not being able to afford it,” said Kuper, pointing out that some students are participating in the Student Council state convention the week prior and were having to make a hard decision. “We’ve had the biggest group ever qualify and it’s an opportunity to bring home some more awards, which would be another feather in PBHS’ cap.”
The PBHS Beta Club had collected bottle caps of the specially marked products in designated drum barrels from September through January. Bags were also distributed to each of the classrooms. Kuper thanked the community for its continued support including the Missouri State Highway Patrol for "showing up with a huge bag" unprompted.
Above: Tom Orosz, Pepsi MidAmerica on premise rep, presents PBHS Beta Club officers (left to right) Rebecca Stevens, Addison Shell and Grace Neighbors with a check on Wednesday, March 29.
| Baseball program expands to PBJHS with support of community |  | |
The new Poplar Bluff Junior High Mules Baseball team will host its first home game this evening through a concerted community effort.
First Baptist Church recently agreed to allow the district usage of its adult softball field, the R-I Maintenance Department gave the diamond a major overhaul in short order, and Baldwin Automotive Group donated a storage shed for equipment.
“My maintainers did what they always do; they get the job done,” said Colt Sievers, maintenance supervisor. “They took a church softball field that had been used very infrequently for games for years and years, and had to bring it up to standard in record time. And quite honestly, come Monday, weather permitting, we’re gonna have one of the best fields for eighth grade baseball in Southeast Missouri, if not better.”
Last month, 20 dump truck loads of dirt were hauled in to level the ground along with 10 loads of chat around the perimeter, a yellow marker pipe was placed along the outfield fence and new bases and a pitching mound were installed, according to Sievers. He thanked the city and park department for working with his crew and loaning out a power rake to extract rocks from the soil.
R-I Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill first reported to the Board of Education that community members approached him about expanding the baseball program to the Junior High level, and in July the school board unanimously approved the posting of the new coaching position. Junior High health instructor Zachary Randolph was hired as head coach in September and an assistant position has since been advertised.
PBHS marketing teacher Will Durden, the Mules Basketball coach, is credited for initiating discussions with Dave McCormack, pastor of discipleship and worship, at the church he attends. “The more they talked about it, the more they liked the idea of becoming the home of Junior High Baseball,” R-I Athletic Director Kent Keith reported.
“We’re appreciative of First Baptist for stepping up and agreeing to help,” Keith stated. “It makes sense being across from Junior High so we don’t have to bus kids to practice; we just stop traffic for kids to cross the street. The church already allows use of their parking lot for our overflow traffic during football games.”
Baldwin Automotive Group donated $3,750 for a storage shed so Randolph no longer needs to tote equipment to his home garage. Additionally, co-owner Jeff Baldwin made a $3,000 donation to PBHS Mules Baseball, which will be used for the “future overall benefit of the program,” coach John David Pattillo stated.
Baldwin, who noted he “has a passion for baseball,” has supported the school system in the past including donating cars to be used for the Driver’s Ed program. R-I Assistant Superintendent of Business Dr. Amy Jackson, who recalled playing on the North Westwood Boulevard field since she was a teenager, commented: “The renovation will mean more opportunities for the whole community, not only our kids.”
Above: With coach Zachary Randolph practicing with his team in the background, co-owner of Baldwin Automotive Group Jeff Baldwin presents R-I Assistant Superintendent of Business Dr. Amy Jackson with a check, while standing beside the new storage shed at First Baptist Church.
| Food preservation education resurges with grant |  | |
Missy Cox, last year’s district-level Teacher of the Year, has been on a food preservation education kick of late.
With a $500 grant awarded by the Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation, the Poplar Bluff High School food and consumer science instructor purchased vacuum sealers, blanching baskets, jelly strainers and a food mill among other utensils to teach advanced foods students preservation methods.
The seeds were planted one year ago when R-I Food Services Director Dixie Harden of Chartwells sent out an internal bulletin in observance of Earth Day stating that: “wasted food is the single largest category of material placed in municipal landfills.”
“It all started when Dixie sent out a newsletter talking about Stop Food Waste Day in spring, saying that upward of 40 percent of our food supply in America is thrown away,” Cox recalled. “I knew the number was high, but not that high.”
An Ellsinore resident, Cox along with her husband Eugene has volunteered at the Bread Shed in Carter County and witnessed the extent of the need through the food ministry. She noted that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program had just discontinued its temporary benefit increase.
“I’ve always been a big proponent of not throwing away food anyway,” Cox said. “There are so many here that are hungry. These kids need to learn the importance, or that percentage won’t change.”
Prior to spring break last month, Cox demonstrated how to blanch vegetables and make freezer jam as well as refrigerator pickles. Toward the end of the semester, she plans to utilize the preserved ingredients while teaching her students how to make a beef stew. “We’re failing to pass [these techniques] down,” she continued.
Cox grew up gardening with her parents Ron and Kathy Carnahan, plus both her paternal and maternal grandparents. She said she can remember not being allowed to enter the kitchen when the pressure canner was in use by her mother, “although she quit before I was old enough to help.”
Over the summer, Cox applied for the MRTF funding, stating in her proposal: “According to Feeding America, 108 billion pounds of food are wasted in the U.S. each year.” The pandemic has affected the food supply in addition to recent natural disasters, she further elaborated, and the associated inflation has caused “gardening to start to make a comeback.”
Above: FACS instructor Missy Cox demonstrates how to use a vacuum sealer for blanching vegetables on Friday, March 10, at PBHS.
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Happy Easter
School will be dismissed from Good Friday through Tuesday, April 7-11, for Easter followed by a teacher Collaboration Day. School will resume for students on Wednesday, April 12.
Open Enrollment
Open enrollment for the Kindergarten Center at 1200 Camp Road will be held from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, April 18-19, with an additional time slot available from 4:30-7 p.m. on the final day. Parents/guardians are asked to bring the following items: birth certificate, social security card, shot record and proof of residency. Enrollment forms are available here. For questions, call 573-785-4905.
Drama Club
The PBHS Drama Club will present “The Green Murders” at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 21-22, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 23, in the Kay Porter Theater. Tickets are $5.
Foundation Golf
The Poplar Bluff School Foundation’s 23rd annual Golf Tournament will be held on Friday, April 28, at Ozark Ridge Golf Course, with tee time beginning at noon following lunch. All proceeds from the golf classic go toward innovative teacher grants outside of the classroom budget, and a student scholarship for a PBHS graduate entering the field of education. To enter a team in the four-person scramble, sponsor a hole or donate a raffle prize, please call 573-785-7751, ext. 5. Click here for an entry form.
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On Thursday, March 23, Special Olympics Missouri reported about PBHS winning the School of Character Award of Merit for the second consecutive year.
On Monday, March 27, KFVS12 reported about Anna Bell of the Middle School qualifying to perform in the Masters Drive, Chip and Putt Competition in Georgia.
KAIT8 also featured sixth grader Anna Bell in its telecast.
On Tuesday, March 28, WSILTV reported about the Missouri Association for Family and Community Education donating weighted blankets to our Special Education Department.
KFVS also highlighted the thoughtful donation by MAFCE.
KWOC reported about PBHS junior Bryden Fuemmeler being elected Missouri Beta Club president; and promoted our TCC’s annual Hire on the Spot event.
On Wednesday, March 29, KWOC reported about PBHS receiving the Award of Merit for working to establish an inclusive environment toward individuals with intellectual disabilities.
The DAR announced our annual Teachers of the Year, who will receive formal recognition in May.
On Thursday, March 30, the DAR profiled our candidates seeking election on the Board of Education tomorrow.
KWOC advanced our annual Foundation Golf Tournament.
On Friday, March 31, the DAR began its Teacher of the Year series with a feature story about Christy Smith of the Kindergarten Center, our 2023 District TOY; and recognized our Top 30 seniors.
KWOC reported about our hand-sewn weighted blanket donation.
On Saturday, April 1, the DAR reported about Bryden Fuemmeler being the first in PBHS history to be named Missouri Beta president.
On Sunday, April 2, KFVS12 reported about the results of the Drive, Chip and Putt national finals during which Poplar Bluff’s Anna Bell placed eighth in her division.
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