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Welcome back to The eMule! Here is the latest news from the Poplar Bluff R-I School District to help start your week on the right hoof.
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Free school meals for children through fall
The Poplar Bluff R-I School District, in partnership with Chartwells, is excited to announce that school meals will be free to all students through the end of the semester on Friday, Dec. 18, or longer, as Congressionally appropriated funding is made available.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture publicized the waiver extension for operators of the summer food service program on Monday, Aug. 31, in response to the public health emergency.
"We appreciate the incredible efforts by our school food service professionals year in and year out, but this year we have an unprecedented situation," stated U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in a press release. "This extension of the summer program authority will employ summer program sponsors to ensure meals are reaching all children - whether they are learning in the classroom or virtually - so they are fed and ready to learn, even in new and ever-changing learning environments."
Meals were previously available at no cost to students, grades pre-K through third, under the Community Eligibility Program. Now-funded through the federal nutrition assistance program-the Middle School, Junior High and High School students can also enjoy free school meals, including breakfast and lunch, and soon dinner to-go.
"These waivers will allow school nutrition professionals to focus on nourishing hungry children for success, rather than scrambling to process paperwork and verify eligibility in the midst of a pandemic," added Reggie Ross, president of the School Nutrition Association.
Patience is requested as reimbursements on student accounts are processed for meals paid for out-of-pocket dating back to the beginning of the program.
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Volunteers make quick work of privacy fence
More than 100 members of churches and student groups, among other organizations, came together over the weekend before school started to manually install numerous chain link fence slats, enhancing the privacy of the playground at Eugene Field Elementary.
With all hands on deck, it only took three hours to weave the 1,500 or so vinyl pieces on Saturday, Aug. 22. The volunteer effort was initially organized by R-I maintenance supervisor Colt Sievers, who noted that his department was "swamped" this summer with larger-scale projects across the district, and he did not have the manpower prior to the re-opening of campus.
"I was out of time and that project had to be done so the best outside the box idea I had was to turn this into a community project," explained Sievers, adding: "It worked."
Sievers first approached his congregation at The Bluff Church, then the call to action spread via social media and other churches vowed to join including: Northpoint Nazarene, Grace Christian Fellowship and the First Baptist Youth Group. Sievers further reached out to his brother David, coach over Mules Football, who rounded together some student-athletes. PBHS Student Council members also joined in, along with the JROTC. Firefighters off the clock with the Poplar Bluff Fire Department additionally participated.
"It was such a hectic time with starting school, therefore it was such an amazing gift for our staff that so many individuals and organizations stepped up to ensure that our playground is safe and ready for students to return on Monday," stated Jennifer Taylor, Eugene Field principal. "Our vision at Eugene Field has always been to provide the safest playground environment, allowing our teachers to be focused directly on our students without distractions outside of the fence. It is such a blessing to have all of this support from the community."
Below: The privacy fencing around the playground is complete, minus a small section on Arthur Street, due to a shortage of plastic slats. (Photos courtesy of Greg Gilberto, pastor of Northpoint Nazarene Church).
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PBJHS wins dental office-sponsored raffle
In the spirit of giving back during its one-year anniversary, Blaich Family Dentistry made a $1,500 donation to Poplar Bluff Junior High in a return-to-school raffle.
The dental practice, via Facebook, asked people to 'like' the page and nominate a school to receive $1,000. On top of that, owner Dr. Eric Blaich pledged to match any additional funds raised up to a certain amount. A total of $250 was generated through crowdfunding.
The social media post generated nearly 300 comments, including nominations from public and parochial institutions throughout the region, several of which were schools within the R-I district. Junior High school nurse Bailey Hester was responsible for the winning submission, announced on Sunday, Aug. 30, by Blaich's children: Stavia of Oak Grove and Jace of the Middle School.
Junior High Principal Candace Warren said the money would go in the school's activity fund in lieu of typical door-to-door fundraisers that have been canceled due to the pandemic. Blaich, a repeat supporter of the school system, said he plans to hold the back-to-school fundraiser annually.
Located at 821 W. Pine St., Blaich Family Dentistry was the former practice of Dr. Dan Jackson, who remains an associate of the operation.
Above: Dr. Eric Blaich presents PBJHS Principal Candace Warren a $1,500 donation on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at his dental practice.
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MRTF awards Poplar Bluff teachers $1,000
The Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation recently financed two grants valued at $500 apiece for Poplar Bluff educators.
This year's recipients included Chris Wheat of the High School for her pre-algebra and algebra classes, and Becky Ingles of O'Neal Elementary to benefit her reading intervention students.
"Ideally, when students leave my class, their gaps in reading and writing have diminished or closed completely," stated Ingles in her successful grant proposal. "To do this, however, we have to start at the beginning and build a strong foundation."
Ingles' budget included a portable whiteboard, dry erase markers, magnetic letters and several interactive activity sets designed to teach spelling, sentence structure, phonemic awareness, story elements and independent writing so students can become more competent readers.
"After teaching math for 15 years at our Junior High, I am transferring to teach math at our High School for the 2020/21 school year," wrote Wheat, noting that she had to part with her wireless tablet. She added: "I will teach using a wireless tablet that allows me to move around the room and be more effective as a teacher, since I will not have my back to students as I teach."
In addition to a new wireless tablet and dry erase markers/felt erasers, Wheat's budget included access to online resources for students and teachers, as well as other algebra manipulatives.
The Poplar Bluff School District landed two of the eight grants awarded in Region 12 of the Missouri Retired Teachers Association, which reviewed a total of 56 applications.
Above: (Left to right) Oak Grove Principal Jenifer Richardson, MRTF board member John Moyer, MRTA Region 12 Vice President Anne Moyer, Oak Grove teacher Becky Ingles, and R-I Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill.
Below: (From left) PBHS Principal Mike Owen, PBHS teacher Chris Wheat, MRTA Region 12 Vice President Anne Moyer, and husband John Moyer of the MRTF board.
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Kindergartener Emett Kneir wears a homemade T-shirt in remembrance of Sept. 11 for 'Red, White and Blue Day' on Friday at the Poplar Bluff Kindergarten Center.
Mother, Whitney Kneir, sketched the designs, and Emett and his older brother Bo Wade of Eugene Field colored the shirts in the morning before school.
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Mules Café
The Mules Café is set to return on Friday, Sept. 25, with a choice of "The Cowboy" or "The Shroominator" burger combinations. Read about some important changes at the student-run café in next week's eMule!
Virtual College Fair
PBHS, in partnership with the Missouri Association for College Admission Counseling, will host a virtual college fair from 4-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. on Sundays through Oct. 8. Please click here to register to attend the 175+ free virtual sessions covering various college and career topics via individual Zoom links.
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On Saturday, Aug. 22, the DAR published our seventh annual Mule Prints magazine.
On Tuesday, Sept. 1, the DAR wrote a preview story about Mules Soccer.
On Wednesday, Sept. 9, the DAR reported about our local curriculum development process.
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