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You've got eMule!
Vol. 14 No. 9
Welcome back to The eMule! Below is the latest news from the Poplar Bluff R-I School District.
In case you missed it, click here to view our district photos from the 21st annual Jingle Jog at Oak Grove Elementary. A total of 339 non-perishable items (including peanut butter, jelly, spaghetti, sauce, breakfast bars, oatmeal and cereal) were generated for the Bread Shed, with Kaisha Pigg's class collecting the most! Special shout-out to all of our returning parade guests including first responders, nonprofit organizations, student groups from across campus, business partners, parents/individuals and Santa Claus himself.
| Blessing Box quickly gains popularity at Eugene Field Elementary | |
Nickey Street has become a busy two-way thoroughfare for both giving and receiving with the new addition of the Blessing Box to serve the campus community in front of Eugene Field Elementary.
The outdoor cabinet filled with shelf-stable pantry items and children’s books was donated by the Kirchners, a family that has attended the neighborhood school over the course of multiple generations.
“…They took the vision and made it a thousand times better than I ever imagined,” explained Principal Kristen Spain, who has dreamed of introducing the concept since she saw a similar setup at an elementary school in Jackson about a year ago.
This school year, Eugene Field began a Family Lighthouse team to complement its Leader In Me initiative. During the initial meeting, Spain shared a presentation that included a Free Little Library, as seen throughout town, and ended up approaching alumnus Timothy Kirchner and wife Kaysea about helping to build one because of their enthusiasm.
The couple ended up purchasing a prefabricated structure from Etsy and installed it last month, with assistance from their sons: Klay, a first grader at Eugene Field, and older brother Konner, who now attends Junior High. Timothy painted the box with Mules colors and weather-proofed it. “…It just became a family labor of love for them,” Spain said.
The Blessing Box, as it came to be called, has already been generating generous donations from staff, students, alumni and neighbors—including serving as the motive behind a fundraising event, for the purpose of filling needs on the south side of town for “families struggling in this economy,” Spain reported.
Having developed a culture around service projects, the Student Lighthouse team was tasked with finding ways to help maintain the Blessing Box during the week, under the direction of counselor Esther Luna. “We haven’t seen them this excited to help with a leadership role in a long time,” Spain observed.
“By empowering them with opportunities to do this, our students are discovering a new super power they didn’t realize they had access to,” Spain explained. “They ask to bring food from their pantries at home to fill the box, and beam with pride each day as they do so.”
Students are also given time at the end of the day to retrieve extra staples for meals from the box as needed for loved ones, or to exchange books from the library section.
“I truly believe literacy is one of the key factors that a person needs to break out of the cycle of poverty,” Spain stated. “…But a need even greater than literacy right now seems to be the need for food.”
She pointed out that, according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, fundamental necessities such as food, clothing and shelter must be met “in order for bloom to truly be possible.”
“If a student is going without a need, it affects their well-being at school in so many ways;” continued the principal, “everything from being unable to focus or behave well due to hunger or the constant anxiety and worry that comes along with basic needs not being met.”
According to the Lighthouse team’s rules developed for how the box is to be utilized, store-bought, unopened non-perishables that are typically boxed, bagged or canned are welcomed. Contributors are asked to be mindful of expiration dates. Frozen foods or items that require refrigeration are not accepted, along with fruit due to its short shelf life. Age-appropriate books are also being collected.
While the box cannot accommodate clothing items: donated coats, hats, gloves, shoes, pants, shirts, underwear and socks for boys and girls are accepted through the nurse’s office. Monetary contributions may be made to: Eugene Field Elementary, 711 Nickey St., Poplar Bluff, MO 63901. Donors are asked to mark the envelope, 'Attention: Blessing Box.'
Above: The Student Lighthouse team at Eugene Field poses with Principal Kristen Spain around the elementary school's Blessing Box in December.
| Foundation funds several thousand in grants across district | |
The Poplar Bluff School Foundation has approved $5,700 toward five grants covering a range of building projects with the potential to double its investment depending on alternative funding sources being sought for an additional proposal.
R-I Superintendent Dr. Aaron Cornman commended the Foundation directors for “spreading around” their resources with grants allocated to the Kindergarten Center, Eugene Field, Junior High, Senior High and the Technical Career Center. A total of 16 Innovative Educational Project applications received administrative approval for consideration by the annual deadline.
“We’re looking for something students are not gonna learn from the regular curriculum; something that will enhance our learning environment so we have an edge over other schools,” said Foundation chairman John Wolpers during the organization’s November meeting.
Among the greenlit projects was a classroom kit of Ozobots to help robotics elective students at Junior High learn coding. “The goal of the robotics program is to get students familiar with coding and see it come to life through the programming of actual robots,” instructor Hilary Taylor wrote in her successful proposal.
Taylor noted that the batteries from a previous kit acquired in 2018 were no longer holding a charge. She successfully purchased replacements during a Cyber Monday sale.
The Kindergarten Center received approval for a professional cellular weather station with a display module and one-year data plan, along with a weather/wheel chart for each classroom to gather real-time environmental data. “It gives teachers the ability to integrate authentic data into science, math and literacy lessons, helping students see how technology can deepen their connection to the outdoors rather than replace it,” R-I Technology Director Aaron Badgley wrote.
Partnering with Principal Christy Young on the project, Badgley installed the weather station over winter break, complete with a rain gauge, solar panel and an anemometer. The school site is presently listed on Weather Underground.
The High School Special Education Department was able to purchase a tilt-head stand mixer, panini maker, airpot coffee dispenser, air fryer, towel set and bedsheets to teach cooking and folding skills in its independent living classes. “Funds will be used to further the learning experiences for students [acquiring] skills to help them live as independently as possible after high school,” teacher Miranda Huddleston noted.
The items, ordered this week, will serve to expand the school’s Coffee Crew program, presently in its eighth year. Students serve refreshments to faculty members from the cart two days a week to help develop pre-vocational skills essential for their post-graduation transition.
The TCC computer maintenance program was able to acquire a GoPro kit with a microphone, light, grip and tripod, paired with a greenscreen to enhance and expand its focus by incorporating digital media creation. “…This grant will help transform the computer maintenance and repair program from a traditional STEM-focused course into one that aligns with the modern ‘STEAM’ model by blending technology with creativity,” instructor Sarah Sullivan summarized.
The equipment has since arrived, the teacher reported, and is expected to be used by spring to promote the projects taking place within the program, primarily for recruitment purposes.
Eugene Field bought a heavy-duty sewing machine with a foot pedal and carrying case to replace an old hand-me-down used for a decade in Michelle Adams’ first-grade class to introduce students to sewing. “This is not just a project, it is a tradition,” stated Adams, who took over leading the craft when a colleague retired.
Using the upgraded Singer machine, Adams was able to carry on her tradition in style prior to Christmas, showing students how to make their own stockings, which they then filled with small presents for their classmates in celebration of the holiday.
The final project on the slate ranked highest by the Foundation, with school board liaison Dr. Mike Price making the motion seconded by Bobbie Tinsley before receiving unanimous approval, was a bovine injection simulator for the High School agriculture program. “By practicing on the simulator, students can gain essential experience without risk of injury to themselves or stress to live animals, ensuring both animal welfare and student safety,” wrote Branden Smith, instructor.
Due to the $5,219 cost of the training tool through Realityworks, the directors requested that Smith first seek matching funding opportunities from the United States Department of Agriculture, the University of Missouri Extension or the Missouri FFA Foundation to determine whether full or partial funding is obtainable elsewhere.
The Foundation is a 501c3 tax-deductible organization that hosts a spring golf tournament as its primary fundraiser. The nonprofit also finances an annual scholarship for a PBHS graduate entering the field of education.
Above: Michelle Adams helps Blake Erwin sew a stocking while Jocelyn Burkhart waits her turn at the new sewing machine on Thursday, Dec. 18, at Eugene Field.
Below: Jocelyn Burkhart (left) and Blake Erwin pose beside their homemade stockings displayed in the hallway at Eugene Field as part of a long-standing Christmas tradition.
| Script published that debuted with PBHS students at Kay Porter Theater | |
Drama teacher Nick McDaniel has become a published playwright of an original production that debuted with Poplar Bluff High School students on stage at Kay Porter Theater.
The Poplar Bluff native received word one year ago that “The Green Murders” would be picked up by Heuer Publishing. The full-length farce/mystery was listed for sale by the near century-old publishing house in September.
“To see it go from an idea we were discussing, to a draft read in a class assignment, to a play on stage, to a published work has been a long, rewarding process,” recalled McDaniel, whose career spans a decade.
He wrote the first draft of the ‘whodunit’ for a table read with his students in order to avoid the cost of a script during his first year of teaching, he recalled. With encouragement from his class, the 95-minute play would ultimately premiere in April 2023, featuring 16 drama students who passed the audition.
The senior student cast for the lead was Dawson Vaughan, who went on to study musical theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, graduating in October. Vaughan portrayed Harold Green, a character who—following his father’s suspicious death—gathers the beneficiaries for a will-reading with a hidden agenda: he believes one of them is a killer.
“I genuinely believe if enough people hear or learn about it, it could get picked up and performed in a Broadway theatre,” said Vaughan, who has returned home for the time while he looks to begin his career. He will be playing Seymour in “Little Shop of Horrors” with Center Stage at Three Rivers College in March.
Reminiscing about “The Green Murders,” Vaughan said it was a memorable experience being able to draw on a director who actually developed the characters. “He could give direct insight into what the true meaning of a line or scene was,” the alumnus recalled.
From the director's chair, McDaniel reflected on how the actors helped fill plot holes, for example the original story's setting was in the 1950s, until they researched that answering machines—a subplot—did not become mass-produced until years later. “The first draft of it is almost unrecognizable,” the teacher noted.
He learned the good news last year by happenstance, while following up with Heuer Publishing on another submission, when he remembered that he had even sent in "The Green Murders" for consideration. He had included a note politely asking for feedback instead of another rejection letter. “Kindness paid off,” McDaniel said, emphasizing the difficulty of getting unsolicited work read due to most publishers being so backlogged with unopened scripts.
Looking ahead, McDaniel has a couple more plays nearly finished and several in earlier stages, and would like to expand his author credits if time permits. He will receive a percentage of royalties from sales of "The Green Murders," which is available for purchase online through Heuer Publishing, based in Iowa.
Above: Nick McDaniel, PBHS drama teacher, holds a published copy of his original play, “The Green Murders,” while standing next to the promotional poster displayed in the Kay Porter Theater.
Below: The original cast of “The Green Murders” is pictured along with drama teacher Nick McDaniel (far right), standing beside his wife Michelle, an Oak Grove teacher, who then served as assistant Drama Club director.
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Seussical
“Seussical The Musical,” presented by the PBHS Drama Club, will be performed at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 15-17, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, at Kay Porter Theater: 1302 Victory Lane. Tickets are $5 at the door.
Board Meeting
The regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Board of Education will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, in the Administrative Building.
MLK Day
School will be dismissed for students Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 19-20, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day followed by a full teacher collaboration day. School will resume for students on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
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On Thursday, Dec. 11, the DAR reported about Oak Grove Elementary winning the people's choice award in the Poplar Bluff Museum’s annual Christmas Tree Forest competition, along with the district placing in several other categories.
On Monday, Dec. 15, the DAR reported about our Math Counts champion.
KWOC reported about our Junior High Christmas carolers.
On Monday, Dec. 22, the DAR reported about the district’s clean audit.
On Tuesday, Dec. 23, the DAR published a photo display from our Christmas celebrations at Early Childhood.
On Monday, Jan. 12, KWOC promoted our FAFSA Frenzy event.
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