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You've got eMule!
Vol. 14 No. 2
Welcome back to The eMule! Here is the latest news from the Poplar Bluff R-I School District.
| PBHS students win national Senior Beta Quiz Bowl championship | |
Poplar Bluff High School won the championship for the Senior Quiz Bowl at the National Beta Convention over the summer in Orlando.
Of the Poplar Bluff students who qualified to compete on the national stage, a total of 33 were able to attend the Florida convention, alongside teacher chaperones and parents.
In addition to the Quiz Bowl team—comprised of Mackinley Cox and Jack Funke of the Class of 2025, now senior Claire Funke, and junior Jackson Kennedy—nine individual students earned placements during the subsequent Elementary and Junior Beta Conventions representing Junior High, Middle School and Lake Road.
Other students who placed nationally included: freshman Chloe Joiner, third place in American history; eighth grader Kilyn Talley, fourth place in health and physical education; eighth grader Maddox Campbell, fifth in American history; freshman Brianna Clark, fifth in health and physical education; sixth grader Bree Blackwell, sixth in visual arts – drawing; freshman MacKynzie Cluck, eighth in social studies; freshman Jasmine Charest, 10th in spelling; sixth grader Willow Gillean, 10th in cake decorating; and freshman Phoebe Hyde, 10th in the color photography category.
The first-place Quiz Bowl team was seeded 16th in the tournament, advancing through all four rounds against students from multiple states, educators reported. Although the team was self-organized, as it was not a Missouri State High School Athletics Association-sanctioned event, the students deemed it appropriate to present their plaque to Academic Team sponsor Gail Karlish of the PBHS Science Department for display earlier this month.
Above: (Left to right) Claire Funke, Mackinley Cox, Jack Funke and Jackson Kennedy display the Senior Quiz Bowl Championship trophy at the National Beta Convention this summer.
Below: Chloe Joiner, now a PBHS freshman, is presented the third-place American History award at the National Junior Beta Convention in July in Florida.
| Poplar Bluff School District donates historic $1.26M to St. Jude over the years | |
St. Jude Math-A-Thon fundraising totals for Poplar Bluff Schools were reported at $35,838.17 for the 2024/25 school year, bringing the all-time district total to a historical $1.26 million contribution to the children’s research hospital.
“It’s always a great day to be a Mule,” said O’Neal Elementary Principal Shelly Ridens, district-wide St. Jude fundraising coordinator. “But I am extremely proud of our district that we are able to help in the research and care of children!”
The top three fundraising students, grades K-8, bringing in upward of $1,000 individually, were rewarded with a field trip to Sky High Fun Zone at the end of the last school year. Prior to the pandemic, winning students were able to tour the hospital in Memphis.
The district has participated in Math-A-Thon since the 1988/89 school year under past O’Neal Principal Lorenzo Sandlin to teach students the importance of charity and having empathy. The fundraiser went district-wide by 1994/95, with each building contributing in some capacity, raising a record high of $47,748 in 2017, surpassing the million-dollar mark by the following year.
While some school systems may have donated more in a given year, holding a district-wide fundraiser for 37 consecutive years is an exclusive record held by Poplar Bluff, confirmed Ann Culpepper, St. Jude liaison for development and donor engagement. "Even though you had your horrible weather event and others, you came through for the children at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital," she stated.
According to the St. Jude website, the hospital serves approximately 8,600 children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses annually, and their families never receive a bill for care, travel, housing or food. Since the hospital opened its doors in 1962, the overall childhood cancer survival rate has dramatically increased from 20 to more than 80 percent due to treatments developed there.
Above: Treated with a recent field trip to Sky High, top Math-A-Thon fundraising students included (in alphabetical order) Adam Allen, Carter Battles, Axel Berry, Ophelia Berry, Elijah Cisne, Kensington Clark, Cameron Crews, Kea'vin Dorsey, Ki'Mora Ferguson, Kallie Harris, Natalya Johnson, Josiah Joseph, Haylee Leighton, Eva Murphy, Jace Norman, Audrey Padilla, Wyat Prewitt, Brady Ray, Kynnadi Romine, Miles Sandlin and Maren Wright.
| PBHS math teacher successfully seeks out two classroom grants | |
A Poplar Bluff High School teacher fairly new to the profession has successfully sought out funding sources in order to fast-track equipping his classroom, not having the luxury of accumulating the tools of a career educator.
Keith Burson was awarded $750, between two grant programs at the end of last school year and the beginning of this one, aimed at creating a more inclusive, conducive environment for all learners.
Burson received $250 in May through the Southeast Missouri Local Administrators of Special Education toward Access Algebra, an evidence-based curriculum designed for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“This curriculum empowers special education students to engage with content that is often beyond their reach in traditional settings, promoting confidence, skill development and academic progress,” he wrote in his proposal.
During the back-to-school convocation last month, Burson was presented $500 from the Missouri Retired Teachers Association Foundation toward hands-on manipulatives and visual aids to complement the curriculum component.
“Research supports multisensory strategies for improving comprehension and retention for students with learning challenges,” Burson stated. “These tools will help build student confidence, increase engagement and support academic achievement.”
Following a 38-year career in a clinical laboratory, Burson started as a paraprofessional at the Middle School, then transferred to PBHS upon completing his teacher certification. Now in his third year with the district, he plans to begin supplementing his instruction this month, having secured nearly 90 percent of the funding needed to achieve his goal.
Above: Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation Region 12 Vice President Mark Cook (at podium) presents Keith Burson one of 84 checks the organization awarded across the state during the back-to-school convocation Thursday, Aug. 14, at PBHS. Also pictured is John Moyer (far left), MRTA board member, and R-I Superintendent Dr. Aaron Cornman (far right).
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School Board
The Board of Education will hold its regularly scheduled monthly meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, in the Administrative Building.
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On Monday, Aug. 11, KLTV7 aired the segment about teachers returning to the Kindergarten Center.
On Wednesday, Aug. 20, the ShowMe Times reported about Joe Brown being named Athletic Director.
On Thursday, Aug. 28, the DAR reported about the Kindergarten Center open house; and advanced the season opener of Mules Football.
On Friday, Aug. 29, KWOC also promoted the season opener of Mules Football.
On Friday, Sept. 5, the DAR reported about the start of marching season for the Sho-Me Marching Band.
KWOC reported about the home opener for Mules Football.
On Tuesday, Sept. 9, the DAR reported about Claire Funke being named a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist.
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