Missouri School Boards' Association -

On Wednesday morning people from six Northeast Missouri schools gathered at Monroe City High School to compete in an athletic event for students with disabilities. It's called the Clarence Cannon Conference Day. South Shelby High School’s athletic director Rob Wilt said this is the fourth year he and other coaches from schools in Northeast Missouri school have put together this meet. He said the reason behind it is to give those kids a chance to be a part of the athletic system. https://www.wgem.com/2023/05/04/athletic-event-students-with-disabilities-hosted-monroe-city-high-school/

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Congratulations to Riley Kemna, a Junior at Neosho, for earning a perfect 36 on the ACT. “Her passion for learning is exemplified by her class courses. She is taking advanced placement and honors courses, and dual credit courses through Crowder College. She participates in cross country, track and field, debate, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) environmental club, key club and is the junior class president.” — NEOSHO SCHOOLS #ItsOurWhy https://www.koamnewsnow.com/news/education/neosho-schools-student-spotlight-junior-achieves-36-perfect-score-on-act/article_384177f4-e478-11ed-8fb2-07d4541a61d9.html

Emilia Belcolore, a senior at Kickapoo High School has been named the Missouri Journalist of the Year. The award has been given to a high school student annually since 1969. She was also honored this weekend at the National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco sponsored by the Journalism Education Association and the National Scholastic Press Association. There, she won a pair of national awards for her portfolio and photography. https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/education/2023/04/24/kickapoo-high-school-senior-named-missouris-top-student-journalist/70070073007/

The 2023 Battle of the Books competition was held recently. The annual competition, which was held at the Washington Middle School gymnasium, featured 18 teams representing the seven elementary schools in the Washington School District. In the Battle of the Books, teams compete in five rounds of trivia with 10 questions per round. https://www.emissourian.com/local_news/augusta-elementary-wins-coveted-battle-of-the-books-trophy-in-dramatic-fashion/article_fcf373fa-e143-11ed-a39d-bbd5da0ef87c.html

A crowd of hundreds cheered Friday on the Missouri State Capitol’s south lawn as Rolla Middle School fifth grader Harlee Tanner was recognized for writing this year’s winning Earth Day slogan. “Join the race to make the world a better place" was Harlee’s winning entry. It was selected by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources from 260 other entries sent by fifth graders from 21 different Missouri schools. https://dnr.mo.gov/communications/news/rolla-student-recognized-state-capitol-missouri-department-natural-resources-winning-earth-day-slogan

In Columbia, more than 300 Battle High School seniors on Wednesday took another step toward their futures, signing commitments to attend universities, community colleges, trade schools or join the military. The College Signing Day has been happening since 2017 and it has become a school tradition. https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/news/education/2023/04/19/more-than-300-battle-high-school-seniors-sign-commitment-to-next-steps/70129892007/

Nala Rachel is a third-grade student at River Bend Elementary. Unlike most children Rachel's age, she is already a published author. Rachel is a #1 New Release author with her debut realistic fiction book, “Nala: Life and Times of a Curious Kid.” https://www.ksdk.com/video/news/community/this-parkway-3rd-grader-is-a-published-author/63-ba0bf2dc-7b1a-45f7-b2be-f874f9827ab1

COLUMBIA — Next Wednesday, Hickman High School students Gabe Palmer, Max Strode, and Augustus Lookingbill will travel to Houston, Texas, to present their designs after being named finalists for a national design challenge. "I just think this is a great program that NASA has sponsored and I am so excited my students get to be part of it", Mike Merz, Hickman's Columbia Aeronautics and Space Association (CASA) program instructor, said. https://www.komu.com/news/midmissourinews/hickman-students-prepare-for-trip-to-nasa-to-show-off-3d-design/article_2378d054-d93f-11ed-9e4b-b7c6aa27574f.html

Joplin High School students in the Jobs for America’s Graduates program have earned a spot at the national competition after winning first place in the business plan category at the Missouri State Career Development Conference last week in Jefferson City. https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/education/jhs-students-advance-to-national-jag-competition/article_5b9ea91c-d89b-11ed-9c3f-9b6f5911a562.html?fbclid=IwAR3wReQ-q03goOmuABcxH2wnkbJz4koy7qhxFxrxknJqTSh8RFsY3PUSUTU

Students at Jefferson Elementary School in Normandy got a special visit. Recently, Olympic Gold Medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee came to read to them. She also signed and donated 200 books to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. The East St. Louis native says reading encourages kids to dream big, and shares the tools the Olympian used to help her win six gold medals. https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/jackie-joyner-kersee-donates-books-to-jefferson-elementary-school-students/?fbclid=IwAR0155tGvfnwRXMZwrUIlsgrbz2nBKOCNniYiaP56IRJrPOEM7vMiQRk4zE

A group of six boys from a Kansas City middle school robotics team will soon be heading to Dallas to compete in an international competition. The Barry Middle School Scrappers recently took home the title of Missouri State Champions at the VEX Robotics tournament. That state title in Jefferson City earned the group an automatic bid to the World Championship in Dallas, Texas. https://www.kctv5.com/2023/04/06/middle-school-robotics-team-has-eyes-set-international-tournament/

From beef wellington to a sweet batch of ice cream, Wentzville School District is teaching high school students how to create culinary works of art. Kaitlyn Ryan visited Jefferson City today as part of a Missouri School Boards’ Association event at the Capitol. Ryan, a senior in the culinary arts program at North Point High School, said the program is much more than baking cookies. https://www.missourinet.com/2023/03/28/wentzville-student-whips-up-tasty-masterpieces-in-school-culinary-program/?fbclid=IwAR0rWQu1tXpjnp8GI2LwdjErvBcmyr1mb2Mnt_-8VNKoJ106-_zzoWd5g6I

Rock Bridge High School senior Chelsea Mosteller turned her fascination with birds into a game she first sketches and then assembles. https://www.columbiamissourian.com/special_section/comokids/chelsea-mosteller-a-fascination-with-birds-led-to-a-business-nationwide/article_d1e8e4ca-a3e4-11ed-b66a-bb063d68e5e2.html?utm_source=SocialNewsDesk&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SND_scheduled_post&fbclid=IwAR0KR-JXAN17ptw9X90SgGopksDxoMnzzfXlyTiCRBdBBHQ8ZbBPY35Zigs

Carthage Junior High has been selected as a state winner in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow STEM Competition. The school is one of 50 schools chosen as state winners in the latest round of the competition. For the competition, Carthage Junior High School’s project is designed to help tackle the state’s drought problems. https://www.missourinet.com/2023/04/03/carthage-junior-high-school-holds-a-special-honor/?fbclid=IwAR29_Zw5HOsZsAYqZIRytx3ENuDuthbRN9GhVgjfheKdmj8E8Nj9qPbRcy0

The 2023 Missouri National Archery in the Schools Program (MoNASP) state archery tournament was held March 15-17 at the Branson Convention Center and drew more than 5,000 student archers in grades 4-12 from more than 200 schools across the state. https://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/archers-right-target-during-2023-monasp-state-tournament-branson?fbclid=IwAR0xE-dGMJrp42MsJvFG-505o8ZBL6eg4akeDU9uwCYwmACFsznR1ng1klU

West Community Credit Union was delighted to collaborate with art teachers from three Hazelwood School District elementary schools; Garrett Elementary, Lawson Elementary, and McCurdy Elementary, by inviting 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders to submit artwork for this year’s “Anything is Possible” Art Contest. Students were encouraged to depict what “Anything is Possible” meant to them. https://blog.westcommunitycu.org/press-release/west-community-credit-union-hosts-art-contest-for-hazelwood-3-5th-grade-students/

Carthage Junior High School was selected as the Missouri winner of the 13th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest. As a result, the school will receive a $12,000 prize package. Solve for Tomorrow is a national competition that challenges United States public school students in grades 6-12 to explore how the role of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) can play in solving some of the most significant issues in their local communities. https://www.krps.org/missouri-news/2023-03-17/southwest-missouri-middle-school-earns-a-national-prize-with-a-project-exploring-ways-to-reduce-drought

A group of teens in Harrisonville, Missouri, are trying to make the roads a little safer. They're called Team Traction, and they want drivers to buckle up and put their phones down. Harrisonville senior Cort Devenny will do almost anything to show classmates the importance of safe driving. “Our focus is on teens, but everybody can learn,” The club president said. https://www.kmbc.com/article/harrisonville-high-school-teens-distracted-driving/43341525#

It was a history-making weekend for Mexico High School. Mrs. Sara Given's, Mexico High School speech team competed in the MSHSAA District 2 Speech and Debate Tournament Friday and Saturday and won 2nd place team sweepstakes for the first time in Mexico's History. The speech team also continued a winning streak of 29 consecutive years of sending students to State. https://www.mexicoledger.com/stories/mexico-high-school-quiz-bowl-and-speech-and-debate-rewrite-school-history,32425?fbclid=IwAR20F78YBBwR3lVGxFx04LI44tJEcKBeVFt5rJubN545cevMHSEQPbRpwkQ