During the March 14 tornadoes, Bakersfield’s Pride Park was destroyed, leaving the school’s baseball and softball teams without a home field. But what happened next shows the heart of our local schools and businesses: they didn’t hesitate to help. Several rival schools stepped up in big ways — holding fundraisers, volunteering time, and helping with clean-up efforts to begin restoring Pride Park.
https://www.ozarkradionews.com/local-news/dose-of-goodness-from-rival-teams-to-togetherness-the-beautiful-support-behind-bakersfields-rebuild?fbclid=IwY2xjawJPsvxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZswv8wz2wIERpTH3b9vAT0LP5x9n6yZjODpVujDtGHLobicRbx-gcQgGQ_aem_gqjQBrG1G46rTx_dbov3zw
In just his second year as an educator, Excelsior Springs Middle School, eighth-grade social studies teacher Andrew “Andy” Morris has been recognized as the 2025 Middle School Teacher of the Year by the Missouri Council for Social Studies. The award recognizes educators who foster critical thinking, civic engagement, and meaningful exploration of history and government among students.
https://excelsiorcitizen.com/esms-teacher-andy-morris-earns-state-recognition-for-civic-education/
After an EF-2 tornado tore through the city, cleanup efforts continued in Rolla. When Rolla Public School canceled classes for the week after the devastating storm, some students rallied together to help their community.
https://abc17news.com/news/phelps/2025/03/18/rolla-students-rally-to-help-community-after-devastating-tornado/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3JxkBBBdv9X3oFzIhEaRnM2epVRwYeAgXI5mf_uc4owRnFIhpHc_rk6NA_aem_qREw1wqHtOlkJYncvWFVxQ
It's a normal home going up like what you'd see at a construction site anywhere in Kansas City, but this one is going up right on the campus of Raymore-Peculiar High School. And the ones building it are students that go to the school. The two-bedroom 1,800-square-foot home will be used as a learning center for students with special needs so they can learn how to live on their own after high school.
https://www.kmbc.com/article/ray-pec-high-school-building-learning-house-students-with-special-needs/64223589?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&fbclid=IwY2xjawJHqptleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQDnbV_Esu9EEX7gqxSvToGvSvuSWj_qv71l0Nr9Sfa9x2m9Eoc4yAoStw_aem_fYAstd9RnvSSsbBvqiQmGA
Alton students will soon get the chance to study the science of soccer. Thirty students at Alton Middle School will be the first participants in Cougar KickBots. Students will receive on-field soccer instruction led by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s soccer players and explore basic physics concepts by working with Lego robotics kits.
https://www.stlpr.org/education/2025-03-17/what-might-robots-have-to-do-with-soccer-alton-students-are-about-to-find-out?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0eKMVWYEOb3fIGvxpAnxHOdPkURHk7m2gi656EBRqfrjYsiRpYzYXzitQ_aem_qbM7mRN6B-dmtX_3RUIupA
Maryville High School Robotics Club members are heading to the VEX World Championship in Dallas in May. The team will be up against 800 teams from around the world.
https://www.maryvilleforum.com/news/schools/hounds-headed-to-world-championship/article_415d1904-ffc1-11ef-b430-07bff46c991a.html?utm_campaign=blox&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2d8hXZEb27Yg1T3Q5ovigPIOtGZk1O2knbWXeoAsAZYxs6zINvIQMeRvk_aem_ZtopheKHOTglPFrFsF4Njg#m89l129438qrmkq2f3r
Three Columbia students took top honors at an area concerto competition recently, earning the right to perform alongside artists from the Odyssey Chamber Music Series next month. The competition is designed "to identify outstanding pre-collegiate students to provide them with an opportunity to perform in a formal event with an orchestra,".
https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/entertainment/music/2025/03/12/columbia-public-schools-students-win-concerto-competition/82238172007/
As part of a weeklong celebration of agriculture, members of the Buchanan County Farm Bureau made their way to St. Joseph area elementary schools on Friday morning. City of St. Joseph Mayor John Josendale recently signed a proclamation declaring the week of March 2 through March 8 as "Missouri Farm Bureau Celebrate Agriculture Week." Area farmers spent the week giving back to local schools and charities, as well as engaging with the community.
https://www.newspressnow.com/news/local_news/agriculture/buchanan-county-farm-bureau-teaches-area-elementary-schools/article_5cf7f9d2-fb6f-11ef-8f05-fb8df4c485d3.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fnewspressnow%2F&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR25wzP8KFE2nsnO8DuZQgA6kXWaF6eofuq3KKc0l7Lt_I8c0rXhnxzrH20_aem__igSY29_nv9OO7BGLzhMNw
Students in Fair Grove are teaming up with city leaders to educate the public on an upcoming ballot measure. On April 8th, voters in Fair Grove will decide whether to fund nearly a million dollars worth of improvements to the city’s aging wastewater and stormwater systems. For several weeks, high school marketing students have been developing advertising campaigns to help people in town fully understand the bond proposal.
https://www.ky3.com/2025/03/06/fair-grove-marketing-students-team-up-with-city-leaders-help-public-understand-bond-proposal/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2Kd4beXThBizD7b3kv3RHGWb4PaUtRyDqG6Ns5Rxcb6WqbYsp7YMnDMqY_aem_Yhxa9rYGsjwnPL5ZQ1mUAA#6dzou3dmjcv3zmjjnaldi3wctekgluue
Nixa students put their hard work against Mother Nature. Third graders engineered houses to withstand natural disasters in honor of Severe Weather Preparedness Week. The students predicted how their creations would withstand wildfire, flooding, or dust storms. Then, their teachers unleashed homemade weather to see how the models fared.
https://www.ky3.com/2025/03/04/nixa-elementary-school-students-test-houses-against-mother-nature/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR23z9G7hzPvKeUdFaG9fWr7KPQDfDuzZRVhUvuJn1cKO9fqVArXkvh9bDA_aem_e5kcA2h5AoCeaoEBpDLWIw#3wi1f0qbqyngsgm1csjkun5z6vizgz2mj
Growing up, everyone learns the golden rule “treat others the way you want to be treated.” Students at St. Joseph's Pershing Elementary have taken things a step further with a mission to achieve 100 acts of kindness. “We’re not just in charge of educating their brains, we’re in charge of educating their hearts,” Pershing fourth-grade teacher Mary Sanders said. “So we are going to work really hard to make good people as they leave us.”
https://www.newspressnow.com/news/local_news/education/pershing-does-100-acts-of-kindness-for-community/article_97de9c62-f54e-11ef-b898-97ac8d974ca3.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fnewspressnow%2F&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR12aR0ukHLQesWrPnlozOdq1UJvc5USH8yf3MqAT2cfOUJmazx-CDWVLt8_aem_nVpurIEnaawszy2ykrmmBA
More than 50 business and community leaders stepped up Friday to be Principal for a Day. They shadowed Springfield Public School principals Friday morning, following them through their daily work and interacting with students. After a morning together, the community members gathered to share their experiences with each other. ”I think this is fantastic. They’re doing great things in the school system,” said Bob Helm, the chairman of the Springfield-Area Chamber of Commerce.
https://www.ky3.com/2025/02/28/more-than-50-community-leaders-participate-principal-day-springfield/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1CsdSZEQieP55zzmZLoJe3RtutUNqSYNLlMyap0kFv0_YWmOtud-h558M_aem_cXNqZEUwZP_YsbA0I8qNLg
Some Neosho students will experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The high school choir has received an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City next year. About 100 students will make the trip and will get to hit a few of the popular stops in the city. The performance with a professional orchestra at Carnegie Hall will happen on April 26 of next year.
https://www.fourstateshomepage.com/news/neosho-choir-prepares-for-once-in-a-lifetime-performance/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=referral&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3gJl6YzLmJS04D1m5ulUigXuDlK-ovd8WEdewXD26pQd5d4qlycB7KLW8_aem_L50pOMnMvsRC0-CZv6Iaww
After a year of preparation and meetings, high school students met face to face with NASA engineers at Columbia's Hickman High School on Monday as part of a national project-based learning program. Student teams from the Columbia Area Career Center's Columbia Aeronautics and Space Association program and various other high schools presented, demonstrated and reviewed their projects and received feedback from the engineers.
https://www.komu.com/news/midmissourinews/nasa-engineers-visit-hickman-high-school-to-review-student-projects/article_3b2b7496-f2d7-11ef-b567-43180f82539b.html
Most schools have closets for students to hang coats. But a closet to give away coats? That’s another story, one that plays itself out at nearly three dozen schools in seven different districts in the St. Louis area. The Kids Community Closet is a room that is stocked with new winter coats, hats, gloves, and other items for students in need of the essentials.
https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/kids-community-closet-provides-coats-hope-for-underserved-students/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0zr_aEXnhaoikB1oTjQIyB_JE7lGNMF6A1_RAgx1Bq9U4f2OxW7sCRlIc_aem_1l8oqURNJlPbcQuCjcJ-Mw
Hundreds of Missouri students visited Jefferson City recently to commemorate National FFA Week. The special week is February 15-22. FFA members drove tractors to the state capitol in a show of support for Missouri agriculture. The Show-Me State is home to 362 FFA chapters and more than 26,000 members, ranking eighth nationally for membership.
https://www.missourinet.com/2025/02/10/missouri-ffa-is-in-jefferson-city-helping-to-plant-the-seeds-for-the-next-generation-of-farmers/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0mP0GJI0n21IJ3TLa3JzbOAurTgcilpLd14hAW2BzG-nHCvpxg8KxLAU4_aem_uinkG-IaC3GaXjn3mcAC5Q
A contest for Missouri students that’s aimed at reducing litter on the state’s roadways is underway. No MOre Trash! targets young people in kindergarten through high school. Students are asked to use their artistic talents and creativity to decorate a 30-gallon or larger trash can to be located in a prominent area of the school or community, such as a cafeteria, gymnasium, ball field, library, church, park, etc.). The design must include the No MOre Trash! logo.
https://www.kcur.org/education/2025-02-10/missouri-statewide-contest-asks-kids-to-use-creativity-to-fight-roadside-littering?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0H5qCf3nA-byY4loAayH4txjqJx9Wg-0KsNdLk5LZFcykvtCB_YdvitJI_aem_bRwQwPNbTNTuXGeu9-_dFg
Students at Parkview High School in Springfield got to witness a mock crash simulation Friday afternoon. The scene looked gruesome, but it was not real. It’s all done by student actors and first responders to raise awareness about the dangers of impaired and distracted driving.
https://www.ky3.com/2025/01/31/parkview-high-school-students-witness-mock-crash-simulation/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR03TiJAWyZhlaFo5e7VPIdXzXvQeI4JGV6wnKuRKsxUpJ9Hi0Yhi2dp8D0_aem_D8_GU1UkAdxV0kqgopUSpA#sf6bmlr04js22mkl4qeucqvtbwpi85j
Students from Columbia's West Boulevard Elementary School tapped maple trees to make maple syrup. The fifth graders took part in maple sugaring at Boone County Nature School. The students are learning through "place-based education" with curriculum that is relevant in economy, culture, and ecology.
https://krcgtv.com/news/local/fifth-graders-tap-maple-trees-at-boone-county-nature-school?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1k1NDblctx6DRQMzYqj0IZ531Ni2vKzxe6jFHnXVx78fTra5sluURtroA_aem_-nT8aXWIXPrjzhU4JRCKOA
Poplar Bluff High School students received an award from Patrick Mahomes for taking part in the Superbowl’s reading challenge. The students each received gift bags containing a trading card, water bottle, and pencil from the ‘15 and the Mahomies’ foundation as part of the ‘Read For 15′ challenge.
https://www.kfvs12.com/2025/01/23/pbhs-students-become-mahomies-through-nfl-stars-reading-program/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0P-xZ5XUqp5uRweku7R3D1-iJ7FeSVpBAijM1yWx3Rdg7A4XoRaV20Dvk_aem_LBYp-KaQ6j10wqjABeQQpw#qg1y2erqtgeu4e7k3e7pshonq3d2v94w
