The Dexter High School held their annual National Honor Society Induction on March 7, 2023 in the auditorium.
Mrs. Laura Stone, DHS counselor and NHS sponsor, spoke to the students first.
She talked about the four basic requirements for membership are scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Students are eligible to apply for NHS membership if they demonstrate academic achievement by achieving a 3.65 or higher.
Candles were then lit by Jayci Holcomb, President; Molly Simmons, Vice President; Alyssa Pollard, Secretary; Amber Madigan, Treasurer; Richard Lin and Ellen Dowdy, Service Coordinators; and Abigail Rash, Historian.
Current Inducted Members: Destiny Ahrens, Grant Ayers, Gaje Baran-Ward, Kaden Bias, Peyton Boles, Drew Chamberlain, Kinleigh Chappell, Shelby Dawson, Makenna Dean, Ellen Dowdy, Caitlin Giles, Madison Glaus, Hannah Guy, Nate Harris, Jayci Holcomb, Alise Howell, Briney Hudgins, Logan Josupait, Kaeden Kennedy, Truman Krapf, Alliye Lee, Richard Lin, Carly Long, Amber Madigan, Cole Nichols, Alyssa Pollard, Abigail Rush, Molly Simmons, and Kaylyn Tran.
The Dexter High School held their annual National Honor Society Induction on March 7, 2023 in the auditorium.
Mrs. Laura Stone, DHS counselor and NHS sponsor, spoke to the students first.
She talked about the four basic requirements for membership are scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Students are eligible to apply for NHS membership if they demonstrate academic achievement by achieving a 3.65 or higher.
Candles were then lit by Jayci Holcomb, President; Molly Simmons, Vice President; Alyssa Pollard, Secretary; Amber Madigan, Treasurer; Richard Lin and Ellen Dowdy, Service Coordinators; and Abigail Rash, Historian.
New inductees stated the National Honor Society Pledge: I pledge to uphold the high purposes of the National Honor Society to which I have been selected; I will be true to the principles for which it stands; and will maintain and encourage the high standards of scholarship, leadership, service, and character.
The following students were inducted: Alexis Bennett, Audrey Calvert, Tyson Carmode, Katarrah Churchill, Mya Darnell, Holden Duer, Ann Ellinghouse, Chase Farmer, Marei Fees, Preston Hampton, Alexis Holden, Amelia Holden, Matthew Honeycutt, Brooklyn Huggins, Gabrielle Ingram, Landon Jarrell, Anistin Kyle, Brooke Lasater, Brooklyn Link, Kaden Lirely, Abbie Lloyd, Shane Matthews Kennedy McCormick, Adaline Medley, Chloe Neuhaus, Hailey Northern, Katelynn Owens, Cy Scott, Lily Simpson, Macie Templemire, Allison Turnbo, Alyssa Warren, Le-Roy Watson, Susan Wells, Calysta Whitaker, Clayton Whitaker, Emma Worley, and Ryan Young.
Dexter, MO - The 5th Grade DARE Program graduation was held on Friday, February 24, 2023 in the gym of Central Elementary. Mr. Rodger Seal presented Mrs. Miller's classroom with First Place as the winner of the DARE decorating box. Their theme was D.A.R.E. Buster (Ghostbuster theme).
Mrs. Miller's class received a metal sign and each student had an opportunity to sign the back of it. The sign will remain at Central for years to come.
Second place went to Mrs. Allen's classroom for their huge D.A.R.E. box with Mr. Seal's caricature on it.
Third place went to Mrs. Pixley's class with a D.A.R.E. box being a walkie-talkie.
Pictured is Mrs. Miller's classroom.
Front row (left to right): Zayne Morgan, Koven Stevens, Jaysa Wyatt, Julia Pilsing, and Arraya Hart
Middle row (left to right): Emerson Hancock, Russell Boatright, Mabree Vaughn, Austin Sluder, Kynlee Miller, and Jacob Martin,
Back row (left to right): Kolton Chappell, Ella Dodd, Alyssa Duley, Nataly Rosales, Jace Comfort, Kellen Clark, and Lane Sadler
The Missouri School Boards’ Association’s Center for Education Safety (CES) asked students to enter the Show-Me I’m Worth Stopping For Contest. K-12 students created videos, audio recordings, and posters educating drivers on the importance of compliance with the school bus stop arm when the bus has stopped. In a state-wide competition, a group of talented students have emerged as the winners of the contest.
The first-place winning entry in the video category came from Allie Pollard, Aslyn Wirz, Grace Sepulvado, Gracen Hampton, and Macie Templemire. All five students attend Dexter Senior High School in Dexter, MO and are members of the Broadcasting class.
"We are thrilled to announce the winners of the Student Video Contest and extend our warmest congratulations to the students from Dexter High School for their outstanding contribution," said CES Director Amy Roderick. "Their video exemplifies the creativity and passion that Missouri students bring to the table in championing important issues.”
First-place winning students will receive a prize of $1,500, with $1,000 going to the students and $500 to the district. Additionally, their video will be featured on the MSBA website.
The Student Contest is part of a collaboration with the Center for Education Safety and several other collaborating agencies for the “Take 1 for Zero” project, funded through the Missouri Department of Transportation Highway Safety and Traffic Division.
The goal of the project is to make “1” major impact on roadway safety by focusing on school bus stop arm violations throughout Missouri. The act of illegally passing a stopped school bus with red lights flashing is commonly known as a “stop-arm violation”. This is a major problem across the country.
The Poplar Bluff School District is piloting its new bus tracking app Here Comes The Bus at the Early Childhood and Kindergarten centers with plans to roll out the parent access tool district-wide for the 2023/24 school year.
The R-I Transportation Department began receiving its initial training followed by webinars shortly after Jon McKinney took the reins as director in July, a software technician position was created thereafter, and the associated hardware continues to be installed as the bus fleet expands.
“This is just a better way to communicate with our parents so they have a sense of security knowing their son or daughter is on the bus and when they get to school,” McKinney explained. “On our end, it should cut down on phone calls, because parents should literally be able to look on their phone and see when and where their child stepped on the bus.”
Under the pilot, parents and guardians of bus riders will soon receive letters in the mail providing instructions for downloading the app or visiting the website, then entering the unique student identification number supplied, and setting the preferred radius for receiving communication via text or email.
Students will scan their district-issued ID when entering and exiting the bus, and drivers will have access to a touchscreen with a name-based ridership module for the lower grade levels. The geofence can be set between 750 feet and two miles eliminating wait times at bus stops, and real-time alerts will automatically be sent to caregivers when students have arrived at school.
The locator has the capacity to refresh every 15 seconds using a single primary address drawn from the district’s student information system. Families of multiple children riding different buses can be tracked simultaneously. Individuals may only sign up for push notifications if they are on the student’s emergency contact list.
The Board of Education approved the acquisition of the fleet management system prior to McKinney’s arrival, selecting Synovia Solutions CalAmp as the low bidder, applying startup dollars from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund to “create a more predictable transportation experience for kids and parents,” R-I Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill stated last school year.
According to the proposal, the GPS-based transportation management software supports more of the top 25 largest school transportation systems in the United States than other vendors. The app was launched in 2014 and interfaces with Transfinder, the district’s routing system that has been utilized for several years, along with offering other administrative features.
“Basically we are moving to a time where school buses will have the same navigation system available in cars or Google Maps on your phone, which greatly helps new drivers and substitute drivers not as familiar with the routes,” McKinney continued. “Technology is pushing into this industry, making everything accessible, from arrival time to departure time of buses and the ability to live track them, hopefully making our routes more efficient, safer and consistent.”
The plan is to launch Here Comes The Bus across the entire school system next academic year, after the soft rollout is completed this spring in order to troubleshoot. So far McKinney says “the technology has honestly surpassed our expectations,” and he anticipates that the district’s approximately 2,200 riders on over 200 bus routes built into the database will be fairly accurate in advance of the first day of school.
Article by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District
