Wildcats Honored at SW Center Celebration of Schools
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Cassville R-IV staff and volunteers were recognized during the 23rd Annual Southwest Center Celebration of Schools event held on Thursday, March 31 at Joplin North Middle School.
The annual event is held to celebrate the accomplishments earned by local school districts that are members of the Southwest Center. The awards recognize innovative programs, supporters of member districts, school board members and area legislators.
“It was a fun and positive evening to celebrate the accomplishments of several of our outstanding Cassville R-IV staff members,” said Dr. Merlyn Johnson, Cassville Superintendent. “I appreciate the hard work and dedication exemplified by those honored and look forward to promoting more of our exemplary educators and programs next year!”
The Cassville High School Aviation program, taught by Mr. Marcus Reynolds, was recognized for the “Making Learning Come Alive, 7-12 Grade” award. The aviation course is newly offered this school year. Students learn about the history and science of aviation, have hands-on opportunities with aircrafts and get to fly in the district’s state-of-the art flight simulator.
The Eunice Thomas Elementary Vocabulary Parade was honored for the “Making Learning Come Alive, PreK-6th Grade” award. Instructional Coach, Mrs. Courtney Kirk, partnered with Kinder Academy-second grade teachers to host the vocabulary parade in the fall of 2021. Students selected a vocabulary word, created artwork and a costume to reflect their selected word and participated in a parade where their friends and classmates could view their creations.
Don and Karolyn Thornton, owners of the Ole Granary Tenderloins and More food truck, located on Highway 76, were nominated for the Friend of Education award. This award celebrates individuals in the community whose deeds often go unnoticed. The Thorntons were honored for their donations to the Cassville R-IV Bright Futures program.
2020-2021 Teachers of the Year, Michelle Harvey and Jill Poulson, were honored as well. Harvey teaches fifth grade at Cassville Intermediate and Poulson teaches math at CHS.