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From the Desk of Dr. Halley: End of School Year Wrap Up

By Halley, Heath on May 20, 2019

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Good afternoon! It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to write to you. But, as you know, we have had a long run of days in school as we wrap up the school year and prepare for the next. Our students, sponsors, and coaches have been busy! Baseball, DECA, Golf, FBLA, FCCLA, and FFA have all been very successful.  

This time of year is an emotional one for me. 5th-grade promotion, 8th-grade promotion, and of course High School graduation. As I visit with our students, I feel their trepidation about what is next in their lives. Though the Elementary and Middle school buildings are only a few feet apart, the “unknown” of the Middle School feels miles away. I visited with our 5th-graders the last few days of the school year, and they shared some of their fears with me. Our 8th-graders make a similar journey but have spent more time in the High School, so it isn’t quite as scary a move. Isn’t the “unknown” in life that usually frightens us all? Our seniors probably cause me the most angst, as I know the faculty and staff have done a tremendous job of guiding and teaching them during their time with us. However, my fear is, did we do enough? Did we provide the right opportunities? Will they be successful? What more could we or should we do to better help the next graduating class?  

I want to share some of the unbelievable success stories from this spring. Our vocational departments and spring sports teams have had tremendous successes. I start with our baseball team. Their record this season was 13-5, wrapping up the season with a 2nd-place finish in the District Championship game against the Scotland County Tigers.

On February 2nd, six students from our High School Choir represented Putnam County by performing in the GRC All-Conference Choir. Jacob E. was selected as a soloist in the conference performance.

The High School Band performed at the MSSBDA Large Ensemble Festival on March 21st in Sedalia Missouri. They performed 2 prepared pieces for a panel of three judges; their selections were a concert march and a lyrical piece. They also performed in the sight reading event in which they have exactly 6 minutes to silently learn and prepare a brand new piece of music and then perform it on the spot for a judge. The band received Exemplary ratings, the highest rating that can be earned, from all judges in each event. To my knowledge, this is the highest rating we've received at Large Ensemble Festival in the past 5 years.

Several of our high school band and choir students attended District Solo and Small Ensemble Festival in Kirksville on March 23rd. Many of our students had their very first solo experience at this event, and all performed very well! Students who received an 'Outstanding' rating were Molly P, clarinet; Kaitlyn L, bass clarinet; Shelby H, voice; Whitney R, flute; Hunter R, tuba; Mason P, trumpet; and Grace S, trumpet. Our Mixed Vocal Sextet also received an Outstanding rating (Kyle B, Jacob E, Emily K, Kaitlyn L, Molly P, and Shelby H). Four students received an 'Exemplary' rating, allowing them to move on to State Music Festival: Jacob E, voice; Emily K, voice; Emily Davis, clarinet Taffi T, French horn. Jacob E and Emily K went on to receive Silver ratings at State, Taffi T received a State Bronze, and Emily D received a State Gold. The four State soloists performed for the Rotary Club in Unionville on May 4th.

On May 5th, 14 of our middle school students competed in the Macon Junior High Solo and Ensemble Festival. Students who received an 'Outstanding' rating were Abbie K, flute; and Michael D, clarinet. 'Exemplary' ratings were awarded to Tammi T, flute; Gabe G, percussion; Morgan W, clarinet; Dayton D, trumpet; PCMS Flute Duet (Adeline D and Silvia B), PCMS Flute Trio (Jayden DH, Kenadie N, and Macey D), and PCMS Saxophone Trio (Hunter G, Aiden R, and Jude P).

In February, our DECA chapter sponsored by Mrs. Danyel Fitzpatrick, took 15 students,  in the middle of the crazy snow days, to District DECA Competition in Columbia, Missouri where they went on to bring home 11 first place medals and one 3rd place medal. Nine students went on to qualify for State DECA Competition in Kansas City, Missouri in March.

The DECA State competitors were the following:

Jade D. - Hospitality & Tourism Operations Research.

Jaylee M. & Kylea W. - Travel And Tourism Team Decision Making.

Graycie R. - Entrepreneurship Role Play.

Chloe T. & Tony B. - Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making.

Jacob E. & Alisha W. - Business Innovation Plan.

Hunter R. - Principles of Hospitality and Tourism.  

Chloe and Tony placed 4th in the state of Missouri in Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making and advanced to International DECA Competition in Orlando, FL in April. Advancing to International Competition placed them in the top 200 Buying and Merchandising Teams in the WORLD (they competed against students from Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Puerto Rico, and Spain).  

Golf Coach, Aaron Fitzpatrick, led a team of boys this spring who won the Trenton Triangular (Putnam, Princeton, Trenton); won the Milan Dual (Putnam-Milan); and placed 4th in the GRC Conference Tournament (12 teams). Individual accomplishments had Jaden W., 8th Place All-Conference Golf: All-District Golf:  Jaden W., 8th Place. The Golf Team had two Sectional Qualifiers: Jaden W., and Carter Q. Jaden W qualified for state golf and finished in a tie for 66th place.

2019-2020 saw the reinstatement of FBLA for Putnam County R-I with Mrs. Kerry Schoonover as the sponsor.  Schoonover was hired in August and the program developed as follows.

• 34 Members in the organization this school year

• 16 Students participated in our District 3 Area Competitions (Scheduled for Kirksville, but all events were submitted by live media feed or digitally due to uncooperative weather conditions)

  • Gavin Mc, Kyle B. and Jacob E.- 2nd place Digital Video Production, but did not advance to State Leadership Conference in Springfield

All of the below-listed students advanced to State Leadership Conference in Springfield, April l4-16, 2019.

• • Chloe T.- 1st place Impromptu Speaking

  • Chloe T., Daysha C., Antony B., Jacob E., Cooper S.- were 2nd place Parliamentary Procedure Team.

  • Jacob E.- 5th place Advertising

  • Abbie C.- 5th place Introduction to FBLA

At FBLA State Leadership Conference,  Chloe T. earned the 4th place medal in Impromptu Speaking. Chloe will be advancing to the National Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Texas, with Mrs. Schoonover from June 28-July 2. Best of luck to you, Chloe T!

Lisa Stobbe is our sponsor for Family, Careers and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).  FCCLA STAR (Students Taking Action for Recognition) Competition Results 2019

Students compete against other FCCLA members across the state to receive gold, silver, or bronze based on the scoring of their projects at regional and state competition. Students develop a range of items including research portfolios, display boards, and oral presentations. The following students who competed received the top two Gold ratings at the regional competition, which qualified them to move on to the State STAR events. Two events that competed at State STAR events will also advance to Nationals in Anaheim, California in June.

• Job Interview: Emily D. - State & National Qualifier

• Food Innovations: Maggie F., and Jaylee M. - State & National Qualifier

• Life Event Planning: Graycie R., Chloe T., and Sydney T. - State Qualifier

• Environmental Ambassador: Kylea W., Justyce H. - State Qualifier

• National Programs in Action: Community Service - Karlie I., Carsen S. - State Qualifier

FFA Advisors Randy Morris and Clyde Bondy had a very busy spring as usual. Whitney R. served as the Area III 2018-19 President for this past school year. Her term ended in April with the honor of handing the position to another Putnam County student, Tony B., who will serve as Area III President for the 2019-2020  school year.

At the Area FFA contest, the FFA Knowledge team qualified for district competition. Also, Whitney R. and Emily D. both placed first in their respective speaking contest and qualified for the district contest and were the eventual alternates to state.

Our FFA chapter had 5 agriculture contest teams qualify for the state contest. Dairy foods placed first at the district contest. The others qualifying for state were: agronomy, dairy cattle, forestry, and livestock. In total, our FFA chapter qualified 18 students for the State FFA Convention.

Hannah M. received the State FFA Degree at State FFA Convention.

The Putnam County FFA chapter received a superior chapter award certificate at the State FFA Convention.

Coach Keith Smith led the Putnam County Lady Midgets in a very successful track season. The athletes that advanced to Sectionals in relays were Sam D., Hannah M.,  Kori H., and Sofia V. These girls placed 4th in the 4 X 200 at Districts and 6th at Sectionals. The same group of girls placed third in the 4 X 100, which advanced them to Sectionals where they placed 6th. Sammi B. placed 4th at districts, 4th at Sectionals, and 6th at State in the discus. Madison S. placed 1st in the Long Jump, 100M, and 300M Hurdles. Madison also placed 2nd in the 200M at Districts to advance to Sectionals. Madison won the 100M and 300M at Sectionals while placing 2nd in the 200M at Sectionals to advance to state in three events. Madison brought home 5th place in the 200M and the 300M hurdles. She placed 6th in the 100 M. Madison also achieved a new PR and broke the school record for a second time this year in the 200 M with a time of 25.88.

In his first season, Coach Brian Mayer led a small team of track athletes who worked hard and improved daily. The competitors that advanced to sectionals were Colder E. and Jordan M. Colder advanced to sectionals in Javelin, Shot Put and Discus. Colder was then able to move on to state in Shot put and Discus, where he earned the 7th-place in Shot Put and 4th-place in Discus. Senior, Jordan M.,  a 4-year track team member, ran hard all season and it paid off with a 4th-place finish in the mile to advance to Sectionals.

I also have some end of year house-cleaning items that I want to share with you to make sure everyone is informed. The current job openings that we have advertised and are actively trying to fill are the following. We have a position as a cook available, paraprofessionals and building trades instructor. We always need substitutes in every area and aspect of our operation, bus drivers, maintenance, teachers, cooks, etc.

Summer school begins right away. I made a recommendation and the school board adopted the earlier start date so that there is an earlier ending date to summer school. We hope this helps with supporting the Unionville Recreational League and for families getting to summer break sooner.

The next 95 days are an extraordinarily busy time of year at school. No, not as many students or teachers, but the maintenance crew, principals and I will be working very hard to close down this school year while prepping for the 2019-2020 year. During the summer all classrooms are emptied and cleaned thoroughly. Carpets and tiles may be cleaned or replaced.  Maintenance will be done all over our campus and walls painted as necessary.

We will also have students and staff traveling the country representing us in their various organizations while all of our coaches and athletes prepare for the upcoming seasons.

Congratulations to all of our graduates! I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.