Panther Nation
Winter Edition (December/January)
Well, the holiday season is upon us. At MCE, we have many reasons to be thankful. I know I am thankful for the amazing staff and students here. This is my sixth year at MCE and, as each one goes by, MCE becomes more and more like family. MCE is much more than a school system. When I visit the classrooms, I see collaboration on more than just math, english, science or social studies. I see teachers and students working together to make this a safe and happy place for learning. I see teachers who work with local civic and religious organizations to help make the lives of our local families a little merrier and warmer each holiday season. Yes, we are very blessed and thankful at MCE.
When we return from Christmas Break, we will be in full test prep mode for the spring semester. We are also in that time of year where the weather can turn crazy and nasty within just a few hours. As always, make sure your contact information is up to date in the office so you may receive any parent alerts, specifically school cancellations due to inclement weather. We know some did not get a call or text when we had the snow day in November. That problem has been fixed. Please know, we also broadcast the cancellations on all major Springfield news television stations. If in doubt, you can also check the app as it will be updated as soon as a decision is made. Due to the short amount of time we are in school between Thanksgiving Break and Christmas Break, this newsletter will cover December & January.
From the MCE Family to yours, May you have a Merry Christmas and the beginnings of a Very, Happy New Year!
Joel Carey
FFA National Convention
On October 30th through November 1st, several Morrisville FFA Members attended National FFA Convention. On Wednesday, after a long day of travel and networking with other FFA Members from 3 other FFA Chapters, members had the great opportunity to attend an Old Dominion concert at Bankers Life Field House, Home of the Indiana Pacers.
On Thursday, members attended the FFA Career Show, where they met with tons of colleges from across the nation and businesses within the agriculture community. Members then attended the Second General Session in Lucas Oil Stadium where we listened to Ruth Kimmelshue's (President of Business Operations for Cargill Feed) speech about progressive agriculture, followed by Shea Booster's (National FFA Western Regional Vice President) retiring speech about taking responsibility and not being a victim.
Friday morning, FFA Members attended a tour at Ozark Fisheries where they had the opportunity to learn about aquaculture, as well as the Koi, Goldfish, Crayfish, Bullfrog Tadpoles that were being raised at the facility. They were able to handle the fish and learned about the agricultural market for these animals. Members also had the opportunity to learn about fish hatcheries and the method behind the marketing of these animals. After a great tour, members headed home exhausted, but full of knowledge.
Service Learning Projects
One of the many amazing things about MCE is the giving and servant heart of our teachers and students. We have a few recent occasions where groups at MCE have conducted service learning projects for the Holidays. On Nov. 5th, around 30 students and 10 adults from MCE went to Hands of Hope, which is a service project of Convoy of Hope. Students represented from MCE all came together from these organizations: Student Council, FCCLA, FFA, FBLA, FCA and NHS. Including our numbers, there were a total of 331 volunteers. Here's what our students helped to accomplish:
· 1,723 pairs of Toms Shoes boxed for kids in rural communities all over the US
· 737 baby care kits created for disaster survivors
· 1,000 bags of groceries bagged for the Hope Connection right here in Springfield, MO & 1,200 bags of groceries for a Rural Compassion event in Lake Village, Arkansas
·4,030 lbs of cereal bagged for families in the US
·1,810 lbs of pasta bagged for families all over the world (8,320 meals total!)
· & 5,000 bags labeled for food bagging projects in future weeks (so we can keep bagging those meals!)
What these volunteers did helps Convoy of Hope better serve hundreds of thousands of individuals all over the world through these Convoy of Hope programs: Children's Feeding, Women's Empowerment, Agriculture, Community Events, Rural Compassion & Disaster Services Initiatives.
On Nov. 20th, a handful of Junior Honor's Society students went to the Sac Rive Cowboy Church Events Center to help box meals for families in need for the Holidays. After boxing the meals, the students then helped to load them up for eventual delivery.
Also, the MCE STUCO has helped to raise, thanks to the teachers and student, a goal of $1,400 for The Purpose Place. This will provide Holiday meals to those in need locally.
When you see our teachers, please thank them for the selfless acts of servant leadership in helping our local families in need this Holiday Season.
Teacher of the Month
The MS/HS Teacher of the Month is Mr. Chad Banks. Mr. Banks teaches HS & Dual Enrollment Government as well as World History. Mr. Banks is in his 7th year at MCE. Here are what some of his colleagues had to say about Mr. Banks...
"He not only instructs and inspires his students through his passion for history, but also recently inspired the entire district by sharing his experiences at the Veterans Day assembly."
"He represented MCE so well at the Veteran's Assembly."
"He put himself out there and represented himself, the school and the Air Force with pride and dignity during the veterans assembly. Thank you, Mr. Banks."
"for all of their (with Mr. Francka and Mr. Winslow) awesome work putting the history bowl on. What a great event for our school to host."
Congratulations Mr. Banks!!!!
ACT Updates
Beginning in September of 2020, there will be some new options to address specific needs of students. There will be three new options which are based upon feedback ACT received from parents, students, teachers, counselors and administrators. These three new options are...
- ACT Section Retesting: For the first time in the 60-year history of the ACT test, students who have already taken the test will be allowed to retake individual ACT section tests (English, math, reading, science and/or writing), rather than having to take the entire ACT test again.
- Online testing with faster score results: Students will, for the first time, have the option of online or paper testing on national test days at ACT test centers (selected test centers initially, eventually expanding to all). The test is currently administered only on paper on national test dates. Online testing offers faster results compared to traditional paper-based administration—two days compared to around two weeks.
- ACT Superscoring: ACT will report a superscore for students who have taken the ACT test more than once, giving colleges the option to use the student’s best scores from all test administrations, rather than scores from just one sitting, in their admission and scholarship decisions. New ACT research suggests that superscoring is actually more predictive of how students will perform in their college courses than other scoring methods.
2nd Annual MCE History Bowl
Marion C. Early’s Department of History and Political Science will be hosting the 2nd Annual Marion C. Early High School & JH History Bowl on Thursday & Friday, December 5th & 6th, 2019. The Large School(Class 4 & above) will be on Thursday and the Small School(Class 3 & below) will be on Friday. The competition will begin at 9:30 AM and is expected to be completed by approximately 2:30 each afternoon when trophies/awards will be awarded. Teams encompassing all of Southwest Missouri will be competing.
The event will be held in the Marion C. Early Fieldhouse and there will be a full concession stand offered during the day.
There will be two brackets; one for high school and one for junior high. The first and second place team in each division will receive a trophy. . Schools are invited to bring up to 3 teams in each division of up to six students each. The format will be as follows: Ten questions from a particular category will be presented on a screen at the front of the room. Teams will then work cooperatively to fill in the correct answer on a provided answer sheet. Each team will receive one point per correct answer. Some of the possible topics will be as follows: (in random order): US Presidents, US Political History, The World Wars, The Cold War, The Great Depression, The Reagan Era, America, Civil War Era America (1848-1877), Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, and The Industrial Revolution, Vietnam, Constitution or Constitutional Amendments, Mesopotamia (Babylon, Assyrians, Persia, etc), Middle Ages or Medieval Europe, Colonial America, Age of Exploration, Reconstruction, World Religions, World War I or World War II, World Geography or U.S. Geography. There will be a total of 13 rounds.
History is an often overlooked and under-appreciated subject that makes a big difference in how we view and interact with our world. We believe that this competition is an excellent opportunity to emphasize the importance of history, encourage your students to pursue academic excellence, and to allow them to meet like-minded students from other area schools. We hope to see you there.
Special Olympics
We are beyond excited to officially announce Special Olympics has been established for the Polk County Area! Special Olympics offers year-round training and competition to anyone at least 8 years of age to any senior age with an intellectual disability. The organization promotes understanding, acceptance and inclusion while “unleashing the power of the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports!” This is an opportunity for this wonderful community of individuals to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy of being part of a team in an atmosphere that focuses on the appreciation and inclusion of all different abilities!
NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY and no cost to attend! This is an opportunity to learn about sports at the most basic level. We coaches set individual goals for each athlete to progress through leveled training! We are currently offering bowling training on Tuesday nights from 5-7 pm and basketball on Thursday nights at 5pm.
We are inviting anyone interested in becoming an athlete to join our facebook page "Polk County Special Olympics" or contact Lisa Gudenkauf to learn about practice locations and more! (785) 313-0349 or office (417) 756-7073.
NWEA Progress Testing
Beginning the week of Dec. 10th, grades 6-8 will be taking the NWEA Progress Benchmark. This benchmark score will help to show academic growth in the areas of Math, Reading, Writing and Science. Please help to encourage your child to do their best. NWEA tests adapt according to the student's response to each question. If the student answers a question correctly, the following questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. The goal of an NWEA test is to provide questions that are difficult enough for the student to answer approximately half the items correctly and half incorrectly. The final score is an estimate of the student’s achievement level, which may be different from the student’s grade level.
We will be utilizing the data collected to help provide a more personalized learning experience at MCE. Teachers will also be using this information to help prepare for spring MAP testing season in April. Once all students have been tested, we will be printing out the results and be sending them home to parents before Christmas Break.
Students of the Month
7th Grade: Lilly Thompson
8th Grade: Skyler Bingham
Sophomore: Libby Painter
Junior: Jackson Dilday
Senior: Jon Schmoll
Middle School Lunch Bunch
Lunch Bunch small groups have been meeting weekly since the beginning of school during middle school lunch. Students volunteer to join their counselors for a weekly group lunch table event to practice social skills across grade levels. Over 70 students in Grades 6-8 have participated.
Upcoming Events
2nd Annual MCE History Bowl
Thursday, Dec 5, 2019, 08:00 AM
5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
Band & Choir Christmas Concert
Friday, Dec 13, 2019, 06:00 PM
5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
Bolivar Christmas Parade (Band Marching)
Saturday, Dec 14, 2019, 02:00 PM
Southwest Baptist University, University Avenue, Bolivar, MO, USA
FFA Greenhand & Chapter Degree Banquet
Tuesday, Dec 17, 2019, 06:00 PM
5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
Early Dismissal at 12:50
Friday, Dec 20, 2019, 12:45 PM
5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
Christmas Break
Sunday, Dec 22, 2019, 12:00 AM
5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
Teacher Work Day
Monday, Jan 6, 2020, 12:00 AM
5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
2nd Semester Begins
Tuesday, Jan 7, 2020, 07:45 AM
5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
Sophomore Class Ring Information Day
Friday, Jan 10, 2020, 08:30 AM
5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
Sohpmore Class Ring Order Day
Tuesday, Jan 14, 2020, 08:30 AM
5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
Homecoming vs. Wheatland (Dance following the game)
Friday, Jan 24, 2020, 05:30 PM
5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
NJHS /NHS Induction
Both in the Old Cafe
Tuesday, Nov 19, 2019, 01:30 PM
5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
Important Links
Contact Information
Mrs. Kathy Painter-Food Service Clerk & Attendance Secretary
Dr. Joel Carey-Principal
Email: rshadwick@mcestaff.com
Website: www.mcepanthers.com
Location: 5309 South Main Street, Morrisville, MO, USA
Phone: 417-376-2216
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MCEHighSchool/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @MCEHighSchool