Wrestling Practice will begin Oct. 10th (for all non-football players). Football players will start after their season is complete.

If athletes did not participate in a fall sport they MUST have a physical on file with the office before they can try-out or practice!

Mr. Bates' classes took advantage of the fantastic weather and went outside to do ecosystem surveys. They staked off parts of the front lawn, and looked for as many biotic and abiotic things as possible.

Paola Middle School students are participating in an independent reading program called I-READ. The program is designed to encourage independent reading and covers several curriculum standards in reading, writing, speaking and listening. There are five categories of reading students will complete each semester. In the informational category, students choose one published passage from five options: newspaper article, a “how to” passage, a recipe, a magazine article, or a human interest article. In this category, students will give an oral presentation to their peers about what they read - either a summary of the article or a demonstration of the how to passage or recipe. In the argumentative category, students choose one published passage from five options: editorial, documented speech, online essay from a reputable site, a newspaper article about a demonstration of the first amendment, or a movie or book review. In this category, students will give an oral presentation to their peers summarizing what they read. In the express yourself category, students can choose to read something written and published by someone else - either a poem, short story, picture book or inspirational passage, or they can write one of these options themselves and read it aloud to their peers. In the actual/factual category, student will read either a biography, autobiography, informational book, folktale, or a “Who Was,” “What Was,” or “Where Was” book from the library. Then, students will take the Accelerated Reader quiz for the book they chose. In the last category - discover the genre - students have a variety of options to choose from in the fiction category. The options vary depending on the semester but include mystery or horror, fantasy or science fiction, historical fiction, classic novel, graphic novel, western or romance, humorous fiction, dystopian or adventure, sports fiction, or novel in verse. Once students finish reading the book, they will take the Accelerated Reader quiz for the book they chose.