Monday, Sept 22: JH/JV Football at Marceline @ 5PM
Tuesday, Sept 23: FFA Area III Trap Shoot at Schuyler & JH/V Softball vs Brookfield @ 5PM
Wednesday, Sept 24: FFA Petting Zoo
Thursday, Sept 25: Jostens Meetings with Sophomores & Seniors and JH/V Softball at Trenton @ 5PM
Friday, Sept 26: V Football vs Polo [Cal Hubbard Game & Hall of Fame Recognition]
Saturday, Sept 27: V Softball at Princeton and Seniors working gate/concessions for Elem Football games

Monday, Sept 29: V/JH Softball at Princeton @ 5PM and JH/JV Football vs Gallatin @ 5PM
Tuesday, Sept 30: V Softball at Gallatin @ 5PM and JH Softball vs Gallatin (HOME) @ 5PM
Wednesday, Oct 1: Picture Re-takes & Senior Composite Pictures
Thursday, Oct 2: Jostens returns to take orders 2:45-4
Friday, Oct 3: 12:45 release for students meeting all 4 College Benchmarks on the Pre ACT and Pre ACT 9 and Varsity Football at Trenton @ 7PM
Saturday, Oct 4: V Softball at La Plata, FFA at NE District Trapshoot, Band at Macon, and Seniors working Elementary Football

Monday, September 22, 2025

Hello Wildcat Families!

After closing the door on the first five weeks of school, I want to say a sincere thank you to our students, families, and staff for a strong start to the 25-26 School Year. In the first few weeks of school, we focused heavily on building routines, learning safety procedures, and instilling Wildcat Pride. At the beginning of the school year, we use our daily CAT Time to teach our students the policies and procedures we expect them to follow—for students to do what we expect them to, we must teach them what the expectations are. Once all of the necessary procedural and safety lessons have been thoroughly taught, the focus changes to building strong relationships within that classroom. We will also utilize these groups for regular competitions and to teach our character education curriculum, CharacterStrong. The CAT Time your student started in as a 7th grader will change very little from their first day at MHS to graduation. This consistency is intentional and is something we have found a lot of success with.

As previously stated, we are officially through five full weeks of school which means all things MHS are in full swing! Beyond our fall sports, we also have FFA that has been competing in Trap Shoots throughout the area and our Band and Color Guard that have been traveling to nearby communities to participate in their parades. FFA has also been preparing their Fall Speakers for competition as well as prepping our qualifying students for their final interviews/speeches to be recognized at National Convention (end of October). We are very excited to find out their final results!

Our MHS StuCo has reorganized for the year and is already making big plans. They will be hosting "Post Game on Wildcat Lane" for the 7-12 students with the help of the Cheerleading squad following the Homecoming game on 10/10/25. Wildcat Lane is the alley located behind the school and following the game, StuCo/Cheer will have activities and snacks set up for their fellow students to enjoy. Entry to the event will be free to students, concessions will be available for purchase. StuCo is also working on getting involved with the community and sent representatives to attend their first Chamber meeting on Friday, September 12th. They were tasked with finding new planters and trash receptacles to purchase for the town square. As a voice for their peers, StuCo requested Milan C-2 to expand our social media network to Instagram and TikTok, with the hopes of reaching the student body more consistently on the networks they frequent most. You can follow our new accounts by searching @milan.c2.schools.1 on Instagram and @milan.c2.schools on TikTok if you're on those platforms.

A big focus for the last couple of years has been student attendance and tardies and I'm very pleased to report that through the first five weeks, we barely have enough tardies to even count them and our attendance has been fantastic.

Seniors: 94.00% Juniors: 97.99% Sophomores: 95.95% Freshmen: 97.61% 8th Grade: 98.07% 7th Grade: 97.52% OVERALL: 96.73%

Creating good attendance habits now will pay off in the future! Mrs. Hurley, our ICAP advisor, meets with Seniors regularly, but also met with Freshmen last week to talk to them about Missouri's A+ program and one of the big qualifiers for A+ eligibility: attendance. For students to be granted A+ funding for postsecondary education or training, they must have at least 95% attendance; this attendance percentage includes excused absences which many students and families don't realize. I know it can be challenging, but any appointments that can be made on Mondays when we are not in session will only benefit your Wildcat's attendance percentage.

Other eligibility requirements for A+ include:

US Citizen or Permanent Resident
Attended an A+ Designated High School for at least 3 Years
Maintain a 2.5 cumulative GPA
95% Overall Attendance (Grades 9-12)
Complete 50 Hours of Unpaid Tutoring/Mentoring
Have a Good Citizenship Record
Score Proficient or Advanced on the Algebra 1 EOC Exam (earn a qualifying score on the ACT or Pre ACT)
Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

Some of you have already been receiving emails from me in regards to weekly tutoring. As a reminder, I pull grades for all 7-12 students every Tuesday morning. Any student failing one course is required to attend one full-hour session of mandatory tutoring and students failing more than one course are required to attend two one-hour sessions. These sessions must be completed in the current week. Mrs. Forster, Tutoring Coordinator, meets with students on the Tutoring List on Tuesdays to allow them to choose their date/time. Students who do not complete their tutoring will receive a referral and will have disciplinary consequences.

Tutoring is available:

Every school morning 6:30AM - 7:30AM
After school daily 3:45PM - 4:45PM

If your student is struggling in a particular class, I encourage you to reach out to their teacher. All teachers can be emailed through the school website.

This week is Cal Hubbard Week as we will be honoring our Hall of Fame Inductees at halftime of the football game on Friday. Traditionally, we recognize the man whom our football field was named after through our Spirit Days as he is the only person to be inducted into both the Professional Baseball Hall of Fame and Professional Football Hall of Fame. As a reminder, when students are participating in spirit days, the dress code still applies. Hats may be worn if they meet the theme of the day, but students may be asked to remove them at different times during the school day.

Every day matters. Please help us keep momentum by continuing to prioritize on-time attendance and healthy routines. We love having your student here—this is where they belong. Thank you for sharing your student with us. Working together, home and school make the biggest difference. If there’s anything we can do to help your Wildcat thrive, please reach out—my door and inbox are always open.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” — Will Durant

With Wildcat Pride,

Mrs. Dodson

HS Principal, Milan High School

bdodson@milan.k12.mo.us

UNTIL THE NEXT

Dodson Download

10/6-10/10 HOMECOMING WEEK! "The Greatest Homecoming" [Circus Theme]

- Tuesday: Ring Master Tuesday
  - Wear red, black, gold, and glitter
- Wednesday: Class Color Day
  - 7th: Green, 8th: Red, 9th: Blue, 10th: Purple, 11th: Black, & 12th: Pink
- Thursday: Animal Act
  - Dress like a Circus Animal
- Friday: Green & Gold Day
  - Go all out with your school spirit!

10/6: JH/V Softball vs Scotland Co & JH/JV Football @ Trenton
10/7: V Softball @ Linn Co
10/9: V Softball vs Albany @430 and Community Pep Rally @ 7PM
10/10: HoCo Olympics
- 12:45 Dismissal
- 2PM Parade
- 6:30 Senior Night Recognition
- 7PM HoCo Game Kickoff vs PC
- 10PM Stuco/Cheer Student Event for 7-12 Students

10/13: JH/JV Football vs PC and V Softball at Pattonsburg
10/14: FFA Blood Drive 2-6PM in the Commons
10/15: Junior Tea hosted by PEO and Monthly BOE Meeting
10/16: Art Club trip to Nursing Home
10/17: V Football at Brookfield
10/18: Band at Trenton, Seniors working Elem Football, and FFA Barnwarming