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Trish Watson Photo
On March 22, the Parliamentary Procedure contest team went to Area 14 contest and earned first rank. Team members are (from left) Eli Barnett, Lexy Freeman, Journey Lloyd, Emily Douglas, Carleigh Dixon, and M’Lynn Steen. Not pictured, Logan Nothnagel and Cally Gibson who are substitutes for the team.
St. James FFA Contest Teams Continue to Improve
By Savannah Smith
78590@stjschools.org
St. James FFA contest teams are off to a great start in the Spring contest season. All teams have been continuing to advance throughout each practice in preparation for districts.
The teams had 6-7 practice contests throughout the season. FFA Advisor and agriculture teacher Trish Watson explained how these contests have benefited the team. “I think it was good for them to get out and see, especially when we go southwest, or we go northeast, those are more competitive areas. I think the quality of the contest and the quality of the competition are more similar to what they're going to see at state. I think it's good to kind of get out there. There's a great big world outside of Phelps County, and see what it looks like.”
The team’s most recent contest was Area 14 in Owensville. Scores have improved dramatically since their first practice contests.
The top teams in the area were Agronomy (Chloe Gipson- 1st, Jason Paine - 2nd, Caleb Strackeljahn - 5th), Dairy Foods (Gavin Romine - 3rd, Josh Carpenter - 6th), Knowledge (Josh Carpenter - 1st, JV Meuer- 3rd, Bella Bolte and Avery Campbell - 4th), Poultry (Journey Lloyd - 1st, Caleb Strackeljahn - 8th), Soils (Hayden McDonald - 4th, Charles McCormick - 5th, Lane Engelmeier - 6th), Dairy Cattle (Jamie Warren - 4th, Makiah Wasson - 5th), and Ag Mechanics (Jason Paine - 2nd, Caleb Strackeljahn - 8th).
“We had a very successful outing in our area,” FFA Advisor Tim Davis
said. “A lot of firsts to thirds, which is important.”
The FFA district competitions are set for this week, April 4 and 6. Those results will be available in next week’s paper.
Becky Daniels Photo
Donkeyball will return April 6. Beta Member Carson Midyett is ready to sell you some tickets. Find a Beta member, or purchase your tickets at the high school office.
Betas To Bring Back Donkeyball April 6 at MS
By Logan Nothnagel
21029@stjschools.org
Mrs. Becky Daniels, the senior Beta club sponsor, and Mrs. Sarah Watson, the middle school Beta sponsor, have organized a Donkey Basketball Tournament as a fundraiser for the Junior and Senior Beta club.
Both clubs are raising funds to support the students who qualified to compete at nationals in Louisville, Kentucky in June.
All the money that Beta raises will go straight to those kids to help pay for their fees, their travel, and lodging on their trip, so that they can compete against others around the nation.
Donkeyball will be held at the middle school on Thursday, April 6. If you purchase your tickets before the day of the fundraiser, admission is $7. If you wait until the day of Donkeyball, the icket price will rise to $10. Preschool age children are free.
Plan and purchase your tickets now to save money. You can buy them from a Beta member or at any of the St. James Schools offices.
From 5-6:30 pm, they will serve soup for dinner, followed by dessert.
The game will then begin at 7:00 pm, concessions will also be available throughout the game.
Four teams are playing, and the Beta Club is still looking for people to sign-up to play.
The first team is the Senior Betas. There is also a teacher team and the Beta Club is also looking for a few more teachers to participate.
There locals will also be celebrities, but Mrs. Daniels is hoping to find members of our community who everyone knows, so they would like to come and watch them have fun while falling off a donkey.
The final team is made up of alumni, they are St. James graduates who would like to return and play on a team.
Anyone is welcome to come out and watch what the company calls “The Greatest Show in Earth.”
For children aged 12 and under, there will be free donkey rides during the intermission before the championship game. All the kids will receive a free donkey ride ticket from school.
Andrew Scope photo
Saint James Marching Band being directed by Caleb Adams in Ozark Mountain Marching Festival finals.
Novermber 10th, 2022.
By: Royal Newton
Caleb Adams participated in the last event of the marching band season as a senior. The Ozark Mountain Marching Festival was held at Reed Springs Missouri, October 22, 2022. Caleb Adams commented “it was definitely one of the more energetic and lively festivals that we went to. There was a lot of music,” Caleb expressed that there were plenty of different kinds of bands and not just marching bands. “We were in an area where we were allowed around a lot of different bands. And we were able to talk with them and hang out with them,” was another thing Caleb added, from the sound of it, the festival had plenty of fun things to add. As far as rewards go, we got six in finals. Caleb explained that being six in finals was equal to trophies, which is just as exciting.
October 26th, 2022
By. Conner Mills
Future Teachers of America (FTA) has grown from 5 members to 17 since the 2021-22 school year. While there are others on the FTA roster for taking dual credit courses in the area of education, these 17 are forming this club into one all aspiring teachers can join.
FTA is an organization designed to help push students’ dreams of becoming teachers.
Ms. Shultz has been leading FTA for over 3 years. She was in FTA in high school, and Ms. Shultz said that her high school sponsor of FTA inspired her to continue wanting to be a teacher. “The sponsor of FTA helped inspire me to continue to want to be a teacher, and just that experience in FTA led me to continue working toward being a teacher.”
FTA has a lot to offer: scholarships for going into college and dual credit courses for seniors.
Ms. Shultz is also working on getting teacher mentors for FTA. FTA is working with the Grow Your Own Grant, which is trying to grow a district's own teachers so they are encouraged to come back to rural areas to teach. Not only that, but the grant is also paying for membership dues for FTA.
FTA even offers college visits. Recently, FTA took 17 members to MS&T where they joined FTA groups from other districts and had a campus tour, did STEM activities, and learned all about MS&T’s education program.
FTA has a Trunk or Treat coming up at the end of this month and a state convention at Columbia in November. FTA also plans on helping out with after school tutoring at the elementary.
If you or anyone you know is interested in joining FTA, you can email Ms. Shultz at kshultz@stjschools.org, or you can go to her room during her first hour plan or after school.
October 26th, 2022
By. Julia Jacobs
On October 15th, St. James Red Regiment Band brought several trophies home including best percussion, best visuals and 1st in their class.
The color guard was also brought to victory, winning best guard in their class. Sophomore, Tyler Madden gave his thoughts on the moment, “It was exhilarating, the way the band roared with tiger pride when we won best guard. It was truly amazing.”
The band competition season is now over, they ended the season with placing 9th in finals.
Sequoia Brown is extending her arm for her phlebotomist Brooke, who is inserting the IV needle into the veins.
October 26th, 2022
By. Royal Newton
The National Honor Society sponsored a blood drive on October 18. The blood drive took place in the new gym. A total of 42 units of blood were collected.
According to NHS sponsor, Mr. Josh Adams, the blood drive was a success. “We were busy throughout the day, and the kids were really responsive to it. We are excited to be a part of it.”
Senior Sequoia Brown, she wanted to do the blood drive so she could take some time out of class and help the cause. Brown, and many other volunteers, did this out of generosity.
Brown recommends this to anyone who is interested, and the signup process is simple.
The phlebotomist mentioned that they were drawing 550 milliliters in blood.
Next year's event is sure to be just as interesting and helpful.
Attribution: Photo By: Junior Dionna Lynch
Brett Shultz was elected Future Teachers of America (FTA) Ambassador. Here, Shultz gives her speech for the FTA Ambassador election in the 2022 FTA convention on November 17 in Columbia, MO.
Shultz Elected Ambassador at FTA Convention
By Dionna Lynch
December 8th, 2022
21122@stjschools.org
On Wednesday, November 17, eight students from the St. James Future Teachers of America (FTA) club took a field trip to Columbia for an FTA convention held by the Missouri State Teachers Association. The club members in attendance were Karen Goodin, Paige French, Jaycee Engelbrecht, Alexxyiss Christenson, Dionna Lynch, Amy Berkelman, Zoey Bliss, Brett Shultz, and club sponsor Ms. Katie Shultz. FTA Ambassador candidate Brett Shultz ran against 16 other candidates and was elected as one of four ambassadors for the 2022-23 year. As an FTA Ambassador, Brett will now be responsible for helping plan the FTA’s 2023 convention and focusing on things that will help better the program as a whole. When asked her motivation behind running for ambassador, Brett said, “I’ve always liked to take leadership roles in all of the activities I'm involved in. So when I was proposed the idea of running I just took it and went with it.” The FTA Ambassadors will have their first meeting in February
Attribution: St. James R-1 School Dist. Photo
Basketball players (from left) Livi Heron, Rylee Hancock, and Ally Hartley ran in the Tiger Trot.
Tiger Trot Raises $13,500
By Kaylee Kraczek
December 8th, 2022
20139@stjschools.org
The 2nd annual Tiger Trot was held on November 26 in St. James. They had a goal of raising $10,000 for their Gifts for Kids Project but beat that goal with an outcome of $13,500.
According to Beth Keyes, Communications Director for the district, throughout this year, the district collected money from raffles during football games all season, as well as staff fundraisers and business sponsorships.
The Tiger Trot was started because Superintendent Mr. Webster had a goal which was to provide a gift to every student in our district, but since there are over 1,600 children in the district, the school board decided they needed more financial help to support the prices of these gifts. The gift students received last year were red, black and white winter hats with the tiger on the front. According to Beth Keyes, "the only hint I am able to give out is that it will be branded with the St. James Tigers brand."
Perona, Perkins Are Top Runners in the 2022 Tiger Trot
By Royal Newton
December 8th, 2022
21390@stjschools.org
In its second year, the St. James R-1 School District Tiger Trot 5K was a success with 148 entries and 124 finishers in the held November 26. Patrick Frost won the male category with the time 00.19.24. Leslie Perona won the female category with the time of 00.28.58.
The Tiger Trot offered two races: a 5k and 10k run. Kathrine Stracklejahn finished overall first
with 00.46.24. The men's category winner was former St. James High School teacher Mike Menendez with the time of 00.48.10.
The first high school student winner was John Perkins (00:20:29).
This year's event got more traction than 2021, gaining more runners to surpass their fundraising goal.
Last year's winning teacher was Mrs. Lorts, gaining bragging rights until this year’s race. This year's bragging rights now lie with Perona. She finished 8th overall.
The Trot began at the St. James football field and ended back where they started. There were multiple age groups, and each group had different prizes.
The Tiger Trot was created back when school Superintendent Mr.
Webster first started working at St. James School District. First he started to call it “Turkey Trot,” considering it was around Thanksgiving break; however, he changed it to Tiger Trot for Tiger pride.
All the results can be found at : https://stjtigertrot.itsyourrace.com/ Results.aspx?id=14842&y=2022.
Attribution: Becky Daniels Photo
St. James High school hosted a Veterans Day Assembly on November 10. Here, Sergeant Beard gives an inspirational speech to high school students, teachers, and veterans.
Veteran’s Day Assembly Held at St. James High School
By Julia Jacobs
December 8th, 2022
20722@stjschools.org
On Thursday November 11, St. James students celebrated Veteran’s Day by honoring veterans with an assembly.
To begin the day, pilot John Fester did a flyover at the high school. After students and guests filled the gym, VFW veterans presented the arms. The chamber choir sang The National Anthem.
Following, veterans and students were welcomed by Principal Devin Johnson. Students, Jordan Cairer, Heather Austin, Treyton Culp, and Caleb Adams gave speeches and read poetry in honor of Veteran’s Day.
Sergeant Beard gave an impactful speech about his life and how it affected him in the future.
The concert band played “God Bless America” and “God Of Our Fathers.” The chamber choir performed the “Armed Forces Medley.”
Derek Limback played “Taps,” a song played at the end of the day, and is played alone to honor service members who paid the ultimate price. Lastly, the VFW took down the arms ending the Veteran’s Day assembly.
Make sure to thank teachers Shane Pitts, Bri Hodge, Joe Campbell, Tim Davis and Dustin Felan for their service.
Also, a huge thank you to the history department for organizing the assembly.
Attribution needed
On Saturday November 12, 2022 four St. James choir students tried out and made the Missouri All- State Choir. They are (from left to right) Lily Cross-Baker, Hunter Redburn, Ryan Braun, and Abigail Mckee posing for a picture.
Students Audition for All State Choir
By: Kori Jackson
December 13, 2022
Four St. James students auditioned and made it in the All-State Choir. On Nov 12, 2022 Abigail McKee, Lily Cross-Baker, Ryan Braun, and Hunter Redburn have all made into the All-state choir. Their next step is to have rehearsal with all of the other students in the All-State Choir from January 25 through the 28. They will have a performance following on the 28 of January.
To audition you have to be enrolled in choir, at least a junior, and make our top district choir. This is the 9th straight year that St. James has been in the Allstate choir, 28 students total. When asked how he feels, Dustin Felan says “Always elated, just because we're a small school and to have kids make All-state choir as much as we have is always a good thing.”
Anatomy and Physiology Goes on Field Trip
Byline: Maddie Guccione
20882@stjschools.org
The A/P class took a trip to St. Louis University December 1, 2022. Jessica Stack, the A/P teacher, stated “The purpose of going was to expose students to organs and organ systems that they are studying anatomy and physiology but how they actually look and not just in a textbook.” The students expressed how they enjoyed the hands-on experience, “It was beneficial to be in the moment instead of just hearing about it in class, something you really wanna experience!” Maddy Tinsley said excitedly.
Becky Daniels
Medieval Club coached by Mike Harris in the old band room. Where they’d played “bridged”, a game when two teams would fight in a narrowed pathway. Joey White(Left), Adam Drewry , Gavin Morland, Cooper Harlen (Right), Justin Taylor.
By Royal Newton
21390@stjschools.org
The Gauntlet Gaming Club is run by Mr. Mike Harris. Harris has been running The Gauntlet Gaming Club since the early 2000’s. The Gauntlet Gaming Club and The Medieval Club has always been run by Harris, however Mr. Joshua Cahill plays a role in the clubs as well. The club's member count has differentiated year to year, this year 15 members participate in the club. Harris states that Cahill does help with setting up The Gauntlet Gaming Club. Harris doesn’t get a lot of love, as well The Gauntlet Gaming Club isn’t well known as say The Debate Team. The Gauntlet Gaming Club is a creativity free club where students can express their imagination and create bonds. When asked if they do more tabletop gaming, Harris said “It was always set up that we would have a tabletop that we would play on so that we could have actual interaction between the different students right there”. Having a club with people who share similar ideas and hobbies is a great way to help students open up, make friends and expand their ideas.
The Gaming Gauntlet Club is more board games and RolePlay Games(RPGs) while Medieval Club clashes metal on metal, using swords and armor. Both Clubs are free to join, while best at the beginning of the year however they are always welcoming new adventures.
FBLA Competes at State; Perkins Wins 5th
By Kaylee Kraczek
20139@stjschools.org