

February 2024
HS Academic Newsletter
PURPOSE OF THIS NEWSLETTER
This newsletter is to provide an insight to what is happening in our High School classes each month. To introduce staff and to provide their background as well in hopes to become more familiar with everyone in our Panther Family!
*Any/All Athletic Information can be found at https://www.mndcty.k12.mo.us/documents/athletics/257158
or on our APP under Athletic Newsletter
Mrs. Shawna Farr- FACS
Foods:
We will finish our cupcake wars competition. The students will come up with some superbowl party appetizers to make. The third week of the month, we will be making breakfast items for the teachers and FCCLA members to celebrate FCCLA week.
Interpersonal Relationships:
We will be discussing the different signs of depression and what some causes of stress can be. They will learn the attitudes that lead to mental health and how they develop and how to build positive attitudes in turn. There will be techniques that the students will learn for handling negative feelings or events.
Housing:
We will be discussing additions to homes. They will design a room addition to a home of their choice. Learning how to work with contractors and subcontractors, they will have a better idea of what can go in to getting an addition done to a home.
Health:
We are talking about different risk factors of your health, whether it is behavior, genes or environment. They will be able to explain the relationship between health and life expectancy, also students will be able to determine how health and wellness relate to quality of life. And finally, they will be be able to describe the three categories of risk factors (family history, modifiable risk factors, non-modifiable risk factors). Towards the end of month, we will be looking at choosemyplate.gov and visually seeing what should be our daily intake for each meal.
Nutrition and Wellness:
We will be making different casseroles and crockpot meals that have few ingredients but still a tasty meal the kids will feel comfortable making at home by themselves. Students will also be helping me get breakfast foods ready for FCCLA week for the teachers and members. Once a week, these students will make a couple dozen cupcakes for our Friday afternoon Valentine stations with our elementary students that come over to do a collaboration.
Child Development:
Students will be doing an oral presentation and slideshow on a birth defect that they have chosen to research. They will be asked to have a handout for the class to do as well. Once this project is completed the students will make a pregnancy month to month flip book showing the difference in fetal development and pregnancy development. I am hoping to be ready to send home the RealCare babies by the end of this month for the students to be able to experience a snippet of what it would be like to have a baby while in high school.
FCCLA:
Joslin and Kiley were both elected into the Region 1 office. Joslin will be the Secretary and Kiley will be the VP of special events. We had 8 students compete in the Region 1 STAR Events at Northwest Campus. Seven students received a GOLD rating and one received a SILVER. Jaylynn, Lilli, Emma, Joslin, Kiley, Destiny and Ava L will all be moving forward to Tan-Tar-A for the State Leadership Conference and compete in the STAR events at the state level! February 12-16th we will be celebrating National FCCLA week. Members will have different dress up days, the officers will arrive early two of those days to make breakfast for the teachers and members.
Mrs. Thersea Jordan- HS English Department
Freshmen: Our anchor text is The Best of O'Henry. We will continue focusing on theme, point of view, and irony. Our writing focus is on sentence structure and the editing process.
Sophomores/Juniors: Our anchor text is Life of Pi. We will continue focusing on theme, complex character development, symbolism/text structure and how these advance/develop themes. Our writing focus is on literary analysis.
Seniors: Our anchor text in January was Impact: Short Stories. We are adding film to support our anchor text. We will be analyzing multiple films to find common themes and writing a synthesis over our discoveries. Our writing focus is synthesizing multiple texts: both written and film.
Mrs. Katie Dougherty- Physical Education
Elementary classes will continue to work on basketball skills
Middle School - Finish basketball unit & then begin a bowling unit
9th Grade P.E. - Finish basketball unit & begin a bowling unit
Lifetime Sports - Bowling Unit & Begin Yoga
Mrs. Payton Boswell- K-12 Art Department
Elementary classes: the majority of elementary classes are starting projects that somehow relate to Valentines Day. Kindergarten is learning about the artist Jim Dine. First grade students will listen to the book love monster and will create their own love monsters with fur textures. Second graders are learning about Chris Uphues and the hearts he paints with cartoon faces. Third grade will be making a pop art emoji print. The fourth grade class is doing one project about 4 artists that all use hearts in their work.
Middle school: Fifth grade students will begin the month of February with a poster-like piece that incorporates words that they believe describe who they are. Sixth graders have just started a project about Russian nesting dolls. Eighth graders are creating large scale pixel art.
High school: Art Design and Visual Design students are starting a student choice project.
Mrs. Cammy Ungles- HS Science Department
Biology- We will be starting our Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration Unit.
Integrated Science- We will be learning about work, energy and power.
Human Anatomy- We will be learning about the circulatory system and be doing a heart dissection.
Chemistry- We will be learning about ionic bonds and how to properly name ionic compounds.
Mr. Chandler Wilson- Social Science Department
The social studies department is hard at work covering a variety of topics. In Government, students are working on projects covering concepts relevant to the ratification of the Constitution. They next will begin to dive into the structure of our federal government and the relationship between our federal and state governments. In World History we are currently discussing the Western Front of World War I and the horrors of trench warfare. We will soon shift to talking about the contrasting Eastern Front and then examine how the conclusion of the war paved the way for the Second World War. In Sophomore Leadership, we have had discussions regarding vision, service, and positivity and the role those have in leadership. We will continue to look at various qualities of excellent leadership.
Mrs. Nichole Hux- Business Department
Business Skills- In today’s digital age, where emails and instant messaging dominate communication channels, the art of writing business letters still remains a timeless skill that can set you apart in the professional world. Whether you’re corresponding with clients, partners, or colleagues, mastering business letter writing skills can enhance your credibility, professionalism, and effectiveness in conveying your message. In class, we’ll explore the essential components of writing business letters as a way of business communication.
Accounting-Students are learning how to journalize and use source documents and the fundamentals in accounting to accurately record financial transactions. Students will follow step by step guides to understand source documents, identify transactions, determine accounts affected, debit and credit entries, record journal entries and post to ledger accounts. By mastering the journalization process and effectively utilizing source documents, you can maintain accurate financial records and make informed decisions.
Personal Finance- Budgeting can be a tough subject because it’s something many people struggle with. Some people are just getting started with budgeting, some are creating monthly budgets but not sticking to them, and some haven’t even considered budgeting. Students are learning how simple and necessary budgeting is. Students will have an understanding why it is important to have a budget and how to build a budget. They will learn how budgeting is the key to taking control of their money.
Mass Media- Students are working hard creating yearbook layouts and taking pictures to put on their pages.
FBLA- This is a busy time for the Mound City FBLA members. FBLA week is February 11-17 and they have several fun activities planned. Members will be stuffing “Hugs and Kisses” around Valentine’s Day. Eight members are competing at the FBLA District contest.Good luck!
Mr. Taylor Standerford- HS Math Department
Algebra 1 - We are using the quadratic formula to solve quadratic equations.
Geometry - We will start working with quadrilaterals and other polygons, using what we learned with triangles to solve more complex shapes.
Pre/Calc Trig - We will be finishing up with our trigonometry identities and then we will start learning about vectors and how this applies to physics.
Mr. Jake Shipman- HS Principal/Athletic Director
CELEBRATIONS!!!!
FCCLA
Two students have been elected to the 2024-25 Region 1 Office: Joslin Ungles- Secretary and Kiley Caton- Vice President of Special Events.
Star Event results:
Gold Recipients- advanced to State competition in March at Tan-Tar-A.
Jaylynn Wilmes & Lilli Barnes- Food Innovations
Emma Russell & Joslin Ungles- Sports Nutrition
Kiley Caton- Repurpose and Redesign
Destiny Panning & Ava Luna- Promote and Publicize FCCLA