School
Smooth sounds serenade on Jazz Night
Brody Howell plays a solo in "Aftershock" during the annual Jazz Night on Feb. 17 at the Performing Arts Center in Cassville.
Purdy school chooses calendar for 2026-27
The Purdy school board wrestled with scheduling for the coming school year and reviewed issues with the Annual Performance Review (APR), as assessed by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, during its Feb. 12 meeting.
Community Voices — Merlyn Johnson: It’s a not-so-wonderful life without Missouri public schools
In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey is shown a world in which he never existed.
Purdy extends superintendent’s contract
The Purdy school board has extended the contract of Superintendent Travis Graham and approved waiving tuition for new students who lived beyond the district’s borders.
Cassville Speech and Debate owns Big 8
The Cassville High School Speech and Debate team placed first in the Big 8 Conference Tournament the weekend of Jan. 30 at Nevada.
Jenkins wins Spelling Bee with ‘hammerhead’
On Feb. 4, fourth- and fifth-grade classroom spelling bee winners competed in the Cassville Intermediate Spelling Bee. Fifth-grade student Mark Jenkins is pictured sighing in relief after taking first place by correctly spelling "hammerhead." He will compete in the Joplin Globe Spelling Bee on March 13. Fourth-grade student Isabella Martinez finished in second place and will serve as Cassville's alternate at the Joplin Spelling Bee. Jenkins is the son of Tara Pointer and Mark Jenkins. Martinez is the daughter of Yolanda Barrientos.
Students supporting students
Cassville High School Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) recently demonstrated the power of compassion and community by raising $1,700 to support fellow CHS student Cooper Hendrix, who is preparing for an upcoming kidney transplant. SADD members organized and hosted a Color Fun Run in October, with all proceeds from participant registration and donations going directly to Hendrix and his family to help offset medical expenses related to the transplant.
Bright Futures gets winter clothing from Amazon
The Cassville R-IV Bright Futures program has been selected as a recipient of the Amazon Together We Give program.
New crochet class at Cassville High School
A new crochet class has started during engage hour in the high school library, taught by student Emma Bowling. Bowling often crochets during the school day, and when asked if she’d be willing to teach others, she jumped right in. The group meets once a week during the second half of engage.
‘Ghost Student’ scam affecting Cassville seniors
A nationwide financial aid scam has affected numerous Cassville seniors, who have had to confirm their identities to the federal government after their Social Security numbers had already been used to set up student aid accounts.
