November 2026 Academic Newsletter

Art & Design- Students will engage in independent art projects that encourage them to explore their personal interests, creativity, and individual artistic styles. Throughout the course, students will also research various career opportunities in the field of art and expand their artistic skills by creating projects that incorporate a variety of mediums and techniques.

Visual Design- Students will be exploring Medieval and Renaissance art, focusing on the unique styles, techniques, and historical significance of each period. Students will also develop their creativity and artistic skills through an oil pastel project and begin learning ceramic techniques as they design and create their own ceramic mugs.

Sculpture & Ceramics- Students will continue developing their ceramic skills by practicing a variety of hand-building techniques before transitioning to the pottery wheel. In addition to their individual projects, students will design and create patriotic sculptures or decorations of their choice, which will be proudly displayed during the Veterans Day Celebration Breakfast.

The Business Brief

Mrs. Hux

Mass Media: Students are working on creating layouts and designs for the yearbook, organizing pages to capture the school year’s most memorable moments. They are learning how to balance creativity with structure, making decisions about colors, fonts, and photo placement.

Coding: Students are learning how to code using Python Turtle to create fun and interactive drawings through simple programming commands. They are gaining an understanding of basic coding concepts such as loops, functions, and coordinates while visually seeing their code come to life. This hands-on experience helps them build problem-solving skills and creativity as they design unique shapes and patterns with code.

Personal Finance: Students are learning about the real dangers of debt and its impact on their financial future. They are exploring common credit myths and gaining a better understanding of how credit truly works. The lesson also teaches them how to read and interpret a credit report, as well as the factors that influence a credit score. Students are discovering why maintaining good credit is important for future goals such as buying a car or renting an apartment. They are also learning practical strategies to pay off existing debt and avoid falling into debt traps. Students will have the knowledge and tools to make smarter, more responsible financial decisions.

Dual Credit Computers and Information Technology: Students are learning the basics of Microsoft Excel, including how to use formulas and functions to organize and analyze data. They are gaining hands-on experience with tools that help them calculate totals, averages, and other useful information efficiently. This foundation in Excel is preparing them for more advanced data management skills. Next, they will begin a new unit on Microsoft Access, where they will learn how databases work and how to store, sort, and retrieve information effectively.

FBLA: FBLA members recently hosted a Haunted Hallways event. It was a great community event and our members received good feedback. Members are already planning for next year. Members took their annual field trip to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch in Gretna, NE. The owner, Tim Vala, spoke to the members about how to start a business and make it successful. Our next event will be in a few weeks. Members decided to host a FBLA Friendsgiving and movie night.

Integrated Science 9 (Physical Science) - Physical Science has two main components: Chemistry and Physics. We are wrapping up our study of the states of matter. Throughout November we will continue our study of chemistry, looking at atomic structure. The submicroscopic world is fascinating!

Chemistry - Chemistry is the study of matter and the changes it undergoes. Students will be studying the electron, including electron configurations and periodic table trends. Understanding the role of the electron sets the stage for our bonding unit before break!

Biology - Biology, or life science, will provide students with the knowledge of the nature of living things. We are concluding our study of cells - their structure, function, the cell cycle and cancer. This lays the groundwork for our study of photosynthesis and cellular respiration - the two processes in which living things obtain energy.

Anatomy - Human anatomy is the study of the body, its parts and their locations. The first body system we are going to tackle is the integumentary system, that includes the skin - the largest organ of the human body. There is a special project this unit - students will create a 3-D model of the skin and present their learning on a unique skin condition to one of their teachers!

Earth Science - Earth Science is the name for the group of sciences that deals with Earth and its neighbors in space. Students are reviewing the rock cycle and are understanding where Earth gets her energy. Our next adventure will be studying Earth's resources and ways we can be good stewards of our planet.

Geometry - Students begin the month learning about triangle congruence and different ways to prove said triangles congruent. The focus then shifts to other terms related to triangles. Topics like perpendicular and angle bisectors, medians and altitudes, and inequalities within triangles. Students solve for missing pieces or construct the proper terms in diagrams. They will also find special segments and prove side lengths are related.

Statistics - Students focus on normal distribution and the bell curve. Part of the unit requires students to understand the basic meaning of standardized statistics. Students will need to read a Standard Normal Distribution graph and solve for the z-score. They will use the z-score value to determine the probability of events happening, while comparing that probability to a mean. Students will also need to work backwards when given the probability, doing so in order to find an initial score compared to others in a data set.

2nd Industrial Revolution and rise of big business in the late 1800s

Algebra 1 - We will be working on systems of equations and inequalities. We will learn how to solve these equations and when to use these in situations.

Pre-Algebra - We will still be working on linear equations and how to use linear equations to predict values.

Algebra 1 (Soph.) - We will be working on quadratic equations and how to solve them.

Algebra 2 - We will continue to work with higher degree polynomial equations before we move on to simplifying rational expressions.

Life Skills - We will finish up our drywall unit and move on to a brief electrical unit.

Applied Math - We are working on finding jobs that fit different scenarios while also finding a house that is affordable with the job that we find.

Pre/Calc-Trig - We will be discussing interest rates and how to use exponential equations to figure out monthly payments.

Panther Band- The Panther Band is hard at work preparing for the 275 Conference Band Day on November 9th! Students are looking forward to the opportunity to perform alongside musicians from other schools in the conference. Following this event, we will shift our focus toward preparing for our Winter Concert on December 9th.

Ag Science 1- Students are learning about Parli Pro and Conduct of Chapter meeting and learning the ins and outs of running and participating in a meeting

Ag Science 2- Students have started on entomology and will learn the orders, metamorphosis, mouth parts, and characteristics of many types of insects.

Greenhouse- Is still working on plan ID and will spend a few days in the greenhouse propagating new plants

Plant Science- Students are learning about the many differences in Monocots and Dicots along with learning the functions of each part of the plant

Ag Construction- Students are finishing up barn quilts and will soon start the "refurb/refab" unit and make projects out of scrap or repurpose items.

Foods:

Students will plan a mock up of a “Friendsgiving” feast. They will have to plan everything from where the dinner will take place, everything that will need to be purchased to decorate, and all of the food they would like to be served. In class, I plan to show the students how to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, and sides that could possibly be served at their Thanksgiving dinner.

Child Development:

Students will be learning about how to prepare to have a child. This includes identifying the early signs of pregnancy, the importance of proper nutrition during pregnancy, basic baby supplies, the importance of developing a budget when having a baby, and the different options for the delivery of a baby.

8th Grade:

We delivered the stuffed monsters to the Kindergarteners that the 8th grade students sewed for them. That was a huge hit for everyone. We will be sewing Christmas stockings next, and eventually the students will design a quilt square to be sewn into a quilt later.

Textile and Apparel:

Students will be designing a Christmas project.

Health:

We are continuing our Monday mental health journaling. In class, students will learn about medications, drugs, and drug abuse and addiction.

Nutrition and Wellness:

In this month, students will describe the parts of a recipe, define recipe terms and measure ingredients accurately.

FCCLA:

We took 40 members, 1 Regional officer, 1 adviser and 1 guest to the Fall Regional FCCLA meeting at Northwest Missouri State University this past week. The members really enjoyed the day. We put on a 5th quarter after our last home football game, and also participated in Mound City’s Community Trunk or Treat. Our design was “Pirates”. Lots of members helped make the props, decorated the car, worked the event, brought candy and tore down. It was a successful event for our chapter!

LA1: Reading informational texts connected to dystopian societies and then citing textual evidence, analyzing ideas, and comparing texts from other sources to The Hunger Game

LA2: Students are wrapping up The Great Gatsby by analyzing symbolism and deeper meaning, and how those symbols develop characters.

LA3: Students are finishing Hamlet by exploring Shakespeare’s complex characters and their conflicts, both internal and external, while looking at how relationships and outside influences shape their choices, motivations, and struggles.

LA4: Students are preparing for life readiness through the novel Make Your Bed, focusing on leadership, perseverance, and personal responsibility. November means we will have some Military-focused activities and guest speakers which provide opportunities to connect these lessons to real-world experiences.

1st Hour Strength & Conditioning - Weights

3rd Hour - 9th Grade P.E. - Weights / Pickleball Unit

6th Hour - Lifetime Sports - Biking / Boaters Safety Education

7th Hour - Athletic Conditioning - speed/agility/stability/mobility stations

The Book Fair wrapped up the end of the first quarter in the library. This event only happens once a school year and is a wonderful opportunity for students to purchase books. New books continue to fill the shelves for High School students this quarter. We are very fortunate to have received a donation from The Shop in the community for High School books. The monthly challenge for November is for students to find a word with a minimum of 6 letters worth exactly $50. The value for the letters will stay the same, so a=$1, b=$2, c=$3, and so on. I’m always taking book requests from students and enjoy my time in the library.

November is College and Career Month at MCHS! Throughout the month, high school students will explore future opportunities and consider their interests, goals, and plans for life after graduation. We will welcome several guest presenters to campus to share information about their programs and career paths. Students will also work on updating their Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAPs) to help guide their next steps toward a successful future!

12th- Maggie Osburn

Greetings!

Good Morning! I want to give a shoutout to our students, staff, and our parent community for showing up and supporting our academics during P/T Conferences! We care about what we are doing here and we care about your children. If you weren't able to make it, your grade cards will be in the mail November 2nd. 2nd quarter has started. We will be doing our first grade check of this quarter on November 13th. Please make sure we are supporting the conversations we had during P/T conferences to set up everyone for success.

With 2nd quarter starting, it means cold weather is near. Cold weather brings sickness. I wanted to try and explain excused vs. unexcused absences are. Excused means we have heard from the parent and have received a doctors note for the day in missed. Unexcused means we have not heard from the parent nor received any documentation for the missed day. Both of these absences have to be taken off students attendance rates. This attendance percentage is solely counted by number of days your child is here in class. Excused doesn't mean the day missed will not lower their attendance. I wanted to bring this up as we will start getting questions due to Finals opt Out policy.

We will continue to recognize students who are doing the right things in the classroom through our Panthers of the Month (P-Positive Influence, A-Accountable, N-Noteworthy Character, T-Thoughtful, H-Hardworking, E-Engaged, R-Respectful, S- Safe). We will be recognizing 1 student from each grade level who the staff feels best represents what a MC Panther truly is. We will recognize them in our Celebrations tab on this Newsletter above, as well as on our Social Media outlets and in school shoutouts over our intercom.

My office is always open and all are welcome to come up and visit. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call or email. Thank you!

Go Panthers!

Email: jake.shipman@mndcty.org

Website: https://www.mndcty.k12.mo.us/