Festus High School's theatrical production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber's musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" opens this week.  There will be 4 performances this weekend; Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 7pm and Sunday afternoon at 2pm.  Tickets are $5 at the door.  All performances will be held in the High School Gym.  This is a fun-filled musical for audiences of all ages.  Our students have been rehearsing and building the set for weeks.  Come out and see this amazing performance and support our talented young people.

Festus Senior Gracie Burkard signed a letter this week, committing to cheer at Mineral Area College in Park Hills.  Gracie was a Festus Cheerleader for three years.  She is a scholar athlete and the winner of the Team Spirit Award.

     More than a dozen Festus High School Students are headed to Columbia at the end of April to compete in the Missouri State Band and Vocal Competition.  More than a dozen students in 15 events qualified for the state competition at the District competition hosted at Festus High School this past weekend.

Earning an Exemplary "Honor 1" Rating at the MSHSAA District Music Solo & Ensemble Festival and earning the opportunity to perform again at the State Festival on Saturday April 27 at the University of Missouri-Columbia are:

SSAA Quartet: Hannah Minx, Jeanna Brantley, Cecelia York, Dallas Cawvey

T-B Quartet: Will Hoppman, Simon Wolfe, Nicholas Boyd, Isaac Dace

Woodwind Trio: Elizabeth Ganey, Elizabeth Harness, Sophia Leftwich

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Earning a Satisfactory "3" Rating are:

Anna Baldonado, Piano

Jesica Harris, Baritone

Abby Kent, Bass Clarinet

Anthony Pittman, Vocal

SSA Sextet: Allison Faerber, Madilyn Dearing, Samahtna Helbreuck, McKenna Rhine, Lily Knick,an, Anna Baldonado

SSA Trio: Roslyen O’Leary, Amaya Logan, Maya Smith

Festus High School Senior Alec Whitener signed a letter of intent to run cross country at Hannibal LaGrange University in Hannibal, Missouri.  Alec was a member of the state championship Festus Cross Country team all four years of his high school career.  In 2018, Alec finished in 10th place at the state meet, qualifying him for All-State honors.

Two Festus Football Tigers committed today to walk-on for football at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.

RaShaun Hyde plans to pursue a degree in Athletic Training at SEMO.  As a Tiger Hyde was named a 2nd team Mississippi Area Football Conference (MAFC)  Defensive Back and he was a Festus Scholar Athlete.

Zach Liles plans to pursue a degree in Pharmacy at SEMO.   While at Festus he collected numerous postseason awards including Unanimous 1st Team All MAFC Offensive Line, Unanimous 1st Team All MAFC Defensive End, 1st Team SEMO All Region Team Offensive Line, 2nd Team SEMO All Region Team Defensive Line, 1st Team All District Offensive Line, 2nd Team All District Offensive Line.

Both players were joined by family and players when they made their decision public today.

            Today (2/1/19), the Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) released its annual report card for schools.  The Festus R-VI School District earned a 100% for 2018, the highest score possible.  This is the sixth year DESE has released APR scores under the Missouri School Improvement Program 5 (MSIP 5), which promotes continuous improvement within each school district.

            "Our staff are dedicated each day to provide the best learning experience for every child,” said Superintendent, Dr. Link Luttrell.  “This score of 100% is a testament to that unwavering commitment to our students.”

            The APR score gives the Board of Education, administrators and teachers a tool to help identify strengths and areas that need more improvement in the district.  The APR score is created using a wide range of data based on the results from academic achievement, state standardized test scores (MAP/EOC), subgroup achievement, college and career readiness, attendance and graduation rates.

            Under the state’s MSIP 5, a school district’s score on three consecutive APR’s, along with other factors, is used to determine accreditation.  The level achieved by Festus means the district remains fully accredited.

"All students will graduate from Festus School District ready for college, career, and life.  That continues to be our primary goal,” said Dr. Nicki Ruess, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning.  “To reach this goal takes a collaborative effort from students, parents, and teachers. An APR of 100% shows the dedicated focused effort from everyone involved in the process of educating the students at Festus.”

            Today, DESE also released student assessment results for each school from the test students took in the spring of 2018.  DESE delayed the release of last year’s data because the tests were new, based on new, higher academic standards.  Comparisons to previous years are not valid, because of the difference in the tests.  Going forward, year-to-year comparisons can be made to evaluate student progress.

“Our state assessment scores were among the highest within the county and region which further demonstrates that our students are continuing to meet high expectations and are able to graduate both college and career ready,” said Luttrell.

    A sampling of area school districts and their APR follows.

    This week the Festus School Board received two reports.  One is an analysis of expected future growth in the Festus R-VI School District.  The other is the result of a recent phone survey of District patrons to gauge their thoughts about the School district and their potential support of various projects.  A link to the results of both surveys is below.

Patron Insight Phone Survey

Demographics Survey