The purpose of this newsletter is to celebrate the outstanding work that our students and staff are doing in each of our schools, provide district-level updates, and notify you about important upcoming events.
End of Year Events The Bolivar High School graduation will be live-streamed on the Bolivar Schools Facebook page.
Missouri Beef Days Burger Lunches BEEF, it's what is for LUNCH! A huge thank you to Missouri Beef Days and the Polk County Cattlemen's Association for providing burger lunches for our students during Missouri Beef Days! 🍔Bolivar Schools Master Teacher of the Year and District Employee of the Year Congratulations to BHS social studies teacher Royce Bryan for being named the 2025-2026 Bolivar Schools Master Teacher of the Year!
Congratulations to BMS nurse Amber Thompson for being named the 2025-2026 Bolivar Schools District Employee of the Year!
Celebrating our Retirees At our employee end-of-year celebration, we were able to say a very special "thank you" to 11 incredible individuals retiring from the Bolivar School District this year.
Combined, these educators and staff members have dedicated 264 years to our students, our schools, and the Bolivar community!
We’re excited to introduce ParentSquare as our new, district-wide communication platform! From now on, all school-to-home messages -- including updates from schools, grade levels, classrooms, clubs, and sports -- will be shared through ParentSquare. This unified approach ensures that families have a single, easy-to-use hub for staying connected with everything happening in Bolivar Schools. Whether it’s a classroom reminder, a game update, or a district announcement, you’ll find it all in one place. Getting Started is Easy: Download the free ParentSquare app today so you never miss an update!
Thank you for partnering with us to make communication clear, consistent, and accessible for every family. If you have any questions about ParentSquare, please reach out to Braden Berg - bradenberg@bolivarschools.org.
Bolivar High School
Speech and Debate STATE CHAMPIONS!
Bolivar has its first Team Speech Championship and first Individual Speech Champion in school history! We also have our first Debate State Champion since 2001!
Policy Debate: Kinadie Reed and Asher Mauck- 1st place (State Champions)
International Extemporaneous Speaking: Asher Mauck- 1st place (State Champion)
Storytelling: Hannah Watkins- 2nd place, Gloria Marsch- 5th place
Prose Reading: Chloe Way- 2nd place
Informative Speaking: Brayden D’Amore- 2nd place
Public Forum Debate: Chloe Way and Rhyan Roberts- 3rd place
United States Extemporaneous Speaking: Rhyan Roberts- 3rd place, Remia Ross- 5th place
Duet Acting: Chloe Way and Padma Brewer- 5th place
Class 1 Speech Sweepstakes- 1st Place
Class 1 Debate Sweepstakes- 2nd Place
Ellie Samek Named Missouri FFA President
Our students headed to Columbia last weekend for the 98th Missouri State FFA Convention, and they came home with some massive hardware! A huge congratulations to Ellie Samek for being elected the 2026-2027 Missouri State FFA President!
Bolivar FFA Excels at 98th State Convention
STATE CHAMPION: Skyla Moore is the State Champion in Division II Public Speaking!
STATE STAR IN AGRISCIENCE: Ellie Samek AGRISCIENCE FAIR STATE WINNERS: Garrett Samek & Ellie Samek (Environmental/Natural Resources)
NATIONAL QUALIFIERS: Our Entomology Team placed 5th in the State! Members include Kory Pauley, Ellie Samek, Astra Beachy, & Makayla Methvin.
Our teams stayed busy at the top of the leaderboards! "Group I" status was awarded to students scoring in the top 25% of the entire state:
FFA KNOWLEDGE (7th in State): Ethan Tennison & Faith Clark
DAIRY FOODS (15th in State): Kayler Ballard & Jackson O'Neal
NURSERY LANDSCAPING (17th in State): Carson Scheppmann
FLORICULTURE: Taylor Walker & Clara Harless
MEATS: Cole Gervais
EQUINE SCIENCE: Emma Goodman (2nd Place State)
STATE FFA CHOIR: Kayler Ballard
Eight of our members received their STATE FFA DEGREE, the highest honor awarded by the state: Aubrey Cowden, Aubrey Funk, Emma Goodman, Aniston LeAn, Makayla Methvin, Ellie Samek, Ava Smith, & Logan Welch.
PROFICIENCY FINALISTS (Excellence in SAE Projects):
Rhylan Ray, Emma Hancock, Kaebry Rowe, Caleb Warden, Aubrey Funk, Ellie Samek, Owen Kirby, Kori Miles, and Garrett Samek.
Bolivar was also recognized as a GOLD EMBLEM CHAPTER, ranking 36th in the entire state! We are so proud of these students and their advisors, Ashley Brown and Jason King, for their dedication to the future of agriculture.
BHS Choir Performs at New York City's Carnegie Hall
Our BHS Choir took the stage at Carnegie Hall for a massive National Choral Festival! 20 of our students spent the week in Manhattan collaborating with singers from across the nation and learning from international conductors.
We are so proud of how they represented Bolivar! A huge THANK YOU to Morgan DeClue for her hard work in making this dream a reality! Brian Winckler Named NSDA Ozark District Coach of the Year
Congratulations to BHS Speech and Debate Coach Brian Winckler for being named the Ozark District Coach of the Year by the NSDA! Brian does an excellent job leading our speech and debate team to amazing accomplishments each year. Our BHS Speech and Debate team is ranked number 70 in the nation out of 3,000 teams across the USA! This honor is well deserved. Congratulations, Brian!
2025 Grad Jadyn Brown Completes Apprenticeship
Congratulations to 2025 BHS graduate Jadyn Brown on completing her 2,000 hour U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship as a Floral Designer Assistant!
Bridges JAG Program Builds Greenhouse
Through the JAG program, our Bridges students are building a small greenhouse! We love the hands-on experience that our JAG programs provide!
Science Olympiad Recognized at School Board Meeting
Our Science Olympiad team was recognized by the school board last night for their outstanding season! Way to go, Liberators!
BMS Focuses on BHS and Career Readiness with 8th Graders
At Bolivar Middle School, we’re helping our 8th graders find their passion! From personality assessments that match students with their dream careers to an inspiring Career Day, we are making the road to high school and beyond more exciting than ever!
BMS Choirs Achieve 1 Rating at Contest
Congratulations to each of our BMS choir grades for achieving a gold rating (the highest possible) at their contests in Strafford! Way to go, Liberators!
BMS Gameshow MAP Prep
The BMS Counselors held a gameshow-style MAP prep assembly to get ready for testing season!
6th Grade Goes to WonderWorks
Bolivar Intermediate School
BIS Grandparents Bingo Night
A huge thank you to all the amazing grandparents who joined us for BIS Bingo Night! There were so many smiling faces, so much laughter, and memories being made all around the room!
A special thank you to Mid-Missouri Bank for their generous donation that provided cookies and refreshments for our guests. We truly appreciate your support!
BIS and BES Flower Contest Winners
Congratulations to our BIS and BES flower drawing contest winners!
Each student won a gift basket from BIS head cook Melody Crews! Winners: Spencer Walters, Lorenzo Lopez, Kash Hicks, Jakob Cash, and Amya Patterson. Congratulations, Liberators!
5th Grade Attends Springfield Cardinals Game
4th Grade Heads Under the Sea at Wonders of Wildlife
Bolivar Primary School
1st Grade's Spring Concert
A huge thank you to Amber Tucker for her work with our 1st graders to put on a wonderful concert!
2nd Grade Goes to Dickerson Park Zoo
Lunch Visitors Welcome
We are now allowing you to visit your student during lunch! Please see the expectations below.
Bolivar Early Childhood Learning Centers
Lorax Visits Little Liberators
The Lorax visited our Little Liberators! Thank you, Averi Ball, for your creativity and for creating a fun memory for our students! Springtime Learning
Upcoming Events
5/1 School Lunch Hero Day 5/1 School Principals Day 5/4-5/8 Teacher Appreciation Week 5/4-5/7 Missouri Beef Days Lunches 5/5 BMS Vocal Concert at 7:00 PM 5/6 School Nurse Appreciation Day 5/7 Kindergarten Field Trip to Nana's Place 5/8 1st Grade Field Trip to Wild Animal Safari 5/11-5/15 BIS and BPS Buy One Get One Free Book Fair 5/13 BHS Baccalaureate 5/15 Transitional Kindergarten Field Trip 5/15 Senior Awards @ 8:30 AM (Seniors Walk the Bus Lane After) 5/17 BHS Graduation @ 3:30 PM at SBU (Livestreamed on Bolivar Schools Facebook page) 5/18 Speech Pathologist Day 5/18 BPS Field Day 5/18 BHS Faculty Choice Awards @ 9:00 AM 5/21 School Board Meeting @ 6:30 PM 5/22 Last Day of School (Early Release) 5/28 First Day of Summer School 6/24 Last Day of Summer School
Bolivar R-I School District bolivarschools.org
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 Missouri School Violence Hotline: 1-866-748-7047 Missouri Child Abuse & Neglect Hotline: 1-800-392-3738
Congratulations to BMS nurse Amber Thompson for being named the 2025-2026 Bolivar Schools District Employee of the Year!
Bolivar Middle School
