The junior high Mule House System will honor six “Poplar Bluff Protectors” by naming community groups after them in the upcoming school year.
The house system organizes approximately 125 students per group, with three groups for seventh and eighth grade each, to help improve cooperation, camaraderie, community service and school spirit.
The seventh-grade houses are to be May House, named for Missouri State Highway Patrolman David May, who was killed in the line of duty in 1999; Clark House, named for Donwell Clark, detective and crime scene investigator for both the Poplar Bluff Police Department and Butler County Sheriff’s Department; and Wallace House, named for Robert Wallace, the first Black fire captain for the Poplar Bluff Fire Department.
The eighth-grade houses are Carroll House, named for Susan Carroll, one of the first DARE officers for the Poplar Bluff Police Department; Shane House, named for Mike Shane, who served 33 years as an EMS pilot and helped open the first helicopter base in Poplar Bluff; and Kearbey House, named for Phillip Kearbey, a Butler County sheriff who was killed in the line of duty in 1913.
The house system, entering its sixth year, was implemented by junior high principal Candace Warren, who was inspired by the idea from the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia.
“If you have a large school, you make it kind of a smaller school within a school,” Warren said. “We already had our groups set up as teams, and I thought we could do this pretty easily.”
The seventh graders learn which houses they have been placed into during the Mule Camp student orientation at the end of July. Eighth graders learn their houses through a schedule letter sent out Aug. 1.
Students spend the first two days of the year with their house engaged in team-building activities, designing their house shirt, motto, chant and choosing a service organization to support.
“I wanted to increase school spirit and add a community service component, all these things that I could think of to make it a competitive system,” Warren said. “They all compete against each other all year, and then at the end of each semester, the house with the most points gets a reward.”
Points are earned in a variety of ways, including “Wear-It Wednesdays” for house shirts, holiday competitions, spirit weeks, attendance, grades and community service projects.
They can also earn “principal points,” which Warren describes as, “If I catch them doing something good — maybe a kid trips and another kid helps pick him up — I’ll give them points.”
Rewards include Mules gear, a barbecue at the park, a private party at Skate City and a trip to the movies, and the school continues to add prizes to the program.
Placement in the houses begins with teachers in four core subject — English, math, history and science — all of whom have the same roster of students. Those faculty, along with the elective faculty, are assigned to a team. Each house will include approximately 125 students.
“It makes it a little bit more manageable,” Warren said, “because when you think about 800 kids, and you’re coming in as a 12-year-old, that can be completely overwhelming.
“It becomes about 125 kids who really feel bonded with those other students.”
Former students who have gone through the house system have fond memories of the experience, according to Warren.
“They love it,” she said. “I have so many students come back to me and say, ‘That was so fun; we miss it.’
“When I leave here someday, this is probably going to be the thing I’m the most proud of,” Warren said.
The idea to name each house after a notable person from the Poplar Bluff community helps students to connect to local history and learn more about those who have influenced the area.
“They spend the year researching and learning about that person, and they all choose a service organization,” Warren said.
Among the service projects from last year, students raised hundreds of dollars for different community organizations, made pillowcases for FosterAdopt Connect, and donated more than 9,000 cans of food to St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry.
“We are excited to honor some of the wonderful people from Poplar Bluff who were first responders,” Warren said. “These individuals gave so much to keep our community safe. We can’t wait for our student to learn about some of their greatest achievements and legacies.”