Nixa Public Schools

In what is now a tradition at Mathews, second graders got to dissect a cow’s eyeball. The students were tasked with trying to find out how similar cow eyes are to human eyes. Using a magnifying glass, a scalpel, and some scissors and tweezers, they watched a video showing how to dissect the eyeball safely while observing what was happening at each step. The students and the teachers, who were new to this activity, all learned a lot in this unforgettable lesson.

🎶 Congratulations to Daniel Gutierrez, Nixa Choirs director, for being selected as a semifinalist for the 2025 GRAMMY Music Educator Award! 🏆 Gutierrez was chosen from more than 2,400 initial nominations submitted from 49 states, and is among 25 semifinalists representing 24 cities across 14 states. 🎊 🎹 The GRAMMY Museum® and The Recording Academy® have partnered to present the Music Educator Award, recognizing music educators for their significant contributions to our musical landscape. The Music Educator Award is open to current U.S. music teachers from kindergarten through college, in both public and private schools. 👏

🎉 Thank you to Sodexo, who donated 7,614 pounds of food to the 'Can the Tigers' food drive benefiting Least of These, Inc. 🥫🐯

The Crimson Corps is working hard, preparing for another season of competitions and performances. With over 50 seniors and a challenging show to master, the students have been trying to nail down the music while knowing they are leaving a legacy behind.

🍎 The Board of Education and district administrators visited Espy Elementary on Friday, September 27. ✏️ 🛝 During their visit, they walked through the school and saw the progress on the playground, kindergarten students engaging in phonics practice, student goal setting, and more! 📚 A few board members even stopped for a quick picture in front of our Portrait of an Eagle wings! 🦅

If you want to watch Nixa athletic events, you usually have a choice between staying home or going to one of our local restaurants and watching it through the eyes of our Nixa students and their work on Nixa Live. What started out with one person running a camera and zero announcers has now grown into an amazing multi-camera production with equipment and technology that is comparable to a professional broadcast. The high schoolers are gaining experience they could only hope to get years down the road. Thank you Air Services for supporting Nixa Live!

The Board of Education and district administrators visited Early Childhood on Friday, September 20. 🦅 🔵 During their visit, they helped students at the Early Childhood Center with a shape scavenger hunt. 🟧 The board and admin wrapped up their visit by visiting Cassie Baker's class at the Early Learning Center, where students were learning about their five senses with a fun popcorn activity. 🍿

To help students learn decimals and place value, the 5th grade teachers at JTSD brought back an old lesson from a colleague. Most kids have eaten at a restaurant like Steak ’n Shake, which offers burgers, fries, and shakes. So the teachers thought, what better way to make learning about money fun and engaging than to bring in a real menu? The students partnered up and took turns ordering and playing cashier. Adding the totals together helped them practice keeping their numbers aligned with the decimal point and made the lesson exciting and one that the kids wouldn’t soon forget.

The Board of Education and district administrators visited the junior high on Tuesday, September 17. 🦅 During their visit, they saw presentations by students who made a shoe 👟 in Tiller's Design and Modeling, were shown student models of theatre 🎭 sets in Elliot's Technical Theatre, toured the renovated greenhouse 🌱, and then observed science and English classrooms in progress. 🔬 🧀 The board and admin wrapped up their visit by viewing the updated staff workroom with snacks prepared by FACS II students. 🍇

Our Nixa FFA is all about volunteering and making a difference. Over the summer, they helped pack meals for families at the Missouri State Fair. Locally, the students spend time each month at a nursing home playing games and talking with seniors. These are just two examples of the incredible work the kids do to help our community.