🔸Career Day at LHS 🔸 Here are some photos from today’s exciting event on campus, where over 30 presenters shared their insights into a wide range of careers. We’re so grateful to our community and presenters for being there! The students had a blast chatting with you, and we really appreciate your time and the chance to learn from you all!!
📚 PreK-6th Grade Families: We can't wait to see you tomorrow for Family Reading Night! 🧡🖤
Ag Science 1 students are currently in their Exploring Food Science Unit, where they are learning about Processing and Preservation. They have currently learned about customer preferences and how that relates to supply and demand.
Students recently had their second lab of this unit, Food Sensory Testing, where they got to use their five senses to decide which food item, they prefer the most. Students got the chance to put their senses to the test trying cookies, licorice, and soda, so see f they can tell which one is name brand and which is off brand.
This weekend was another busy weekend for FFA contests teams! Friday, Livestock and Dairy Foods traveled to Union High School for their CDE. Saturday teams traveled to Springfield to participate in Hillcrest High School's CDEs. Livestock placed in the top 15th as a team, in this tough contest. Over these two contests, individuals have seen improvement in their scores since the first contest of the season. We finished the day off with a trip to Buc-ee's, the students loved getting to experience the chaos of the store.
Next contests are Area 13 CDEs in Houston on Wednesday, Willow Springs CDEs on Friday, Marshfield CDEs on Saturday, and the Crowder College CDEs over Spring Break.
PUBLIC NOTICE – REQUEST FOR BIDS
The Licking R-VIII School District is accepting sealed bids for the cutting and removal of hay on school district-owned property for the 2026 hay season. The successful bidder will be responsible for fertilizing and bushhogging the area in addition to cutting and removing the hay. Fertilization must be 300lb/acre.
Sealed bids must be submitted to the Licking R-VIII School District Superintendent's Office, 135 College Avenue, Licking, MO 65542, no later than 12:00 p.m.-noon- on March 31, 2026
The Licking R-VIII Board of Education reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids in accordance with Missouri law.
For additional information, contact the superintendent's office at (573) 674-2911.
The Licking R-VIII School District is accepting sealed bids for the cutting and removal of hay on school district-owned property for the 2026 hay season. The successful bidder will be responsible for fertilizing and bushhogging the area in addition to cutting and removing the hay. Fertilization must be 300lb/acre.
Sealed bids must be submitted to the Licking R-VIII School District Superintendent's Office, 135 College Avenue, Licking, MO 65542, no later than 12:00 p.m.-noon- on March 31, 2026
The Licking R-VIII Board of Education reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids in accordance with Missouri law.
For additional information, contact the superintendent's office at (573) 674-2911.
🏆 WILDCAT BASKETBALL CELEBRATIONS 🏀
Congratulations to Karson Walker, Hadlee Davis, and Penelope Huff on being selected to the Class 3 District 9 All-District Team!
We are proud of the effort you put in all season and this well-deserved recognition!
🐾 Way to go, Wildcats!
Licking R-VIII Students Excel at Frisco League Math Competition
On Monday, March 2, 2026, 30 students from Licking R-VIII Schools competed against 9 schools in the Frisco League Math Competition held in Laquey, Missouri. Licking High School earned first place among high schools, and the entire Licking squad finished third overall in the competition.
Several Licking students earned individual honors in their respective divisions.
Participants included:
5th Grade: Primli Smith, Brandon Bode-Briggs, Scott Smith
6th Grade: Logan Wade – 3rd Place, Prayli Smith, Jaxon York
7th Grade: Natasha Ogden – 7th Place, Schyler Sullins, Raylin St. Onge
8th Grade: Eli Stout, Autumn Wiebe, Malia Souto
8th Grade Algebra: Jocie Floyd – 6th Place, Luci Todaro – 8th Place, Aubrie Peterson
Consumer/Technical Math: Mya Gale – 2nd Place, Braylinn Ramsey – 5th Place
Algebra 1: Aiden Lewis – 1st Place, Alexis Buchanan – 7th Place, Brooke Stout
Geometry: Alex Beasley – 3rd Place, Avery Buckner – 10th Place, Olivia Clayton
Algebra 2: J’sai Leahy – 4th Place, Hannah Beasley – 8th Place, Nolee Miller – 9th Place
Trigonometry/Logs: Ronald Rife – 1st Place
Free for All: Josh Wade – 3rd Place, Emily Williams – 4th Place, Jasmine Smith – 6th Place
The Frisco League Math Competition brings together students from across the region to demonstrate their mathematical knowledge and problem-solving abilities. Licking R-VIII Schools are proud of the students’ hard work and strong performance representing their school and community.
Our 8th grade students had a fantastic evening celebrating together with music, laughter, and plenty of fun at the annual 8th grade dance! 🕺 💃 It was great to see everyone dressed up, enjoying time with friends, and making memories.
The 8th Grade King and Queen Court included Alyvia Turrubiates, Jocie Floyd, Luci Todaro, Jake Dawson, Trapper Adey, and Wade Bisker. 👑
Congratulations to our 8th Grade King and Queen, Wade Bisker and Jocie Floyd! 🎊
Thank you to everyone who helped make this such a special and memorable night for our students! 💃🕺
🏆🐐 Today our 7th and 8th graders battled it out for the bragging rights to the 3rd Quarter Traveling GOAT Trophy! Both grades came ready, bringing their competitive faces and a lot of school spirit as they went head-to-head.
After an intense competition, the 8th grade once again claimed victory and will continue to hold the rights to the traveling GOAT Trophy! 🏆🐐
Great job to all of our students for showing enthusiasm, teamwork, and friendly competition. A special shoutout to our class officers for organizing a great assembly! We can’t wait to see what happens next quarter! 🎉
#wildcatpride
🚍 Our 8th graders had the opportunity this week to travel to RTI/RTC and tour the campus while learning about the many technical programs available to them. This visit helped students begin thinking about their four-year plans for high school and the different career pathways they can pursue.
Students were introduced to a wide variety of hands-on programs, including:
• Design Academy
• Pre-Engineering
• Architecture & Mechanical Drafting
• Marketing
• Wood Manufacturing
• Masonry
• Collision Repair
• Automotive Technology
• Culinary Arts
• HVAC
• Electrical & Plumbing
• Construction
•Early Childhood Education
•Criminal Justice
•Fire & Rescue
•Information Technology
•Health Science
Experiences like this help students see the many possibilities available to them and start planning for their future careers. Thank you to RTI/RTC for providing such a great opportunity for our students to explore their interests and learn about these incredible programs! 🔧🍳🚗🏗️📐
#wechooselearning
Licking Elementary and Junior Beta Club students traveled to Branson this week to compete in the Beta Club State Convention. Students competed with schools from across the state in a wide variety of categories for a chance to attend the National Convention in Nashville Tennessee in June. The Performing Arts Trio Dance group of Harper Cummings, Natalie Stuart, and Kali Dooley earned 5th place in their category to earn their bid to Nationals, along side Rachel Hagler who also earned 5th place in Quilling, securing a spot at Nationals as well.
Other students participating in the State Competition include:
Harley Chambers - Creative Writing
Darius Green - Hand Drawn Anime
Gave Lewis - Pottery
Scott Smith - Recyclable Art
Violet Smith - Painting
Natalie Manion - Photography
Rylynn Ramsey & Reece Richards - Performing Arts Duo Dance
Aubrey Larimore - Scrapbook
We are proud of all our contestants and cannot wait to see how Beta Club grows!
#WildcatPride🧡🖤
📚 PreK-6: Our next Family Reading Night will be on Thursday, March 19th! 🧡🖤
Last night, was the Area 13 Leadership Development Events (LDEs) were FFA members from all Area 13 schools competed in a wide variety of public speaking events.
We had two participants Layney Gifford and Lena Parrish. Layney competed in Creed Speaking where first year FFA members recite the FFA Creed by E.M. Tiffany followed by questions from the judges, she placed in the top 6! Lena as the chapter reporter, completed a Digital Scrapbook which was judged at the area level, she has been working hard on it all year long, scrapbooks include FFA events from March 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026.
Congratulations to our 2026 inductees to the National Honor Society! We are so proud of the accomplishments of these students. Thank you Suzie Blackburn for your wonderful address and all parents for supporting your children.
☀️Mrs. Williams’ preschool class got their hands dirty today planting grass! 🌱 The students had so much fun learning about how plants grow while carefully planting their own grass seeds.We can’t wait to watch their grass sprout over the next few days!
#wechooselearning🌱☀️
Prospective PRE-K and Kindergarten families! 📣📣
We will be opening up TWO additional days for screening in May. We will do screening on MAY 21st and 22nd for those who were unable to get signed up. This will take place at the Elementary Cafeteria since it will be after school lets out. Sign-Ups are NOT yet open, as we will be unable to open it until after the first screening dates are completed. Please keep an eye out for a notification that these days are open for sign-up soon!
On Thursday, March 5, LHS visual arts students participated in the 2026 Frisco League Art Contest held in Richland, MO and came away with Third Place Overall. The event is a two-part contest with a juried art contest and an on-site drawing contest. I'm super proud of our artists and the talent and creativity they bring every day. Congrats artists!
Best Of Division Winners:
Sadie Hutsell: Computer Graphics & Black & White Photography
Hadlee Davis: Watercolor
Zoey Buckner: Design
Not Pictured- Emilie Williams: Pottery Ceramics
1st Place Winners:
Zoey Buckner: Painting & Illustration
Jordan Lewis: Non-Traditional Art
Hadlee Davis: Colored Drawing
Ella Bonine: Fibers
Jada Lay: Painting & Black & White Drawing
Rain Skouby: Small Scale Sculpture
Not Pictured-
Jaxon Kuhn: Pottery Ceramics
Mya Gale: Small Scale Ceramics
Ashlyn Creech: Mixed Media
2nd Place Winners:
Gracie Rector: Graphic Design
Paxten Keeney: Printmaking & Painting
Sadie Hutsell: Colored Photography
Zoey Burns: On-Site Drawing Still Life Concept & Printmaking
Jasmine Smith: Sculpture Ceramics
Ella Bonine: Fibers
Zoey Buckner: Pottery Ceramics
Dayllyn Cooper: Sculpture Ceramics
Not Pictured- Hannah Payne: Sculpture Ceramics
3rd Place Winners:
Not Pictured- Aleksey Cook-Gilmour: Mixed Media
On-Site Drawing Contest Participants:
Gracie Rector
Jada Lay
Paxten Keeney
Abigail Robbins
Sadie Hutsell
Trinity Mohrman
Jasmine Smith
Abbey Crossgrove
Braylinn Ramsey
Rain Skouby
Not Pictured-
Zoey Burns
Trinity Buell-Prugh
Friday, FFA members traveled to Stoutland for the first of many Career Development Events (CDEs) of the contest season! We had teams competing in Dairy Foods, Poultry, and Livestock. Each team gained valuable experience and learned more about their contest areas through this competition.
On Saturday, the Livestock team had the opportunity to visit College of the Ozarks for an FFA livestock judging workshop. This was a great experience for students to explore the campus while also developing their livestock evaluation skills and learning more about the contest.
We are proud of our members for stepping out, gaining experience, and continuing to grow as they prepare for the upcoming contest season! 🐄🐓
On Saturday, the Livestock team had the opportunity to visit College of the Ozarks for an FFA livestock judging workshop. This was a great experience for students to explore the campus while also developing their livestock evaluation skills and learning more about the contest.
We are proud of our members for stepping out, gaining experience, and continuing to grow as they prepare for the upcoming contest season! 🐄🐓
The halls smelled amazing this week thanks to Mrs. Hart's Foods class! 🍳👩🍳👨🍳 Students were busy in the kitchen cooking, learning new skills, and trying out new recipes. From measuring and mixing to taste-testing their creations, it was a great week of hands-on learning. We love seeing students build confidence in the kitchen while filling the school with some delicious smells! 😋
#wechooselearning
🎶Seventeen talented high school choir and band students participated in the District Solo/Ensemble Music Festival at MSU-West Plains on Friday, March 6, in a total of thirteen entries.
🎉Congratulations to all for a job well done! Awards are as follows:
🎤Vocal Solos:
Gwen Campbell - Exemplary
Josie Gifford - Outstanding
Reece Lozoya - Exemplary
Kaylynn Rinne - Exemplary
🎤Vocal Ensembles:
Ladies Trio: Josie Gifford, Lillian Godi and Ava Walker - Exemplary
Ladies Sextet: Gwen Campbell, Josie Gifford, Lillian Godi, Reece Lozoya, Kylee Rinne and Ava Walker - Exemplary
Mixed Double Quartet: Gwen Campbell, Reese Crossgrove, Sadie Hutsell, Reece Lozoya, Araya Manson, Kate Mitchell, Isaac Rinne and River Vestal - Outstanding
🎺Instrumental Solos:
Gwen Campbell (Trumpet) - Exemplary
Taylor Hicks (Soprano Saxophone) - Outstanding
Taylor Hicks (Tenor Saxophone) - Outstanding
Maddy Lewis (Clarinet) - Outstanding
🎺Instrumental Ensembles:
Mixed Brass Trio: Gwen Campbell (Trumpet), Ronald Rife (Euphonium) and Zoey Sellars (Trumpet) - Exemplary
Mixed Woodwind Trio: Josie Gifford (Flute), Taylor Hicks (Alto Saxophone) and Reece Lozoya (Clarinet) - Outstanding
🗓️Exemplary performances will advance to State Music Festival on May 2.
#strivingforexcellence⭐️
#WildcatPride🧡🖤
