Portrait of a Graduate

At Ozark Junior High, there is a place where creativity knows no bounds, where students step outside their comfort zone and collaborate with each other to explore the unknown. That place is the Makery Club. 

We love seeing our parents get involved in our elementary schools, especially when that parent is also a teacher at the high school! Dr. Albert Bryant, OHS math teacher, recently administered a Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics Mathleague contest for four East Elementary students.

Red carpet, dinner, dancing, friends, laughter, memories — Spring Fling 2025 was so much fun! Organized by the OHS Special Education Department, the event is crafted to provide students with an opportunity to practice and enhance their social language and social communication skills in a fun and supportive environment. It offers a fun and safe setting where students can mingle, engage in conversations and build confidence in their social interactions.

Ozark Middle School fifth graders in social studies class learned more than history during the first semester. Many of them also had a lesson in compassion, empathy and how it is better to give than to receive. 

There’s nothing like a friendly March Madness competition to get middle school students — and staff — reading more books!

There are many proven benefits to recreational reading, just ask Emily Schaefer, Academic Interventionist at West Elementary. 

Ozark elementary schools love to celebrate attendance because it helps students build a strong foundation for their future. Attendance incentives look different at each elementary school, but the focus and goal remains the same. Consistently being at school on time helps students establish good routines and have higher academic achievement, which ultimately leads to success later in life. 

Students were smiling from ear to ear as they held the oversized scissors and proudly cut the red ribbon to their new apartment on Dec. 12. That’s right, a group of Ozark High School students have an apartment in the Ozark Innovation Center. Don’t worry, they don’t actually live there, but the space will be a vital part of hands-on learning for the District’s special education department. 

Ozark High School students Hannah Loofbourrow and Carsyn Wood, Class of 2027, created this awesome welcome video for their community service hours for National Honor Society. Hannah is a CODA, which means Child of a Deaf Adult. Hannah and Carsyn wanted to share what it means to be an Ozark Tiger through American Sign Language. 

Brighter colors, comfy chairs, soft lighting, a map of Ozark, and a vending machine — with “school-safe snacks,” of course — are just a few of the suggestions West students shared with Ozark High School interior design students for a library makeover.

Red carpet, dinner, dancing, friends, laughter, memories — Spring Fling 2025 was so much fun! Organized by the OHS Special Education Department, the event is crafted to provide students with an opportunity to practice and enhance their social language and social communication skills in a fun and supportive environment. It offers a fun and safe setting where students can mingle, engage in conversations and build confidence in their social interactions.

If you were to walk into North Elementary first thing in the morning, you would notice all the teachers are doing the same thing: Having their Morning Meeting. Morning Meetings are a time for teachers to build community and teach different character traits around Portrait of a Graduate.

South second grade students learned all about the importance of customer service, social skills, teamwork, time management and budgeting while opening their very own restaurant April 16 for staff, their families and the community. 

The Branson Job Olympics, held March 27, is designed to give students with disabilities the opportunity to practice job-related skills that will enhance their lifelong goal of being employed. Twelve school districts participated with nearly 200 students competing in areas including hospitality, culinary, child care, department store events, grocery industry, automotive detail and business events. 

Fifth graders at Ozark Middle School sat attentively as Craig Kondracki, OMS counselor, stood before them.

"Are you creative, analytical, adventurous or compassionate?" he asked. “Today, we're going to talk about something really important, you. Your personality, your interests, and how they might connect to your future career.”

If you walk into Alexis Ennis’ classroom at Ozark Middle School, you never know what you might see. Students may be bedazzling monogram stickers, creating something on the 3-D printer, making friendship bracelets or crocheting. It’s all part of the business technology class and it’s creating a buzz all over the school. 

OHS Senior Kamran Hinton is ready to take the next steps in his education. On May 22, he signed with Missouri State to be a part of the Bear POWER program, the second Ozark student to do so. 

One by one students in their fancy dresses and bow ties entered the Ozark Innovation Center on April 19, greeted with cheers, high fives and fist bumps as they walked the gold carpet. Organized by the Ozark High School special education department, it’s a night students look forward to each year. It’s the Spring Fling. 

Ozark High School is proud to announce that seniors Savannah Miller and Amelia Cazier have been recognized in the prestigious 2025 Missouri Scholars 100 program, a statewide initiative that honors the top academic students in Missouri. Savannah has been selected as one of the top 100 scholars, and Amelia has received an Honorable Mention for their outstanding academic achievements.

Ozark High School senior Nathanael Martin recently made history by becoming one of the first students in Ozark history to be nominated for the prestigious U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.