Raymore-Peculiar High School

Ray-Pec finished the National Speech and Debate tournament as a Top-20 school in speech IN THE COUNTRY! 🎉 Audrey Shepard - 5th Place, Storytelling Tre Hill & Noah Tuttle - 10th Place, Duo Interpretation Devin Fisher & Sav Jordan - 14th Place, Duo Interpretation Amari Russell - 30th Place, Program Oral Interpretation Ellie McRill & Jaxon Fines - Top 60, Due Interpretation Natalie Kies, Top 60, Original Oratory Ian Haneberg, Top 60, Humorous Interpretation Wyatt Rust - Top 120, Storytelling

Catie Howlett’s High School Functional Skills class has been learning about volcanoes and how the eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed the city of Pompeii. This week they made their own volcanoes out of clay and got to the watch them erupt!

A group of 12 Ray-Pec students, two teachers, and one parent recently returned from a 15-day trip to Europe. They visited many locations, including London, Paris, Bordeaux, Biarritz, San Sebastian, Pamplona, Barcelona, and Madrid. Students participating included: Alex Gawron, Audrey Gibson, Isaac Kruse, Elly Dillon, Addison Showalter, Logan Balentine, Amanda Balentine, Kyle Newcomer, Maryn Clausing, Lily Winchel, Taryn Bower, Eliana Ramos, and Miles Lee. Two high school foreign language teachers were on the tour: Coralie Price and Heidi Lanksbury. Pilar Arizaga was the tour guide. Teacher Coralie Price said, “We visited museums, recreated paintings and sculptures, ate amazing food, strolled reverently through churches, saw the countryside and city life, toured palaces, swam in the Atlantic Ocean, got our feet wet in the Mediterranean Sea, successfully navigated the subway, explored gardens, climbed dunes and hills, rode bikes and carts, enjoyed a flamenco show, saw so many iconic places and things, shopped til we dropped, got ALL our steps in, saw dogs and cats and birds and sheep and horses, witnessed protests and parades, celebrated a birthday, travelled in busses and trains and planes, and had the best time!” They are already planning a trip for 2025. If you have a student who is interested or know someone who might be share this with them: https://www.eftours.com/2691035US

Congratulations to Sam Larkins on being a 1st team All-District selection and Grace Vest for being named first team All-District, first team All-Region, and first team All-State! ⚽️

Nearly 60 Mini Panthers participated in the Ray-Pec Summer Wrestling Camp on June 7-8! This past Friday and Saturday, elementary-age students from all over the district spent nearly 8 hours getting a hands-on introduction to the sport with fun drills, movements, games, and live wrestling! 15 wrestlers and coaches from East Middle School, the Ninth Grade Center, and the High School volunteered to work with the Mini Panthers, ages 5-10, and helped make this camp a huge success. All camp participants received a t-shirt, prizes, and snacks from camp sponsors: Defense Soap, Smile Doctors, and Ray-Pec East Middle School Wrestling.

2024 graduate Emma Lintecum is the most recent recipient of the St. John Henry Newman Scholarship! The prestigious scholarship is awarded to five incoming Newman University students and includes a full tuition package renewable for four years. Check out the full story here: https://news.newmanu.edu/emma-lintecum/

✂️ You may have seen the construction, but today the Peculiar Charitable Foundation, in collaboration with the City of Peculiar and the Ray-Pec School District, has opened new pickleball courts to the public! Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to turn this idea into a reality! 🎉

Congratulations to Grant Hornbeck! Last night Grant was awarded with a $500 scholarship from the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City buy new tools for his chosen trade of being an electrician. Grant says he is enjoying working full time with Murphy Electric and looks forward to developing his skills to have his own business someday. Grant's parents want to say thank you Mr. Lewis and Mr. Ketchum at the LEAD Center for pushing their son to be his very best! 🖤🐾💛

Our high school students involved in ELA, art, science, history, and personal finance started working with their subject matter experts this morning to solve problems/answer questions associated with their course’s content. They will work on these projects through the duration of summer school and students will have their final showcase on Thursday, June 27!

Congratulations to the following players on being named to the All-Conference team! ⚾️ 1st Team - Chase Olson 2nd Team - Tanner Franklin 2nd Team - Diesel Purnell HM - Johnny Carver HM - Aiden Eggers HM - Micah Henson HM - Maddox Steele HM - Clint Olson

Today was a huge day for the Girls' Track and Field team at State! 🏃‍♀️💨 The 4x100 team of Sarai Clark, Amaya Hill, Moriah Tucker, Kynah Simmons finished second in the state with a time of 48.06! The same team placed 6th in the 4x200 with a time of 1:42.65! Sarai Clark added her third All-State performance of the day by finishing 8th in the shot put! Kynah Simmons earned 4 state medals on the day by setting a new 100m PR of 11.93 and finishing 3rd in the state! She also set a new school record of 24.95 in the 200m, placing 7th!

Congratulations to the Boys' and Girls' Track and Field teams competing at State! 🏃‍♀️🏃💨 Gabe Voelker broke his own school record in the 3200m (9:15.2), placing 5th in the finals! The girls' 4x100 team of Sarai Clark, Amaya Hill, Moriah Tucker, Kynah Simmons has qualified for the finals tomorrow with the second fastest time in the state! They also qualified for the 4x200 finals tomorrow with the 3rd fastest time! Kynah Simmons made the finals in the 100m with the 3rd fastest time of 11.99 AND the finals in the 200m with the 5th fastest time of 25.15!

🎶 As the final notes of the school year fade, we're celebrating an amazing journey filled with growth, friendships, and unforgettable memories! Watch our talented RPHS Chamber Choir perform in this end-of-year video. Here's to all the hard work, joy, and achievements of the past year. Have a fantastic summer! 🌟🎓 https://youtu.be/CTEDSZVyprs?si=6syDsYZl_YxMkinu

Once a Panther, Always a Panther! 🖤🐾💛 https://youtu.be/JVEBwi6Ez8Q?si=I67MFfSWn__vVggv This episode of Through the Eyes focuses on our seniors! We checked in one final time before they graduated and asked them to reflect on their time at Ray-Pec.

🎥 The final Staff Spotlight of the year is here! 🎥 In this episode of Staff Spotlight Dr. Slagle sits down with Joe O'Neal. Joe is retiring at the end of the 2023-24 school year after 28 years in education and 26 years at Ray-Pec. The end of the video also includes names and photos of our other 2024 retirees. 🎉

Over the weekend, the Track and Field teams had athletes qualify for State in 10(!) events! Congratulations! Sectional Champions Girls 4x100 Kynah Simmons, Moriah Tucker, Sarai Clark Amaya Hill Girls 4x200 Kynah Simmons, Moriah Tucker, Sarai Clark Amaya Hill 100 Meter Dash Kynah Simmons Sectional Runner-ups 200 Meter Dash Kynah Simmons Shot Put Sarai Clark 3200 Meter Run Gabe Voelker 3rd Place Finishers 300 Meter Hurdles Noah Smith 4th Place Finishers Long Jump Moriah Tucker 400 Meter Dash Amaya Hill 3200 Meter Run Ashlyn Smith

Congratulations to High School Vocal Music Teacher Stephen Rew on being named one of 215 quarter finalists for the 2025 Music Educator Award sponsored by the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum! The award is given to current educators - from kindergarten through college in both public and private schools - who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who advocate for the ongoing inclusion of music education in schools. Semi-finalists for the award will be announced later this year. To read more about the award, visit the Grammy Awards website here: https://www.grammy.com/news/2025-music-educator-award-quarterfinalists-announcement-grammy-week-67th-grammys-awards

Congratulations to Ali Jo Locher, who will be honored at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony on Sunday, May 19, at Union Station! The ceremony will honor some outstanding athletes, coaches, and programs. Locher will be recognized as part of the Diamond 9 awards, which are presented to former Missouri high school and college baseball and softball players who have made positive contributions to the sports. Locher is being recognized for her achievements at the University of Central Missouri and her role as head softball coach at Ray-Pec High School. Information about the ceremony: https://mosportshalloffame.com/events/kansas-city-enshrinement-2/ ***** Locher is the head softball coach at Ray-Pec High School and teaches physical education at Ray-Pec East Middle School She came to Ray-Pec in 2022 from Warrensburg High School where she had been the head softball coach for the previous three seasons. Prior to coaching the Warrensburg Tigers, Coach Locher was a graduate assistant softball coach at UCM where she was also a former collegiate softball player for the Jennies. Coach Locher is among the UCM softball greats according to the record books. You'll see Coach Locher among the single-game, season, and career leaders in multiple categories. Coach Locher made the All-MIAA team three times as a player and is the only Jennie to be awarded the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year Award.

English 4 students at Ray-Pec High School participated in mock interviews on Thursday. 🤝 Thanks to volunteers who helped students practice these important skills!

Ray-Pec High School Student of the Month Katrina Tilawen was recognized at the May 8 meeting of the Belton-Raymore Rotary Club. She is pictured with Club President Woodrow Dick.