Maria Stokes,
Blair Oaks Middle School counselor
Dear Editor
We have so many things to celebrate out here at Blair Oaks. Here is a list of the most recent ones:
Blair Oaks Elementary and Blair Oaks Intermediate were just named No. 7 in US News and World Report.
Blair Oaks Middle School was just named No. 15 in US News and World Report.
Blair Oaks Elementary was named a 2022 National Blue Ribbon Schools Honoree.
Blair Oaks R-2 was one of seven schools in the state designated as a 2023 Missouri Purple Star School District for its support of military families.
Our girls' volleyball team won the Class 3 state championship and five of our athletes competed in the state cross country race.
The Blair Oaks Middle School Counseling department was designated a Dr. Norman C. Gysbers Nationally Recognized Missouri Program (NRM), a Gysbers Comprehensive School Counseling Award Recipient, and a Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) honored by the Missouri School Counseling Association, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the American School Counseling Association, respectively.
As the middle school counselor, I was chosen by the Mid-Missouri Regional Association as their 2022-23 School Counselor of the year and the Missouri School Counselor Association chose me as their Middle School Counselor of the Year for the State of Missouri.
This is not all we have to celebrate here at Blair Oaks. We are a community that supports all students in their academic and personal/social development. We are built on strong families who support our school in its educational purposes, its athletic pursuits, and its many clubs and activities.
In addition, it is time to celebrate that our community has begun to tune out the voices of the few "chicken little" individuals who want to bring our community down by making you believe that we want or allow boys and men in girls' bathrooms or that we provide kitty litter boxes for our students to use or whatever nonsense they will choose next. Please join us in tuning out those who want to pull your focus away from the wonderful education we are providing out here in Blair Oaks.
There is so much to celebrate out here in Falcon Country!