The purpose of this newsletter is to celebrate the outstanding work that our students and staff are doing in each of our schools, provide district-level updates, and notify you about important upcoming events.
2026-2027 School Calendar The Bolivar Schools 2026–2027 Academic Calendar is here!
The first day of school will be Monday, August 24, 2026 — the earliest start allowed under Missouri law. New this year, every Friday will be an early-dismissal day (1 hour early) to provide dedicated professional development time for staff and strengthen instruction across our district.
The calendar also includes a full week for Thanksgiving Break, two full weeks at Christmas, Spring Break March 22–26, Graduation on Sunday, May 16, and the last day of school on Wednesday, May 26.
Micah Thomas Named National Merit Scholarship Finalist A huge congratulations to Micah Thomas for being named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist! Only 15,000 students across the country are named finalists for this prestigious scholarship, putting Micah in the top 1% of students in the USA!School Board Appreciation Month It’s School Board Appreciation Month! We are incredibly grateful to our Bolivar Board of Education members for the countless hours they invest in supporting our students, staff, and schools. Their vision, leadership, and commitment help move Bolivar Schools forward and create opportunities for every learner to succeed.
Teacher Proud Tuesday and Super Staff Saturday Nominations We are accepting nominations for Teacher Proud Tuesday and Super Staff Saturday. On the second Tuesday of each month, we celebrate Teacher Proud Tuesday, recognizing one teacher from each building. These teachers are also in the running for the Teacher of the Year award. Thank you to Mid-Missouri Bank for sponsoring Teacher Proud Tuesday. Super Staff Saturday is new this year. On the third Saturday of each month, we will celebrate one non-certified staff member from each building. These are paraprofessionals, cooks, custodians, nurses, school resource officers, secretaries, and maintenance/grounds. These staff members are also in the running for Employee of the Year. Nominate a teacher or staff member below! Teacher Proud Tuesday Nominations Super Staff Saturday Nominations
ParentSquare: One Platform for All Communication
We’re excited to introduce ParentSquare as our new, district-wide communication platform! From now on, all school-to-home messages -- including updates from schools, grade levels, classrooms, clubs, and sports -- will be shared through ParentSquare. This unified approach ensures that families have a single, easy-to-use hub for staying connected with everything happening in Bolivar Schools. Whether it’s a classroom reminder, a game update, or a district announcement, you’ll find it all in one place. Getting Started is Easy: Download the free ParentSquare app today so you never miss an update!
Thank you for partnering with us to make communication clear, consistent, and accessible for every family. If you have any questions about ParentSquare, please reach out to Braden Berg - bradenberg@bolivarschools.org.
Bolivar High School
Speech and Debate Team Places First in Southwest Region - Headed to State! STATE BOUND! Congratulations to these students for qualifying for state in the Mock Trial Competition! This team received a perfect score by winning both Trials and winning all 6 ballots, placing 1st in the Southwest Region!
Cambria Condon
Hannah Watkins
Chloe Way
John Mosley
Kinadie Reed
Logan Roberts
Julia Beehler
Asher Mauck
Gloria Marsch
Remia Ross
Charles Fagan
Mel Jarman
State will be March 27-29 in St Louis. Congratulations, Liberators!
Elijah Gambriel Places 2nd in Individual Drill Down Competition Congratulations to BHS Air Force JROTC Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Elijah Gambriel, who earned 2nd place in the Individual Drill Down (IDD) competition on February 7 at Lee’s Summit High School! The event included 20 schools, with approximately 120 cadets competing.
$1,100 Raised During Care to Learn Basketball Game At our Care to Learn Night basketball game on February 17, we raised more than $1,100 for Care to Learn! Every dollar raised supports the health, hunger, and hygiene needs of our students. FBLA Places 3rd at Districts
Congratulations to our BHS FBLA program for placing 3rd at the district conference! Many of our students are moving on to the FBLA State Leadership Conference, which will be held in Springfield on April 12-14.
Special Olympics Basketball Hosts First-Ever Tournament
Our Special Olympics Liberators hosted their first-ever basketball tournament on February 12th. We hosted Nevada, Carthage, and Webb City!
Congratulations to Mrs. Clark's 3rd-hour 8th-grade class for winning the BMS Winter Reading Challenge! This class read 8,657 minutes from January 12th to February 6th. All of BMS read over 77,000 minutes during the winter reading challenge! A huge thank you to the Polk County Library for hosting the challenge and for providing an ice cream and board game celebration for our winning class!
History Bowl Team Recognized by School Board
At the February 19th school board meeting, our BMS history bowl team was recognized for their incredible podium sweep, taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the large division at Morrisville. Competing against 105 teams over two days. Only three high school teams across the region beat our incredible middle school team.
Science Olympiad Team Shines at Regionals Congratulations to our incredible Science Olympiad teams who had an outstanding showing at Regionals! After 5 months of studying, building, testing, and pushing themselves, these students showed out!
In only our second year competing, we went head-to-head with programs established for 20+ years — and our students rose to the challenge.
This accomplishment wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing support system behind them! THANK YOU to everyone who donated, encouraged, coached, and believed in these students along the way. Your support truly helped make this moment possible.
State Bound on April 18th — let’s go, Liberators!
Bolivar Intermediate School
5th Grade Completes Westward Expansion Unit
Our 5th graders have officially ended their Westward Expansion Unit — and to celebrate, they stepped straight into life on the Oregon Trail!
Students churned butter, wrote with quills, explored authentic 1800s artifacts, played pioneer games, and even visited with farm animals as they experienced history firsthand.
Huge thanks to our incredible 5th-grade teachers, our FFA students, the History Museum, and our amazing parent volunteers for bringing history to life in such a meaningful way.
Valentine's Daughter Dance
BIS had a magical Valentine's Daughter dance last night! We had an amazing turnout of students and their dates. A huge thank you to our BIS staff who put the event on, Dairy Queen for donating hundreds of ice creams, Bank of Missouri for donating funds for toppings and decorations, Cheers! for donating their sound system, and Warwick Electric for hanging the lights in the gym!
BIS Book Fair and Family Night
The BIS Book Fair runs from March 2nd through March 13th. The BIS Book Fair Family Night is Thursday, March 12th, from 4:00-7:00 PM.
Bolivar Primary School
2nd Grade Student Council at School Board Meeting
At our February 19th school board meeting, the 2nd Grade Student Council led us in the Pledge of Allegiance!
BPS Highlights Professional Learning Community
Professional Learning Communities are where collaboration turns into impact.
When our teachers come together to share ideas, support one another, and focus on student learning, every classroom benefits!
We are proud of the incredible BPS educators who work behind the scenes each week to ensure every Liberator student has the opportunity to succeed.
BPS Book Fair and Family Night
The BPS Book Fair runs from March 2nd through March 13th. The BPS Book Fair Family Night is Tuesday, March 10th, from 4:00-7:00 PM.
Lunch Visitors Welcome
We are now allowing you to visit your student during lunch! Please see the expectations below.
Bolivar Early Childhood Learning Center
ECLC Registration Information
Registration begins March 26th. Please call ECLC (417-328-5615) to schedule your child's screening and registration time.
SPREAD THE WORD! If you or someone you know has a student entering ECLC next school year, please join us for a Growing into PreK event! It is Thursday, March 12th, from 5:30-6:30 PM at ECLC. It will be a come-and-go event!
Upcoming Events
March School Board Appreciation Month 3/1 BHS Spring Sports Meeting @ 5:00 PM 3/2-3/13 BPS and BIS Book Fair 3/3 Kindergarten and TK Spring Pictures 3/4 Statewide Tornado Drill @ 11:00 AM 3/4 1st and 2nd Grade Spring Pictures 3/10 BPS Book Fair Family Night 4:00-7:00 PM 3/10 2nd Grade Health Fair 3/10 3rd Grade Music Program @ BHS 7:00 PM 3/11 BIS Blue Team Spring Pictures 3/12 BIS Gold Team Spring Pictures 3/12 BIS Book Fair Family Night 4:00-7:00 PM 3/13 BMS Spring Sports Assembly 3/16-3/20 Spring Break 3/24 School Board Meeting @ 6:00 PM 3/26 BMS Spring Play in Cafeteria @ 4:30 PM 3/27 BMS AAA Trip
Bolivar R-I School District bolivarschools.org
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 Missouri School Violence Hotline: 1-866-748-7047 Missouri Child Abuse & Neglect Hotline: 1-800-392-3738
Bolivar Middle School
