Last Friday, our 3rd through 5th-grade students traded their desks for the driver's seats during our annual Careers on Wheels (COW) Day! Students rotated through interactive stations, getting a firsthand look at some incredible careers right here in our community.
A massive THANK YOU to all of the amazing local businesses, presenters, and volunteers who took the time to inspire our students and show them what goes on behind the wheel:
🐕 Gun Dog Success / Green Acres Sportsman Club
🍕 Monical's Pizza of Paxton Delivery
🍦 Manda Panda Sweets
🥪 Jimmy John's Food Truck
🎈 Pop Loft
🎨 Nate Grice: Art
⚡ EIEC
🛠️ Foster Mechanics LLC
🔧 DHM - Davis Houk Mechanical Inc
❄️🔥 Dogtown Heating, Air, & Plumbing
🚧 City of Paxton - Street Department
🚒 Twin Lakes Fire Service
💡 Extra Special Thanks to:
The PIT Crew for keeping everyone refreshed with popsicles and waters! 🧊☀️
Kendra Diesburg for all of her incredible help in making this day run so smoothly!
Our students had a blast learning about different career paths, asking great questions, and seeing how these awesome professions keep our community moving. We are so grateful for our community's support!
👉 Check out some highlights from the day below! 👇
📚🎉 WHAT A DAY! 🎉📚
PBL Junior High School officially wrapped up our End-of-Year Reading Challenge on Tuesday, May 19th, with an absolute blast of a celebration! Our students read their hearts out this year, and today was all about rewarding that incredible hard work.
🍪🥤 A Sweet Start to the Day
We kicked things off right during 1st and 2nd period with a Goodie Cart packed with delicious snacks, cookies, and drinks to celebrate all of our amazing students who successfully completed the May Reading Challenge!
A massive shoutout and thank you to our incredible community partners who made the rest of our big rewards possible:
PBL Education Foundation: Thank you so much for funding the Reading Challenge through your grant program and generously rewarding our top 5 readers with brand-new Kindles! Kaitlyn Smith (9,461 pages read), Abbigail Fredricksen (8,629 pages read) Rex Reber (7,972 pages read), Violet Foster (7,339 pages read) and Louise Foster (5, 349 pages read). We also had 5 students complete all 10 reading challenges this school year and received Barnes and Noble Gift Cards: Brynn McKenry, Brynn Carter, Valentina Graf, Kaitlyn Smith, and Elli Hubner!
Paxton Masonic Lodge #416: Thank you for sponsoring the wonderful "Bikes for Books" reading incentive program and keeping our students motivated all year long! 🚲✨ Rex Reber was the lucky winner totaling 50 books this school year!
🥧 The Grand Finale: Because our students absolutely crushed the Students vs. Teachers reading contest, they earned the ultimate reward... getting to PIE THEIR TEACHERS IN THE FACE! (Huge props to our brave staff members who were such good sports!)
Thank you to everyone who supported our readers this year. Keep turning pages, everyone! 📖
Check out the link for pictures from this awesome day: Reading Challenge End of Year Assembly Photos
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GydS-8st6VHxgmYf0vYVyRTjalSYaarx/view?usp=sharing
PBL Junior High School students who completed all of the reading challenges from January - May went to Hudz Family Fun Zone to celebrate! The students had a blast playing games and celebrating their accomplishments. A huge THANK YOU to the PBL Education Foundation for sponsoring the Reading Challenge and this event. Check out the photo album: Hudz Family Fun Zone - Reading Challenge
It is an exciting day of exploration at PBL Junior High School. Today, Wednesday, May 13th, is a day of discovery as 8th grade students from GCMS Middle School and PBL Junior High School participate in IGNITE. Taking place across the junior high and high school campuses, this event offers students a unique opportunity to engage in hands-on experiences across several essential trades.
Throughout the day, students rotate through ten different interactive stations—Precision Agriculture, Electricity, Iron Workers, Industrial Technology, Automotive, Surveying, Welding, Bricklaying, Carpentry, and Plumbing—to explore the various career paths available after high school graduation. We sincerely thank all the adults who came out today to showcase their trades, careers, and professional skill sets; their dedicated efforts ensure our students have an engaging and relevant day focused on the future. A big thank you to the generous support of our sponsors: the Early College & Career Academy at Parkland College, the East Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council, Gibson Area Hospital, Paxton Masonic Lodge #416, and the PBL Education Foundation.
From providing delicious meals and treats to donating raffle prizes and classroom supplies, your generosity reminded our staff that they have an entire village behind them. Because of you, our teachers felt seen, fueled, and deeply valued.
From the classrooms to the hallways, these dedicated professionals go above and beyond every single day. They aren't just educators; they are mentors, cheerleaders, and innovators who show up with passion and heart to help every student succeed. These staff members support our students by attending games, concerts, and every milestone in between. Thank you for all you do for our students and their futures!
Hallee Johnson broke the 300m Hurdle school record with a time of 46.82. She held the previous record at 48.24!
Hallee Johnson and Olivia Rehg both broke the school record in the 100m Hurdles. Hallee ran 16.18 and Olivia ran 16.47. The school record was previously held by Katelyn Crabb with a time of 16.57.
The combined effort of Audrey McCoy, Logan Loschen, Olivia Rehg and Hallee Johnson broke the 4x4 school record running 4:14.60. The previous school record was set in 1999 with a time of 4:14.94!
We are so proud of you all! It's another great day to be a Panther!
🍎 It’s Teacher Appreciation Week at PBL!
Our teachers are the heart of PBL School District. From sparking "lightbulb moments" in the classroom to being mentors, cheerleaders, and innovators, they go above and beyond every single day to support our students.
Now, it’s your turn to share gratitude and thanks for our teachers!
We’ve set up a Teacher Shoutout Form where you can leave a note of gratitude for a teacher who has made a difference in your child's life or our community. We will be sharing these messages with our staff throughout the week to show them just how much they mean to us.
📝 How to Participate:
Click the link below to access our Google Form.
Write a quick note highlighting a teacher’s hard work, a kind gesture, or a great classroom memory.
Hit submit and help us make their week unforgettable!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7ojjKpocywXQLoJrEl8zETneLVQKNi95JOb33EeHQTtDLxg/viewform?usp=header
Why we appreciate our PBL Teachers:
They Inspire: Turning everyday lessons into lifelong passions.
They Care: Building a safe, supportive environment for every student.
They Lead: Dedicating countless hours to extracurriculars, coaching, and growth.
Thank You, Mr. Wright, Mr. Didier & Mrs. Eshleman!
Our bus garage crew truly does it all—from daily morning and afternoon routes to ensuring our students get to after-school sports and clubs safely. As a small token of our gratitude, the administration team dropped off fresh donuts yesterday morning to thank them for their dedication and service to our families.
To all of our drivers: Thank you for navigating our Panthers through every mile. Your hard work behind the wheel does not go unnoticed!
