Meet your Palmyra R-1 School Board President, Roth McElvain! 🏫
Roth is a 2011 graduate of Palmyra High School and a 5th generation farmer. He has been married to Kaitlynn for 11 years and they have 3 children: Atticus, Frederick, and RuthAnn. Roth was elected to the school board in 2019 and appointed President in 2025. 🎓
Community Connection: 🤝
Kiwanis Board Member
Lewis and Marion County Cattlemen’s Association Board Member
Knights of Columbus Member
Palmyra School Foundation-School Board Liaison
I believe that strong communities come from resilient people coming together and working towards growing a better tomorrow for the next generation.
Why did I choose to serve on the school board? 💬
I chose to serve on the board as way to give back to the school and the community that I love so much. Education is the building block for successful communities and we are so fortunate of Palmyra’s excellent track record of educating our children. Through serving on the school board, I found my passion for policy making and education advocacy.
What do I love most about our district? 💬
I love to see the passion for student success from all our district staff members. The Palmyra community always steps up to support our students and our school.
Fun Fact? ⭐
My Family has been farming on the same farm ground since 1898. 🚜
Fast Five with Roth: ⭐
Coffee or Tea: Black Coffee ☕
Early Bird or Night Owl: Night Owl 🌙 🦉
Favorite School Event: Graduation — I love shaking each graduate’s hand and wishing them luck. 🎓
Favorite Subject in School: Math 📚
One word that describes our district: Innovative 💡
PHS Graduate?
Yes I graduated from Palmyra in 2011.
👏 Thank you Roth for your leadership and dedication to our students, staff, and community! 🧡🖤
Did you hear that? 👂🔊
Our 8th graders worked on their active listening skills with Mrs. McBride. Panthers had to carefully listen to the speaker in their group and follow directions to create a design. This activity challenged them to communicate clearly, listen closely, and work together as a team.
Mrs. McBride said they did a great job collaborating and had a fun time with the challenge! 🧡🖤
#PantherPrideInTheClassroom @ Palmyra Middle School
Creative thinking, counting money, and customer service were just a few of the real-life skills on display. Students created their own restaurants complete with a name, logo, and menu, and practiced adding money and giving back change to their “customers.” 💰
Way to go Panthers, developing real life skills and preparing for a successful future! 🧡🖤
Not only did the bread turn out great, but the students also did an excellent job working together in the kitchen. It was a fun (and tasty!) way to bring a little Irish culture into the classroom. ☘️🍞
#PantherPrideInTheClassroom @ PHS
All students received a brand new grade-level book today, along with the additional books they earned during Book Blast. It was a fun celebration of reading and a great way to grow our students’ home libraries!
Congratulations to Skylar for winning the EPIC TREASURE CHEST as the grand Book Blast prize! 🎉🏆
Thank you to everyone who supported our Panthers and helped make this event such a success. We hope our students enjoy their new books and continue their love of reading!
#PantherPrideInTheClassroom @ PES 🧡🖤
📺 March 13 at 6:30 PM
📺 March 14 at 6:30 PM
📺 March 15 at 10:30 PM
Our FCCLA members put on an amazing spring showcase tonight! It was wonderful to see them sharing the projects they have created this year and celebrating all of their hard-earned achievements. 🎉
Next up, these Panthers will be traveling to Springfield, MO, for the State Leadership Conference—good luck, team! 🐾✨
Throughout the month, we will be highlighting the members of the Palmyra R-1 Board of Education who generously volunteer their time to serve our students, staff, and community.
Our board members help guide the vision of our district, make important decisions, and work to ensure Palmyra R-1 remains a strong and thriving place for students to learn and grow.
Join us as we say thank you and introduce the leaders who help support our Panthers!
Jade, Ella, and Greta participated in the World Food Prize Foundation Missouri Youth Institute today at the University of Missouri. During the event, they presented their research at a roundtable discussion with peers based on a 1,500-word paper addressing a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) impacting a country of their choice.
Their research topics included:
• Jade – Water Sanitation in India
• Ella – Education and Literacy in Ecuador
• Greta – Education in Ethiopia
We are proud of the time, research, and thoughtful discussion these students brought to important global issues. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition as Borlaug Scholars! 🧡🖤
In STEAM and Library, our students are exploring the four components of creativity: Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, and Elaboration through Finish the Picture activities with Mrs. Meyers and Ms. Lehenbauer.
👏 Congratulations to this month’s Creativity Challenge Winners! Their masterpieces showed off all four creativity skills in action.
🌟 Be sure to check out our Creativity Wall of Fame—a school-wide display that highlights one student’s work from each grade level and a staff member every month. We look forward to seeing next month’s imaginative creations!
#PantherPrideInTheClassroom @ Palmyra Elementary School
#PantherPrideInTheClassroom @ PHS
Last night we welcomed our future Panthers and their families to Palmyra Elementary for the first night of Panther Prep. Incoming kindergarten students had the chance to explore the classrooms, meet teachers, and try out some fun learning activities.
One highlight of the evening was visiting Mrs. Griesbaum’s classroom, where students even got to watch a baby chick hatch in the incubator! 🐣
We loved meeting our newest Panthers and can’t wait to see everyone again for Night 2 of Panther Prep on April 22, when students will also get to enjoy a school bus ride!
Our 5th grade Social Studies students in Mrs. Hillman's class held a mock trial of The Three Bears vs. Goldilocks as they learned about the U.S. justice system and the Bill of Rights. Students took on important courtroom roles including attorneys, witnesses, jurors, a judge, and a bailiff as they examined the charges against Goldilocks—trespassing, eating food that did not belong to her, and breaking Baby Bear’s chair.
Through testimony, evidence, and arguments from both sides, students experienced how the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Amendments protect the rights of people in court and help ensure a fair trial.
It was a fun and engaging way to bring civics to life while practicing critical thinking, teamwork, and public speaking. Now the big question… was Goldilocks guilty or not guilty? 👀⚖️
#PantherPrideInTheClassroom @ PMS
Our 4th grade scientists are tackling a real-world problem! 🦇
This year, our fourth grade science classes have been hard at work on a problem-based learning project focused on a real issue in our community: mosquitoes at Flower City Park and the absence of bats in the park’s current bat boxes.
Students are partnering with the US Army Corps of Engineers and Flower City Park to research why bats have not been present in existing boxes. In April, they will conduct acoustic monitoring with conservation experts to gather data and determine which environments are best suited for a healthy bat population. After analyzing the data, students will install their newly built bat boxes in May!
To help with this, our 4th grade students had a Bat Box Building Day! 🛠️
Students constructed eight bat boxes during their science blocks with support from representatives from the US Army Corps of Engineers, and PES Watch D.O.G.S. volunteers, Urban, George, and Brett. Panthers spent time at different stations learning different skills (designing, sanding, assembling, drilling, painting).
Although the project began in October and was temporarily paused due to the government shutdown, our students have eagerly jumped back in and continued their research with enthusiasm and determination.
This hands-on project has given our fourth graders the opportunity to think critically, analyze real data, collaborate with community partners, and work toward a solution that could positively impact our local park.
We are so proud of their hard work and can’t wait to see their bat boxes in action this spring! 🧡🖤
Due to the threat of severe weather, please note the following updates for tonight and tomorrow:
All practices will conclude by 5:00 p.m. today. No evening facilities rentals.
Quiz Bowl vs. Canton scheduled for tonight has been postponed.
HS ACT Review Night has been moved to next Tuesday.
The HS Track parent meeting will be held tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. in the big gym.
The Palmyra United Methodist Church (1800 South Main Street) will be open as a storm shelter if Palmyra is in a tornado watch.
Thank you for your flexibility, and please stay safe this evening Panther family. 🧡🖤
Our students had a blast competing in Olympic-style games during PE, studying and rooting for their favorite athletes, and tracking the Olympic medal count on a giant hallway display. From teamwork to friendly competition, it was a fun way to bring the Olympic spirit right into our school.
#PantherPrideInTheClassroom @ PES
Our school district received a perfect score on the Missouri State Highway Patrol Annual Bus Inspection!
Shoutout to David Meyers for the incredible work maintaining our bus fleet and helping achieve this outstanding result.
Thank you as well to Transportation Director Marty Hull and all of our amazing bus drivers who safely transport our students every day.
We appreciate everything you do for our students and families! 🧡🖤
Congratulations to our incredible cast and crew for their hard work and entertaining performance. Thank you for sharing your talents and bringing the show to life for our Panther community!
Also, special thank you to Andi for introducing the scenes and to her mom for leading this production! 🧡🖤
One week notice, Music Bingo Night! 🧡🖤🎵
Join the Palmyra Athletic Booster Club for a fun night of music, prizes, and Panther pride at Flower City Park in the Sesqui Building.
📅 March 14
🚪 Doors Open: 6:00 PM
🎶 Bingo: 7:00–9:00 PM
💲 $10 per person
✨ Prizes
🎟 50/50 Raffle
📝Silent Auction
Light concessions will be available, or feel free to bring your own snacks and beverages.
Come out, have some fun, and support our athletes while showing your Panther Pride! 🐾
At PES, our Masked Readers have been keeping students guessing all week! 📚🎭
Staff members recorded videos reading books from the Show Me Readers Award collection. Students watched the videos and tried to guess who the mystery reader was. Today during the afternoon assembly, the masked readers were finally revealed!
Thank you to Ms. Lehenbauer for promoting a love of reading through these award-winning books and our fun cast of characters.
Thank you to our Masked Readers:
📖 Basketball Dreams — Mrs. Deming, The Bull 🐂
📖 Building a Dream — Nurse Morgan, Bumble Bee 🐝
📖 Cooler Than Lemonade — Mrs. Bryant, Hippo 🦛
📖 How This Book Got Red — Mrs. McKeown, Dinosaur 🦖
📖 The Kitten Story: A Mostly True Tale — Mrs. Powell, Unicorn 🦄
📖 The Mighty McKraken — Mrs. Reis, Chameleon🦎
📖 Seals Are Jerks! — Mrs. Churchwell, Penguin 🐧
📖 The Three Little Guinea Pigs — Mrs. Seago, Zebra 🦓
📖 The World’s Best Class Plant — Mrs. Livesay, Mouse 🐭
📖 We Don’t Lose Our Class Goldfish — Mrs. Eger, Raccoon 🦝
A fun way to celebrate reading during Read Across America Week! 🧡🖤
