August 19, 2026 – WE ARE MEXICO. On Monday, all 400+ members of our Bulldog staff came back together for the first time this school year. We kicked things off at our convocation by focusing on what makes our schools special: each other and our community.

Our schools are part of this community, and our community is part of our schools. Today was a great reminder of what happens when we make time to connect, laugh, and simply enjoy being together.

Thanks to MHS student Rebecca Stanford, for opening with the National Anthem. Superintendent Dr. Troy Lentz and his lunch buddy, Troy, led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

We are blessed to have Justin Hamm, Missouri Poet Laureate, on our staff! He read one of his own poems for us, entitled “Sucker.”

We heard words of inspiration from Assistant Superintendent Julie Lower-Welch and Superintendent Dr. Troy Lentz.

Our staff enjoyed fun assembly games led by Kelsey Louder. An annual favorite is the Alma Mater sang by the staff choir, led by Julie Pappas.

We had food trucks, music from DJ JK, and plenty of prizes! We were also glad to have local businesses and organizations join us during lunch to connect directly with our staff.

And our community showed up BIG with donated prizes and support for our employees. There are far too many people to thank in this post, so we’ll be giving those generous partners their own shoutout soon!

Today was about filling our schools back up with the energy, relationships, and sense of community that make them feel like home.

WE ARE MEXICO! And it was SO good to have our Bulldogs back together. 

Next up: our students! We can’t wait to welcome them back on Tuesday, August 25!