Rolla High School ECHO

Rolla students rally to help community after devastating tornado Cleanup efforts continued in Rolla Tuesday, four days after an EF-2 tornado tore through the city. When Rolla Public School cancelled classes for the week after the devastating storm, some students rallied together to help their community.

BAND CONCERT MARKS FIRST PERFORMANCE IN NEW THEATER

Rolla bands welcomed the community to the Performing Arts Center on Monday, Dec. 9. Junior high and high school bands inaugurated the space with festive performances to celebrate the season, and the arts. Holiday classics and dynamic arrangements filled the room, commemorating a new chapter of Rolla High School once again housing an auditorium.

The former gymnasium also originally served as an auditorium. As ECHO reported in 1957, the gymnasium-auditorium officially opened on Feb. 8 of that same year. According to the article, a whole-school assembly marked the moment and “the program was rounded out by the performance of the Rolla High Band under the direction of William Tutley.” Monday’s winter concert was under the direction of John Slowensky, Michael Goldschmidt and Derek Limback.

The current theater is still under renovation awaiting key fixtures to make it fully operational for theatrical productions. Upon completion, the space will once again welcome the community to RHS drama performances.

Photos by Briana Davis.

NHS INDUCTS NEW MEMBERS

On Oct. 9 Rolla’s National Honor Society welcomed 14 new inductees. The organization selected new members based on their priorities of leadership, teamwork, and community service. Kate Arnold, NHS President, along with the other NHS officers, opened the ceremony with a series of speeches. The officers then lit five candles, each one representing a core principle of the National Honor Society. Afterwards, the new members signed their name into the NHS registry and received a certificate, cementing their places in the organization.

Caption and Photos by Kendall Langley.

Check out new articles about student involvement, summer wrestling, and more on rhsecho.com.

GIRLS VARSITY TENNIS SWEEPS PARKVIEW
On. Sep. 6 the RHS girls tennis team played Parkview in a home match. Varsity won all of their singles and doubles matches to make an end score of 9-0. To see the full gallery visit rhsecho.com.
Caption and Photos By: Bridgette Starns

RHS BOYS SOCCER PLAYS IN FIRST HOME TOURNAMENT OF SEASON

On Aug. 31 the RHS boys soccer team played their first home games of the season in a tournament with Hannibal and Neosho. The team won both of their games with a score of 1-0. To see the full gallery visit rhsecho.com.

Caption and Photos By: Kendall Langley

RHS VOLLEYBALL ACES START-OF-SEASON JAMBOREE

On Aug. 27, Rolla High School’s volleyball team started their season with a jamboree at home. Rolla played Washington and Waynesville, winning the first game against Washington in two sets. To see the full jamboree gallery, visit rhsecho.com.

Caption and Photos by Kendall Langley.

ECHO YEAR IN REVIEW

ECHO staff is already planning for next year’s beats. Find more of this year’s stories at rhsecho.com and look for more content leading up to the 24-25 school year.

Happy summer from ECHO student news!

Instagram Posts by 23-24 ECHO staff.
Year In Review by Kendall Langley.

CONGRATULATIONS 2024 RETIREES

Mr. Ellis, Mrs. Norman, Frau Lueck, and Mrs. Heimbaugh are retiring this year. RHS students and staff share their memories and wishes for the retirees in the full features on rhsecho.com.

“As the Principal for Summer School the last 5 years she has been wonderful at motivating students, keeping a positive and educationally based environment, while also keeping school enjoyable with a great atmosphere. Summer school can be a very positive experience and with a leader like Mrs. Norman, many of our students have had some of their best educational experiences.”

Assistant principal Sheri Norman retiring this school year Tweet The end of the school year at Rolla High School is always busy for many different reasons, but especially for this year’s retiring staff, including assistant principal Sheri Norman. As a true testament to her determination, Mrs. Norman was unfortunately caught up supervising EOC testing, and...

“I think the thing that she has that is so special and important, especially for her students, is that she truly cares about her students as people…She is so empathetic and warm and caring. Those relationships that she has with students are so much deeper and more impactful and last beyond the classroom because she really genuinely cares about people.”

Teacher Feature: Frau Lueck retires Tweet German teacher Tammy Lueck who was recently dubbed “Best All Around Teacher” by the 2024 senior class is retiring from Rolla High School. After 17 years at RHS and 28 total years in education, Lueck is, in her words, “rewiring” as she takes on her next adventure. For Lueck, RHS’s Ger...

“My favorite part is when kids write something good and feel good about it. Or when that light bulb goes off, and they think ‘oh, well, I am a good writer. I am good at this’…I like what I do and I like kids."

Teacher Feature: Mrs. Heimbaugh retires Tweet Rolla High School is seeing several teachers through to retirement this year. One of those teachers is English teacher Debra Heimbaugh. Heimbaugh has been teaching in the Rolla district for 18 years, but she has been teaching for a total of 30 years. “I’ve lived in Rolla ever since I got m...