Students Excel in Academic Contests and “Soup-er Bowl” Drive

Casey-Westfield School Board Meeting | Feb. 23, 2026

Article Summary: Building reports presented to the School Board highlighted student achievements ranging from a massive canned food drive at Monroe Elementary to academic competition victories at the high school level. Students are also participating in a city-wide essay contest celebrating Casey’s history.

Student Achievement Key Points:

• Food Drive: Monroe Elementary collected 1,726 cans for the local pantry.

• Academic Wins: Students placed in Biology, English, and Software Applications at the Laker Academic Invitational.

• Essay Contest: Junior High students are participating in “The Big 250: Casey Celebrates America.”

• Music Honors: Four elementary students were selected for the District 5 Elementary General Music Honor Choir.

Principals Kacie Rhoads and Jim Sullivan highlighted a month of student community service and academic success during their reports to the Casey-Westfield School Board on Monday, February 23, 2026.

Monroe Elementary Principal Kacie Rhoads reported that the “Soup-er Bowl” Canned Food Drive was a major success, with students collecting 1,726 cans of soup. A group of 5th and 6th graders assisted in packing, delivering, and shelving the donations at the local food pantry.

In the arts, Monroe students Nolan Wilson, Jalen Gillespie, Serenity Kemper, and Mya Cecil were nominated and selected to sing at the District 5 Elementary General Music Honor Choir on February 23.

Jr/Sr High Principal Jim Sullivan reported on the Laker Academic Invitational held on February 6. Twenty-four students competed in the event, which is a variation of the ACES competition held by Lake Land College. Notable finishes included Zoe Miller (3rd in Biology), Charity Large (3rd in English), and Kate Yates (2nd in Software Applications).

Sullivan also noted that Junior High social studies students are participating in “The Big 250: Casey Celebrates America” essay contest. Created by the City of Casey, the contest encourages students to explore their connections to America through local history and family traditions.

In the sciences, 8th-grade students completed a “Great Marble Run (Slow-Down)” challenge to study Newton’s laws, while high school Calculus students tested optimization theories by building paper boats to hold pennies.