The Kearney High School parking lot became a giant canvas Saturday as members of the Class of 2027 transformed their reserved parking spaces into colorful, one-of-a-kind works of art.

KHS seniors spent the day painting designs that reflect their personalities, interests, activities and plans for the future. Many brought along parents, family members and friends to lend a hand, turning Senior Parking Spot Painting Day into a wonderful combination of creativity, school spirit and time together.

The annual tradition gives seniors an opportunity to make a small piece of KHS their own during their final year while adding plenty of color and personality to the campus.

Judging from the creativity on display Saturday, the Class of 2027 understood the assignment. Take a look at some of the students and families at work!

Great Schools = Great Community.

Kearney High School was proud to welcome students and families from across the region Saturday morning for Academy Day, organized by the Office of U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley.

About 150 people representing roughly 50 families joined us in the KHS Field House to learn more about the opportunities available through our nation’s service academies and related military programs.

Students and parents heard directly from academy and military representatives, learned more about the application and congressional nomination processes, asked questions during the formal program and then had plenty of time for one-on-one conversations at information tables.

Most importantly, the morning gave young people a chance to explore possibilities, talk directly with people who understand these pathways and begin imagining where their own interests, talents and desire to serve might take them.

It was a wonderful opportunity to open our doors, serve families from throughout the region and showcase the kind of community we are proud to call home.

Now THAT is a way to start a season!

Kearney High School football opened the 2026 campaign in impressive fashion Friday night, earning a 42-0 victory over the Belton Pirates at Bulldog Stadium.

The Bulldogs gave a large home crowd plenty to celebrate, putting points on the board while keeping Belton out of the end zone from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.

But Friday night was about much more than the scoreboard.

Bulldog Stadium was packed with the sights and sounds that make a Kearney Friday night special. Our cheerleaders welcomed the team onto the field and kept the crowd going throughout the game. The Golden Girls and Bulldog Band brought their talents to the field. The student section was loud, colorful and fully invested. And families, alumni and community members filled the stands to support our students on a beautiful late-summer evening.

It was an outstanding night for our student-athletes and performers and a terrific reminder of the community that surrounds them.

Congratulations to our Bulldogs on starting the season 1-0, and thank you to everyone who helped make the first Friday night at Bulldog Stadium one to remember!

Following our 2026 Convocation on Friday, Aug. 21, our friends at Gary Crossley Ford made the rounds across Kearney School District with a generous gift for every one of our schools.

Gary Crossley Ford provided $250 to each KSD campus to help principals purchase school supplies and other items that will support students and staff as we begin the new academic year. That means support for our Early Education Center, all four elementary schools, Kearney Middle School, Kearney Junior High and Kearney High School.

Todd Gentry, Randall Freeland, Alex Moore and Frankie Petty from Gary Crossley Ford spent the afternoon visiting each campus to personally deliver the donations. They were joined by perhaps the most popular member of the crew, Turbo, the dealership dog! Brad Nall also helped document the day by capturing photos along the way.

We are incredibly grateful to Gary Crossley Ford and their team for continuing to invest in our schools and the young people we serve. Gestures like this are another reminder that our students benefit from a community filled with people and organizations that believe in them and want them to succeed.

Thank you, Gary Crossley Ford, for helping Team KSD start the year strong!

What did it really take to hunt, fight and survive thousands of years ago?

Kearney Middle School sixth-graders got a chance to move beyond the textbook and explore that question firsthand during Primitive Tools Day in the school's social studies classes.

As part of their study of ancient civilizations, students learned about the tools and weapons people once relied upon for survival, then headed outside to experience just how much skill, coordination and effort those technologies required. Judging by the concentration, determination and occasional smiles in these photos, some lessons are especially memorable when students get to put history into their own hands.

The primitive tools used for the activity were purchased through a KSD Education Foundation teacher grant, helping turn an academic lesson into an engaging, hands-on learning experience for students year after year.

That is one of the wonderful things about the partnership between our schools and the community. Support for educators can become an experience that helps students better understand the people, challenges and ingenuity that shaped human history.

Reading took Kearney Elementary kindergarteners on an adventure this week as they explored the school’s new Book Trail!

Kindergarten teachers Jennifer Marker and Clarissa Bosky joined Library Media Specialist Sara Kimmel in taking students outside to experience the trail, which features 10 two-sided stations along the school grounds. The first featured story is the children’s classic "We’re Going on a Bear Hunt." As students moved from station to station and followed the story, they also completed activities connected to what they were reading.

It was a fun morning, but it was also a wonderful example of Authentic Literacy in action. Our students weren’t simply reading a book. They were talking about it, responding to it, moving through the story and connecting what they read to an experience they could see, hear and do.

Mrs. Kimmel envisions the Book Trail as a place where literacy, movement, nature and student learning can come together throughout the year. Future possibilities include exercise stations developed with physical education, research projects from GATE students and displays of student work, with plans to change the trail regularly.

The trail itself is also a great example of the Great Schools = Great Community spirit. It was created as an Eagle Scout project by Luke Zurliene, a recent Kearney High School graduate, with help from members of Scout Troop 397, who built and installed the stations this summer.

Best of all, the Book Trail isn’t just for our students. It is open to everyone! Families are invited to visit the north lawn near the Kearney Elementary pavilion, take a walk together and enjoy the story.

Sept. 4 - Great Schools = Great Community Public Listening & Sharing Session (Kearney Elementary)

Sept. 7 - Labor Day (NO SCHOOL)

Sept. 9 - Great Schools = Great Community Public Listening & Sharing Session (Southview Elementary)

Sept. 10 - Great Schools = Great Community Public Listening & Sharing Session (Hawthorne Elementary)

Sept. 11 - Great Schools = Great Community Public Listening & Sharing Session (Dogwood Elementary)

Sept. 15 - Great Schools = Great Community Public Listening & Sharing Session (Central Office)

Sept. 16 - Great Schools = Great Community Public Listening & Sharing Session (Kearney Senior Center)

Sept. 16 - Great Schools = Great Community Public Listening & Sharing Session (KHS)

Sept. 17 - Great Schools = Great Community Public Listening & Sharing Session (KMS)

Sept. 23 - Board of Education Business Meeting (Tax Rate Hearing)

Sept. 25 - Homecoming 2026

Oct. 16 - Professional Development Day (NO SCHOOL)