Red Devil Ready: Weekly Message

Week 19: Happy New Year! 2024

zoom_out_map

Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

December 31, 2023 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

Follow us on Twitter at @DCHSREDDEVILS or

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Oberlin294/

Decatur community,

As I was returning home from the Kansas City area this year, once again driving through bad weather in the extreme early hours of Christmas morning (yeah, that's right, Christmas morning) trying to make it home before it got too bad, I began to have some bad memories of returning home last year. Some of you may remember that when I returned from Kansas City last year that I returned home to a waterfall coming through the upstairs bathroom ceiling, a waterfall that had collapsed the floor, forced cabinets off the walls, and began forming a lake in the basement.

Needless to say, not the greatest thoughts for the drive home.

It was snowing a lot by the time I got to Salina, but I kept plugging. I may have even seen Santa finishing off his handy work in the Hays area, almost positive that I could see Rudolph's bright nose shining everywhere through the blizzard. I guess it could have been windmills, but I'm sticking with Rudolph.

When I got home, I cautiously got out of the car and listened for the sound of the cascading water, but none came. I walked in, and the best Christmas present I could have ever asked for was waiting for me, a dry kitchen, and a house just like I left it. It was all I wanted.

It was the perfect "White Christmas" in Oberlin!

It was a simple, yet great way to end 2023.

SHOUTOUTS

I am just going to give one combined shoutout to start this year off. As a matter of fact, it's almost the same kickoff shoutout that I gave last year with just a few touches. Check the closing for a few more specifics.

Shoutout to the entire Decatur Community. It was a tough decision to leave a big school where I had been a teacher, coach, AD, and principal for over 21 years, but I have absolutely loved the experience of being here in Oberlin. The staff, students, parents, and community have been amazing, and I look forward to many more years as I continue to build relationships with as many people as I can.

One note that I would add this year. Last year, I recall so many times talking to Oberlin community members, and I would refer to back home when I was referring to Louisburg, Kansas City, and my childhood home, the South.

My only real connection to this area before I came out here was a man by the name of Travis Baker from Hoxie. Travis was an amazing track athlete and wrestler for Hoxie, and many years ago we both married into the same family, which is how we met. I saw Travis on my trip back, and we talked about several things. Travis is now a chiropractor in the Omaha, Nebraska area. We talked about big city life and small town life, and we each talked about looking forward to getting back home.

For the small town kid from Hoxie, back home is now Omaha.

For the urban city boy that almost went to Little Rock Central, back home is now Oberlin, Kansas.

So, Shoutout to back home.......Oberlin, KS.

Things You Should Know

zoom_out_map

Attendance Policy

The state of Kansas requires each school district to have an Attendance Policy. It is part of each school's rating and accreditation.

The student pictured is a former Louisburg High School student that graduated 11 years ago. His name is Dylan York. I taught Dylan both English and History back when he was in middle school. This picture was taken when a news crew from FOX4 News in KC came to Louisburg to do a story on Dylan. Why? Dylan did not miss one day of school for his entire career, K-12, much less 6 days in a semester without a doctor's note.

Below is a an email that you will receive if your student's attendance becomes a concern. For some, it is simply a notification, and you are very aware, but these will be sent out starting the last week in January to bi-weekly from that point to all parents of students that are on pace to miss too many days, affecting the district's "Chronic Absenteeism" on the annual report. Next week, I will continue with an explanation of "Chronic Absenteeism," and what that means as defined by the state.

Hello,

You are receiving this email due to the fact that your student has missed several days of school and has exceeded or is on pace to exceed their maximum allowable parent-excused absences this semester. If you have doctor’s notes that you can provide for prior absences, please have them sent over to the high school so that we can update your records.

Here is the current policy:

Doctor’s Excused Absences: These absences do not count against your attendance total. The school reserves the right to verify these absences if there become too many. These absences are strictly related to illness and or injury. For the most part, these do not factor into the equation.
Excused Absences: These are absences that a parent can call in. You may not need to see a doctor every time you don’t feel well. These can be used at any time. Students are allowed 6 absences per semester without a doctor’s note. When they hit the 7th call in, it is unexcused without a doctor’s note.
Unexcused absences: Absences that are unaccounted for or are over the 6 excused days and no doctor’s note is provided.

School policy states that unexcused absences result in the following:

1. Loss of free time for the remainder of the semester

2. Potential ISS for repeated offenses

3. Truancy letter turned into the Decatur County Attorney if meeting the criteria below:

State Law says that truancy kicks in when there are one of the following:

3 unexcused absences in a row
5 unexcused absences in a semester
7 unexcused absences in a school year

Your student's current attendance: ______

Excused Absences without a doctor’s note: _______ (6 max per semester)

Unexcused Absences: _____

If you have any questions or further information, please feel free to reach out to us at 785-475-2231.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Holloway

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions on how the attendance policy works.

Red Devil Ready

zoom_out_map

How about a list of 15 things from 2023 to inspire us? This list has no order or preference, just shooting out highlights, and not all of them.

1. Homecoming Assembly. I love this tradition. You had guests return from out of state, one from out of country, and we had graduates from as far back as the 1950s. Congrats again to Queen Ana Freeman and King Reid Fort.

2. Surviving the absolute onslaught of illness that occurred in December.

3. The 98th Halloween Cleanup. It was the second time for me, and the weather was amazing. Ana Freeman, followed up her Homecoming Queen honor with her General status and drove us around like a champ, even with a cast on her leg.

4. The massive, reconstructed wrestling room, and a great start to the Denton Bailey Era.

5. Continued efforts of our School Board. They are a positive group that communicates well, and you can see the genuine concern that they have for their schools and community. The level of time that they put into this past year and the Bond Vote was commendable. Regardless of the outcome, this group has tried to do everything they can for this district.

6. Awesome musicals and concerts. South Pacific was great, and the concerts were top notch. I am always greatly impressed by the talent level of our instructors, and I love when they participate with their students.

7. The First Annual DCHS Senior Citizens' Thanksgiving was a huge success with over 100 local senior citizens attending for a meal and entertainment.

8. Wrestlers off to a great start. Garrett Emigh, Kyra Sowers, and Lukas Zodrow finished 2023 with championship victories in Cambridge, and we have had almost 10 different wrestlers place at meets already.

9. An undefeated junior high football season for the second straight time. By the time the junior high hits the field again, it will have been almost three years since they had lost a football game. .

10. A group of amazing, veteran subs that is willing to work and be flexible with their times.

11. An unprecedented 6 new teachers in the high school. Science, English, Math, and electives all touched by these additions, more than any western Kansas school.

12. Addie Mathews awesome finish to her high school music career with her All-State KMEA Honor Mixed-Choir recognition.

13. A junior high volleyball championship.

14. New course offerings that include Driver's Ed. for Credit, ref classes, coaching classes, and more.

15. Mrs. Springer and Mrs. Scott's Hobbies and Passions Day planning. What an amazing way to bring together community and school.

Here's to a Happy New Year, and a 2024 filled with many more special memories!

Until next Week

Jeremy Holloway

Red Devil Ready!

Jeremy Holloway

Go Big Red!