Decatur County Community High School
605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749
November 3, 2024 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)
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Decatur Community,
If there is one nonstalgic childhood tradition that Oberlin has truly rekindled in my life it is Halloween. I have several memories of grade school costumes (mosty John Elway) working my way through elementary years in various locations, but Halloween was something that virtually disappeared from my life after those young years.
My years as a teacher in Wichita saw me living in condo in Covenant Community that really didn't send out Halloweend vibes, and from the fall of 2001 through the fall of 2022, our house in Louisburg sat on a gravel road, dead end that just wasn't worth the time to most. Sure, I experienced Halloween through my kids, but that strictly consisted of the downtown Halloween that was held every year, similar to the "Spook Parade," but never did my kids "Trick-or-Treat" door to door.
What an awesome deal that we had no school on the day after Halloween! I had so many kids come to my house this past Thursday night, ranging from a 3-year-old to my own JH and HS students. I loved seeing the costumes and the smiles on their faces. From 6:30-9:00, it was a steady stream of kids and families trekking up the front porch to recieve their obligatory, sweet reward.
As an educator that taught elmentary school back when I began in the mid-90s, it's so much fun to listen to the kids describe their costumes, smile with pride when they approach your front door, and ask you to guess what they were.
Those were all things that I saw and heard on Halloween, and it took coming to Oberlin for me to truly remember what Halloween is really about.......Community!
Shoutout to Mrs. Johnson and several of the our students that went to the KMEA Mini-Convention this past weekend. Here are a few words from Mrs. Johnson:
"We had a GREAT day in Hays for KMEA Mini-Convention with both HS students and JH Students. Performing groups: HS Jazz Band, JH Choir. HS Choir Students that were in attendance were excellent supporters and concert spectators as well!"
We have a lot of Halloween Clean-Up shoutouts this week.
Shoutout to all of the students that participated in the 99th Annual Halloween Clean-Up. The students did a great job of cleaning up the yards and making a noticeable difference. The elementary students were highly motivated and their attendance made a huge difference. It's amazing how different a year can be. Last year, the weather was amazing and all of the students were running around in t-shirts and shorts. For Clean-Up 99, the weather will be remembered for the wind.
Shoutout to the city for purchasing the 200 hotdogs and 200 bags of hot dog buns to contribute to the tradition. A bonus for making sure that the siren went off at 7:00 to call back the trucks. Hopefully our new families weren't too concerned with the sirens. The City did a great job of getting the word out.
Shoutout to Rayes' Grocery for making sure to put back the stock for the event.
Shoutout to the Lions Club and the Booster Club for continuing the tradition of providng and serving the hot dogs and apples.
Shoutout to our 4 truck drivers that drove the trucks this year. Thank you to Garret McDougal, Teague Morford, Amanda Sowers, and Nolan Wasson.
Shoutout to my staff sponsors. Each truck had two high school sponsors with them to help the captains keep things going. Mr. Ketterl and Mr. Bricker were the 5th/9th sponsors. Mr. Gehring and Ms. Rice were the 6th/10th sponsors. Mr Williams and Mr. Wendelin were the 7th/11th sponsors. Ms. Saul and Head of Maintenance Jess Allen were the 8th/12th sponsors. Every truck did a great job, and it couldn't happen without them. I appreciate their dedication and time.
Shoutout one more time to our Halloween Clean-Up General Jessiah McDougal (who continued the tradition of driving around with the principal and making sure peanuts were on hand) and captains Weston Barnes, Jack Holloway, Makadyn Ketterl, and Michaela Wasson. It was the effort of this group that made it all possible. They got the trucks, spoke to the 5th grade class about expectations, reached out about the town siren, and kept order during the whole event. This was a great group to do this.
Shoutout to Mrs. Springer for working with these five students to make sure that they had all of their ducks in a row and for providing instructions and maps for each group. Mrs. Springer has done a great job of being involved with each activity this year and helping students make the best out of every event.
Shoutout to Mrs. Dreher for fielding all of the calls these past few weeks from patrons about getting their lawns raked. By the end, there were around 25 lawns on the list. We got to every house on the list.
Shoutout to each and every parent that came to Conferences. Compared to decades past, there is almost an overload of information as to what is going on in school. There is still nothing quite like taking the time to meet face to face.
Shoutout to our maintenance staff that quickly cleaned and transformed our cafeteria into a meeting space for conferences multiple times this past week.
Shoutout to all of the students and staff that participated in the 2nd Annual Halloween Costume Competition.
Shoutout once again to Mrs. Springer for taking pictures and sending out a form for students to vote for a winner. Here are many of the pictures she took.
The first big picture is of our winners. Seniors Talan Sauvage and Garrett Emigh dressed up Forrest Gump and Lieutenant Dan from the movie Forrest Gump. The rest are a few examples of the student participants.
Addams Family Musical Coming Soon
This year's musical will be the Addams' Family. The cast and crew have been spending well over a month now getting prepared for theshow that has always been a popular high school musical in the state of Kansas. Here are some dates to plan for and a synopsis of the The Addams' Famiy Musical.
Dates:
Friday, November 15 @ 7:30
Saturday, November 16 @ 7:30
Sunday, November 17 @ 2:30
Synopsis: In its typical creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky fashion, the ghoulish Addams family is visiting the graveyard for an annual gathering of all family members, living dead, and undecided, to celebrate what it is to be an Addams. However, the family encounters an unforeseen obstacle when Wednesday decides to introduce her new “normal” boyfriend Lucas to the family. In protest, Uncle Fester enlists the help of the Addams’ ancestors to call an end to the young budding romance. As Wednesday admits that she is falling in love, Morticia, Gomez, and Pugsley worry about her changing ways. As the families of Wednesday and Lucas come together for dinner one fateful evening, chaos ensues and the two families find themselves admitting deep secrets and coming together in ways they never would have imagined. The Addams Family Broadway Musical tells the story of love and friendship through adversity, with a comical and macabre yet poignant spin.
Senior Citizens' Thansgiving Meal Coming November 14th
On Thursday, November 14th, we will have our second Senior Citizens' Thanksgiving. This event will be open to any senior citizen. Doors will open at 10:30 with a small program beginning at 10:45 in the cafeteria. Lunch will be served at 11:00. We have already started getting our first reservations.
Can we get more than the 114 that attended last year?
A golf cart will be available to allow for easy access to and from the entrance to the parking lot.
Coats will be hung by students upon arrival.
MENU: Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and more!
Parents and students, please spread the word. We would really like to get a head count so that we can be prepared.
Please reach out to the DCHS office at 1-785-475-2231 or by direct email to jholloway@usd294.org to let us know that you will be attending.
November is traditionally one of the quietest months of the school year when it comes to athletics. As Halloween and Halloween Clean-Up are traditions that really kick off November, they go along with Veterans Day, the Addams Family, and the Senior Citizens' Thanksgiving, reminding us that in Oberlin, November is about community.
Until next week,
Jeremy Holloway
Go Big Red!
Decatur County Community Junior/Senior High School
Email: jholloway@usd294.org
Website: https://www.usd294.org/vnews/display.v/SEC/DCHS
Location: 605 East Commercial Street, Oberlin, KS, USA
Phone: 785-475-2231
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Decatur-Community-JrSr-High/372347636275932
Twitter: @DCHSREDDEVILS