Go Big Red: DCHS Weekly Message

Week 11: Happy Halloween

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Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

October 30, 2022 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

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Decatur community,

It was a short week last week, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Students and staff were afforded the opportunity for a much needed break to end the first quarter of the school year.

I am going to keep it brief this week, as we have a lot coming up in the next few.

SHOUTOUTS

Shoutout to every parent that came to Parent-Teacher conferences. There was a tremendous turnout. It was great to see so much participation. Email is handy, but there is no replacement value on parents and teachers meeting, conversing, and clarifying.

Shoutout to the high school football team on a big win to end the season. The coaches were well prepared and took this game very seriously. The boys left it all on the field. and the senior boys got the rare experience of winning their last game in high school.

Shoutout to Each and every parent/group that participated in providing meals and desserts for the teachers on conference nights. It is greatly appreciated. The bell to end the day rings at 3:40. Twenty minutes later, teachers are greeting and meeting parents. There just isn't time to plan for a meal, and the community came through. Needless to say, no one went hungry.

Shoutout to OES principal, Krickit Ketterl. Mrs. Ketterl has put in a ton of time and commitment in her first year as the principal. I am impressed with passion for her home town and her job. This past week, she made up some pulled pork and provided sandwiches for both the elementary and high school.

Things You Should Know

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Halloween Clean-up This Friday

The 98th annual Halloween Clean-Up is Friday, Nov. 4. The teachers chose Bryant Addleman, Ellie Anderson, Josh Juenemann, Teague Morford, and Olivia Williby to lead the student-led service project From those five, the student body chose Josh Juenemann as the general.

If you would like your yard raked, please call the high school at 785 475-2231 and leave your name and number.

I am very excited to be a part of this tradition for the first time.

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Pre ACT

Over the past few weeks, junior and senior students have taken the WorkKeys and ACT tests. This week is the third and final test that is offered by ACT. It is called the PreACT. The PreACT is a low stakes test, meaning that there is no accountability at the state level and no college is going to look at it.

Having said that, the PreACT was started in the fall of 2016. The intention of the test was to target younger students and give them a shortened version of the ACT and see how well they would perform. It gives a very accurate indication of how well a student will do on the ACT when the time comes.

This week, our 9th grade students will all take the PreACT. Fortunately, the state offers this test once a year in the fall for all 9th grade students to take free. Here's a bit more information on the PreACT and how it compares to the ACT:

PreACT

English: 45 questions, 30 min (40 seconds per question)

Math: 36 questions, 40 min (67 seconds per question)

Reading: 25 questions, 30 min (72 seconds per question)

Science: 30 questions, 30 min (60 seconds per question)

ACT

English: 75 questions, 45 min (36 seconds per question)

Math: 60 questions, 60 min (60 seconds per question)

Reading: 40 questions, 35 min (52.5 seconds per question)

Science: 40 questions, 35 min (52.5 seconds per question)

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Site Council

Shout out to my Site Council. The Site Council is a group of staff, parents, community members, and, starting second quarter, students. This group meets 4 times a year and discusses a large variety of issues. Thanks to teachers Kyle Breth and Trevor Williams, parents Abby Emigh, Carrie Morford, Alicia Oien, and Sarah Shaw, and community members Derek Chambers and Tim Gish for being on and contributing to the Site Council.

The Site Council will meet 3 more times this school year, and we always discuss the happenings of the building. This past week the topics included Parent-Teacher Conferences, school performance, State Accountability Reports, and a tour of the building to discuss areas of concern that may potentially be addressed in a future school bond.

Please email me if you think that you would be interested in joining the Site Council. All meetings start at 7:00 am. Here are the remaining three meeting dates:

Tuesday, January 3 (Last day before Winter Break)

Friday, March 10 (Last day before Spring Break)

Thursday, May 18 (Last day of school)

GO BIG RED

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It was a beautiful weekend. I heard of several plans: Taking a trip out of town to Estes, various college visits across many states, and, my personal favorite, just staying home and doing a whole lot of nothing.

Whatever your cup of tea, I hope you were able to enjoy it.

Let's have a great week.

Happy Halloween!

Jeremy Holloway

Go Big Red!