The Raider Report

April 2025 Newsletter

As we welcome the month of May, we also look forward to one of the most meaningful times of the school year—Staff Appreciation Days. It is a chance for us to pause, reflect, and recognize the outstanding educators and support staff who are the heart and soul of our district. This year, more than ever, our teachers and staff deserve our deepest appreciation. Amidst a year filled with challenges, change, and uncertainty, they have shown unwavering dedication to our students and our district. Whether navigating shifts in curriculum and instruction, adapting to new environments, or supporting students through personal and academic struggles, our staff has stepped up time and time again with professionalism, resilience, and compassion. Our teachers go far beyond the classroom. They are mentors, role models, and champions for every student who walks through our doors. They give their time, their energy, and their hearts to ensure our students are not only learning, but growing into confident, capable individuals. We know this year hasn’t been easy. Our district has faced its share of turmoil, and yet through it all, our staff has remained committed to our mission, our vision, and to one another. That kind of dedication doesn’t go unnoticed—it defines who we are as a school family. To every teacher, counselor, paraprofessional, custodian, administrative assistant, bus driver, cook, and administrator—thank you. Thank you for showing up, for giving your best, and for making a difference every single day. You are the reason our schools are a place where students can thrive, even in the toughest of times. As we celebrate Staff Appreciation Days, we hope each of you feels the gratitude of this district and community. You are seen. You are valued. And you are appreciated—today and always.

With Sincere Thanks, Superintendent Hoeke

Article by Brookelyn Riedel

The lady raiders started their softball season with various open gyms starting March 3rd. During those open gyms they started with going back to the basic mechanics to make sure everyone had the basics down. Then they started their first practice on March 17th. At practices they worked hard and tried to get their team chemistry up so they talked and worked together during their upcoming games. On April 7th the Lady Raiders traveled up to Parker to play the Pheasants. There they played two games against them where the first game they won 23-7. Bailey Hyland had an amazing game on offense where she almost completed a cycle, and also racked up 4 RBI’s. Gabby Pickard also brought in 4 runs herself with 2 RBI’s. Brookelyn Riedel also brought in 3 runs with 3 RBI’s . The next game the raiders also won 19-4. Kenlee Hansen brought in 3 runs and brought in 2 RBI’s. Brynnlee Lingbeck ran in 2 runs and brought in 1 RBI’s. The Lady Raiders started the season off hot at 2-0 and they were hoping to carry this momentum into their next two games against Alcester-Hudson on April 11th. The Lady Raiders battled hard but lost the game 0-15. During the next game the Lady Raiders played hard but still ended up losing 0-15. On April 14th the Raiders were going to host a triangular in Ramona with the Deubrook Dolphins and Elkton-Lake Benton Elks, but it got postponed because of weather. The games were postponed to different dates. The Deubrook game was postponed to May 1st, and the Elkton-Lake Benton game was postponed to April 24th-however the weather won again and the game was postponed again. On Monday, April 21st the Raiders traveled to Chester to play the Flyers. The Raiders played hard but ended up falling short with a loss, 0-15. The Raiders will host the cardinals from Deuel and the warriors from Castlewood on Saturday, April 26 in a triangular starting at 9am.

Article by Rylen Olson

April has been off to a fabulous start with this nice weather and Easter recently happening! To kick things off, the kindergarteners had some more reading buddies this month with some volunteer readers like this year's senior Zayd Anderson. On the 2nd grader's side of things, they got to have the privilege of having members of the Madison FFA come to the classroom and teach them about agriculture. They got to read "The Day The Farmers Quit," which shows the importance of our farmers and all of the things that they supply to our homes and in our daily lives. In the 3rd and 4th grade classes, the students got to hatch 12 chicks in April and watch them hatch. The mystery of when they would hatch stirred throughout the school. The students got to watch one of the chicks hatch while eating lunch via an incubator camera. The 4th graders worked on symmetry with different shapes. The 5th graders also got a visit from the museum and got to learn about the importance and history of sheep wool in Lake County. They also got to wash and card wool, create a felted soap bar, and try out a mystery wheel.

Article by Zayd Anderson

The track and field season is underway, and our athletes are already making great strides. With six varsity meets behind us and two more coming up this month, the momentum is building fast.

The season opened with a competitive meet at SDSU, where only five of our athletes—Zayd Anderson, Garet Wicks, Brennon Bickett, Lucas Wall, and Riley Trygstad—represented our team at the largest meet so far.

Several of our athletes are already climbing the state rankings and eyeing a trip to the State meet in May. Rylan Pearson currently holds 19th place in Class B girls for the 400m dash, clocking a 1:05 at the Chester meet. The girls’ 4x100m relay team—Kaelie Lindholm, Gabby Pickard, Kenlee Hansen, and Bailey Hyland—is sitting in 16th place statewide with a 54.82, also recorded at Chester. Meanwhile, the 4x200m relay team of Rylan Pearson, Brooklyn Hyland, Kenlee Hansen, and Bailey Hyland posted a strong 1:56.

On the boys’ side, Brennon Bickett stands 15th in the state for discus after an impressive 129’ 11” throw in Flandreau.

Others are on the cusp of breaking into the top 24. Zayd Anderson is just 14 seconds away from qualifying in the 3200m run, currently ranked 29th with a time of 11:46. Emmalyn Pickard is sitting at 25th in girls’ discus—only three inches shy of a qualifying throw. Her record currently stands at 96’ 3”. Lastly, Lucas Wall’s impressive 2:22 800m run puts him only 9 seconds away from qualifying.

The Junior High team also got its season started with one meet under their belts, showing exciting potential. Leah DeWulf earned 4th place in both the 800m and 1600m runs, while Ray Hyland claimed 3rd in the 100m dash and 4th in the 200m. Jackson Molstad placed 5th in the boys’ 800m dash, and the boys’ 4x400yd relay team secured a 6th-place finish.

Excellence on the Junior High team has not gone unnoticed. Jackson Molstad has already begun competing at Varsity meets in the 800m and 400m dashes, and the coaches are discussing moving Leah DeWulf up, as well. Jackson appreciates the coaches for recognizing his talent. He says being pulled up to Varsity has made him feel “good about himself,” stating the incident “inspired me to want to get even better at running.”

All four of last year’s coaches–Marie Anderson, Danny Frisby-Griffin “FG”, Jason Hanson, and Logan DeRungs–returned to coach this season. Marie exercises her expertise in fast-paced movement to mentor the sprinters. FG expresses his fluency in stamina-based motion by coaching the distance runners. Hanson focuses his knowledge of arm strength to tutor the throwers. Mr. DeRungs works with FG to assist the Junior High students.

Article by Jordyn Reagle

Zayd Anderson is a senior at ORR High School. His family consists of Lisa Anderson (mom), Aaron Anderson (dad), Nakoska and Kastle Anderson (brothers), Rowan Anderson (cousin). One of his favorite school memories was filling Ms. Mills’ room with rocks. The coach that had the biggest impact on Zayd was Coach FG. He had the biggest impact on Zayd because “he pushed me to push myself which taught me self-motivation. He was also able to show every one of his athletes that he cares about them.” A teacher that had the biggest impact on Zayd was Ms. Mills because “she slays the day”. Zayd has been involved in several different extracurricular events throughout his school years. He has been involved in cross country, one act, student council, basketball, prom committee, golf, track, all-school play, FFA, National Honor Society and math contest. When he was little he wanted to grow up and be a kept man. After high school Zayd doesn’t know quite sure what he is wanting to do, if he decides to go to college he plans on majoring in political sciences. When asked about a fad he is embarrassed to be a part of, he notes that his political affiliations have changed and thinking about once supporting Trump embarrassed him. One of the best excuses he used was that he was busy with sports or doing something else. Zayd’s favorite class that he has taken has been nutrition and wellness. He said this has been his favorite because he needs to start lifting more often. Zayd doesn't have a favorite school meal as he doesn't eat school lunch and packs his own. A life quote that Zayd lives by is “live a good, regret-free life and hurt nobody.”

Article by Payton Shiffer

CARBON FOOTPRINTS

Sgt. Pontious and Lt. Soto came to present to the middle schoolers for Earth Day. He talked about numerous ways that the Army is environmentally conscious.

One example that he described was ways to offset their carbon footprint with the carbon emissions from their vehicles. He explained how one effort was to plant trees in a federal park like Yellowstone.

The second way included the Army purchasing electric vehicles. The students were able to compare a Tesla and an F-350. The students were able to see how the Tesla operated via a large tablet screen in the center of the dash. Sgt. Pontious and Lt. Soto answered many questions about both the Tesla and the F-350.

One question was about the charging of the Tesla. Lt. Soto said that he has to be cognizant of his road trips to map out charging stations. The average length of the battery was 250 miles before needing to charge. Whereas the F-350 could potentially go up 600 miles on one tank of gas.

EARTH DAY

It's Earth Day! (April 22) The 8th graders took the initiative to go out into the community to pick up litter. The students were able to fill three trash bags with various items. Most of the litter that was picked up is recyclable.

Earth Day is important because it reminds us to take care of our planet and protect the environment. It’s a day to think about how our actions affect the Earth, like how we use energy, throw away trash, and care for nature. Celebrating Earth Day encourages people to recycle, plant trees, clean up litter, and find ways to use fewer natural resources. It helps raise awareness about big problems like pollution and climate change, and it brings people together to find solutions. By learning and taking action, we can make a difference and help keep our planet healthy for future generations.

FFA

FFA members attended the State Convention on April 3rd through the 5th. They had 10 students compete in contests including the following; Natural Resources, Floriculture, Dairy Cattle Evaluation, Horse Evaluation and Livestock Evaluation. Garet (a senior at Rutland) also received his State FFA Degree, which is the highest honor one can receive at the state level.

Students in Plant Science finished up their Soil Science Unit with edible soil profiles and a soil conservation demonstration from Mr. Jim Clendenin with the SD Soil Health Coalition.

Ag Leadership students have spread joy to friends of all ages. They played Farm Animal Bingo with the Rutland kindergarten class, and they travelled to Bethel Lutheran Home to play bingo with the residents.

Also we would like to let you know that FFA will have an End of Year Banquet on Thursday, May 1st at 5:30 PM in Rutland Lunchroom. More details can be found on the ORR FFA Facebook page.

ARMY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT CLASS

1LT Diego Soto and recruiter SFC Brandon Pontious visited the high school government and history classes. 1LT Soto, who is the Executive Officer of the Army recruiter station located in Sioux Falls, brought his military experience to share with the students who were studying how government agencies work and the Cold War respectively. Being a West Point graduate and having served as intelligence officer in the 82nd Airborne Division during operations in Middle East brought a unique perspective on how the intelligence community works and how the army uses technology and intelligence on the battlefield. This covered a range of topics from satellite imagery, human intelligence and training on how to use that information. All information was from public, open-source material, but it still gave the students a glimpse into the world of different jobs available to them after high school.

DEPUTY ROWE DEMONSTRATES HIS SWAT GEAR TO THE SENIORS

Sheriff's Deputy Rowe met with the seniors in the gym and visited with the students about Lake County's SRT or SWAT unit which he leads. SRT stands for Special Response Team and SWAT stands for Special Weapons and Tactics, this is a highly specialized police unit which responds to higher level threat matrixes. Deputy Rowe explained how and why the unit was formed and how Lake County has and would use it. He proceeded to teach the students about all of the different gear they use and in what situations they might use it. Students asked many questions and got to try on different gear during the presentation.

The Elementary Student Council at the Ramona location has formed a Book & Chess Club. The idea for the club was brought in by the students. The group wanted to support students working towards reading goals and also wanted to have a chess club to teach the art of chess to students who wanted to learn, as well as to practice their own skills. They also planned a checkers group for younger students as a starter. They put together a plan and presented it to the administration who approved the club, which is student lead and parent supervised. They meet after school once a month with half of the time devoted to reading and half of the time devoted to chess or checkers.

The second meeting of the club was Friday, April 25 after school with 16 students in grades K-5 attending. Elementary Student Council president Tyber Selman challenged Principal Andrew Johnson to a chess match. Tyber defeated Mr. Johnson in a 4 move win, to which a rematch was held with Mr. Johnson winning in a tight match. Tyber said his favorite part of the clubs is playing chess and improving his skills. Student council member Charlee Stricherz said her favorite part of the club is getting to spend time with her family, who volunteer to help with the club, and doing the activities with her friends.

Principal Andrew Johnson said "I'm so proud of our elementary student council at the Ramona site for coming up with the idea to start a book club and chess club! It's exciting to see our students leading the way and showing interest in activities beyond technology. Their creativity and initiative are truly inspiring and refreshing."

Mr. Johnson said he was going to end his chess battle with Tyber at the tied status!

Article by Wyatt Trygstad and Brodie Albertson

The golf season has officially begun with us getting a lot of practice and one meet. Returning as our coaches from last year, we have Varsity Coach Reece Simpson and Junior High Coach Carly Chambers. We had our first golf meet at the Garretson golf course on the 15th. Our school brought 6 varsity golfers to this meet. There was also a JH golf meet at Chester on the 17th. Although there was no placing at these meets, we all performed very well for our first couple of meets. We are starting to practice more at the Madison Country Club as the days are getting warmer, and we don’t have to practice inside. We practice on our chipping, putting, and iron shots most of the time. Occasionally, we will practice on some holes at the MCC. All of our practice will hopefully lead to better results in golf meets. Some of the ways we plan on improving are by going to even more meets than last year. This year, we got a golf simulator that connects to the bottom of an iPad. The device tracks the ball's speed, launch angle, carry distance, total distance, and spin rate. As well as having a net set up on the stage to catch the balls. This has helped some of our players fix their swing and how they line up to the ball. We sometimes have inside practices when the weather doesn't permit outdoor practice at the course. For indoor practice, we have 3 putting mats and hitting mats that make it possible. I also asked Coach Simpson some questions about this upcoming golf season: Q1-What do you think our team should improve on the most throughout the season? Simpson: “I think our biggest area of improvement is being intentional with our time during course practices, our time is limited out there, and it is important to really work on our areas of weakness. As far as the actual game of golf, I’d like to see us improve our shots off the tee box. At our first meet, we hit into a lot of trouble off the tee box, which makes the rest of the hole more challenging. Cleaning that up can greatly lower scores.” Chambers: Something that we could improve on is getting practice time outside of the time that we have set aside for practice. Golf is such an individualized sport that students need to be intrinsically motivated to improve!

Article by Brooks Leighton

One of the Senior Spotlights for this month is Clay Misar. Clay's family members consist of his Mom, Annitta, his Dad Michael, and his three siblings, Clint, Kylee, and Cody. His favorite school memory is playing football during recess in elementary school. His favorite teacher going through school was Mr. Koster because of the life lessons, and self discipline he taught. Clay has been involved in many extracurricular activities including Football, Basketball, Trap Shooting, Track, Baseball, Student Council, National Honor Society, One Act, All State Choir, Choir, and Band. When Clay was just a little guy he aspired to be an astronaut. Now he is going to attend Lake Area Technical College for Diesel Tech. Clay’s best excuse for not doing his homework was that his sister threw it away. Clay’s favorite class was any class that he took in elementary school because they were all easy. Clay's favorite school meal was quesadillas. His advice to younger students is that Freshman year is very important in your high school career. Finally, his life quote that he lives by is “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.”