Go Big Red: DCHS Weekly Message

Week 37: The "Finals" Lap

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Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

May 12, 2024 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

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Decatur community,

A huge Happy Mother's Day to all!

This will be the last message. Parents and guardians, I don’t know if the word summer has changed in its meaning for you, but I at least hope that the carefree childhood memories of relaxation, freedom, and innocence still flitter through your minds just a little bit. No lie, when I was young, I was asked what my favorite holiday was. My response was, “The last day of school.” Don’t get me wrong. I loved school, but, man, what a magical feeling that not many get to enjoy forever. To this day, I can say that my answer is still the same.

Having said that, for the next four days, our focus is on Finals and doing our absolute best to finish strong. I'll keep it brief.

SHOUTOUTS

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We had a lot of activites this past week, and I will give a quick shoutout to several things like the music concerts that took place on Monday and Tuesday, the unbelievable projects that were on display at the Open House (which I am including a few pictures below), the Awards' ceremony that netted our students well over $100,000 in scholarships over the next calendar year, the local ministerial alliance that put on the Baccalaureate celebration, the solid performances by several of our individual athletes in both track and golf, and the impressive first impression that was left by our upcoming 6th grade students at Friday's Orientation, but the primary focus of the shoutouts this week will focus on Graduation.

The Board:

Shoutout to our board members for being in attendance. It’s a great message from the top down that this ultimate culmination ceremony for our whole district is supported. Every single board member was in attendance.

The Invisible Woman:

Shoutout to the invisible woman. Without someone working behind the scenes to make sure that videos played when they were supposed to and that there was nothing too loud or too quiet, any event can quickly lose its impact. Thank you to Mrs. Wendy Scott for being behind the curtains making sure all was well with the program.

The Arranger:

Shoutout to Mrs. Jillian Springer. Mrs. Springer was there every step of the way during rehearsal and throughout the ceremony. It seems so silly that students that have gotten in line a million times throughout their lives all of the sudden get nervous when it comes to that final march. Mrs. Springer kept them focused and calm.

The Guides and Greeters:

Shoutout to our junior Marching Leaders Garrett Emigh and Makadyn Ketterl, as well as our Door Greeters Weston Barnes, Jenna Fortin, Jack Holloway, and Michaela Wasson. These students were chosen for these roles by the senior class. Garrett told me it was the first time he had ever worn a tie.

The Builders:

Shoutout to Jess Allen and Jack Farr for setting everything up for graduation. The cafeteria and the gymnasium were great, and there were many hours spent before and after school as well as over the weekend. I would also include Mrs. Saul for her last second aprons on the tables.

Shoutout to seniors Tony Kuhlman and Lukas Zodrow. These two had their respective dresser and end tables on display at Open House, and we used their projects at Graduation. Lukas' end tables held the flowers and Tony's dresser held the diplomas.

The Scribe:

Shoutout to Mrs. Melissa Dreher, my secretary. It was Mrs. Dreher who printed off every program and got every piece of information from every resource to make sure that it all worked.

The Musicians:

Shoutout to Mrs. Jenny Tally and Mrs. Lisa Johnson and the DCHS Choir. The choir performed a song, and their DCHS Singers performed both the national anthem and a song of their own. The music was beautiful and well performed.

Shoutout to Weston Barnes, Shaylynn Diaz, and Michaela Wasson for performing "Pomp and Circumstance" as the students walked into the gymnasium for the ceremony.

Shoutout to senior Cheyanna Hale for playing the Prelude at graduation. It was a great final chance to play the piano for a senior who had gone to State multiple times in the discipline.

The Speakers:

Shoutout to Superintendent Dr. Joel Applegate. Not only did he speak, he wanted to speak. I appreciated his message to the students that truly emphasized that although "What" we become is important, it's "Who" we become that really matters. He did a great job.

Shoutout to our senior Salutatarian Taylor Ketterl and Valedictorian Kamryn Oien. One of the most difficult things a person can do is get up in front of an audience and address them with a speech, but they were both great. The two speeches were powerful and emotional, spoken from the perspective of two of Oberlin's finest, two young ladies that spent their entire lives in Oberlin schools.

The Terrific 20:

Shoutout to the 20 member graduating class of 2024. This group will be extremely hard to match and they truly set the bar for future classes. With high achievement in the classroom and consistent leadership, they will be remembered for the right reasons. .

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Mathews Signs with Sandburg to Play Volleyball

Addie Mathews signed with Carl Sandburg College. Addie will be playing volleyball next year at the Illinois school, and she will be joining 'bestie" Gabby Vontz, a 2023 graduate that went to Carl Sandburg last year to play basketball.

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Freeman Signs with Chadron State to Cheer

Cloud Community College's coach made the trip to Oberlin this past week for Lukas Zodrow's wreslting signing. Zodrow will leave for Cloud in the fall as a runner up at State as well as the DCHS Citizenship winner.

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Freeman Signs with Chadron State for Cheer

Ana Freeman accepted an offer to cheer at Chadron State in Nebraska. The DCHS Senior Cheer Captain takes her talents north. At this past week's Awards' Cermony, Ana received the Dorshorst Scholarship. The Dorshorts's were Chadron graduates.

Things You Should Know

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FINALS SCHEDULE, LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, and END of the YEAR FEES

Finals Week

At DCHS, all students have Finals. High school students take classes for credits, are shooting for a diploma, and are getting ready for the potential of college and/or careers.

Below is the schedule:

Wednesday 5-15 (ODDS)

HOUR 1: 8:10- 9:45

HOUR 3: 9:50-11:25

HOMEROOM: 11:30-12:20

1ST LUNCH: 11:25-11:50 (Grades 7,8,9)

2ND LUNCH: 11:55-12:20 (Grades 10,11,12)

HOUR 5: 12:25-2:00

HOUR 7: 2:05-3:40

Thursday 5-16 (EVENS)

HOUR 2: 8:10- 9:45

HOUR 4: 9:50-11:25

HOMEROOM: 11:30-12:20

1ST LUNCH: 11:25-11:50 (Grades 7,8,9)

2ND LUNCH: 11:55-12:20 (Grades 10,11,12)

HOUR 6: 12:25-2:00

HOUR 8: 2:05-3:40

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL (FRIDAY MAY 17, LUNCH WILL NOT BE SERVED) DISMISSAL AT 11:00

Students - do not forget your Chromebook and charger. You will need to turn both in at your designated time. If you don’t have a charger, you will have to pay $20. You will also need to pay all lunch fees, wood and ag fees, and some of you still have enrollment fees to pay. If you have not returned a library book or a textbook, those will also have to be paid for.

ALL fees have to be paid before you can check out.

BRING YOUR MONEY TO THE OFFICE DURING YOUR CHECK-OUT TIME!!!

GO BIG RED

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Well, it’s time for the magical summer season to begin once again, time to play my annual song, "The Way," by Fastball, on the last day of school. Favorite line? "An exit to eternal summer slacking," although in this position, the job never stops.

To all of the students and parents of the class of 2025 (guess that includes me again), it's almost your time, but don't rush it. Enjoy a childhood summer one last time.

It's an honor to be your principal!

Until next year,

Jeremy Holloway

Go Big Red!