Go Big Red: DCHS Weekly Message

Week 25: Compute.....c-o-m-p-u-t-e.....Compute

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Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

February 12, 2023 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

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

Decatur community,

Bomb. That's the word. Bomb. I will forever remember the word I went out on in the 6th grade Spelling Bee. It's seems so simple, but it was a learning experience that I shared with hundreds of former students over the years.

The pronouncer pronounced the word with the same pronunciation as the word "bum." I even asked, "You mean like a person laying in the street?" She just repeated the word. If I would have only asked for the definition. Let's be honest, I probably could have figured it out if she would have given me the sentence..... "The "bum" exploded in the field."

I probably would have thought to myself, "Oh b-o-m-b, bomb. She means bomb." Hindsight.

Either way, grew from it, lost the Bee, and shared the info. with my future students to help them steer clear of similar mistakes.

This year, as his competitors went out on words like twelve, bossiness, and grimy, our Decatur County Spelling Bee Champion will forever remember the word compute, c-o-m-p-u-t-e, compute. (The Championship Word) At least his memory will be a pleasant one.

Congratulations to Josiah Pattangall for winning the Decatur County Spelling Bee.

SHOUTOUTS

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Shoutout to Mrs. Johnson and the DCHS Singers. Valentines Day is this week, and the singers will be out singing songs on Tuesday to those that paid for a Singing Valentine. Love the idea, and I am anxious to see the results.

Shoutout to the 23 students that participated in the ACT Powerprep. We even had a student come over from another district. When Carolyn Devane left Oberlin Friday afternoon, she complimented the great students and the "cute" town. She left us for Wichita State University where she would be doing Powerprep with over 150 Wichita high school students in a large college auditorium. One thing that Powerprep is not is fun. It's hard work, but hard work is what makes the biggest changes. Several of our juniors are taking the ACT in less than a month, and I was pleasantly surprised at how many of our sophomore students took advantage of the opportunity as well.

Shoutout to english teacher Kathy Almquist and PE teacher Brandon Hardwick for helping with the School Spelling Bee. Mrs. Almquist did a great job of being the Pronouncer last Monday, and Mr. Hardwick gave up his plan time to be the Judge.

Shoutout to coaches Ostmeyer and Weese and the DCHS boys' basketball team. During practice on Friday, they boys came out and gave the Scholars Bowl team a great send off along with several parents and staff members. Perhaps it was fellow ballplayer Bryant Addleman's presence on the team, but either way. Great showing of support for a teammate and for a fellow activity.

Shoutout to the USD 294 Steering Committee. This committee is made up of a large number of school staff and community members, and the primary goal is discussing and planning for the future of the district. It was a great meeting that allowed for a large variety of perspectives. Though there is still a lot of work to be done and a lot of time between our final outcomes, the group was very focused on coming up with realistic and necessary goals for the future.

Shoutout to our wrestling team for a great season. Saturday, our boys will be in Beloit for Regionals, each going at it to try and earn a place at State in Hays. Juenemann and Zodrow go into Regionals ranked 3rd in their weight classes. All of our boys have shown that they will be a difficult out for anyone that they face. Good luck to our coaches and wrestlers as they try to extend the season.

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Scholars Bowl Comes Up Short at State

Shoutout to the DCHS Scholars Bowl team and their coach Wendy Scott. Though the team did not place at this past weekend's State competition in Langdon, they had a great season that saw them back at State for the first time in a few years.

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Witt and Barnes Qualify for State Speech

Shoutout to Aidyn Witt and Weston Barnes. Witt and Barnes recently placed 4th in the Winter Jamboree in Norton. Their placement in the IDA (Improvised Duet Acting) has them qualified for State.

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Digital Media Students Design Backdrops and Table Covers

Shoutout to Wendy Scott and her Digital Media students for designing the backdrop and the table cover that were used during the Spelling Bee. The backdrop as seen in this picture can be used for many future events, and the table cover pictured below with Mr. Gehring sitting at it, will also be used for a large variety of events.

Things You Should Know

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Pattangall Wins Decatur County Spelling Bee, Advances to State

8th grade student Josiah Pattangall won this year's Decatur County Spelling Bee by spelling the Championship Word "Compute."

Josiah and fellow 8th grade student Cowen Anderson represented DCJH after Josiah had won the school bee earlier in the week with Cowen as the runner up.

Along with the the DCHS representatives were Callen Gish and Job Kliewer representing OES. Each of the boys made it through several rounds before we finally had a student go out in three consecutive rounds.

Pattangall survived the last round by avoiding the trap of adding a second l to the word until which then gave him the opportunity to win the competition by spelling the Championship Word "compute."

Josiah is now qualified for the State competition in Wichita, KS at Newman University in March. The winner of the Sunflower State Spelling Bee moves on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. and gets an all-expense paid trip for themselves and a guest to compete in the competition.

Callen Gish was the runner up and will be the designated alternate in the event that Josiah cannot attend.

Congratulations, Josiah, and good luck!

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Pronouncer Zach May

Shoutout to former DCHS grad. and current School Board member Zach May. May did a great job as the official Pronouncer. He came up the day before to talk over the rules and scope out the scene. Proud moment for any DCHS staff member who ever got the opportunity to teach Zach.

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Judge Gehring

Shoutout to the Coach/AD Brandon Gehring for participating as the Judge and for modeling the Digital Media Class's table cover during the competition.

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Winner and Runner Up

6th grade student Callen Gish on the left is the runner up/alternate.

Josiah Pattangall is the 2023 Decatur County Spelling Bee champion.

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Sowers Makes History in Wrestling

This past Saturday, 9th grade wrestler Kyra Sowers made DCHS history by becoming the first DCHS girl's wrestler to qualify for State. Kyra is definitely a pioneer for girls wrestling here at DCHS, and to see her competing at the State level as a freshman in the first year of girls' wrestling is more than commendable. I can only imagine the opportunities that Kyra has ahead throughout her career at DCHS.

Kyra will move on to the State tournament in Salina, KS held on the 22nd and 23rd.

GO BIG RED

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That's going to do it. It's Super Bowl Weekend, and as many are gearing and one is "Gehring" up, I am just simply excited to watch what should be a great Super Bowl with the two best teams in the NFL this year.

Until next Week,

Jeremy Holloway

Go Big Red!