Cobra Strike
From the Desk of the Junior/Senior High School Principal
"Put your name on it" Travis Henry
Well that week had a lot going on. I feel like it has been a week since I have seen my wife and kids, because it has. There was something going on at the school every night for the past week and I didn't want to miss a single minute of it. Aside from the usual things like the board meeting Monday night, we had the senior sendoff Tuesday afternoon followed immediately by the high school concert that night. Wednesday brought us Scholarship and High School Awards Night. Thursday was the Baseball regional showdown, and Friday finished off the weekdays with the Athletic Banquet. All of this then got capped off with the big deal that made for the late arrival of this week's Cobra Strike. High School Graduation.
Today the seniors are one of only 1,988 individuals that have the privilege of calling themselves alumni from Jackson Heights. There are Doctors, Lawyers, Farmers, Moms, Dads, Grandmas, and Grandpas among those ranks. They have now joined an amazing group of men and women that have done incredible things and I know they will do incredible things too.While this week was tiring for me. I enjoyed every minute of it. From listening to our band do their thing Tuesday night, or celebrating with our athletes Friday night, everything was worth every late night.
Below I will hit on a few of the highlights of the whole week, but this is not to discredit everything else that has happened. Starting with the key note speech from Mr. Travis Henry today was phenomenal. While the crowd got into the interactive aspect of the speech and started to lose the ball a bit, I absolutely enjoyed the message and wisdom that came from his words. Remember to put your name on it.
"Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind" The Doctor
Let's go make a difference.
Derek E. Smith
JR/SR High Events This Week: May 13-17
Monday May 13:
MS Awards: 1:45
MS Promotion Practice 2:45
MS Promotion 7:00 pm
Tuesday May 14:
HS Softball Regionals Vs. Centralia @ Alma (Game 3 will be 25 minutes after game 2 ends)
Wednesday May 15:
Finals: 1,3,5,7
Softball Regionals
Thursday May 16:
Finals: 2, 4, 6, 8
HS Track Regionals
Friday May 17: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
Makeup finals in the morning
Saturday May 18:
Guardian Auction 2:00 pm
Valedictorian Dawson Cochren's Speech
Good afternoon family, friends, staff, administration, and the class of 2024. I would like to thank all of you for being here today and for all of the support you have given us over the years.
As I wrapped up the last few weeks of high school, I didn’t really process that this was it. The final time we would walk in these halls as students, the final time we would gossip with all the teachers, and the final time we would be together all as a class. On our final day of school I realized that the next chapter of all of our lives was about to start, and we had no choice but to accept it and move on. Suddenly all those moments I just couldn’t wait to happen had all happened. I couldn’t wait to be a high schooler, I couldn’t wait to drive, I couldn’t wait to be a senior, and most of all I couldn’t wait to graduate. Now that I stand here on this stage spending my last moments in this school as a student, I wish more than anything that I would have never wished away all the time in between. While those moments are ones that you never forget, the time in between is what made our time here so special.
I remember being in class in elementary school, I can’t remember the exact year, and we were referred to as the class of 2024 for the first time. Confused, we of course asked what that meant, and you can imagine the shock on our faces when they told us it was the year we would graduate. At the time, 2024 was a year so far out of reach to our young minds. We thought it would take forever for that time to come, and we thought it would be so cool to be out of high school. Well let me tell you something, graduation came quicker than i through and i don’t feel that cool and I definitely don’t feel completely ready to graduate. If only younger me knew that graduating meant facing what most adults like to tell us is the “real world” then I would have definitely cherished my younger years more.
As I was sitting in my room reminiscing about the past twelve years, I thought of some key memories and accomplishments from our class that deserve to be shared. We have had several classmates be part of the state basketball team and have had several qualify for state track multiple times. Our class was one of the first to participate in baseball and our e sports program and Our classmate is now the voice of the cobras. While most consider our class to be one of the more unathletic classes to come through this school, we still managed to beat the staff in basketball so I think that's worth a lot. Even though the staff didn’t win in basketball, they still had a few of their own accomplishments this school year. The most important of those being Playtner finally moving out of his parents house, congratulations..
Our class managed to have a good time no matter the situation. Covid wasn’t a good time for anyone, but our zoom meetings with Mr.Plattner made it a little easier. Winning pieeduff our junior year was a core memory for sure, along with ellie throwing a chair, Kryndon falling asleep in mr nilges, and Michael breaking Alex’s ankle somehow.
If there is one thing I could leave for everyone today it would be: Don’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy. High school is hard, working is hard, getting older is hard; but the way you approach each aspect of your life is what matters. You truly never know when life can quickly change for you, so cherish every moment. Without the guidance of many of the staff here at school, I would genuinely not be the person I am today. Thank you for making an everlasting impact on my life and for being part of the reason it is going to be so hard to leave. And to the class of 2024, thank you for the countless memories, arguments, and jokes. Thank you for making our time together something I will never forget. Thank you.
Salutatorian Michaela Hutfles's Speech
I want to thank our friends and family who are here today to celebrate and support the class of 2024. For you this is a somber moment as your graduate takes in their last seconds as a student at Jackson Heights High School. But for us, this is a moment we thought would never come. We prayed for its delivery, crossed off days, counted down the hours, minutes, and seconds… and now that we’ve arrived, I’m sorry it has. It means leaving behind peers and mentors that have guided and encouraged us throughout the years. People who’s impression on our lives will be there forever.
I live in several different worlds. Worlds of TV shows and movies. Worlds where Michael Scott is the worlds best boss, and Rachel Green inspires my wardrobe and my shopping habits. Worlds where Luke’s Diner has the best coffee as well as the best mother-daughter duo. And while I love these worlds and the nostalgia they bring, my other one is by far superior. The characters of this world are filled with real people. People made of flesh and bones, who are kind and loving. People who I am so grateful to have inspiring me and cheering me on along the way.
Class of 2024, the greatness of the people in our lives who inspire us doesn’t have to be something we just witness at a distance. This “greatness” attribute I’m referring to is one of selflessness. It’s not how many zeros we have in our bank account or how many likes and follows we have, it’s about going out of our way to be thoughtful and leaving people who we’ve crossed paths with–with a little more happiness. Our time at Jackson Heights High School will not be remembered by grades, popularity, or how many medals we have hanging on our mirror–but instead our time will be measured by our relationships and what kind of person we were. This is how greatness is measured.
So to my fellow classmates, I know you will go on to achieve great things. It’s been a great 13 years getting to know you all, and I sincerely wish you all the best. Thank you.
Take Pride
The Athletic Banquet was a move back in the direction of tradition. In days of old we would hold a single athletic banquet at the end of the year with a guest speaker and do all of the athletic awards on one evening. I am so glad that Mr. Alley wanted to try to go back to this style. This past Friday we had our first true Sports Banquet and it was hugely successful. It was great to get all of the athletes in the gym to talk about the past year of athletics. The highlight of the night was listening to Mr. Lyle Alley talk about the tradition of greatness that these athletes are carrying on. The tradition of pride that has been engrained in the Cobra way since its inception in 1979. It was a great night and perfectly executed. I can't wait for next years banquet already.
Derek E. Smith
After everything that went on this week, I got a chance to go be a dad. I got to watch my son play his first pitch baseball game and hit a base hit in his first at bat. It was a great feeling that after all the craziness that went on this week, I still was able to be there for my Hiccup when the time came. While this year he is wearing a Kaws jersey, I am so excited that he and his brother will be properly wearing Green and Gold next year as they will be joining us in Kindergarten and first grade next year.
Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind.
Email: derek.smith@jhcobras.net
Website: jhcobras.net
Location: 12692 266th Rd Holton, KS 66436
Phone: (785)248-4386
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jackson.Heights.USD335
Honor Flight
If you would like to donate to the Honor Flight program, you can send a check to the school for JH
Check: mailed to the school (payable to JH Honor Flight)
Venmo: @jackson-Heights-Honor-Flight