Decatur County Community High School
605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749
October 15, 2023 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)
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Decatur Community,
14. Fourteen. One more time. XIV. After the JH Football team ended their season undefeated for the second season in a row, that's where the streak stands. It's an impressive feat, unprecedented in Oberlin, as each of the last two have been the only two unbeaten seasons for our JH boys in football.
Add to that the fact that the JH volleyball team heads into the end of year tournament this Tuesday having only lost one game on the whole season, and you can see that the continued success has sustained for multiple fall sports.
Few things bring a community together and instill more local pride than athletic events, and there have been a lot of things to get excited about this fall.
Shoutout to the Applied Math students and their ice cream endeavor. The past few weeks have seen them make their homemade ice cream with great response from the student body. I was impressed by both the response of students and the organization of the class. The operation is running smoothly. In all honesty, I heard the staff talking about what they are getting as much as I have heard the students.
Shoutout to the volleyball team for their solid showing at the League Tournament. The girls lost a tough 3rd set against top seeded Wheatland to end pool play 2-1, putting them in the winner's bracket for day 2. They lost a heartbreaking 3rd set to St. Francis in the opening round of day two and ended the tournament at 2-4. I want to emphasize that the record of that tournament is not a true indicator of how well they played. These girls proved that they can compete with anyone. No team is going to want to play DCHS at Sub-State.
Shoutout to the JH girls' volleyball team. The girls lost only one game on the season. This is at both the A and B levels. This is a strong team that gets help from students grades 6-8 on their A and B teams. I anxiously await the results of their tournament on Tuesday. I know they can redeem that one loss. Regardless, it is another great season.
Shoutout once again to all of the senior students and parents that were a part of Senior Night. It's always emotional the last time that you do something. Though the boys' season will continue, the band will play on, and the cheerleaders still have cheering to do, it is the last time that they will do it in front of their home fans under the Friday Night Lights. Thank you seniors for all of the memories that you have given us.
Shoutout to Cheer Coach and ELA teacher Libby Fort. Aside from the fact that Ms. Fort actively requests and uses new resources in her classroom, it was a special Senior Night for her as a parent and coach. It was great to hear so many positive comments directed her way from her senior girls.
Shoutout to all of the fans that came out on Thursday and Friday to support the football teams. It was a wet, windy, mess on Thursday, and though the rain stayed away, the cold joined the party on Friday. Thank you to all of the brave souls that braved the elements for our final home game.
Shoutout to the subs that joined the staff this past Monday on our inservice day. All teachers, several paras, and a few subs were certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid. This was an all day training that I will focus on more next week, but I want to thank the subs for joining us on a day when their was no pay involved.
JH Football Undefeated for the Second Straight Year
This past Thursday, the JH football team finished the season with a 7-0 record after defeating Dighton 68-0. It was a great way to cap off the season, and it will leave the boys with the memories of a lightning delay and high winds, as Mother Nature showed up to watch the last game.
This was a special year all to itself, but for the 8th grade boys, it marks an undefeated JH football career. Last season was the first undefeated season for our JH boys on the football field, and to follow that up with a second is an amazing accomplishment. It made me curious enough to look back at old yearbooks. Our last loss at the JH level came back in 2021 with an OT loss to St. Francis on the last game of the season. That means that the current streak sits at 14 straight wins for our JH.
Congratulations to coaches Brandon Gehring and Trevor Williams, as well as all of the players.
Next week, I will add a few comments from the players and coaches about the season.
ACT/ PreACT (Mr. Lindquist's Test)
This week, about a dozen of our students will be taking the ACT. This is our onsite, voluntary signup test that will include seniors looking to improve one last time, and juniors that are getting a taste for the first time. The junior will also be given the opportunity to take the test again at the State's expense in the Spring if they choose to do so.
ACT
In 1959, the first American College Test (ACT) was given. Created by Everett Franklin Lindquist (pictured ) a college professor from the University of Iowa, it was a test created to challenge the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) which had been around approximately 20 years longer. The biggest difference was that the ACT had the goal of trying to test students on the direct competencies that they were studying in schools.
Today, there are over 2 million high school graduates that take the ACT each year, and Wednesday, several of our students will take the ACT, most for the first time. I have included the standard overview of the ACT, and what it looks like. I also included some sites with tips. For most of our students, they will take the ACT multiple times as they try to improve their scores..
OVERVIEW OF ACT TEST SECTIONS
English
- 75 multiple–choice questions
- 45 minutes
- Tests grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and rhetorical skills
- Learn more about the ACT English Test
Math
- 60 multiple–choice questions
- 60 minutes
- Algebra I and II, geometry, and some trigonometry
- Learn more about the ACT Math Test
Reading
- 40 multiple–choice questions
- 35 minutes
- Four passages (prose fiction, social studies, humanities, and natural sciences) with 10 questions per passage
- Learn more about the ACT Reading Test
Science
- 40 multiple–choice questions
- 35 minutes
- Questions on science-based passages presented with graphs, charts, tables and research summaries
- Learn more about the ACT Science Test
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:
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)
Sub-State Volleyball at Stockton
Schools:
Atwood-Rawlins County HS;
Downs-Lakeside HS;
Mankato-Rock Hills HS;
Oberlin-Decatur Community HS;
Osborne HS;
St. Francis HS;
Stockton HS
Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences Coming Up.
Fall Conferences are around the corner. Please look through this information.
1. The timeframe is listed below:
Monday, October 23: 4:00-8:00 PM (Open House Style Conferences)
Wednesday, October 25: 4:00-7:30 PM
2. Teachers will be in the cafeteria, and parents will be able to come in to meet with individual teachers as they see fit.
3. Grades will be up to date by Friday, October 20th. You should be able to look online through PowerSchool to check your students progress before conferences.
4. Please reach out to your teachers if you have concerns about your child, and feel free to reach out to myself if you need any clarification about conferences.
For approximately the next 10-11 months, "The Streak" will remain intact, awaiting the next class of students to come up to try to keep it alive.
Two straight undefeated 8th grade classes will be together again, rekindling the memory of where it began, only this time together again as high school teammates, with the hope that maybe they can spark the magic all over again.
The future is as bright as a "streak" of lightning for the Red Devil Future on the field.
Until next week,
Jeremy Holloway
Go Big Red!
Monday, October 16, 2023
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
10:00 NWKL JH VB Tournament @ Colby Event Center
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Pre-ACT (9th students)
ACT (signups only)
Thursday, October 19, 2023
End of the 1st Quarter
7:30 HS Fall Vocal Concert
Friday, October 20, 2023
No School - Teacher Work Day
7:00 Football @ Hill City
Saturday, October 21, 2023
XC Regionals
VB Sub-State @ Stockton
Decatur County Community Junior/Senior High School
Email: jholloway@usd294.org
Website: https://www.usd294.org/vnews/display.v/SEC/DCHS
Location: 605 East Commercial Street, Oberlin, KS, USA
Phone: 785-475-2231
Twitter: @DCHSREDDEVILS