Red Devil Ready: Weekly Message

Week #5: A Little Something for Everybody

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Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

September 17, 2023 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

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Decatur Community,

As I was watching the JH volleyball team look dominant last Thursday, I was struck by how few home events we have actually had at this point in the school year. I cannot recall any year in the past where we were in the back half of September and we still hadn't played a home volleyball game. That all changes this week, as home activities really come alive.

JH football and volleyball are back at it on Monday. HS volleyball has their home opener Tuesday. Football is back on Friday night against Quinter as the Red Devils try to build upon last Friday's big win.

Needless to say, there's something for everybody.

SHOUTOUTS

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Shoutout to 4 students that went off to Colby this past week to take the Qualifying Scholarship Test for a Dane G. Hansen Scholarship. Shakira Cook, Ana Freeman, Kamryn Oien, and Lukas Zodrow all met the minimum requirements to take the test. I appreciate their efforts, and I am crossing my fingers for each of them to move on to the next level which includes an interview.

To be eligible to take the Hansen Qualifying Scholarship test, a student must have taken the ACT test and have proof of a composite score of 23 or higher (superscores not accepted) and have at least a 3.50 GPA (unweighted).
The student should be an active participant in extra-curricular school and community activities, displaying good citizenship, leadership and moral integrity.

Shoutout to seniors Addison Matthews and Aidyn Witt (pictured). Both girls have been participating in our new course preparing students to be referees. Last Thursday, the girls got their first experience while refereeing a C Team JH game. It was a great experience for the girls, and we look forward to having several students earn certifications in multiple sports this year.

Shoutout to Seniors Adam McNabb, Terrance Wahrman, and Aidyn Witt for their business plan proposal for selling Homemade Ice Cream. Part of Mrs. Witt's Applied Math II class, the three had to create a business plan that included a presentation to myself and Dr. Applegate followed by an interview. Before the month is over, they will be presenting their homemade ice cream options for sale on special dates throughout the semester for our students.

Shoutout to the football program. The Red Devils got big wins this past week against St. Francis. The high school got their first win of the season as Coaches Breth and Hardwick called a great game on both sides of the ball. Tremendous adjustments as the team played with confidence. They are getting better every week.

The streak continues for the JH team. Another huge win for the Red Devils at that level. After the first undefeated season last season, the JH has now reached a double digit win streak. Add that to the high contribution level of the young players at the HS level, and you can see a bright future in store for the football program.

Shoutout to Coach Breth and her girls' JH program. Right now the girls are playing very well. This past week, the girls rolled past St. Francis in dominant fashion in their home opener.

Shoutout to Vo.Ag. teacher Jason Ketterl and the 8th grade FFA for their first place team finish last Wednesday in Dairy Judging. Several students placed individually.

Jori Fortin 1st

Trevor Witt 4th

Kira Burmaster 6th

Lauren May 10th

Quinn Ketterl 15th

Kaden Sowers 16th

Shoutout to Kira Burmaster (6th) and Trevor Witt (7th) for their placing performances at the recent McCook JH cross country meet. There were several bigger schools, but these two continued their stellar performances.

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Homecoming Candidates Announced

Congratulations to this year's Homecoming Court:

King Candidates:

Jaden Capuzzo

Reid Fort

Adam McNabb

Jace Ostmeyer

Lukas Zodrow

Queen Candidates:

Shakira Cook

Ana Freeman

Taylor Ketterl

Kamryn Oien

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Picture Day Coming Up!

School and Sports Picture Day is coming up next week on Tuesday, September 26. H2O Photography out of Arapahoe, NE will be back again this year and will be starting at DCHS at 8:10 with student pictures. Sports pictures will begin in the afternoon starting at 2:30.

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KESA (Kansas Education Systems of Accreditation) (Repeat Info.)

Every school in Kansas must go through a process of evaluation to become accredited. This process has changed many times over the decades, and it will change once again this year. KESA is the current process, a 5 year cycle that frequently adjusts its requirements and expectations. As an example, here is the state's current answer to the question, "What is KESA?"

"The KESA model is designed around system/district-level accreditation occurring at the end of a five-year cycle of improvement using an education framework called “The Five Rs” – Relationships, Relevance, Responsive Culture, Rigor and Results."

Those "Five Rs?" They are gone.

KESA is big and it is very hard to condense into a small section in a Weekly Message. I will address KESA bit by bit throughout the year as the State updates us on what to expect. For now, I am just going to leave with a brief list of steps in the process through the 5 years that got us where we are today. We will start talking about the guts of the whole process as the year goes on.

Step 1: School Buildings at the beginning of the cycle determine current strengths, weaknesses, and challenges, and complete a Needs Assessment.

Step 2: District Leadership Team reviews the Needs Assessment and sets goals for improvement.

Step 3: Site Councils are included in the process as outside stakeholders,. They are informed of the current state of the district and the goals put in place by the leadership team and are included in the process of improvement.

Step 4: An OVT Outside Visitation Team is created to help serve as guides through the process. After the final OVT visit in year 5, the OVT will submit a report to the state.

Step 5: Accreditation Review Council: This 15 member council makes the recommendation of accreditation to the state. This is really the final step. The members review the final reports from the district and the OVT. They then make their recommendation to the State Board of Education.

Step 6: The Kansas State Board of Education reviews the recommendation of the ARC and makes the final decision.

Red Devil Ready

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As I watched our Red Devils put together a great last minute stop to seal the game last Friday night, it was a beautiful fall evening, just enough of a chill to make wearing a hoodie perfect. I hoped that maybe we were shifting into fall, but that does not appear to be the case.

It looks like September is going to remind us that it is still a summer month, at least for one more week, a week that has a little something for everybody.

Until next week,

Jeremy Holloway

Go Big Red!