From The Desk of Principal Braithwait
It never ceases to amaze me that yesterday I was outside running a few school errands, and it was 70 degrees. Today I’m writing this because we had a late start due to poor roads, high winds, and possible blizzard conditions. It just doesn’t make sense. Yesterday I had the windows down because it was warm, and the fresh air was great. Today if I open my windows, I may be picking a tumble weed off my dash. Not predictable, volatile, confusing, irritable, sassy, fun, delightful, etc. Hmmm, am I talking about the weather or teenagers?
Keep in mind, I’ve helped raise four children (My wife would say she’s raised five), so I’ve gotten to experience this as a parent, a teacher, and an administrator. Like the weather, you never know what you may get from one day to the next. Parenting isn’t easy, teaching isn’t easy, coaching isn’t easy, and administrating isn’t easy. However, the toughest part of all of this is that being a teenager isn’t easy!
I look at our students and see kids that come in the building in the morning, and they are happy, angry, quiet, loud, sad, frustrated, tired, hungry, combative, kind, helpful, tired, etc. Most of the time the kids have no idea why they act a certain way. As educators, we are expected to meet each child’s needs, and I can tell you that our staff works hard at trying to do this. We do this by getting to know our kids, and by understanding what makes them tick. Some days it doesn’t matter what we do, we are not reaching that student. That doesn’t mean we don’t keep on trying. Tomorrow is another day, and we try again.
The beauty of a small school is that we truly get to know our students, and in most cases their families. Do we have great kids? Without a doubt. Do we have challenging students? Absolutely. Do they change from day to day? Just like the weather.
I was once a teenager (hard to believe, but true), and as I think back, I recall the fun I had hanging out with a group of friends that I still communicate with to this day. It was great to compete in athletics, fun going on dates, going to dances, etc. But I also look back and see myself struggling with “Am I a kid, or a young adult?” Why am I dressed in hand-me-downs, and others have new everything? Why do they always get all the breaks, and I have to earn everything? I can recall thinking life isn’t fair as I drove a piece of junk car, and I had friends with new vehicles. I also remember those same kids not enjoying life because they didn’t have stable homes. I had friends that were in charge of younger siblings when they got home after practices. Some had to have jobs to support the family because mom, or dad weren’t capable because of addiction. They dealt with physical abuse, verbal abuse, etc.
Yes, being a teenager can be hard. Just like the weather, as educators we may not know what we are facing the next day, especially when we don’t know what occurred away from school. The challenge of meeting the needs of our students has changed immensely over the years. At times it can be overwhelming sending a child home and knowing nothing good is happening at this child’s home. On the bright side, I know that our students can come to school and feel safe. I know our students can come to school and go home with their stomachs full. I know that our students have teachers that care deeply about them and want to prepare them for the future. And most importantly Wallace Public Schools has the support from the community to make it a special place to be.
GO CATS!!!
Wallace FFA News April 2025
Hello friends of the FFA, we have reached the busy season of the school year, and our FFA chapter has continued to work hard to accomplish all of our yearly tasks. Our fish farm project is coming along, and we are almost ready to welcome many fish to our school. Many chapter members have worked hard to complete this project, and we can’t wait to see what they continue to do with this learning opportunity!
Second Round CDE competitions took place on March 3rd. Our chapter had many teams qualify for the state competition! The Floriculture team of Mallory McConnell, Elliana Robertson, Briseyda Vasquez, and Mariana Aceves-Lopez is headed to state! A team of Kendall McClintock, Ashley Robertson, Micah Garrison, and Adan Juarez will compete in the contest of meat evaluation. We have a livestock management team made of Allyson Kemp, Cauy Robinson, Reagan Martin, Rally Ketteler, and Wyatt Robertson that will get to compete in Lincoln as well! The nursery and landscape team made up of Devin Giesselman, Adan Juarez, Tyson Sullivan, and Ryleigh Hanson earned a spot in the State Competition. The last team to qualify for state is the natural resources team made up of Ryleigh Hanson, Colt Franklin, Max Hanson, and Bradley Hanson! We are so proud of all of the members who qualified for state, and cannot wait to see how they do at the state competition!
Ag Week was March 16th-22nd, and our chapter had fun celebrating with trivia challenges and daily locker treats! The week was a little bit shorter than normal because of spring break, district speech, and unfortunate weather but the chapter made the most of the activities that were still able to happen!
April 2nd-4th is the State FFA Convention! Our chapter plans to attend general sessions and leadership workshops while also competing against the other Nebraska FFA Chapters. The time spent in Lincoln is always fun and we cannot wait to see how our chapter compares to others around the state. Thank you to the Big Blue Boosters for supplying our members with some spending money to help our members with lunch while in Lincoln. The support the Boosters show to our chapter is greatly appreciated.
Be on the lookout for information regarding some of our events like the FFA Petting Zoo and FFA Banquet! These events will take place in late April!
Wallace FFA Reporter,
Mallory McConnell
