Red Devil Ready: Weekly Message

Week 24: Nitrogen.....n--i-t-r-o-g-e-n.....Nitrogen

zoom_out_map

Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

February, 4 2024 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

Follow us on Twitter at @DCHSREDDEVILS or

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

Decatur community,

For those of you that read my messages last year, this one is going to sound familiar, because it goes so perfectly with this past week's DCHS Spelling Bee and this week's upcoming County Spelling Bee.

Bomb. The word was 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." Instead? I said, "Bum, b-u-m bum." Hindsight.

Either way, I lost the Bee, grew from it, 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 sentinel, secreted, and insolent, our DCHS Spelling Bee Champion will forever remember the word nitrogen, n-i-t-r-o-g-e-n, nitrogen (The Championship Word). At least his memory will be a pleasant one.

Congratulations to 7th grade student Job Kliewer for winning the DCHS Spelling Bee.

SHOUTOUTS

zoom_out_map

Shoutout to Job Kliewer and Kira Burmaster for qualifying for the County Spelling Bee. Job won the bee with the championship word "Nitrogen." As the runner up, Kira also qualified. They will compete this Tuesday for an opportunity to move on to the State Spelling Bee, this year held at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. Good luck to both!

Shoutout to English teacher Jacinta Carter and AD Brandon Gehring for helping with the School Spelling Bee. Both gave up their time to be judges.

Shoutout to our JH wrestlers on their performance. Here are our wrestlers that placed in top positions at the Norton JH Event:

Grant Anderson - 2nd Place

Gus Bryan - 2nd Place

Brody Fortin - Champion

Lucas Linner 2nd Place

Brennan Louderback - 2nd Place

Kaden Sowers - 2nd Place

Trenton Wahlmeier - 2nd Place

Shoutout to these HS wrestlers for their performance this past weekend at Southwest:

Sage Bryan - 3rd Place

Garrett Emigh - Champion

Josiah Pattangall - 3rd Place

Lukas Zodrow - Champion

Shoutout to Math teacher and Scholars Bowl Coach Wendy Scott. This past Thursday DCHS hosted the Regional Scholars Bowl, and Mrs. Scott (as always) showed her talent as a host and event coordinator. Though you don't have to worry about a crowd or physical injuries like you would in a sport, Scholars Bowl requires far more workers and a lot of complexity at times for each. Like she does in a classroom, she was able to get everyone comfortable and ready to go help out. The competition went well and with no controversy.

Our team gave it their all and made it out of the first round of pool play, but they were unable to qualify for the trip back to State.

Shoutout to all of the workers that worked the Scholars Bowls Regional. I will probably miss someone, but this is an example of what I mean when I say there are far more workers involved. Thank you to:

Moderators: Jenny Tally, Megan Holloway, Libby Fort, Kady Howard, Mark Bricker, Anthony Marshall

Judges: Lesia Larson, Linsay Fortin, Teresa Saul, Gina Witt, Jillian Springer, Brad Persinger

Announcers: Sandy Ketterl, Carol Dixon, Trevor Williams, Jenee Davis, Mirla Coleman, Kathy Almquist

Timers: Susan Nelson, Joanne Wendelin, Lisa Johnson, Weston Barnes, Michaela Wasson, Maci Weigel

Runners: Justine Tuttle, Jhony Azada, Makadyn Ketterl, Cameo Counter, Wyatt Scott, Jade Tuttle

Score table: Jacinta Carter and Brandon Gehring

As I said, a lot of workers.

Shoutout to every community member that showed up last Monday night for the Community Forum. I have attached the video in a section down below for all to watch. There were some great questions asked and a lot of information shared.

Shoutout to Jess Carter, Regan May and Zach May for being the voice and providing the presentation of the Steering Committee that presented last Monday night. The presentation was put together very well, and you see the genuine intent. I am very impressed with how important Oberlin is to all three of them, and they did an amazing job of answering as many questions as they could. This week, Zach May will read off the words for the County Spelling Bee for the second straight year. I will talk more about this Oberlin grad. next week.

Shoutout to Prairie Dog Creek Cattle, LLC for providing the local beef for our sloppy joes this past week. Through the Farm to Plate Initiative promoted by KSDE, local beef providers are able to work together with USD 294 to bring local beef to our cafeterias.

Shoutout to our veteran subs. I have given these shoutouts before, but I was standing in the office before school next to Betsy Haag. I looked down through the open door of Mrs. Springer's office to see Rhonda Barth standing at the door to a classroom. I walked to the door and looked to my right to see Tim Breth and Pat Dorshorst chatting with a few other teachers. We are so blessed to have so many high quality subs that are such a perfect fit. It's people like them that ensure that, even when our teachers are gone, their classes never miss a beat.

Shoutout to our Forensics team for their multiple placements this weekend at Norton. Here are some words from Mrs. Witt:

"We had a pretty good day at Norton. We only had 4 competitors because a couple were hone sick today. We were small but mighty. Keely Huff and Jordon Ruzicka placed 6th in Duet, Aidyn Witt and Maria Rodriguez placed 3rd in Duet... 4 points away from qualifying for state champs, and Aidyn and Jordon placed 5th in IDA. We are very proud of these hard-working kids!!" See pictures below.

Shoutout to junior Weston Barnes and Senior Cheyanna Hale. The two went to Regional Piano this past weekend in Hays. Weston received a 2, and Cheyanna received a 1.

zoom_out_map

Rodriguez and Witt Place 3rd in Duet

Freshman Maria Rodriguez and Senior Aidyn Witt.

zoom_out_map

All 4 Forensics' Team Members Placed this Past Weekend

zoom_out_map

Ruzicka and Witt Place 5th in IDA

Senior Aidyn Witt and Junior Jordon Ruzicka

zoom_out_map

Huff and Ruzicka Place 6th in Duet

Junior Jordon Ruzicka and Sophomore Keely Huff

zoom_out_map

Sophomore Weston Barnes Receives a 2 at Regional Piano

"Words from Mrs. Tally:

"It was the best I had ever heard Weston play."

zoom_out_map

Senior Cheyanna Hale Receives a 1 at Regional Piano and Punches Her Ticket to State

Words from Mrs. Tally:

"Cheyanna played confidently and proudly."

Things You Should Know

Community Forum and a Special Shoutout

Last Monday night, the Steering Committee hosted a meeting to discuss information and answer questions about the last bond proposal and what the next steps look like for the School Board. I am attaching a link to the video for you to watch yourself.

zoom_out_map

Early Release Wednesday, February 7th

This year, there will be Early Release Days from school on the first Wednesday of the month. Teachers will given some much needed time to meet together in groups, work on data, and plan for the following month.

This Wednesday, February 7th, students will be released from DCHS at 2:00.

zoom_out_map

Decatur County Spelling Bee Monday, January 29th

On Tuesday, February 6th, DCHS will host the Decatur County Spelling Bee. The last grade that students are eligible for a spelling bee is 8th grade. These 4 students will participate in the DCHS Spelling Bee with the Champion advancing to the State Bee:

Kira Burmaster

Job Kliewer

Joshua Minks

Gemma Louderback

Good luck to our participants!

zoom_out_map

DCHS Singers Singing Valentines Coming Soon!

It's been a great tradition here at DCHS for years. The DCHS Singers will be back at it this year serenading a variety of people throughout the community and school. Check out the flier.

Please contact Mrs. Johnson to have a singing valentine sent to your special someone!!

Boys Basketball

Though we started off down 7-0, our boys rallied and kept their composure in what would have to be considered their best game of the season last Friday. It was a big win over Tribune, 52-37.

After a tough loss earlier in the week to top ranked Dighton, the Red Devils rebounded with a great performance that showed a lot of composure and really displayed what this team is capable of when they play their best ball.

zoom_out_map

Boys Get a Big Win over Defending State Champs

zoom_out_map

Sharpshooter Davin Jensen Pulls Up for a Three

zoom_out_map

Williby Leads the Team Down the Court

Girls Basketball

The NWKL is a bizarre league this year when it comes to the girls and performances. Over the course of just a few weeks, these things happened.:

Quinter gives DCHS their biggest loss of the season.

Dighton beats Quinter.

Tribune beats Dighton.

So how do we do when we play Dighton and Tribune back to back? We beat them both. Great week for the Lady Devils. This is a scrappy team that plays for each other, and they deserve a lot of credit for always believing they have a shot.

zoom_out_map

Linked Arm in Arm Before the Game

zoom_out_map

Junior Michaela Wasson Lines up for a Free throw

DCHS 51

Tribune 27

zoom_out_map

Minnick Looking to Drive Against Dighton

DCHS 40

Dighton 37

Red Devil Ready

zoom_out_map

That's going to do it. No football this week, but at least the Chiefs are in the Super Bowl, and I am sure there will be much to entertain the Chiefs' Kingdom and "Swifties" alike. Perhaps people can discuss if Travis and Taylor can officially reach the status of "Power Couple" with a combined nickname. Remember "Bennifer" and "Brangelina?"

Perhaps Tavis? Maybe Traylor?

Until next week,

Jeremy Holloway

Red Devil Ready!