High School Principal
The month of January is quickly coming to a close. For students, teachers, staff, and administration, generally January is the toughest month. You would think coming off a nice break that the month would fly by, but it's the month that just keeps on going on.
I feel that the number of activities, combined with cold/crappy weather, and that it's dark by 5:00, definitely has an effect on everyone's approach to school. Throw in the sickness we have going through school right now, and that makes for an extra, long month. I commend everyone for fighting through it.
February has some of the same issues as January, but the days are longer, and the activities start to slow down a little. February is the month we have the most snow. As I've written in previous newsletters, the hardest thing to decide as an administrator is to close school. late start, or we can make it for the day. On those snowy type of forecast days, Mr. Ferguson and I will get up at 4:00 am and drive around to see what kind of roads we will be battling for the day. I can tell you that it is a tough decision to make. I've been a part of the decision to not have school and nothing happens. I've been a part of the decision to have school and by 1:00 you are dismissing school because of a blizzard. I've been the only school in the area that has let out for the day, I've been the only school that's been in session and everyone else in the area was out. I know as patrons of the district; our decisions will frustrate you at times. Keep in mind, our first priority is getting everyone here safely. We also want to be financially responsible.
As we finish up January and head into February, the reality of our seniors graduating in 3 months really starts to hit home. I know the seniors are excited to graduate, but I also know that they will start to feel that anxious feeling that they are done with this chapter of their lives and the next chapter can be pretty scary. The next few months will contain many "last times" for them. Some of those "last times" will include memories that will be with these kids for a lifetime.
Wallace FFA
Hello friends of the FFA, December and January were extra busy, and the FFA has been hard at work preparing for all the fun 2nd semester looks to bring. There has been some excitement in the Ag room, as our new fish habitat has arrived. The tank set up has started and members are looking forward to purchasing fish. The goal of this project is to raise several types of fish and create our own small fish farm. This project would not be possible without the NIFA Grant!
This semester the Ag room has an extra teacher. Mrs. Stephans comes from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln to student teach in Wallace! We look forward to all the amazing things she will teach us, and all the fun we will have with her in the classroom.
On December 13th, our annual CDE fair was held. Freshman and 8th grade students were able to go around to different booths, run by upperclassmen, featuring the different CDE competitions. These booths had hands-on activities as well as knowledge games to help show the underclassmen what each CDE might entail. We are so happy to be able to put this event on again this year and look forward to continuing it in the future.
Students in the Senior class have been hard at work preparing for the first steps in receiving their State FFA Degree. On January 15th the applications from our chapter were reviewed at the District Preliminary Review. Then on the 22nd, Interviews took place for the eligible recipients. Getting a state degree is a lot of work and we are so proud of the dedication our members have shown to work to receive this degree.
On January 29th, the first round of District CDE’s took place. Members traveled to North Platte to compete for a spot in the State FFA Competitions. Some of the first-round competitions include food science, vet science, Agriscience, and Ag Mechanics!
On February 12th, the second round of District CDE’s will take place. Competing members will travel to North Platte again. Some of the competitions that will take place are Ag Sales, Livestock Judging, Floriculture, Nursery and Landscape, as well as three different welding competitions!
On February 24th, the ag room will have a special visitor! One of the state FFA officers will come and talk to us about the importance of FFA, Agriculture, and Leadership. We always have fun and learn lots during these visits and look forward to this visit.
Wallace FFA Reporter,
Mallory McConnell
