Red Devil Ready:DCHS WeeKly Message

Week 17: The First "Breth" of a New Era

Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

December 8, 2024 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

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Decatur Community,

It was a busy week this past week with a lot of things going on at DCHS, but I have to begin with the beginning of "The Breth Era." When Coach Kyle Breth decided to take over as the head coach of the boys' basketball team last spring, I was excited, and l had been looking forward to seeing them play from the moment he said yes. This squad has talent, and this coach has the skillset to take them to the next level.

Coaches never hit the court, but they are the calm in the chaos, similar to a general on the battlefield, at least the best ones. A coach comes up with a plan and has the job of preparing for the opponent. A coach communicates with his players, provides them confidence, maintains focus, and has the ability to get the best out of his players both mentally and physically.

Coach Breth has great relationships with his players, is in the building with them every day, and has already set a culture of expectation.

The boys looked sharp on Friday in the building, walked around the building with focus, and they sat together as a team.

It was a great first "Breth" of a new era.

SHOUTOUTS

Shoutout to Jeff Burmaster, Director of Decatur County Emergency Management. This past Wednesday we had our live active shooter drill. It was not an easy undertaking. We had law enforcement at several levels, fire department, and emergency response units from multiple counties, along with over 40 volunteers. Though several agencies were involved, including the school, I really tip my hat to Burmaster and work that he did in contacting everyone involved and communicating with as many people as he could. The drill went well, and everyone involved was able to take away things that they could improve upon. We had a great debriefing afterwards where everyone discussed the drill. It was a positive experience.

Shoutout to each and every volunteer that was involved in this past week's drill. We had volunteers come in from as far as Hays for the day, and many of them were literally laying on the ground for multiple hours. I am extremely impressed with how many people signed up and with just how wide a range of community members that were involved. It could not have happened without them. Some volunteers were on site as early as 8:00 getting the vinyl wounds put on them. The scene that was created was truly a scene that no one would ever want to see, but it also gave our response teams as realistic an experience as possible to help be prepared for that worst-case scenario that we hope we will never need to face.

Shoutout to head basketball coach Kyle Breth. I spoke about boys' basketball in the beginning and will again at the end, but this is about him. There is something special about the storyline of a former player that grew up in his home town now leading the team he once played for, and he even plays at home against the town's biggest rival in his first game. As a former coach and AD, here are a few simple things I loved:

His team was focused and sat together before the game. They also looked the part, dressed as a unit ready to play.

At one point, you could see a player upset at a foul call, and Coach Breth immediately calmed him and didn't allow it to escalate.

When a player missed a tougher shot when an easier one was available, Coach Breth used that as a coaching moment to talk about it. I don't know what was said, but I have a pretty good idea about the gist.

It was a special night. I looked at the score table and there was Mrs. Breth, meaning "mom" Mrs. Breth. I looked over on the edge of the bleachers and there was Mrs. Breth, meaning "wife" Mrs. Breth. I looked at the corner of the court and there was Mr. Breth, meaning "dad" Mr. Breth, he with both of the young Breth boys, Bennet carrying a basketball around the court with grandpa at halftime and after the game.

Great teacher.

Great coach.

Great family man.

Great mentor for our boys.

There was nostalgia and fairytale in the air on Friday night, a magical first "Breth" to a new era of DCHS basketball.

Shoutout to AD and head girls' basketball coach Brandon Gehring. The girls lost their home opener on Friday, but after getting down early, the girls fought back and made it a great game. When Gehring is coaching, they are never out of it. You can see how much faith the girls have in him when they are playing. On Friday, as I was standing with the students during the game, one of the students made the comment, "I love watching Gehring coach." It was a young man that he had coached in football. Coach Gehring is very animated and vocal during the game. I love watching him coach too.

Shoutout to our STUCO and their sponsor Mrs. Springer. Last Sunday, the STUCO went and picked up real Christmas trees, each class decorating a tree of their choosing. All of the trees are on display in the courtyard. The students began decorating the trees this week. I will get some pictures of them for next week.

Shoutout to our district office for kicking off the holiday tree theme and posting their tree on the website.

Shoutout to our librarian Mrs. Lisa Fortin. Mrs. Fortin will do anything for you and is very flexible. Aside from giving up her library for our active shooter drill last Wednesday. Mrs. Fortin is always willing to take students in the library and cover the office when needed. I appreciate Mrs. Fortin and her positive attitude that she brings into the building each day.

Shoutout to our kitchen staff consisting of Tabetha Carfield, Renee Harman, Megan Loehoefener, and Vicki Versailles. What I love about these ladies is that they always take their jobs seriously, and they always have a smile on their face when I come in to see them in the morning or at lunch. I appreciate their flexiblity with lunch schedules on our Early Release days or their adapation when students leave early for events. The whole crew has been together for almost 2 years now, and they run that kitchen like a well-oiled machine.

Shoutout to our HS Wrestlers

This past week, our wrestling teams kicked off their seasons. The girls were at Southwest, and the boys were at Hoxie. We had 5 top 4 finishers.

Hoxie Invite:

Bentley Sutherland- 4th

Kaden Sowers- 4th

Josiah Pattangall- 3rd

Sage Bryan- 4th

Southwest:

Kyra Sowers - 2nd

Shoutout to the Oberlin-Decatur Co. Economic Development Corp

Business/Spanish teacher Tamera Rice became the second teacher in as many years to take advantage of the Decatur County Hiring Incentive. I stopped by her classes for a bit this past week and saw students making tortilla soup and red velvet cupcakes as they get into the making product portion of the classes.

Thank you to the ODCEDC for supporting our local hires. Here are the requirements for the grant:

Decatur County Hiring Incentive Requirements:

*Must not already reside in Decatur County but must move into Decatur County within 90 days of hire date

*Must be a critical needs job (some examples include: Doctors, Dentist, EMT/EMS, Teachers, CNA's, Rn's, Law enforcement, Social Workers, etc), or be a remote worker

*Must make at least $15.50/ hour or $33,000/annually

Shoutout to Thomas Watson and the Marines

Thomas Watson stopped by to inform our students about the opportunities that the marines may be able to offer them. Students had fun attempting pullups. Any student that got 20 pullups received a t-shirt. There were a few.

Things You Should Know

Early Release Day on Friday, December 20

On Friday, December 20, USD 294 will have an Early Release at 11:00. Lunch will not be served that day, and students will report to their Homeroom at the beginning of the day.

It should be a fun way to end the semester, and later that night, we will actually host basketball games.

11:00 - Friday, December 20th