Go Big Red: DCHS Weekly Message

Week 22: 5 Day Week?

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Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

January 22, 2023 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

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Decatur community,

Not one, but two Snow Days. On top of that, a Martin Luther King Day off, and the students saw just two days of school this week and the teachers 3 (if you can include Inservice). If this were what a traditional school week looked like, we would probably start to see a lot more people working their way into education.

No doubt it was a short week, and I will keep the message short, but it was still very productive, a week filled with great progress for both our present and future.

Weeks like last week are the kinds you always remember, but it's time to move forward and get back to a good old fashioned 5 day week.

SHOUTOUTS

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Shoutout to band teacher Brad Persinger and his students for their participation in the K-State Band Clinic. Click on the included picture to see what all the clinic entailed. These are great experiences, and Mr. Persinger and his students saw some fortune in the weather as he got out of town before and returned after the mess.

Shoutout to a a great Inservice Day for our teachers and a wealth of experiences. I have been asked several times over the past several years, "What exactly do teachers do on an Inservice Day?" This past week, teachers participated in a Case Study through Project EVERS, saw a preview of a new evaluation tool, and participated in Greenbush University. Here are just a few titles of the topics covered that teachers got to choose from: "What Is Discalculia, and How Does It Impact Our Math Instruction," "Fluency, More Than Just Speed," and "Building Background Knowledge." Hopefully the staff can agree that they found something useful throughout the day.

Shoutout to Ms. Libby Fort for her interest and follow through with the D.C. Trip. I have some updated info. below, but Ms. Fort has been great in her communication and willingness to answer questions. It definitely appears as if this trip is going to happen.

Shoutout to AD Brandon Gehring and the NWKL administrators. Weather complicates activities, but through countless hours of discussions and texts, the League was able to get through most of their basketball tournament, and the final matches will resume with a rescheduled date of Monday, 1-30. There is no update as of now as to when the League Scholars' Bowl meet will take place.

Shoutout to senior basketball player Breyana Gehring. A recent article on sportslinks.com that was titled, Basketball in Kansas: Midseason Notables for Girls’ Defensive Player of the Year, mentioned Breyana as one of the players to watch. Anyone who has ever watched Breyana play knows what a menace she is to anyone trying to bring the ball down the court. She has tremendous reach and range on the court, and it is awesome that there are those out there that recognize it. Congrats, Breyana.

Things You Should Know

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Washington D.C. Trip Interest High

Last Thursday, there was a Zoom meeting held to give out information, answer questions, and offer an Early Bird Special to those interested in participating in the Washington D.C. Trip in the summer of 2024. This trip is designed for any student that is currently in 7th -11th grade.

After checking with Ms. Fort, I was very pleased with the turnout, as over 20 people had already signed up.

If you are still interested in possibly signing up, there is still time. Please reach out to Ms. Libby Fort. She will be a sponsor on the trip and has done the large majority of the communicating.

efort@usd294.org

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ACT Power Prep with Carolyn Devane

ACT Power Prep is coming to Oberlin on Friday, February 18th from 8-12:30. I am very honored to have Carolyn Devane come out to Oberlin to offer this service to our students. Students that have participated in grades 9-12 have given great feedback. Power Prep teaches students how to take the test. Students who have taken Power Prep have shown to score higher on their ACT by 3 points on average. It’s not magic, and students do have to pay attention to what is being discussed, but for those that are truly focused, it is a great tool. Here’s the website for Power Prep if you would like to look it up for more info.

Several of our juniors are taking this test onsite in early March, and we are fortunate enough to be able to pay for each of those students to take the Power Prep course.

Any student at the freshman or sophomore level that would like to take the Power Prep course can also sign up, but they will have to pay the fee.

Here's a bit more information:

This class is designed for any student who wants practical and relevant information on how to increase their ACT score. Taught by Carolyn Devane, who has taught over 45,000 Kansas students, this course helps prepare students for what to expect on the ACT and provides resources, insight, and strategies for improving performance.

The cost of the test:
Sale Price: $55 (If registered by 11/11/21)
Regular Price: $65
To Register go to: http://actprep.info/decatur

If you have any questions, call Mr. Holloway at the high school.

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Attendance Check

Due to the short week this past week, I did not send out an attendance check. I will send these e-mails out tomorrow, Monday the 23rd. Anyone who has 2 or more absences of any kind without a doctor's note will get the letter below as an update or reminder.

Hello,

You are receiving this email due to the fact that your student has missed several days of school and has exceeded or is on pace to exceed their maximum allowable parent-excused absences this semester. If you have doctor’s notes that you can provide for prior absences, please have them sent over to the high school so that we can update your records.

Here is the current policy:

Doctor’s Excused Absences: These absences do not count against your attendance total. The school reserves the right to verify these absences if there become too many. These absences are strictly related to illness and or injury. For the most part, these do not factor into the equation.
Excused Absences: These are absences that a parent can call in. You may not need to see a doctor every time you don’t feel well. These can be used at any time. Students are allowed 6 absences per semester without a doctor’s note. When they hit the 7th call in, it is unexcused without a doctor’s note.
Unexcused absences: Absences that are unaccounted for or are over the 6 excused days and no doctor’s note is provided.

School policy states that unexcused absences result in the following:

1. Loss of SDL free time for the remainder of the semester

2. Potential ISS for repeated offenses

3. Truancy letter turned into the Decatur County Attorney if meeting the criteria below:

State Law says that truancy kicks in when there are one of the following:

3 unexcused absences in a row
5 unexcused absences in a semester
7 unexcused absences in a school year

Your student's current attendance: ______

Excused Absences without a doctor’s note: _______ (6 max per semester)

Unexcused Absences: _____

If you have any questions or further information, please feel free to reach out to us at 785-475-2231.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Holloway

GO BIG RED

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Well, I saw several students out this weekend shoveling driveways, their own and others'. This week looks cold, but it appears we may be back to the full 5 days of school kind of week that we haven't had much of over the past few months, and hopefully those same students can revert back into the routine of school once again.

It shouldn't take long. Two home basketball games, home JH wrestling, and multiple other activities on the menu is just what we need to get school back to feeling like school and 5 day weeks feeling like the norm.

Until next Week,

Jeremy Holloway

Go Big Red!