Decatur County Community High School
605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749
March 9, 2025 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)
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Decatur community,
I hope everyone remembered to set their clocks ahead today as we headed into Daylight Saving's Time or "Daylight Time" as it sometimes called and even "Summer Time" as it is referred to in England. Hopefully you remembered the old saying "Spring Ahead" in the spring and "Fall Behind" in the fall.
The old history teacher must come out again when it comes to Daylight Saving's Time, as there are a lot of old stories of why it was created. Here are a few interesting facts.
Though Benjamin Franklin did suggest that the French could save costs on candles in the 1700s if they adjusted their waking times to the sunlight, there was never any intent to change clocks, contrary to popular belief.
Though Daylight Saving's is a Federal mandate, it's one of those Federal Laws that states can opt out of if they make their own law. Two states, Hawaii and Arizona, do not recognize Daylight Saving's Time and have State laws in place.
In the U.S. Daylight Saving's was first used during WW I and again during WWII, with the goal of saving fuel and extending the work day, The process ended shortly after the end of both wars. Don't ask me why people can't just adjust their times and start work earlier on certain day, or later, or whatever, but it was originally intended as a time change for wartime.
In 1966, Daylight's Saving's was established throughout the country with the Uniform Time Act, and we have never looked back.
For me, Daylight Saving's feels like summer (hence being called "Summer Time" in England), and it fills me with memories of youth and long evenings doing what kids used to do when I was a kid, ride bikes, play outdoor games, and going inside when either your mom yelled to come inside or the sun went down. No phones to text us, just loud mom voices ringing throughout the Arkansas woods from their various front or back porches.
Though it is something that is as consistent and regular here in the U.S. today as celebrating the 4th of July (interestingly enough the extended daylight only prolongs the finale of fireworks), only about 1 in 3 countries actually observe Daylight Saving's Time.
Shoutout to each and every student that participated in the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge this past Wednesday and to each of the four teachers that encouraged their students to participate. I mentioned the event last week, and it really didn't disappoint with students ranging from grade 8 to grade 12 participating. The students had to come up with their own Business Plan and present it to judges in individual interviews. The whole school was given the opportunity to come by the various booths and see what the students had done. It was a great experience, and I will share more below.
Shoutout to all of the students that participated in this past weekend's powerlifting competition in WaKeeney. Defending State Champ Theo Butterfield pictured, cruised to first place this weekend in the 181 lb. division. With a bench press of 290 lb., a clean of 275 lb. and a squat of 505 lb. Theo finished with 1070lb. lifted, over 200 lbs. ahead of the nearest competitor. Butterfield and fellow junior Dillon Kuhlman Got personal records on each event. Junior Valentina Rodriguez took 4th overall for in the girls competition. Congrats to each and every competitor.
Shoutout to 7th grade science teacher Ladd Wendelin and 7th grade ELA teacher Libby Fort. This past Friday, they coordinated with Sunflower Recreation to take our students bowling. The students had been studying motion and had science back to back in the afternoon during the same time as ELA. It's a great way to connect the real world with the classroom both have a good time and use a community resource at the same time.
Shoutout to ELA teacher Libby Fort again. Her sophomore students red Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream this year. Tomorrow, the students will be traveling to see the play live. As mentioned in the above shoutout, it's another way to bring the learning to life. Midsummer Night's Dream was written as a play, and hopefully our students will appreciate the live performance.
Shoutout to multiple wresters for getting All-State Wrestling Recognition. Senior Garrett Emigh finished his career with Second Team recognitions. Junior Sage Bryan and sophomores Josiah Pattangall and Kaden Sowers all received Honorable Mention. Congrats, boys.
Shoutout to Choir teacher and elementary music teacher Jenny Tally and her 6th grade students for their outstanding performance in the 6th grade musical. I was able to pop my head in a few times, and I was thoroughly impressed by the students and the efforts that they were putting in. I heard over and over how great a job they did.
Shoutout to Art teacher Anthony Marshall. Mr. Marshall has a high standard for learning while also offering up the opportunity for students to find their art style. This past Friday, Mr. Marshall took several students to Meow Wolf in Denver, Colorado. Meow Wolf is described as an immersive art adventure, and I know students were excited for the opportunity.
Shoutout to all of my teachers and an amazing day of being together this past Wednesday during Early Release. On Wednesday, we traveled the building and sat down in each teacher's classrooms. We see each other every day but so rarely ever see our fellow teachers in their own environment. I tasked each teacher with going through their routines, talking about their styles, asking us some questions from their content as if we were students, and sharing a positive memory from this year. I could write a giant paragraph on each room, but here are a few samples that stood out:
1. When we were in Mr. Gehring's upstairs classroom, I overheard one of the teachers comment on how they had never been in this part of the building.
2. I liked how Mrs. Scott was blowing minds with her math problems that were so simple to her.
3. I liked how Mrs. Anderson's hand went up as soon as she Mrs. Scott's problem. It was also great to see Mrs. Anderson talk about her bell work that is always waiting when students come in.
4. I like how Mr. Hardwick plays a song when students walk into health, one they picked and have to stick with for the whole semester. I bet they never forget it.
5. I like how Mrs. Marcuson passed out a strip of paper to each of us, but each problem was in a foreign language. She wanted everyone to understand how difficult it is for her students to come to a new country and sit in a classroom where they don't initially speak the language.
Those were just a few things, and several teachers commented on how it was a great experience.
Shoutout to Coach Anderson and the JH 7th grade Scholars Bowl Team. This past Thursday, we hosted the NWKL JH league Scholars Bowl Tournament, and our 7th grade students went undefeated (5-0) in route to a League Championship. The team consisted of Aurora Allen, Gemma Louderback, Graham Spivey, Hailee Williby, and Tessa Witt. It was a tough fought tournament in which they beat Dighton (4-1) in a close matchup along the way to win the title. According to the awards hanging in the JH hallway, it is the first time since 2002 that we won a 7th grade League Title. That same group won 8th grade in 2003, the last time for 8th grade. If you were a graduate and member of the DCHS class of 2007, hat's off to a group that must have been sharp.
Winners of the YEC Competition
Left to Right were various winners of the YEC Competition.
Kelsi Weigel, Elsie Larson, Madison Urban, Quinn Ketterl, Devyn Stagemeyer, Myleigh Hayes
Sophomore Devyn Stagemeyer Qualifies for State with her Win
First place in the competition went to Devyn Stagemeyer. Devyn's Candle Bug Factory impressed the crowd and the judges as she also took away the People's Choice Award. Devyn's candles are crafted to look like things like a root beer float or strawberry sundae. They don't start to smell until the candles start to burn. Devyn got the idea from her grandma's hobby and is hoping to take it to the next level. Congrats, Devyn.
Devyn will now move on to the State competition in Manhattan in April.
Attendance Letters
As we near the halfway point of the second semester, I want to reiterate the importance of attendance and the laws that are mandated by the State.
The state of Kansas requires each school district to have an Attendance Policy as part of a school's rating and accreditation.
Below is a an email that you will receive if your student's attendance becomes a concern. For some, it is simply a notification, and you are very aware, but these will be sent bi-weekly to all parents of students that are on pace to miss too many days, affecting the district's "Chronic Absenteeism" on the annual report.
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 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
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions on how the attendance policy works.
That's it for this week. It is a quiet week here in the building, as there is not a single activity or event that our students will be participating in.
When we get back, along comes the homestretch and the frantic spring filled with Prom, music events, track meets (Yea, our new track in action!), golf, and our inaugural baseball game.
Enjoy the quiet week and your upcoming spring break.
It's spring!
It's time to "spring" the clocks ahead!
It's time to "spring" into spring break!
Jeremy Holloway
Go Big Red!
Decatur County Community Junior/Senior High School
Email: jholloway@usd294.org
Website: https://www.usd294.org/vnews/display.v/SEC/DCHS
Location: 605 East Commercial Street, Oberlin, KS, USA
Phone: 785-475-2231
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Decatur-Community-JrSr-High/372347636275932
Twitter: @DCHSREDDEVILS