While there is a lot to chew on this week in this edition of the Strike, I wanted to talk about this upcoming First Friday event. We are hosting a student led public forum for school board candidates. In the past month, our students have been getting a lot of information about elections and how government works. The problem with most of this information is that the concept of voting and government is a far off idea to most students. They think about the president and congress, they think very little about how much a vote can help to shape things right here. This got the social studies department thinking that it would be a great opportunity for students to get a chance to experience this and take some action. With that an idea was formed.

With the upcoming election, we have four school board seats up for election (See Below for Sheri's post on the election). We then posed to the students what they would want to ask a potential board member. The students then took it from there. They have worked with their houses to talk about what is important to them and come up with questions they would like to ask the candidates directly. We then asked all candidates to attend an event at the school so we can discuss what is important to the students. This Friday, the candidates will be in the gym to talk through these questions with the students. It will be held from 12:40-2:00 pm in the High School gym. Students will be leading the forum and moderating the discussion. This will be a mix of house leadership and student council liaisons (Madison Lawson, Anna Schierling, and James bottom). The public is invited to attend, but I want everyone to know that this is a student driven function and we want their voices to be what is herd. This is a great way for students to engage with potential candidates in a meaningful way and hopefully go home and have meaningful discussions with their families before the election the following Tuesday.

I love it when ideas hatch and students take it from there.

Keep on making a difference.

Derek E. Smith

https://www.citylinktv.com/channel/cobra

Possibly the best news I have to put out this week is that I have officially confirmed that the Cobra Channel will be airing Friday night's Regional Football game agains St. Marys. We were worried that we wouldn't be able to do it, but we now have confirmation that the Cobra Channel will have you covered.

School board members play a vital role in our community overseeing the budgets, policies and decisions that directly affect the education of our students attending Jackson Heights’ schools. By participating in the general election on November 7, 2023 you will be selecting the representatives to make those decisions on your behalf. So mark your calendars and vote on Election Day.

The following positions will be up for election:

Position 1 Incumbent: Dr. Allen

Position 2 Incumbent: Vacant

Challengers: Callie Kirk

Wendie Edwards

Position 3 Incumbent: Neal Keeler

Challengers: Jordan Smith

Corey Thomas

Position 7 Incumbent: Vacant

Challengers: Jacob Wareham

Michelle Schierling

Term of office begins the second Monday in January (2024) following the election for a term of four years. Position 1 is west of J Rd, Position 2 is south of 286th Rd from J Rd to the east boundary and

Position 3 is north of 286th Rd from the M Rd to the east boundary. Position 7 is an at-large position that can live in any area within USD 335 District.

-Sheri Dibbern,

Board Clerk

The fall play is gearing up and it is getting exciting around the stage. I have always had a special place in my heart for theater and putting together plays at schools. It's a great avenue to showcase students talents in a different way. I am very excited that we have brought back the drama program here and I can't wait to see the show. Two nights only. Saturday Nov 11 at 7:00 pm and Sunday Nov 12 at 3:00 pm

Monday:

Reality U Event: All 8th and 10th Grade students in the Afternoon

Tuesday: Halloween

Trunk of Treat @ Elementary School 2-3 pm

Wednesday:

Turning the Tables: Change is Student Led: A special presentation by Joh Calvert pm, special zoom session for parents at 6:00 pm

FFA National Convention

Thursday:

MS Girls Basketball Vs. P. Ridge @ Home 4:30 pm

HS Scholars Bowl @ Horton 4:00 pm

FFA National Convention

Friday:

First Friday Event: Public Forum for School Board Candidates 12:30-2:00 pm

HS Football Regionals@ St. Marys 7:00 pm

Saturday:

Haunted Trail 7:30

This past week was Red Ribbon Week which means another participation prize for house games. Once again the Snake Kingz held off Triple G in best spirit week participation.

However, in student led conferences, Triple G went above and beyond to take the top prize there.

This week, i will be tallying the Pride tags that went up.

Next month is Kindness month. If students complete a random act of kindness they will get major points bonus. We aren't talking points for things you should do already, but something special things. Your house leaders will talk to you about this during house day this week.

The top performers per house this week were:

Triple G: Titan Eisenbarth Helped the PTO deliver boxes of rolls during the roadhouse roll sale

Snake Kingz: Jackson Jager After he finished his timed mile in PE, he went back to run with another student.

Gold Rush: Sabrina Streeter Helped clean up after the pep rally and helped other students get ready for the fall festival

Corn Fed Cobras: Gage Edwards For being encouraging to others in PE when they were having a hard time in baseball

Now there is a throwback. Here is me and my two brother about to go trick or treating way back when. I am the happy little clown. My mom made my costume back then. And oddly enough, she still makes my costumes.

Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind.

Email: derek.smith@jhcobras.net
Website: jhcobras.net
Location: 12692 266th Rd Holton, KS 66436
Phone: (785)248-4386
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jackson.Heights.USD335