Decatur County Community High School
605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749
October 22, 2023 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)
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Decatur Community,
A few weeks ago the staff was trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid, a program that ultimately brings more awareness to the struggles and challenges that our youth face today, challenges that in all reality, parents of today didn't face.
When I was in high school, there was a new show that came out. It was a controversial cartoon that many parents were complaining about. I was in high school, so I was old enough to watch it, but most parents did not want their kids watching this show. That show was The Simpsons. Some feared that their kids would mimic the characters on the show and that they may use foul language like the young kid (Bart) would. Homer and Marge were a far cry from the iconic parents of the 50s, June and Ward Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver.
Why bring up The Simpsons? At least we really knew what our kids were watching, when they were watching it and where. We knew who they were being influenced by and who they were following.
I long for a time when it was so simple that I could look at a TV guide to see what my kids were watching and when, when every show that was on had a description and parents knew who and what their kids were following and being influenced by.
Those days are gone.
Shoutout to JH volleyball girls on their league championship. A week after the boys completed an undefeated season in JH football, the girls won the league title, also going undefeated in league play. Congratulations to the coaches and the girls on an amazing season that just adds to the excitement and expectation that they will take to high school in the future. Next week, we will get some comments from our JH athletes about their seasons. The girls were dominant in their championship run, not losing a single set.
Saint Francis 25-23 25-22
Atwood 25-17 25-17
Quinter 25-20 25-11
Greeley co 25-16 25-22
Shoutout to the HS volleyball team on their strong finish at Sub-State. The girls went in as the #7 seed and took down the #2 seeded Mankato before falling in a tough 3 set loss to #3 Stockton. As you watched this team play, you saw that they were not going to give up, and they fought through the very last point. It was a tough loss, but they never gave up on themselves or each other.
Shoutout to all of the students that traveled to Sub-State. Stockton is an hour and a half away, but we were represented well by students. It honestly seemed like we had more students in the stands than the host team during the final match.
Shoutout to each of the students that participated in the ACT or PreACT this past week. I monitored the freshmen during the PreACT, and I was impressed by the overall strong effort put forth by the students. I am always excited to see the results of this test, and students were able to get a taste of exactly what is expected of them.
Shoutout to Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Tally, and the vocal students on another strong Fall performance. The fine arts have been a strong and longstanding tradition here at DCHS, and they got the year off to a strong start.
Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences Information:
1. The timeframe is listed below:
Monday, October 23: 4:00-8:00 PM (Open House Style Conferences)
Wednesday, October 25: 4:00-7:30 PM
2. Teachers will be in the cafeteria, and parents will be able to come in to meet with individual teachers as they see fit.
3. Grades should be up to date. You should be able to look online through PowerSchool to check your student's progress before conferences.
4. Please reach out to your teachers if you have concerns about your child, and feel free to reach out to myself if you need any clarification about conferences.
Youth Mental Health First Aid
What is the course about? This is the description of the course as provided by High Plains.
The course teaches participants the risk factors and warning signs of a variety of mental health challenges common among adolescents, including anxiety, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, AD/HD, disruptive behavior disorders, and substance use disorder. Participants do not learn to diagnose, nor how to provide any therapy or counseling – rather, participants learn to support a youth developing signs and symptoms of a mental illness or in an emotional crisis by applying a core five-step action plan:
Assess for risk of suicide or harm
Listen nonjudgmentally
Give reassurance and information
Encourage appropriate professional help
Encourage self-help and other support strategies
Just a couple of facts shared from the course:
-1 in 5 youth will experience a mental health challenge at some point in their life.
-17.1 million youth under the age of 18 have or have had a psychiatric disorder – more than the number of children with cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined.
Lots of Activities Coming Up in the Next Few Weeks
Halloween Cleanup
Friday, November 3 will be the 99th annual Halloween Cleanup. Grades 5-12 will participate in helping rake leaves around the community between the hours of 5-7 PM. If you are interested in putting your name on the list, call the high school at 475-2231.
Veterans' Day Assembly
Friday, November 10th will be the Veteran's Day Assembly at DCHS. We will send out more information soon with specific details.
High School Musical
Mrs. Tally and her students have been working hard, and this year's musical, South Pacific, will have two showings:
Saturday, November 11 at 7:30
Sunday, November 12 at 2:00
Senior Citizens Thanksgiving Lunch
On Thursday, November 16th, we will have our first Senior Citizens Thanksgiving Lunch. This event will be open to any senior citizen. Doors will open at 10:30 with a small program in the cafeteria before lunch. Lunch will be served at 11:00. More details will be released later.
When I was last at a restaurant with my wife, I pointed out the amount of people, parents and kids, that were on their phones, present in body, absent in mind. Maybe that is just the way life is now.
Maybe, I am now my own grandfather talking about having no air conditioning or having to walk miles to school.
In a world with so many children being raised and/or babysat by Tiktok and Youtube, how I would love the simplicity and predictability of The Simpsons.
Until next week,
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
Twitter: @DCHSREDDEVILS