Red Devil Ready: Weekly Message

Week 32: Reality

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Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

April 7, 2024 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

Follow us on Twitter at @DCHSREDDEVILS or

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Oberlin294/

Decatur community,

Last week was full of reality, and this week will be no different.

This past week, Reality U. was here. Students got a dose of reality as to what it was like to try and survive a real life living experience just like an adult would.

Students had their Prom and had to face the reality of a real-world tough decision as to whether or not to have it indoors or out.

This week, reality is once again the norm, as State Assessments take center stage and remind teachers and students alike that there is a purpose to what they are learning, and, yes, accountablility is a reality.

Regardless, the reality is that it is an exciting time here at DCHS.

SHOUTOUTS

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Shoutout to all of our local community members that came out this past Tuesday for our Reality U event. There is no doubt that it could not have been done without the help of each and every one of them, and our 8th and 10th grade students, as well as our 8th and 10th grade guests from Atwood, were treated to a great real-world experience. The event included board members, local business men and women, former principals, USD 294 employees, and retirees. We will be doing this every year from now on, and I look forward to ways that we will make it even more meaningful and impactful.

Shoutout to our 8th and 10th students that participated in Reality U. As a principal, you love it when your students impress, and ours did the whole time. I should toss several 7th grade students into this shoutout as well, as they helped setup the event at the beginning. Our students made us proud.

Shoutout to senior Addie Mathews for for doing a great writeup for the event. I asked Addie last week if she would get some pictures and write an article. I will include that down below.

Shoutout to another group of teachers and local community members that showed up last Tuesday after school to judge for our home forensics' event. When you host, your team does not usually compete, so our students did not, but forensics takes an army of workers to make it happen. There were over 30 adults involved in making sure that everything ran smoothly, and I once again have to tip my hat to Mrs. Gina Witt. Her hospitality room was great, and the 5+ hour event was well organized.

Shoutout to the forensics team. Though they didn't compete at our home event, our students were able to compete this past Saturday, even with the pressure of getting home for Prom. Here are some key results:

Keely Huff: 3rd place in Serious, 5th place in Impromptu, and 4th place in IDA

Cheyanna Hale: 4th place in Impromptu and 4th place in IDA

Jaden Capuzzo: 2nd place in Duet Acting and IDA

Aidyn Witt: 2nd place in Duet Acting and IDA

Congratulations to seniors Jaden Capuzzo and Aidyn Witt who both qualifed for State Champs for their performances in Duet Acting and IDA. I believe this was Jaden's first competition.

Bonus shoutout to Jaden and Aidyn, as they were also named as the Prom King and Queen.

The forensics competitors will have one last opportunity to qualify for State Champs on Wednesday at Western Plains High School in Ransom.

Shoutout my DCHS staff for handling the constant shuffling of schedule and times due to tests, events, sports, shortenened schedules, and what seems like a million things, with class. As a principal, I love waking up every day to a staff that is both extremely supportive and flexible, a group that truly rolls with the punches to ensure that we are giving students as many opportunities as we can.

Shoutout to sophomore Theo Butterfield for his continued dominance in powerlifting. In this past week's event in Solomon, KS, Theo once again took first place overall in the 181 lb. weight class. Here are his results:

Overall: 1st

Squats: 1st with a 460 lb. squat

Clean: 4th with a 255 lb. clean

Bench: 2nd Place with a bench of 255 lb. bench.

Shoutout to the community one more time. The students took their final vote around 5:00 as to whether or not to have their Promendade downtown or to move it inside. The students voted to have the traditional outdoor Promenade, and the community did not disappoint. It's because of you and that traditional experience of walking the old brick roads that had so many of them wanting to experience it for themselves, regardless of the wind. Thank you for coming out, regardless of the wind.

Shoutout to the golf team. Here is a message from Coach Williams with some results:

We have results from our HS JV Golf from Coach Williams:

"The golf team did well yesterday. We had the best team score out of 12 teams. Individually: Josiah Pattangall 1st, Gage Williby 6th, Ryllie Lippelmann 9th, Jesse Hendrickson 14th, Caden Shaw 25th, and Guss Emigh 47th."

Shoutout to our mainteanance and kitchen staffs. The various events that took place this past week required a lot of extra cleaning, shifting of lunch schedules, and generally more chaos than the typical week. Again, it's great to have a group of people that are willing to do whatever it takes, even if the notice is short.

Shoutout to junior class sponsors Patti Hendrickson, Lisa Johnson, Brad Persinger, and Teresa Saul. Every year, it is the junior class that prepares Prom. There is a lot of extra time and stress placed on both the students and the sponsors, as everyone wants to get it just right. They all looked great come Saturday night, and, with a Prom that became even more stressful as weather became a constant factor, they pulled it off and handled it well. I know they will proudly pass the baton on to this year's sophomore sponsors that can be looking forward to Prom 2025.

Shoutout to anyone and everyone that came to Prom or was involved with it. I will apologize up front that I do not currently have any pictures, but we will be sure to get them up soon.

Things You Should Know

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Reality U Comes to Oberlin

Last Tuesday, our 8th and 10th grade classes participated in Reality U. I can only say that it exceeded my expectations.

Reality U. is a simulation experience where students make real life decisions and see the effects of insurance, having children, and how much easier it is when you have a job that allows for you to make those things more comfortable.

They took a survey a few weeks ago to ask them a variety of questions. They had to tell if they wanted to have kids, if they wanted to be married, and they had to choose a job. However, they also had to put in their current cumulative GPA. Based off of GPA, certain job choices were potentially eliminated from choosing. I even had Mrs. Springer go back and double check GPAs to make sure the accurate info. was put in. That did alter a few jobs students had.

We invited Atwood students to come to the event as well, and when they showed up for the experience, students from each school really didn't know what to expect. They were given a sheet that gave them the job they chose (if they put their GPA in correctly), a salary, and a credit score. Most then found out that they were paired with a spouse that they moved around with. The students had to go to 12 different stations, some more than once, to try and simulate a month and see what their life would look like.

The stations were all manned by local community members including Board members, small business owners, local banks, and more. Having the community come in and be a part of our school for the day was perfect.

The feedback that I received from both students, community members, and the Reality U. Coordinator was overwhelmingly positive.

A special thanks to Dr. Patrick Sehl. He does not use the Dr. title, but much of the success of Reality U. is due to the way that he is able to present it to the students. He shares his own story of struggles and overcoming, ultimately ending with him getting his Doctorate from Princeton. He was a below average high school student that had no plans to attend college, but through the guidance of certain teachers and counselors, he ended up going to a junior college to get started. His story provided hope and confidence to a large portion of our students.

Here is an article that was written by senior, Addie Mathews:

Students in 8th and 10th grades recently had the opportunity to participate in the Reality-U program. Reality-U is based out of Wichita, Kansas and it is directed by Patrick Sehl. Besides Oberlin, Sehl contributes to one hundred districts throughout the state. During these past seven or eight years, it has been a top priority for Reality-U to conduct a program for 8th-12th graders in rural Kansas.

Sehl says the program is brought to 8th graders especially because they learn that once you are in high school your G.P.A really matters. This program builds off of each student’s G.P.A. and shows how their G.P.A allows their opportunities to be opened or closed. For example, if a student wants to become a doctor, but has a 1.5 G.P.A, their focus and dedication to school will have to change in order for them to succeed. Knowing what their G.P.A is, the students then decide if they want to go to a tech school, four-year university or into the workforce. Students that get married at first think it is a little weird, but then realize that two incomes pay off more things than if they were single. Altogether, this program is extremely beneficial and eye opening to the young students.

This year we had the opportunity to invite Atwood students. Jeff Samson, the Principal at Atwood, mentioned that he did not have the chance to be part of this program as a student. “It’s absolutely an eye-opening experience that is valuable to every student.” He also noted, “Students that drop out or don’t care, go out into the world thinking that earning minimum wage is comfortable or enough to get by, but it is not.”

Atwood sophomore Emma Hagler rated her experience a nine out of ten. She learned so much information about adulthood, and one piece of information that stuck with her was that as an adult you have to give up more than intended. DCHS sophomore Keeley Huff mentioned that all students should be able to have this opportunity. “It is a good reminder for everyone to have because a lot of high school students think they have it all figured out.” DCHS 8th grader Bentley Sutherland said that he learned about how expensive necessities are. He rated his experience a nine out of ten, but sadly had higher expectations when going into Reality-U. He thought he would be making enough money to get by, but had three kids as a single father. He worked as a Financial Advisor who got paid $5,600, but over half of his paycheck went to his kids so it was more difficult than expected.

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8th Grade Student Ella Williby

Ella Williby got to experience just how difficult caring for a child can be, especially on expenses.

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Jess Carter and Denton Bailey

Carter and Bailey ran the Emergency Fund and Investments table

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Board President Zach May and Sarah Shaw

May and Shaw ran the Student Loans table.

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Megan Ketterl and Chris Hackney

Ketterl and Hackney ran the Utilities table

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Patrick Sehl Addresses the Students as He Tells His Story

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Atwood Students Hit the Floor

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Angie Williby, Rachel Roe, and Justin Williby

A. Williby and Roe ran the Housing table.

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Jolene Dempewolf and Iris Mastin

Our district secretaries ran the Child Care table

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Pat Dorshorst and Amanda Grafel

Dorshorst and Grafel ran the Clothes and Hair Table

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DCHS Once Again Hosts the Regional Solo/Small Ensemble Music Festival this Saturday

One of my favorite memories of last year was the traditional Regional Music Festival event that Oberlin has hosted for decades, an event that many people just think is our home event. This Music Fesitval is an oportunity for students to make it to State, and schools throughout our region, as well as KSHSAA, have been so impressed with our hosting of the event, we are asked every year to rehost. Below is this year's schedule for our own DCHS students' entries in both band and choir, each performance with a trip to State on the line:

Jack Holloway, bari sax solo 8:43am Library

Keely Huff, clarinet solo 8:50am Library

Kelsey Sheats, clarinet solo 9:19am Library

Weston Barnes, alto sax solo 9:26am Library

Cheyanna Hale, clarinet solo 9:33am Library

Oberlin clarinet quintet 9:40am Library

Michaela Wasson, flute solo 9:48am Library

DCHS Men’s Ensemble 10:15am Auditorium

Cameo Counter, trumpet solo 10:39am HS Gym

Theo Butterfield, horn solo 10:46am HS Gym

Kelsey Sheats, vocal solo 11:04am Band Room

Harley Barnes, vocal solo 11:11am Band Room

Weston Barnes, vocal solo 11:18am Band Room

DCHS Singers 11:42am Auditorium

Gage Williby, vocal solo 1:28pm Band Room

Annabelle Bird, vocal solo 2:10pm Band Room

Keely Huff, vocal solo 2:17pm Band Room

Devyn Stagemeyer, vocal solo 2:59pm Band Room

Michaela Wasson, vocal solo 3:20pm Band Room

Cameo Counter, vocal solo 3:32pm Auditorium

Addison Mathews, vocal solo 3:39pm Auditorium

Cheyanna Hale, vocal solo 3:55pm Band Room

Theo Butterfield, vocal solo 4:30pm Band Room

Allyson Simpson, vocal solo 4:37pm Band Room

Good luck!

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State Assessments This Week

State assessments started last Friday and will continue over the course of the next few weeks. Every year, students across the state take the Kansas State Assessments in the months of March and April.

7th and 8th grade students will be taking the ELA and Math assessments, the 8th grade with the test-trifecta of adding Science as well.

Sophomore students will be taking the English and Math State Assessments, and junior students will be taking the Science State Assessments.

High school students in the state of Kansas are tested only once throughout their high school careers in each of the core content areas. Scores are always compared to other schools throughout the state, and the shift is becoming more and more on the results.

Parents, take the time to talk to your students about giving their best effort on these tests. Individually, each student's scores are private and only seen by teachers, but collectively as a group, the scores are shared and there is a DCHS score that compares to every other district in our state.

Every question can make a difference. It is through assessments like these that educators can learn these things:

1. How well are we teaching the state curriculum?

2. What are we teaching well?

3. What are the areas that we need to improve?

4. What are the individual strengths and weaknesses of each student based off their personal scores?

All of these questions are important and keep us moving forward. However, they are only valuable if we truly believe that students gave their best effort.

Makeups will can be made up through the month of April.

Red Devil Ready

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How about the reality that it is really windy right now? Literally a portion of my fence is on the ground (no need to fix it until after this windstorm), and my trash cans are doing the April version of trick or treating at the various neighbors on the block (probably going to deal with those after this paragraph).

In all honesty, this week we will drop to less than a month of high school left for our seniors, a group that I only wish I could have had for longer, a spectacular and bittersweet reality.

Until next week,

Jeremy Holloway

Red Devil Ready!