Red Devil Ready: Weekly Message

Week 28: Power Crowd, Power Lifters, and Power Prep

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Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

March 3, 2024 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

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Decatur community,

Though the outcome was not what we were wanting, the past week in the DCHS gymnasium filled me with nostalgia, but there was something oh so special and unique that I had not really been a part of it until now.

Nostalgic in the sense that as a 6A high school graduate and a 4A teacher, coach, AD, and principal for over 25 years, the gym was filled with the sounds of cheering communities and loud student sections. To me, that's what basketball is all about, and it was a lot of fun. Special and unique in the sense that I have never really felt that in a small town until this last week.

As a kid, one of the coolest memories that I have was going to the movie theater with my grandfather. He ran The Crest theater in Wichita, and we got to watch the movies before they ever came out. I saw tons of movies with writers from the Wichita Eagle that were there to write reviews. My favorite movie that I ever got to see before it came out was Hoosiers, a movie about small town basketball that got more and more exciting as the small town team from Hickory Indiana moved their way through the tournament.

When I first came to Oberlin and toured the building, the JH gym looked exactly like a gym from Hoosiers, and though the tournament was not held in there, the small town communities that traveled to watch their teams play, and the emotion of every fan knowing every kid on their hometown team was awesome. It's a little different when the name of your school is a direction. Mine was Northwest.

The Crest was torn down in 1997, the last movie that ever played there was Look Who's Talking with John Travolta, a far cry from a classic like Hoosiers, but all of the great memories will remain forever. This past week, the communities of Atwood, Quinter, and St. Francis, brought their communities to our gym, and the real-life Hoosiers played out. Aside from the outcome, it was everything I hoped it would be, special and unique.

SHOUTOUTS

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Shoutout to a junior class that gave it their all during the ACT WorkKeys test this past Wednesday. The WorkKeys test is composed of 3 55 minute tests that cover Workplace Documents, Applied Math, and Graphic Literacy. This group worked very hard, and almost every minute was used on the clock.

Shoutout to counselor Jillian Springer. This past week the State of Kansas released numbers on percentages of high school seniors that had completed their FAFSA information per school. At the top of that list? DCHS. Our seniors are in a great place right now.

Shoutout to a community that showed up. I mentioned it in the intro, but it is worth repeating that the town showed up to watch our teams this past week. The stands were packed, and there was actual difficulty at times for people to find seats. It was a great experience for all.

Shoutout to Head of Maintenance Jess Allen. There may have been no one that put in more hours than Jess the past few weeks. Jess was one of the first in the building each morning, and he was one of the last to leave each night after the games. He was there on Saturday as well. Jess also got right in there with the student section each night. It's great to have him on staff and see how much he loves his job.

Shoutout to our Lion's Club members. These ladies and gentlemen are there for us at almost every single basketball game, manning their positions as ticket takers and/or the guards at the door. Their consistency in showing up and doing a great job is both noticeable and appreciated.

Shoutout to FFA sponsor Jason Ketterl and his FFA students for running the concession stands for the tournament. It's a big time commitment, but there he was with his students for the whole thing. They did a great job. I hope they made a lot of money for their group.

Shoutout to science teacher Jhony Azada. Aside from taking tickets at the basketball games, Mr. Azada began implementing a new science program this past week called IXL. I am consistently impressed with Mr. Azada's desire to improve as a teacher and provide experiences that will help his students improve.

Shoutout to our JH band and choir student on their performance in Colby this past week. Here are some key results:

Band II

Kiaya Waterman I Flute Solo

Job Kleiwer I Snare Drum Solo

Woodwind Ensemble I (Serenity Ozaeta, Arely Mandujano Aguilar, Kiaya Waterman, Makayla Marshall)

Percussion Ensemble I (Job Kleiwer, Trenton Wahlmeier, Quinn Ketterl, Kira Burmaster, D’ashia Warren, Sarah Wright, Shaylynn Diaz)

Choir II

Job Kleiwer Vocal Solo I

Gracie Lango Vocal Solo I

Megan Geihsler Vocal Solo II

Quinn Ketterl Vocal Solo II

Taitum Roach Vocal Solo II

Kennedy Chambers Vocal Solo I

Shaylynn Diaz Vocal Solo I

Piano

Shaylynn Diaz I (piano)

Megan Geihsler II (piano)

Shoutout to sophomores Theo Butterfield and Dillon Kuhlman. This past weekend, both boys traveled to a powerlifting competition in Wakeeny, both performing very well. Here are the results:

Theo Butterfield 181 lb. Division

Overall: Champion

Squat: Champion

Bench: 2nd

Clean: 4th

Dillon Kuhlman 140 lb. Division

Overall: 3rd

Squat: 4th

Bench: 2nd

Clean: 3rd

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Kuhlman on the Bench

Kuhlman's best event was on the bench where he took second with a bench press of 160 lb.

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Butterfield Squatting

With of 430 lb., Butterfield took first in the event on his way to being crowned overall champion.

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Butterfield and Kuhlman

Butterfield is the 181 lb. champ.

Kuhlman takes 3rd at 140 lb.

Things You Should Know

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ACT Power Prep with Carolyn Devane

ACT Power Prep is coming to Oberlin on Wednesday, March 6 from 8-12:30. I am very honored to have Carolyn Devane come out to Oberlin for a second year in a row 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 will be taking the ACT onsite later in March, and we are fortunate enough to be able to pay for each of those students to take the course.

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.

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teen Mental Health First Aid

After spring break, our sophomore students will be trained in teen Mental Health First Aid or (tMHFA). This is through a grant working with High Plains Mental Health Center. We chose sophomores as we hope to continue the program in the future if we like the results, and it is the earliest age they offer it. As part of the grant, the staff was trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) back in October.

Here is a brief description of tMHFA: teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) teaches teens in grades 10-12, or ages 15-18, how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among their friends and peers.

There is a parent meeting for sophomore parents tomorrow night in the DCHS library. Parents were each sent an email to the email on file with the school and students were given a letter to take home.

Red Devil Ready

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That's going to do it. It's hard to believe that the next time I write will be the back half of March. Whether it's a fancy trip, traveling to see relatives, or just staying home, enjoy your Spring Break!

Jeremy Holloway

Red Devil Ready!