Cobra Strike

Yet again there was another great week at Jackson Heights. This week also saw a lot of our fall sports ramp up to 100% engaged. Cross Country had their first meet, Football and Volleyball(both varsity and JV) had a great week with wins, and junior high had some hard fought battles this week against Oskaloosa Thursday night. Aside from sports, we completed MAP testing in the building this week so we will get to dive into that date in the upcoming weeks to help guide our students moving forward.

A major highlight this week was the middle school pep rally. You can check out how much fun they had here

https://fb.watch/ftTJPP_-Pc/

Now that I got my feet wet over the first month at the school, I will slowly start to make course adjustments in the upcoming weeks that will help our school be more successful. We will discuss a few of our early adjustments below.

I have a lot of shout outs to get to so let's get to it.

Let's go make a difference.

Derek E. Smith

A minor, and easy, fix we need to address is parking lot safety. Students need to make sure they are parking inside a marked spot when coming to school. These lines were painted with safety in mind. Buses, as well as emergency vehicles, need to be able to safely navigate the parking lot and if students are not parked inside of marked parking spots, these vehicles can not safely navigate the lot. Please ensure that when you park in the mornings, that you are contained within marked spots, not just on the edge of the lines.

The cross country team had their first meet Thursday night at Holton and had some great outings. You can check the full results from the file attached below. The major point I want to highlight here is the amazing family environment that Coach Keehn and Lierz have created for this team. They lead with positivity and encouragement. Every step of the way at the meet, the coaches were criss crossing the course to make a point of encouraging their runners. Furthermore, away from the course, the coaches are checking up on their runners and making sure they are doing alright. I didn't see any other coach moving around half as much as our two coaches did. And I promise no other coach was checking on their runners the next day the way these two coaches did. If anyone is thinking they want an organization within the school where they feel like part of a team and a family, Cross Country might be the answer for you.

A major hightlight of this meet came in the form of Jackson Holliday. He has been working hard during the preseason to get himself ready for this event. With the help of Anna Schierling, and an incredibly strong support system (his parents, Mr. Alley the AD, his coaches, and the team itself), he was able to run his very first Junior Varsity away event. The entire team was lined up at the finish line to cheer on Jackson.

Mr. Lierz's Ag classes are hard at work improving our school. They came to the administration with an idea to build two new sidewalks that will improve the area for the community. They designed a sidewalk for the front of the school that makes a more efficient path to the gazebo for seniors to eat lunch. They also figured out a better route of travel for students to make it to the bus through the back of the school. They designed the routes and calculated the amount of concrete they will need to get the job done as well as being the front line of construction. There is nothing quite like learning via hands on experience. Great job Mr. Lierz and the Ag students.

During the school day, the single point of entry and exit from the building is the front doors by the office. This is to help with accountability to keep students safe. This way we are able to keep track of our students throughout the day. All other doors during the school day are for emergency exits only unless you are being escorted by a staff member. Please do not prop open doors to enter and exit the building, these are often forgotten about and the door is left open.

If we work together with this simple change, we will be able to maintain a safe learning environment moving forward.

Kindness awards are given out weekly. Teachers nominate students who have gone above and beyond to do something kind for someone else.

This week's recipients of the kindness awards go to:

Natalia Keo

Devin Mock- twice

Jude Williams- twice

Michaela Hutfles

Mrs. McKenzie

Timothy Schreiber

Nicole Amon

Emma Newberry

Jace Robinson

Rebekah Hutfles

Kade Holliday

Ashanti Montgomery

Abigail Wellman

Julian Butto

Monday:

MS CC @ home 4:00 pm

MS VB Tri @ Valley Falls 4:30 pm

JV FB Vs. Maur Hill @ Home 6:30 pm

Board Meeting @ 7:00 pm

Tuesday:

V/JV Volleyball Tri @ Horton 5:00 pm

Wednesday:

FFA Greenhand Conference @ Silver Lake

Thursday:

Cross Country @ Onaga 4:00 pm

MS VB Vs. Valley Falls@ Home 4:30 pm

MS FB Vs. Valley Falls @ Home 6:30 pm

Friday:

Jostens Class Rings & Graduation: 2:00 pm

HS Varsity Football Vs. P-Ridge @ Home 7:00 pm

Saturday:

MS Volleyball Tournament @ Perry-Lecompton 8:00 am

During the Home Volleyball game, a bunch of students that don't go to our school left a mess of trash on the stage. I asked the students to pick up after themselves and, while the non district students were disrespectful about it. However, our own Rebekah, Jace R, Jude, and Kade jumped up and picked up even though they weren't the ones that made the mess without issuing a single complaint. This shows the character of these students in an amazing way.

Alex Browning had 297 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns against Maur Hill

Our Cobras Showed up to Frankfort Saturday with a mission in mind. They won the whole tournament without dropping a single set. Way to go Ladies!

I have been asked a lot about the kilt over the years. I am of Scottish heritage and I have always felt it was important to express where you came from. My wife and I had a proper Scottish wedding complete with full dress kilt and a piper at the wedding.

I can also honestly say I own a bagpipe now and will be working diligently to learn how to play it. Maybe next year I will be out there with the pep band.

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