The Holton FFA recentley participated in the 2023 Kansas Envirothon.  As a team, the group consisting of Noah B, Maddy B, Jacob H, Jace H and Lora L took 3rd Place overall!

The Team also placed 2nd in Oral Presentation, 1st Place Forestry, 2nd Place Soils, 2nd Place Range and 3rd Place Current Issues.  The top 3 final rankings were 1st going to  Manhattan High with 555 pts, 2nd St John’s Private School in Beliot wit 554 pts and 3rd place going to Holton FFA 539 pts

Although a trip to Canada wasn’t in the cards for this crew, they gave it their all and a trip to Indianapolis for National FFA Convention is! As the high FFA team overall and in forestry, they will have their choice to compete in either the National FFA Environmental/Natural Resources CDE or Forestry CDE this October.

This group of 5 sophomores has high goals and plans to be back next year stronger than ever. 

A huge thanks to the Jackson County Conservation District for sponsoring them and to Mr. Bartel for all of his hard work coaching and teaching them.

Three times a year Falls City Public Schools completes standardized testing to measure student progress.   We utilize the NSCAS state test for Math and English Language Arts.  We continue to utilize the MAP test for Science in grades 6th and 7th.  The 8th graders use the state NSCAS to test Science in the spring.  Falls City Middle School would like to recognize the NSCAS Champs and MAP Champs for our Spring testing period.  At FCMS we recognize the highest scoring students in Math, English Language Arts and Science by grade level.  We also recognize the students who realized the biggest growth in scores from Winter to Spring of this school year.  Today we are proud to announce our 7th grade NSCAS and MAP champs for Spring of 2023. 

Pictured from Left to Right

Madalynn Hawley:  Madalynn is our ELA Champion scoring the highest in the 7th grade this Spring. 

Burke Wissman:  Burke had the highest Math score in the 7th grade this Spring.

Camden Jean:  Camden had the highest Science score in the 7th grade on Spring Testing.

Olivia Mirelez:  Olivia is the ELA growth champ from Winter to spring testing.  Olivia improved her score by 132 points. 

Elijah Leyden:  Elijah is our 7th grade Math Growth champ.  Elijah improved his math score from winter to spring by 113 points.      

Congratulations to all of our 7th grade NSCAS/MAP winners.  Mr. Bangert will be buying them lunch for their achievement.

The Frankfort HS state basketball cheerleaders received their medals and a plaque for winning the State Sportsmanship Award!

Ten members of the Thunder Thespians competed well at Wamego Monday night against a strong field of 28 teams bringing home the 3rd place trophy!

Medalists were:

Ryan Uphaus, 2nd, oration and 3rd, extemp

Natalie Felder, 2nd, serious solo

Olivia Ganstrom, 3rd, humorous solo

Kathryn Yunghans, 4th, serious solo

Kyndall Sextro, 5th, oration

Maryssa Stallbaumer & Kathryn Yunghans, 6th, IDA

Congratulations to our members on all of their accomplishments for the year and recognition at the 2023 NE District Banquet and Awards Ceremony. Here are the highlights on an outstanding evening!

1st Place Chapter Overall - CDE Sweepstakes

Maddy B Elected 2023-24 NE District Reporter

NE Distrist Star Farmer - Delaney N

NE District Star GH Farmer - Lora L

NE District Star GH in Agribusiness - Noah B

NE District Star GH in Placement - Maddy B

State FFA Degree Recipients

Madeline M, Kailei M, and Delaney N

NE District Proficinecy Award Winners

Diversifeid Hort - Jacob H

Diversified Livestock - Delaney N

Forage Production - Preston U

Small Animal Care - Madeline M

Sheep Production - Lora L

Turf Grass - Noah B

District Officer Candidates - Jacob H and Maddy B

Official Voting Delegates - Jace H and Lora L

District Champion CDE Individuals

Lora L - Nursery and Landacape A Team

Jace H - Meats Evaluation A Team

Kailei M - Land Judging A Team

Madeline M - Vet Science A Team

Maddy B - Senior Par Law Test

Kennedy S - Greenhand Conference Test

Elisa B - Greenhand Master VP

Havilah M - Nursery B Team and Meats B Team

Wyatt S - Homesite B Team and Agronomy B Team

2023 District Superior Chapter Award in the National Chapter Award Program

Congratulations to the Horton High School Band for earning a 1 rating at the KSHSAA State Large Ensemble Festival on April 20 in Atchison. These students are tremendous musicians and wonderful people. They have worked hard to earn this rating! The Juniors and Seniors have started a great tradition for the younger students to follow! Awesome Job!!!

1st graders went on an Earth Day Field trip to Reserve, Ks. It was put on by the Sac & Fox Tribe. We had a great time learning about water pollution, the 3 R's, the water cycle, making seed balls, how to clean up an oil spill, & we even took home our very own trees!

Thank you Valley Heights FFA for helping serve 170 families at #harvestersmobilefoodpantry in Waterville today. You made a difference in our community! #communityservicematters

Adriana Clary of Troy received a 1 rating for her clarinet solo at Regionals on April 15th. She performed the piece Romance by Jean Becker and H. Voxman. She will be taking this piece to State on Saturday April 29th.

Every year the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.)  presents an essay-writing contest based on historical events. Falls City social studies teachers Karen Boatright, Sharon Jeffries, and Lee Kurpgeweit encourage their students to participate in this writing competition sponsored locally by the Reavis-Ashley Chapter of the  D.A.R.. This year, students in 5th-8th grade were asked to “imagine you are a delegate during the 1775-1776 Second Continental Congress. Which colony are you from and what will be important for you to accomplish for your colony.”

The  9-12th  grade  topic was "Select a  figure from the era of the American  Revolution (1773-1783). Discuss how  he  or she  influenced the  course of the  American  Revolution, who he or she was and his/her contribution to the  founding of  a new  nation.  Your  figure may be  any person,  whether a well-known  figure  or an  everyday man, woman, or  child who  supported the  American Revolution  in  ways  large  or small."

The 12th grade 1st place winner was Stiephan Fields, the 2nd place winner was Elyse Poppe, and the 3rd place winner was Alexis Miller.  

The 8th grade 1st place winner was Bowdy Jones, the 2nd place winner was Harley Sutton, and the 3rd place winner was Dayton Snethen. 

The 6th grade 1st place winner was Audrey Scrivens, 2nd place winner was Caroline Powell, and the 3rd place winners were Leah Goff and Josslyn Bangert.   

All of the 1st  place  winners of the local chapter advanced to state where they won 1st  place! These essays moved on to the regional contest. 

The winners of the local essay contest were honored at a reception at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 20th Towle St. on April 14th. The students read their essays to their families and the Reavis-Ashley members. Refreshments were served by the Reavis-Ashley Chapter.

Pictured from Left to Right:  Bowdy Jones, Harley Sutton, Dayton Snethen, Audrey Scrivens, Caroline Powell, Josslyn Bangert and Leah Goff

Doniphan West Horticulture students learned how to create their first Floral Arrangements today! If you like these, be on the lookout for the Plant Sale in May, where you can pick one up of your very own! 

The Sabetha EMS would like to thank a local Girl Scout troop who stopped by and donated several boxes of cookies to Sabetha EMS.  The Sabetha EMS enjoyed the cookies during their monthly meeting.  Thank you to the local Girl Scouts for recognizing and honoring some very important people in the Sabetha community.

The Hiawatha PTO has recognized Miss Riley in their most recent "Teacher Shoutout".  The organization says that Miss Riley is a fabulous 2nd grade teacher and mentions how lucky they are that she has made her home in Hiawatha! Thanks for all of your work with our kids at HES!

The City of Hiawatha's historic city hall clock tower got a fresh coat of paint this past Wednesday.  City employee's Gene Atland and Ryan Smith completed the task of painting the clock tower.  The clock tower was built in 1892 and is recognized on the national and state registers of historic places.

National Volunteer Week is celebrated annually during the third week of April, and this year it
is from April 16 th to the 22 nd . This week is about highlighting the individuals who offer their resources of time, money, and knowledge to better our community.

In the Meadowlark District, consisting of Jackson, Jefferson, and Nemaha Counties, there are
229 registered volunteers, and countless others that have yet to register! These selfless individuals assist our offices in doing a multitude of activities, including leading clubs and the 36+ projects areas 4-H offers, serving on the fair boards, and assisting staff and 4-H’ers during the fair. With that being said, we want to offer a heart-felt thank you to all our volunteers across the district! We understand you aren’t always in the spotlight, or recognized for your efforts, but you are the backbone and the engine that makes 4-H go! We could not offer the programs that we do without your assistance.

The Meadowlark District is always looking for new volunteers as well. Please call your local
office if you want to become involved in helping achieve the 4-H motto “To Make the Best Better”.

In the photo are 4-H Ambassadors Luke Renyer and Owen Strathman talking to Sabetha 3rd graders.

Congratulations to Clara Johnson of Jeff County North for winning the pin design contest at the FBLA State Leadership Conference! Clara's design will represent the state of Kansas at the National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, where attendees will be able to trade the pins.

Nemaha Central recently recognized its 3rd Grade Students who met their AR goals for the Month of March!  Great work kids!

Please help us congratulate our new 2023-2024 USD 409 Teacher of the Year, Sarah Tschauder! Sarah has done so much for the students at AHS, the district, and the Atchison Community! We are so proud to have her represent the district next year!!

Congratulations to the Hiawatha Middle School students who participated at the State Science Olympiad Competion!.  The team finsihed 2nd overall and all of the students medaled in at least one event. The Science Olympiad team is caoched by Brian Lillie and Andy Runer.  The team also had several assistant coaches throught the year includeing Troy Kolb, Josh Chandler, and Jodi Twombly. Also thanks to the parents, administrators for your support!