District News Releases-USD 320 - Wamego Public Schools

News Releases

Feast of Carols

The Feast of Carols, to be held Monday, December 8, is rapidly approaching. Music Boosters invite you to attend and to participate in this event. Each year, the Music Boosters provide a chili feed prior to the concert. Proceeds from the chili feed go to the Wamego Music programs to provide scholarships, and other various needs of the vocal and band groups.

The chili supper is from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the high school commons. The music programs will begin at 7:00p.m. (Middle School students) and approximately 8:15 (HighSchool students) in the Wamego High School Auditorium. Admission to the concert is$2.00 or, if you attend the chili feed, your ticket stub will get you into the concert free.

Tickets for the chili supper/concert will be sold in advance for the price of $4 adult and $3 child. If you would like to purchase tickets in advance - please contact Kay Markey, Treasurer by mailing your check made out to Wamego Music Boosters 412 Redwood Drive, Wamego, KS 66547. If you wait to purchase your tickets at the door they will be sold for $6 Adults and $5 children. WHS/WMS Choir and Band Students will be receiving this information by mail/email. Thank you for your support!

Lady Raider Tennis at Abilene and Regional Tennis Meets

The varsity tennis squad competed in an eight team tournament on Oct. 7. Kendra Hodges had the most success for the Raiders finishing in fourth place. The number one singles player beat Chapman 8-0, with losses to Abilene 8-2 and Ellsworth 8-0.

At number one doubles, Liz Scherer and Chelsea Darroch finished in sixth place. After a loss to Chapman 8-0, they rebounded to beat Abilene 8-2 then suffered a loss to Wabaunsee 8-3.

Playing number two singles, Alyssa Detwiler finished in sixth place. Detwiler lost to Abilene 8-6, rallied to beat Chapman 8-2, and lost a very close match to Ellsworth 8-6.

Rounding out the number two doubles, Cassie Wolf and MaKenna DeHart also finished sixth. The duo started with a loss to Abilene 8-1, then won over Chapman 8-1, and lost to Ellsworth 8-0.

On Thursday, October 9, the tennis team traveled to Topeka Hayden High School to compete in a five team Regional Meet. Other schools competing in the regional include Hiawatha, Perry-Lecompton, and Atchison. With a total of ten singles entries and ten doubles entries, Hodges was seeded 5th and Darroch/Scherer was seeded 4th.

The doubles team of Scherer/Darroch won their first round match against Perry Lecompton who they had been beaten by earlier in the season, 7-6 (tie 7-1), 6-3. Next the duo faced the number one seed Topeka Hayden and lost 6-0, 6-1. The team then battled Hiawatha in a three set, two and a half hour match for third place. Despite a great effort from the Raiders, they lost 4-6, 6-4, 5-7 to finish fourth. Although this came as a tough loss, the team was all smiles knowing they qualified for the Sub-State Tournament.

Wolf and DeHart won their first round against Atchison winning 6-0, 6-0. They then faced the number two seed Topeka Hayden. The Raiders lost 6-0, 6-0 to close out their season.

The singles players of Hodges and Detwiler faced some tough competition. Both athletes lost their first round match despite really good play. Hodges played some of her best tennis of the year yet lost to Atchison 7-5, 6-2. Detwiler lost to Hiawatha 6-1, 6-4.

Jantz commented, “We had a great day and were very competitive. I am so proud of everyone’s effort today and enjoyed all the compliments from other coaches about how much we’ve improved since last year. I felt the girls were peaking at the right time of the season and playing our best tennis. I am thrilled to have a doubles team heading into post season play!”

FFA Membership Grows!

The Wamego FFA would like to announce this years 2008 membership. Our membership has increased from 36 last year to 62 this year. 44 of those members are new. Senior members include: Amelia Fosen, Ashley Derenne, Catie Huston, Chelsea Dillon, Lindsey Lennebur, Michael Adams, Russ Jackson, Jake Mueller, Drew Jacobson, Jameson Eichman, John White, Trent Callender, Nick Hartwick, Josh Manor, Sarah VanPetten. Juniors: Abbie Boyda, Cassie Routh, Chelsea Prockish, Chris Walsh, Jace Rickstrew, Jeff Bullock, Kaleb Dugan, Matt Gordon, Shay Chambers, Tanner Weixelman. Sophomores: Alison Burton, Amanda Kuchera, Arron Smith, Calin Riney, Colby Jackson, Cole Woodworth, Jackie Peterson, Jessica Hobbs, Kaylee Pittenger, Kelly Roberts, Kyle Zerbe, Macy Ebert, Marcos Garcia. Freshman: Ashley Peters, Autumn Allen, Brianna Hinton, Corrina Swart, Elizabeth White, Hanna Conroy-Philbrook, Jacob Brown, James Manning, Jenni Rutschmann, Joseph Breymeyers, Kayla Torbol, Kelsey Gallagher, Kelsey Holtman, Marinna Lind, Michael Peters, Nash Duncan, Nathan May, Ryan Pachta, Sam Seufert, Shleby Morehead, Thomas Stutzman, Wyatt Peverly.

We are excited to bring back our returning members, and introduce our new members to our chapter. We know our members will bring the energy, supports, and leadership needed for a successful year.

The FFA will soon start our Fruit Sale Fundraiser, October 10th. The money raised will go towards leadership events and contests. Feel free to contact any FFA member if interested.

Varsity Tennis

The varsity tennis squad has been busy in action with tennis meets at Washburn Rural, Concordia, Chapman, and the NCKL league meet. The Washburn Rural meet was the largest (12 schools) the Raiders have played in all year with mostly 5A and 6A schools. “This meet was another level of tennis we don’t normally get to see. We didn’t win much today but it was a good experience for our players to see how competitive high school tennis can be.”

Scores for the day include:

#1 Singles – Kendra Hodges lost to Washburn Rural 8-6, lost to Marysville 8-0, lost to Shawnee Heights 8-1.

#2 Singles – Alyssa Detwiler beat Shawnee Heights 8-6, lost to Emporia 8-2, lost to Marysville 6-0.

#1 Doubles – Chelsea Darroch/Liz Scherer beat Topeka West 8-3, and had losses against Emporia 8-0, Shawnee Heights 8-1, and Junction City 6-1.

#2 Doubles – Cassie Wolf/MaKenna DeHart suffered losses against Shawnee Heights 8-0, Emporia 8-1, Topeka West 8-6, and Garden City 6-2.

The Lady Raiders competed in an eight team invitational hosted by Concordia on Sept. 25. Hodges finished in 5th place with wins over Belleville 8-1, Belleville 8-3, and Clay Center 8-2. She had losses against Marysville 8-0 and Phillipsburg 8-0.

Detwiler finished in 7th place with wins over Concordia 8-6 and Clay Center 8-2. Her losses include Beloit 8-4 and Phillipsburg 8-1.

The Lady Raider Doubles teams had a great performance in this meet with both teams taking fourth place. Scherer/Darroch had wins over Concordia 8-6 and Belleville 8-4, with losses to Phillipsburg 8-1 and Clay Center 8-2. DeHart/Wolf beat Concordia 8-2 and Belleville 8-2 and lost to Phillipsburg 8-3 and Marysville 8-3.

The next competition for the tennis team was held in Chapman on Sept. 27. The Raiders finished 3rd place as a team with Hodges, Wolf, and DeHart all taking home 3rd place medals for their success in singles and doubles.

#1 Singles – Hodges had wins over Belleville 8-2 and Junction City 8-4 with losses to Abilene 8-0 and Chapman 8-4.

#1 Doubles – Scherer/Darroch had losses for the day to Belleville 8-4, Abilene 8-1, Chapman 8-0, and Junction City 8-4.

#2 Singles – Detwiler had one win over Junction City 8-0 and a very tight loss to Abilene 8-7 (tie 7-4). She also lost to Belleville 8-4 and Chapman 8-4.

#2 Doubles – DeHart/Wolf had wins over Belleville 8-3 and Junction City 8-6 with losses to Abilene 8-0 and Chapman 8-1.

And finally, the Raider competed in their NCKL League meet on Oct. 4. The Raiders finished in the same place as last year taking fourth with 13 team points. Marysville dominated the league without dropping a single match. They earned 50 team points, followed by Abilene with 37, and Chapman 33.

Hodges took fourth place with wins over Clay Center 8-1 and Concordia 8-6. She lost to Abilene 8-0, Marysville 8-0, and Chapman 8-1.

Detwiler had a win over Clay Center 8-4. She had losses against Abilene 8-0, Marysville 8-1, Concordia 8-4, and Chapman 8-1 finishing fifth.

Darroch/Scherer had a win over Concordia 8-6 with losses against Abilene 8-5, Marysville 8-0, Clay Center 8-1, and Chapman 8-0 finishing fifth.

Wolf/DeHart also had a win over Concordia 8-3 and losses to Clay Center 8-4, Abilene 8-1, Marysville 8-0, and Chapman 8-0 to finish fifth.

Coach Jantz commented, “I had hoped we could finish one spot higher than last year but we are still a young team in terms of experience. What the scores don’t reflect is how much better our level of play is this year compared to last. I’m extremely proud of the growth we had not only from last season but also within these few short weeks. At times, every Raider played good solid tennis. We just weren’t consistent enough to stretch it for five matches.”

West Elementary Goes to Emporia

West Goes to Emporia West Elementary fourth and fifth graders traveled to Emporia, Kansas on Saturday, Oct. 4 to participate in the William Allen White Awards Celebration. We received the Attendance Award for the most attendees--86 including parents and students. We also tied with another schoolfor the Spirit Award. We demonstrated our spirit in the parade from Emporia State University to William Lindsay White Auditorium. The poster contest was won by Ally Lonker, fifth grader, for her poster illustrating Moon Runner by Carolyn Marsden. Brianna Hoffman, fourth grader, received third place for her poster illustrating the book, A Dog's Life,by Ann Martin. Students were able to meet and receive autographs from the two winning authors, Ann Martin andL.D.Harkrader. The trip was sponsored by West Elementary librarian, Joanie Doperalski.

FFA Attends Greenhand Conference

Written by:

Abbie Boyda – FFA Reporter

Cassie Routh – FFA Secretary

On Tuesday, September 16, 2008, the Wamego FFA took nearly all of their new FFA members to Greenhand Conference in St. Mary’s. This was an event for first year members to attend to get a perspective of what FFA’s all about. They were split into groups by the State officers and were rotated through several leadership affiliated activities. They also took a FFA information test over the history and functions of FFA.

Members attending were: Joseph Breymeyer, Alison Burton, Ashley Derene, Kaleb Dugan, Nash Duncan, Macy Ebert, Jessica Hobss, Catie Huston, Amanda Kuchera, Ryan Pachta, Jackie Peterson, Wyatt Peverly, Kaylee Pittenger, Sam Seufert, Arron Smith, Tomas Stutzman, Corinna Swart, Trent Callendar, Russ Jackson, Lindsey Linnerbur, Drew Jacobson, Kelsey Holtman, Brianna Hinton, Kayla Torbol, Ashley Peters, Marinna Lind, Chelsea Dillion, Chelsea Prockish, Jeff Bullock, Jessica White, Michael Peters, Michael Adams, Jacob Brown, and Elizabeth White attended the Greenhand Conference in St. Marys.

Two of our members received metals for their high test scores. Corrina Swart received 4th place and Ryan Pachta places 10th on the FFA information test out of over 400 FFA students.

While the new members were attending their Greenhand Conference our Chapter Officers; John White, Amelia Fosen, Cassie Routh, Abbie Boyda, Shay Chambers, and Jameson Eichman, went to the Chapter President Conference. Here they discussed how to enhance their chapter’s activities, contests, and fundraisers. They also set up an online messenger to help all the Northeast District Chapter Officers communicate with each other. Overall this was a great way to meet new members, new officers, and participate in fun FFA activities.

FFA Fall Superday 2008

Written by

FFA Reporter - Abbie Boyda

FFA Treasurer – Shay Chambers

On Wednesday September 24, 2008, the Wamego FFA made the trip to Holton for Fall Super Day. Fall Superday was designed to put multiple contests on the same day to reduce the number of days students are out of class. At the Entomology contest, members were given instructions and split into groups. The first group started with identifying 50 out of a possible list of 73 insects. The second group started off by taking their 50 question written test over the basics of Entomology. When they finished, the groups would switch. The members who participated in the Entomology part of the day was Corinna Swart, Matt Gordon, Abbie Boyda, Cassie Routh, Jameson Eichman, Lindsey Linnebur, John White, Marinna Lind, Drew Jacobson, and Autumn Allen. Matt Gordon placed 8th at the contest and was only twelve points away from first place. This is the second year that Matt has placed in the top 10.

At the Nursery/Landscaping Career Development Event members competed in five different areas in the contest. They had to identify ornamental plants, landscaping tool ID, answer questions over a landscaping practicum, pest disorder ID, and a general knowledge test. These were all individual events and members rotated through them to complete. Members attending were Brianna Hinton, Cole Woodworth, Kaylee Pittenger, and Matt Gordon.

The Land Judging Career Development Event at Fall Super Day was occupied by 16 members. During the contest, members had to evaluate 6 different land sites around the Holton lake area. The 6 holes were dug anywhere from 3 to 5 feet deep and members had to describe the soil texture, soil depth, soil erosion, soil slope, and many other aspects of the soil including making land recommendations such as if the land was good enough for cropping or building structures. Members competing in the event were: Shay Chambers, Jacob Mueller, Ryan Pachta, Jenni Rutschmann, Kyle Zerbe, Nash Duncan, Joseph Breymeyer, Catie Huston, Chelsea Dillon, Josh Manor, Ashley Peters, Tomas Stutzman, Wyatt Peverly, Kaleb Dugan, Kayla Torbol, and Michael Adams.

WMS Lady Raiders kick off their Volleyball Season with Washburn Rual and Seaman

The Wamego Middle School 8th grade A and B teams had their first volleyball competitions last Thursday, September 4, at Washburn Rural. The girls were excited and nervous to get the first game of the season underway.

The 8th grade A team started off the night by playing a tough Washburn Rural team. In the first game of the match the Raiders found themselves down 0-9 early, but continued to fight back. The Raiders were not able to close the gap and lost 11-25. During the second game of the match, the Raiders lost 8-25. Leading all scorers in this match were Lakyn Rowden and Britney Price, each with 2 points apiece.

The second match of the night for the 8th grade A team, was a nail biter against Seaman, as it went to a third game to decide the winner. The Raiders won 25-21, lost 23-25, and then won 15-13. Leading scorer for the match was Brittney Price with 9 points. Whitney Anderson and Rikki Alderson both added 7 points as well.

The 8th grade B team also started off the night against a tough Washburn Rural team. The Raiders lost both games 12-25 and 8-25. Leading scored for the match was Elizabeth Evans with 2 points.

The second match of the night for the 8th grade B team was against Seaman. The Raiders lost 7-25 and 20-25. Leading scorer for the match was Sarah Swicegood with 12 points.

The next game for the 8th A and B teams will be September 16 at Wamego. The 7th grade A and B teams will have their first matches this Thursday, September 11 at Fort Riley.

Future Educators Association at Wamego High School

Teaching is a promising career option. This will be the message communicated to students at Wamego High School this year. WHS now has a local chapter of the Future Educators Association (FEA) in place for the 2008-09 school year. Future Educators Association is an international program for middle and high school students interested in exploring careers in education. More»

WHS FCCLA Members Attend State Competitions

The Wamego High School chapter of the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) recently attended the 2008 FCCLA State Leadership Showcase in Wichita on April 3 & 4, 2008. The conference offered members the opportunity to gain recognition, become inspired by motivational speakers, participate in work shop track sessions and network with other members across the state.

New Immunization Requirements

According to K.A.R.28-1-20, Kansas immunization requirements will include the Hepatitis B and Varicella/Chicken Pox vaccinations for all school age children through fifth grade beginning next school year. This will primarily affect students who are currently in fourth grade, progressing to fifth grade next year.

Because the process of completing the Hepatitis B immunization requires a series of three shots, parents need to act now. A one-month interval is needed between the first and second dose. The third dose must be given at least four months after the first dose. By starting the series now, the entire Hepatitis B regimen can be completed by the start of the 2008 fall semester. More»