John Baylor has started a weekly, one-hour radio show, the John Baylor College Prep Show. It is available at the following address: http://www.johnbaylorcollegeprepshow.com/ There is a link on the hshawks homepage as well.
Later in the fall, I would like to offer Life Skills to 7th-12th graders. I have had several students ask for some classes in these areas. Nutrition, Clothing: Sewing and Purchasing, Craft Sewing: Quilting, Dolls, etc., Home Furnishing: Purchasing and Arranging, are just a few things that have come up in conversation. Students and/or their parents who are interested in these kinds of courses or anything having to do with Family Consumer Science, please contact the school or me personally, and let me know what you would like to take a few hours on a Friday morning to learn about. If it is something I don’t know, I will find someone who can teach it. The school’s number is 308-638-4434 or you can reach me at 308-874-5031.
According to Superintendent Steve Pummel, Hay Springs has received more than a 20% influx in student enrollment this year; almost every class in the upper level has gained at least one new student. Hay Springs High School has received three new juniors, two new sophomores, and one new freshman. The Junior High also received new students, including one new seventh grader and two new sixth graders.
Zade Henry, Charles Jerrell, and Quinn Tiensvold have all been added to the junior class. Zade is from Clifton, Arizona, but has visited Hay Springs frequently during the summers, although he spends most of his time working. His mom, Shelli Rose is a beautician, and he is an only child. He plans to play football and wrestle this year.
Charles also plans to wrestle this year, but that is the only sport he is interested in. Although Charles has attended Hay Springs High School before, he most recently moved here from Annapolis, Maryland. He lives here with his dad, Charles Jerrell Sr., who is a retired member of the military. He has one older brother and two older sisters. Charles favorite class is P.E. because of the fun people and he likes to sleep in his spare time.
Quinn, the only girl to transfer into the junior class, lives in Gordon, where she used to attend school with her younger sister, Sage, who is now a freshman at Hay Springs High School. Her parents, Mark and Ila, raise buffalo/ She is going to be part of the volleyball team this year, although she also enjoys reading, swimming, and boxing. Quinn’s favorite class this year is English because she finds it fun.
The sophomore class received one new boy and a new girl, who happens to be a foreign exchange student from Germany. Leah Griese, is from West Germany, where she used to ride horses for sport, read, and listen to music. This year she is trying out volleyball at Hay Springs High School. In Germany, her biological parents are Sandra and Ulf, and she has a younger sister. Her mother helps blind children at an elementary school in the area and her father is an IT consultant. So far this year, her favorite class is band, because she enjoys music.
Tyler Merritt also transferred to the sophomore class this year (just what they need, another boy). He moved from Olathe, Kansas with his father Shane, who works for BNSF Railroad in Alliance. His mom, Stephanie, is a manager at Olive Garden. Tyler has a step-brother, a step-sister, and a sister. This year, he is going to go out for football, basketball, and track, and in his spare time he likes to hang out with his friends. His favorite class is woods with Mr. Badje, because he doesn’t have to learn that much.
Sage Tiensbold, sister of Quinn, is the only new face in the freshman class. She also transferred here from Gordon schools and is going to play volleyball this year. She also enjoys swimming and hanging out with her friends. She also lives with her parents Mark and Ila. She enjoys taking choir, with Mrs. Varvel.
In the Junior High, two girls and one boy arrived this year. Bayli Bilby is a seventh grader, and Augusta McMillin and Levi Glines, are both in the sixth grade. Bayli transferred here from Chadron Middle School, and she plans to participate in cross country, basketball, and track. She lives with her father, Burt, who is a rancher and her mother, Dawn, who runs a daycare, and her younger brother. When she isn’t in school, she enjoys riding horses, working with her dad, and going to rodeos.
Augusta is also new into the Junior High. She is in the 6th grand and plays volleyball, basketball, and track as well. She is part of a large family; four brother and two sisters. Her parents, Jennifer and Bruce own a buffalo ranch, and her mother teaches as well. She moved here from Kadoka, South Dakota.
The only boy new to Hay Springs Junior High is sixth grader Levi Glines. He used to live in the country near Pine Ridge, with his mother Nicole, who is a dental hygienist, his father Chris who works in construction, and his two younger brothers. His favorite class this year is math, and he likes to work on remote control planes in his free time.
This is the new theme for Hay Springs School Café teria. We are not just a lunchroom anymore. We begin our day with Breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m.. This year our Middle School/High School students can select from three lunch choices. A hot serve main meal, peanut butter & jelly sandwich or a cold meal that is complete with all components in its own container. Along with that we will be offering an expanded salad bar selection. Our day ends providing food choices to students after school. Listed below are a few other things that students can expect to see this coming school year.
Menus: We plan to solicit student input into the menu selection. Our plan is to get feedback from students and adjust our menus to foods students prefer.
Salad Bar: Our Food Service Program received a $5000 award last year for the expansion of our breakfast program. These funds were used to purchase a new refrigerated Salad Bar. With the new salad bar students will have an expanded selection of fresh fruits and vegetables.
After School Cafeteria Sales: This year students can stop by the lunchroom until 4:30 p.m. and purchase salads, sandwiches, fruit, etc. This will provide students with healthy food to get them through the after school activities and home for supper. Students can pay cash or charge to their lunch account.
Fruit and Vegetable Program: We were approved this year to offer a fruit and vegetable educational program to our elementary students. This program provides students the opportunity to taste new foods and learn about them.
After School Snack: New this school year we will provide students attending a remedial or academic program an after school snack. This healthy snack will be provided at no charge to the student.
These are very exciting changes and additions for our Hay Springs School Café teria! Our plan is to provide all students proper nutrition from Breakfast to After School Snacks. We encourage parents to come to school and eat lunch with their children and experience the outstanding nutritional opportunities.
Three new faces have been added to the faculty of Hay Springs Public Schools this year. These new teachers include Melissa Lein, Brad Bounous, and Shawna Wiepen. Lein is teaching business classes and video production this year, Bounous is the new Title I teacher this year, and Wiepen is the new early childhood teacher.
Melissa Lein (pronounced Lynn) is the new business teacher. Lein comes to Hay Springs from Gordon. She attended Gordon High School and graduated in 2002. After high school, Lein went to Chadron State College, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education with a field endorsement in business education. She also earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Lein is a first year teacher, and says her favorite part of teaching is “watching students excel”. Lein has an older brother, a younger brother, and a twin sister. In her free time, she enjoys hunting and fishing, and is an avid Duck Dynasty fan. Her favorite sports team is the Huskers. One of Lein’s pet peeves is the sound of clicking pens.
Another new member to the Hay Springs Public Schools’ teaching force is Brad Bounous. Bounous is the new Title I teacher this year, working in the elementary building. Bounous grew up in Gordon, where he attended Gordon High School. He then graduated from Chadron State College, and has since been teaching for nine years. Bounous’ favorite part of teaching is interacting with the children. Bounous is married to Sara Bounous, who teaches first grade at Chadron Public Schools. Bounous also an 8-and-one-half- month old son named Braden James. Bounous enjoys reading and genealogy. He is also a big college football fan, and his favorite team is the Huskers. Bounous is also a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball team. His favorite television shows include The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory. His biggest pet peeve is when people aren’t true to their word.
The final addition to Hay Springs Public Schools’ faculty this year is Shawna Wiepen, who teaches early childhood. Wiepen is a Nebraska native, and comes to Hay Springs from the Northeastern part of the state, where she attended Wynot High School. Wiepen’s hometown is St. Helena, Nebraska. She has three sisters, and grew up in a rural setting. After graduation, Wiepen went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This is her first year of teaching, and her favorite part of teaching so far is the funny things kids say. In her spare time, Wiepen enjoys scrapbooking , cooking, and cleaning. She enjoys volleyball and basketball, and is a fan of the Huskers. Wiepen’s favorite TV shows are Big Brother and Grey’s Anatomy. Her biggest pet peeve is when people chew gum obnoxiously.
Hay Springs native Austin Weyers was raised on a farm south of town. While growing up on Mirage Flats, Austin attended District #30 school.
His grandparents have raised sheep and goats for several years. Austin has built his own little herd of goats as the years have gone by.
Even though Austin played sports in high school he found the time to spend with his goats. Austin even has shown his goats in 4-H. To care for his goats does take time and money for the feed that they eat. They eat a lot of alfalfa and a pail of grain each day. After last year, alfalfa has become harder to find and is very expensive.
Now Austin is faced with having to sell his goats. Austin will be leaving shortly to attend college at Mitchell, South Dakota. He doesn’t want to sell them but he needs the money for college. When asked how he felt about this, he said “I’m very upset to have to sell my dream herd.”
Football and volleyball season is quickly approaching. Both the football and volleyball teams will be soaring to new coaching heights with the addition of new football Head Coach Jason Funk and volleyball Head Coach Val Bila.
When asked about football, Coach Jason Funk said that he has high expectations for this year. Coach Funk also said, “ We have lots of talent and should perform well if we play to our potential.” This years football team includes Mathew Hessler, Joey Johnson, Stevin Horrocks, Jordan Houser, Nate Letcher, Chris Ray, Levi Ray, Jordan Encinia, Dylan Parker, Kolten Marx, Seth Nowak, Riley Abbot, Austin Reed, Jake Johnson, Dakota Heiting, Eli Badje, Zade Henry, Tyler Merritt, Drew Letcher, Garrett Weyers, Kobe Encinia, and Nathan Tobiasson. The hawks kick off the season on August 30th at Morrill.
Val Bila is the new head volleyball coach this year. When asked why she decided to take on the role she said “I haven’t coached for a few years; I’ve been too busy following Christian playing. I’ve really missed it; I am really excited about it!” She has a long history of coaching this sport. She was head coach at Torrington for two years, and assistant coach for four years. She was also head coach at Bridgeport for two years and assistant coach for both Sioux County and Morrill for one year each.
Bila also coached several different club-teams as well. Helping her this year is assistant coach Kyli Heiting, and volunteer assistant Christian Bila. When asked what she expected the season to be like she said, “I am really optimistic that we are going to play well. We will surprise people; they won’t see the same team they saw during summer league. I think we can compete with everybody in our conference, subdistricts, and districts.” Her main goals for the volleyball team this year are to have players work together, play confidently, and have fun while winning. She expects Mitchell and Leyton to be the toughest competition this year. The season will open up on Saturday, September 7, against Arthur at home.
Please plan on attending the HS FB GATORADE SCRIMMAGE on Friday, August 23rd at 6:00 pm. Come see what our team is made of!!!
Get your game on during Hay Springs Friendly Festival, August 24th!
Please register by 10 a.m. so that teams may be bracketed!
See flyer for more details!
We are working on confirming JH FB coaching so when that happens we will let everyone know when JH FB practice will start. Any questions please call the school, 638-4434.
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