Spotlight on the New Teachers

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.

One Lost Dream

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.”

Gridiron Boys Take the Field and Volleyball Girls Take the Court

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.

Updates to your child’s personal information

Parents:  It’s that time again!! If you have any changes that need to be made regarding your child’s personal info. (phone contacts, emergency contacts or address, etc.) please email or call the school with the updated info. If this doesn’t work for you please have your child bring the changes with them the first day of school and drop off at the office. 

Email changes to :  adriene.kelly@panesu.org

or call 308-638-4434

THANK YOU!!

Knee Injury Prevention Day Camp, grades 7-12

Chadron Community Hospital is offering a Knee Injury Prevention Day Camp

When:   Thursday, Aug 8th

Time: 6-8 pm

Where: Chadron High School

Jumping and agility drills to highlight knee postioning with education and video on proper knee postioning. Live drills to help prevent injury. Free t-shirt, $25 per camper, Grades 7-12. 

To enroll or inquire call Chadron Community Hospital 308-432-0232

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