Category Archives: Schools

Boots and Bling Gala April 28 To Benefit Catholic School

 See the flyer below:
Click HERE to Print

Christian Heights Performs Tom Sawyer

Austin Bahr performs as Tom Sawyer and Trace Evans as his best friend Huck Finn in the Fort Scott Christian Heights high school play “Tom Sawyer” Saturday night at the school.

Fort Scott Christian Heights High School students entertained the community Friday and Saturday evening with its rendition of  “Tom Sawyer: An American Legend With Music.”

The play depicts a segment of life of Tom Sawyer life, who was an orphan boy in Missouri, circa the 1840s.

The cast is as follows:

Jeff Thatcher was played by Kole Wagner, Tom Sawyer by Austin Bahr, Mrs. Thatcher by Annalyse Gilmore, Becky Thatcher by Darci Kendrick, Aunt Polly by Kendra Bahr, Sid Sawyer by Seth Lowery, Cousin Mary by Emily Davenport, Ben Rogers by Benji Banwart, Joe Harper by Jason Avery, Jim Hollis by Drake Garcia, Ted Austin by Josiah Banwart, Amy Lawrence by Lily Leigh, Lyda Hollis by Annalyse Gilmore, Widder Douglas by Annie Tarter, Preacher/schoolmaster by J.B. Lowry, Judge Thatcher by Steven Avery, Hope Austin by Emily Davenport, Suzie Harper by Kathryn Hudiberg, Faith Harper  by Marissa Meanor, Huck Finn by Trace Evans, Doc Robinson by  Benji Banwart, Injun Joe by Bryce Meanor, Muff Potter by Jason Avery, The Constable by Lucas Gilmore.

Sound, lighting, and props were by Mike Avery and Larry Davolt.

Costumes were provided by Vickie Shead.

The stage crew was Lucas Gilmore, J.B. Lowry, Brandon West, Mike Avery and Tim Avery.

Following are scenes from the play:

Tom Sawyer, Jeff Thatcher, Mrs. Thatcher and Becky Thatcher.
Tom Sawyer wins the prize for the most memorized scriptures.

Becky Thatcher and Tom Sawyer get engaged.
Tom Sawyer ponders why he is always in trouble.
The funeral of Tom and Huck.
Tom surprises the community by coming to his own funeral.

Tom swears on the Bible at the trial of Muff Potter.

Principal Terry Chance does the sound equipment during the play.
The cast of Tom Sawyer thanks Mike Avery and Terry Chance for their help behind the scenes of the play.
Members of the audience take their leave following the play Tom Sawyer Saturday evening at Fort Scott Christian Heights school.

 

Aggie Day Draws Over 1,300 Students at FSCC

Over 1,300 high school students, from 90 schools, converged on Fort Scott Community College Aggie Day April 6, according to Ryan Edgecomb, an agriculture instructor at the school.

Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma high school buses line parking lots at FSCC for Aggie Day April 6.

Former FSCC Agriculture Instructor Gary Harvey started the event in the mid-1970s, said  Edgecomb.

“This is my 15th Aggie Day,” Edgecomb said. “The Ag Department hosts the event. Blake Davis is my teaching partner and livestock coach.”

FSCC Ag Instructor Ryan Edgecomb, right, shares a light moment with area high school ag teachers, following the Ag Teachers Brunch in the Ellis Arts Center Friday morning.

Students competed in a variety of areas, including agronomy, entomology, farm management, floriculture, food science, livestock, meat evaluation, milk quality and products, nursery/landscape, poultry, speech, veterinary science,  and reasonings.

Those from Bourbon County schools who ranked in the top ten in the contests:

In the Intermediate Live contest, Clay Brillhart, Uniontown, received 2nd place; Zach Snyder, Uniontown received a 10th place.

In the Junior Live contest, Tate Crystal, Uniontown, received the 3rd place.

In Senior Questions Live, Graham Hathaway, Uniontown, received the 2nd place; Kolby Shoemaker, Fort Scott, received a 10th place.

In Senior Reasons Live, Kolby Seested, Uniontown, received the 3rd place.

In the Veterinary Science contest, Maddie Ard, Uniontown, received 2nd place; Aubry O’Neal, Uniontown, received the 8th place.

In the Junior Speech contest, Hannah Beerbower, Uniontown, received the 4th place.

To see the full results: http://www.fortscott.edu/AggieDay/Results

The event is sponsored by Purina and Purina Mills Honor Show Chow, which also includes an ag teacher brunch.

“We are honored to have Purina and Honor Show Chow back as our sponsors for a third straight year, and we’re grateful for their support,”  Edgecomb said.

Edgecomb said the event has multiple purposes.

“It’s a recruiting tool for FSCC, allowing students to see and showcase our school,” he said.

In addition, the event is “an educational contest to help schools prepare for district and state events,” Edgecomb said.

Over 100 support people are employed to help with Aggie Day: faculty, staff, students and former students, Edgecomb said.

Some highlights of the days activities in photos:

 

 

March Madness at Eugene Ware Elementary

From left FSCC Basketball Coach Blake Cochran, Jon Barnes, Donnie Flowers, Tyler Zinn, John Montgomery, Lucas Kelley, J. M. Gregg, Aaron Williams, Andre Nelson, Dontrell Sanders, Jayden Davis, George Brocato, and Daemar Jones introduce themselves at the beginning of the March Madness Reading Challenge assembly.

It takes practice and lots of it, to do anything well, including reading.

That in a nutshell, is what the Fort Scott Community College Basketball Team told the students at  Eugene Ware Elementary during an award assembly Wednesday afternoon.

During the month of March, students have been competing with other classes in reading the most minutes.

The classroom winners of each grade level were given a poster of the FSCC Basketball Team along with a promised extra recess, during the assembly held in the school gym.

The winners were: Carrie Southwell’s 3rd grade class with 3, 220 minutes of reading, Joyce Flanner’s 4th grade with 3,002 minutes and Jill Couch’s 5th-grade class with 2,232 minutes.

During the assembly, students were randomly picked from the audience to participate in a basketball throw challenge.

The winner of that challenge was Quadar Moreland, a fourth-grade student. Because of his win, all 4th-grade students were given autographed posters of the team.

Brenda Hill, an instructional coach at Ware, and Mary Mauer, a teacher, collaborated on the idea of capitalizing on basketball’s March Madness national competition to encourage students to practice reading.

Below are photos of the afternoon assembly.

Carrie Southwell gives her 3rd-grade students “high fives” following the announcement that the class read the most minutes for the reading competition.
Students lined up to take a turn at getting the ball through the basketball hoop.

Some students needed a little extra help getting the ball through the hoop and the college basketball players helped.

Quadar Moreland gets some encouragement from the FSCC basketball team following his win of the basketball contest.
Students look over the poster of the FSCC Basketball Team while waiting in line to get it autographed.

 

USD 234 Hires New Superintendent, Ted Hessong

Ted Hessong was hired as the new superintendent for Fort Scott schools.

Ted Hessong, currently superintendent of USD 456, was hired Tuesday evening by the USD 234 Board of Education. He will begin June 2, 2018, and was hired on a two-year contract as the new superintendent in Fort Scott’s school system.

The following is a FortScott.Biz  interview with Hessong.

What motivated you to get into education?

“My mom was a teacher at Fort Scott Middle School, which was a great example of what a teacher should be. I was also active in sports and I wanted to be a basketball coach since 7th grade.”

Education?

” I graduated from Fort Scott High School and earned an Associates Degree from Fort Scott Community College. I got my Bachelor’s Degree in Science Education from Pittsburg State University. I also received my Master’s in Building Leadership and District Certification from PSU.”

Experience?

” My first two years in education I was a science teacher and coach at Pleasanton Junior/Senior High School in Pleasanton, Kansas. I then accepted a position at Frontenac Junior High and High School teaching science and coaching, where I did my student teaching. I spent 17 years at Frontenac School district, where I went from a teacher to assistant principal for the 6th-12th-grade building. I then became the first junior high principal at Frontenac because we separated the junior high from the high school. The last five years at Frontenac I was the high school principal following the retirement of one of my mentors, Joe Martin. The past two school years I have been the superintendent at Marais des Cygnes Valley School District, which is composed of the communities of Melvern, Quenemo, and Olivet in Kansas.”

Family?

“I have three children.”

What interested you in the position in Fort Scott?

“Fort Scott has tremendous respect throughout the state of Kansas as a top-notch district. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to return to my hometown to lead the district that really gave me my start in education.”

What do you feel you bring to the district?

“I feel my leadership experiences have prepared me to lead Fort Scott in a variety of areas to provide the best opportunities for the students of Fort Scott to experience success.”

What assets do you see in USD 234?

” The biggest asset Fort Scott has to offer is the teachers, staff, and students at Fort Scott. All these groups are what make Fort Scott an excellent school district.”

Any concerns?

“No concerns at this time.”

Any interests besides education, hobbies?

“My biggest interest is spending time with my family and friends.  I also enjoy sports, playing golf and mowing.”