Isms: Original views on life from rural America

What a great time to be a Bobcat!

Our students are shining in all activities.

Backtrack to November when the volleyball team qualified for state competition and the football team played in two rounds of the playoff system. Nothing like starting the year off on the right foot.

The marching band did well at competition in Wayne. Speech and drama students continue to earn awards. Next week, the speechsters compete in a tough C2 district, a trip to the state meet on the line. I have a feeling several students will make some waves in the competition.

Connie Cronin and her junior high quiz bowl kids are having an excellent year. They’ve placed in multiple meets.

The wrestling teams had outstanding seasons and show a lot of leadership and promise in the upcoming years. A lot of work goes into making all areas click, so thank you to coaches Dan Roeber, Paul Kester, Clay Thiele, Shayna Strope and Daniel Mendoza for sharing your time and talents. Your work isn’t going unnoticed.

The Bobcat girls’ basketball team just missed a trip to the state tournament. If you missed the district final, you missed a game played with heart and grit. To respond how they did, after being down by nearly a dozen points, and bounce back to take it into overtime is simply amazing. That’s the kind of never-quit attitude fans, parents and peers like to see. Kudos to coaches Jacob Birch, Jim Schutt and Carrie Kucera for leading by example.

About six years ago, I wrote an article about Brett Kaczor and the work he put into building a basketball program. This year, Ed Johnson and Blake Hoke assist Kaczor. What a team. The district final game against Perkins County was a testament to the coaches and the athleticism and dedication of the boys’ basketball team members. Nothing like clicking on all cylinders. As you head to Lincoln for the state basketball tournament, I hope you know the Summerland community is rallying behind you and hoping for a successful outcome. Play your game, play smart. Do your best. That’s all anyone can hope for.

Our career and technical education organizations are doing well, also.

This is the first year the school has offered FCCLA and several students qualified for state competition.

The SkillsUSA chapter continues to produce medalists. The middle schoolers have competed twice and several students will advance to state competition in April. That’s when members of the high school group will have an opportunity to showcase their knowledge and abilities. The competition is open to the public. I attended two years ago and was amazed at the competition and what the organization has to offer.

This week, Summerland FFA received results from a recent competition and they’ll be taking multiple members to compete in the state convention next month.

One thing I recognized as a teacher - success breeds success - and the school community, in general, reaps the benefits.

Keep up the good work, students, advisors and coaches.