School celebrates student successes, prepares them for future careers
Greetings Loyal families and community! I am sure you are all either excited for the additional snow we received over the past couple of days, or a bit anxious for spring to arrive. Either way, we know that living in our area can always provide opportunities to enjoy the weather. It gives our snowmobilers some extra time on the trails; snowboarders, skiers and tubers a chance to hit the hills; and many of our kids the opportunity to build forts, dig tunnels and just embrace the winter weather. We have celebrated the winter holidays with concerts and parties, and brought in the New Year with ambitions of pressing on through those long, hard winter days. Our teachers and students have worked through the challenges of many school cancellation days, while still staying on target through a shortened semester.
Our second term has now come to a close. We are 24 weeks into the school year with only 12 weeks to go. Needless to say, it is flying by. Over the past couple of months, we have started and in some cases finished our winter sports seasons. It has been great to watch our teams improve at both the middle and high school levels. I commend all of our student athletes, especially our seniors. They all put forth a huge commitment to be a part of their team and keep up with their academics. These student athletes represent our school and community very well at all their events.
During the months of January and February, we had the opportunity to get course registration materials handed out to our students in grades 8-11 for the 2023-24 school year. Students have the opportunity to meet with Mrs. Scherer, get educated on the registration process and ask questions about courses and paths they may choose to pursue. If you haven’t had a chance to ask your child about their course selections for next year, now would be a good time. As we build the schedule for next year, we don’t anticipate it to change much. One thing to remember is that we do have courses that run on an every-other-year basis, so this has to be considered when our students are looking to map out their path toward graduation.
On March 6, we will host Terrence Talley at school. Terrence was here a few years ago and brings a great motivational message to share with our students, staff and community. Terrence will speak to Loyal, Greenwood and Granton middle and high school students in the morning; elementary students in the afternoon and he will conclude the evening with a parent/ community presentation at 6:30 p.m. in the high school gym. The last time Terrence was here, he left a lasting impression on all who attended. Please join us for this event. We plan to host our second annual Career and Technical Education(CTE) and Fine Arts Night on Thursday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m. This event will showcase our technical, agricultural, business, family consumer education, art, Spanish, financial literacy, band and choir programs. Student work from all of our programs will be on display in the high school gym along with live performances from our band, choir and pianists throughout the evening. The event is open to the public and we are excited to showcase the talents of so many of our students. We encourage you all to stop in and enjoy the evening with us.
We have a number of students that have moved on to state competitions in our FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America), FFA, and Solo and Ensemble activities. These students put a tremendous amount of work into their competitions. Our student body was able to recognize them at the FFA Week assembly on Friday, Feb. 24.
Lastly, I would just like to remind everyone how important having a school is to a community. Our small rural community thrives on many traditions and principles, of which our school belongs. For years, the Loyal school has been a consistent heartbeat within our community. It has provided doctors, nurses, teachers, carpenters, heavy equipment operators, agronomists and many more professionals all filling key positions in our demanding workforce. This all started with a school — a place to learn, grow and embrace challenges that prepare for future successes. Without a school, our community wouldn’t be the same as it is today. Keeping a school running in today’s economy is tough, but trying to keep our economy running in our community without a school may be nearly impossible.
With the upcoming referendum, please take a moment to ask questions, gain an understanding and, most importantly, realize the importance of maintaining the strong traditions of our school community. I appreciate all you do as a community to support our efforts here at school. We are the Greyhounds and proud of it! Take care everyone, Mr. Dieckman
Loyal Middle and High School Principal Doug Dieckman
