Youth & School News
DCHS captures second straight state speech title
Scouts defeat rival to win Class C-1 crown
Capturing the state title in speech is one thing.Capturing a second with new competitors stepping up and grabbing five gold medals to boot, now that's rare territory.
The David City High School speech team became the first of any Scouts to capture a second straight state crown when it won the Class C-1 title in Kearney, defeating rival Raymond Central.
Most people would have understood if the Scouts had recorded a rebuilding year.
"After last year, we knew that we'd have some steep challenges to face. We had lost all of our points from last year except 18 (Cody Keck) to graduation. To put that in basketball terms, we had pretty much graduated our top six players," Speech coach Jared Ockander said.
He explained that, as usual, the state championship really started at Districts. During the season, the Scouts had been beaten soundly by Raymond Central at Crete, and then turned the tables beating them at the Lincoln East meet.
"Getting beaten by them at Crete probably was good for us at that time, because we came back the next few weeks with a renewed effort to practice more efficiently and effectively," Ockander said.
At Districts, the Scouts beat Raymond Central but fell one short in the number of state qualifiers.
"While the 26 point differential might look like a large amount to win by, in reality Raymond Central had four seventh places, who were just one spot out of breaking into finals. As it was, we had seven in finals and they and Fillmore Central both had six going into finals.
"Our team made the goal to beat them in finals, and we ended up with five state champions individually: Mission accomplished. To put that in perspective, we have won half of the 18 events (there are a total of nine events in speech) in the last two years," the coach said.
The Scouts have an edge in finals, Ockander said, because of their extended preparation time, quality of competition, attention to detail and the focus applied in practice.
Distractions don't appear to affect the Scouts. "In duet finals, Dillon Hicks and Brad Meusch had a cell phone go off in the middle of their round and a chainsaw going right outside their window.
Because we practice for situations where it would be easy to be distracted, they didn't miss a beat and kept on performing the way that they've been trained," Ockander said.
The state competition held its usual amount of surprises. The Scouts' persuasive speeches did not fare as well as expected.
"The goal is to take those surprises in stride and go accomplish what you can attain, which is what Elizabeth Hruska did in winning Extemporaneous and Staci Ossian did in winning Informative," Ockander said.
The rivalry among the state's perennial top teams is a point of pride, Ockander said.
"I am proud, of course, of our students. But what makes me equally proud is the sportsmanship shown by other teams, especially Raymond Central and Battle Creek (our district competition).
RC had to be disappointed in knowing how close they were to outdistancing us, but they showed the class that we've come to expect from speech competitors," he said.
Seniors Cody Keck, who won humorous prose and poetry, and Staci Ossian, who won informative, stood out for Ockander.
"Cody's two programs change on a performance by performance basis, but typically his best performances come in finals. Staci has worked so hard to get to where she is. I can't think of anybody who deserves success more," Ockander said. "The credit should go to the students, who take great pride in the program. I also know that we always try to do everything with integrity, through hard work, perseverance and motivation. Additionally, we couldn't have accomplished the high standards of excellence without the assistance of Mark Hassebrook, who keeps motivating all of us and provides strategic input on what we should do within our program."
Ockander provided some DCHS speech record information:
Elizabeth Hruska is the first Extemporaneous Champion in school history. Brad Meusch and Dillon Hicks won the first Duet Acting Championship in school history. Cody Keck won the second Humorous Prose Championship...Doug Kucera was the other. Staci Ossian won the second Informative Championship...the other was Torie Thoendel. Cody Keck won the third Poetry Championship...Michaela Hruska won the other two. This is the first repeat championship in David City school history...this is the third overall (all in the past five years).
"Now we'll start putting plans into place to see if we can win another one," he said.
Photo caption: DCHS state qualifiers pose with the Class C-1 State Championship trophy.
Hassebrook joins Teach For America
A native of Bellwood has joined Teach For America, the national corps of top recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong advocates for educational equity.
The recruit is Ryan Hassebrook, a graduate of David City High School (2005) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2009).
Hassebrook joins Teach For America's incoming corps of 4,100 teachers, the largest in its 20-year history. With a record 35,000 applications for the 2009 corps, only 15 percent were accepted. These outstanding recent college graduates were selected for their leadership abilities and strong record of achievement.
The 2009 incoming corps members earned an average undergraduate GPA of 3.6, and 89% held leadership positions as undergraduates.
Each year, Teach For America attracts a significant percentage of graduates from the nation's top schools.
This year, at more than 130 colleges and universities, over 5 percent of the senior class applied, including 11 percent of all seniors at Ivy League institutions. Teach For America was the No. 1 employer of graduating seniors at more than 20 schools, including Georgetown
University, Spelman College and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Hassebrook will teach in the Mississippi Delta region.
Teach For America corps members go above and beyond traditional expectations to improve the educational outcomes of children growing up in low-income communities. "The most rigorous research to date finds that Teach
For America corps members produce student learning gains as large or larger than other novice or experienced teachers in the same schools," said Michael J. Podgursky, a professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia who serves on the National Research Council study committee examining teacher preparation in the United States. In fact, a study by the Urban Institute updated in March 2009 confirmed that Teach For America teachers have a positive effect on student achievement relative to other teachers, including experienced teachers, traditionally prepared teachers, and those fully certified in their fields.
In the 2009-10 school year, over 7,300 first- and second-year Teach For America corps members will head to classrooms in 35 regions across the United States, including a record seven new sites: Boston; Dallas; Milwaukee; Minneapolis-St. aul; Nashville, Tenn.; Tulsa, Okla.; and Wilmington, Del.
Beyond their corps commitments, two-thirds of the nearly 17,000 Teach For America alumni across the country are working full-time in education. Nearly 400 Teach For America alumni serve as school principals or superintendents, more than 500 work in government or policy, and 26 serve in elected office.
About Teach For America
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. This fall, 7,300 corps members will be teaching in 35 regions across the country while 17,000 Teach For
America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org.
Providing the spark
Communities must encourage entrepreneurs
By Dennis Kahl
UNL Extension Educator
Over the past several years I have noticed a very positive change in attitude in Butler County. Communities are learning to accept that change will happen whether we may want it to or not. But if you look at some of that change, it is very positive.
To become more inclusive like the Butler County Area Foundation and Butler County Chamber of Commerce have been has opened up the doors for new resources to flow into the region.
Butler County is on the map with several examples of being the community to watch.
As new leaders emerge, whether from the Butler County Leadership program or otherwise, it is important to ask and involve our future generations, including high school students.
UNL Extension has included Aquinas in a new pilot program this year that we hope will be sustainable in the future.
Right now we call the program "Community Connections".
Aquinas teacher Tony Smith and Stephanie Dubbs, director of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, are local coordinators for the program. This pilot project includes Milford and Thayer counties in addition to Aquinas. Three of the goals of the program are
1. Linking high school students with local business mentors as they study the community, learn new skills and resources that will help them identify potential new entrepreneurial opportunities in the area.
2. A new business will open in Butler County by July of 2010.
3. Create a stronger awareness of the need to focus on supporting new entrepreneurs wanting to start a business or move a business to Butler County.
The second is a pretty lofty goal but it is doable if we put the heads of youth and adults together to do some research.
The students and adult business mentors meet once a month for a three hour period during the school day to learn such things as what they like about their community, what assets the community has, what would they like to see as businesses in the community, narrowing down to potential business ideas, developing a business plan and starting a new business. This past week the three Community Connection groups met in York for a face to face experience in an Intergenerational Dialogue. They learned more about various generations' values, shopping preferences, financial resource needs, and interest in community.
Watch for a report in the paper from the Aquinas class.
I hope you'll keep up with what's going on with Community Connections and become a strong supporter of our innovative, entrepreneurial youth strengths.
After school programs needed as rural family structure changes
By Katelyn A. Larson,
UNL Extension Educator
4-H Youth Development
As the school year gets going once again, the list of activities seems to grow longer and longer. Research has showed that while today's youth is busier than ever, with sports, clubs and after school programs, these activities actually benefit rural youth. When the term after school program comes to mind, many of us think about inner-city schools in Omaha or in Lincoln. That is not the only place after school programs can make an impact.
The need for after school activities (other than sports and the other traditional clubs) has grown as the family structure of rural America changes. Many rural parents today are not at home after school as they once were because they have to supplement their income with off the farm/ranch work.
A recent study completed by Montana State University looked at the relationships between the changes in youth behavior and competencies over the course of a school year (as reported by teachers) and their involvement in after-school programming in a rural area. It was revealed through this research that teacher and parents alike saw significant decreases in behavioral problems over time and significant gains in competencies over time. More specifically youth showed decreases in acting out, shyness/ anxiety and learning problems. Teachers reported gains in frustration tolerance, assertiveness and task orientation in youth.
It was revealed that girls exhibited the least behavior problems and more competencies than their male counterparts. Comments from teachers further reveled that youth exhibited politeness in their interactions with adults and peers, a willingness to engage in life skills activities (computer training, positive decision-making, and communication exercises) over the course of the after school year.
While the focus of after school programming has been in the schools for many years, some families are beginning to look to 4-H as the provider of that programming. 4-H has offered the same positive youth development for the past 107 years and although it has been a provider of programming
year-round, many people associate 4-H with summer and the county fair. In recent years however, with 4-H's focus on Science, Engineering and
Technology, Healthy Lifestyles and Citizenship, schools have begun to realize what a resource 4-H could be for those programs and many others.
I hope to work more with the schools of Butler County this coming year!
Poll: Rural Nebraskans less positive about communities
LINCOLN -- Rural Nebraskans generally are less positive about their communities this year than in the past, according to the 2009 Nebraska Rural Poll.The 14th annual University of Nebraska-Lincoln poll was taken last March and April, a time of great economic uncertainty, poll organizers noted. That uncertainty is reflected in this year's poll results.
For example, the percentage of people who said their community changed for the better in the last year declined from 30 to 23 percent, which matched 2003 for the lowest in the poll's history.
Twenty-six percent of respondents said their community changed for the worse in the last year, the highest in the poll's history, and up from 22 percent in 2008.
Rural Poll surveys were mailed to about 6,400 randomly selected households in Nebraska's 84 non-metropolitan counties. Results are based on 2,852 responses.
Most respondents continue to see their communities as good places to live. Seventy-four percent describe their communities as friendly, 63 percent as trusting and 67 percent as supportive.
Two-thirds said they considered their communities to be "very special to me" and 62 percent agreed that "I feel I can really be myself in my community."
Also, 52 percent said it would be difficult to leave their community, while 31 percent said it would be easy.
As in past years, positive sentiments about communities tend to be stronger among people who live in smaller towns and among people who are older and who have lived in the community for longer.
"Familiarity gets comfortable," said Randy Cantrell, rural sociologist with the Nebraska Rural Initiative.
Poll respondents continue to be relatively satisfied with basic community services and amenities. Satisfaction with fire protection, parks and recreation, library services and religious organizations all ranked above 70 percent.
On the other hand, at least one-third of respondents registered dissatisfaction with entertainment, retail shopping, restaurants, streets and roads, arts and cultural activities and local government.
Meantime, dissatisfaction with some services has steadily trended downward over the years.
"One of them that ought to be worrisome is nursing home care," said UNL public policy specialist Brad Lubben. Satisfaction with nursing home care has dropped from 63 percent in 1997 to 45 percent this year. Lubben noted that satisfaction with senior centers also has dropped, from 66 percent in 1997 to 47 percent in the latest poll.
The decreased satisfaction may stem only in part from an actual decline in quality and/or availability of care, Lubben said. It's likely that another factor is an increased awareness of senior care needs among an aging population.
In a similar vein, satisfaction with mental health services in rural Nebraska dropped from 34 percent in 1997 to 24 percent in 2009.
On the other hand, there are signs in this year's Rural Poll that key communications technologies are getting better in rural Nebraska. Satisfaction with cell-phone and Internet service are at 61 percent and 58 percent, up from 49 and 50 percent, respectively, in 2006.
"The technologies of today are apparently improving across nonmetropolitan Nebraska," said agricultural economic Bruce Johnson.
The Rural Poll is the largest annual poll of rural Nebraskans' perceptions on quality of life and policy issues. This year's response rate was about 44 percent. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent. Complete results are available online at http://cari.unl.edu/ruralpoll/report09.shtml.
The university's Center for Applied Rural Innovation conducts the poll in cooperation with the Nebraska Rural Initiative with funding from UNL Extension and the Agricultural Research Division in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Scouts aim for second straight State Speech Class C-1 title
The David City Scout speech team defeated rival Raymond Central in the Class C1-3 District March 3 at Battle Creek High School. The Scouts scored 139 points to Runner-Up Raymond Central's 128 points. The Scouts will send ten events to the state contest in Kearney in an effort to defend last year's State Championship. The Scouts took 16 of 18 events to finals and won six events.
State qualifiers and their respective placing are as follows:
David City High School: 1st place with 139 points; Raymond Central 2nd with 128 points; Battle Creek 106; North Bend and Twin River 73; Columbus Scotus 59; Malcolm 36; Madison 33; Centennial 18.
Staci Ossian: 1st in Informative and 2nd in Persuasive
Elizabeth Hruska: 1st in Extemporaneous and 1st in Persuasive
Cody Keck: 1st in Humorous and 3rd in Poetry
Dillon Hicks and Brad Meusch: 1st in Duet acting
Emma Mattingly: 1st in Serious Prose
OID team of Kaleb Scheffler, Dillon Hicks, Lukas Fricke, Sidnee Pavel, and Aubrie Brown: 2nd
Christina Osantowski: 3rd in Informative
Qualifying for finals and medaling but not qualifying for state:
Courtney Betzen: 4th in Serious
Emma Mattingly: 4th in Entertainment
OID team of Christina Osantowski, Courtney Betzen, Craig Hruska and Alissa Trainer: 4th
Brad Meusch: 5th Humorous
Lukas Fricke: 6th in Extemporaneous
Kaleb Scheffler: 6th in Entertainment
State competition starts at 8 a.m. on Thursday, March 18, at the University of Kearney campus. The competition will be two rounds and finals.
The best place to be -- getting kids outdoors
"One of the most important gifts a parent can give a child is his or her own infectious enthusiasm for the outdoors." Richard Louv
The research is in and it's clear: Contact with nature improves concentration, productivity and cognitive development; relieves symptoms Of attention deficit disorder; feeds imagination and encourages a "sense of wonder"; buffers stress; encourages activity; combats obesity; promotes social interaction; appeals to a wide range of personality types, ages and learning styles; and improves brain structure, chemistry and function.
Still, for most parents the strongest argument is their own memory of time spent outdoors as a child.
"Some of us can remember our parents telling us to go outside and play until it's dark!" said McKenzie Barry, environmental education specialist at the Lower Platte South Natural Resource District. "Today some children spend more than 40 hours a week with electronic devices - cell phone, computer, TV or video game."
In the past few years, the NRD has stepped up its environmental education programs and partnerships to help re-connect children and their families with nature. Barry said the Lower Platte NRD has "started after-school nature clubs and family nature nights, promoted field trips to NRD wetlands and other natural places, and partnered on the Lincoln Safari.
"It is essential to teach this next generation about their environment and the importance of conserving natural resources," Barry said, encouraging families to spend one hour a day outside doing fun, unstructured nature play.
One way to help make that transition is by giving some thought to your backyard or to areas that might offer good play spaces. The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum recommends leaving some "rough edges" where kids can be creative and leave things in place to continue another day. Even a 2-by-3-foot area is suitable for younger kids, possibly near a swing or sandpile. Trees, shrubs and tall grasses can help create forts or "hiding places." Providing a variety of plants with interesting textures, shapes, seedheads, flowers and colors encourages outdoor exploration, and it'll draw birds, butterflies and insects for even more interest.
Barry said, "Our lives are busy but it's important to remember that nature has a restorative effect. Taking time to play outside - for children and for adults -- provides a much-needed break, and helps us appreciate the natural resources around us."
Transitioning kids from indoor activities to outdoor ones can be a challenge; below are some ideas and resources to help get the family back outside.
Things to provide
*Soil, sand, gravel and water for digging and making sand castles, pathways and mud pies.
*Loose parts -- sticks, wood, seeds, shells and rocks.
* Guide books
*Variety of plants with interesting textures, colors and smells and ones that attract butterflies, bees, birds and insects.
*Magnifying glass, microscope and kids' binoculars (magnification of 6x or less for close range)
*Birdfeeders and birdbaths
Things to do
*Nature scavenger hunt - Kids love to collect things in different colors, textures, shapes and smells.
Have younger children find something purple. For older children, make it more complex "Go find me something yellow that is rough and rectangular."
Or play "I spy" and have them look for a green and yellow spider.
*Increase habitat by providing bird baths and feeders and keeping track of the birds you see
*Build a fort or lean-to with old sheets, branches and wood
*Do leaf and bark rubbings or use them for other art projects. Pay attention to the different colors and shapes of the leaves in your neighborhood as they start changing color, and try to ID them
*Look for spiders, butterflies, bird nests, ant trails and animal tracks
*Start collections of rocks, seeds, insects
*Take a walk, climb a tree, go fishing, fly a kite, watch the sunrise or sunset
*Take a picnic in your own backyard, or set up a tent for camping
*Whittle, with a butter knife for young kids
*Jump in the leaves
*Play hopscotch or other sidewalk games, or make your own stepping paths with bricks, stones or sticks
*Grow plants from seed or transplant something you've found
*Turn on the hose and play in the water, make a mud pie or sand castle
*Put peanut butter on a cone or honey on the bark of a tree and see who comes to visit
*Turn over rocks or bricks to see what's hiding
*Keep a journal or sketchbook
*Older kids can be encouraged to follow their interests - GPS technology for scavenger hunts; bird watching with binoculars and an ID guide; catching bugs; building lean-tos, stone walls or pathways; keeping an outdoor journal or sketchbook.
Books
For all ages: Guidebooks to insects, plants, rocks, weather, birds
Recommendations from Lincoln City
Libraries:
"Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-deficit Disorder," Richard Louv
"Backyards for Kids," Ziba Kashef
"Follow the Trail: A Young Person's Guide to the Great Outdoors," Jessica
Loy
"Go Outside!: Over 130 Activities for Outdoor Adventures," Nancy Blakey
"Kids' Places to Play," Jeanne Huber
"The Adventurous Book of Outdoor Games: Classic Fun for Daring Boys and Girls," Scott Strother
"The Dangerous Book for Boys," Conn Iggulden
"The Daring Book for Girls," Andrea Buchanan
"The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children," David Elkind
"Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun," Bobbi Conner
"Winter Day Play! Activities, Crafts and Games for Indoors and Out," Nancy Castaldo
Web Resources
Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, (402) 476-2729, http://www.lpsnrd.org
Metro Omaha resources for exploring nature with link to Go!Play,
Lincoln Nature Safari, http://lincolnsafari.org
4-H resources, http://4h.unl.edu
Pioneers Park Nature Center,
http://lancaster.ne.gov/city/parks/naturecenter/
Children & Nature Network, http://www.childrenandnature.org
"Parent's place for nature, play and learning," http://www.greenhour.org
Nebraska Birding Trails, http://www.nebraskabirdingtrails.com
Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, (402)472-2971, "Kids Outside" video at
Accepting youth as equal partners in a community
By Katelyn A. Larson
UNL Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development
Recently I have touched a lot on youth and adult partnerships which are forged through participation in 4-H. It is a topic that I am very passionate about and truly believe improves not only the youth and adult involved, but also the community where these youth and adult partnerships take place.
A study was completed recently in North Dakota focusing on the adult perceptions of accepting youth as equal partners in a community.
This is the first study that I have seen which looks from the adult perspective and not just that of what youth is gaining from an adult other than their parents being present in their lives.
Today's youth are full of energy and ideas. They want to make a positive change in their communities. Adults often have great intentions when working with youth but are not accustomed to working with youth on issues which affect organizations and communities. During this study, a program called, Horizons, which works to develop local leaders to address challenging community issues such as poverty and population decline. Many communities have begun a strong relationship between youth and adults because of this program.
Even when youth and adults work together in leadership learning activities, it is often questioned if youth and adults work in a true partnership on community projects or if the adults believe that fewer mistakes are made carrying out any program if adults perform the tasks themselves. Community development is a process which all segments of the community are involved with- including residents young and old. One large aspect of this is to build the knowledge, skills and capacity of the residents, then interconnecting them with organizations to solve critical issues for their community. Youth and adults working together can assist in building that capacity within their own peer groups and then come together as one larger group with a common goal.
It has been proven time and time again that communities benefit from meaningful youth involvement, but they are rarely fully engaged. If young people are not viewed as an essential contributor because of stereotypes and misconceptions, the expectations and standards are automatically lowered for them when they grow into adulthood. If they are included, in a meaningful way, youth are more than willing to participate in community problem solving. Involvement leads to enhanced skills, confidence, stronger communication skills, increased status and ownership of the very issues they are seeking to resolve.
Youth are not the only ones who benefit from their involvement in community problem solving. Adults involved with youth-adult partnerships begin to perceive youth as legitimate, crucial contributors to decision-making. Adults also have increased commitment to the organization and energy to participate in the organization with. Adults surveyed in this study showed significant improvement not only in their attitudes, but also in behaviors and motivation within the organization they were working in.
It leads me to ask: Why aren't we talking to kids more about what is going on in our world?