Submitted by Mr. Ethan Sickels

Can you believe that this week brings us to the end of the first quarter of school? Time is really flying this year, and I am extremely proud of Blue Jay Nation for all the hard work and success they are showing; both in our classrooms, and through our activities and athletics. It truly does take a village to do the things we do for our students, so as always I want to thank our community for the support you give us day in and day out.

On Tuesday, October 16, at 10:00 a.m. we would like to invite everyone in our community to come to an assembly hosted in our South Gym. This assembly is for our students grades 6-12, and we have invited the other Atchison County schools to join us that day. We would love to have a large contingent of parents and community members there as well. The message is provided by Dr. Mark and Joni Adler from Ralston, Nebraska, whose son Reid passed away in 2016 after being the victim of bullying. Their story and reminder to #BeKind will not only be a powerful message for our students, but our Atchison County communities as well. If you would like to learn more about the assembly and the Adlers, please visit the website https://www.ra13legacy.com/

We will be holding Parent-Teacher Conferences on Wednesday, October 17, 3:30-7:00 p.m., and on Thursday, October 18, 12:30-3:00 p.m. On the 18th, we will dismiss early at 12:05. On October 19, we will have no school . . . a well-deserved three-day weekend for both the students and our teachers! I hope if you have a student(s) in our building you will take time to come in and visit with your child’s teachers to hear about the progress they are making so far this school year.

Our junior high athletes have just finished up their fall seasons and now are moving into basketball practices . . . our band is finishing up their competition season . . . and our high school sports teams are getting ready to enter Districts/playoffs. Please continue to support these activities as they represent our school and continually make me proud to be a Blue Jay.

As always, I leave you with three important words . . . GO BIG BLUE!