Onaga USD 322 - Onaga | Havensville | Wheaton

USD 322 will have a two-hour delay Thursday, January 19.

This week’s StuCo Staff Spotlight is on Ms. Karen Utley. Karen has been our grade school office manager for the last four years. Thank you, Karen, for everything you do for us!!! Favorite Color: Turquoise Favorite Flower: Lilacs Favorite Sweet Snack: Dark Chocolate covered salted caramel Favorite Salty Snack: Guys Tasty Mix Favorite Place to Shop: Amazon Favorite Classroom Supplies: felt pens Favorite Movie: Forrest Gump Favorite Book: I love biographies Favorite Team: KSU Wildcats Favorite Fast-Food Restaurant: Whataburger Favorite Sit-Down Restaurant: UMI Japanese Steakhouse Favorite Animal: Cats Favorite Hobby: Photography-even though it’s a side-job How do You Wind Down at the End of the Day: Watch TV

Board Members serve a four-year term as elected local officials. They devote countless hours to setting systems and policies that protect and serve students. They attend events to support the schools and advocate at the state level with legislators and state board members. These dedicated individuals serve with passion and care. When you see them, please thank them for their service to our community and school! Jessica Venneberg Sarah McKinsey Jeff Koelzer Tasha Lara Dustin Utley Tracy Meyerkorth Michelle Rager Thank you!

The junior high basketball teams are winding down their seasons as the OTL tournament looms less than two weeks away. Tonight the teams will play the first of three home games in eight days to wrap up their regular season as they host Flint Hills Christian school. All games tonight will be played in the new gym beginning at 5:00pm with the following schedule: - B-Team Girls - A-Team Girls - A-Team Boys Good luck to both teams tonight, GO BUFFALOES!!!

TVL tournament time has arrived as today marks the first day of the eight day event being held in Washington, with both the girls and boys basketball teams in action during the first round. The girls will tip off in the opening game at 10:00am against #9 seed Valley Heights, while the boys will play this afternoon at 2:30pm against #6 seed Hanover. Both games will be played in Washington County's secondary gym. To see the entire bracket for both the boys and the girls tournaments, follow the links below. Good luck to both teams today, GO BUFFALOES!!! BOYS https://5il.co/1n3yg GIRLS https://5il.co/1n3yh

Due to illness, the high school wrestling team will not be attending the tournament in Marysville tomorrow, Saturday, January 14th. The team will be back on the mats next Friday, January 20th in Council Grove.

The high school basketball teams are set for their final tune up before the league tournament tonight as it plays host to Washington County. The teams will kick things off at 4:45pm this afternoon with the following schedule: 4:45pm - JV Girls (new gym) 6:00pm - Varsity Girls (new gym), JV Boys (old gym) 7:30pm - Varsity Boys (new gym) Also, another great meal is on the docket tonight so bring your appetite. The Class of 2026 will be running the concession stand this evening and will be serving a taco salad meal in addition to the regular food choices, with all proceeds going to their after prom fund. Good luck to both teams tonight, come out and BE LOUD, and cheer on our student-athletes. GO BUFFALOES!!!

Congratulations to Colby Simkins! Today Colby held his signing day ceremony at Onaga, celebrating his signing to play baseball at Hesston College on a scholarship next year. The Larks are coached by Kyle Olson and compete in the Jayhawk Conference. Simkins has had a great start to his career at Onaga. After his freshman season was cancelled due to COVID, his sophomore season was the first season of varsity baseball at Onaga High School. He finished top three on the team in all major hitting statistics, and top two in all pitching statistics. His accomplishments earned him 1st Team All-League in the TVL and Honorable Mention All-State honors. As a junior, Colby led the team in hits (30), RBIs (24), stolen bases (24), and led the team in quality at-bat score for the season (166), a number that is now the school single-season record. He was also second on the team in batting average (.455), OPS (1.098), and slugging percentage (.591), which were all three new career highs. As a catcher, Colby was as good as it gets in the state of Kansas in 2-1A. Blocking balls, holding runners, throwing out potential stealers, and framing pitches were all skills that Colby showed elite abilities behind the plate. His performance behind the plate earned him 2nd Team All-State honors as a catcher. While most of his time in the field was spent at catcher, he also was top two on the team again in all major pitching categories, and was an elite shortstop and even first baseman at times when the team needed him to be. Colby will head to Hesston next season with the ability to play multiple positions when he gets there. Congratulations to Colby, we look forward to a great finish to your Onaga career this spring, and a bright future after that!

The TVL basketball tournament brackets have been set and Onaga's boys and girls teams now know their first round game times on Saturday in Washington. The girls will enter the tournament as the #8 seed and will take on #9 seed Valley Heights at 10:00am in the old gym. The boys will head into the tournament as the #11 seed and will take on #6 seeded Hanover in a rematch of their last game before Christmas break. The two teams will match up at 2:30pm in the old gym as well. The teams still have one more game before the tournament, a home contest on Thursday night against Washington County. To see the entire TVL tournament layout, follow the links below to the boys and girls brackets. Boys Bracket https://5il.co/1n3yg Girls Bracket https://5il.co/1n3yh

The junior high basketball teams are coming off a clean sweep of Wetmore on Monday night and will be looking to do the same this evening against Frankfort. The boys and girls are on the road to take on the Wildcats beginning at 6:00pm with the following schedule: North Gym - B-Team boys - A-Team boys - C-Team boys (2 quarters) South Gym - A-Team girls - B-Team girls Good luck to both our teams tonight, GO BUFFALOES!!!

The high school basketball teams are at home tonight in league matchups against Troy. With the league tournament beginning on Saturday, this will be the last games that will count towards seeding, meaning the teams will need fans there to help them make a final push for a higher spot in the league pecking order. The student section is doing a "Black Out" theme tonight so feel free to join in and throw on your favorite black Onaga shirt before heading out to the games. Here are the order of games this evening: 4:45pm - JV Boys (north gym) 6:00pm - Varsity Girls (north gym) 6:00pm - 1/2 C-Team Boys (south gym) 7:30pm - Varsity Boys (north gym) 7:30pm - JV Girls (south gym) Also, bring an appetite to the game as the Triple V 4H will be manning the concession stand this evening and will be serving up their spaghetti supper along with the regular concession stand items. Good luck to both teams tonight, and fans, get out and BE LOUD as we help our teams tack on another win before the league tournament! GO BUFFALOES!!!

The junior high basketball teams are back in action tonight in Onaga as the Buffaloes host the Wetmore Cardinals. There will be A-team and B-team games tonight, with the following schedule: 6:00pm - A-team girls (new gym) 6:00pm - B-team boys (old gym) 7:15pm - A-team boys (new gym) 7:15pm - B-team girls (old gym) Also, come hungry as the Class of 2026 will be serving a chili and chicken noodle soup meal to raise money for their after prom! Good luck to both teams tonight, GO BUFFALOES!!!

This week’s StuCo Staff Spotlight is on Mrs. Trish McNally. Mrs. McNally has been the 3rd Grade teacher for 17 years and this semester she has become our 7-12th grade Guidance Counselor. Thank you, Mrs. McNally, for everything you do for us!!! Favorite Color: Blue Favorite Flower: Rose Favorite Sweet Snack: Reese’s Favorite Salty Snack: Popcorn/Chips Favorite Place to Shop: Online Favorite Classroom Supplies: Favorite Movie: Sahara Favorite Book: Suspense Novels Favorite Team: KSU Wildcats Favorite Fast-Food Restaurant: Chick-fil-A Favorite Sit-Down Restaurant: Olive Garden or Applebees Favorite Animal: Golden Retriever Favorite Quote: I can do All things through Christ, who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 Favorite Hobby: Read/Cross Stitching How do You Wind Down at the End of the Day: Watch TV and play Nanogram on phone

Here are last week's PE award winners. These students had an outstanding week showing good teamwork, sportsmanship, participation and hustle! Kindergarten - McKenna Wheeler 1st grade - Avery Zenger 2nd grade - Charlotte McKinsey 3rd grade - Marie Spevacek 4th grade - Daylan Griffin 5th grade - Max Krause 6th grade - Waylon Figge

The junior high basketball teams are back in action today for the first time in 2023 as they head on the road for a non-league matchup at Sts. Peter & Paul. The Trojans only have one gym, so all games will be played at the school in Seneca beginning at 4:00pm. Here is the order in which games will be played: - B-team girls - B-team boys (2 quarters) - A-team girls - A-team boys Good luck to both teams this afternoon, GO BUFFALOES!!!

This week’s StuCo Staff Spotlight is on Mr. Trevor Ashcraft. Mr. Ashcraft is our school Superintendent. This is Mr. Ashcraft’s first year here at USD 322. Favorite Color: Any Shade of Blue Favorite Flower: While I’m not particularly sentimental toward any variety of flower, you will find any number of ornamental grasses in my yard ranging from Pampas to Fireworks Grass. Favorite Sweet Snack: If it has sugar, I’m down! Dark chocolate, ice cream - you name it, and I’m in! Favorite Salty Snack: Peanut Butter. Absolutely anything with peanut butter. Favorite Place to Shop: Does Amazon count? I find myself ordering far too much from Amazon. Favorite Classroom Supplies: Felt tip pens and post-its are the quintessential supplies for a list maker like me. Favorite Movie: I’m a total Christmas fanatic. Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (with Jim Carrey) is an absolute must. Favorite Book: The Harry Potter Series. As someone who didn’t enjoy reading as a kid, this book turned everything around. Now, with a Reading Specialist Master’s, I’m a huge proponent for any book of interest to a child that develops a love of reading. Do not undervalue the positive impact of a graphic novel that supports comprehension or a decodable text that enables a reader to feel successful. Favorite Team: Buffaloes! Whether Onaga or my university alma mater, the West Texas A&M Buffs. Favorite Fast-Food Restaurant: If Starbucks doesn’t count (since I bleed strong, strong coffee), then any place with ice cream! (DQ, Freddy’s, the list goes on) Favorite Sit-Down Restaurant: I enjoy anywhere I can sit down with friends and have a good laugh. I’m less concerned with the food and more focused on the experience. Though, if pizza is involved, I’m floating on cloud nine. While living in Amarillo, my teacher friends and I would frequently hit up 575 Pizzeria for some much-needed decompression time. Favorite Animal: Horse. I spent a considerable amount of time running and showing as a kid. I can’t even count the number of miles we spent on the road running to horse shows. But you can’t have a horse without a dog. Australia Shepherds will always have a place in my home! Favorite Quote: Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. But is the ability to resist or use failure that often leads to greater success. – JK Rowling Favorite Hobby: I can task like nobody’s business. I believe in accomplishing many, many tasks at work but also at home. I clean, meal prep, take care of the yard, and work with Harbor (my dog) every day. It’s important to have time for self-care as well, so I try to get to the weight room for a bit each night during the week. On the weekends, I try to get outside and help my parents on the farm. Nature and exercise are important for maintaining equilibrium in life. How do You Wind Down at the End of the Day: Threes ways. While completing my nightly tasks to prepare for the next day, I do three things every night: go to the weight room, watch mindless sitcoms for comedic relief while cleaning the kitchen, and reflect. As someone who is very analytical, I look for ways to improve constantly. This requires quiet contemplation and evaluation of events and conversations throughout the day so I can find areas of success and improvement. I also believe this leads to mindfulness and a sense of inner peace, which is needed at the end of the day. Anything Else You’d Like us to Know about You: I am fiercely passionate about continuous improvement. I push myself to excel at work and at home. Nothing great is accomplished without intentional goals, aligned strategies, and measurable data. Each of us are capable of improvement. So long as we aim for incremental improvement each day, we will experience drastic change over time!

The game times have been changed for the high school basketball games at Axtell on Tuesday, January 3rd, as they will only be using one gym. Here is the schedule for the day, with game times after the C-Team boys being estimates: 2:00pm - 1/2 C-Team Boys 2:30pm - JV Girls 3:30pm - JV Boys 5:00pm - Varsity Girls 6:45pm - Varsity Boys

This week PE award winners! These students had an outstanding week showing good teamwork, sportsmanship, participation and hustle! Kindergarten-Donn Spevacek 2nd grade-Brynn Hutfles 3rd grade-Kellan Schlegel 4th grade-Isabel McKinsey 5th grade-Wyatt Rager 6th grade-Carley DeChant

The high school basketball teams are back on the road tonight in their first league contest of the season as they head to Centralia. Here is today/tonight's schedule: 4:00pm - C-Team boys, 2 qtrs (primary gym) 4:45pm - JV girls, 3 qtrs (primary gym) 5:45pm - JV boys (secondary gym) 6:00pm - Varsity girls (primary gym) 7:30pm - Varsity boys (primary gym) Good luck to both teams tonight! GO BUFFALOES!!!

This week’s StuCo Staff Spotlight is on Mrs. Tammy Greenlee. Mrs. Greenlee is our Ag/Science Teacher. She has been working in Onaga for 2 years. Thank you, Mrs. Greenlee for all you do for us!!! Favorite color: Blue Favorite flower: Rose Favorite sweet snack: cheesecake or ice cream Favorite salty snack: Extra cheesy cheezits Favorite Place to Shop: Amazon Favorite Classroom Supplies: Favorite Movie: Secretariat or Sea Biscuit Favorite book: Left Behind series Favorite movie: Favorite team: K-State Wildcats Favorite fast-food restaurant: Taco Bell Favorite sit-down restaurant: Applebees Favorite animal: Horse Favorite quote: Never, never, never give up! Favorite Hobby: Horseback riding How do you wind down at the end of the day: Sit on the porch swing and take in the beauty of nature.