Onaga USD 322 - Onaga | Havensville | Wheaton

This week’s StuCo Staff Spotlight is Mr. Keith Figge. Mr. Figge has been our Ag Teacher/FFA Advisor/Jack of All Trades/Master of None for 29 years. We would like to thank Mr. Figge for everything he does!! Favorite Color: Purple Favorite Flower: Naked Ladies-Amaryllis Belladonna Favorite Sweet Snack: Peanut Butter M&M’s or Gayla’s Cookies Favorite Salty Snack: Sunflower Seeds Favorite Place to Shop: John Deere Favorite Classroom Supplies: Oxy-Acetylene Torch Favorite Movie: The Sandlot Favorite Book: Doesn’t read Books, watches the movie Favorite Team: KSU Wildcats Favorite Fast-Food Restaurant: Wendy’s Favorite Sit-Down Restaurant: Never Time to Sit Down-Home Favorite Animal: Cattle Favorite Quote: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink. Favorite Hobby: No Time for Hobbies-Farming How do You Wind Down at the End of the Day: Sleep or Watch Westerns Anything Else You’d Like us to Know about You: I am an excellent cook-My figure shows it!

We wanted to remind folks that the high school basketball game this week at Linn will be played on Thursday night, not Friday, which is a change from what the school calendar says. With the shortage of officials in the state, each school in the TVL was required to move a home and away game from the regular Tuesday and Friday night schedule and play them on a Monday, Thursday, or Saturday. Onaga played Washington County at home on the Thursday right before the TVL tournament, now the teams will get the road game checked off with Linn this Thursday. Attached you'll see the up-to-date calendar of sporting events for the year, with several changes made since the original was sent out at the beginning of the school year. And as always, you can find the latest version of the sports schedules on the home page of the school website (usd322.org) throughout the year.

The annual spelling bee took place in Onaga on Wednesday afternoon and both the mini bee and regular spelling bee were well attended and competitive. In the mini bee, which consists of 1st through 3rd graders, had 9 contestants. The final two went toe-to-toe as the event lasted an astounding 17 rounds before 2nd grader Ingrid Van Gooswilligen finally defeated 3rd grader Emery Weiser. In the regular spelling bee, which consists of 4th through 8th graders, 17 contestants battled it out before it came down to 6th graders Vivian Berges and Gavin Weiser. The two went head-to-head in one of the longest final two matchups in recent memory, before the word "fumatorium" finally tripped up Vivian. Gavin was able to them spell it correctly, securing 1st place. He will now move on and represent Onaga at the county spelling bee with a chance to go to the state spelling bee on the line. A big thanks needs to go out to Mrs. McNally for orchestrating the event, and to Cathy Marten and Annette Cline for judging once again, something they have volunteered their time to do for years. Congratulations to Gavin and Ingrid, and a great job to all of our contestants in this year's event!

The eighth and final day of the TVL Tournament is here as the Onaga boys and girls wrap up the 2023 midseason tournament in Washington this morning. The girls, coming off their second blowout win of the season against Wetmore on Tuesday to improve to 6-5 on the season, will kick things off with the first game of the day in the primary gym at 10:00am. Redemption will be on their minds as they take on Axtell, looking to return the favor after a 46-40 loss to the 5-6 Eagles a couple of weeks ago. Onaga fans will then have to move seats as they head over to Washington's secondary gym for an 11:30am tipoff. The boys are coming off of a thrilling 51-40 win over Linn, a game in which the Buffalo defense and rebounding kept the score within reach before the boys exploded for 31 4th quarter points. Now winners of three out of their last five, the boys will look to finish off the tournament with a win over the red-hot shooting Doniphan West Mustangs. Neither of the games will be livestreamed, so to watch the teams you'll have to head up to Washington and make some noise! Good luck to both teams, GO BUFFALOES!!! To keep up on the high school basketball teams, check out the TVL tournament brackets, or to see stats for either team, head over to each team's page on the school website, links for which can be found below. BOYS https://www.usd322.org/page/basketball-boys GIRLS https://www.usd322.org/page/girls-basketball

The OTL Tournament begins next Saturday for junior high basketball and all games this year will be played in Onaga. With that in mind, if you would like to purchase a t-shirt for this year's event, please do so by following the link below. Orders are due by tomorrow (Saturday) morning, so get them in right away! https://otlbbtourney2023.itemorder.com/shop/product/29489566/

The high school wrestling team is on the road today as it heads to Council Grove for its first action in two weeks, after having to cancel last week's trip to Marysville due to illness. The team is already en route to Council Grove with the meet beginning at 2:00pm. Good luck to our wrestlers today, GO BUFFALOES!!! To check out info on the team, keep up on the wrestlers, and see where they rank in the state rankings, head over to the team's page on the school website, a link for which can be found below. https://www.usd322.org/page/girls-and-boys-wrestling

The junior high basketball teams are back at home for the second time this week as they get set to host St. Xavier out of Junction City this evening. After a clean sweep on the girls and boys side of Flint Hills on Monday, the two teams will look to go undefeated on the week when they host the Rams at 5:00pm. All games will take place in the north gym with the following order: - B-Team Boys - A-Team Girls - A-Team Boys Also, Onaga will be hosting the OTL Tournament this year which begins next Saturday. If you would like to order a shirt for the tournament this year, follow the link below to do so. Orders are due by this Saturday morning, January 21st. Good luck to both teams tonight, GO BUFFALOES!!! https://otlbbtourney2023.itemorder.com/shop/home/

Public Notice: USD 322 is currently selling the following surplus items through Purplewave Auction. In keeping with regulatory guidelines, surplus items are dispensed via at-large public opporuntity. If interested, please see the following link: https://www.purplewave.com/ 2005 International CE300 School Bus Smart ST442i Tables Roland KR 770 Digital Piano Wurlitzer Upright Piano Kurzweil Mark 10 Digital Piano Porter Cable Framing Nail Gun 7/8” x 12” Turnbuckles Delta Table Saw Compartment Trays ALT Spot Stage Spotlight Wooden Chairs Compaq Server Rack

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!!!