Onaga USD 322 - Onaga | Havensville | Wheaton

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.

On Friday, Onaga High School senior Eva Krohn will be running the annual blood drive at the school. The dates for this semester's drive (December 16th) and next semester's (April 26th) are set, and you can sign up for a time to donate at either event today. The one taking place on Friday will run from 11:00am to 5:00pm in the commons area and both students and those in the community are invited to participate. Those under the age of 16 that wish to donate will need a parent's signature to do so. To help Eva reach her goal and to donate to an always-needed cause, please follow the link below and schedule your donation time today! https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=OnagaHS

With the final week of the first semester upon us, USD 322 will be having some holiday fun! Get your Christmas gear out for "Holiday Spirit Week!"

The high school wrestling team kicked off their season this morning and they got to do so at the friendly confines of Onaga High School, with the Onaga Winter Classic wrestling tournament. Wrestling got underway at 9:45 this morning and the Buffalo grapplers are doing well so far. On the JV side of the tournament, sophomore Wyatt Boggs pinned a Horton wrestler, then pinned one from Royal Valley, and is getting ready for a semifinal match against a wrestler from Rock Creek. Meanwhile, freshman Brayden Poell pinned a Jeff West wrestler and is also in the semifinals against an opponent from Nemaha Central. On the varsity side, junior Landon Koelling, Kansas's 4th ranked wrestler in 3-2-1A, received a first round bye as the top seed, then made quick work of his next two opponents with pins against a Nemaha Central wrestler, then another in the semifinals against an opponent from Manhattan High School. He will wrestler for the championship this afternoon against a Herington opponent. Senior Wyatt Pennington lost his first match and is wrestling on the consolation side of the 138 pound bracket. Senior Nick Thompson, like Landon, received a first round bye as the top seed, then pinned a Nemaha Central opponent to earn a spot in the championship match at 190 pounds. Junior Tatum Lara is wrestling 285 this year and is off to a 2-0 start to his season, winning a 7-6 match against a Nemaha Central wrestler in the opening round, then pinning an opponent from Manhattan High. He is getting set for his semifinal match against a Rock Creek wrestler to earn a spot in the championship round. It's been a great start to the day for Onaga, come out and cheer on the boys as they make their final push to the end! Keep up the hard work boys! GO BUFFALOES!!!

Mr. Kufahl's "History of Onaga & Pottawatomie County" class spent this morning at the museum in Onaga working on a project. The class is doing research on the four original towns that made up what we consider to be the Onaga "area" before the railroads were built and our town was established; Duluth, Neuchatel, Vienna, and Pleasant Valley. Located five miles south of Onaga, Vienna was the major town in our area prior to the railroads and was actually the second largest town in Pottawatomie County in the early years of the county's existence. Several of the people that founded Onaga had actually lived in Vienna prior to the railroad. Neuchatel was where many of the French and Swiss settlers made their home and is where names like Bonjour, Junod, Labbe, Jeanneret, and many others got their start here. Duluth was the German settlement of the area and its founders included names like Kolterman, Brunkow, Kufahl, Wegner, Knipp, and Harwich. Pleasant Valley is the lesser known of the four towns, but it's boundaries would have been right on the outskirts of Onaga. Henry Hoover was one of the founders of the community and the house he built when he first settled here was where school was taught by his wife during the town's first year of existence. It still stands today and is the current home of Shari Marten. The students in the class learned the basic history of each town in class and are now doing research to extend their knowledge and understanding of them and their impact on the creation of Onaga. They chose which town each of them would like to focus on, and are exploring the museum for more information to add to their projects. Today was the first of three days they'll spend at the museum collecting information. A special thanks to Debbie Berges and the rest of the Historical Society for all of their assistance in helping our kids learn more about their history!

The junior high basketball teams are back on the road for the second time this week as they head to Doniphan West for a matchup with the Mustangs. Action begins at 4:00pm with the B-Team girls, and will be followed by the B-Team boys, A-Team girls, then the A-Team boys. All games will be played in Highland at the school, an address for which can be found on the "Athletic Schedules" page of the district website. The games will be livestreamed on the NFHS Network, a link for which can also be found on the district website on the homepage. Good luck to both teams tonight, GO BUFFALOES!!! Athletics Schedules https://www.usd322.org/athletics?filter_ids=37089 NFHS Network https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/onaga-high-school-onaga-ks

This week’s StuCo Staff Spotlight is on Mr. Tim Kite. Mr. Kite is our high school’s English teacher. He has been working in Onaga for 42 years. Thank you, Mr. Kite, for all you do for us!!! Favorite color: Blue Favorite flower: orchid Favorite sweet snack: Snickers Favorite salty snack: Chips and Salsa Favorite Place to Shop: any place that sells knives or vinyl records Favorite Classroom Supplies: dry-erase markers Favorite Movie: The Two Towers (#2 in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) Favorite book: The Way of Kings (#1 in The Stormlight Archives series by Brandon Sanderson Favorite team: KC Chiefs Favorite fast-food restaurant: Hardees Favorite sit-down restaurant: Longhorns Favorite animal: Dog Favorite quote: “The best way out is always through.” (Robert Frost) Favorite Hobby: traveling/planning for traveling How do you wind down at the end of the day: I goon out looking at cars for sale on the internet. Anything else you’d like us to know about you: I collect knives and vinyl records.

The high school basketball teams are back in action tonight and are on the road for the first time. The teams will head to Oskaloosa this afternoon for non-league games against the Bears. Action gets underway at 4:30pm, a change from the time on the school calendar with the addition of a c-team boys game. Here is the schedule for the night: Main Gym - JV Girls - Varsity Girls - Varsity Boys Secondary Gym - JV Boys - C-Team Boys (2 quarters) Good luck to all of our student-athletes today, GO BUFFALOES!!!

The junior high basketball teams are back on the road tonight as they head to Blue Valley for a non-league tilt with the Rams. It seems that sickness has hit Blue Valley especially hard, so there has been some changes to tonight's schedule. The c-team boys game has been cancelled, and the b-team girls will only play two quarters instead of the originally planned full game. That means the schedule for tonight's games are as follows: 5:45pm - A-team girls (new gym) - B-team boys (old gym) Immediately following conclusion of those games - A-team boys (new gym) - B-team girls (two quarters in old gym) Good luck to both teams tonight, GO BUFFALOES!!!

In two weeks, Onaga High School senior Eva Krohn will be organizing the annual blood drive at the school. The dates for this month's drive and next semester's have been set for December 16th and April 26th, respectively, and you can sign up for a time to donate at either event today. The one taking place in two weeks will run from 11:00am to 5:00pm in the commons area and both students and those in the community are invited to participate. Those under the age of 16 that wish to donate will need a parent's signature to do so. To help Eva reach her goal and to donate to an always-needed cause, please follow the link below and schedule your donation time today! https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=OnagaHS

This week’s StuCo Staff Spotlight is on Mrs. Juley Kolterman. Mrs. Kolterman is our school’s K-12 Student Success Liaison. She has been working in Onaga for 7 years. Thank you, Juley, for all you do for us!!! Favorite color: Blue Favorite flower: Purple Stock (it smells so good) Favorite sweet snack: Reeces Peanut Butter Cups Favorite salty snack: Popcorn Favorite Place to Shop: Amazon Favorite Classroom Supplies: Fancy pens or pencils Favorite Movie: I have two…Titanic and Shutter Island Favorite book: Anything by Colleen Hoover Favorite team: Onaga Buffaloes! Favorite fast-food restaurant: Ugh, Freddy’s Frozen Custard Favorite sit-down restaurant: Texas Roadhouse Favorite animal: My Cat, Cocoa Favorite quote: “And you will seek me and find me, when you search with all your heart” - Jeremiah 29:13 Favorite Hobby: Anything with my family. Reading is a close second. How do you wind down at the end of the day: Reading Anything else you’d like us to know about you: If you know me at all, you know the joy that helping others brings to my heart. This is my secret - “If you help someone else get to the top of a mountain, you will find yourself there too!”

The junior high wrestling season came to a close on Saturday when the team went to Rossville for the final tournament of the season. The junior Buffalo grapplers capped off an already successful season with another great performance, winning 80% of their matches on the day, the highest win percentage of any school in the 15-team field. Jesse Miller and Monty Meyerkorth each went undefeated on the day, taking home 1st place. Xavier Berges, Rhistyn Jackson, and Cody Pennington all lost one match a piece to take home 2nd place in the event. It was a season full of wins for the junior high team will multiple top finishes in tournaments, and a combined record for the wrestlers of 70 wins and 27 losses, a win percentage of over 72%. To check out how each individual wrestler did this season, follow the link below to the team's page on the school website. Congratulations to the entire team on a great season, GO BUFFALOES!!! https://www.usd322.org/page/jhwrestling

Thanksgiving break officially begins at 3:30pm this afternoon, but before they can start thinking about turkey, the junior high basketball teams have one final game before their break. Tonight the teams play host to Axtell in their second games of the season. While it does say on the school calendar that the game is in Axtell, this mistake was realized and it was announced early in the school year that this game is in fact in Onaga, and the second game between the two teams on December 1st will take place in Axtell. Tipoff tonight is set for 6:00pm with the A-team girls in the north gym and B-team boys in the south gym. Immediately following those games, the A-team boys will play in the north gym and the B-team girls will play in the south. Finally, capping the night off will be two quarters of C-team boys in the north gym. Good luck to all of our student-athletes tonight, GO BUFFALOES!!!