The Switzerland County School Board held its April meeting on Monday night, and again the school board honored students from each of the four buildings as the “Celebrating Success” winners for the month.
Students are nominated by a teacher in the building; and one winner is then selected from those nominations by the building principal. Students and parents are then invited to the school board meeting; where each student is recognized and receives a pin of appreciation from the school board.
This month’s winners include:
– At Switzerland County High School, Envirothon coach and science teacher Bonnie Fancher nominated Jim Abbott and Heather Fussnecker. The two seniors served as the captains of the two Envirothon teams that recently competed at the regional competition.
Both nominations were approved by principal Candis Haskell.
In her letters of recommendation, Bonnie Fancher wrote:
“Jim Abbott is captain of one of our two Envirothon Teams at SCHS. These teams compete in Soils, Forestry, Aquatics, Wildlife and a special topic, Alternative Energy. The team that Jim represents won first out of the 11 teams of the Southeastern Regional Envirothon at Hanover College on April 5th. This team will advance to the state Envirothon on April 24th.”
“Heather Fussnecker is captain of one of our two school Envirothon Teams that will advance to the State Envirothon. This Envirothon team tied with Madison for second place at the Hanover College Regional Southeastern Indiana Envirothon on April 5th. The team competed in Forestry, Soils, Aquatics, Alternative Energy and Wildlife. A tiebreaker with Madison put the team in third place, but the top three teams from the Regional Envirothons advance to the state.”
– This month’s honoree at Jefferson-Craig Elementary School was Braden Burk, and he was nominated by physical education teacher Fred Ross and approved by principal Darrell Hansel.
In his recommendation letter, Fred Ross wrote:
“I am nominating Braden Burk for Celebrating Success for the month of April. Braden is a gifted athlete who works hard in class. Braden is a competitor who is always trying to improve himself as an athlete by listening and practicing his skills. Braden participates in cross country, basketball and track.
“This year Braden ran cross country for the middle school and finished as one of their top five runners and was a member of their ORVC championship team. He also participated on the fifth grade basketball team that finished runner-up in the Jefferson County Invitational basketball tournament. He is currently running track and I am positive that he will have a successful season due to his hard work and dedication. I wish Braden good luck and I will miss him next year.”
– The honoree from Switzerland County Elementary School for April was Kaylee Gregory. She was nominated by principal Dr. Elizabeth Jones, and in her letter of recommendation, Dr. Jones wrote:
“I would like to nominate Kaylee Gregory for the Celebrate Success Award. Kaylee is a fifth grade student at SCES and is the Student Council Recording Secretary. Kaylee also serves as the fundraising chairperson for the Student council. This year she and her committee coordinated the Valentine and Bunny Gram sales. They raised approximately $800 for Student Council activities and philanthropies.
“Kaylee participates in numerous school activities. She plays the saxophone with the fifth grade band; serves as the student monitor for the Friday Snacks program; serves as a Book Fair student assistant; and participates in intramural volleyball. Kaylee is an active member of 4-H and Girl Scouts. She is consistently on the A-B Honor Roll. Kaylee is a motivated young lady who displays character, poise and maturity. She excels academically and is a positive role model for the students of SCES and her community.”
– At Switzerland County Middle School, sponsor Phyllis Weaver nominated members of the student council for the award. Representing the student council were: Kim Cox, Jenna Shelley, Jackie Brown, Traci Holmes, and Nila Johnson. This nomination was endorsed by principal Nancy Stearns.
In her letter of recommendation, Phyllis Weaver wrote:
“For the sixth year in a row the SCMS Student Council has been awarded Honor Council for their work. The State Student Council organization judges the scrapbook the students put together describing the activities the Student Council has done. Certain criteria such as Riley Hospital Kids Caring and Sharing fund raising, doing community projects, student/faculty activities, and much more must be included for Honor Council consideration.
“Some activities completed have included sending $1,335 to Riley Hospital this year, having a faculty dinner, helping serve refreshments at Parent Conferences, having Easter eggs for the kindergarten students, sponsoring a dance, and wrapping gifts for the Angel Tree at Christmas.”