Custer High School’s new Future Farmer’s of America (FFA) program is taking off running. It sent six students to the state competiton at South Dakota State University in Brookings April 22.
Still in its first year, the program does not yet have an official advisor, but principal Tobey Cass accompanied the students to the competitions.
FFA participants Colter Gerard and Kenley Perker spoke about the new program at the May 9 Custer School District Board of Education meeting.
Since graduating from Custer High School in 2018, Lizzie Anderson’s star has only been on the rise. In 2022, she graduated with a bachelor of science degree in dance arts management from Oklahoma City University.
On Aug. 18, she will graduate with her masters of science degree in leadership in creative enterprises from Northwestern University. Since then, Anderson’s career has taken off running, or rather sashaying and pirouetting.
The awardees for Custer School District’s educators of the year were recently announced for each building in the district.
For Custer Elementary School, second grade teacher Elizabeth Gangel was awarded.
In the Custer Jr./Sr. High School, the award went to Slade Swedlund, the Industrial Tech teacher.
In Hermosa, Carianna Anderson, a special education teacher, was awarded.
Anderson, who has been working with kids for over 17 years, and in Hermosa for 7 years, said that it is “an honor” to be recognized as Educator of the Year.
After competing in the Future Health Professionals (HOSA) State Leadership Conference, there were many Custer High School students who placed in the top 10 and a record nine students placed in the top three in their respective events to go on to the International Leadership Conference (ILC) in Dallas, Texas in June. There were 13 students who went to the state conference, and all of them competed in at least one event.
Hill City High School sophomore Riley Dierolf, is your average teenager. He is active in the community, enjoys spending time with friends, likes to play video games and participates in the arts, theater and band at school. Then he was offered an opportunity that could very well change his life.
Dierolf explained that a few weeks ago he got a call from his older friend, Jeff who said, “Hey, Riley, I have a really big opportunity I’d like to talk to you and your mom about at church.”
There were about 60 entries for this year’s Hill City School District science fair sponsored by Parent Involvement Parent Teacher Organization. Despite the snowstorm the science fair drew a lot of attendees including Hill City resident Mary Larson.
Larson has been coming to the science fair since its inception. She enjoys seeing the creativity of the students.
“Their ideas are so amazing,” said Larson, who also likes the way students follow through.
Joslyn Veneklasen, a freshman in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences ranked among the top 2 percent of students in her college at Iowa State University.
South Dakota State has announced Andrea Guadalupe-Rodriguez Odland of Hill City has graduated following the summer and fall 2022 semesters. Odland graduated with a bachelor of science in Nursing in SDSU’s College of Nursing.
The TeamMates Mentoring Program in Custer is continuing its search for community members who are willing to make a difference in the lives of local youngsters. TeamMates is a school-based mentoring program focused on buiding friendships between students and safe, caring adults. It’s emphasized that people don’t need any particular skills to fill these roles, just a willingness to listen and a heart for children.
After a first-place performance of their play “Drift’ by Dennis Bush at the Regions competition, the Custer High School drama department performed again at the State One-Act Play Festival at O’Gorman High School in Sioux Falls last Friday.
Custer competed against 11 other class A schools. At the festival, schools from across the state competed for superior rankings in individual, ensemble, play and technical categories for their one-act plays. The performances are judged by theater professionals from across the state.
Not everyone is so lucky to have a grandmother nearby to teach them proper manners and dining etiquette—unless you’re a Custer High School student.
Jan Wilson, known to many as ‘Grandma Jan’ from her time working in Custer schools, taught manners and etiquette lessons during special lunch and breakfast sessions to Custer High School seniors last Wednesday and Thursday.
“Contrary to belief, manners are not outdated,” says Wilson.
She began hosting the classes for high school seniors in the 2017-2018 school year.
