Hononegah Community High School starts new year off on positive note
Training for teachers and staff, coaching and sports for students, school board vacancy
Hononegah Community High School has started out their new school year on the right track.
At the August Board of Education meeting, Student Council representative Riley Dick covered actions being taken or that have currently been handled by the council.
“We are outlining and finalizing a budget for this year. We are reformatting the Council bylaw clauses. Delany Porter has been appointed as a NCD [North Central District of Illinois Association of Student Councils] webmaster.” He reported that the council held their summer meeting on Aug. 15.
The marching band completed their summer marching band camp the week before the BOE meeting.
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Principal Dougherty hit on the highlights of the first day of school, Aug. 17. Students were greeted in the Performing Arts Center with messages of how to persevere and how to challenge yourself. Students had a chance to test their lockers - one way to eliminate stress on the first day. “It was important for people to be able to move around the building,” said Dougherty.
“Students were able to meet with SOAR mentors. 56 students have mentors from the freshmen mentor program,” Dougherty said. Dougherty credited assistant principal Kathy Eckmann for assuring that all of the students had schedules prior to the start of school.
A new teacher workshop was held from Aug. 10-12. “We had a lot of young and exceptional teachers in the mix,” Dougherty said.
School Board member Bob Geddeis credited David Berg, director of buildings and grounds, for his great work on the grounds and for being a champion for the school.
The athletic director's report reflected 502 students who are in a fall sport, an increase over last year. This year 80 students have tried out for volleyball.
Dr. Kendra Asbury, director of human resources, said that the school hosted restorative practices training on Aug. 8 and 9. The school hosted Fierce Conversations training on Aug. 1-2. New Teacher Orientation training was held on Aug. 8-10 with 15 new teachers and the 2022-23 substitute present.
Asbury also spoke about coordinating Teacher Institute Day on Aug. 16, where Evaluwise training was given for administration and teachers.
Superintendent Mike Dugan expressed gratitude to Beloit Memorial High School for allowing Hononegah's tennis team to use their courts while Hononegah's new courts were completed.
“Plenty of the community used the courts last weekend,” Dugan said. “Our coach said that these are better than college courts that he has been on.”
Kurlinkus said, “If you haven't seen the tennis courts, go see the tennis courts.”
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New trophy cases have been installed thanks to Mr. Tom Polaski and Mr. Marty Kiser.
Katie Littlefield, who has served as the BOE secretary, announced that she is resigning from her position on the board, saying that she and her family are moving out of the district. Littlefield said, “It has been a joy working on the board.”
President Kurlinkus thanked Littlefield for her service and said that she will be greatly missed. Other board members echoed the same sentiments. Applications are being accepted for a community member to fill this position as a School Board member. The deadline to apply is Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 7. Interviews will be conducted by the Board of Education on Sept. 15.
