Exeter-Milligan Participates in CRC Choir

Junior High students from Crossroads Conference schools including Exeter-Milligan worked with clinician Dane Christensen on Monday, February 3 at Hampton. The group performed four songs in a 5 p.m. concert.

Last Home Game for Senior Girls at Exeter-Milligan

Seniors from left to right Kayla Geiger, Anna Sluka and Alexis Turrubiates get ready for the introduction at Tuesday nights final home game.

Exeter-Milligan Girls Basketball team sang the National Anthem at their season home finale on Tuesday night

Exeter-Milligan Pep Band welcomed sixth graders as part of their band on Tuesday night.

Exeter-Milligan Topples McCool

Exeter-Milligan had no problem defeating McCool Junction 62-24 Tuesday night in Exeter

Exeter-Milligan Boys Battle McCool

Exeter-Milligan fell to McCool Junction in a heated battle 48-62. The crowd was hot, the gym was hot and the teams were hot

Exeter-Milligan Sixth Graders Sing National Anthem

Exeter-Milligan sixth graders sang the National Anthem before the Timberwolves basketball game Thursday night.

Melchert Enjoying Lots of Nature

Exeter-Milligan is hosting foreign exchange student Joanna Melchert  from Luckenwalde, Germany this school year.

Melchert is spending her year living with Trinity Lutheran Pastor Michelle Kanzaki in Cordova.  She noted that it is very quiet compared to her large town in Germany.

She decided to try the exchange experience to get better at her English and “meet new people and have new experiences.”

She is really enjoying herself so far.  She likes school (it is a lot easier than it is in Germany), and she also enjoys he rural landscape.  “I love nature.  I live in a city with 11,000 people and we look outside and just see other house.”

School sports are another highlight for Melchert.  She plays club volleyball in Germany and has to ride a train to practice for almost an hour each way.  She played volleyball for the Timberwolves and is also on the basketball team.

She is missing her family and friends and some of the food but she noted that she really misses the weather.  “I like snow, but it is a lot warmer in Germany.”

One of her new experiences has been taking shop.  She has been working with wood and metal and has enjoyed the experience.

She has gotten to see a little of the country outside of Nebraska as she travelled to Illinois for Thanksgiving. She hopes to do some travelling over the winter break as well.

Unfortunately this year won’t count for her in school but she feels it will benefit her career options.  She hopes to be a teacher or social worker and work with younger people.  “If I am a teacher I hope to come to American again and study in college here.”

She is enjoying living with Pastor Kanzaki and the quiet at their house and in Cordova.  She is enjoying the food, especially tacos and strawberry shakes, “They put cream on top of everything.  It is so good!”

Exeter-Milligan Update: Family and Consumer Sciences

Exeter-Milligan FCS (Family and Consumer Sciences) and FCCLA update

By Mary Lou Vossler, FCS Instructor and FCCLA Advisor

FCS Classroom News-

Within the E-M FCS classroom you can find the students doing the following things:  Foods & Nutrition are finishing up constructing their "food trucks", creating and writing their menus, calculating their cost analysis, and will soon be competing with each other as selected student body members will have the opportunity to come in and purchase the food item that the students have selected to make to complete their projects. Interpersonal Relationships have just completed their STD/STI presentations and will be learning about the reproductive system.  FCS 8 has been focusing on health and wellness, ending the lesson with stress reduction activities.  Child development has been focusing on financial, emotional, physical and relationship considerations when becoming parents, and statistics about parenting and teen parenthood, Senior Seminar has been focusing on the effects of stress on the body, using stress as a motivator, identifying their own stress level and identifying stressors.  They will end unit with stress reduction techniques, 

EM FCCLA News-

A few EM FCCLA members have been very busy getting ready for District #4 STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) which will be held at EM on Feb. 4th.  

Some past FCCLA events have been: attending District #4 Fall Leadership Conference, attending, members were involved in Red Ribbon Week activities with the K-6th graders, collecting over 390# of non-perishable food for the Blue Valley Food Pantry, 5th quarter outdoor movie following a home football game w/ free popcorn and hot cocoa, serving the One-Act Play Dessert Luncheon and  attending National Fall Conference in Dallas, TX. was Mrs. Vossler and State Officer Caitlin Murphy, Making holiday goods for Exeter Senior Center, providing cookies and bars for Senior Center Soup Supper, helping with crafts and face painting at the Exeter Holiday Children's Event,

Upcoming events the end of Jan/Feb. include:  attending Mind Benders Career Conference, Hosting District #4 STAR Competition, celebrating each day of National FCCLA Week with something special, Volunteering at the Rialto Theatre in Feb. & March, Live Like Lisa activities (acts of kindness honoring the late Boone Central FCCLA Advisor- Lisa Groth), attending PEER Ed Leadership Conference.

Caption for photo:

Nebraska FCCLA State Vice President of Competitive Events, Caitlin Murphy placed 1st place in the Nation in on-line competitive event: Consumer Math, Caitlin also presented along with the other Nebraska FCCLA State Officers.

Exeter-Milligan Update: View from the Front Office

During the Christmas break, we again traveled to Phoenix to visit Karla’s family.  This is an annual trip and I do look forward to spending time with the in-laws.  We had the opportunity to see the new great-niece (only 3 weeks old) and also spend some time with our teenage nieces.  Teenagers – what a tough group.  It appears that spending time with Uncle Paul and Aunt Karla isn’t as cool as it used to be.  Maybe next year I can spice it up a bit or just embarrass them a little more while out in public together.

While digging through an old box, I found an article I had saved from the Arizona Republic titled “A player’s resolutions for Coach.”  The author, Tom Kuyper, wrote a letter to his coach, but from a kindergartner’s perspective. The letter was a New Year’s list of things for the coach to understand.  In it, he tried to impress that as kids, they just want to play.  Winning and losing didn’t matter as long as they got to play and be with their friends.  Please don’t bench “us” when we make mistakes or when we missed practice – they wanted to make it but mom and dad made them go to the class play instead.  This article made me think and wonder if we are sending the right message to our kids?  Are we stressing the importance of winning instead of teamwork and improvement?  Are we making the smart choices as coaches, sponsors, and parents?  Are we providing a positive example for others to follow?

Kids are not always going to make the smartest choices.  But as adults, we need to guide them along the way and help provide them the opportunities to learn and make informed choices.  In a recent leadership workshop I attended, the idea of developing a purposeful community was discussed.  To develop this purposeful community, everyone must work together and make informed choices.  Not all choices should be made for the children (students) because this could lead to “learned helplessness.” If a student does not experience success or failure, they learn to be helpless and that nothing they do matters anyway.  We, as a community, need to provide opportunities for our students to make these smart choices and also to provide positive examples for them to emulate. 

Everyone makes mistakes – but if we learn from our mistakes, then we become winners in the end.  As a purposeful community, we need to provide opportunities for our students and show them the right thing to do.  Some of the smartest people can make the stupidest mistakes – but we must learn from them and move on. 

Are we making smart choices?  Are we providing an opportunity for someone to learn?  Are we providing a positive example for others to emulate?  Are we building a purposeful community? The choices we make today have a direct impact on the future – on ourselves and on others.  We must be intentional in what we do and flexible enough to realize that sometimes we need to revisit and refocus. We all must experience failure in order to enjoy the taste of success.  Through these learning opportunities we build character and define who and what we are.

Thought for the month:

As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can: by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we've been given. - Mary Lou Retton

Exeter-Milligan Finishes Third at CRC Tournament

Exeter-Milligan places third at the Crossroads Conference Tournament with a win over Shelby-Rising City 33-17.

Exeter-Milligan students celebrate 100th day of school

 The Exeter-Milligan kindergarteners used 100 cups to build a tower.  Pictured in the back row from the left are Avery Hankins, Easton Schlegelmilch and Layne Zelenka.  Front row from the left are Edyn Adams and Knox Becker.

 These Exeter- Milligan kindergarteners built a structure with 100 cups on the 100^th day of school.  Pictured from the left are Elijah Adams, Wesley Hopkins, Reed Wince, Maiasy Ogren and Kenan Petersen.

Exeter-Milligan kindergarteners celebrated the 100^th day of school on Tuesday, January 28^th.  The students each brought a collection of 100 items to share with their classmates.  They spent part of their day celebrating with activities centered around 100. 

below – Reed Wince brought his collection of 100 cars to kindergarten on the 100^th day of school at Exeter-Milligan.