WINSTON FCCLA EXCELS AT REGIONAL COMPETITION

Winston High School FCCLA participated in Region II STAR Events held at the Trenton First Baptists church on Tuesday, January 26.  The Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a dynamic and effective national student organization that helps young men and women become leaders and address important personal, family, work, and social issues through Family Consumer Sciences education.  STAR Events, (Students Taking Action with Recognition) is a FCCLA program of competitive events designed to recognize individuals and chapters for their proficiency and achievement in chapter and individual projects, leadership skills and occupational preparation.

Each year regional contests are held in various subject areas whereby the Gold Medal Winners advance to State competition and possibly on to the National competition.  The following Redbirds competed in the corresponding events:  Tarryn Smith, Jordan Walker, and Tyler Muessig; Interpersonal Communications - Silver.  Holly Caldwell; Career Investigation - Bronze.  Thomas Gadd and Ross Nelson; Entrepreneurship - Bronze.  Maggie Farrell and Ashley Gadberry; Life Event Planning - Gold.  Ashley Noel; Promote and Publicize FCCLA - Gold.  Gillian Heldenbrand; FCCLA Knowledge - Gold.  Delilah Gadd; Career Investigation - Gold.  Elizabeth O'Dell and Lane Fortner; Interior Design - Gold.  Also in attendance were katie Griffith (student judge), Ms. Angela McDaniel (judge), and Ms. Jody Yuille (chapter advisor and judge).

The students receiving the Gold Medal will be attending the State FCCLA Leadership Conference held at Tan-Tar-A on March 29-31.  At the conference they will be representing Winston High School in the State Level STAR Events Competition.

On January 27 four Winston students attended the FCCLA Region II officer screening.  Delilah Gadd, Ashley Gadberry, Lane Fortner, and Thomas Gadd (voting delegate) along with chapter sponsor Ms. Yuille attended the event.  Officer candidates had to take a knowledge test, take part in an interview, and present a short speech over leadership.  I am proud to say the two Redbirds were selected to serve as Region II officers in the coming year; Lane Fortner was named to the office of Reporter and Ashley Gadberry was named Parliamentarian.  Congratulations to all that applied.  It is a Great Day to be a Redbird!

BOTH REDBIRD SQUADS IMPRESS AT THE OIT

Both the boy's and girl's Redbird teams came into the week of the Osborn Invitational Tournament on a roll.  The boys remained unbeaten at 11-0 and the girls had pulled their record to an even .500 by winning their last 4 games.  The boys came into the Osborn Tournament as the top seed but knew they would face challenges from athletic and experienced Polo and DeKalb squads.  The Lady Redbirds drew the #4 seed based on their recent play.

The Lady Redbirds opened the tournament with a first round win against the #5 seeded Polo Lady Panthers.  Winston advanced with a 47-25 victory over Polo.  In the second round the Lady Redbirds faced the top seeded DeKalb Lady Tigers.  Our girls battled and fought all game but in the end came up just 2 points short falling to the top seed 29-31.  There would be some teams who would feel sorry for themselves coming so close to the upset, but not our girls.  They used the momentum from that game and the confidence it gave them to come out and take the 3rd place game over the third seeded South Holt Lady Knights 44-30.  It was a very good tournament for our Ladies.

On the boy's side, our Redbirds came out with an opening round win over the #8 seed Union Star 88-24.  The second round would feature a tougher match-up in the Polo Panthers.  The Redbirds came out and led from the outset pulling away late in the third and finishing with a 57-30 victory.  The championship game would see a match-up with an athletic DeKalb team.  DeKalb came in as the #2 seed, they are also the school that will host our District Tournament.  The Tigers came out strong and jumped up early on the Redbirds.  As it has so many times this year, defense sparked a Redbird run.  A couple of turnovers led to some transition buckets and Winston never looked back.  DeKalb kept the score within reach for a while, but in the end the relentless defense and pressure allowed the Redbirds to stretch the lead in the second half.  The Redbirds finished with a solid 67-41 win to claim the title of the Osborn Invitational Tournament.

A trio of Redbird athletes earned all-tournament honors.  On the girls side, Kaytlyn Barnes was named to the All-Tournament Team.  Fellow Redbirds Jordan Leonard and Craig Lewis joined her as honorees on the boys side of the All-Tournament Team.

The Lady Redbirds now have a record of 8-7 while the boys record improves to 14-0.  Both teams are in action on January 19th as they travel to Stewartsville to take on the Cardinals.  Come out and support your teams.  It is a Great Day to be a Redbird!

REDBIRDS GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

On December 18th, Winston High School held activities aimed at community outreach.  The last day of the semester has always been one that featured many fun activities for students as they get ready for their break over the holidays.  This year, however, the students at Winston decided that they would spend their morning doing something to give back to the community.



For part of the morning on the last day of the semester, all students in grades 7-12 were split into groups who worked on cards and gifts for the residents of The Missouri Veteran's Home in Cameron and The Davies County Nursing and Rehab Center in Gallatin.  Students made ornaments and hand-written cards for 250 residents in Cameron and 50 residents in Gallatin.  Each ornament was made and painted by hand at the school and every card featured a hand-written statement from a Winston High School Student.


In the afternoon students were transported to the facilities to hand out the gifts and cards to the residents.  This was a great opportunity for our students to do something nice for those in our area, and it was also a good way to show our students how lucky they are to have their health and families during this time of year.  Students received many thanks during the project and the school has already received a phone call from a loved one of one of the residents who saw the card and gift.



Helping our community, teaching our students responsibility, doing something selfless for others, and building better citizens;  all reasons why, It is a Great Day to be a Redbird!

CONGRATULATIONS JANUARY STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

The Faculty of Winston High School would like to congratulate our January Students of the Month:  Sophie Pliley and Drew Neth.  This award is chosen by the teachers and administrators of Winston High School to recognize students who show excellence in academics, character, and attitude.  We will never be able to reach our greatest potential as a school unless our students take the lead, and these two set an outstanding example for our district daily.   It is a Great Day to be a Redbird!