Langford Area School s LION TALES Volume XVIII Issue December 2017 SEMESTER TESTS SCHEDULED IN DECEMBER Each year at the end of the first semester, high school students are given semester tests. This practice helps students prepare for a cumulative type test which they will likely experience during their postsecondary studies. The tests are spread out so students only have to take two semester tests each day. The first testing day will be Wednesday, December 20th. Classes that regularly meet 1st and 5th periods will test on that day. On Thursday, December 21st the 2nd & 6th period classes will test. Finally, 3rd & 7th period semester tests will take place on Friday, December 22nd. We ask that parents try not to schedule any appointments for their students on these dates. It is extremely important that all students attend school on these days as making up any semester test is very difficult and along with a two-week vacation, the make-up tests would be prolonged into the Sing in the Holidays There s nothing better to put you in the Christmas mood than the winter music concert. The students in grades K 12 are preparing their songs for this year s event which will take place on Thursday, December 7th beginning at 7:00 PM. Sing in the Holidays will combine traditional and contemporary music along with special numbers. There will be a visit by Santa, drawings for local gift cards and of course the carols singalong with the band. There is a Cookie Walk before the concert so you can buy some holiday goodies. We hope to see you on there! second semester. To celebrate the end of the semester and the conclusion of the testing days, the student body will be watching a movie on Friday afternoon following their final semester test and lunch period. School will be then be dismissed on Friday, December 22nd at 2:00 pm for Christmas vacation with classes resuming on Thursday, January 4, 2018. Highlighting December 1-2 State Oral Interp. Contest in Aberdeen. 1-2 NE Area Honor Band Concert in Aberdeen 7:00. 7 Winter Music Concert at 7:00 PM. 11 School Board Meeting at 6:30 pm. 20-21-22 Semester Tests 22 End of the 2nd Quarter / Christmas vacation begins. 29 Langford Christmas Basketball Classic at 5:30 PM. 30 BBB at Milbank Classic
December has arrived and many of our seniors are getting college applications sent off to the schools of their choice. Soon financial aid will be the hot topic and, once again, we plan to sponsor our annual Financial Aid Night for parents on Tuesday evening December 5th in the school library beginning at 7:00 PM. This meeting is for all parents and their senior students who plan to apply for financial aid for the 2018-2019 school year. Many questions about financial need as well as college grants, scholarships and loans will be discussed. Seniors who have not already done so should visit www.pin.ed.gov and register for a personal identification number (PIN). This number makes the financial aid process much quicker and easier. Also be sure to have your parents start collecting tax information and plan to file income taxes as soon as possible. The Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed by all students who wish to apply for federal financial aid. In a survey of college freshman, only 52% had completed the FAFSA. 35% of students who would have qualified to receive a Pell grant didn t complete the FAFSA. It is very important for every student to complete the financial aid application referred to as the FAFSA anytime after October 1, 2017 using last years tax records. This gives students the best shot at applying for limited funds like grants. December is also a great time for students to continue to earn money for their postsecondary education. Many of our students plan to work over the holiday break in preparation for their educational training. It is also a good time to visit college/ technical school websites to see what is required at the institution in order to apply. All junior and senior students should contact the schools of their choice to start a planning check list. Most post-secondary institutions have a planning guide available on demand. This lists many of the important deadline dates that schools may have. All high school students along with the 8th graders are busy updating their SDMyLife portfolio. Mrs. Krueger is leading the students into completing the career exploration tools that are available such as Career Match Maker and developing their Personal Learning Plan (PLP). These SDMyLife resources provide students with valuable information about career and job opportunities they may be interested in learning more about. The hope for a successful future depends on the preparation and planning we do now. It has been said that failure to plan is a plan for failure so each of us must do what is necessary to ensure that we make the most of every opportunity to succeed. Students and parents are reminded to contact Mr. Brown if they have any questions about applying for college and/or financial aid. Now is the time to order your copy of the 2017-18 yearbook, The Lion: Langford Area Students are Out of this World. An order form is available on page 8 of this newsletter or one can be printed off the school s website. Cost is $30 or $35 with your name on the cover. Orders will be taken until December 22nd, so reserve your copy today. Page 2
Music Notes Congratulations to Dylan Frey and Brandy Peterson, who were selected for the North Area Honor Band. Dylan (alto sax) and Brandy (flute) will be part of a 100-piece concert band that is composed of students from several schools in northern South Dakota. This year s festival band is directed by Dr. Audrey Miller, NSU professor of clarinet. The festival begins on Friday, December 1st and culminates with the concert on Saturday, December 2 nd at 7:00 pm on the main stage at the Johnson Fine Arts Center on the campus of Northern State University. This is Dylan s 4th year with the band and Brandy s second. Congrats to both on a job well done! Sing in the Holidays is the theme for this year s K-12 Winter Concert. The concert, which will showcase the musical groups in Selected to represent LAHS at the North Area Honor Band in Aberdeen this weekend are Dylan Frey and Brandy Peterson. They will rehearse on Friday and Saturday in preparation for the public concert on Saturday, Dec. 2nd at 7:00 PM. by Mrs. Wieser our school, will be held on Thursday, December 7th at 7 pm. Highlights from this year s concert include: grade school, junior high and high school choirs and the concert band. Several holiday pieces, new and old, will be sure to put you in the spirit! As in the past, the Langford Evangelical Lutheran Church will host its annual Cookie Walk prior to the concert. Goodies of all kinds will be available for purchase. Pep band season (part 2) will soon be upon us! As soon as the winter concert music is put away, the pep band will be rehearsing for upcoming basketball games. The pep band plays for ALL home basketball games. Watch the school calendar and website for game times. Go LIONS! $ FINANCIAL $ AID $ NIGHT $ PLANNED $ As seniors and their parents prepare for life after high school, determining the costs of college or technical school becomes a reality. A question asked my many is, How do I start the application process for financial aid? A night has been planned to help answer that question. On Tuesday, December 5th, an informational session will be held in the school library beginning at 7:00 PM. Here s a chance to learn more about the federal financial aid application plus all the scholarship applications that are available for your child and a chance to ask all your questions. Hope to see you there! Fa la la la la la la la la Langford 5th & 6th grade students will be traveling to the Sun Dial Manor and Strand Kjorsvig nursing homes on Tuesday, December 19th to spread some Christmas cheer. They will be singing their Christmas songs for the residents in Bristol at 1:00 PM and in Roslyn around 2:10 PM. Page 3
Home PLATE Promoting Learning And Tracking Excellence In an effort to help a number of local kids in need of food assistance on the weekends, the Langford Area Home PLATE (Promoting Learning And Teaching Excellence) program is again in full swing this school year. Volunteers assemble and deliver bags of food that are distributed to eligible children every Friday. This program is not sponsored by the school, but through grants and financial donations. Applications for the program can still be taken if you would like to enroll your child. If you would like to make a monetary donation to the Home Plate program, you can drop it off at the school office or mail it to: Audrey Johnson 306 West 3 rd St. Pierpont, SD 57468. Thank you for your support of this program! WANTED: YOUR BEST ROASTER OF CHILI You are invited to participate in this year s PAWS Chili Cook-off DATE: Saturday Dec. 16th WHEN: 12:00 noon until we run out of chili WHERE: Langford School-Double-Header with Hitchcock-Tulare ENTRIES: Open to any family or business that would like to showcase their culinary skills. You can decorate or have a theme for your area. Winner will have bragging rights and display the traveling trophy for one year. If you are interested, please call Sheila at Langford School (493-6454) to sign up your team NOW! Christian Youth Ministries would like to invite you to their COOKIE WALK on December 7th before the school s Christmas concert. Stop by and pick up some kringla, cookies and holiday treats. Sales will begin at 6:00 PM. Page 4
Basketball season is here as both the girls and boys squads are busy practicing for their first games. The girls will open the season with two games during the first week. They will travel to Frederick on Friday, December 8th for the first game of the year and head to Roscoe on Saturday the 9th for a 2:00 afternoon game. Coaching the girls this year are Michael Alberts, Larissa Hansmeier and Kent Erickson The boys teams are under the direction of Paul Raasch with assistant coaches Stuart Samson and Alex Suther. They are preparing for three games during their first week of action. All the games are at home beginning on Tuesday, December 12th with Leola/Frederick; Thursday, December 14th with Ipswich and finishing the week on Saturday, December 16th hosting Hitchcock-Tulare in a boys & girls doubleheader beginning at 1:00 PM. Langford Area School will host it s annual Christmas Basketball Classic on December 29th. The first game between WaubaySummit and Britton-Hecla will begin at 5:30 PM. Following that game, our Lions will take on Irene-Wakonda. Admission prices will be $6 for adults and $4 for students. We are excited to host this event again this year and hope many of you can joins us for some holiday basketball action right here in our hometown gym. School will be dismissed at 2:00 PM on December 22nd. Mark your calendars for this Friday, December 1st to really get yourself into the Christmas spirit. First check out the Festival of Trees held in the Lutheran church fellowship hall from 5:00 7:00. There will be goodies & cider as you view the many Christmas trees set up. Secondly, head for Main Street to enjoy this year s Parade of Lights at 7:00 PM. Finally, there will be a program in the Legion Hall after the parade featuring the church youth groups, cookies/treats, drawings and a visit from Santa. Hope to see you on Friday! Page 5
Gabbing with Gabe What do you want for Christmas? Teegan K American Girl doll Ethen 4th Whatever Case 1st Hot Wheels cars & WWE toys Hunter 2nd Nerf gun, Legos, Spider Man Stuff & a camouflage Xbox If you could plan the Christmas meal, what would you serve? Louis 7th Biscuits & gravy cuz it s my favorite. Laney 7th Ham, mashed potatoes and apple pie. Bryanna 6th Ham, stuffing and Sunny D to drink Lilyan 8th Mac n Cheese and chicken nuggets. What do you enjoy most about the Christmas season? Alyssa 9th Drinking hot chocolate by the fire. Lexi 11th I love the cold weather, snow and eating Christmas cookies. Madisyn 11th A snowy day spent indoors watching movies and drinking hot chocolate. Ashley 10th Singing Christmas carols. Page 6
2018 Senior Spotlight Favorite hobbies: DYLAN FREY Working on the farm with the cows, singing and relaxing. Favorite food / Restaurant Mashed potatoes / Qdoba Favorite Color / TV Show: Green / Hawaii Five-O Favor Music Performer: Uncle Kracker Favorite actor/actress: Morgan Freeman / Sandra Bullock My advice for underclassmen: Turn in your work. Favorite Quote: It ain t over till it s over. Yogi Berra What one word best describes you? Intelligent Best School Memory: Playing football in the Dome twice and playing basketball in the State B s twice.. Future plans: Either attend SDSU for Ag Business or Augustana for accounting. Aaliyah harty Favorite hobbies: Sleeping, painting and thinking about sleeping. Favorite food / Restaurant Chicken / Chipotle Favorite Color / TV Show: Purple / Family Guy Favorite song / Performer: Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd Batille Favorite actor/actress: David Space / Melissa McCarthy My advice for underclassmen: Always remember that high school is only temporary. Focus on the future! Favorite Quote: Let er buck. What one word best describes you? Opinionated Best School Memory: Alex trying to teach me to two-step dance at prom. Future plans: Attend Lake Area Technical Institute for Automotive Mechanics. Page 7
Page 8