Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
The Washakie County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees, following an executive session voted to renew Principal Robert Griffin’s contract for another two years.
Griffin is in his first year as principal at Ten Sleep.
Senior class
Also during the Monday, March 13 regular meeting, academic honors were announced during the meeting: Kinley Anderson will be valedictorian and Walker Cooper will be salutatorian for Ten Sleep’s graduating class of 2023.
The graduating class is Kinley Grace Anderson, Calvin Blake Baker, Orrin Walker Cooper, Kevin David Fuchs, Jillian Jeanne Miller, Elijah William Mitchell and Ian LeBaut Turgeon.
Some of these seniors were also recognized for outstanding student achievements. Anderson was awarded the Trustees’ Scholars Award.
Mitchell was recognized for being appointed to West Point Military Academy.
Both students were featured in the March 2 issue of the Northern Wyoming News.
FFA
Adrienne Forshee brought her FFA teams to the meeting for them to report on their time at the 21st annual Border Wars event held at Sheridan College. This event is a competition between Wyoming and Montana FFA chapters, intended to prepare them for upcoming state FFA competitions and experience the College’s agricultural programs.
The Middle School Horse Evaluation team presented to the board their thoughts after their first competition. They told the board about what they looked for in judging a live horse, and their takeaways from the competition that they will work on before the next competition.
The Environmental and Natural Resources team talked about their competition. They took a written test and worked on scenarios in which they used their knowledge of land management strategies in various situations that included soil science, water management and wildlife conservation.
The Agricultural Sales and Service team, the first one that Ten Sleep has had in six years, talked about their project. Leading up to the competition, the team had been preparing their sales pitch for a line of products from the company Natures Composites in Torrington, who manufacture alternatives to wooden construction material made of wheat straw and durable plastic. Their primary products are fencing materials. They performed in scenarios where they attempted to make sales and took tests of their knowledge in the field.
Before wrapping up the FFA’s presentation to the board, Forshee announced that Anderson had been awarded a full-ride scholarship to participate in Sheridan College’s Agricultural program.
CTE
Jason Thoren, a career and technical education (CTE) teacher at Ten Sleep School, discussed a program that seeks to encourage Wyoming students’ enrollment as CTE educators at the University of Wyoming. Students are nominated by educators across the state to visit UW’s campus and learn what the university’s College of Education has to offer.
Anderson was nominated by Forshee as a candidate for an agricultural educator, and Jacob Fettig was nominated by Thoren as a welding educator.
Thoren also announced that he would be bringing back a SkillsUSA chapter to Ten Sleep. He currently plans on taking six students to the Wyoming State Leadership and Skills Conference at Casper College from April 24-26.
NHS
Counselor Chawna Wiechmann introduced the Ten Sleep Chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS): Walker Cooper, Jacob Holiday and Kinley Anderson. She stated that to join NHS, a student must be of junior standing, maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average and be involved in multiple school activities.
She then laid out the groups’ plan for service projects throughout the spring semester. As their main service opportunity is recycling, Wiechmann announced that the recycle trailer was still awaiting being repainted by Ten Sleep School’s art program. They are waiting for weather to improve so that the trailer can be sandblasted, and then it will be brought into the school to be repainted. The trailer’s use will be halted during this process and will resume when the repaint is finished.
D.C. TRIP
Ten Sleep social studies teacher Emma Reid presented to the board her plan to take students on a five-day trip to Washington D.C. during the summer of 2024. This trip is a partnership with EF Tours, an organization that provides travel opportunities to students for the purpose of education. Planned visits during the tour will include the White House, the World War 2 Memorial, one of the Smithsonian Museums, Arlington National Cemetery and more. The trip was approved by the board of trustees.
OTHER BUSINESS
Superintendent Annie Griffin said that after receiving no Title I funds this school year, they would be projected to receive $37,478 next year. The funding for Title I is based on the number of low income students in the district, requiring a minimum of 10 students to qualify for funding.
The board approved going out to bid to replace a school bus with two SUV’s, as they were deemed more suitable for the district’s needs.
Upon policy reading, action was only taken on one policy: the removal of policy 4.12. This policy advises classified employees to check their staff mailboxes on arrival in the morning, during the noon hour, and before leaving the building at the end of the day. Superintendent Griffin deemed this policy to be unnecessary, and the board of trustees voted to remove it.
Superintendent Griffin announced that she would be representing the school district at the March 21 Ten Sleep Town Council meeting, when the council will consider the approval of the building permit for the new school. Representatives from Groathouse Construction, the contractor hired to build the school, will also be present.