Dear Kadoka Area,
The month of May is an exceptional time in our school district. It is when all the work we have done can be shown to the world. The students we have worked with within our core of educational instruction can spread their wings and leave our school system to use the skills we have instilled in our students.
The students in this class are a particular group of kids to be celebrated to the utmost. Having shown extreme ability to adapt in times of COVID-19, and have been able to show significant progress in both the academic and athletic arenas and the critical skills in the CTE clubs that scatter across our student groups. Just last week, a group of them made us proud at the national high school land and range judging contest in Okla- homa. Their presence will show a loss in the halls when we come back next year.
Seniors are the heart of your student body. They set the tone for your year. In Kadoka, we talk at the beginning of the year about a ‘Kougar Culture,’ part of my central theme as I talk to the seniors is that they are the footprints of the student body and the year as we re- member it. The eldest students can set the tone they want for the year. The leadership role in the student body has been a central theme for the students to follow, and they have excelled.
On the same day as our seniors graduate, we will be having a ceremony for our 8th-grade graduates. All of the 8th grade of our middle school students from all the different schools will have the chance to gain a middle school diploma and be recognized for their accomplishments. A recent study by one of my colleagues here at KAHS found that if students can attend school with at least 88% consistency from third grade on having established competent skills when the state tests them at the end of third grade. They will show strong char- acter to graduate with skills that will serve the workforce well. So we celebrate our 8th graders graduating because it means that they have taken half the journey to our district’s primary and singular purpose, feeding the workforce of our state and region, and we celebrate that. So, while this is a less familiar aspect of school graduation, we are so excited to celebrate the time and effort of all those involved as we move our students from district-wide middle school to high school, as it means we are achieving our goals of feeding and growing the students of Jackson County, and subsequently the economic aspects of the business and culture in our community.
In closing, this column aims to celebrate the students of the Kadoka Area. In the case of the seniors who will no longer be with us next year, we are proud to watch them enter a new phase of life. We are proud of who they are and what they have become.
We look forward to seeing them reaching their full potential in our community and the state, as is the purpose of public education. We relish in their accomplishments as time goes on.
Robert Lukens MS/HS Principal
Kadoka Area High School