Good Luck Volleyball Team

Just a quick note for the weekend.

I would like to wish the girls and coaches good luck this weekend at the State Volleyball Tournament. They will get the State B Tournament started on Thursday when the face Jones County at 12:00 noon in the Aberdeen Central High School Gym. We hope everyone can come out and support the team as they work towards achieving their goal of defending their title.

Good luck, have fun and enjoy the experience.

State Volleyball Tournament

A couple of quick notes for the upcoming State B Volleyball Tournament in Aberdeen:

1) Warner will face off versus Jones County at 12:00 noon on 11/20/14 at the Aberdeen Central HS
         -Yes the games are in Aberdeen, they had been originally scheduled for Mitchell but the Corn                Palace is undergoing some remodeling and was not going to be ready in time

2) There will be No School on Thursday and Friday for fans to attend games and cheer on the                  Monarchs VB Team

3) A pep fest will be held on Wednesday at 8:35 am, prior to the team traveling to Aberdeen for              practice

More information will be forthcoming in announcements and other forms of communication from the school. We will also post material to the school website and school Facebook page. You can get official tournament information, including the bracket at www.sdhsaa.com
Good luck to the girls and coaches, and we look forward to seeing everyone in Aberdeen cheering on the Monarch Volleyball team.

Winter Weather

I guess 'Mother Nature' wouldn't leave us alone any longer; with yesterday's snow storm and subsequent 'snow day' we have officially entered winter. When it comes to 'School Closing' information, we will be using the 'One Call' phone system again; please make sure you listen to the message when the call comes in or check your voice-mail after the call has ended. Please note, the call will originate from the 225-6397 school phone number. If you had problems receiving the call please let the office know and we will try to help you out. It's an excellent service for reaching a large number of people. We will also post the information on the school 'Facebook' page, Keloland, KDLT, and KSFY.

In other news, the High School Oral Interp team was able to qualify 5 individuals for Regional competition; good luck to the students and Mrs. McCord in Webster on Nov 18. The Volleyball team continues to advance and will play Summit tonight in Groton for the Region 1B Championship. Good luck to the girls and Coach Jung as they work towards another state tournament appearance.

Construction continues on the gymnasium, thankfully they were able to complete much of the exterior work. They only have a little bit of work on the lobby and roof line. Much work is left to be completed on the interior however, with lightening, tiling, flooring, lockers, plumbing, and cabinetry all being installed. It takes a lot of organization and coordination to get everyone working together in the same small spaces. The final details are always the things that take the most time; so have some patience and rest assured that the project will be completed and look great.

Lastly--please take some time today (if you have the chance) to thank a Veteran. The sacrifices those individuals have made and are currently making are amazing; their dedication to the nation, honor, and commitment are truly astonishing. Thanks to all Veterans, may your service be celebrated everyday.

Happy Halloween!!!!

Happy Halloween everyone; although not everyone is as excited about this sugar infused holiday as some, please be mindful of all the young kids out tonight.

November brings with some changes for kids and school. Weather will become a bigger factor as we get into the traditional winter months. Please make sure your kids are dressed properly for winter weather; coats, hats, gloves and boots are highly recommended for students. Also make sure your older driving age students are properly equipped for anything that may happen as they travel back and forth to school. Also encourage them to keep plenty of gas in their vehicles; we would hate to have someone run out of gas on those cold winter days we have in SD. We will be testing the "One-Call" system in the near future to make sure everything is running properly; we need to finish updating our changes from conferences first, but anticipate a 'Test Message' some time in the near future.

Construction continues with much of the exterior work being completed in the next week or so. The parking lot has been paved and surrounding grading work completed. The road will be opening up soon for easier traffic flow; the parking lot will stay barricaded however. You are also noticing the exterior facade is getting finished; much of the galvanized metal is on the lobby, down spouts are dropped down, and the border stripe is getting installed. The exterior of the building will really come together over the next week and you will have a very good idea image of the finished profile for the gymnasium. We still have lots of various trades working on the interior; electrical, plumbing, and doors all working around each other.

Congratulations to the football team on Tuesday night's victory over Herreid/Selby Area; it was a fun and exciting game for everyone. A special item of note; the playoff victory was Coach Hoellein's 100th career victory as a varsity football coach. A tremendous milestone for any HS Football coach made even more special coming during a playoff game, Congrats Coach Hoellein!!!! We have a busy week next week for events as football playoffs continue Monday as we travel to Howard; volleyball districts start Tuesday (the band is playing, but the team has a bye), with the girls playing Thursday versus the winner of the Langford/Waubay match-up with District finals being held Friday, all matches are played at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.  Oral Interp travels to Aberdeen on Wednesday for district competition; Math Counts will also be in Aberdeen competing at Roncalli. Good luck to all our participants this coming week.

2nd Quarter Has Begun

It seems hardly possible that the second quarter of the school year has already begun; the school days seem to be flying by. With the end of the first quarter also allows us to send home report cards; parents of elementary students will be getting them in the per-conference folder; MS/HS parents can pick-up their students' report cards at Mrs. Lane's desk when you come to conferences.

Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, October 23 from 8:30-6:30 for Elementary students and staff with an hour break for lunch from 12:00-1:00. Middle School/High School conferences will run from 1:00-6:30. Elementary students will not have school on Thursday and Middle School/High School students will be dismissed at 12:30 after lunch. We do not have school for students and staff on Friday, October 24; I hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy the 3 day weekend.

Good luck this week to all of our athletes; Competitive Cheer competes today in Lake Preston and will finish up their season on Friday at the State Competition in Watertown. Cross Country concludes their season on Saturday; we qualified 3 runners for the state meet in Huron. Congrats to the Volleyball and Football teams on their victories last week; it's always exciting to see the student/athletes have success on the playing fields. It's also good to see all the fan support for all our athletes; please continue to support them in a positive manner as much as possible.

Construction work continues to move forward on the gymnasium, the weather has been very favorable and hopefully we get more in the coming weeks as exterior projects continue and move closer to being finished. The parking lot will be the most significant change in the coming days; curb and gutter and sidewalks have been poured, lights roughed in and raising the grade for asphalt application will be finished up this week so black-top can go in next week. You will also notice some finishing touches with doors, windows and block work being completed. The next couple of weeks will really change the outside of the building, hopefully the weather cooperates.

Fall is Upon Us

Fall has certainly arrived, the leaves are changing, the wind is colder and thankfully most of the bugs have left us alone until Spring. With Fall comes the heavy traffic of trucks full of grain, combines and tractors all using the road and everyone working hard trying to finish up the fall harvest. We are also past the mid-point of the football, volleyball, cross-country, and competitive cheer seasons. We wish all of those teams the best of luck as they work towards ending their regular seasons on high notes.

Construction continues to push forward on the gymnasium and classrooms. We have moved the elementary computer lab to room 314 and it has seen regular, everyday use over the last couple of weeks. The additional classroom has been used for a play, group work and teachers are excited about the variety of options the large open space creates. Gymnasium work is moving along as expected; glass has been installed in the lobby, block work is continuing in the locker-rooms, bathrooms, etc, and exterior block work has begun on the east wall. Lights are being roughed, preliminary HVAC has been completed, and the whole building has been enclosed. So changes have been developing both inside and out. We know it will still take some time to get the entire project completed but we are excited about the changes we see occurring every week.

Don't forget we don't have school on Monday, October 13 in honor of Native Americans' Day.

Post Homecoming Week

Good morning Warner School Patrons,

Homecoming week has now come and gone; hopefully everyone got some rest over the weekend and students and staff alike are ready for a regular work week. It was exciting to see all the students' displays of school pride and support for one another; homecoming tends to bring out the best school pride in everyone. Congrats to the 8th Graders and Sophomores on winning the float building contest.

Congrats to the 2013-2014 Athletic Teams for successfully winning another Kelo-Cup; just one more display of how successful the school is. The marching band had a successful weekend as well; winning their class at the DSU Homecoming Parade competition; they also had best color guard and drum line awards. Volleyball had another strong week, with wins over Hitchcock-Tulare and Ipswich. Football battled on Friday night but was unable to defeat the very talented Wolsey-Wessington team. The Cross-Country team continues to run and prepare for the conference and region meets; they had a strong showing at Roncalli last Thursday. Good luck to all our teams as we move forward with the fall sport schedule.

We have also passed the halfway point for the 1st Quarter, so mid-term grades should be coming home with kids this week. Please check them over with your children and encourage them to keep working on their academic performance.

Homecoming Week

Welcome to Homecoming Week at Warner Schools.

One of the most exciting and craziest times of the school year is Homecoming Week; we get sports stars, historical figures, multiples, classes dressed in the same color, pajamas and even 3-D shapes roaming the halls of school. The various displays of school pride and enthusiasm for Warner School is amazing to see. It's always interesting to see the differences from school to school and how each group of students makes homecoming their own. I'm excited to see how the Warner students make homecoming their week. We have lots of events scheduled for the week, please see the schedule below and the students would love to see everyone come out and support the Monarchs this week and all the weeks to follow.

Monday--"Sports Team Day"
   -Volleyball versus Hitchcock-Tulare

Tuesday--"Toga Day" for 6-12, "Color Day" for JK-5
   -Volleyball @ Ipswich

Wednesday--"Box Day" for 6-12, "Pajama Day" for JK-5

Thursday--"Twin Day"
   -Cross Country @ Roncalli; Coronation at 7:00pm with Bonfire/Pep Fest to follow

Friday--"Monarch Spirit Day"
   -Football versus Wolsey-Wessington

Good luck to all our student athletes, coronation candidates, float builders, and marching band (marching in Madison on Saturday). Have a fun, exciting and safe homecoming week.

Settling In

It is truly amazing how quickly the school days go by here in Warner; with all the activities, tremendous staff, wonderful students and pleasant weather the days move by. Maybe it's the newness of the position or the seemingly endless supply of early school year meetings or the great diversity of items the superintendent deals with every day but the days go flying by.

I guess the one thing I haven't done yet is introduce myself and provide a little background information, so here goes. I grew up on a farm north of Andover, mom taught everything from K-6 music to Kindergarten to middle school in Bristol and currently teaches 2nd grade in Groton, dad farms and lives on the acreage he grew up on. I have 4 siblings; two older brothers, an older sister and a younger sister. We now all live in the northeast part of SD and we are happy to be back closer to family. Graduated from Groton High School, earned my Bachelor's Degree from South Dakota State University (go Jacks!!) with a major in History and a teaching certificate. We spent my first two years teaching in Chamberlain, before moving to Lake Preston where I taught and coached for 10 years and spent the last two school years working at Hamlin. Over those years I graduated from SDSU a second time with a Masters Degree in School Administration with a K-12 Principal Certificate, and most recently I graduate from the University of Sioux Falls with an Education Specialist Degree and a Superintendent certificate.

I'm married to Rachel and we have twin boys (Lincoln and Braydon) in Kindergarten. We are very excited about being part of Warner's school and community; we knew when we moved it was going to be a great school for our kids and a great community to become a part of. We appreciate everyone's hospitality and eagerness to introduce themselves and make us feel welcome. I apologize in advance if I forget your name and don't be afraid to stop and say hi next time we meet.

Some quick reminders for the week:
School Board Meeting-9/8/14, 6:00pm
Volleyball-9/9/14 versus Miller and 9/11/14 versus Northwestern
Cross-Country-9/8/14 @ Webster and 9/11/14 @ DeSmet
Football--has a bye week, enjoy the rest

Congrats to the Volleyball, Cross-Country, Competitive Cheer, and Football teams for getting the seasons off to a good start; it's exciting to be a part of. For those of you who haven't seen the teams play yet, please come out and support our student-athletes they are a joy to watch and cheer on.

September

September is upon us and school has slowly started to settle into full swing; I hope everyone was able to enjoy the Labor Day Weekend.

It's been an exciting first two weeks for me; I am starting to feel more comfortable with the pace and routine of Warner. The days seem to go by very quickly with students moving through their day with little commotion or major disturbance. I am slowly re-adapting to the smaller school size and appreciating the benefits that affords.

The construction project is moving forward and if you have driven by lately you have noticed the main entrance is starting to take shape. The parking lot will be the next major change and that should be coming together soon. The concrete has been poured in the gym area, the cabinets are being installed in the classrooms and the windows and doors have been installed. They continue to stay on schedule, but the rain has hindered some progress and made some areas wet and soft.

A special thanks to John Braun and employees for removing the trees in the lot to the east of the existing parking lot. The entire area looks much cleaner and will eventually lead to greater parking spaces for patrons of the district.

Congratulations to the Football team for their win on last Friday night and good luck to the volleyball as they get their season underway at Aberdeen Roncalli Tuesday.

Week 2

Welcome to the first full week of school.

Students are now faced with the daunting task of attending school for a full five days; I'm sure everyone will persevere but it may take a greater effort on the part of parents and staff to keep them focused for the whole week. With the first week also comes the implementation of the regular school routine; classes, homework, practices, etc are all being defined by staff and students. Please encourage your children to talk with a teacher if they have any questions or concerns. It's important that the students and teacher have a positive school relationship for everyone to have a successful school year.  I'm still working on meeting all the students and knowing their names, I have a feeling that project is going to take a while for me to complete.

As the school routine gets established please remember to watch for the buses and adhere to all traffic regulations, especially be careful when buses are stopped for pick-up or drop-off, remember "Red Flashing" lights on the bus mean STOP; also be mindful of all the kids who walk home after school. The bus drivers and staff do a wonderful job helping students get to and from school, please help us all out by being patient when buses are stopped and watching out for our in-town students walking home.

Don't forget to get all the handbook paperwork and dues for band, etc returned to the office. Signatures and fees are due September 2, 2014.

First Day of School

August 20, 2014 is the much anticipated first day of school and everyone is getting prepared for the rush of  students entering the building excited to see their friends and classmates. I am also excited to meet the many new faces that I will encounter over the next few weeks. We have, as many of you already know, a wonderful staff that is eager to get started on new year; volleyball, cross-country and football have started and our student-athletes are excited about getting the season underway.

The Open House is slated to run from 5:00-7:00 this evening with 6th Grade Orientation starting at 7:00. The staff will be available for introduction and discussion of concerns you may have for the upcoming school year. Our bus drivers will be available for possible questions as well. We hope everyone can attend and meet our wonderful staff.

Thanks and have a good start to the school year

August/September Newsletter

The summer is moving by quickly and it won’t be long before the school bells ring; with the start of the new school year comes some changes to the district, starting with the building project. We will have two additional elementary classrooms, which will be completed and ready to use by late-September and the new Gymnasium which will not be completed until later in the school year. Once the construction is finished the district will have a terrific facility that will meet the academic and extracurricular needs of our students, staff and community. As a new patron of the district, the community support for the facility improvements shows how much pride all of you have in the school and students; it’s a great thing to witness and be a part of and I look forward to working with everyone in the area.

With former Superintendent/HS Principal Easton moving on to Lennox and Mr. Kay enjoying retirement after his long tenure as K-8 Principal, the school district will have new faces in the administration office. With their departure, the various roles were also reassigned: I (Michael Kroll) will be serving as the Superintendent, Transportation Coordinator and Special Education Director; Ms. Lori Enright will serve as the K-12 Principal. I am very excited about this great opportunity and look forward to working with everyone in the community to continue to support the district’s high academic and extracurricular goals.

We have new teaching and support staff this year as well: Jami Heinrich—Junior Kindergarten and Kids Care Coordinator, Brad Heath—Industrial Technology, Meghan Zinter—Elementary PE and Elementary Aide, Heather Scheer—Head Cook. Jordan Russell will be the new Wrestling Coach, and Jesse Cantalope will be assisting the Cross Country team. Please help welcome our new staff to the district; everyone is excited for the start of school and the many changes that accompany the beginning of the year.

The first opportunity for parents and students to meet the teachers and see their rooms will be Tuesday, August 19, 2014 at our back-to-school open house. Please plan on attending, doors are open from 5:00-7:00pm, with classes starting Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at 8:25am.