Council Grove High School Newsletter
129 Hockaday/Council Grove, KS 66846
620/767-5149
www.usd417.net
Kelly McDiffett, Principal
From the Principal’s Desk
We are rolling into the final trimester as the winter
sports seasons come to a close, and we will soon be enjoying a
spring break. Of course spring break does not guarantee
spring-like weather.
On March 3 our Kansas State High School Activities
Association (KSHSAA) calendar allows for spring sports to
begin holding practices. There is no mandated break between
winter and spring athletic seasons as there is in November
between fall and winter seasons. Students and staff are looking
forward to warmer weather conditions as our schedule of
outdoor activities increases.
March becomes a transitional month at CGHS with
winter post-season contests and more non-athletic activities
such as forensics meets, league festivals, and the spring
musical. We hope to see you at these performances. Go
Braves!
8th Graders to Pre-Enroll
After spring break, all USD 417 8th graders will have
the opportunity to pre-enroll for the 2014-15 school year at
Council Grove High School. These sessions will be held in the
CGHS Cafeteria on April 1, April 2, April 9, and April 10.
Each USD 417 8th grader and his/her parents can choose which
session to attend. Each session will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will
end with a student-led tour of the CGHS facility. Parents can
anticipate the session concluding by 8:15 p.m.
At least one parent or guardian must attend with
his/her 8th grader. Parents are to notify the CGHS Office by
phone with his/her desired date for pre-enrolling. The evening
will include presentations and information from a CGHS
administrator and counselor. If you have further questions,
contact the Council Grove High School office at 620-767-5149.
State Basketball Tournament
Procedures for CGHS
The successes of the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams
has been a great source of pride and joy for Braves fans. We
enter the sub-state basketball week with the belief that each of
our teams has a great opportunity to move on to the 3A State
Basketball Tournament to be held in Hutchinson, March 12-15.
So that students, staff, and patrons can plan accordingly, we
provide our school procedures for the state basketball
tournament.
 If a boys’ or girls’ team qualifies to play in the state
basketball tournament, Council Grove High School will
continue the normal school time schedule throughout the
week.
 The 3A State is held at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in
Hutchinson. First round and semifinal round (school days)
game times are 3:00 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 8:15
p.m.
March 1, 2014
CGHS will offer an opportunity for students to ride a bus to
all CGHS state tournament contests. A minimum of 20
riders is required for a bus to be used. The bus will leave
from CGHS 3 hours prior to the scheduled 3A state game
time.
 CGHS students will be expected to be in attendance at
school unless: 1. A parent has personally come to CGHS to
accompany the student to Hutchinson. 2. A parent has given
written permission for the student to be excused from school
to ride the pep bus to Hutchinson.
 CGHS students will not be permitted to leave school to drive
themselves to Hutchinson.
 In order to sign up to ride the CGHS Pep Bus, a CGHS
student must provide a completed parental permission form
(if departing prior to the end of the school day) and pay the
student admission fee for the state basketball tournament
session. The fee is intended to serve as a deposit. The fee
will be used to pay for the student’s admission. The fee is
forfeited if the student does not ride the bus.
We hope we get the opportunity to put the above
procedures into action. Go Braves!

Parent-Teacher Conferences at CGHS to
be Held on March 10-11
Council Grove High School will be hosting ParentTeacher Conferences on March 10 and 11. The purpose of this
conferencing is to pre-enroll all freshmen, sophomores and
juniors for the 2014-15 school year. Seniors and their parents will
conference to discuss and ensure all post-high school
preparations are in place.
By moving the CGHS conferences to March, it will
allow for each student’s high school transcript to be updated with
courses credited during the winter trimester. This information is
vital to pre-enrollment discussions.
Chris Siegle Wins ESU Science and
Engineering Fair
Chris Siegle competed in the Emporia Area Regional
Science and Engineering Fair on Saturday, February 22, 2014.
His investigation looked into the amount of energy produced by
coal of varying sizes. Chris received first place in the Division 1
Chemistry category and was also awarded first place overall in
Division 1.
This project caught the eye of several instructors in on
the Emporia State University faculty and was done so well that
Chris was offered a $2000 scholarship if he chooses to attend
ESU. Chris will move on to compete in the Kansas State Science
Fair on April 4 and 5in Wichita.
CGHS Musical
2
Go Braves!
This years musical is reminiscent of “Saturday Night
Live"! The revue parodies famous musicals including "Annie,"
"Sweeney Todd," “Les Miserables,” "Fiddler on the Roof," and
"West Side Story." It is wonderfully ambiguous, unpredictable,
and downright hilarious. And what do you call a production
with no gigantic sets, no costumes the size of a truck, and just
lots of fun and music? Why, “The No-Frills Revue," of course!
The CGHS musical cast will provide two
performances. Thursday, March 27 is the opening performance,
with the finale on Friday, March 28. Both performances will
begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be held in the CGHS Auditorium.
The admission for each performance is $5.
The revue encompasses many different music genres
and there is no set “theme”. It is not big flashy stuff. It is
similar to vaudeville, making fun of "normal" situations and
bringing humor to current events.
The beauty of this year's production is that it allows the
performers to step out of the box and perform many different
roles, so no pressure of "lead roles," just lots of fun parts for as
many students who want to try their hand on the stage!
This year’s cast includes: Hannah Bolieu, Logan
Marsh, Nikki Hawkins, Makayla Stone, Makenzie Ochoa, Jodi
Johnson, Kaitlyn Powell, Randy Phillips, Kristina Laizure,
Jessica Prudence, Tobin Weltha, Scott Robidou, Nadine
Armstrong, Caleb Kirk, Katy DeWeese, Tamaya Hamilton,
Jordan Comfort, Casee Robidou, Elizabeth Baker, Tristyn
Goebel, Madi Williams, Grace Wohlschlegel, Paul Lamberson,
Luke Richardson, Zach German, Abigail Kline, Skyler
Stevenson, Emily Border, Erica Hecht, and Paige Bomberger.
FHL Music Festival
On March 26, the music department will be attending
the Flint Hills League Music Festival to be critiqued on their
musical prowess. The band will present two pieces that they
have been working diligently on before three judges, and they
will be given constructive criticism, as well as a rating of IOutstanding, II-Excellent, or a III-Average.
Apart from the band, the Brave Voices will be
performing before one judge for the same feedback. This year’s
soloists include Elizabeth Baker-Flute, Casee Robidou-Bass
Clarinet, Caleb Kirk-Tuba, Randy Phillips-Tenor, Makenzie
Ochoa-Alto, and Nikki Hawkins-Alto. We have one ensemble
going to contest as well this year, and that is our Men’s TrioRandy Phillips, Tobin Weltha, and Scott Robidou. The League
Contest is a no-pressure “warm-up” for everyone going to
Regional Contest in April, which will qualify students for State.
Other royalty were Samantha Davidson and Brant
Mahanay, juniors; Mattea Tompkins and Kyle Hayes,
sophomores; and Payton Marshall and Logan Bieling, freshmen.
All of these students are wonderful representatives of
our school. Congratulations to all of the homecoming royalty for
being selected to represent us!
State Assessments in April
Although the testing window for state assessments in
Kansas opens next week, Council Grove High School will be
conducting the state assessments for large groups of students
throughout the month of April.
The state math assessment will be conducted for
sophomores and juniors April 1-3 at CGHS. The state
English/language arts assessment will conducted April 9-11 for
sophomores and juniors, as well.
The state social science assessment will occur April 2122 while the state science assessment will take place April 28-30.
The social science and science assessments will be given only to
juniors.
These are important dates for our students. We ask that
parents help CGHS to protect our students from appointments or
non-school events which might disrupt these assessments.
Austin Swartz Places at State
Austin Swartz finished his high school wrestling career
as a 5th-place medalist at 126 lbs. at the 3-2-1A State Wrestling
Meet in Hays. During his career, Austin won more matches than
any other Braves wrestler in the history of wrestling at CGHS.
We congratulate Austin for an outstanding season and a recordsetting career.
Prom Information Released
The Junior Class Prom Committee is proud to announce
the theme for the 2014 Junior-Senior Prom: Rustic Romance. The
Prom will be held on Saturday, April 26th, 2014 with the dance
to be held from 8:00-11:00 p.m. in the Old Gymnasium. All
parents and community members are welcome to attend the Red
Carpet Entrance beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the CGHS Auditorium.
The Prom Committee has been working hard to prepare
for the upcoming event. Invitations will be delivered mid-March,
and the favors will be available to purchase after Spring Break.
For more information, students and parents may contact the prom
sponsor, Mrs. Janet Holden, jholden@cgrove417.org if you have
any questions.
Winter Homecoming
Friday, February 14 was another great day to be a
Brave! On a day with no school, we had a great pep rally,
watched the Braves and Lady Braves sweep Northern Heights
on the basketball court, and we crowned a king and queen.
Brier Fox was crowned the Winter Homecoming
Queen, and Nate Watts was crowned the Winter Homecoming
King. Jodi Johnson and Kaitlyn Powell were candidates for
queen, and Lane Evans and Austin LeMay were candidates for
king.
Spring Break
March 17 – 21
Council Grove High School Newsletter
129 Hockaday/Council Grove, KS 66846
620/767-5149
www.usd417.net
Kelly McDiffett, Principal
March 1, 2014