What a beautiful week we experienced last week. I know we can’t, and don’t, want that to continue, but my, it was nice to get out in the sunshine. That’s one of the many things I love about Texas. Saturday night I thought the house and half the country was going to blow away! I was very nervous Sunday morning when I looked out over the pasture. Thankfully, everything was still in place and nothing of value had been blown away!

Mr. McKee sent out a memo to all the teachers letting us know how well our students had done at the Stock Show. I’ve condensed his three page note to the following; 18 Richland Springs students with a total of 32 qualifying animals for the premium sale received almost $24,000 in premiums. That will be a wonderful start to some serious college money. Franky Soto showed the Champion American steer, Stephen Soto showed the Champion commercial heifer and Hutton Lusty showed the Reserve Champion fine wool lamb. Trevor Tinney showed the Reserve Champion purebred gilt. Bralei Lewis took the Junior Showmanship for her lambs. Brennan and Brooklyn McGinty, Anabel and Joe Avila, Regan Lenz, Masen Huddleston, Marsha and Neil McMillan, Brian Torres, Jordan and Haustin Burkhart,Ty, Berkeley, and Gunner Mann, Jasey Gossett, Jordan Gossett, Emily Smith, Chandler Lusty and Stephen Fowler showed their animals well enough to make the sale. Everyone did a great job whether they were first or 12th. I believe the complete list of competitors and their prizes will be in the paper .Congratulations to everyone; parents, students and Mr. McKee, for a successful show.

I received a note from Mrs. Lane on Friday. Her Jr. and Sr. Art class is having tremendous fun working with the stained glass materials. This is a highly complicated, and time consuming project. The students are so enthusiastic they have voted to have an all day class on Saturday, January 30th. The art studio will be open from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., for students and parents, to come and see the work in progress. Needless to say Mrs. Lane is excited at such a positive response to her class!

Last week was Board Appreciation Week. Students and teachers joined together to prepare a three course meal for board members and their spouses. Many of you will remember the dinner service from years gone by! This was a fine china and fine linen affair! The 4-H prepared gift bags and the cheerleaders served the meal. Mrs. Mask, Mrs. Robbins and Mrs. Lupe were there to ramrod the event. It was a wonderfully successful event thanks to the students and their adult leaders. Our board is well worth every minute of our time.

We had a few birthdays last month in my class. One mom was not sure if I would allow cake or goodies on birthdays. Let me assure all of you moms out there. We love to make a fuss of our kids. Anytime you want to bring pizza, goodies or other celebration stuff, just let us know so we can clear the decks. After lunch is usually the best time!

The web site with the grades is up and running. If you have internet access, you may go on the school site and view your student’s grades. You will need to get a password from the office to log in. Reception of this idea was mixed. The kids are not too sure they want Mom and Dad to see their grades whenever they feel like it. We’ll see how it works out over the next few months. I tried it from home and was very pleased with the results. One student asked if we would be leaving notes for parents to read. I wonder why they would ask that question!

Our girls beat the Rochelle girls on Friday. So what, you might say, but the fact is they have been unbeaten by us for some four years. Friday was a night of jubilation! Keep it up girls. The boys are also playing well. The tennis coach is waiting for some of them to finish so that we can start tennis. I guess I can keep dreaming.

I know we are all very busy. Life just never seems to stop spinning, but some things have to get done. Two of those things are, nightly reading by our students, and math facts memorization. Counting with your fingers when you are doing a complicated problem does not lead to success. Neither does reading on a third grade level when you’re in a higher grade. I am sure the kids would rather see a movie or play a game, but those two skills have to be mastered. The TEA and business leaders are complaining that we are graduating a population that can only read at a 6th grade level. That makes it difficult for industry leaders to print manuals that workers can understand. Please encourage your student to read and memorize their math tables.

I hope everyone has a great week. Students are finally returning to school after weeks of virus’ and sickness. Please pray for our government, our President, our precious troops and their families and our community. We live in a great country. God bless America.