SCHOOL YEAR 2013 - 2014

CROSS COUNTRY TEAM HEADED FOR STATE

Eufaula X Country is headed to STATE.  This past Saturday Eufaula runners competed in the Henryetta Regional Meet.  Only the top 5 individuals and the top 5 teams qualified for state.  Senior Madison Newton placed 5th with a 2 mile time of 12:50 qualifying for state in the 2nd overall individual spot out of 89 runners.  Junior Cole Montgomery placed 2nd with a 5K time of 16:40  out of 72 runners helping his whole team qualify for state.  Yes that is right…….for the first time is Eufaula School history a cross country TEAM is going to STATE. Only the top 5 boys teams in our regional qualified for state while our boys finished 4th.  1) Kansas  2)Sequoyah-Tahlequah 3)Henryetta  4)Eufaula  5)Holdenville  6)Kellyville  7)Oktaha  8)Heavener.  The kids ran hard and represented Eufaula Schools with pride and determination.  I am very proud to be there coach.  If you see any of these runners please tell them congrats.  State meet will be this Saturday Oct 26 at the Gordan Cooper Technology Center in Shawnee at 12:00.  Madison and Cole both have a very good chance to finish in the top 10 in the state and receive the honor off All State.  Both have already been asked to attend Nationals in November. Laura Gragg, Coach

SCHOOL YEAR 2012 - 2013

May 3
EHS Girls Golf Team State Champions

April 23
EHS Girls Golf Team 3A Regional Champions

April 22
EHS Boys Golf Team 1st Place Qualifier

April 15
EHS Band Perfect in OSSAA State Band Contest:
Band Director Glenn Sizemore and Assistant Band Director, Michael Palmer, are proud to announce the 2013 Marching Band received perfect scores at East Central University State Band Contest to win their SEVENTH Straight Sweepstakes.

April 10, 2013
EHS Boys Golf and Girls Golf Teams are Star Big 8 Conference Champions

March 25
Verdigris Golf Invitational - Scissortail Golf Course

Lady Heads Place Second
The Eufaula Lady Ironhead golf team traveled to Verdigris, Ok on Monday the 25th to participate in the Verdigris Golf Invitational, held at Scissortail Golf Course, host of the 2013 Class 3A Regional Golf Tournament. The tournament field contained 8 teams and 46 total golfers, 5 Teams were 2012 State tournament teams in 3A and 4A. The Lady Ironheads finished second overall with a team score of 368, only 9 strokes behind the 2012 class 3A Runner Up, Idabel Lady Warriors who finished the day with a team score of 359. The Lady Heads were led by Freshman, Melissa Eldredge 89 (6th ), Senior, Faith Lasiter with a 90 (7rd ), Senior, Hannah Rippy 93 (9th), Freshman, Heidi Stafford 96 (10th ), Sophomore, Rachael Marler 106 (tied 17th), and Sophomore Taylor O’Brien 104(16th) who participated as an individual. The Lady Heads participated in the Oktaha Tournament at Fountainhead Creek Golf Course on Wednesday March 27 (story next week). The Lady Heads will be at the Hilldale Tournament at Cobblestone Golf Course on Tuesday April 2. Check out more stats at Ironheadgolfboosterclub.com.

March 11
Comanche Golf ournament - Duncan Golf & Athletic Club

The Lady Ironheads Placed 1st Overall at the Comanche Golf Tournament from a field of 76 players and eleven teams with a Total Score of 375.
Faith Lasiter placed 3rd, Heidi Stafford tied for 4th, and Melissa Eldredge placed 10th.

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Middle School Girls Golf Team Placed FIRST at the Canadian Golf Tournament.
Middle School Boys Golf Team Placed SECOND at the Canadian Golf Tournament

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Middle School Students Team Up to Clean Up

The Pride of Eufaula earned All "Ones" at Konowa Band Day Qualifying them for a Seventh State Sweepstakes!

Eufaula Ironheads and Lady Ironheadsbasketball teams are District Champions

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HIGH SCHOOL NEWS ARTICLE
1st Semester
BY Garrett Davis, Principal

In August, six FCCLA officers were elected. They are Tyler Warrior-Pres., Jasmyne Hutton-Vice Pres., Skye Knott –Secretary Tres., Ninth grade Reps. Destiny Deere, Amanda McNatt and Corrie Medlock. FCCLA attended the NE II Leadership Fall Rally in September. In October, they raised $500 for the Stephenson Cancer Research Center for Breast Cancer Research through pink t-shirt sales, bracelet and cookie sales. They also distributed "red ribbons" to all students and attended the Guts Church Nightmare. In November, they raised money for "Toys for Tots" and are preparing for District contests in December. The FCCLA sponsor is Lesa King.

The Eufaula High School Academic Team participates in the BMAC (Blue Mountain Academic Conference) with six other teams. The conference is a very tough conference with many teams making it to the Area and State Competitions every year. This year the varsity team placed 3rd in the conference. Members of the team included Kurstyn Abreo, Tim Winner, Ashton Mayle, Merrick McMorris, Rachael Marlar, and Reed Clark. Tim Winner was one of the top 8 scorers in the conference this year. The members of the JV team included Shelby Bevenue, Chris Oulds, Lloyd Oulds, and Riley Marlar. They had a great season and will be great assets to the varsity team next year. The academic sponsors are Michelle Cole and Jeanie Marlar.

Mr. Roger Thompson, our history teacher at EHS, will be taking another trip this May. This trip will be his annual trip overseas. Every summer Mr. Thompson leads a group of students and chaperons on a history based vacation. These trips have had great reviews and participation over the years. This year Mr. Thompson's group will be traveling to and touring London, Oxford University, Chartwell and the D-Day Beaches. At this time 22 people have signed up for this trip of a lifetime. If you are interested in attending please contact Mr. Thompson at EHS 689-2556.

The high school had four students selected for all-state choir. Those students are Mackenzie Dalton, Lloyd Oulds, Fayth Heflin and Teresa Dominic. This is Fayth Heflin's second consecutive year to make an all-state chorus. Teresa Dominic will receive the highest accolade and will be awarded with the 3-time OMEA High School All-State Chorus member. High school choir directors are Glenn Sizemore and Cryse Burns.

The high school is looking forward to great second semester in all of our academics and activities.

FFA NEWS
BY David Turner and Kory Ridley

The Eufaula FFA Chapter is still experiencing great growth, more member participation, and plenty of success. Much of that success is due to adding a second Ag Teacher to the Ag Program. Our new Ag Teacher, Kory Ridley, comes to us from the Wellston FFA Chapter, but Ridley is originally from Haskell, Oklahoma. Mr. Ridley was a member of the Haskell FFA Chapter, attended Connors State College, and eventually graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2010.

Ridley joins David Turner who has taught Ag in Eufaula for five years. Turner is a product of the Eufaula FFA Chapter and Eufaula High School. After graduating from Eufaula High School in 1999, Turner served as a State FFA Officer while attending Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Turner graduated from OSU in 2004, and began his teaching career with the Owasso FFA Chapter. He taught in Owasso for four years before returning home to take over his home chapter.

"The addition of Mr. Ridley as our second Ag Teacher opens so many doors for our members. We basically run two different programs within the same FFA Chapter. Together we can offer our kids more opportunities because we have different backgrounds and different areas of expertise. It has dramatically changed the face of our program. Because of the diversity offered, more kids are finding ways to be involved, which leads to a larger membership, which leads to a stronger, more successful program." Turner says. Many people in the community didn't realize that the Eufaula FFA Chapter was a two-teacher program throughout most of this past century. It wasn't until 1988 when the program dropped to a single teacher program, and Darrell Blackman ran the program by himself for the next twenty years. "We needed to be a two-teacher program again, and it is already paying off." Turner added. In the few competitive events that the FFA holds in the fall, the Eufaula FFA has already made its dominant presence known.

In the Shooting Sports Event, senior FFA member, Calahan Henry won the District Contest and advanced to the State Contest where he finished 13th overall. And in the Opening/Closing Ceremonies (OCC) Contest the Eufaula FFA Teams finished 1st and 2nd at the Area Contest and advanced on the State Contest.
The Eufaula FFA Chapter has approximately 120 student-members, and the enrollment is projected to reach 150 members next year. That would make the Eufaula FFA Chapter among the largest chapters in the state.

MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS ARTICLE
1st Semester
BY Chris Whelan, Principal

The 2012 fall semester at Eufaula Middle School was an exciting time with multitudes of activities for students. The fall schedule kicked off with fast pitch softball. Coach Stacy Helms led the Lady Copperheads to the most successful season in recent years as they won 6 games with only 3 losses. The inaugural season for Coach Larry Newton Jr. and his hard hitting style of football was next. The seventh and eight grade teams both shared success, ending the season with a record of 5 wins and 2 losses.

The Middle School Academic team coached by Erin Weeks and Shelly Sharp won the OJABA 5th & 6th District Championship and will compete in the Regional Tournament on January 12 here at the MS. Team members are Payton Dawson (Captain), Sebastian Palmer, Cheyenne Fells, Cy Curtis, Briawna Logan and Tevin Rittenhouse.

The Eufaula Middle School Choir, directed by Cryse Burns competed in the Junior High All-State Choir completion in late October. Three students qualified for the second round completion , they were Lillyan Palmer, Hiyuce Wilson and Justin Weeks. After qualification, Hiyuce Wilson was named to the Oklahoma Junior High All-State Choir for her efforts.

Kenedee Rittenhouse, an 8th grade student at Eufaula Middle School, was honored this past summer by the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame as an up and coming Rising Star. In early September Kenedee was invited to perform in Brownsville, Tennessee at the Tina Turner Tribute Celebration in front of more than 100 people. Kenedee has been selected to audition for the fall 2013 season of the Voice where she will travel to Houston TX. Good Luck Kenedee we are rooting for you.

ELEMENTARY NEWS ARTICLE
1st Semester
BY Brenda Lewis, Principal

Time flies when you are having fun, and we must be having a blast at Eufaula Elementary because the first semester has flown by. Our little Ironheads have had a busy first few months. We have implemented many new programs, welcomed new staff, and as always our students have been busy mastering new skills.

Mrs. Newton has energized our elementary music program. The community's turnout for the annual Veteran's program was fantastic. Our fifth grade performances and student body participation ably honored our veterans.

December brought many more musical treats with the Elementary Christmas Extravaganzas. Mrs.Newton and her students delighted the audiences with three Christmas programs this year. Keeping with the high energy level at the elementary, Mrs. Flinn's physical education classes have been moving with the "Move It" program. The third grade classes performed the "Cha-Cha" Slide on Dec. 18th at the half time of the high school girls'basketball game. The elementary performed several times at the basketball games this year.

The winning Ironhead sports tradition continues. The third and fifth grade little league football teams carried home the Super Bowl trophies this season. The fourth and fifth grade basketball teams are enjoying winning seasons with special recognition to the fourth grade boys for winning first at the Kiowa, Webbers Falls, and Whitefield basketball tournaments.

Our elementary students are learning the value of being good citizens and giving back to the community.
The first grade classes have adopted the senior citizen center this year. Each month they make and deliver holiday cards to Eufaula Senior Citizens. They also went Christmas caroling at the senior citizen center.
The seniors and students all enjoy this ongoing project. Our third graders sang Christmas carols at the December Eufaula School Board meeting.

The needy of our community were also served by all the students and their families contributing to such worthy causes such as Toys for Tots, Backpack Buddies, and God's Helping Hands Food Drive.

Once again our students have shone brightly across the county and state with their winning essays in area contests. Jaci Combs placed first in our local Veteran's Day Fifth Grade Essay Contest. We were privileged to hear her recite her essay at the Elementary Veteran's Day Program. Fifth grader, Journi James won first place statewide in the 8-10 age category of the Jim Thorpe Red Ribbon Contest. She will be honored in January at the Oklahoma State Capitol. Mrs. Goodwin's' first grade class was also chosen as one of a select few to decorate one of the state capitol Christmas trees.

Coming attractions for second semester include the first ever Eufaula 4th -8th District Spelling Bee in January and the Creek Nation Challenge Bowl in February. We are looking forward to a spectacular 2013. GO IRONHEADS!

I would like to take this opportunity to inform the community of the Move It program that we are involved with this year. Eufaula Elementary in partnership with the Creek Nation under the direction of Kimberlee Little and Taylor Thompson are implementing lifelong physical activity for all 3rd through 5th grade elementary students to help prevent Type II diabetes.

Once a week our students are introduced to games that promote exercise and healthy living. The students are also given an opportunity to earn coupons by doing any physical activity for 30 minutes outside of school.

Performing these activities with a parent or guardian doubles the coupons for up to 4 a day. These coupons are then turned in to their teachers and a winner from each class is drawn monthly. The winners may choose from Nike incentives such as footballs, basketballs, soccer balls and bags

This is a great opportunity for our school to be involved in a program that promotes lifetime physical activities that encourages parents and guardians to participate, too!

Kim Little has offered an incentive for those students who participated in performing the Cha Cha dance at basketball halftime.

She has agreed to give 10 Move It coupons for every performer to use for the December drawing. In addition, she will keep a list of those that participate and will do an extra drawing for them.

I recently attended a PE workshop where I learned new games, bought PE equipment at a reduced rate, and the Creek Nation bought equipment for us to use.

The Creek Nation is truly helping our students and we appreciate their support and the energy they have given to ensure our students develop a healthy lifestyle.

Thank You, Creek Nation, Kimberlee Little and Taylor
Thompson for bringing Type II diabetes awareness to our students and for helping to make our school a healthy one.

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SCHOOL YEAR 2011 - 2012

ATHLETICS

The Girls Golf Team Finished 4th in the Regionals and have qualified for the State Golf Tournament!
The Boys Golf Team Qualified for Regionals

The Track Team Qualified for Regionals

The Baseball team won the Coal Mining Tournament at Wilburton. They were Runner-up at the Bethel Tournament and are District Champions.

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EHS Band – Marching Comes to Close as Concert Band Kicks Off

The Eufaula High School Band’s marching season finished off another great season in the Fall semester. With concert band season now upon them, the Eufaula High School Band hope to use the momentum gained to capture another OSSAA State Sweepstakes Award!

This year’s marching season started off with the largest band contest in the state, The 5th Annual Oolagah “Stallion Battalion” Marching Band Contest on Saturday, September 24th which put the Eufaula Band against 30 different bands from around the region. In their preliminary performance the EHS Band marched and played well enough to earn them the following awards: 2nd place Class 3A drumline, 2nd place Class 3A Drum Major, 1st place Class 3A Color Guard, and 1st place overall in their division!! Their score was high enough to put them into the finals competition which was held in the evening and put the top 12 bands of the day head-to-head in competition regardless of class size. In finals competition, the band increased the quality of their performance and came away from finals with the overall 3rd place Drum Major award, the overall 1st place Color Guard award and the EHS Band finished 4th over all classes!!! The band was the only 3A band in the top 8 in the finals beating many larger 4A schools from around the state. Next came the Konawa Band Day Marching Band Invitational Contest. At this competition, the level of performance advanced and the band won 2nd place in Class 3A-Large and also came away with the 1st place Color Guard trophy in Class 3A. As the season continued, the next challenge came at the 1A-2A-3A OBA State Marching Band Championships. Competing in a larger class than year’s past created a large hurdle but the Eufaula High School Marching Band competed well enough to land a Class 3A 4th place finish in prelims and earned them a trip to finals that evening. As they had all season, the band’s evening performance was an improvement which yielded the Eufaula Marching Band a 5th place overall finish!!!

The final marching band competition for the Eufaula Band this past Fall was the OSSAA Regional Marching Contest in McAlester. This contest is the first obstacle to overcome to attain an OSSAA Sweepstakes Award which is the equivalent of a State Championship in athletic events. All Oklahoma bands are eligible for the Sweepstakes Award if they can earn a Superior Rating from 2 out of 3 judges at their respective OSSAA Regional Marching Band competitions. Many bands falter at this first hurdle, but not the Eufaula High School Band!!! The band performed at an exceptionally high level earning them a unanimous Superior rating decision!!! This keeps the Eufaula High School Band’s 6th consecutive State Sweepstakes Award aspirations alive!!!

Another ensemble of note is the EHS Color Guard. This year’s color guard has taken excellence to a new level. The guard received awards for Outstanding Auxiliary in 3A at 2 out of 3 contests the band competed in this year. Individual standouts, Emma Easiley, Erica Vinzetta, and Tierra Williams competed in Solo competition at the OSSAA Regional Marching Contest and received the rating of Superior, Excellent, and Excellent, respectively, for their solos. The Color Guard also competed as an individual ensemble at Regional Marching Contest at McAlester and received the rating of Superior!!!

There are also some individual accomplishments for musicianship in the Eufaula Band programs that have won both District and Regional honors. Auditioning and making the EDBDA All-District Honor Band this year were 7th graders Tyresse Collins on Tuba, Alicia Edwards on Flute, Bailey Heflin on Clarinet, Lillyan Palmer on French Horn, and Hiyuce Wilson on French Horn. A whopping 16 students earned honors at the EOBDA Honor Band tryouts. These students are Middle School Honor Band members Tyresse Collins on Tuba, Baylee Heflin on Clarinet (alternate), Riley Marlar on French Horn, Tyra McIntosh on Clarinet, Chris Oulds on Flute, Lillyan Palmer on French Horn, Austin Weeks on Tenor Sax, and Hiyuce Wilson on French Horn. High School Honor Band members include Kurstyn Abreo on Trumpet, Emily Burris on Flute (alternate), Hunter Craig on Tuba (alternate), Shelly Davis on Clarinet, Logan Day on Percussion (alternate), Hannah Heroneme on Trumpet, Rebekah Lal on Clarinet, and Ashton Mayle on Percussion. Congratulations to all of these outstanding individual musicians and keep up the good work!!!

This year’s concert season is still young and the band is dedicated to making it one to remember. They have jumped out to a great start with their successes in marching season and plan on keeping their momentum all the way through the year. With the OSSAA District Concert Band contest looming in the horizon the band is working hard toward finishing the year in Eufaula High School Band style…..success!!!!

The Eufaula Band program’s directors and students would like to thank the school board, administrators, staff, and parents for all of their support and hard work so far this marching season. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that takes place that allows this program to excel. This support is very much appreciated. Without your support and assistance the task would be next to impossible.

Congratulations EHS Ironhead Band for your continued standard of excellence!!!!!!