Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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The winners of the 100th day counting competition at Ralph Witters Elementary include: Kinder Boost/Kindergarten – Asher Holman (Mrs. Casciato is standing in), First Grade - Patrick Baldes, Second Grade - Kyrie Edwards, Third Grade - Lilly Estenson, Fourth Grade - Carter Hughes-Becerra and staff - Hannah Varner and Katie Jones (not pictured)....
Another successful weekend is in the books for the Hot Springs County High School Speech and Debate team as they brought home another first place in 1A/2A at the Star Valley tournament. Previous to the Star Valley tournament, Jean-Luc Willson participated in the University of Wyoming Round Robin for debate on Thursday and Friday. Willson’s event at the UW tournament was policy debate, an intense form of debate done with a partner. However, his partner had to drop out due to illness, and rather than forfeit the tourney, Willson decided to ...
Hot Springs County High School’s Speech and Debate Team competed in the virtual University of Wyoming tournament over the weekend, pitting themselves against 249 students from seven states and two countries to bring home second place in 1A/2A Sweepstakes. Juniors Jean-Luc Willson and Jacob Randall were named the number one and number two (respectively) policy debate speakers for the tournament and placed third as a team over-all. Willson also placed second in varsity extemp for the weekend. Freshman Elizabeth Keller placed second in Novice L...
Hot Springs County School District Superintendent Dustin Hunt announced Monday that classes throughout the district would resume on Wednesday, Dec. 2. Initially, the district went to Tier 3 virtual learning due to staff having to quarantine for COVID-19. So many staff were out that the district ran out of substitute teachers for classrooms, forcing the district to move to Tier 3. Hunt said that those numbers have improved enough to return to in person classes. Buses ran, lunch was served and extra curricular activities and athletic practices...
by Kathryn Palmer Wyoming Tribune Eagle The Wyoming School Boards Association voted last week to support raising the state’s 4% sales tax by 1% – which would go directly toward education expenses – to help fill in the enormous education budget gap facing the state. “Nobody loves taxes. Nobody likes to say ‘Tax me more,’” said Brian Farmer, executive director of the WSBA. “But I think what was really important in the discussion among our membership was that they believe that cuts alone are not going to resolve the issue and that revenue has to...
On Monday, Hot Springs County School District #1 (HSCSD #1) Superintendent Dustin Hunt advised parents and others the district is moving to digital learning immediately. HSCSD #1 moved to a Tier 3 digital platform beginning Tuesday, November 17 until at least December 1. Hunt said there will be no in person classes for the time being. Depending on the pandemic outlook, and the health of school staff, they will hopefully resume in person classes on Wednesday, December 2. Students took home their devices Monday afternoon, and parents were asked... Full story
A new class of National Honor Society members were inducted on Monday night, including (not in order of pictured) Caydence Becher, Michelle Burgess, Dayna Crow, Bronwyn Dobbins, Lee Grimm, Hallie Martinez, Eli McCumber, Wyatt McDermott, Jacob Randall, Hyrum Rich, Madeline Wagler and Jean-Luc Willson....
Many have been wondering how students at Hot Springs County School District #1 are doing academically since the abrupt closing of school last spring due to COVID-19. During the October 20 meeting of the Board of Trustees, the principals at each of the schools presented what gaps they are seeing in this fall’s student learning and what they are doing to close those gaps before the end of the school year. Principal Breez Daniels at the high school has actually written an article for PLC M...
Hot Springs County School District #1 Lights On Afterschool Program is gearing up for the nationwide celebration of afterschool on Thursday, Oct. 22. Afterschool programs across the country are joining the movement to celebrate afterschool through promoting that Lights On keeps our community’s students safe, encourages them to learn, and supports their families as we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. Community members, families, students, business owners, school officials/staff, and legislators are invited to join to shine a...
Last week Hot Springs County School District (HSCSD) reported their first positive case of COVID-19 in a letter sent out to parents and guardians of Ralph Witters Elementary students. The letter from Superintendent of Schools Dustin Hunt, dated Thursday, Sept. 17, says that “an individual (s) within the school has been diagnosed with COVID-19.” Then on Sunday, Sept. 20, an email was sent out by Hot Springs County High School (HSCHS) Principal Breez Daniels stating “an indivdual (s) within HSCHS tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, Sept....
The Wyoming High School Activities Association (WHSAA) announced that the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) has approved their plans for beginning basketball and wrestling on time. The format from the fall sports was used to provide protocols for students to safely participate in these two sports. Practices are scheduled to begin on Monday, November 23, 2020. “We continue to learn, monitor and adjust as we navigate through the current pandemic,” said WHSAA Commissioner, Ron Laird. “We appreciate that the WDH understands the importance of ou...
Last week students sat down in the early morning as everyone arrived, ready and prepared, for another year of learning. They had masks ready because of COVID-19 regulations. Many were excited and looking forward to the learning.... Full story
Several parents attended the most recent Hot Springs County School District’s Board of Trustees meeting with concerns and frustrations about information for the start of school not being relayed in a timely manner. The worry was not having enough information to make the decision on whether to send their children to school or home school them in the face of COVID-19. The board said they understood the frustration, but things were out of their hands as far as how soon they could release i...
Several new teachers have joined Hot Springs County School District this school year. This week we are featuring teachers new to Hot Springs County High School and Thermopolis Middle School. New teachers at Ralph Witters Elementary will be featured in next week’s IR. High school Calder Forcella – (HS Social Studies) - Calder grew up in Greybull where he developed a passion for the outdoors. In his free time he enjoys flyfishing, hunting, golf, and staying active. Calder received his Bachelors Degree from Chadron State College where he maj...
Each of the schools, Ralph Witters Elementary (RWE), Thermopolis Middle School (TMS) and Hot Springs County High School (HSCHS) have slightly different plans when it comes to the first day of school due to COVID-19, but a letter sent out to parents and guardians on August 14 addressed face covering use at all schools in Hot Springs County School District. The letter advised the district would be requiring face coverings for all students and staff when six foot distance cannot be maintained. The...
On March 13, 2020, Governor Mark Gordon first signed executive orders declaring a State of Emergency in Wyoming due to the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the orders have been extended nine times with slight variations to the orders each time. The ninth continuation of orders went into effect Aug. 1 and will be until Aug. 15. With school about to start statewide, a Smart Start program for opening schools was released by State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jillian Balow, allowing for a three-tiered plan to be developed by each...
Last week’s meeting of Hot Springs County School District #1’s Board of Directors allowed parents and students to get a glimpse of what the district’s plans are as far as opening the schools for the 2020-2021 school year. Each of the schools, Ralph Witters Elementary (RWE), Thermopolis Middle School (TMS) and Hot Springs County High School (HSCHS) have slightly different plans when it comes to the first day of school. All schools will begin with Tier I, with schools open to students with some...
New and returning student registration is planned for Thursday, August 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ralph Witters Elementary You can register online at hotsprings1.org. Click on Student Registration K-8 New. Complete the pre-registration form and click submit at the bottom when finished. If you are a returning student, you should already have your ID and password information. If not, please contact the office. Once you have pre-registered, you will receive an email from RWE office giving you your password information. Once you’ve received y...
Hot Springs County School District’s Board of Directors held a special meeting last week to approve budget amendments, pay final bills and approve the hiring of three new members of the district’s team. Katie Despain was approved as a new hire to be a summer food service cook, Cassidy VanKirk was hired as RWE SpEd paraprofessional along with Kacey Cahill, also hired as an RWE SpEd paraprofessional. Cahill and VanKirk will both start their positions with the coming school year. The board mov...
From the WHSFB HQ The Wyoming High School Activities Association has built several different schedules to accommodate varying start times for a 2020 football season. Right now, games are scheduled to begin on Aug. 28. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic sparking postponements and cancellations of events across the country, and with schools themselves trying to figure out how to best accommodate students, an on-time start to the football season is not certain. The different contingency plans established by the WHSAA, shared with...
The Hot Springs County School District has decided to move ahead with a daycare facility for use by district employees starting this fall. In a special meeting last Thursday, Superintendent Dustin Hunt informed the board, with three different scenarios available for the start of the 2020-21 school year, now is the time to begin an in-house daycare for teachers and staff. Hunt said with the three plans in play, the daycare would be the best way to keep the teachers in front of the students.... Full story
With the most recent loosening of COVID-19 orders by Governor Mark Gordon, schools, colleges and universities will be able to resume classes in the fall as long as a few safety measures are in place. Hot Springs County School District #1 has formed a task force, which is looking at various ways the schools can open up while taking those safety measures into consideration. Those plans will be for each school, the transportation department, food service and more. One of the plans being discussed i... Full story
It may have been a little different this year due to the pandemic, but once again, the Bobcat Speech and Debate Team made an excellent showing at the National Speech and Debate Tournament. While they were supposed to be traveling to Albuquerque for this year’s tournament, COVID-19 got in the way and the entire tournament was held online. Those doing individual speech events such as humor, drama or oratory had to pre-record their events and download them to the National’s site. Congress, debate and extemporaneous speaking were don live thr...
The Wyoming High School Activities Association (WHSAA) recently released a list of those schools in the state which showed exemplary sportsmanship. With Hot Springs County High School participating in 3A East, they were one of only five schools who were recognized for their sportsmanship, having no coaches or athletes ejected from a game during the entire school year. In 3A East, the Bobcats were joined by Buffalo, Douglas, Newcastle and Burns for the honor. Fifty-one of the 70 schools across the state received the sportsmanship...
CHEYENNE - Planning for school openings this fall is underway. Smart Start, a working group composed of educators, healthcare professionals, and technology partners, was recently put into place by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow. The group will consider key issues and make recommendations related to reopening schools for the 2020-21 school year to Governor Mark Gordon’s COVID-19 Education Task Force, which is chaired by Superintendent Balow. “The most important decisions about opening schools this fall take place at...
