USD 428 elementary schools celebrated the end of the 2015-2016 school year last week, each in their own unique ways. They promoted kindergarten students and sixth graders, recognized good citizenship and good grades, and students who had near perfect and perfect attendance were given special recognition. School administrators, representatives from Barton Community College, and a group of 34 patron donors made sure the students who strove all year to make it to school on time understood how proud they should be for showing that level of dedication to their education.
BCC provided yo-yos and t-shirts as gifts to near perfect and perfect attendance students, and those students were also entered into drawings to receive brand new “trick” bicycles from the group of patrons.
Four students at each school received a bike. At Riley Elementary School, retiring teacher Becky Hill provided two additional bicycles as “a gift to her students.”
Donors who generously donated the bicycles included: Todd VanSkike / Skike’s Bikes / Great Bend, Larry Zinn Memorial, Becky Hill, Jane Isern, Gail Carpenter, Dale and Chris Klima, Fred and Candace Nuss, Dale and Karen Shaner, Ron and Kathy Straub, Doris Spray, Darwin and Marty Schloemer, Gregg and Maggie Reinhardt, Craig and Kari Smith, Mark Rondeau, Mark Calcara, Craig Vink, Terry Vink, Kenney Vink, Gregg Bauer, Chuck Pike, Roger Krier, Richard and Kristy Stalcup, Kim Sneath, Sean Miller, Tom Berscheidt, and Mayor Mike Allison.
Near perfect attendance was achieved by those students who had been absent or tardy four or fewer times for the entire school year.