2021 Ennis Schools Spelling Bee Champion: Congatulations to 8th Grade Student Harper Leonard on winning the 4th-8th Grade Spelling Bee! Emmylou Edge (4th Grade) took 2nd place and Talon Haas (5th Grade) took 3rd Place. Harper, Emmylou, and Talon will represent Ennis at the County Spelling Bee on February 23rd at 10 a.m. in Virginia City. Other students representing Ennis at the County Spelling Bee include John Hostetler, Jackie Treloar, Peter Kelley, Caden Crisostomo, Gia Fanelli, Celee Klasna, and James Henrich(Alternate). Good luck at the County Spelling Bee!
Students celebrated the 100th day of school today by dressing up like they were 100 years old - saw some great costumes today!
Another successful Science Fair is in the Books!
On Monday, January 31 our K-8 students participated in the annual science fair. There were a lot of creative and interesting projects. Sophie Rogers, our high school science teacher, is the Science Fair coordinator. We had over 40 volunteers from the community here to judge, run the scoring table, help with organization, etc. The amazing community of Ennis gave out close to $3,000 in special prizes. Great job to all involved!
A huge shoutout to the Ennis Mustang Speech, Drama, and Debate Team for being the Southern C Divisional Champions!! The following is from the coach:
"(Overall Season) Our Speech and Drama Team has worked hard over the season. Most of our kids have placed at the meets we've attended. Our first meet was a large AA school meet in East Helena where our team took 3rd place for Class C schools in both Speech and Drama. The following meet was in Boulder where the team took first place in both Speech and Drama. We placed 2nd for these categories at the Townsend meet right before Christmas. While the team was small due to illness, we still managed to take first place for Class C in Drama at Billings Lockwood. This past weekend was Divisionals in Manhattan where our team took first place in Drama. While the events are individual events, the scores are compiled from the students that place at the meet. These points make up our team score. We are so proud of the kids for their individual work, but also their support of each other. It takes a team to encourage and uplift. We had two new students join right before Christmas break and it was fun to see them grow during their time on the team."
Please join us at the Ennis Schools Open House that is scheduled for Saturday, January 22nd from 1-3pm. Just meet at the High School lobby located at the south end of the campus near the horse statues. Coffee and cookies will be served! We will give a facility tour so folks can gather more information information prior to the February bond election.
Last week was too cold for recess outside, so Mr. McKitrick’s class came to the library for coloring and board games!
BUS DRIVERS NEEDED!! We are still looking for route, activity, and sub bus drivers. Routes are approximately 20 hours/week and activity and sub drivers are as needed. Route drivers start at $17/hr. DOE, plus prorated benefits. Sub drivers start at $17/hr. and activity drivers $15/hr. (includes downtime at activities). We are willing to split shifts and be as flexible as possible for route drivers! For example, driver #1 can drive the morning route and driver #2 can drive the afternoon route, or visa versa. Please contact Casey Klasna at the school for further information! 682-4258
Skating with Santa is on again this year over in Virginia City this Sunday 12/19 at 2 p.m. There are plenty of ice skates available if you don't have skates! The ice is great, so head on over and skate with Santa!
Great job to our music students and music teachers, Mrs. McCollum and Mrs. Zucker! It was great to have another Winter Concert after a one year Covid hiatus. Thank you to our accompanist, Vickey Gordon, and the Lion's Club and Santa for giving out candy between concerts!
Ennis High School Skills USA Holiday Sale 2021!
The Skills USA members made and sold metal products at the basketball game on December 14, just in time for Christmas. They had Christmas trees made out of horseshoes, metal tree ornaments, Mustang pride horses, etc. The next Skills USA wood sale will be at the last home basketball game on February 4, 2022.
We hope that each and everyone of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. It is hard to believe that in two weeks we will be heading into our Christmas break. That break starts December 18th and ends January 2nd.
Just a reminder that there is a regular school board meeting next Wednesday, December 8th at 5:30pm. A major agenda item will be to consider canceling a bus route due to the recent resignation of a driver and the extreme shortage of drivers. At the noticed special meeting on November 24, the discussion was that the VC route would be the most likely route to cancel after the Christmas break. We understand that if a route is canceled, it may not be a popular decision. We understand that fully, but with the lack of drivers, we are in a tough situation. We do encourage people to look at getting certified to drive if interested. Our route drivers average 20 hours per week at $17/hr, plus prorated health insurance and other benefits. Please contact the school if you are interested.
Covid-19 cases continue to be low at the school. This week we had a positive case reported in the elementary, where the last date of exposure was November 22. The numbers this week are STAFF-0, HS-0, JH-0, ELEM-1. Thank you for your vigilance in keeping your children home if they are sick.
There have been questions when we will transition to Class B for high school athletics. It is official that our high school will make the move to Class B next school year. Recently, the Montana High School Association made an executive board decision to change the classification numbers. The new classification numbers are Class C (1-100), Class B (101-300), Class A (301-800), Class AA (801+). We will continue to stay 8-man in football as those numbers are still 130.
The bond committee has been working diligently on distributing information on our February 8th bond election and building project. There are several informational boards and frequently asked questions distributed throughout the community. We strongly encourage folks to educate themselves on the project and to contact the school with any questions, comments or concerns. All building information is located on the school website.
In closing, I would like to wish everyone a great weekend. Thank you for your support of our school and most importantly our students!
The kindergarten students did an excellent job performing for family and friends at the Native American Program Monday evening. This is a yearly tradition that takes place right before Thanksgiving and is organized and put on by elementary counselor and middle school teacher, Mrs. McKay, with help from kindergarten teachers, Mrs. Sturtz and Mrs. Klein. Great job Kindergarteners!
Dear Ennis Mustang Families and Ennis Community,
First and foremost, Happy Thanksgiving! It was a very short week here at school and it was apparent that there is excitement in the air about the extended break coming up! I am hoping that everyone gets the opportunity to relax and enjoy time with family and friends. Just a reminder, no school tomorrow!
There is a special school board meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, November 24th at 8am in the HS lobby to discuss the possibility of canceling a bus route and for the board to approve the bond committee action plan.
The bond committee is made up of administration, trustees, and community members and will be responsible for getting important building information out to the voters so they can make an informed decision. You will be seeing more information throughout the Ennis School District on the project as well as Frequently Asked Questions. We strongly encourage folks to read the information and the FAQs to learn more. This project is a very large scale project to accommodate current and future growth, enhance a safe and positive learning environment, and improve site safety. All building information is on the school website www.ennissschools.org.
As far as the bus route discussion is concerned, the trustees will discuss the possibility of canceling a route as we will be short a driver in a couple weeks. This will be only discussion tomorrow with no action being taken.
Our covid numbers continue to stay low, which I am happy to announce that there were no new covid-19 cases this week at school. This marks two weeks in a row of no cases, which is great. We appreciate everyone’s attention to minimizing the spread and keeping your children home if they are sick. We have been very pleased in keeping our doors open!
That’s all for now. We need to continue our efforts in working together and moving in a positive direction. Happy Thanksgiving.
Mrs. Brozovich's 4th Graders would like to thank Janet Dochnahl, Liz Davis, Penny Hall, and Margaret Chaika for helping them make Cornhusk Dolls last week. They turned out awesome! Thank you so much!
Just a reminder to all families that school will be in session just Monday and Tuesday this week. There will be no school Wednesday through Friday to allow families travel time for Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving!
Dear Ennis Mustang Families and Community,
We hope that you had a great week and are geared up for a great weekend! It is hard to believe how fast this school year is going and that next week is Thanksgiving. Just a reminder that there is no school next Wednesday so families have an extra day for travel and holiday preparation.
High school basketball started yesterday and our numbers are in the high teens for HS girls and mid twenties for HS boys. In addition to HS BB, we are well underway with our JH boy’s BB season and HS speech,drama and debate. Our students are very involved not only in academics, but extra curricular activities as well. Very proud of our students!
We are pleased to announce there were no positive covid-19 cases reported at the school this week. Our numbers have been minimal over the course of the past several weeks, but we all need to continue our vigilance and to keep sick kids at home. Thanks for all your help!
The resolution for the bond election was approved Tuesday at a special meeting. A bond resolution needs to be adopted by the trustees at least 70 days before an election. With this resolution being adopted, the election will be February 8th. We strongly encourage you to contact the school with any questions, comments or concerns. Your voice is valuable to us and to this project. The bond committee will meet on Monday to continue their planning efforts to get more information out to the community on a broader scale. We are also finishing up an FAQ to go with the building information. We encourage you to visit the school website to understand the project further.
With our current bus driver shortage, there will be a special school board meeting on Wednesday, November 24th at 8am to discuss the possibility of cancelling a bus route. Your attendance at this meeting is encouraged. We also encourage you to contact the school if you are interested in driving. If the board was to eliminate a route, the school would be obligated to pay an individual transportation contract to families who reside in the district and that live further than three miles from the school. We continue our efforts to keep our route driver positions filled, but unfortunately we have come up short.
It is “No Shave November “ in the library and the students mustache you to recommend a good book.
Happy Friday! Just a reminder that the girls HS VB team will play at noon today at the divisional tournament and will take on Seely Swan. This game will be streamed on the NFHS network. All bracket information is on the school website. GO MUSTANGS!!
The monthly school board meeting is next Wednesday, November 10th at 5:30pm. A major item on that agenda will be reviewing bond election language for our building project. We will be getting additional building information out in the community with informational boards being placed at businesses around town. We do encourage you to contact the school if you have any comments, questions, or concerns. Your voice is very important to us and to this project!
We have an incredible student newspaper on the school website called “Mustang Monthly.” You can find this newspaper under the NEWS section of the website. This newspaper is added monthly to the website, so please spread the word.
Staffing continues to be an issue with a critical shortage of drivers and custodians. We have had to make the difficult decision to close routes on occasion due to the lack of drivers. This is a trend at the local, state, and national level. We need your help in spreading the word or applying for a driving position. Custodial wise, we could use one more full time person and would entertain a part-time position. If interested in any of these positions, please contact the school.
This week the following Covid-19 cases were reported - ELEM-2, JH-0, HS-0, STAFF-0. The last date of exposure from the positive case in the elementary was on Tuesday, November 2. With the other case, there was no known exposure at the school. These numbers could change due to pending tests. We cannot stress enough the importance of keeping your child home when they are sick. Your efforts are appreciated!
I hope that all of you have a fun-filled weekend planned with family and friends. Thank you for your continued support of our school! GO MUSTANGS!
Divisional Volleyball Bracket!!! Please visit the following link to view the bracket for the Western C Divisional VB Tournament this Thursday-Saturday at Manhattan Christian - https://5il.co/11d0a. Best of Luck to our Lady Mustangs!!
APPLICANTS NEEDED ASAP!!! We continue to search for route, sub, and activity drivers for this school year. We do not want to shut down any routes or activity trips. Please contact the school for further details.