The Flight of the Hornet
Volume 1 – Issue 4
Whatever it Takes
In December of 2013, my wife
convinced me to adopt a cat. I had never
really considered myself a cat person, but I agreed to get one. After a trip to the Humane Society pet
adoption center at Petsmart, our decision to adopt a cat quickly became a
decision to adopt two cats. In one of
the crates, with a sign that said “2 for 1” sat a brother and sister from the
same litter, Donny and Marie. The
workers informed us that these two were inseparable and that every time they
were apart the would cry until they were reunited. Over the next year and a half, these two
quickly converted me.
Donny (in the background) and Marie (in the foreground) |
Several weeks ago, Donny had
a VERY near death experience. Over the
course of a weekend, he began acting increasingly strange. From Friday night into Saturday, he began
hissing and growling at Marie, which was entirely out of character, and threw
up several times. By Sunday evening, he
had stopped eating and drinking, and had become extremely lethargic. This was all very puzzling, because Friday
night at 10:00, Donny was acting completely normal. Monday morning when I picked him up to take
him to the vet, he was completely limp and non responsive.
Upon arrival at the vets
office, they immediately whisked Donny into the back operating room. He was placed on body warmers and given
oxygen. They took his heartrate and
found that it was 50 beats per minute (a healthy cat is between 130 and 140). Donny was quickly diagnosed with a blockage
which was preventing him from going to the bathroom and causing his kidneys to
shut down, making him literally toxic.
The technicans next hooked
Donny up to an IV and said the vet would be with us shortly. When the vet walked in and assessed the
situation, she gave a couple of options.
The first option was to do nothing, and that he would likely die within
a few hours. If you read the last blog
post The Inability to Do Nothing,
you know that this was not an option that I could consider.
The second option was to attempt to save
him. She stated that there would be several
hurdles with this. The first hurdle
would involve putting him under anesthesia in order to remove the block. Because his heart rate was so low, she said
there was a good chance that he would not even survive being put under
anesthesia. She said that if he made it,
she was confident that the block could be removed. However, she cautioned that the next hurdle
after this would be if they could reverse his kidney failure and return normal
function. Even if that turned out
acceptable, there was still questions such as: would he just reblock? and would
he be able to eat and drink normally? She
also cautioned that the surgery option would most likely cost between $600 and
$700.
When I asked her what she
advised, she stated that she normally does not do percentages, but that it would
be a roughly 90% chance that he would not clear all the hurdles. She said the one reason for cautious optimism
was that he was only a year and a half old, and his young age might help with
recovery. While maybe I should have
heard that there was a 90% chance of failure, I instead focused on the 10%
chance he would be alright.
To quote Jim Carrey’s
character Lloyd Christmas in the movie Dumb and Dumber, “So you’re saying theres
a chance!”
|
I said that if there was any hope, we should attempt the surgery. The vet said she would get started right away, and that she would keep me posted. By the end of the day Monday, the report I received was “no news is okay news.” She stated that he had made it under anesthesia, had the block removed, and had his temperature and heart rate return to normal. However, the blood tests were a different story. There were two alarming numbers in the blood tests. One number was supposed to read between 20 and 40, but was up over 100. The other number was supposed to read between 0 and 1; their scale measured up to a reading of 30, and his number was above the upper limit. She advised IV fluids and antibiotics to hopefully restore kidney function.
Things continued to improve
from Monday until Thursday, upon which he was deemed well enough to return
home. The total for the procedures came
to $792. He was issued a new
prescription diet that would help prevent a reblockage. The staff at the vet office were referring to
Donny as the “Miracle Kitty of 2015,” which has become my preferred nickname
for him.
However, there were still challenges
ahead. For one thing, instead of
welcomed home, he was greeted by angry stares and hisses from sister Marie,
both because she was upset he had left and because he smelled like a vets
office. Additionally, he had acquired a
respiratory infection while at the vet, and he kept having sneezing fits. Third, he would not eat for the first couple
of days home. These problems resulted in
several more visits to the vet and prescriptions for both an antibiotic and
anti-inflamatory. All of this added up
to an additional $200, making our total investment right at $1,000, and leading
to another nickname: the thousand dollar kitty.
In the weeks since, Donny has
recovered amazingly. He is eating
normally, very active, and has even convinced Marie to be his inseparable
friend again. All is right in the world. The staff at the Waynesburg Animal Hospital had managed to take the longest of odds and restore the health of our cat.
You are probably asking at
this point how in the world a lengthy blog post about a miracle cat relates to
Hundred High School and/or who in their right mind spends $1,000 on a cat. Both of these are valid questions that I will
now address.
When we adopted our cats, one
of the questions on the application form said “How much money are you willing
to spend on care for your pet?” My wife
and I had no idea how much was reasonable or what it would cost, so she filled
in on the application the answer “Whatever it takes.” As we thought about our decision to spend
$1,000 dollars on our pet, the commitment implied by this answer came back into
our minds. That is why we had no option
but to spend the money; other than to be liars.
This is also how it connects
to Hundred High School. In our school
and in our community, we have students who we can choose to give up on; to do
nothing and just watch them fade away.
For some students, even a 10% chance of success feels incredibly
optimistic. However, as educators and as
a community, we would be well served to give the answer “Whatever it takes”
when asked what we would be willing to do for the care of our students.
If a family pet is worthy of this response,
surely the students who are the future of our society deserve the same
answer. This is what we show up every
day determined to to. The staff at
Hundred High School, as well as our community members, are embodying the belief
that our students are worthy of Whatever it takes.
Staff News
Mr. James White served
as the teacher sponsor for the West Virginia Media Arts and Design (MAD)
festival and transported our participating student to this event at West
Liberty University. We owe a huge thank
you to Mr. White for your commitment to our students and for providing them
with opportunities to showcase their talents.
Mrs. Crystal Allen served
as the teacher sponsor for our students to travel to the Junior Science and
Humanities Symposium at West Virginia Wesleyan.
We owe a huge thank you to Mrs. Allen for her commitment to our students
and for taking them to participate in this event.
Mr. Scott Ash seems
to be attending some type of student event or trip on a weekly basis. This week he took his students to the beef
expo stockman’s contest. We owe a huge
thank you to Mr. Ash for his commitment to agriculture education and
experiential learning.
Mrs. Beverly Van
Scyoc led a group of sophomores and juniors on a college fair trip to
Cameron High School this week. This is
just one example of the numerous opportunities and trips Mrs. Van Scyoc provides
our students with the opportunity to attend.
We owe a huge thank you to Mrs. Van Scyoc for her efforts to prepare our
students for life after high school.
Mrs. Jessica
Greathouse organized and led a student trip to Fairmont State University in
order for those students to tour the Fine Arts Department and consider attending
Fairmont for this program. We owe a huge
thank you to Mrs. Greathouse for helping our students explore a future in fine
arts.
A number of our faculty and staff deserve recognition for
their efforts to make the Project Purple assembly a huge success. A huge thank you goes out to all of them for
their willingness to make this event work.
Whether it was through traveling to Magnolia on buses and supervising
the assessment or working diligently to come up with a plan for lunch, both the
school and county office staffs put a lot of time and effort into making things
work.
Student Spotlight
Meliah Umstead has
been selected to attend the 2015 Governors Honor Academy
Andrew King has
been selected to attend a 2015 cadet camp at the United States Naval Academy
Allie Hayes has
been selected for a Radiology Technician program at United Hospital Center
Ethan Geho has
been selected for a three week internship through the international union of
operating engineers
Rachel Watson spent
spring break traveling to Ireland with the Hundred High School travel club
Libby Baker has
been selected for the 2015 girls who code program and will spend seven weeks in
a summer coding program
Nick Kirby has
been selected to present his music project at the 2015 West Liberty University
MAD Fest
Meliah Umstead,
Kaitlyn Kuhn, and Rachel Watson were selected to present at the Junior
Science and Humanities symposium at West Virginia Wesleyan
Joe Bradley and Peyton Jones (2014 HHS Alumni) will be
representing our school in the state Skills USA competition held at the North
Marion Technical Center
Michael Meyers,
Clarissa Derby, Miranda Gray, Taylor Fetty, and Annie Fox represented
Hundred at the Project Purple as part of the RAZE club, and Stevi Magyar represented the HHS Drug
Free Club.
Hailey Eastham,
Valerie Soles, Danny Kolat, and Annie Fox are representing Hundred at the
Beef Expo Stockman’s competition. The Hundred High School Livestock Judging Team will
be competing in their first competition as well.
Holden Moore and Stevi Magyar were recently crowned as
Mr. and Mrs. Hundred High at our class tournaments
Holden Moore and Stevi Magyar - Mr. and Mrs. Hundred High School 2015 |
In our class tournament competition, our Junior girls
emerged victorious in the championship game over the sophomores, while the
junior boys defeated the seniors in their championship game.
The Junior Boys - Your Class Tournament Champions |
The Senior Boys - Your Class Tournament Runner Up |
The Junior Girls - Your Class Tournament Champions |
A number of our basketball players received individual recognition for their play this season:
Paige Shriver Mason Dixon First Team All-Conference
Emily Rine Mason Dixon Second Team All-Conference
Meliah Umstead Mason Dixon All-Conference Honorable Mention
Holden Moore Mason Dixon First Team All-Conference
Brandon Armstrong Mason Dixon Second Team All-Conference & Honorable Mention for the All Valley Honor Roll
Danny Stewart Mason Dixon All-Conference Honorable Mention
The Sophomore Girls - Your Class Tournament Runner Up |
Community Connections
So many members of the Wetzel County community came together
in order to make the Project Purple assembly a success. Many local businesses and individuals worked
in conjunction with the Wetzel County Board of education to put this event
together.
Alumni Connection
Chelsea Kuhn is a 2009 graduate of Hundred High School. She earned the promise scholarship and
attended West Virginia University. While
a student at WVU, Chelsea was a member of the marching band, where she served
as woodwind assistant and rank leader.
She completed research on attitudes towards stuttering and volunteered
at Stepping Stones and the Monongalia County Special Olympics. Chelsea was named an outstanding senior by
the WVU Foundation. She graduated in
2013 Suma Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology and
Audiology and a minor in Disability Studies.
She is currently in a program to earn a Master of Science Degree in
speech and language pathology. While in
graduate school, she has served as a research assistant for the West Virginia
Assistive Technology System and her thesis “Investigating Stuttering Attitude
Change in Middle School Students” received the 2014 WVU College of Education
and Human Services student research award.
She is a co-author of the book “Stuttering Meets Stereotype, Stigma, and
Discrimination: An Overview of Attitude Research” and was named a 2014 West
Virginia Speech-Language Hearing Foundation scholar. Chelsea will be graduating with her master’s
degree in May of 2015. We are very proud
of Chelsea’s accomplishments and are excited for her to share her story with
our students during a school assembly on April 14th.
Upcoming Events
For up to date baseball, softball, and track schedules and scores:
April 13 – Donkey
Basketball in Hundred High School Gym – 7:00 PM
April 23 - Plates and Palettes - 6:00 - 8:30 - HHS Commons Area
April 24 - Young Life Talent Show - 6:00 - Auditorium
April 27 - Red Hat Mining - 80 Hour Test
April 28 - Compass Test for Seniors
April 23 - Plates and Palettes - 6:00 - 8:30 - HHS Commons Area
April 24 - Young Life Talent Show - 6:00 - Auditorium
April 27 - Red Hat Mining - 80 Hour Test
April 28 - Compass Test for Seniors
April 30 – Hundred Fire
Department Staged Accident – 10:00 AM
May 1 - Spring Academic Awards Day - 10:00 - HHS Auditorium
May 1 - Spring Academic Awards Day - 10:00 - HHS Auditorium
May 2 – Hundred High
School Prom on the Gateway Clipper Fleet
May 5 – National Honor
Society Induction Ceremony
May 7 - All Sports Banquet - 6:00 - HHS Commons Area
May 7 - All Sports Banquet - 6:00 - HHS Commons Area
May 8 – Sophomore Class
Field Trip to Wheeling Civil War Museum
May 8 – Senior Class Trip
to Hershey Park
May 8 - Band Banquet and Rock-A-Thon - Commons area and band room - 6:00 PM
May 10 - Spring Concert in Auditorium - 2:00 PM
May 14 - Spring Play in Auditorium - 7:00 PM
May 15 - Spring Play in Auditorium - 7:00 PM
May 8 - Band Banquet and Rock-A-Thon - Commons area and band room - 6:00 PM
May 10 - Spring Concert in Auditorium - 2:00 PM
May 14 - Spring Play in Auditorium - 7:00 PM
May 15 - Spring Play in Auditorium - 7:00 PM
May 15 – Spring Arts Show –
6:00 PM
May 17 – Baccalaureate in
Hundred High School Auditorium – 2:00 PM
May 22 – Graduation in
Hundred High School Gym – 7:00 PM
Classroom Strategy of the Week
The strategy of the week for this week is actually 5
strategies. Brian Moats discusses five
alternatives to the traditional book report:
Article of the Week
This Edutopia Article discusses Eight Strategies that Keep
Informational Reading Fun
Video of the Week
In her TED Talk, teacher Rita Pierson talks about how Every Kid Needs A Champion
Quote of the Week
Remember to follow our school on Twitter @HundredHornets
Thank you for all you
do as a part of our school and community.
True flight would not be possible without the contributions of all of
us. Please let me know if you have any
suggestions or information you would like included in an upcoming edition of
the Flight of the Hornet: 304-775-5221 or dgottron@k12.wv.us
Dan Gottron,
Principal, Hundred High School
Citations/Sources
"Famous Running
Quotes." Famous Running
Quotes. Brocow Blazers. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://www.brocawblazers.org/camp/running_quotes.html>.
Moats, Brian. "Five
Alternatives To Traditional Book Reports." TIS and THAT 3.16 (2015): 2. Web.
NDWV News. "NDWV News
- Twitter." Twitter.com.
9 Apr. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <https://twitter.com/NDWVnews>.
Pierson, Rita. "Every
Kid Needs a Champion." TED. 1 May 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion>.
"‘So You’re Saying
There’s A Chance?’." RazorBloggers
Network. 7 Mar. 2007. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://www.razorbloggers.net/2007/03/so-youre-saying-theres-a-chance/>.
Spencer, John. "8
Strategies to Keep Informational Reading Fun." Edutopia. 2 Apr. 2015. Web. 10
Apr. 2015.
bandar ayam jago tarung terbaru 2018
ReplyDeleteBosan Menang tidak dibayar ? judi sabung ayam
ReplyDelete