Connersville High School

Check out these awesome upgrades coming to our football/track stadium and baseball field. Bleachers are being torn down to make way for a much-needed new grandstand. A new press box and diamond are coming for our baseball team. We are excited for our Spartan student athletes and fans to enjoy these incredible upgrades coming in the spring. Great things are happening at the Fayette County School Corporation!

The Fayette County School Corporation thanks you for sharing your children with us and wishes you a blessed Thanksgiving season! We are grateful for an incredible school year thus far and look forward to seeing our students back on Monday, December 2nd. GO SPARTANS!

BIG NEWS! Today it was announced that Spartan Boy's Basketball Coach , Dave McCollough, will be a 2025 inductee in the Indiana High School Basketball Hall of Fame. Coach will officially be honored on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. According to the press release from the Indiana High School Basketball Hall of Fame: "Dave McCollough has a 630-298 record and a .679 win percentage in 40 years as he enters the 2024-25 season at Connersville, his second at the Fayette County school. Over his career, he has posted marks of 157-95 in 11 seasons at North Judson (1993-94), 308-138 in 20 seasons at Noblesville (1994-2014), 148-32 in seven seasons at Shenandoah (2015-22), 11-13 in only 2022-23 at Frankfort and 6-20 last season at Connersville. Those tenures include 14 conference championships, 13 sectional titles (1986, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), two regional trophies (1997, 2019) and three Hall of Fame Classic appearances (1997 champion, 2001, 2020) with just two Indiana All-Star players – Kirk Manns in 1986 and Tom Coverdale, the 1998 Mr. Basketball. McCollough is a four-time IBCA district Coach of the Year (1997, 2007, 2016, 2020) and has collected 21 other Coach of Year honors from conferences and media outlets. He also was a 1997 Junior All-Star assistant coach, a 1997 Wendy’s Classic assistant coach, the North head coach for the 1998 Coca-Cola All-American Game and the 2000 Indiana All-Star head coach. A 1975 graduate of LaVille, where he earned three letters in basketball, two letters in football and one letter in baseball, McCollough matriculated to Manchester College. He played one season of basketball for the Spartans and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1979. He started his coaching career as a junior high coach in Richmond (1979-81) and then served as a high school assistant at North Judson from 1981-83 before being named the Blue Jays’ head coach for the 1983-84 season. McCollough earned a master’s degree from Indiana University in 1986 and served as IBCA president from 2000-03. He enters the 2024-25 season as Indiana’s 14th all-time winningest coach." See the whole list of inductees here: https://hoopshall.com/indiana-basketball-hall-of-fame-announced-63rd-mens-induction-class/ CONGRATS COACH! We are proud of you!

Food Pantry/Clothing Closet December 12 @ LSP 4:00-6:00 PM

HUGE Congratulations are in store for our incredible Spartan Cheerleaders who this last week qualified for the 2024-25 Universal Cheerleaders Association National Competition with a third-place finish at the Regional Competition at Hamilton Southeastern High School. The UCA National Competition takes place February 7-10 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. Job well done! Competing on a National level...that's the Spartan Difference! Great things are happening at the Fayette County School Corporation!

Winning is great. Doing things the right way is even better! We are proud of our Spartan Wrestlers for representing us in a first-class manner. Job well done! Great things are happening at the Fayette County School Corporation!

Important Public Health Message for Connersville High School Families Dear Parents/Guardians, The Fayette County School Corporation, in cooperation with the Fayette County Health Department and the Indiana Department of Health, are investigating a confirmed case of pertussis (whooping cough) at Connersville High School. Pertussis is a contagious respiratory illness. The bacteria that cause pertussis are spread person-to-person by coughing, sneezing, or sharing the same breathing space as a contagious person for a prolonged period of time. Symptoms of pertussis usually begin 7 to 10 days (up to 21 days) following exposure. The first symptoms of pertussis are similar to a common cold and may include runny or stuffed-up nose, mild cough, and low-grade fever. After a week or two, the cough becomes more severe and may occur more frequently during sleep. As the cough worsens, it may include rapid, violent, and uncontrolled coughing fits (paroxysms), which may cause people to vomit or make a high pitched “whoop” sound when breathing in after the coughing fit. Symptoms of pertussis may be milder in adolescents and adults than young children. Pertussis is especially serious in babies under 12 months old. Babies with pertussis may not develop a cough; instead, pertussis may cause babies to struggle to breathe, turn blue or purple (cyanosis), or have pauses in breathing (apnea). It is important that you not send your child to school if he or she has symptoms of pertussis. If your child has symptoms of pertussis, contact your doctor. If children with these symptoms are present in school, their parents may be called to take them home and have them evaluated by a physician. Please take this letter to your child’s physician as a source of reference. If your physician suspects that your child has pertussis, testing may be performed. If your physician diagnoses your child with pertussis, the student must remain isolated at home until after taking 5 FULL days of an appropriate antibiotic or for 21 days after cough onset (if untreated). All household members of a case of pertussis should also be given antibiotics for prevention. According to the Indiana Department of Health, the best way to prevent pertussis is by staying up-to-date on pertussis vaccination. Fully vaccinated persons can still contract pertussis; however, vaccinated persons’ symptoms will usually be milder than in those who are not vaccinated. It is recommended that you check the vaccination status of all family members and make sure they are up-to-date on recommended pertussis vaccines. Contact your physician or the Fayette County Health Department for assistance determining if vaccination is needed for any of your family members. More information about pertussis is available at https://www.in.gov/health/erc/infectious-disease-epidemiology/diseases-and-conditions-resource-page/pertussis-whooping-cough/. For questions about pertussis, please contact the Fayette County Health Department. Sincerely, Jeremy Duncan Fayette County School Corporation Superintendent

At the Fayette County School Corporation, the safety of our students, families, and staff are of utmost importance. For this reason, we take severe weather very seriously. Making the call to delay or cancel school can be tricky and often times, difficult to please everyone. Conditions change by the minute and deadlines loom large. We hope this graphic outlining our decision-making steps may be helpful.

Evan Shafer, a 2021 Connersville High School graduate, is a current Senior football player for the University of Montana. Montana is in the Championship Subdivision of Division I in the Big Sky Conference. Last year, the team was the No. 2 rated team in FCS/1-AA in the nation, losing in the National Championship game. Prior to coming to Montana, Evan played two seasons for the Hillsdale College Chargers, a Division 2 program in Michigan. Evan was standout lineman and three-sport athlete while a Spartan. He was named team MVP of the Spartan football team both his junior and senior year, and earned All-Eastern Indiana Conference honors for three straight seasons. He put up 156 total tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and three fumble recoveries while also contributing as a fullback and tight end. He was also a two-time sectional champion as a wrestler, finishing fourth in the state of Indiana as a heavyweight. Additionally, he was a two-time regional qualifier in track and field in the 110m and 300m hurdles. Did you know? You can pick up some of Evan's NIL gear to wear around town: https://nil.store/montana/mt-evan-shafer-84 Alumni doing BIG things...that's the Spartan Difference! Great things are happening at the Fayette County School Corporation!

During the 1906–07 school year, Dr. W. Otto Miessner established the very first public high school band in the U.S. right here at Connersville High School. Since that time, the Spartan Marching Band and Crimson Guard have continued a tradition of excellence each and every year. This year, they finished their marching season at the ISSMA Scholastic A State Prelims with a SILVER rating. A history of firsts...that's the Spartan Difference! Great things are happening at the Fayette County School Corporation!

This past week, our Connersville FFA Chapter attended the 97th National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis. At the Convention, the Connersville FFA was ranked a THREE STAR CHAPTER! The 3 star chapter designation is the highest ranking a chapter can receive in the nation! Only 3-star chapters are eligible for National Premier Chapter Awards. Statewide and National Recognition...that's the Spartan Difference! Great things are happening at the Fayette County School Corporation!

This week, 38 new individuals were inducted into the National Honor Society at Connersville High School. NHS was established in 1921 to promote high academic standards and character. By empowering, championing, and recognizing well-rounded students, NHS provides a values-based framework to elevate a culture of scholarship, service, leadership, and character. DID YOU KNOW? Our chapter, the Minnie Torr Chapter, was founded in 1924 and was only the 168th chapter in the United States. Today, there are over 15,000 chapters. A tradition of excellence...that's the Spartan difference. Great things are happening at the Fayette County School Corporation!

IMPORTANT SCHOOL BUS SAFETY MESSAGE October 30th, 2024 Spartan Family, The Fayette County School Corporation has recently experienced an uptick in school bus stop arm violations. We love our children and their safety is our highest priority. Simply put, stop arm violations are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. In Indiana, it's illegal for drivers to pass a stopped school bus that has its red lights flashing and stop-arm extended. This applies to all roads except for motorists on a highway that is divided by a barrier, such as a concrete wall or grassy median. Fayette County School Corporation buses are equipped with stop arm cameras. Those who illegally pass a stopped school bus will be held accountable. Tickets have and will continue to be written. Violators could pay a fine of up to $10,000 or have their license suspended for up to 90 days for the first offense or up to a year for the second. We thank you for your continued help and support as we strive to protect our most precious assets...our children. Mr. Jeremy Duncan Superintendent, Fayette County School Corporation INDOT Guidelines Two-Lane Roadways If a school bus stops on a two lane road and the red flashing lights are activated and the stop arm is extended, all motorists MUST stop. Multi-Lane Roadways with NO Barrier between Lanes When a school bus stops on a multi-lane roadway without a barrier and the red flashing lights are activated and the stop arm is extended, all motorists MUST stop. Multi-Lane Roadway with a Grassy and/or Concrete Barrier When a school bus stops and the red flashing lights are activated and the stop arm is extended, only vehicles behind the bus MUST stop. Vehicles that are approaching from the opposite side are NOT required to stop, but should proceed with caution.

The Whitewater Career Center specializes in giving students the opportunity to learn by doing, gaining valuable durable skills while exploring potential career pathways. This is certainly true about our Culinary Arts program, where students run a restaurant daily and take part in events such as the city's "Farm to Table" event. They received high praise from our Mayor, Chad Frank: ""I want you both to know how well the students from the culinary program did at the Farm to Table event. The dessert they made was fabulous, and the kids worked hard the entire time cooking, plating, and serving." Thank you, Mayor Frank, and thank you Whitewater Career Center for your hard work building brighter futures for our students. Future-Focused Opportunities...that's the Spartan Difference! Great things are happening at the Fayette County School Corporation!

Spartan Family, We are proud of you! You child's ATTENDANCE MATTERS! It's been a great first quarter of the school year in many ways, including attendance. Congratulations to Everton Elementary School for having the highest attendance percentage of the first grading period at 99.27%. Job well done! The state of Indiana provides us with robust, real-time data to help us keep a pulse of our student attendance. Here are a few things of note from this data: -Each and every school here at FCSC is currently above the state attendance average of 93.43%. With that said, our 95.91% total is below our Corporation goal for the school year of 96%. We can do it! -Our unexcused (no parent phone verification) absence percentage of 1.21% is below the state average of 3.32%. With that said, please remember that ALL absences should be verified by parents/guardians to avoid potential truancy/legal issues for your family. Let's work to get this number closer to 0! -Our current Corporation percentage of 95.61% is above our percentages from the past three years (92.54% in 23-24, 92.42% in 22-23, and 92.14% in 21-22). Awesome! THANK YOU for your continued help and support getting your child to school each day on time unless there is a verifiable and unavoidable reason to miss. We appreciate you! After all, if our children aren't at school, we miss them and can't teach them. Great things are happening at the Fayette County School Corporation!

Please click the below link for information about changes to Fayette County School Corporation's online portal for lunch payment and free/reduced lunch applications. https://www.fayette.k12.in.us/article/1835919

The Food Pantry and Clothing Closet at LSP will be open Thursday, November 14th and 21st, 4-6pm.

In June, recent Connersville High School graduate Christina Caldwell was named the Indiana FFA State Secretary. This is the first time in 45 years that a Spartan has held a prestigious title in the state FFA office. During Christina's current year of service, which begins and ends at the annual State Convention, she will travel the state presenting seven three-day leadership conferences and speaking to an estimated 14,000 FFA members, supporters, and individuals involved in leadership and agriculture. Throughout her four years of membership in the national FFA organization, Christina has served in numerous leadership positions at the Chapter, District, and State level and won many different awards. She has previously held the positions of State Chorus President and District IX President, allowing her to serve on the State Executive Committee for three years. This made her the youngest member elected to this committee (13yo) and one of the longest serving student members on the committee.

Beginning October 28th, Linq connect will replace the parent portal, k12paymentcenter.com, to add money to your child's account. It will also replace lunchapplication.com for online meal applications. All meals at Little Spartans Preschool and all elementary schools are still free. CHS and CMS still have free breakfast. Students are determined by meal application at CHS and CMS for lunch meals. Linq Connect will let you track student accounts to see how they are spending their money, add money for meals or extras, and also fill out free and reduced applications. Please call the food service department if you have any questions, 765-825-7841.

Our next BUS DRIVER TRAINING COHORT begins the week of October 28th. We are looking for responsible and passionate individuals to join the Spartan Family as bus drivers, substitute bus drivers, and event drivers. Reach out today to inquire about and sign up for our upcoming PAID training opportunities. Fayette County can take you from start to finish earning your license (with the exception of tests to be taken at the BMV). We can also cover expenses related to CDL testing, Drug screening, and pay you $10/hr. for your time during training. Once licensed, bus driver compensation at FCSC is as follows: Daily Routes: $24.39/Hr. Sub Routes: $22.90/Hr. Spots are limited. Reach out to Darrell Drew at ddrew@fayette.k12.in.us or 765-827-0891 to reserve your place today!