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The dedication and success of the Leigh FFA members continued on as they made their way over to Wahoo, Nebraska, on November 12, 2025, for district livestock judging and junior high quiz bowl competition. There the members competed on eight classes of livestock: breeding heifers, market steers, breeding ewes, market lambs, breeding gilts, market gilts, breeding does, and market goats. 

FFA Advisor Mrs. Went stated, “I am incredibly proud of how our students performed at the district livestock judging contest. Our senior team earning the championship, our junior team claiming seventh overall, and our junior high team finishing as runner-up in their division shows the hard work, dedication, and passion these students have for livestock evaluation. Their success reflects countless hours of practice and a true commitment to excellence.”

While the junior high members had no sets of reasons to give, most went over to the next building after judging and competed in the district competition of their quiz bowl. Fortunately, one of our teams received second place, making it to state! For the junior division, one set of reasons was required, which was the class of market gilts. And finally for the senior division they not only did also give reasons on the market gilts, but also the market steers and lambs. 

Junior Blake Loseke commented, “It was a good experience to go compete at districts. It was really cool for our senior team to be able to go to state to compete. Not only did they do good as a team, but we also had lots of individuals who did great as well”. 

Congratulations to the Senior Livestock Judging team for receiving first place and making it onto state! Results and personal standings are as follows:

(1st) Senior Team:

• Luke Eisenmann (1st)
• Carmen Malena (2nd)
• Briggs Klug (3rd)
• Daphne Jedlicka (8th)
• Hannah Martensen (34th) (Alternate to State)

(7th) Junior Team:

• Layton Held (21st)
• Easton Brabec (36th)
• Avery Kuester (38th)
• Trenton Olson (40th)

(2nd) Junior High Team:

• Cruz Malena (5th)
• Bergan Settje (7th)
• Cooper Fehringer (13th)
• Blair Wietfeld (15th)

Junior High Quiz Bowl Competitors:

• Team 1 (2nd place)
• Blair Wietfeld, Cruz Malena, Grayson Loseke, Grant Zabka
• Team 2
• Ella Hanson, Lexie Bruhn, Cooper Fehringer, Ella Hanson

JAG, which stands for Jobs for America’s Graduates, is a new career program Leigh has come by in the last few years, with students in grades 7-12 participating. It is not only a class they may take, but also an organization. On Thursday September 25, 2025 the officer team and JAG teacher Mr. Hathaway traveled to the JAG Leadership Development Conference. The officer team includes seniors Lexis Gleason, Jocelyn Donelly, and George Waterman. 

JAG teacher Mr. Hathaway stated, “LDC stands for Leadership Development Conference. It is an annual event hosted by JAG NE. They invite the officers from all JAG programs across the state to come and gain skills and knowledge on several leadership topics. 

This year we also got the privilege to hear from the Mayor of Omaha, John W. Ewing. He talked about his journey through the police department and his dedication to civic service to the people of Omaha and surrounding areas. We also got to hear from one of the national JAG officers who is from Tennessee. She spoke about how every voice matters, and we all play an important part, no matter how small or big. The rest of the day was dedicated to several sessions on different leadership topics.

Leigh's 3 officers, Gleason, Donnelly, and Waterman, attended even though they technically didn't have to since school was canceled for the football playoff game. All three made the choice to come anyway and learn about being effective leaders. I'm very proud of their decision, as it shows they have great leadership qualities already! While there they made new friends and connections in their sessions and at the lunch table. It was a great day!”

Senior Lexis Gleason commented “George, Jocelyn, and I represented Leigh in Omaha at the JAG leadership conference. We participated in a variety of activities ranging from learning about AI to interacting with our peers. Overall, we all had a great time, and we are excited for what is to come in the future.” At this conference many skills were learned. Being part of JAG teaches you many skills you need in the future: communication, time management, public speaking, problem solving, and many more. This is a very good program to be a part of even if you only are in it one or a few years in high school. You will still get to learn a lot and make many memories.”

Leigh Community Schools is very excited to welcome a new staff member this year, Mrs. Sharron “Shorty” Schroeder, as the new elementary custodian this school year. 

Mrs. Schroeder started at LCS at the beginning of the school year, and has been a great addition and friendly face in the building! 

Mrs. Schroeder grew up south of Dodge and went to school in Dodge. Before working at Leigh Community Schools, she worked in the grain department at the Coop. We imagine it is quite a change to go from working a lot of the time outside with adults to working all indoors with young kids!

Mrs. Schroeder and her husband, Ron, live in Leigh. They have two children, both recent Leigh grads, Lexi and Logan. Lexi now works as a welder at Apache in Norfolk and Logan is a mechanic at J and L.

Mrs. Schroeder’s hobbies in her free time include gardening, book club, and hanging out with family and friends.

When asked about her experience at Leigh Community Schools so far, she said, “It’s a great place to work! The people are very friendly and I am excited to be here.”

Thank you Mrs. Schroeder for all you do for Leigh Community School!

Playing on their home court, the Clarkson-Leigh Volleyball team competed in subdistricts on October 27th and 28th in Leigh. Their district run culminated in a district final at Lincoln Lutheran High School on Saturday, November 1. 

In their first matchup of the post-season, the Patriots faced off against the Arlington Eagles winning all 3 sets. In the first set, they started off strong winning 25-19. In the second set, they won 25-12, and they finished by taking the last set 25-18. 

Playing against the Boone Central Cardinals on Tuesday, the Patriots swept them in 3 sets. The first set was close with the Patriots winning 25-21. In the second and third set, the Patriots won with both sets being 25-18. 

Junior Vylet Hollatz said, “Going into subdistricts, we knew we were put in a place to succeed, and we believed that. On Monday, we played Arlington, where we struggled to find energy and get something going throughout the whole game. We still powered through and pulled out the win in three sets. That set us up against Boone Central in a match to make a District Final. We knew Boone Central was a tough team, but we came in with the right mindset and played Patriot volleyball, leading us to win in three sets and make a district final match!"  

Assistant coach Brianne Bachman said, “The Patriot team entered subdistricts with confidence, knowing they had the talent and determination to make a run to the finals. They opened play against Arlington with a slow start in the first set, but once they found their rhythm and momentum, they never looked back, sweeping Arlington to advance. The following night against Boone Central followed a similar pattern—they started a bit slow but quickly gained energy and confidence, finishing with another strong sweep to move on to the district finals.”

Winning their sub-district put them in the substate round as the #15 seed against the #2 seed Lincoln Lutheran. 

After travelling to Lincoln on November 1, the Patriots just weren’t able to pull off the upset, even though they battled hard the first two sets. 

In the first set, the Patriots jumped to an early lead but ended up losing 23-25 in a back-and-forth battle. The second set was also so close, ending 24-26. In the third set, the Patriots ran out of steam and lost 14-25. 

This loss capped a successful 23-9 season for the Patriots. 

Coach Bachman said, “In the championship match against #2-seed Lincoln Lutheran, the girls battled hard and played two very competitive sets, but ultimately, we didn’t come away with the win. The team had a fantastic season, showing grit, teamwork, and heart every step of the way. The coaching staff couldn’t be prouder of all they accomplished and the growth they showed throughout the year.”

Senior Karly Wendt said, “Going into the final game against Lincoln Lutheran, all of us wanted to prove something. We were confident in what we had been practicing and preparing for mentally and physically. We knew it was going to be one of our hardest games yet, but losing to them earlier in the season made us even more hungry for the win. 

“We kept them on their toes for the first two sets and that is something we were proud of. I was proud of each and every teammate for battling through adversity throughout the years. I'm thankful I got to be a part of the Patriot family, and I’m also really excited to see what is to come for our school in the future.”

Clarkson-Leigh vs. Lincoln Lutheran:

Set 1 Set 2 Set 3

Clarkson-Leigh: 23   24    14

Lincoln Lutheran: 25 26   14

Individual Stats: (kills, assists, blocks, aces, digs)

Maizie Stoklasa: 4, 0, 0, 0, 3; Graicee Sortino: 4, 1, 0, 0, 0; Kendal Schnider: 2, 17, 1, 0, 7; Claire Holoubek: 4, 0, 0, 1, 6; Reese Wietfeld: 1, 0, 0, 0, 5; Vylet Hollatz: 0, 1, 0, 1, 10; Ava; Kasik: 8, 3, 0, 0, 6; Ella Baumert: 2, 2, 0, 0, 10 

Clarkson-Leigh vs Arlington:

Set 1 Set 2 Set 3

Clarkson-Leigh: 25     25     25

Arlington: 19     12     18

Clarkson-Leigh vs Boone Central:

Set 1 Set 2 Set 3

Clarkson-Leigh: 25   25   25

Boone Central: 21   18     18

On Thursday, October 23, the Clarkson-Leigh Patriots made a six-hour long trip to Bridgeport, Nebraska to play the Bridgeport Bulldogs in the first round of the 8-man class D1 playoffs. The Patriots were the 27 seed in the playoffs with the Bulldogs being the #6 seed. Clarkson-Leigh entered this game at 4-4 while Bridgeport came in at 7-1. 

The Patriots’ started the game very sluggish, fumbling multiple times in the first quarter. The Bulldogs capitalized on these opportunities, outsourcing the Patriots 22-0 in the first quarter. The Bulldogs continued to score, tallying on 14 more points in the second quarter. The Patriots got on the board just one time in the first half with a deep touchdown reception by Tucker Matthies with the score being 36-6 at halftime.  

In the second half, the Patriots stuck with Bridgeport. They outscored the Bulldogs 8-6 in the third quarter and 12-6 in the fourth quarter. The Patriots' strong second half was strongly attributed to Luke Eisenmann’s two receiving touchdowns. Despite their second-half fire, the Patriots had dug themselves too big of a hole to come out of. The final score was 26-48. 

The Patriots finished the season at 4-5, graduating 8 seniors. 

Senior Luke Eisenmann said, “We had a fun season with a lot of ups and downs. I felt like we grew a lot together over the course of the season. I am grateful for Patriot football that has taught me many lessons that I can carry with me throughout my life.”

Game Stats:

         Q1      Q2       Q3       Q4       Final

Clarkson/Leigh    0         6          8          12     26

Bridgeport     22       14        6         6        48

Rushing: Attempts, Total Yards:  Wyatt Crosley—19, 56; Jeryn Struebing–1, 1; Tucker Matthies—-18, 73; Blake Loseke—5, 13

Passing: Completions, Total Yards: Crosley—6, 151

Receiving: Receptions, Total Yards: Luke Eisenmann—3, 62; Matthies—3, 89

Touchdowns: Crosley—1; Matthies—1; Eisenmann–2

Tackles: Levi Gall—7, Loseke—6, Brett Wemhoff—1, Hunter Gall—4, Tyce Larson—1, Luke Eisenmann—7, Jacob Kroeger—4, Matthies—1, Corey Steffensmeier—3, Easton Brabec—2, Crosley–1

The Patriot JV football season concluded on October 13 with a loss against the Scouts of David City.

Throughout the season, the Patriots JV played in five games, ending with a record of 1 win and 4 losses, claiming their only win of the season to Lyons-Decatur Northeast in a 36-24 victory.

Their 4 losses came to the Stanton Mustangs, the Guardian Angels Central Catholic Bluejays, the Howells-Dodge Jaguars, and the David City Scouts.

Even with their struggles, freshman member of the team Wyatt Eisenman found a positive spin on the season saying, “I really loved the football season with my teammates. Even though we didn't win as many games as we would have wanted to, I would say we all had a fun time learning and getting ready to play varsity football in a couple of years."

When asked about the season, JV football coach Jarrod Bazata said, “The JV team competed very well in their games this year. They were very competitive even with our low numbers of guys.”

JV football is all about improvement and Coach Jarrod Bazata feels they have done that this season, saying, “We had some kids really shine on Monday nights, which will help them with their football careers moving forward.”

Leigh Community Schools participated in the Patriot's Pen and Voice of Democracy contests this fall, led by Mrs. Justine Fischer and Mr. Tyler Brester in their classrooms. 

 The Patriot's Pen contest was open to students in grades 6-8 and students had to write a 400 word essay on how they show patriotism and support for their country. This year's Patriot's Pen winners were Bergan Settje (1st place), Kinlee Olson (2nd place), and Katelyn Lange (3rd place). 

The Voice of Democracy contest was open to students in grades 9-12, and Leigh had their sophomore English class participate.  These students wrote and recorded a 3-5 minute speech on the same topic as the Patriot's Pan. This year's winners were Emily Waterman (1st place), Sadie Brabec (2nd place), and Ariyah Ross (3rd place). Winners were chosen by the Schuyler VFW, and both first place winners will advance to the district competition. 

Congratulations to these students!

For the second year in a row, the Leigh FFA chapter made their way to Indianapolis, Indiana for the 98th National FFA Convention and Expo. The convention trip the members made was from October 28-31. 18 of the chapter members attended the trip. The route consisted of the states, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. 

Junior Blake Loseke commented, “I thought it was a cool thing to go to. We got to take a few interesting stops along the way, as well as attend the National Convention. It was cool to see almost 70,000 kids there all for FFA. It was definitely something I will remember”. 

On day one, taking a different route this year to get some new tours and sites to see, the members made their first stop in Mound City, Missouri for the R/Farm Distillery. There the members learned lots about what it takes to run and operate a distillery, also learning the history and background of the distillery. 

Next up was the city Columbia. Here, the members toured the Tiger Ice facility. Tiger Ice was an ice company where the members learned the history of the company, the making, bagging, and shipping process of the plant. They also got to see some dry ice in action with a special ice sculpture that stated “FFA”. After visiting the facility, the members made their way to their last stop for the day, St. Louis, Missouri. After arriving in the city, the members had their supper at the Cheesecake Factory, and later followed by checking into their hotel just a few blocks away from the St. Louis Arch. 

On day two bright and early, the St. Louis Arch was the first stop. Even with a little sprinkle of rain, the members toured, and got to go up to the top of the arch and look down through the windows. It was a great experience for all and an incredibly high view of the city and the Missouri River. After spending some time at the arch, the members made their way to Indianapolis. Once arriving there and after checking into the hotel, the boys made their way over to the rodeo being hosted while the girls attended the Ella Langley concert, which was opened by Ernest. 

For their final full day in Indianapolis, the members began with waking up to attend the first session of the convention. There they listened to a few wonderful speakers and listened to the national band and choir. After the session the members had most of the day to go over to the expo hall, meet with colleges, companies, and of course shop! After having a blast at the expo hall, meeting new friends, and seeing some even from back home, the members made their way back to their hotel. 

After changing out of their official dress, the members got ready for the chapter dinner, where on the trip they decide on a place to eat that the chapter pays for instead of them. Just the same as last year, the members picked Texas Roadhouse. After their meal, the members loaded into their van and headed down to a haunted house. The haunted house was called “Nightmare on Edgewood”. After having a blast at the haunted house, the members were exhausted and ready for bed. 

Early in the morning on Friday October 31, the members finally made their way back home. Stopping only a few times, they made their way to the “World’s Largest Truck Stop” in Iowa. Overall, the FFA members attending had a blast on this trip!

Leigh FFA advisor Mrs. Went stated, “It’s always an honor to take our students to the National FFA Convention. Seeing them connect with members from across the country and grow in confidence reminds me why we do what we do. Our students were able to grow as leaders, make life long connections, and bring new ideas back to our chapter.”

31 members from the Leigh FCCLA Chapter attended the District 5 Leadership Conference held at Central Community College in Columbus on Monday, October 13. 

The conference theme was “Just Keep Leading.” Vylet Hollatz was our District Representative and spoke a few words in the opening session. 

The Keynote Speaker was a representative of the Briggs and Barrett Project. The Briggs and Barrett Project is dedicated to raising the awareness of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID). The FCCLA members in attendance got to learn more about these tragedies and what they are doing to prevent them. 

The first rotational sessions included a presentation given by Megan Reese about recognizing human trafficking, a breakout session that included several games, and lunch served by CCC. 

An interesting afternoon rotational session included “402 Tallow Co,” presented by Rhonda Hanel and Andrea Sortino. 

Other afternoon rotational sessions included “Interior Design,” by Rachel Rardon, “Live on Nebraska,” by Organ and Tissue Donation, “Take Leadership to the Next Level,” by the State Officers, “Just Keep Leading,” by Boone Central, and other educational sessions about leadership and healthy relationship building. 

Leigh FCCLA President, Elizabeth Hoffman, said, “DLC is such a great opportunity to connect with other chapters and learn a little about a lot when we go to different sessions put on by people in the area who care to share about their passions. This year’s keynote speaker, the Briggs & Barrett Project, hit a little close to home, and I was glad that was the last DLC presentation I’ll see as a senior. Overall, it was a really fun day! Looking forward to a great year of FCCLA!”

Mrs. Megan Hillen, the Leigh FCCLA Advisor, “It was another great year at DLC. The keynote speaker and breakout sessions provided inspiring and educational messages that engaged our students in learning about important topics.”