McFarland High School student leaders report on start-of-year events, clubs and athletics

Student leader Dean Swanland presented the first McFarland High School student report of the 2025–26 school year at the Sept. 15 board meeting, outlining events, staffing changes and upcoming activities. Swanland, who identified himself as the junior class president, said incoming-freshman orientation and the club fair helped freshmen settle in and that the senior class celebrated a “senior sunrise” on Sept. 1. He listed fall extracurriculars and recent outcomes, citing football, girls tennis, girls volleyball, boys soccer, cross country, girls golf and girls swimming results. He noted senior Kayla Landeroot reached 1,000 career kills in volleyball. Swanland introduced newly hired staff members: a new high school counselor (LaValley), a school social worker (Gilmore), a physics teacher (Bradley) and the new school resource officer (Officer Townes). He said student reporters plan to collect information from club advisors and coaches to include more content and photos in future reports. On upcoming events, Swanland said homecoming week is Oct. 6–11, with the parade on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. and the dance on Saturday, Oct. 11, 7:30–10:30 p.m. He said planning committees are finalizing details and that more specifics will be available at the Oct. 6 board meeting. Trustees thanked Swanland for the presentation and offered praise for the format and content. No board action was required.