Sweet Home SD 55 honors students; student and superintendent give reports

The Sweet Home SD 55 school board opened its December meeting by recognizing students chosen for the district’s Exceptional Student Performance awards and inviting winners from multiple schools to assemble for certificates and a group photograph.

Student representative Ken told the board the district’s canned food drive collected 2,186 pounds of food and “we were able to feed 60 families,” and said students raised $1,903 to purchase additional items. He also summarized recent student activities including band and choir concerts, athletics and a writing contest.

Superintendent’s report highlighted enrollment and attendance. “This time last month, we are at 2,193. This month, we’re at 2,120,” the superintendent reported, and noted declines at the junior high and high school levels. On student safety, the superintendent said the district received 21 incident reports across schools for the month and that one report was found to be a bullying incident; staff and principals handle investigations and determinations of founded incidents.

Josh Darjes, identified in the meeting as principal of Poly, described the school’s character ambassador program. He said the five‑year program focuses monthly on a single character trait, with teachers selecting two to three students each month to serve as ambassadors who participate in assemblies and school duties; a short video on integrity was shown during the meeting.

Board members encouraged community attendance at school events, noted district‑issued sweatshirts and upcoming concerts, and thanked staff for activities that support students beyond contract expectations.

The board moved on after student recognitions and reports to the consent and action portions of the agenda.