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The Leigh FCCLA chapter will be creating take-and-bake meals for a fundraiser. All of the meals are made from scratch, placed in a disposable baking tray, and frozen. These would make great gifts for a new mom, housewarming gift, or a delicious comfort meal for a friend in need. Meal options include lasagna, chicken tetrazzini, chicken pot pie casserole, and a beef enchilada casserole. Cheesy hashbrown potatoes will be offered as a side option. All casseroles will be offered in two sizes (9x13 inch rectangular pan or a 9 inch round pan) with the exception of the lasagna (9x13 round pan only). The larger casseroles are priced at $22, and the smaller portion at $14. The cheesy hasbrown casserole will also be available in two sizes and will be $16 and $10, respectively. Orders can be placed by visiting the school's webpage and locating the online order form or by calling Megan Hillen at (402) 910-1391 prior to Thursday, March 20. Meals will be available for pick-up on Sunday, March 30 at Leigh Community School between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. Please contact Megan Hillen to arrange an alternative pick-up time, if needed. Thank you for your support of the Leigh FCCLA chapter! 

Order Link: https://forms.gle/MGx31fupxPRPxBu68 

On September 4th, 2007, in Ukiah, California, Kaytlin and Joseph Closson welcomed their first beautiful baby girl, Keeley Calissa Campbell-Closson. Keeley later became a big sister to one younger sister, Kinna, 12.

Keeley’s grandparents are Patricia Campbell and Patrick Campbell Sr. of Willits, California, Susan and Anthony Cahill of Columbus, Nebraska, and Rod and Jolene Closson of Newman Grove, Nebraska. 

Keeley also has 2 dogs, Coda and Zeppelin.

Keeley moved to Nebraska when she was 3 and after living briefly in O’Neill, she then moved to Leigh. 

Throughout her high school years, Keeley has participated in many activities, including One Act and Yearbook for 4 years, Volleyball, Vision Board, FBLA, and Journalism for 2 years, and Golf and Cheerleading for 1 year.  

Outside of school activities, Keeley has also participated in Leigh Youth Advisory Committee for three years. 

Keeley has received many honors throughout her high school career, some of which include lettering in Play Production and Yearbook all four years.

In the future Keeley plans to attend Wayne State College and get a degree in Elementary Education. In 10-15 years, she sees herself being an elementary teacher, possibly married and having at least two dogs. 

If she could travel anywhere in the world, Keeley says she would travel to Bora Bora. It has been a place she has wanted to visit for years. She says it is so beautiful and it would be amazing to stay in the huts and adventure around the island.

If she had to choose three words to describe herself, Keeley would choose “short, dedicated, and enthusiastic.”

The people that Keeley admires in her life are her parents. They always show up to her school events. Her father always listens to my stories that she has from school. Her parents are always busy, but they always make time for her and her sister. Her mother is constantly by her side for everything she does.  

Three things on Keeley’s bucket list are to travel to at least 3 countries, go to the Mall of America, and to learn some of her Native American tribal language, Wailaki. 

Keeley says her favorite high school memories have been going to state Play Production her freshman and senior year.  

Her advice to underclassmen is “Enjoy your time in high school, it goes by very fast. Ask questions—no question is a stupid question.”

On Thursday, January 30th, the C-team girls basketball traveled to their second to last game of the season in Wayne versus the Blue Devils. Two weeks later the girls then played the Tekamah-Herman Tigers in Tekamah on Monday, January 10th. 

In the game versus Wayne, the girls battled hard in the early quarters but ended up falling 13-48 in the final stretch. 

Freshman Matelyn Rayback spoke about their game versus Wayne saying, “We keep getting better each day by practicing the skills we need to work on, and we hope that we can be the best we can be by the end of the season.”

Two weeks later the girls traveled to Tekamah for their last game. The game was very close all throughout, but in the end the girls’ shots just stopped falling leading them to a close loss of 12-27.

Unfortunately, the C-team girls ended their season winless, with a record of 0-5. 

“We had a great last game, even though we lost. We also have learned a lot throughout this season while still having fun in each game,” said freshman Lainey Urban on the Tekamah-Herman game. 

On Wednesday February 5, five Leigh FFA members went to Central Community College in Columbus to get interviewed for their state degree. Those members included seniors Kammy Held. Brianne Kuhr, Jared Olson, Carter Brabec, and Paige Kurpgeweit. These members will be now all be receiving their state degree at the Nebraska FFA state convention. 

Leigh FFA chapter president Kammy Held said, “A state degree is the highest degree to receive in high school FFA. I’m so proud that all our seniors this year earned their state degree.  It is an accomplishment we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.”

Along with submitting the state degrees, the FFA chapter also had a total of 7 students submitting proficiencies. 

Proficiencies are based on the student’s SAE they work on and fill out in AET through the year. This includes hours, descriptions, photos, and money or paid income. Being in FFA and having an SAE to work on keeps you on track and gives you many skills, such as time management, being able to manage your money and the paid income, and work ethic. 

The following are proficiency results: 

Kammy Held - Gold 1 - Goat Production

Carmen Malena - Gold 1 - Ag Sales

Carter Brabec - Gold 2 - Beef Production Placement 

Brianne Kuhr - Gold 3 - Beef Production Placement

Brianne Kuhr - Gold 2 - Diversified Ag

Daphne Jedlicka – Silver - Sheep Production Entrepreneurship

Luke Eisenmann – Silver - Grain Production

Blake Loseke – Bronze - Beef Production Placement 

The Leigh Speech team competed in Wakefield on Friday, February 7th. The speech meet started bright and early at 8:00 AM and ended at 4:00 PM. 

14 teams participated in the competition, including Leigh, Howells-Dodge, Wakefield, Ponca, West Point-Beemer, David City, Columbus Lakeview, Oakland-Craig, Battle Creek, Elkhorn Valley, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, Winnebago, Neligh-Oakdale, and Pender. 

We had a successful meet with 7 placings. Brianne Kuhr placed 2nd in Varsity Extemporaneous Speaking, Sydney Messerlie paced 6th in Varsity Serious, Elizabeth Hoffman placed 5th in Novice Informative, Kaylee Brabec placed 2nd and Kaycee Lange placed 6th in Novice Persuasive, James Moore placed 6th in Novice POI (Program of Oral Interpretation), and Sydney Messerlie, James Moore, Kaycee Lange, Vivian Bunner, and Cade Hoesly placed 2nd in Novice OID (Oral Interpretation of Drama).

Team sweepstakes top 5 results include, West Point-Beemer in 1st with 98 points, David City in 2nd with 86 points, Howells-Dodge in 3rd with 69 points, Columbus Lakeview in 4th with 35 points, Oakland-Craig in 5th with 27 points, 

As a team Leigh Varsity finished 6th with 20 points, and the JV team finished 4th.

Assistant speech coach, Kim Loseke, said, “I am proud of how our team is doing. Everyone is making improvements to their events and I can't wait to see how everyone does at the remaining meets."

"Despite there being 14 teams, everyone has done an amazing job and I'm proud of how far our speech team has come!” said junior, Sydney Messerlie. 

Last week, the Patriot girls’ basketball team picked up a win and a loss on the road to finish out the regular season 12-11. On Tuesday, February 11th, they traveled out to Pierce where the Patriots put up a battle but came short of beating the Bluejays with an end score of 35-53. The Lady Pats sprung right back on Thursday, though, to sweep through Stanton. Playing a close game up to the end buzzer, the Patriots’ score consisted of an astonishing ten 3-pointers, with just 2 other field goals, and 1 free throw, to earn the win 35-31 win. 

About the Pierce game, head coach Rebecca Hiatt said, “Pierce was a tough opponent and we knew that they were going to be physical. We played well in the first half and matched their physicality. They got to the free-throw line in the second half and built a lead. We fought back, and the girls continued to battle throughout the game.” 

“Coming into the Pierce game we knew we had to know what each person did and knew we had to execute on the offensive end. We weren't able to get very many shots in the first half and then in the third quarter our shots started falling, but in the end, it wasn’t enough,” stated sophomore Reese Wietfeld, “Against Stanton we came out strong, the bench and the court had energy. Which led us to getting the victory. Overall, the regular season went by really fast and I’m very happy with how we responded to each game.”

Hiatt stated, “Against Stanton, we shot the ball well from 3-point range. We did a good job of moving the basketball and finding open shooters. However, we did give up too many offensive rebounds and we know that going forward we have to continue to work hard to get position rebounding. Overall, it was good to end the regular season with a win as we head into post season games. We have played a tough schedule which has prepared us for tough competition in the postseason.”

Clarkson-Leigh vs. Pierce

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

CLP 6 13 27 35

Pierce 7 21 40 53

Individual Stats vs. Pierce

(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)

Ella Baumert: 1, 1, 0, 0, 0; Elizabeth Hoffman: 0, 0, 0, 0, 2; Izzy Hollatz: 6, 1, 1, 0, 0; Vylet Hollatz: 0, 5, 0, 0, 0; Ava Kasik: 9, 2, 3, 1, 0; Kendall Schneider: 0, 0, 0, 0, 1; Baylee Settje: 10, 6, 0, 1, 0; Brynn Settje: 8, 1, 1, 3, 0; Nevaeh Zulkoski: 0, 1, 0, 0, 0

Clarkson-Leigh vs. Stanton

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

CLP 9 17 23 35

Stanton 7 17 26 31

Individual Stats vs. Stanton

(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)

Elizabeth Hoffman: 0, 2, 0, 0, 1; Izzy Hollatz:15, 5, 0, 0, 0; Vylet Hollatz: 3, 0, 1, 0, 1; Ava Kasik: 2, 2, 2, 0, 0; Baylee Settje: 3, 10, 3, 1, 1; Brynn Settje: 11, 3, 3, 5, 0; Nevaeh Zulkoski: 0, 6, 0, 0, 0

LCS had 3 students qualify for East Husker Conference Honor Band this year, held on February 10, 2025, at Wayne State College. Students who auditioned and were chosen to attend include seniors Emily Stender, who plays trombone; Brianne Kuhr, who plays baritone, and sophomore Blake Loseke, who plays trumpet.  

These students performed with other talented students from the conference. After practicing all day, they took part in a concert at 5 pm.  

“Brianne Kuhr a Senior at LCS said, “The day we spent at WSC was beneficial for us because we were able to play in a band that had the best band players from across the conference. I enjoyed playing the difficult music, and I was able to meet new people from the conference.”

LHS Band director Mrs. Sydney Wemhoff said, “It is truly an honor to be selected for the top band in the conference, and these three musicians have unquestionably earned their place.  The Wind Ensemble’s performance at the concert was nothing short of fantastic, showcasing their dedication and talent!”

The Clarkson Leigh Patriot boys’ basketball team battled against the Pierce Bluejays on February 11th and the Stanton Mustangs on the 13th. 

The boys’ varsity had tough start to the first game, which left them trailing behind, ending the first half 15-31. The boys were unable to catch up to the Bluejays, leading to a devastating loss, 30-79. 

Tyce Larson, freshman, said, “Going into the game, we knew Pierce would be a tough matchup. We were just unable to hold them at the start, so they really got going in the second half. We further learned what we need to improve to earn another victory, moving into the end of the season.”

Clarkson-Leigh’s boys’ varsity basketball team traveled to Stanton for a evenly matched battle between the Stanton Mustangs on Thursday, February 13th. Both varsity teams with the same record on the season. 

The JV boys really set the tone for the varsity game, catching their first win in overtime, 36-31.  

Scoring 30 and leading by 10 in the first half, the boys’ varsity team started the game off on a high note. After halftime, the boys continued to push their lead. The Mustangs fell short, leading to a well-earned victory for the Patriots, 62-51. These wins from the boys JV and varsity marked the first full sweep for the Clarkson-Leigh Patriots girls’ and boys’ basketball teams.  

The boys battled hard and finally picked up a deserved win that they have been laboriously working for. Tucker Matthies was the leading scorer for the Patriots with 17 points, and Wyatt Crosley was second with 16 points. Kyle McMullin led the team with 16 rebounds, and Korbin Lemburg trailed behind with 10 rebounds. 

Kyle McMullin, junior starter, said, “We came into this game with a good game plan to slow down their scorers. We came into this game confident, which helped us play at a high level. We played our most complete game of the season, hopefully helping us get more wins.” 

“I was very proud of our effort and the composure we showed. The guys battled, played well and picked up a nice win!” said Head Coach, Jeff Bachman. 

Clarkson-Leigh vs. Pierce 

Q1    Q2    Q3    Q4   Final

Patriots: 6       15     24     30     30

Bluejays:  15      31    53     70     70

(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)

Kyle McMullin: 9, 4, 1, 0, 2; Easton Brabec: 0, 0, 0, 0, 1; Wyatt Crosley: 1, 3, 2, 2, 0; Blake Loseke: 2, 2, 1, 0, 0; Grant Hanel: 1, 3, 1, 0, 0; Korbin Lemburg: 10, 6, 0, 0, 1; Tucker Mathies: 4, 5, 0, 0, 0; Jacob Kroeger: 0, 4, 0, 0, 1; Tyce Larson; 3, 0, 0, 0, 0

Clarkson-Leigh vs. Stanton

          Q1    Q2    Q3    Q4   Final

Patriots:       16      30    44     62      62

Mustangs:    10      20    36     51      51

(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)

Kyle McMullin: 13, 16, 1, 2, 2; Easton Brabec: 3, 1, 1, 1, 0; Wyatt Crosley: 16, 2, 1, 1, 0; Blake Loseke: 2, 1, 0, 0, 0; Grant Hanel: 0, 2, 0, 0, 0; Korbin Lemburg: 11, 10, 3, 1, 1; Tucker Matthies: 17, 6, 4, 0, 0; Jacob Kroeger: 0, 4, 0, 0, 1

Another month, another three “Students of the Month!” 

Students are nominated and then voted on by their teachers based on attitude, work ethic, and positive impact on Leigh High School. The Students of the Month from January are Lexis Gleason, Karly Wendt, and Grant Zabka. 

Our First winner is junior Lexis Gleason. She is the daughter of Amy and Jeremy MacDonald and Justin Gleason. Her grandparents are Janette and Theron Dave Pinkston.

Some extracurricular activities Lexis is involved in are Cheer, Dance, Speech, Track, One-Act, Journalism, and Band. Her favorite subject in school is math. She likes math because she likes to learn new ways to solve problems.

While outside of school, some other activities she enjoys are sewing, art, baking, dancing, and hiking.

Lexis’s future looks so bright, as she wants to go to the Air Force and be a med tech.  After that she is interested in cosmetology or maybe something in the medical field.

This is Lexis’s second time winning this award. 

She says "I am very grateful that I have been recognized for this award. It feels rewarding to have my hard work in both school and extracurriculars noticed by the faculty members."

Lexis’s teachers said she is always in a happy, positive mood, she does well in all her classes, is a solid leader in her extracurriculars, and is always willing to help with whatever is needed.

Our next winner is another junior - Karly Wendt. Her parents are Kandee and Gary Wendt and her grandparents are late Jim and Judene Mewis and Earl and Joy Wendt.

Some extracurricular activities Karly is involved in are Volleyball, Track, Dance, Cheer, FFA, FCCLA, band, Journalism, One-Act, YAC, National Honor Society, and Yearbook.

Her favorite subject in school is American History because she gets to learn about the Holocaust and other interesting topics. She also enjoyed the CNA class that she took last semester.

  Her favorite activities that she enjoys doing are hanging out with friends, shopping, and going to concerts.

As for Karly’s future, she plans to attend Northeast Community College to start working toward her RN (registered nurse) degree.

This is also Karly’s second time receiving this award. She said “Winning this award feels good, It’s a nice reminder that the work I put in isn’t going unnoticed especially with so many other good candidates.”

Karly’s teachers said she is always in a good mood and positive with a smile on her face. She works very hard in her schoolwork to earn good grades.  She is also willing to help out when needed. She is very involved in activities and is a positive role model that younger kids look up to.  

Our final winner is 7th grader Grant Zabka. He is the son of Marin and Doug Zabka and is the first junior high student to win the award this year. 

Extracurricular activities Grant participates in are basketball, football, and wrestling.

His favorite subject in school is Social Studies.

Outside of school, some activities Grant enjoys doing are hunting, fishing, and playing sports.

Even though Grant is still young and still has some time to decide what he wants to do in the future, he plans to go to Wayne State College and after that would like to become a professional hunter.

This Is Grant's first time winning the Student of the Month award. He said “It feels great to win this award and I hope other people get to experience it too.’’

Grant’s teachers said he is a really hard-working kid. He does very well in his classes and extracurriculars and he always has a positive attitude.

Congratulations to this month’s winners!

On June 19th, 2007, in Norfolk, Nebraska, Josh and Robin Urban welcomed their first child, Ella Jae Urban into the world. Ella later became a big sister to two sisters, Emersyn, 16, and Eisley,12, as well as her brother Isaiah, 8. 

Ella’s grandparents are Dean and Cindy Urban of Leigh, and Judy and the late Gary Blessen of Creston. 

The Urban daily also has one cat named Nala. 

Throughout high school career, Ella has participated in FBLA, One-Act, journalism, and FCCLA for 4 years, and track, yearbook, National Honor Society, and golf for 3 years. 

Outside of school she has participated in Youth Advisory Committee and Zion Lutheran Church Youth Group.

  Ella has received many honors, including 2nd place at FCCLA Nationals, Student of the Month two times, Homecoming Queen and earning letters in track, golf, and dance. Ella’s proudest high school accomplishment was earning the office of FCCLA President. 

In the future, Ella plans to attend Wayne State College. She hopes to earn an undergraduate Communications degree and then go on to become a speech pathologist. In 15 years, she sees herself with a good job and family. 

If she won the lottery, Ella said that she would buy a self-driving car so that she wouldn’t have to worry about driving ever again. If she could travel anywhere in the world, she would travel to Bora Bora. 

Ella’s biggest pet peeve is when people touch her with their socks. 

If she had to choose three words to describe herself, she would choose kind, funny, and caring. 

When asked who she admires in her life, Ella said her mom because her mom is always there for her and helps her when she needs it. 

Ella’s favorite things outside of school and spending time with friends and family and golfing.  Her favorite subject in school is Culinary Arts. Her favorite song is “Wonder” by Meagan Moroney. Her favorite sports team is the Huskers. Ella’s favorite food is tater tot casserole. 

  Ella’s most embarrassing school memory is getting locked in the closet by Mr. Prososki in seventh grade. 

Her advice to underclassmen is “Time in high school goes by faster than you think, so enjoy it while it lasts.”

Congratulations, Ella!