Rounding out the school year with a round of ‘thank yous’
A senior's final commentary
By Hannah Kleopfer
May 05, 2010
As the Hiawatha High School graduation day of May 16, 2010, gets closer, so do my days of being a student in the USD 415 school district. As I look back at my 13 years of schooling, there are so many people who have contributed in positive ways.
Those that come to mind first are my parents, teachers, friends and the rest of my family. However, there are so many others who have impacted my school career, many that I may never even have met, who deserve to be thanked for all they have done.
My freshman year I attended the band trip to Orlando, Flo. It was a trip that I will always remember, but it never would have been possible without raising the money to go. A big fundraiser we used was our Red Hawk Cards. Many local businesses agreed to be a part of the card, offering discounts at their places of business. Any individual who bought a card could then use the card during the year for discounts at the participating businesses. Our band director, Mr. Johnson, always put a lot of effort into organizing this fundraiser each year so that the cards were ready to go by band camp in August.
As music has been a large part of my high school career here at HHS, I must also thank the Music Boosters. They’ve helped us from paying for part of our meals at regional and state music contest to helping with fundraising efforts for trips, including the trip the jazz band and Headliners took in 2008 to Branson, Mo. They have been supportive, whether the occasion is band or vocal, making the music department even more successful.
Another highlight of high school for me was prom. Businesses all over town pitched in and became sponsors for the after prom. The junior parents work hard to make this night fun and eventful night for all of the students.
As many of our businesses around town have been sponsoring after prom, they have also supported our yearbook by purchasing advertisements to help fund it. Without their help, the creation of this book of memories would not be possible.
Perhaps the greatest constant throughout the years has been the support for all of the sporting events. For example, Hiawatha National Bank helped out with the cheerleader’s cook-out this year at the Gatorade scrimmage, which then helped us raise funds for activities like Homecoming and Sweetheart.
And where would we be without our loyal community fans and our Booster Club members who have come out to support our Red Hawks by attending games. The Booster Club members have really worked on making a difference for our sports teams from revamping the weight room to getting the teams new warm ups or uniforms. Our fans have also followed us whether we were winning or losing.
One of my favorite parts of high school has been being a part of the dance team. As we struggled during the years to come up with original dances to perform at half-time and worked hard at camp, local dance instructors Holle Lancaster of Holle’s Studio and Stacy Newell of Stacy’s Dance Academy stepped up and helped with dance team try-outs by judging or helping with the routine and then making up dances for us to learn at our annual summer dance camp that we performed at half-time of the basketball games.
A very eventful time of my senior year was the biology club’s eight-day Bahamas trip. All four years of high school members from the community would bring us recyclable goods in support of our fundraising efforts. We also depended on loyal support for our concession stands, burrito sales and Little Ceasers pizza sales. Between Mr. Vitt’s hard work and the community’s support, we were all able to make the trip and have a memorable time.
We, the class of 2010, have also benefited from organizations such as the Kiwanis who make numerous donations to help with things such as the new sound system in the auditorium and various anonymous donors such a the recent funding of the tennis program. In addition to all of these contributions, we are also the recipients of over 50 local scholarships.
So as my days as a student of USD 415 come to an end, I would like to thank the community members and the businesses who have always supported the HHS class of 2010. I know that when I return to Hiawatha your support will still be strong and that I will be a supportive alumna because of the example you have set.
