Bighorn news: Cursive, life skills taught in the classroom

As a new “specials” class this year, Oasis introduced the Life Skills/Community Service class. The class is part of the curriculum for all kindergarten through fifth grade students and focuses on everyday skills that every student needs. The class is taught by Mrs. Lisa Erquiaga.

The highlight of the class was for students in second to fifth grade to learn cursive writing.

For the Life Skills portion of the class, along with cursive, students also learned practical skills like how to address envelopes, write letters and set a table.

For the Community Service portion of the class students worked on outreach projects for both Highland Manor and The Homestead Assisted Living, they researched holiday traditions, and learned about the importance of volunteering and helping.

“Our students already took art, music and a STEM class- like Lego robotics every year,” said CEO Melissa Mackedon.

“We saw such a huge need for a class like this and we are so excited about how it is going. We just confirmed that Mrs. Erquiaga will be back next year to build on what she has started.”

Senior Spotlight: Matthew Christopherson

Oasis’ Jump Start College model with partner Western Nevada College has proven a good fit for senior Matthew Christopherson. Through the program, Christopherson has found his professional calling.

“I’d like to thank my Western Nevada College Professor Dr. Brigitte Dillet,” Christopherson said. “She gave me my love for geoscience, specifically geology. She was a great influence and taught in a very intriguing way.

“Geology is my favorite subject now and what I’ll study at Boise State. I love nature and I love learning how it was formed,” he added.

Christopherson started at Oasis in seventh grade.

“The transition was hard at the beginning; I was a socially inept kid,” Christopherson said. “But I made friends with one person who introduced me to a larger group of kids and I’ve stuck with them ever since.

“My favorite memories from Oasis all come from me and my friends growing up through middle school and high school, hanging out and doing classes together helped me through school a lot.”

In May, Christopherson will graduate with both his high school diploma and Associates of Applied Science from Western Nevada College. He will then pursue a degree in geoscience as part of the Boise State University Honors College.

“My advice for future students would be to create a relationship with your teacher or professor,” he said. “When you are friends with the person that’s grading your assignments, you can ask for help and receive it in a more comfortable and friendly manner. I’ve always been a firm believer that no matter how smart or dumb you are, as long as you try your best and communicate with your teacher you can pass the class.”

Senior Spotlight: Aaron Housel

Switching schools can be a difficult transition for some students, but Senior Aaron Housel found a school and teachers that were ready to foster his education and showed him compassion when he transitioned to Oasis Academy in fourth grade.

“The first thing I noticed when I started at Oasis is that all the teachers treat every student with respect and give help as soon as it is needed,” Housel said. “That has continued through to my senior year at this school. I’ve felt valued and know that they cared. The teachers make the learning experience fun as well. My time at Oasis has been great to say the least.”

“Mrs. Amy O’Flaherty helped me out the most when I needed it. I’d like to thank her for all that she did,” he added.

Like many other students, the diverse class opportunities through the Jump Start Program in partnership with Western Nevada College has helped Housel find a career path.

“Criminal Justice was my favorite class. It is the most interesting and fun class I’ve ever had and has made me want to work in law enforcement,” he said.

His time at Oasis has included some great memories including the 2021 Homecoming Dance at the Fallon Youth Center and playing on the basketball team. Housel will also join the Oasis Baseball team for their inaugural season this spring.

Housel will graduate in May with both his associates degree and high school diploma. He plans to stay and work locally until he is 21 and can apply to work for the Nevada State Police.

“My advice for future students is to appreciate what Oasis has to offer,” he said. “It is a place where the teachers are willing to help you and want you to succeed.”

NHS plans for the new year

The National Honor Society is an organization that reflects the commitment of students looking to reflect the four pillars of service, character, scholarship and citizenship. The Oasis Chapter consists of dedicated juniors and seniors who are looking forward to serving their community into the new year.

The organization held its first meeting of 2023 on Jan. 27. The meeting focused on service and volunteer opportunities and preparing for this year’s induction of new members. This semester, members plan on hosting a student potluck in May for graduating seniors! As well as, continuing the partnership with Pennington Life Center beginning with a lunch in February to help visitors celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Previous Honor Society projects have included the annual CASA coat drive to support local youth and a holiday lunch at the Pennington Life Center.

“Honor Society provides an amazing opportunity for us to volunteer and help”, said NHS Secretary Sophia Jeffs.

For information about the Oasis Chapter of National Honor Society or to request NHS volunteers contact Mrs. Julie Stockard at jstockard@oanv.org.

— Hunter McNabb

Oasis FFA competes at Zone

On Feb. 3, the Future Farmers of America Western Nevada Zone Competition was hosted at Pershing County High School in Lovelock. Teams from Northern Nevada competed in Agricultural Sales, Milk Quality, Prepared Public Speaking and a variety of other competitive events.

The Western Zone competition provided students an opportunity to interact with other agricultural students, while practicing for their CDEs and LDEs (career and leadership development events). FFA provides an opportunity for students to compete in CDEs or LDEs with the ultimate goal of helping students prepare for a future career.

The Oasis FFA performed well, teams and students placed in Agricultural Sales, Milk Quality, Creed Speaking and Floriculture. The Milk Quality team won first place, the Ag Sales Team and Floriculture teams each placed second. For individual results, Matthew Bird placed second in Milk Quality, Grace Laca finished third in Milk Quality, Hunter McNabb finished third in Ag Sales and Isabella Grimes finished third in the Creed Speaking.

“I’m incredibly proud of the students that participated in Zone,” said FFA Adviser Jackie Bogdanowicz. “Their hard work paid off! This was just the first step as they continue to prepare for the state convention. I’m excited to see how they do going forward,”

The students will continue to study and practice their topics as they prepare to compete at the Nevada FFA State Convention held in March.

— Hunter McNabb

Second graders give presentations

Second-grade classes worked hard doing research on landmarks the last couple weeks to prepare for the presentations they gave on January 30.

The pairs of students were assigned a landmark that they then researched, wrote about, and created a slideshow using Google Slides. Presentations highlighted the important facts they learned. Parents and families were encouraged to attend and watch the students present.

“I felt really nervous and excited about the presentations. Almost my whole family came,” said Tomas de Leon who was partnered with Ryatt Jackson.

“We were nervous because there were people we didn’t know that were coming to watch. We did a lot of research using the internet. Our project was on the Space Needle. We were excited to learn that there is a restaurant at the top of the Space Needle!.”

“I’m really excited to present again sometime.”

Yearbooks on sale

Oasis Academy kindergarten through 8th grade and high school yearbooks are now on sale. Purchase them at https://yearbookforever.com/. Be sure to indicate which grade level (K-8 or high school) yearbook you are purchasing. We will not be able to trade them out.