Lyon County Limelight

This morning at Yerington High School, Native Youth Community Project (NYCP) staff - Gerald Hunter and Mary Williams - arranged for 5 different cultural groups to present and dance for YHS and YIS.  Some of the dances included the Opening Flag Song, Victory Song, Great Basin Dancers, Powwow dancers, Aztec Dancers and California Maidu/Miwok Dancers! The assembly was in honor of Native American Heritage Month. There were explanations of the dances as well as a question and answer period. Students and staff were able to participate in a couple of the dances.  Well done, NYCP and YHS!

Over 30 Smith Valley FFA students volunteered to process turkeys this year.  This is a tradition at Smith Valley Schools that occurs most years under the direction of Agriculture Instructor and FFA Advisor Charmi Pommerening.  The turkeys are bought as small birds, raised and sold for Thanksgiving by Smith Valley students as one of their many student-run businesses.  SVS student Dylan Thran was in charge of the turkey business this year. On Monday, November 19, Dylan led his FFA classmates in the turkey processing where they prepared the turkeys to be sold.  The community looks forward to these farm-raised turkeys - all were sold and spoken for before the end of October.  The day of the turkey processing the birds are weighed, drained, scalded, plucked, eviscerated, cleaned and packaged for sale. Dylan ran into some hurdles earlier in his turkey raising and had to take his remaining birds home to raise at his farm.  As you can see in the pictures, the turkeys were beautifu

Jerri Kerns is a third-grade teacher and learning strategist at Riverview Elementary School.  She has been selected to serve on the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Cabinet where she will be one of a handful of members from across the state to serve in the Advisory Cabinet. Please join us in congratulating Jerri! From the Nevada Department of Education: SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION UNVEILS ADVISORY CABINET CARSON CITY, Nev. – Steve Canavero, Ph.D., Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction, announced today the formation of an advisory cabinet made up exclusively of teachers around the state. “Teachers are such an important voice in education and I’m grateful that 21 of them from throughout Nevada are willing to serve in this capacity,” Canavero said. “We learned during the recent development of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act how important stakeholder feedback is during every policy discussion. The State Superintendent’s Advisory Cabinet will

FIS's Red Ribbon Week!

October was National Farm to School Month and the Nevada Department of Agriculture listed Riverview Elementary as the Garden of the Month! "Riverview Elementary School in Dayton, Nev., was a FY18 School Garden Grant recipient.  Since March, they have created a unique school garden space, incorporated Agriculture in the Classroom lessons to meet education standards and have incorporated their school grown cabbage into their cafeteria!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- RES also had a visit from Art for the Sky! Video available here . --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yerington Elementary School held its annual Pink Walk to promote the importance of exercise in keeping healthy! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- National School Lunch Week was a hit! Below are some pictures of the Lucky Tray Winners!

In October, at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, former Smith Valley FFA chapter President Cassidy Scatena was awarded the FFA American Degree. The FFA American Degree is the highest degree the organization can bestow. Cassidy met all the requirements to obtain her degree by completing several hours of specific community service, continuing her Supervised Agriculture Experience projects through her freshman year of college and completing an extensive record book of all her projects since day one of her FFA years. Cassidy represented Smith Valley FFA as she attended Nationals and accepted her award. Smith Valley FFA is proud of Cassidy and all her hard work! -Charmi Pommerening, Smith Vally FFA Teacher

Librarian and Art Teacher, Mrs. Pellegrini, at YIS created some inspirational art for the hallways!

Earlier this year, Principal Amber Taylor at SSMS was for the National LifeChanger of the Year Award? September 14th, 2018 – Silver Springs, NV – Silver Stage Middle School principal Amber Taylor was nominated for the 2018-2019 national LifeChanger of the Year award.  Taylor was recognized as a LifeChanger in her community for her dedication to students.  She is described as never satisfied with the status quo and constantly striving for improvement.  Taylor’s staff know that she walks the walk, fitting in trainings and conferences into her already tight schedule. She supports her staff, encourages their innovative ideas, is always willing to listen and guides struggling colleagues. Taylor was nominated by her colleague, Rachel Leach - who was a Nevada Teacher of the Year finalist last year. “She builds incredibly strong relationships with students, staff, parents, and community members, always focusing on the positive aspects that each person brings into any situation,” Leach sa