Sidney Students Honored as "Students of the Month"

SIDNEY--At the monthly Cheyenne County School District #1 Board Meeting on Monday, October 9, students of the month of September 2023 from grade seven through 12 in Sidney Public Schools were recognized and honored. School Board President Mike Palmer read a proclamation naming each student and congratulated them for their achievement. The students stood before the assembled crowd while each school board member congratulated them.

For Grade 7, Harper Misegadis was named Student of the Month. She is the daughter of Justin and Cortney Misegadis. Harper is an excellent student that turns in quality work, leads by example, and is courteous, kind and respectful. Harper has an enthusiastic strength that inspires others to believe in themselves.

For Grade 8, Zoey Gorman was named Student of the Month. She is the daughter of Joey and Sarah Gorman. Zoey is a very positive leader in the classroom and a strong student. Zoey is very active in sports and school activities and is a hard worker.

For Grade 9, Paxton Ramirez was named Student of the Month. He is the son of Amanda Rice, and is a member of Football and JTOH (Journey Through Our Heritage). His favorite time of the school day is first period, and he plans on joining the U.S. Army when he graduates high school.

For Grade 10, Estela Alonso was named Student of the Month. She is the daughter of Maria Arreola, and is a member of JTOH. She very much enjoys playing volleyball with her younger sister and plans on going to college to become a dentist.

For Grade 11, Maria Mendez was named Student of the Month. She is the daughter of Ana Guzman, and is a member of the cheer, basketball and track teams. She also participates in Unified Raiders, DECA, Skills USA, HOSA, S Club and the St. Pat's Youth Group. She plans on joining the Air National Guard and attending college for radiology or business.

For Grade 12, Ty Grunig was named Student of the Month. He is the son of Keith and Madison Grunig, and is a member of FFA, Student Council, Class President and National Honor Society. He also is a church volunteer and participates in the LDS Youth group. In his free time he operates a lawn care business and is a music lover, able to play seven instruments.

In other business, the board accepted a $10,000 donation from the estate of Sue E. Kandel. The money will be used to support the arts at Sidney Public Schools, and will be distributed according to the needs of various arts areas.

The board also discussed bids received to repair a refrigeration unit in the high school freezer. Best Plumbing Heating & Cooling of Sidney was the low bidder on the project with a total cost of $20,920.46.

The board then discussed the replacement of a single stage water source heat pump a high school classroom. Best Plumbing was again the low bidder with a total cost of $11,783.28.

The board then reviewed a group of policies and procedures, most with little if any changes, and also reviewed policy 6038, regarding Artificial Intelligence. The procedure stresses that students are to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a resource and for background material and information, and not as a tool to complete assignments. They adopted the following requirements in regards to AI:

1-Unless a teacher affirmatively communicates to student that AI tools may be used for a specific assignment, then AI tools may not be used. Teachers are encouraged to make such a decision prior to students being given the assignment in question.

2-Teachers will communicate to all students the extent to which students may use AI tools in connection with a specific assignment.

3-Students must comply with the following when using AI tools in connection to a school assignment:

a. The student must disclose to the teacher in writing that an AI tool has been used, and the specific AI tool used.

b. The student must give proper attribution to the AI tool(s) used to the same extent that students are expected to give proper attribution to other sources of information. Attribution may include, but is not limited to, footnotes, accurate quotations, citations and/or bibliography entries.

c. In no instance may the output from one or more AI tools be copied and placed within a student's work as if the student wrote such a section himself or herself. For example, students may not outsource the organization or the writing of any written work to any AI tool.

4-A student's failure to meet the requirements stated in the policy will constitute a violation of the district's prohibitions against cheating, plagiarism and/or academic dishonesty, including but not necessarily limited to such prohibitions stated in the Student Handbook, which violation will subject the student to discipline up to and including expulsion.

The next Board Meeting will be on November 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the District Board Room.