Thanksgiving dinner slated in Sheridan

SHERIDAN — Members of the community were treated to a Thanksgiving Day dinner at Sheridan High School, thanks to the volunteer efforts of many people, including members of the high school leadership class.

The meal was expected to draw more than 200 people.

“This started with a conversation in the hallway with students about what they were doing for Thanksgiving, and it took off from there,” said Principal Dean Rech.

“I went to our leadership teacher (Tyson Pratt) and sat down with him and talked about what I would like to do. He presented it to the class.”

Members of the class were excited, he said, and word started spreading through the school. That got the school community excited, he said, and eventually the larger community as well.

“People were saying, ‘I’ll do this and that,’” Rech said. “Donations started to come in.

“We got the approval of our superintendent (Steve Sugg) and the school board. There has been overwhelming support from the community.”

Pratt’s leadership class meets daily for about 50 minutes. It is composed of four student body officers and 16 class officers.

The student body officers are President Lucas Williams, a senior, and Vice-President Cassidy VanZant, Secretary Elizabeth Mitchell and Treasurer Kirsten Hermens, all juniors.

“What the class tries to do is bring out our school spirit,” Pratt said. “We want to show the positive things our school is doing. We do reading buddies with kindergarten classes, a community clean-up day each week, a community cleanup in the spring, organize homecoming, the prom and Doernbecher Week.”

Pratt said the class serves as a link between Rech and the student body in an effort to get a message out to the community regarding positive things students are doing.

“The students and staff would like everyone to know it is not about who is putting the dinner on, but about why,” Rech said. “We are thankful to everyone who has made it happen.”

Meals will be served until the supply of food is exhausted. Individuals and families who plan to attend are encouraged to call 971-261-6970 to notify the school how many will be coming.

Rech said this will hopefully ensure a reasonably accurate “head count” as plans are finalized.