Polo Community Unit School District

Wishing our Centennial family a joyful and restful holiday break! We are incredibly proud to serve the wonderful community of Polo CUSD #222. May your holiday season be filled with health, happiness, and cherished moments. Happy Holidays! 🎄✨

Run! Run! As fast as you can. You can't catch me-I'm the gingerbread man. Our preschool students went on the hunt for the gingerbread man.

Congratulations to all those who participated in our Pacer Showcase 2024! Here were our top performers in third, fourth, and fifth grade.

Congratulations to our Mighty Marco shout-out BINGO winners! They got to enjoy an ice cream party with the principal.

Thanks to the generosity of PCHS students, and the incredible support of Polo teachers and staff across all three buildings, our high school Student Council was able to make our largest Elderbuddy donation yet to the Senior Resource Center in Freeport and the Oregon Living and Rehabilitation Center. We are immensely grateful for the opportunity to spread holiday cheer to our community.

Our November student of the month has been selected! Katelyn Rockwood was voted on by school faculty because she displays exemplary citizenship, leadership, and academic achievement! Katelyn has earned a $100 scholarship that is provided by the Polo Community School Foundation and is picture here receiving that scholarship from Foundation member, Alissa Zeigler. Katelyn has answered a few questions about herself here: Parents: Tim and Melissa Rockwood Siblings: Laura and Harper Rockwood School activities in which you participate: Volleyball, Basketball, Track, FFA, FCCLA, Student Council, and Spanish Club. What will you do after high school? I plan to attend Sauk and the Radiology program. What is something you learned in high school that you think you’ll never use? Logarithms. If you could create any new class at your school, what would it be? What to Expect After High School. What does it take to be a successful high school student? Stay on top of homework but also make sure to be involved in as many things as you can. Sign up for clubs, volunteer, and go to school events. It’s good to have a balance between school work and activities you like to do. Do you have a job? Yes, during the summer I am a lifeguard at the Polo Pool. What do you do in your free time? I like to go to Starbucks and get food with my friends. If you could go anywhere in the world for free, where would it be? Hawaii. What is your favorite childhood memory? Finding out my mom was pregnant with my youngest sister. What is the best way to cheer you up? My favorite Starbucks drink and a movie. Do you have any pets? Yes, a dog named Willow. What would you do if you received $1 billion all of a sudden? I would save and invest some of it for myself. With the rest I would buy gifts for the people I love and donate some to different organizations. Your favorite: Number: 3 Movie: 27 Dresses TV Show: Bridgerton Color: Pink Food: Sushi Song: Pink Matter Longer Questions: ● What class do you find really engaging and why? Please add details, including but not limited to teachers (using full name), classmates, material or interesting projects. One of my favorite classes this year is Advanced Biology taught by Gina Cole. We have completed many hands-on labs. We learn so much in class and the labs allow us to observe and study the material we are learning. Mrs. Cole is so knowledgeable about what she is teaching and keeps the class interesting. It is so much fun learning something new everyday. ● What are your career and post-graduation plans? What school(s) or other instruction, travel or endeavors do you have planned? All summer I plan to spend time with my friends and show my goats and cattle at fairs. My cousin and I are going to plan a trip to spend time with my grandparents. After the summer I plan to attend Sauk and enroll into the radiology program. ● What are your two favorite extracurricular, volunteer or community activities you participate in? Explain why for each and what you’ve learned or gained from being involved. My two favorite activities outside of sports are 4-H and FFA. I have been involved in 4-H since I was eight and have shown goats and cattle the majority of those years. Raising and showing livestock have shown me how to handle big responsibilities and how to manage my time. FFA has so many opportunities to try new things and to meet new people. ● Please share a moment, group event or activity at school that was meaningful or memorable. On senior night for volleyball my grandparents drove nine hours to watch my game. I had no idea they were coming so it was the best surprise. ● What is your hope for the future? I want to find a job I love, hopefully as a radiologic technologist. I hope to have my own family and live a long happy life.

Here is the information for JH Academic Bowl Rt 72 Tournament at Forreston on Saturday, Dec. 14. Bus time will be 7:20am for all participants, meeting behind Aplington. 7th grade will start competition at 8am. 8th grade will start competition at 10:30am. Brackets are attached.

The school-wide spelling bee champion is Jackson Buskohl; Cooper Robieson and Cadence Howell tied for 2 nd place. Congratulations! The winning word, spelled in the 7th round of competition today, was inferno.  Jackson will represent AMS at the regional bee in February. Kudos to all eight participants for giving their best effort and for exhibiting positive conduct throughout the bee.

Just reminder that tonight's game against Durand, varstiy will play first at 6:00 PM followed by JV quarters due to low numbers

Monday night's girls basketball game against Durand will be varsity first followed by a shorten JV game. Start time 6:00 PM in Polo

Here are the brackets for the Rt 72 Boys Basketball Tournament. Both teams will play their first game at 12pm. 7th grade will play all games at Meridian Junior High. 8th grade will play all games at Stillman High School. Bus time for both teams will be 10:30am, meeting behind Aplington. Games will run ahead of time if possible.

The Polo Community Unit School District has the following positions open: 1) Paraprofessional in Pre Kindergarten 2) Assistant Softball Coach 3) Bus Driving If you are interested in any of these positions, please visit our Employment Opportunities page to learn how to apply.

Polo Centennial School Dinner night out on Tuesday, December 3rd.

6th grade boys basketball practice has been cancelled for this afternoon. As a reminder there is a 2:00 dismissal today.

This Wednesday from 2:30-7pm, Stop up at Marco Nutrition for our CPO Monthly Fundraiser. 10% of total sales will donated back to CPO.

Just areminder that tonight's girls basketball game has been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later time.

Tomorrow playoff football game will be played at 1:00 PM at Milledgeville. Gates will open at 11:30 and the cost is $7.00 per person. You can watch it on Youtube and it iwill also be on radio station 94.3. LET"S GO MARCOS!!!

Today, November 15, is about saying Thank You to the Polo Community Unit District School Board. Our board members spend multiple hours each month on district work, attending meetings, and other responsibilities most will never hear or read about. We want to personally thank all seven members of the Polo Community Unit District #222 School Board for their service to the district, our students, and the Polo CUSD #222 community. Let’s all give them the recognition they have earned.

Centennial's Veterans Day Program begins at 12:45 today. The doors will open at 12:15 Students will be released at 2:00

Our October student of the month has been selected! Gage Zeigler was voted on by school faculty because he displays exemplary citizenship, leadership, and academic achievement! Gage has earned a $100 scholarship that is provided by the Polo Community School Foundation and is picture here receiving that scholarship from Foundation member, Alissa Zeigler. Gage has answered a few questions about himself here: Name: Gage James Zeigler Age: 17 Parents: Mark and Alissa Siblings: Bekah and Coley Favorite class: AP Chem Favorite teacher: Toss up between Mr. Bargar and Mr. Alston School activities in which you participate: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Spanish Club, FCCLA, FFA, Student Council, National Honor Society, B.L.I.N.D. What will you do after high school? Go to a 4 year college, haven’t decided major What is something you learned in high school that you think you’ll never use? Calculus If you could create any new class at your school, what would it be? Basic Life Skills 101 What does it take to be a successful high school student? Do your homework, pay attention in class, and be nice to your classmates Do you have a job? Yes, I operate Triple G Lawn Care and work as a lifeguard during the summers How would you describe your group of friends? Fun, funny, chill What do you do in your free time? Mow lawns, hangout with friends, and get food What kind of music are you listening to? Rock and rap If you could go anywhere in the world for free, where would it be? Hawaii What is your favorite childhood memory? Winning 3rd Grade Class President Do you have any pets? Yes. 2 cats, Peppermint and Midnight and 1 dog Remy. What is the best way to cheer you up? Ice cream or Remy What is your life’s philosophy? When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return. What would you do if you received $1 billion all of a sudden? Buy a nice lakehouse and start a foundation that build recreation centers in rural areas Is there anything else you want people to know about you? I don’t like Calculus. Your favorite: Number: 34 Movie: Bruce Almighty TV Show: Office Color: Blue Food: Sushi Song: Country Roads Longer Newspaper Questions: ● What class do you find really engaging and why? Please add details, including but not limited to teachers (using full name), classmates, material or interesting projects. I find AP Chemistry really engaging and interesting because it’s going in more depth into the same concepts we learned in Chemistry 1. Mrs. Cole keeps the class at a steady pace, but slows down if we need more explanation or get confused which helps a lot. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoyed Chemistry 1. ● What are your career and post-graduation plans? What school(s) or other instruction, travel or endeavors do you have planned? After high school, I plan on attending a 4 year college, most likely at the University of Alabama, but that could change. During the summers, I plan on maintaining Triple G Lawn Care. ● What are your two favorite extracurricular, volunteer or community activities you participate in? Explain why for each and what you’ve learned or gained from being involved. Besides sports, the two extracurricular activities I’m involved in the most are Boy Scouts and B.L.I.N.D. In Boy Scouts, I’ve learned all sorts of things such as knots, fire building, winter camping, and scuba diving. B.L.I.N.D. has really helped me get out of my comfort zone and talk to other people from different schools and backgrounds. ● Please share a moment, group event or activity at school that was meaningful or memorable. I really enjoyed field day last year. I was a leader and it was fun meeting all the kids and playing games with them. ● What is your hope for the future? After college, I hope to find a solid job and settle down somewhere in the Midwest. I hope to get married at some point and have a few kids.