What is a paradox?  Dictionary.com says a paradox is"... a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd, but in reality, expresses the truth." Have you ever heard of the birthday paradox, also known as the birthday problem probability theory? According to https://www. scientficamerican .com the birthday paradox states that in a random group of 23 people, there is about a FIFTY per cent chance that two people have the same birthday! Seems crazy, right? There have been different groups that have tested the birthday paradox. The results have been successful in proving, that in fact, the birthday paradox is real.

There is evidence of this paradox at Central Lyon. Included in this article are pictures of students with same-day birthdays.  Fifteen of our students share birthdays in April and May. Students sharing birthdays are  Anthony J. and  Andrew E. on April 10; Jace S., Louise M., and Jada O. on April  12; Makayla F., and Veronica W. on April 14; Lastly,   Ethan M., and Tristen K. on April 22; Caden W. and Alexis A on May 7; Cael S. and Afton S. on May 8; and Kadence B. and Maggie B. on May 8.

If more information and an in-depth explanation of the birthday paradox is wanted, please visit http:/ betterexplained.co

Our April senior of the Month has been busy during her high school years at Central Lyon. This four-sport athlete has been involved in basketball for 4 years, softball for 3 years, volleyball for 4 years, and track for 4 years. She has also been on the student council during her high school years as well as yearbook, pep club, FCA, chess club, international club, iStep, mentoring and NHS. Her favorite class is Directed Observation with 4th graders, and "Colleen Hoover Books" is her favorite book series. Other favorites include eating ice cream, playing sports, Hawaii Five-O, Forever My Girl, and the color pink. In her free time she likes to hang out with her friends and family, watch TV shows and movies, read, do devotions, and journal. Our senior of the month's proudest moments were achieving the 2022 state runner-up in basketball and 2019 4x200 state track champion. According to Mrs. Kroon "Regan is such an amazing role model to Central Lyon underclassmen. She has incredible work ethic both in the classroom and on the court/track. Regan is the epitome of strong, humble leadership, always maintaining a positive attitude and high standards." 

Congratulations to the April Senior of the Month Regan Van Wyhe. 

The Kindness Squad at Central Lyon consists of all fourth-grade students and their teachers Mrs. Groen, Mrs. Van, and Mrs. Metzger. Each week Thursday, they find a way to encourage and spread kindness to students, teachers, and the community. The Kindness Squad idea came from a Florida Teacher named Joanne Miller. She has an Instagram account called “Head Over Heels for Teaching” where she shares what her Kindness Squad does. Mrs. Groen, Mrs. Van, and Mrs. Metzger hope that their 60 students encouraging others will lead others to do the same. “Kindness breeds more kindness.”

Each week they focus on a different group that they can share kindness with. One morning, they created greetings to welcome students at CL back to school. They colored clothes pins, wrote messages on them, and clipped them onto students backpacks. For seniors' lockers, they made posters with encouraging notes or messages. The Kindness Squad took time out of their day to teach the second graders some new recess games that they might not have played before and also played with them. Another morning they spent time cleaning up the playground and the school ground. These are some of the things the Kindness Squad does every Thursday. 

Central Lyon employs a total of 20 high school substitute teachers, needing around 10 each week. There are many factors in deciding who to call for a sub. Some substitute teachers are available certain days of the week and a teacher may also request a particular sub. If it is last minute, the subs that live in town are the first to receive a call. Central Lyon tries to use all our subs equally. The substitute teachers at Central Lyon are flexible for they all try to do their best to adjust their personal schedules to help us out if we need them. During COVID, the demand for subs increased which made it difficult to keep up with the demand, as some substitutes chose to not sub for a portion of the year due to the pandemic. Many of our subs are retired staff members who want to keep in contact with the school and students. Others are individuals who work part time or not at all, so they love to come in and interact with students and staff. They get to see students from a different light in the classroom, compared to outside of the school. They also get to meet new students that they may not have if not for subbing. Not many people get the chance to interact with students in the classroom setting, so when subs come in and give encouraging feedback about the students, it is a great feeling! 

Our substitutes highlighted this spring are Jan Meester, Randy Meester, Heather Heimensen, Kyra Waletich, Bruce Eckenrod, and Barb Foltz.

Mrs. Meester has been a sub for the past eight years at Central Lyon, the only school she subs for. Before she was a substitute teacher, she was an English/Spanish teacher for 30 years at Central Lyon. Her husband also subs at Central Lyon; he previously worked as a middle school science teacher at GLR. Mrs. Meester limits her subbing talents to Central Lyon and does not have another part time job. Students appreciate her humor and her ability to tutor/help them review for Spanish tests. They both like to know ahead of time if she is needed as a sub, but accept morning calls because they live right across the street from the school! What Mrs. Meester likes best about subbing is keeping in communication with students and faculty. Although she prefers to substitute grades 7-12, her experience in lower grades has been very positive. Outside of being a substitute teacher, Mrs. Meester enjoys visiting children and spoiling her grandchildren, reading, doing jigsaw and crossword puzzles, painting, crafts, gardening, and watching her husband rearrange furniture!

Mrs. Heimensen is married to Corey and has three children, Zed, Hayden, and Grace who are all graduates of Central Lyon. Mrs. Heimensen has been a sub for one year at Central Lyon. Before she was a substitute teacher, she worked as a Victim Witness Coordinator at the Lyon County Attorney’s office. We are lucky to have her at our school for she does not sub at other schools and does not have another part time job. She enjoys interacting with the students as much as the students like interacting with her. She enjoys substituting for all grades from elementary to high school. In her free time, Mrs. Heimensen likes to read, bake, and she enjoys the outdoors.

Mrs. Waletich has been subbing for two years while also working at the school as a para! Since she works at Central Lyon when she’s not subbing, she does not sub for any other school. She really enjoys working with kids to see what they are currently working on. Mrs. Waletich has worked with all grade levels and each has its own qualities that she enjoys. This is her fourth year working as a para. She has been working on her teaching degree and next fall she will be working on her student teaching at Central Lyon.

This is Mr. Eckenrod’s first year subbing for Central Lyon, after retirement in 2021. He previously taught 7^th and 8^th grade social studies for several years here at Central Lyon. Other than substituting for us, he also is a substitute for West Lyon and is a groundskeeper for Central Lyon! Mr. Eckenrod’s favorite thing about subbing is getting to see former students. He prefers to work with 5^th-12^th graders. Mr. Eckenrod is married to Rachel, and they have two kids; Kiley and Kalen who is married to Emileigh. In his free time, he loves golfing, going to sporting events, and fishing.

Mrs. Foltz was an elementary teacher for 42 years; 39 of those years were at Central Lyon and her first three years were in South Dakota. She has been subbing at Central Lyon, West Lyon, and occasionally in Sioux Falls for nine years. Mrs. Foltz loves to interact with students of all ages. She believes that we can learn a lot from listening and talking with them, and most have an encouraging zest for life! She thinks working with younger grades is fun because the students are cute and will say whatever they think or feel. Mrs. Foltz has four children, Chad, Jen, Kelli, and Michael. She has nine grandchildren with the oldest being almost 21 years old and the youngest is 19 months with a sibling on the way! She loves to travel, meet people, and see new places!

Central Lyon High School May Term Play students will perform Chaos in Camelot for the May Term Play this year. Chaos in Camelot will be performed to the public on Monday, May 23, 2022, at 7:30 PM in the Forster Auditorium under the direction of Sherwin and Ann Langholdt. There will also be a student matinee on Monday, May 23, at 1:00 PM.  Click here for the cast list!

Below is a short synopsis according to Heuer Publishing.
Take a witch, a monster, noble knights, and fair ladies, sprinkle them with magic and what do you have? Magical, merry mayhem! In the kingdom of Camelot, Morgan Le Fay and her bumbling assistants are plotting to get rid of King Arthur. But their efforts are thwarted by a crazy Ogre named Goric, who is demanding to know what women really want, and threatening to eat everyone in the kingdom until he finds out! Queen Guinevere, trying to help, makes everything feel worse by giving a magic potion to Lancelot. Will Arthur find the answer to the Ogre's question? Will Lancelot run off with Guinevere? And who will stop Morgan, - the sword-happy knights, the man-crazy ladies, the minstrel who can't sing or perhaps Merlin? Find out in this magical romp with easy-to-stage special effects!