Bighorn news: Oasis students carol through downtown

Senior Spotlight: Yasmine Barnes

Oasis Academy College Prep Senior Yasmine Barnes started at the school in seventh grade. While Barnes may have been shy to start with, the Bighorn environment soon helped her feel at ease.

“When I first came to Oasis in seventh grade, I was very shy and quiet,” Barnes said. “I was too scared to talk to anyone, but after a while I soon got to know more people. Everyone was nice to me and helped me get out of my comfort zone. I had many friends and was less shy than before.”

Barnes said one her favorite memories from Oasis was her first school dance.

“Before going to Oasis, I had never gone to a school dance before,” Barnes said. “But, going to my first one was super fun and exciting. I brought a few of my friends and we had a great time dancing and singing to the music.”

Throughout all of her high school career Barnes has been active in cheerleading and most recently has played volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse.

“I would like to thank Mrs. (Shayna) Byrd, as when I first came to Oasis in seventh grade, she was always so kind and helpful to me and always made me feel comfortable,” Barnes said.

Barnes will graduate in May with both her Associate of Science from Western Nevada College and high school diploma. She plans to move to Reno and attend the University of Nevada, Reno upon graduating.

“The advice I would like to give for future students is to try hard on your schoolwork and make it a goal to get good grades,” she said. “Even if you are struggling in a class, ask for help from your peers or teachers. School work should come before sports, video games, etc.”

Middle School FFA presents on commodities

Seventh and eighth-graders in FFA studied the agriculture statistics in each of Nevada’s unique 17 counties. The students were put into pairs and tasked with researching the relevant information, creating a display and then presenting the information to staff and fellow students. The project was designed by middle school FFA Instructor Page Hiskett.

“The students had to learn the commodities and crops grown in their assigned county as well as livestock raised,” Hiskett said. “The students also learned about the amount of acres irrigated, county seat and population for each county. Student displays included the shape of each county and the neighboring states.”

Students carol through town

Both eighth-grade and FFA students spent an evening caroling through the streets of Fallon to help spread Christmas cheer. The groups were taken on a truck trailer owned by Mr. Charlie Morrow of Action Crane and Trucking.

The FFA students went on Dec. 12 after their regular meeting.

“It was definitely a chilly night, but caroling during Christmas is an annual tradition for the Oasis Chapter of FFA,” said FFA Reporter Eneyde Rios. “t is always fun to interact with the community through events like this. The people are amazing as they come out and wave. We are extremely grateful for Mr. Morrow and Action Crane and Trucking for chauffeuring us,”.

The eighth-grade class kept the festivities going by caroling Tuesday night.

“This tradition was started by dedicated teachers and it has become an all-time favorite,” said CEO Melissa Mackedon.

After a cold night of singing, the eighth graders return to school for an annual gift exchange. The class draws a fellow student's name and purchases a present for them.

The tradition for eighth graders has been going since the start of the school in 2011.