Mrs. Kaminski and Mr. Bestor were THIS CONCERNED more than once during today's daily announcement video. Watch the video to see why!

The Day the Music Died Day on February 3rd remembers the unfortunate and untimely death of singers 22-year-old Buddy Holly, 17-year-old Richie Valens, and 28-year-old J. P. Richardson, aka: “The Big Bopper.” These three artists died in an airplane accident on February 3, 1959, near Clear Lake, Iowa. Their pilot, Roger Peterson, also perished in the crash.

 

Buddy Holly’s band was on tour and had played at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. They were headed to their next destination in Moorhead, Minnesota. For this leg of their journey, they decided to take a charter plane rather than go with their tour bus. Richardson “The Big Bopper”, had swapped places with Waylon Jennings, taking the latter’s place on the plane and Tommy Allsup had lost his place to Ritchie Valens in a coin toss.

Not long after takeoff, they were no longer able to be reached by radio, and they did not reach their destination. The aircraft was reported missing. The next day, the wreckage was found less than 6 miles northwest of the airport in a cornfield. Poor weather conditions and pilot error were determined, during the investigation, to have been the cause of the pilot losing control of the plane.

 

The tragic event echoed through history for over 50 years. Visitors still make the pilgrimage each year to Clear Lake, Iowa, the resort town about 110 miles north of Des Moines, as this was the point of their last concert before the fatal accident.

“The day the music died” is a line in the 1972 Don McLean hit “American Pie.” McLean’s song, which he wrote in the late 1960s and released in 1971, was in part inspired by the tragic event which took the lives of three great musicians and their pilot.

Feb. 3, 1920 - The Negro Baseball League is founded.

Widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Hank Aaron is the Great African American we will be highlighting today. Aaron’s most notable achievement was breaking the career home run record set by Babe Ruth. During his professional career (1954-1976), Aaron performed at a consistently high level for an extended period of time. Formerly baseball's all-time home-run king, Aaron played 23 years as an outfielder for the Milwaukee (later Atlanta) Braves and Milwaukee Brewers (1954–76). He holds many of baseball's most distinguished records, including runs batted in (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), total bases (6,856) and most years with 30 or more home runs (15). He is also in the top five for career hits and runs. Aaron also had the record for most career home runs (755) until Barry Bonds broke it with his 756th home run on August 7, 2007, in San Francisco.

On April 15, 1974, Aaron banged out his record 715th homerun at 9:07 P.M (beating Babe’s record). in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a triumph and a relief. The more than 50,000 fans on hand cheered him on as he rounded the bases. There were fireworks and a band, and when he crossed home plate, Aaron's parents were there to greet him.

He moved back to Milwaukee to finish out his career to play in the same city where he'd started.

After retiring as a player, Aaron moved into the Atlanta Braves front office as executive vice-president, where he has been a leading spokesman for minority hiring in baseball. He was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1982. His autobiography, I Had a Hammer, was published in 1990.

In 1999, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of breaking Ruth's record, Major League Baseball announced the Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the best overall hitter in each league.

Hank Aaron was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.

Here in southeast Wisconsin, Aaron was also honored when The Hank Aaron State Trail, a 14-mile paved continuous east-to-west connection from the shores of Lake Michigan to the Milwaukee/Waukesha county line which officially opened on August 12, 2006. Hank Aaron broke many racial and cultural barriers, and the Trail, which also connects the diverse neighborhoods of the greater Milwaukee community, exemplifies his legacy.

Hammerin’ Hank, known as Baseball’s Homerun King, who defied racism, passed away last month on January 22nd at the age of 86.

Remember to check out KM's Unity Club’s posting about past and present black leaders on their Instagram story! Follow @kmhs_unity_club on Instagram.

Lasers, does KM got talent? This year’s Variety Show is looking for talent to compete in a fully virtual event! Singing? Dancing? Yodeling? All skills are welcome and the 1st-3rd place winners will receive cash prizes!

If you are interested in being a talent act, contact Linnea H. (hietlin@kmsd.edu) or Sylvia L.(lagasyl@kmsd.edu) with your name, grade, and a short description of your talent.

Talent acts will be pre-recorded and the event will premiere on Friday, March 5th!

REMINDER - the Virtual KMHS Course Information Night is next week Monday, February 8, 2021 from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm. These optional sessions are additional support offered for the schedule selection process. Take advantage of your advisories this week that are also dedicated to course registration.

There will be a soccer open gym for any girls interested in playing soccer this spring on Thursday, February 4th from 8:00 pm - 9:15 pm in the Middle Gym. Please email Coach Rob or Coach Kapitan with any questions.

B JV2 Reserve Basketball vs Arrowhead 5:00 pm

Ski Team meet @ The Rock 6:00 pm

Please make sure you are bringing your own masks to school, and wearing them properly!

Be sure to follow your classroom cleaning expectations to help us all stay as safe as possible!

Our bubblers are turned off, but the refill stations are still on. Remember to bring your reusable water bottles to stay hydrated!

Please remember to wear your student ID every day, and at all times while you are in school. It is very important that you use those IDs (examples: lunchroom, signing in and out, etc.) so we reduce any unnecessary contact.

Use hand sanitizer regularly! It's especially important to wash/sanitize before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.

Please stay 6 feet or more apart, and do NOT leave your Advisory to seek face-to-face help, instead, use google meet to work with your teachers.