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January 2016
HOOFPRINTShickley Public School - Preparing Students for Success
Notes from Mr. Jorgenson
It has been a busy month for everyone in Shickley as they have been attending various activities. Soon that will come to a close as the post-‐season approaches. All teams have had a successful year. The junior high girls won the conference champion on January 23rd, so congratulations to the team and to Coach Schlegel and Coach Swartzendruber. Good luck to the varsity teams as their seasons come to an end.
As administrators, we are now in the phase where we are heavily planning for next year, which seems like a long time from now, but it will be here before we know it. We are also planning projects for this summer for our building. We had a special board meeting on January 20th to listen to three companies: Trane, Ameresco, and Energy 360. Those companies presented their cases on what their company can do to help Shickley Public Schools in being more efMicient with energy, time, maintenance, etc. After interviewing all three, the board has decided to proceed with Trane. Over the next several weeks, Trane will put together different proposals where improvements could be made to our facility that could help with heating/air conditioning, lighting, safety, ADA compliance, indoor air quality, and utility savings. These proposals will then be considered by the school board. The board can then choose to do some, all, or none of the projects. Some of the other projects that we are doing in the building, but are not part of the energy company process, are painting the hallways and putting new Mlooring in the hallways. This will require some asbestos abatement as some of the tiles do contain asbestos. So as you can see, its going to be a very busy spring for me, but also a very busy summer for our facility. All of the projects that will be completed will be and have been selected because it is what is best for our students. Improvements to the learning environment can have a tremendous impact on the learning environment. It will be interesting to see what more our students can achieve when we make some improvements to the facility.
Have a great February and don’t forget your Valentine!
Bryce Jorgenson Superintendent [email protected]
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Mark your calendars for the following important
dates:
February 4thSchool Dismissed
1:00 P.M.
February 4thParent Teacher
Conferences2:00-7:00 P.M.
February 5thNo School.
February 5thTeacher Inservice
8:00-Noon.
February 8thSchool Board Meeting
6:30 P.M.
February 12thSchool Dismissed
2:30 P.M.
February 17thCRC High School
Quiz Bowl in ShickleyNo School for PreK-6th.
February 26thSchool Dismissed
2:30 P.M.
Look at Joyce’s calendar for many more important
dates.
January 2016
History is a Mystery!
History is a mystery until you get to learn about all the fantastic things that we have done in the past. Remember, yesterday is your history. Tomorrow is your future. Today is your present. So enjoy that gift. This year in history we are learning about the 1920's era and the Jazz age in American History with the 11th grade. In American Government (12th grade), we have enjoyed finding out about our government from the county level at County Government Day. In American Civics (7th grade) class, they have worked hard finding out what all is involved in becoming an american citizen of the United States. The Geography class (9th grade) has found out all the places, cultures, and regions throughout the world. In World History (10th grade), we are exploring the different empires, dynasties, and world powers that make up our world. In American History (8th grade), the students learned about the American Revolution and how America got started. It’s been a busy history room searching, finding, researching, and thinking about what goes on around us and what makes us who we are. Our mystery of history is evolving and getting solved day by day.
BDS Football Season
What can you say about a year that makes all the hard work, team chemistry, and drive come together? Wow, Awesome, Incredible, Special, Amazing. Those are just some of the words that you hear from parents, staff, and people in our BDS family. It was a great season. The leadership from our seniors was fantastic. Our team chemistry was important. We always had someone on the team step up to lead us. The hard work that the boys put into the weight room, running, and practicing all came together to give us a DI Football Championship. A championship is something the team wanted very badly after missing out on it by one game last year. They wanted to go back and get the #1 spot. We had so many people step up to get this accomplishment. The team was told if they wanted to be immortalized they had to win to get a picture put up on the wall. Only Champions get that honor. It makes a coach very proud to be part of a team that not only wins the championship but does it from hardwork, great attitudes, teamwork, and always giving you everything they’ve got. It’s like the saying says: “It's what dreams are made of.” Way to go, Eagles!
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January 2016
Spanish
Do you remember when you were in the lower grades of school and you would dream about how you would change your student desk and the area around it to “Mit” you better? Maybe you would add a little refrigerator, a cold drinking fountain, a swivel or bean bag chair? Maybe your personal area was on a grander scale, with shelving, technology advancements, exercise equipment? Or maybe you would dream of how you would design the ideal school, in the process adding new places of study and interests?
All of the Spanish classes from 5th grade through the senior’s Spanish 2 class have been pursuing this “grander scale,” as an extension for learning the vocabulary for “la escuela,” or “the school.” Each student was given the opportunity to decide if he or she wanted to design the “ideal study area,” "the ideal classroom," or “ the ideal school.” There were truly some highly creative, thought provoking ideas presented! The results of these creative endeavors, with labels in Spanish, are posted on the bulletin boards in the hallway by the Spanish room.
Along with “la escuela,” each of the Spanish classes has been learning about Mexico. This began in the Spanish 2 class in December, because Ben Elznic and Madison Yantzie were each planning a Christmas vacation, with their respective families, to Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Therefore, throughout December, in preparation for this, each senior studied about an area of Mexico that was personally interesting to him or her. Upon returning to school in January, it was an incredibly fast and interesting class period, as Ben and Madison excitedly shared their experiences and answered our many questions.
It was in anticipation of Ben and Madison being able to share their vacation experiences with other Spanish classes that we began studying about Mexico in Spanish 1, junior high, 6th grade and 5th grade. Everyone has been learning much about our neighbor to the south and realizing that there are many more questions to provoke future learning.
Language Resource News
Students have been busy working on a variety of skills since returning from break. Some of the things we have been working on include expanding our writing using correct sentence structure and more details, social skills, conversation skills, and word relations. Some students are working on improving speech sounds and are making great gains! Keep up the momentum and fantastic work.
Here are some ideas for writing at home: -‐Write a letter or send a card to friends and family and encourage them to write back. -Read comics in the newspaper and encourage students to create their own. -‐Let your child write the shopping list before going to the store. -Take turns writing back and forth to your child! Leave a note by their bed or lunchbox. -Publish your child’s writing! Not only does it make them feel special, it makes a wonderful keepsake!
StoryJumper.com allows you to order professional looking books of your child’s writing. You can also make your own using supplies from your home. You could also use your computer to scan in your child’s drawings and record them reading the story. Then burn it to a disc to watch on the TV or computer.
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January 2016
EHA
C’mon, get happy.
February brings a new wellness challenge. The focus is to find and do things to make you happy. Happiness is about the way you live, your view of the world, and how much personal freedom you have in your environment, whether it’s at home or work. Happy people generally have more friends, are sociable, live longer, and have positive life behaviors. Typically, it is thought that income level influences happiness. However, once basic needs are met the effects of income on happiness get small. Emory University and others have found that a year after winning the lottery, winners aren’t any happier than the control group.
Commit to doing things that make you happy in February!
Science
In Science this semester we have started off with a lot of labs and fun activities to get the students back into the swing of things. For instance, in Earth Science we talked about soil. A couple students were able to test the pH of the soil from their homes. This brought excitement and real world application right to their front yard.
On the other hand, in Biology we have been talking about how different objects or organisms change over time. This led to many projects like creating a human species timeline and a dinosaur project. The dinosaur project was something Mrs. Busboom found very interesting. In this project, the students were able to create their own mutated dinosaur and describe how, why, and background information of the dinosaur they were mutating.
In Anatomy and Physiology, the class is getting ready to start the brain section where they will learn about the different sections of the brain. The highlight of this section will be that they get to dissect a sheep’s brain. This will allow them to look and touch what they are learning about. Mrs. Busboom will be taking this group to a cadaver lab where they will get more hands-‐on experience with the topics they have been talking about in class.
The Chemistry class has been very patient and worked really hard to learn the information so they could get to the hands-‐on labs. One of the labs they really liked was the dry ice lab. They learned how to convert grams of dry ice to moles of dry ice. Then they converted the moles of dry ice to volume. This gave them an estimate on how much gas would be produced when they submerged the dry ice in water.
Below are pictures of the Chemistry class completing the dry ice lab.
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January 2016
It’s About How Things Are Perceived
The way we perceive things is how we become aware of, apprehend, or understand things in life. Where better to sharpen these skills than in the daily lunch room setting of our school. In particular, I enjoy the setting to involve the younger students of the lower elementary grades. Over the past few years I’ve tried to make regular visits to the lunch room in order to eat with my kids and their classmates. What I learn from them and their peers astounds me. We discuss current events that may have happened that day or sometime in the last year. Upcoming holidays, which often means no school, are always a hot topic and everyone tries to tell their story at the same time. It is then a matter of who can talk the loudest, which results in the lights off signal meaning everyone has to be quiet. Elementary politics revolve around who did what at recess and who got in the most trouble in recent days. I like to ask the kids poll questions such as what their favorite lunch is, favorite football team, their pets name, etc. These questions always lead to something totally off-‐the-‐wall and interesting. I’m always leery when the conversation starts with either “My Mom says” or “My Dad says.” My wife reminds me to be careful, young ears are always listening to what we say!
It’s how these kids perceive everyday life that is so fun to listen to. I can laugh at the funny things they say and do, but there is no denying that they are constantly learning in a positive way in our school. Our students are getting an excellent education and wonderful lunch in my opinion. They are developing the skills they need to enter into this world in a short time. Their achievements do show! We have really emphasized the test scores our students are obtaining and the levels of improvement they continually are making.
I am as guilty as anyone, but I often catch kids (and grown-‐ups) saying how they can’t wait for tomorrow, next week, the end of school, next year, and the list goes on. We all need to slow down and enjoy the educational experience we are given. I try to instill this in my own children as well. They don’t always perceive the importance of why they are required to study, do certain things, or why they are asked to demonstrate certain skills.
I feel our teachers, administration, and all other employees in our school system have continued to help make what our students perceive as a very positive educational experience. As a member of your school board, I feel our entire board will continue to do what we perceive is the best for the future of students and our school. We are taking the steps to give students a better, more fulMilling learning environment, so they can continue to develop their perception of life.
Dan Miller Shickley School Board
Mark Your Calendars
The Nebraska Department of Education, Special Education and ESUCC is sponsoring a Parents Encouraging Parents conference in Kearney on March 17-‐19. This conference is for Nebraska parents who are raising a child with a veriMied disability. One goal of the conference is to provide information about parenting and educating children with disabilities while encouraging parents to share their feelings and experiences. Another objective is to model how parents work with the professionals who are educating and supporting their children to create positive parent-‐school partnerships. Registration is FREE. Lodging and most meals are provided! Please contact the school if you would like more information.
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January 2016
Quarter Two Honor Roll
All A Honor Roll
Seniors: Catherine Mick, Tristen Mosier, and Madison Yantzie Juniors: Courtney Kamler Sophomores: Megan Grote and Nicole Swartzendruber Freshmen: Jadyn Kleinschmidt 8th Graders: Regan Alfs, Raegan Fiala, and Alyssa Nolt 7th Graders: Macy Kamler and Reid Richards
A Average Honor Roll
Seniors: Benjamin Elznic Sophomores: Anthony Beavers, Carley Elznic, Lexi Kadel, Kellen Reinsch, and Jacob Swartzendruber Freshmen: Jackson Grote and Caleb Hendrickson 8th Graders: Brooke Jorgenson, Zachary Mosier, Kaylee Noel, Justin Stengel, and Joshua Swartzendruber 7th Graders: Kenzie Bohling, Dalton Kleinschmidt, Aaron Mick, Nolan O’Brien, and Raleigh Shipley
A & B Honor Roll
Sophomores: Thomas Mick
Semester One Honor Roll
All A Honor Roll
Seniors: Catherine Mick, Tristen Mosier, and Madison Yantzie Sophomores: Megan Grote, Lexi Kadel, and Nicole Swartzendruber Freshmen: Jackson Grote and Jadyn Kleinschmidt 8th Graders: Regan Alfs, Raegan Fiala, Kaylee Noel, and Alyssa Nolt 7th Graders: Macy Kamler and Raleigh Shipley
A Average Honor Roll
Seniors: Benjamin Elznic Juniors: Courtney Kamler Sophomores: Anthony Beavers, Carley Elznic, Thomas Mick, Kellen Reinsch, and Jacob Swartzendruber Freshmen: Caleb Hendrickson, Isaac Kamler, and Josiah Kamler 8th Graders: Brooke Jorgenson, Zachary Mosier, Justin Stengel, Brock Swartzendruber, and Joshua Swartzendruber 7th Graders: Kenzie Bohling, Dalton Kleinschmidt, Aaron Mick, Nolan O’Brien, Reid Richards, and Blake Schlegel
A & B Honor Roll
7th Graders: Briana Janing
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January 2016
FFA Leadership Skills Event
On Wednesday, January 20th FFA members traveled to the Leadership Center in Aurora for District Leadership Skills Events. Members were able to compete in speaking, demonstration, and parliamentary procedure events. The following three members qualiMied for the state contest: Courtney Kamler (Cooperative), Kaylee Noel (Discovery), and Regan Alfs (Agriculture Literacy). Four junior high members competed in different speaking contests. Sam Fiegel received a red ribbon and Kylee Noel received a Mirst purple in Discovery Speaking. Justin Stengel received a blue ribbon and is an alternate to state in Agriculture Literacy Speaking. The Agriculture Demonstration Team of Ben Elznic, John Alfs, and Kale Kleinschmidt received a blue ribbon on their demonstration of setting up an evaporation transpiration gauge. Competing in Creed speaking were Josiah Kamler and Jadyn Kleinschmidt. They each received a blue ribbon. In Extemporaneous Speaking, Caleb Hendrickson received a red ribbon and Catherine Mick received a blue ribbon. Courtney Kamler was the Mirst purple in Cooperative Speaking. Chris Lichti competed in Senior Public Speaking and was awarded a blue ribbon. Our Shickley chapter had two junior parliamentary procedure teams who competed well and were given blue ribbons. Members were: Anthony Beavers, Carley Elznic, Lexi Kadel, Kellen Reinsch, Thomas Mick, Holden Stengel, Jacob Swartzendruber, Nicole Swartzendruber, Jackson Grote, Caleb Hendrickson, Josiah Kamler, Isaac Kamler, Jadyn Kleinschmidt, and Caitlin Mosier. The Shickley FFA chapter was well represented and members gained valuable public speaking experience.
In the picture on the le. are the state qualifiers: Kaylee Noel, Regan Alfs, and Courtney Kamler.
In the picture on the right are the students who competed at the District Leadership Skills Event.
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January 2016
Greenhouse Coming to Shickley Public School
Right now, the empty lot across from Shickley Public Schools holds a row of school vans and a fresh blanket of snow.
By the end of the school year, the same lot will serve a much bigger educational purpose as the site of the Shickley Greenhouse. Two January donations have pushed the Greenhouse Project to a key fundraising mark and one step closer to construction. A $2,500 contribution from Walter Insurance and Real Estate and $500 from Great American Insurance Company covered the remaining dollars needed to pay for the greenhouse’s physical structure. “Thanks to different organizations – like Pioneer, Monsanto, the Shickley FFA Alumni, Walter Insurance and Real Estate, and Great American Crop Insurance – and their generosity, we have covered the cost of the materials,” said Kristin Witte, Shickley FFA advisor. The organization is still raising funds for dirt work, tables, tools, and other remaining costs of the $66,500 project. “$66,500 is turn-‐key,” Witte said. The 30’ by 24’ greenhouse will extend the curriculum for numerous agriculture and science classes, making lessons hands-‐on and applicable to situations outside of the classroom. “Right now, if I teach plant science I just have a small area with grow lights that isn't temperature controlled.” With the greenhouse, the same course now will have a place where students can visually see the effects of soil erosion or experiment with types of plants. Students may even be able to grow new or replacement landscaping plants for the school, Witte said. Classes that will incorporate the greenhouse in curriculum include plant science, landscaping, introduction to agriculture food and natural resources, agriculture careers literacy, agribusiness, life science, earth science, physical science, and biology. The greenhouse can also create settings for students to complete their Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs), a requirement to earning a chapter FFA degree.
Planners envision many other possibilities, from science projects and visits from elementary and preschool students, to growing produce for the school kitchen and local food bank. “It wouldn’t be possible without the support of community sponsors and supportive FFA Alumni,” Witte said. “It’s great to see the community is invested in this and willing to support something they maybe aren’t used to seeing, to let us have something new and innovative."
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January 2016
Successful Cohort
On January 5th, Shickley Public School hosted Dorchester Public School, McCool Junction School, and Exeter-‐Milligan Public School for a day of staff development. The morning consisted of sessions that teachers could attend. The topics ranged from elementary math to poverty. One of the most popular sessions had a community panel. The panel consisted of representatives from different businesses from each of the communities. The goal of this session was for the business owners to have an opportunity to describe what type of a worker they are looking for along with what necessary skills they would like their new employees to possess. Teachers who attended this session came away with very valuable information. A big thanks to our local businessmen, Tim Lichti and John Mick, for participating in the session. In the afternoon, the teachers then met to discuss their content areas. For example, the 2nd grade teachers met together to discuss what they are doing in their own classrooms. This gives teachers an opportunity to bounce ideas off other teachers or maybe pick up some tips or tricks they can use in their own classroom. Overall, it was very valuable day. The staff from Shickley really helped make the day go smoothly. All of those involved deserve a huge thanks for helping the cohort day be a success.
Letter from Mr. Ippensen, Principal
This is part seven of twelve in a continuing conversation about the characteristics, skills, and abilities of a successful student, as de8ined by Shickley Public School.
A successful student is conMident and conscientious.
ConMidence can be deMined as a belief in one’s self and one’s powers or abilities, or faith in yourself or others. Being conscientious can be described as being controlled by or acting according to one's inner sense of what is right; it can also mean to be careful, painstaking, or particular. These two characteristics are related; one way is through faith in your self, your beliefs, your plans, and your knowledge, skills, and abilities. For instance, when I was coaching, I was conMident that we would win our games, not because I was cocky, but because I knew the work we had done during practice prepared my players for success. I was conMident in them, partially because our work was planned and executed conscientiously – through a solid plan that I knew would prepare us for our opponents. One of my four keys to success grew from this conMidence: “Have faith in your people, your plans, and your preparation.” To be conMident and conscientious means you are humble but sure, knowing that the skills, abilities, and understandings needed for success are there, because of your planning and preparation.
As always, if you have any questions or comments regarding the work we are doing at Shickley Public School, or if you would like to share in the process of preparing our students for success, please don’t hesitate to stop in and talk, or give us a call.
Derek Ippensen PK-‐12 Principal Shickley Public School
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January 2016
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January 2016
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