Volume 24 No 6 Fort Calhoun Community Schools January 2015

FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE

Policy of NondiscriminationIt is the policy of the Fort Calhoun Community Schools not to discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, creed, age, marital status, sex or disability in its educational programs, activities, or employment policies as required by Titles VI and VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments, the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Nebraska Equal Educational Opportunity Act.

Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against, denied a benefit, or been excluded from participation in any district education program or activity on the basis of rea-sons listed above, may grieve such matters using the adopted grievance procedures of this district. Such procedures shall provide for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging acts of discrimination.

Inquiries regarding compliance with Title IX, the Nebraska Equal Opportunities Education Act or Title VI may be directed to the Superintendent of Schools, Fort Calhoun Community Schools, 1506 Lincoln Street, Fort Calhoun, Nebraska 68023; Telephone (402) 468-5592 or (402) 341-1686; or in the case of Title IX and the Rehabilitation Act to the Director of the Region VII Office of Civil Rights Ed. 1150 Grand Avenue, 7th Floor, Kansas City, Missouri 68106. Phone (816) 374-2474.

ALERT NOW © EMERGENCY INFORMATION

Fort Calhoun Schools use the AlertNow© notification system for closing information based on weather and other emergencies. If you are new to the schools or have had changes to phone numbers or contacts, call school to update the information.

These local media outlets will be additional sources of school information: TV---KMTV, FOX 42, WOWT, KETV, and KFAB-1110AM radio. Information is also available on the school website - www.fortcalhounschools.org.

Option Enrollment applications for the 2015-16 school year are now being accepted. Forms are available on the Ne-braska Department of Education’s website, at your home school district or in our offices. The state application dead-line is March 15th. Fort Calhoun Schools have set August 1st as the cutoff for accepting applications.

The Board of Education will set the parameters for class and program capacities in the Spring and applicants will be notified after this time. If you have questions, either go to the Nebraska Department of Education website or contact one of the school offices.

OPTION ENROLLMENT FOR 2015-16

Visit our website at www.fortcalhounschools.org

Special Recognition . . .

Congratulations to the One Act Play cast and crew for a “Superior” performance at District competition. The fol-lowing also earned “Outstanding Performance” awards: Tyler Pace, Dani Dross, Christopher Lopez, Kaleah Keeler, Lizzy Namuth, Savannah Pace and Grace Herold.

Fall sports honors are being received. Tyler Ryan, Tyler Pace, and Kyle Warthen were all selected Lincoln Jour-nal Star Class C All State Honorable Mention, the Omaha World Herald’s Class C Honorable Mention, and the Omaha World Herald All Omaha Area Coaches’ Honor Roll. Grace Whitlaw was selected as Class C All State Volleyball Honorable Mention by Lincoln Journal Star and the Omaha World Herald. Grace also earned the World Herald’s All Omaha Area Honorable Mention.

Each year the NSAA joins with the NCPA to recognize students during Fall, Winter and Spring Seasons who are nominated by their school for individual academic excellence, leadership and significant contributions in their NSAA activity. Students from Fort Calhoun recognized for the Fall NCPA Academic All State Awards are: Jacob Polesky and Alex Tietz-Boys Cross Country; Jasmin Folkers and Amanda Hansen-Girls Cross Country; Riley Grosse-Rhode and Tyler Pace-Football; Dani Dross and Tyler Pace-Play Production; Sarah Determan and Erin Schulz-Softball; and, Dacey Boudle and Taylor Marshall-Volleyball. Congratulations on your accomplishments!

Nolyn Appel and Hailey Hansen have been selected for the Hastings College Honor Choir.

Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday held on the third Monday of January. It celebrates the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr., an influential American civil rights leader. He is most well-known for his campaigns to end racial segregation on public transport and for racial equality in the United States.

“Resolutions”

Its that time of the year again, the time to set some new resolutions for the upcoming year. By definition resolution means: the act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc. : the act of resolving something. This year I wanted to do something different instead of the standard lose some weight, exercise more, and stop drinking pop (all of which I need to do) I want to have a deeper one that not just benefits me but maybe benefits others. So after some quiet time and prayer I have come up with some new and hopefully more meaningful resolutions:

1. Family: Stop talking negatively behind others backs. It seems when I get together with just part of my family sometimes those who are not with us become the subject of rumors and harsh conversation. This is not very productive and more times than not gets back to that person and someone gets hurt.2. Healthy Living: While this may seem like the “lose the weight and exercise one that I mentioned above”, its not. The idea here is to be more conscience about the way I treat my body so that I can be a better role model, and with any luck live long enough to spoil some grandkids.3. Peacefulness: This one is a little different in that I want to be able to find some spots of sanity in the chaotic life I live. With all the construction and with all the different pressures of this job I need to be sure to take time to enjoy the kids more. Because at the end of the day the reason I got into education in the first place was to be a positive force in the lives of young people.4. Treasure Moments: Live in the moment more, work on not to be anxious about commitments down the road and other things over which you might not have control. When I am with people I love I am go-ing to be more attentive to them and to the joy they bring to my life.

Now you may be asking yourself what do these resolutions have to do with the Fort Calhoun Community Schools. Honestly I am not sure! But if I can achieve them I think I can become even a better Superintendent and serve this school much more intently. Another possible benefit might be that you yourself might consider new, more long-lasting resolutions, and if we all do this we might just make this community an even better place to live.

Good Luck and God Bless

Dr. Don Johnson

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PIONEERS FOR EDUCATION NEWS

MR. NICK WEMHOFF Assistant Principal/AD

Follow our activities and scores on TWITTER @ftcactivities

Mr. Jerry GreenSecondary Principal

PFE wishes everyone a joyous New Year! We have a couple of important dates to watch out for:

First Friday for the Fort dates (FFFF): January 2nd and February 6th (Don’t forget the coupon!)PFE Business Meeting: January 19th, 3:30 in the elementary school libraryMorning with Mom: February 25th Donuts with Dad: March 24th

Thank you!

Anna Barta,-President Annie Halford -Vice President Kelli Shaner –Treasurer Melaney Towerton -Secretary

Check out PFE information on the schools’ website under “Community Organizations”.

-Elementary News-Your Principal: Mr. Drew R. Wagner

Engaging + Learning + Achieving = Productive PIONEERS!

Goal-setting can be tedious, even intimidating, for some students. Parents can support students in this process by following these steps: pick it, map it, do it, own it, and celebrate it.

Pick it. Encourage your child to consider his or her dreams and passions and pick goals that are important and meaningful. Guide your child to think about, “What motivates me? What would inspire me to give my best effort? What would make me feel good while I’m doing it? What achievement would make me feel proud?”

Map it. After your child picks a goal, help map the path from where he or she is now to where the child wants to be. Offer the following analogy: If we want to drive across the country from New York to California, we don’t just get in our car and start driving—we get a map, pick a route, and follow it until we get to California. With your child, analyze different approaches and define clear steps to reach their goal. For instance, if the goal is to get a higher test grade in a tough subject, each quiz or project is a step on the path to the higher goal: earning an A.

Do it. Once you and your child have mapped a path to their goal, encourage him or her to take action, focus on the first step and give it his or her best effort. Remind your child that no goal is ever reached without focused action.

Own it. As your child makes progress toward their goal, help him or her to take responsibility for making it happen. Teach the mantra, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me!” Reflect with your child. Ask, “How are you doing? What’s working? What’s not working? What can you or your family change to get to this goal?” From there, analyze the map, and make changes to the plan if necessary. Help your child keep a positive attitude and own mistakes as well as successes. Remind your child that if something comes along that holds him or her back temporarily, to look at the experience as feedback. Failures,or bumps in the road, can provide us with information we need to succeed. Reinforce the messagethat we can learn from our mistakes and move on with new, valuable knowledge.

Celebrate it. Acknowledgment and celebration are huge parts of achieving goals. Acknowledge every effort and celebrate your child’s mini-successes along the way to achieving a goal. This builds his or her confidence and motivation. Your child will feel good and un-derstand that perseverance will result in another mini-success and finally goal achievement. Try going through the goal-setting process as a family. Pick a family goal (perhaps a charitable activity) and work together to achieve it. After the family experience, have each family member pick a personal goal. Support and acknowledge one another as you move through the above steps. Success is assured when students believe in themselvesand in their ability to achieve. Parents are key to helping them believe and succeed.

**Report to Parents, written to serve elementary and middle-level principals, may be reproduced by National Association of Elementary School Principals members without permission. It can be posted to school websites, blogs, or sent via email. Back issues are available to members at naesp.org.**This Report to Parents was written by Bobbi DePorter of Quantum Learning Network.

Upcoming events in January:

January 20: Family Game Night at the elementaryJanuary 28: Preschool Advisory Committee meeting

News from School Improvement

Please take time to look at our school improvement plan on our website at www.fortcalhounschools.org. It is there for your viewing and just another avenue to communicate our commitment to all stakeholders. Thank you for your support.

Our AdvancED external team visit is April 15-17. If you have questions please contact your building principal.

Happy New Year! May the New Year bring you manageable challenges, excellent health and happiness!GO PIONEERS!

Put the Team First

Great team players always put the team first. They work hard for the team. They develop themselves for the team. They serve the team.

Their motto is whatever it takes to make the team better. They don’t take credit. They give credit to the team. To be a great team member your ego must be subservient to the mission and purpose of the team. It’s a challenge to keep our ego in check. It’s something most of us struggle with because we have our own goals and desires. But if we monitor our ego and put the team first we’ll make the team better and our servant approach will make us bet-ter. – Jon Gordon

This small idea works in enormous ways and across many areas. This works for sports teams, class-rooms, students, teachers, administrators, par-ents, husbands, wives, bosses, workers, and well you get my point. Whatever your team is and if you want to make it successful then you have to be part of the team, not a member of the team. To be a part of the team makes you essential to the success of the team. Members of teams come and go and usually look at how the team can help them instead of how I can help the team. My challenge to all of us is to be a PART of something and work for the success of the team.

I hope everyone is enjoying what is left of Christmas break. With all of the things going on, the time seems as if it flies by. I hope you have taken this opportunity to see your family and friends, as well as taken a mo-ment for you to relax. Just as I speak of relaxing, it is also time to get back into the swing of school.

I thought I would take today to give you some dates to look forward to through the winter season:• Home Varsity BB games on: January – 3, 8, 13, 17 and February – 3, 7, 10.• Home Varsity WR on: February 5.• Conference Wrestling Tourney January 24 @ DC West• Conference Basketball Tourney January 26-31

A reminder that all of our activities can be found on-line at: http://www.nebraskacapitolconference.org/g5-bin/client.cgi?G5genie=475&school_id=1

Looking back at the Calendar Year “2014”, it brought a lot of success to the FORT. It included state placers in wrestling, track, and cross country as well as a foot-ball playoff game. Our athletes are always working hard to compete and improve, and in 2014, we did that!

Lets hope the year “2015” is just as successful!

We are what we believe we are.

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