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In accordance with the governor’s directive, Fort Calhoun Community Schools will be closed through May 31st.  The administrative team continues to stay up-to-date with the latest health information to determine the next steps for our school district.  In consultation with Three Rivers Public Health, Nebraska Department of Education, and our lawyers, we are making decisions that are in the best interest of our students, staff, parents and community.

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ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

We will provide learning opportunities for students through an enrichment program: These resources are available for your family. If you have questions specific to your student’s classroom or school, please contact your teacher or principal directly by email.  Teachers will continue to be available for students for support via email.

Students in Elementary School: All elementary students will receive learning packets that may be either accessed electronically via the school website or picked up at the elementary office Monday-Friday between the hours of 8 am – 12 pm.  The packets are grade-specific and provide lessons on reading, writing and math. Packets do not need to be returned to school. Feedback will be provided by the teacher.

Students in Junior High and High School: Students will be provided one to two activities per week, per class via Google Classroom. More information will be forthcoming from individual teachers. Students are encouraged to complete the activities during the closure. The lessons are designed to keep students engaged in learning.  If paper copies are needed to access activities, contact the high school office between 8 am – 3 pm to make arrangements.

April 2nd, 2020 – Update on Jr/Sr High Enrichment Activities: The Enrichment Activities do count; you can improve your grades! This is how: Students can increase their grades by participating in the e-learning activities provided by teachers. Teachers will determine how much a grade can move through student participation and quality of work. Hence, if you do the learning activities with quality of work your grade can move up, if you don’t do the learning activities or there is no quality of work then your grade will remain the same. This is for all students 7-12 with any grade.  Teachers will be given the latitude on how much “upgrade” they give. This will depend on your participation and quality of work.

Additional Educational Opportunities:

• Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions/Services
• Best Documentaries – Sorted by Age Appropriateness
• Child Mind Institute – Supporting Families’ Mental Health During COVID-19 – also, for parents with older kids – Link
• The Kim Foundation – Mental Health Support
• Khan Academy – Khan Academy offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. Khan Academy tackles math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, and more. The math missions guide learners from kindergarten to calculus using state-of-the-art, adaptive technology that identifies strengths and learning gaps. Khan Academy is also partnered with institutions like NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT to offer specialized content.
• Scholastic Learn at Home – Kindergarten through 9th grade reading lessons.
• GoNoodle Good Energy – Free, fun activities for families to stay active while stuck indoors.
• Materials to Support Educators and Parents: The National Center on Intensive Intervention at American Institutes for Research offer online course content focused on intensive intervention. These courses include video lectures, workbooks, practice activities, and so much more. In addition to courses focused on mathematics, behavior, and explicit instruction, the newest course on intensive intervention in reading was just released. This module covers considerations in reading instruction and intervention, progress monitoring and diagnostic data, and adaptations for word reading and comprehension. Center for Parent Information Resources has developed a collection of information for parents and parent centers.

Questions for Teachers: All certified teachers are available during normal school hours to answer questions via email for students and families. Here is a link to the school directory if you need help finding a teacher’s email address – Directory.

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Elementary School Enrichment Activities Link

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Here is video from the special board meeting Wednesday, March 18th – Special Board Meeting

March 13, 2020

Dear Fort Calhoun Community,

With guidance from local medical and health department experts, we feel it is in the best interest of our students and staff to close Fort Calhoun Community Schools from March 13^th to March 22nd.

This is effective today (March 13, 2020).

Closure means no school, no practices, no travel, no meetings, no weight room, no contests, no activities, etc. Anything on the school calendar is canceled.

At this time, Prom and Post Prom are postponed.

We are closing all school district operations down for the entire week, to begin and include today, Friday, March 13^th. This includes Little Blossoms before and after school program. Please make plans for childcare accordingly.

This has been an extremely difficult decision that we didn’t take lightly. There are literally thousands of issues we factored in and continue to discuss.

We will continue to discuss our plans moving forward, immediately focusing on the week of March 23. We will communicate that decision late next week.

Beyond that, we are operating with a week-to-week mindset. This situation is literally changing by the hour.

We will continue to do our best to communicate on a regular basis with updates. Thank you for your continued support of Fort Calhoun Schools. We will do our best to support our students, staff, and community through this unprecedented time.

Dr. Don Johnson

Superintendent

Fort Calhoun Community Schools