2021

Happy Holidays from Fort Calhoun Community Schools. The Fort Calhoun Schools Offices will be closed 12/24-12/27 and 12/31-1/3 for the holidays.

There is a change in how we operate for “seconds” and that will start the second semester at the Elementary. See the flyer below for details. 

Congratulations to this month’s raffle prize winners! Students who were safe, brave, respectful, and responsible used their PBIS tickets for a chance to win some great prizes.  We have 4 more raffles coming up for December! The winners are pictured below L-R Aiden Johnson 6th, Rachel Totten 5th, Riley Morris 6th, and Lane LeColst 2nd. Great job Students!

Here is another way to support our school. Washington County Gives is on November, 30th.  Go to WCNEGIVES.org, click on the Donate Now button and scroll down to Add Donation Designation. Then, you can choose from several local options. Some local organizations are listed under the Pioneer Fund Foundation and they are The Athletic Booster Club, The Band Booster Club, and The Pioneers for Education. The TeamMates-Fort Calhoun Chapter is another option for you to choose. You can also click here to go directly to the Donate Now page.

Thank you for your support!

On Thursday, November 11th, Fort Calhoun Community Schools honored our Veterans by having a Veteran’s Day Ceremony. The event was hosted by our Skills USA students with an introduction by Skills USA President Landyn Miller and the MC being Megan Braymen. The High School Band and Choir both performed several patriotic songs including the Armed Forces Salute and “Brother, My Brother”. Plus, the 4th-grade students performed the patriotic song “You’re a Grand Old Flag”. The keynote speaker was Lori Collins, Auxilary Vice President.  Several service members from the Military were in attendance and enjoyed a luncheon prepared by the school kitchen staff and served by the Skills USA students. Thank you to everyone who helped with the event. Once again, Fort Calhoun Schools would like to thank all our Veterans for their service to our country.

Congratulations to the Senior High Marching Band for receiving a Superior Rating Trophy at the 2021 NSBA State Marching Band Competition that was held on October 23rd in Lincoln. The band’s show was titled “Elvis“. There is now a string of 6 straight superior trophies for the Pioneer Marching Band. All the students were able to celebrate with ice cream sundaes. The 6 seniors of this year, Ryan Swierczek, Cameryn Lewis, Tristan Fuhrman, Katherine Jabens, Bella Benoit, and Drum Major, Payton Pohlad were able to sign the trophy. Great job to all for their hard work, hours of time spent, and commitment to reaching this goal. These students’ dedication to the program earned them the success that the band has been known for all these years.

NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON HONORS AWARDED TO FIVE NEBRASKA SCHOOLS

Five Nebraska schools have been named as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2021. The recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

The U.S. Department of Education recognized the five Nebraska schools for overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

The Nebraska schools that were honored are:

• Fort Calhoun Jr-Sr High School, Fort Calhoun Community Schools in Fort Calhoun.
• Lux Middle School, Lincoln Public School District in Lincoln.
• Carl A Swanson Elementary School, Westside Community School District in Omaha.
• Sagewood Elementary School, Elkhorn Public School District in Elkhorn.
• St. Robert Bellarmine School, Archdiocese of Omaha Catholic Schools in Omaha.

“This year’s honorees demonstrates what is possible when committed educators and school leaders create vibrant, welcoming, and affirming school cultures where rich teaching and learning can flourish,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “I commend all our Blue Ribbon honorees for working to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs.”

“The five Nebraska honorees are examples to us all of what can be achieved with hard work and determination,” said Nebraska Commissioner of Education Matthew Blomstedt. “These schools demonstrate what it takes to serve all students and work towards closing achievement gaps to ensure equitable opportunity to succeed and to be college, career, and civic ready.”

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students achieve very high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap.

All schools are honored in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:

• Exemplary High Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
• Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s subgroups and all students over the past five years.

Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year. The Department invites National Blue Ribbon School nominations from the top education official in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Department of Defense Education Activity and the Bureau of Indian Education. Private schools are nominated by The Council for American Private Education (CAPE).

As a final project in the 7th-grade Seminar class, we put together military care packages. With donations from the Knights of Columbus and the FCCS Foundation, Dr. Johnson purchased items for the boxes. We also received donations from the students and The Blair Dental Clinic. All the students helped fill the boxes with a variety of snacks and essential items along with a personal note from each of them. We were even able to send some of the packages to alumni who are serving. In all, we were able to fill 21 boxes!