Mental Health First Aid Training

Pre-COVID, schools were seeing 4% to 6% of their student body with anxiety and depression, with the onset of COVID that number has increased to 24%.  How can parents and other individuals help?  Consider participating in a free, virtual training that is valuable for anyone that engages with children/youth (parents, family members, community members, mental health providers, etc).  This is FREE of charge!    Click this link to register. For more information see this flyer. Participation is limited. Register soon!  

Elementary Library Mural

The Elementary Library has a fun project underway. The once blank wall will soon be covered with a colorful mural of storybook characters. The mural was designed by the High School’s Art Club students and includes characters such as Curious George, Madeline, Horton, and Junie B. Jones. The Elementary Students each got a chance to contribute by painting parts of the wall during their library time and the art students will finish the little details. I talked with a few 5th graders about the project. Sophie Eastman and Sammi Hirchert thought it was very fun to help out and said it will be nice to see it for years to come. Brooklyn Meador and Sidney Mattison said it was cool and interesting and they enjoyed it a lot.

2021 FC Pioneers Gridiron Golf Classic

Hello Pioneer Nation,

We will be hosting the annual Gridiron Golf Classic again this summer on Friday, June 4th at Rivers Wilds in Blair.  We are having both a morning shotgun and an afternoon shotgun.  See the flyer below with all the info- if you have any questions please reach out to Coach Shepardson.  Looking forward to another great day of golf and camaraderie!  
 

Quiz Bowl Conference Champs

Congratulate Brittany Peterson, Abigail Ryan, John McKennan, Kenzie Hansen, and Riley McKennan for being back-to-back (sort of) Conference Quiz Bowl championships! Our team was also Conference Champs in 2019. They overcame a close loss to Yutan in the semis to win! 

Pep Students Create Their Own Battleship Game

The 7th-grade Pep Class created their own Battleship board games to focus on collaboration, communication, mental stimulation, and competition as part of their Mental Health unit.  Students Ella Bouwman and Ari Nelson explained that the unit began with a video focused on brain health. Then, they used paper to create a grid and then used that to play Battleship with a partner similar to how you play the board game. They said they learned that it is important to put down their phones and interact with each other face to face and to have a positive attitude. Moriah Doyle and Hawthorne Roehr agreed that it taught them about having a positive attitude and added that the process of creating and playing the game stimulated their brains in a new way. They all agreed that it was fun and exciting and would recommend the game to other classes. 

Congratulations State Wrestling Qualifiers

Fort Calhoun will send 4 wrestlers to the state tournament — Trey McCoy, Ely Olberding, Lance Olberding and Grant Nixon. Congratulations and good luck!

At the pep rally, the qualifiers had to put makeup on their classmates blindfolded. Pictured are Ely Olberding with Dennis Winterberg and Lance Olberding with Wyatt Appel.

 

Congratulations to our Scholastic Art Award Recipients

This year the Nebraska Scholastic Art and Writing Awards affiliate received almost 2,200 entries from students all across the state, and as usual, was a very competitive competition. Overall, they awarded 209 Gold Keys, 254 Silver Keys, and 385 Honorable Mention Awards. If you do the math only 38% of all entries earned an award. 

The students listed below earned one or more awards from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition.

Katie Barta:
     Honorable Mention – “Flower Child” (Drawing and Illustration)
Ethan Dye:
     Silver Key – “Self-portrait at 15” (Drawing and Illustration)
Montanna Hirchert:
     Silver Key – “Lucy” (Printmaking)
Lucy Hubbard:
     Silver Key – “Jack” (Printmaking)
Brooke Johnsen:
     Gold Key – “Daffodil” (Drawing and Illustration)
     Gold Key – “Daisy” (Drawing and Illustration)
Emma Lucht:
     Honorable Mention – “You Are My Sunshine” (Printmaking)
Riley McKennan:
     Honorable Mention – “Self-portrait” (Drawing and Illustration)
James Miller:
     Gold Key – “Self-portrait at 14” (Drawing and Illustration)
Regina Namuth:
     Gold Key – “Boy in Green” (Painting)
     Gold Key – “Self-portrait at 15” (Drawing and Illustration)
     Silver Key – “Fruits” (Drawing and Illustration)
     Silver Key – “Wine Bottle” (Drawing and Illustration)
Alayna Prunty:
     Honorable Mention – “Oakley” (Printmaking)
Olivia Quinlan:
     Honorable Mention – “Vacant” (Painting)
Cameron Reynolds:
     Honorable Mention – “Western Meadowlark” (Drawing and Illustration)
Sasha Robinson:
     Honorable Mention – “A Charcoal Still Life” (Drawing and Illustration)
Ethan Shaner:
     Honorable Mention – “Leaf Pendant” (Jewelry)
Kaitlin Smith:
     Silver Key – “Midnight” (Photography)
     Honorable Mention – “Array of Aspens” (Photography)
     Honorable Mention – “Future Tracks” (Photography)
Hannah White:
     Honorable Mention – “Hoping For…” (Painting)

Spring Conferences for Junior-Senior High

Dear Parent(s)/ Guardian(s):

Parent-Teacher Conferences are rapidly approaching. Conference is a one-night event on Wednesday, February 17, 2:00 pm to 8:00pm.  I strongly encourage parent(s) and student(s) to engage in conferences with their teachers. I believe this creates an opportunity to lessen confusion and build positive communication among the parent, student, and teacher. Research has proven, time and time again, that students perform better if a parent is actively involved in their students’ academic process.

Conferences for the spring will be conducted through one of these three avenues based on your child’s individual situation:

 

  • Meet with your child’s teacher(s) via video conferencing. If you prefer this option, please go to https://signup.com/go/nvOmamZ.  Find your teacher(s) on the list and select a time.  If you sign up, the teacher(s) will reach out to you prior to conferences with a link to the meeting.  Videoconferences will be limited to five-minute sessions in an effort to maximize teacher availability.  When you log in for your conference, please be patient as the teacher may be engaged in a conference previous to yours. 

 

  • Engage in email conferences. Send an email to your child’s teacher(s) with any questions or concerns that you may have. The teacher will respond to you during the day of parent-teacher conferences.

 

  • Request to receive a phone call from your child’s teacher(s). To receive a phone call, please email your teacher(s) indicating what time of the day you would like to be contacted along with a phone number. Videoconferences will be a priority over phone calls, however, the teacher(s) will attempt to contact you as close to your requested time as possible.

 

Parent-Teacher Conferences provide an opportunity for parents and students to work with teachers and staff to assure your young person the best education that we as a team can provide. The teachers and I hope that you plan to make conferences a priority. It is only through communication and cooperation that we can assure your student’s success here at the “FORT”. I look forward to your participation in your student’s conferences held on February 17.

Sincerely,

Nick Wemhoff

Secondary Principal

Eight Students Soon to Graduate from TeamMates

When Kori Grosse-Rhode started our chapter in 2012 she asked a room full of 4th graders if they would like a mentor. Twenty-Five of them enthusiastically raised their hands. Did they really know what a mentor was – probably not. But they quickly learned that an adult, that was not their parent, was going to visit them once a week for one hour to listen, maybe help with homework, play games or just sit in silence. Whatever they needed that week.

I am so proud to say that our Rookie Class of 2012 is graduating eight from High School this year. The following eight kids and mentors have had committed 9-year relationships. I know that it has been a rewarding experience for both mentor and mentee and has proven that having another adult in their lives helps them navigate school and life just a little better.

Please join me in congratulating these young adults for being a part of a life-changing program for 9 years.

Hannah Fitzgerald

Paige Ringler

Brayden Evens

Cassie Taylor

Evelyn Roehr

Abagail Ryan

Daniel Schlotfeld

Corey Lancaster

Please consider becoming a mentor. It only takes 30-45 minutes per week to make a difference. Go to www.teammates.org to learn more about the program and to sign up! #BeThere #NoMatterWhat

Teri Zavadil – Fort Calhoun Chapter Coordinator