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Thirty seven junior high students joined in the fun on Friday, October 10, 2014.  We hung out after school snacking and watching the movies – The Lego Movie and Million Dollar Arm.  Then we went to the Blair YMCA to join in the special junior high sand volleyball tournament that they were sponsoring as part of their twentieth anniversary celebration.  We were glad to represent FC well since we were eight of the ten teams present and had both the championship and runner up teams!  Congratulations to the winning team – Attack Force – Courtney B, Taya S, Hannah B, and Julie K.  Runner up honors went to the Pink Fury team – Alexis R, Olivia R, Nicole S, Trina J, and Cadie B.  A fun time was had by all and we are already looking forward to the next junior high POPP event!!!

Continuing with our school wide theme Hooked on Learning, Mrs. Leishman arranged for the Nebraska Games and Park Commission along with FC alumni Lindsey Chizinski to set up a live fish tank outside of the Elementary school. The students enjoyed learning hands on about native fish from Nebraska. Teachers were also given classroom resources called Fishing Fundamentals to use in their classroom throughout the year. Thank you Nebraska Games and Park Commission.

The evening ACT Review sessions will now include materials for other upcoming post-high school entrance exams also: the Compass test, ASVAB and PSAT. There will be a teacher to help with Math, English and Science at the sessions. Review materials and test-taking hints for each of the tests will be available. The review sessions will be held on October 7, 8, 14, 15, 20 and 22 from 6 – 9 pm in Mrs. Shields’ room.

About 45 mentors and Mentees with their families attended the TeamMates Tailgate Friday, October 3 before the High School football game against Ashland/Greenwood. It was an opportunity for Mentees and their families to meet their Mentors. Everyone enjoyed the popcorn bar and the social time.

CELEBRATE!  CELEBRATE!  As a school, we had great results from the state assessment last school year.  The students in 5th grade last year performed at an amazing level on their NeSA (Nebraska State Accountability) assessment.  The 5th grade was 100% proficient in Reading, Math and Science.  What a great accomplishment and celebration.  Nice job staff, students, and parents.  Just another reason to be proud of being a PIONEER!  The higher level of excellence continues.

Sixth grade braved the rainy weather for a field trip on Tuesday, Sept. 30th. They attended 6th Grade Conservation Day at Summit Lake with ten other schools. There was a morning guided hike through the hills and four afternoon learning stations: soils, forestry, fishing, and water cycle.

3rd grade is working on sequencing in our stories and writing. Mrs. Leishman’s readers wrote their recipes and Mrs. Szlachetka’s readers followed the directions. The 3 pictures here pretty well sum up the situations of “OH NO, I FORGOT!” In the end everyone was able to eat a sandwich. I do believe they will be more careful next time!

Congratulations to the 2014 Homecoming Court. Prince and Princess were Tyler Pace and Christine Cate. King and Queen were Shannon Forrester and Mikayla Schmitt.

The dress code for this year’s homecoming dance will be the same as last year’s dress code, but this year we are going to allow jeans, shorts and t-shirts. We will not allow athletic shorts or sweats, and male students cannot wear tank tops. If you have any questions, talk to Mr. Green or Mrs. Shields. The dance will be held on Saturday, September 27, at the Community Building from 8:00 – 11:00. The cost is $5/person.

Independent art students are making the most of the building construction. Students were given permission to create a mural on two pieces of drywall that are currently blocking an old exit. The mural was created by seniors Vince Hartline, Michelle DeWitt, and Madison Queen. The students have plans to create another mural in the gym on two additional pieces of drywall.