Malachi King, 7th grader, was selected for the UNO Middle School honor choir held on February 8, 2016. Over 180 7th and 8th graders from across the state auditioned for the honor choir, and Malachi was one of 100 selected to participate. The honor choir students rehearsed all day on Friday with guest conductor Frank Watkins who currently is a music teacher at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Clair, and is an Omaha native. The day ended with a final concert open to the public where the middle school honor choir performed all five songs they had been working on throughout the day. Students selected for this honor choir were responsible for learning most of the music on their own over winter break in preparation for this day and came together on Friday to rehearse and create beautiful music together.

Join us at the Elementary School for lots of fun with family and friends on Monday, January 18 from 6-8 pm. CR Toys will have games that teach important skills and promote quick thinking available for everyone to play. The games are available for order and every purchase contributes towards new games for our school. This evening of fun is absolutely free and there is no pressure to purchase any games!  If you are unable to attend, there is an option to purchase games on line through their website, www.shopcrtoys.com and use the code fc2016. The code provides free shipping for your order and credits our school.

CRToys_GameNight1

College Sociology class has had a busy semester. They have done several community service projects. One group has collected items for foster care kids, another has rang bells for Salvation army and will be serving food at a homeless shelter and another has done some recycling at the recycle center in Blair. Jordan Schaefer had this to say about her experience ringing bells. “Other than it being pretty cold one of the days, it was really fun. Getting to see everyone that supports the Salvation Army and gives money was really nice. Even getting to see people smiling as our group sang songs was great. A lot of people would come up and sing with us. It was also really great to see all of the little kids that would bring money and put it in the bucket. There were a lot more than I had expected.” Thank you students for your service to the community.

Nyaliet Teng, Jordan Schaefer, Montana Cottle and Rachel Schumaker rang bells for the Salvation Army.

Jordan Coulter, Tessa Dethlefs, Hanna Lazure, and Lauren Nelson Collected different items for foster kids.

Fort Calhoun High School robotics teams participated in a Vex Robotics tournament this weekend at Elkhorn high school. Three teams competed from Fort Calhoun, with team 5053A Pioneer 1 finishing as tournament champion. The team consisted of Bret Klabunde, Zane Fickbohm, Eric Wolf, and Colton Edie. They paired with another team from Thomas Jefferson, and had a record of 6-1 through the three elimination rounds that used a best out of three format. This tournament win has qualified them for the Iowa/Nebraska Regional held at Omaha North on February 26-27, and the U.S. Open held at the Mid America center in Council Bluffs on April 7-9.

The Winter formal for the High School Students is December 18th from 7-10 at the elementary school gym.  Admission is $5/person. Dress code: no jeans, sweatpants, or gym shorts. Outside Dance Permission form is in the office.

Give the Gift of Life!

Fort Calhoun Elementary had a canned food drive contest. Second grade won the contest for grades K-2 collecting 356 cans. Third grade won the contest for grades 3-6 collecting 91 cans. In total our students collected 1671 cans of food to be donated to the St. John the Baptist food pantry. Elementary staff brought in 440 food items and $205 dollars in exchange for jeans in the month of November.

On Wednesday, Fort Calhoun Community Schools honored our Veterans by having a Veteran’s Day Ceremony. The event was hosted by our Skills USA students. The High School Band and Choir both performed several patriotic songs including the Armed Forces Salute.  The 6th Graders also helped us celebrate by  performing  a special presentation about the American Flag. Jason Fickbohm, Retired Navy CPO, was the Keynote Speaker.  Several service members from every branch of the Military were in attendances and enjoyed a luncheon prepared by the school kitchen 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.