the schools or have had changes to phone numbers or contacts, call school to update the information.
These local media outlets will be additional sources of school information: TV---KMTV, FOX 42, WOWT, KETV, and KFAB-1110AM ra-dio. Information will also be available on the school website - www.fortcalhounschools.org.
Option Enrollment applications for the 2015-16 school year are now being accepted. Forms are available on the Nebraska Department of Education’s website, at your home school dis-trict or in our offices. The state application deadline is March 15th. Fort Calhoun Schools have set August 1st as the cutoff for accepting applications.
The Board of Education will set the parameters for class and program capacities in the Spring and applicants will be notified after this time. If you have questions, either go to the Nebraska Department of Education website or contact one of the school offices.
OPTION ENROLLMENT FOR 2015-16
Visit our website at www.fortcalhounschools.org
“Fall In Full Swing”
Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year. I love Fall colors, football and Homecoming week. Homecom-ing week was awesome; I love seeing kids show their school spirit by dressing up and cheering loud at all the activities. I love the Homecoming parade where we show our community pride and display our devotion to the Pioneers. The community Pep Rally was a hoot and the numbers were great. The evening had a great start with the Skills USA hog roast, followed by a great victory by the Pioneers over DC West. It was a good week to be a Pioneer. Thanks to all who participated in the parade and to all of you who came in support.
In the spirit of things being in full swing, I hope you have had an opportunity to see the tremendous prog-ress being made on the Secondary building. It is exciting to see the walls and roofs being raised on the gym and the Music areas. The practice football field is at grade and grass has been planted, hopefully we will be seeing some grass soon. The new west parking lot is to grade and we should see some concrete real soon.
Another area of our School District that is in full swing is our AdvanED accreditation process headed by Mr. Wagner, our School Improvement Coordinator. The AdvancED process is a National accreditation process which our District has been a part of for many years. This process commits our District to be evaluated by an outside group of professionals who measure our School District’s improvement process in comparison to a set of National Standards. By participating in this accreditation process we insure that our graduates qualify to enroll in the college of their choice. The District Improvement Goal is Math as determined by our school-wide District team and the data they collect. The data collected includes test scores and stakeholders’ survey results. All of this information is collected and the results are used to continue the school improve-ment process.
Last but certainly not least, Parent-Teacher Conferences are at the end of this month. Conferences will be held at both buildings and will take place on October 27th and 29th. If you have a student in the District please make plans to attend this event. Students who have both committed teachers and parents stand a great chance to succeed in this life.
Thanks for your support!Dr. Don JohnsonSuperintendent of Schools
Thank you!!!To everyone that helped make our Homecoming Hog Roast a big success.
A SNAPSHOT OF PROGRESS
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Mr. Jerry GreenSecondary Principal
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2014 HOMECOMING ROYALTYTYLER PACE PRINCECHRISTINE CATE PRINCESSMIKAYLA SCHMITT QUEENSHANNON FORRESTER KING
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
HOMECOMING PARADE
I want to take a minute and thank everyone who par-ticipated in this year’s parade. It was a huge success and one of the largest parades I can remember. All of the community participants did a great job of lin-ing up south of 15th and Monroe; this allowed the school participants to come around the block and fol-low the band. Thanks to the parents and/or sponsors who drove a float in the parade and to the high school staff that helped supervise the students during the pa-rade. I would like to especially thank Mike and Tracy Stoops from ATV Motorsports who bring in Rangers and four wheelers for us to use during the parade. They are vital for us to get around quickly and make sure everything runs smoothly. Also, we extend a special thanks to Carl Falk and Sid Dillon who allow us to use their vehicles to transport our homecoming candidates through the parade.
Thank you to everyone for making this year’s Home-coming Parade a huge success!
Oil Drive
For the Pioneers!
Are you ready to do something great for the environmentand raise money for Pioneer Football at the same time? It’seasy and it is free.
Simply go to your garage and bring your used oils to…Fort Calhoun High School
Saturday October 18, 2014
9AM until Noon
What we accept…Used Motor Oil Heating Oil
Transmission Fluid Old Diesel Fuel
What we cannot accept…Fluids contaminated with water, antifreeze, heavy debris,gasoline or other hazardous materials.
I f you have quantit ies greater than 50 gallons, w e w ill cometo you and pick it up. Simply ca ll 402 -212-9430 and let usknow you w ant to support the Pioneers.
Sponsored by:
The school year is off to a great start! We have some important dates to watch out for: First Friday for the Fort dates (FFFF): October 3rd and November 7th (Don’t forget the coupon!)Morning with Mom: October 28th Donuts with Dad: November 12th
PFE Business Meeting: November 17th, 3:30 in the Elementary School Library
If you are looking for ways to support our schools, it is never too late to join the PFE! The PFE has made it easier than ever to support our schools with Box Tops for Education, Our Family Brand Labels, Labels for Education, Coke Reward Point Codes, Tyson Project A+ Labels, and Hyvee Receipts. You can donate any and all of these at the drive-up drop box at City Hall when you drop off your utility bills. Thank you!
Anna Barta -President Annie Halford -Vice President Kelli Shaner –Treasurer Melaney Towerton -Secretary
PIONEERS FOR EDUCATION NEWS
News from School Improvement
School Improvement is a continual process each year. Fort Calhoun Schools continue to strive for excellence by shaping our school improvement procedures through feedback and commitment. If you haven’t been to our District’s website please visit and click on “School Improvement Plan” under the “About FCCS” tab. This is a great resource to check out our continual process each year. This web page is set up to keep this process as transparent as possible to all stakeholders. Our pur-pose is to communicate the direction we are heading.
On April 15-17, 2015 we will have an external team of professionals come to our school commu-nities and provide us with feedback on this direction. This feedback is based on our accreditation through AdvancED, a national accreditation organization. The feedback that is provided is based on five quality standards that are then broken into several different working parts. This entire process will provide us with reports to enhance the overall learning environment for all students.
Please take time to look at our school improvement plan on our website. It is there for your viewing and just another avenue to communicate our commitment to OUR students. Thank you for your support.
Your School Improvement Director,
Mr. Drew R. Wagner
GO PIONEERS!
SEASON/ACTIVITY PASSES 2014-15
Elementary Students K-6 $20.00Jr-Sr High 7-12 $30.00Each Adult $50.00Family Pass $110.00
Individual Admission Prices – Varsity Home Contests$4.00 Students K-12$5.00 Adults
Individual Admission Prices – JV and Lower$2.00 Students K-12$3.00 Adults
***FORT CALHOUN SEASON PASSES DO NOT INCLUDE ADMISSION TO ANY CONFERENCE, DISTRICT OR STATE CONTEST HELD AT FORT CALHOUN OR THAT FORT CALHOUN MIGHT HOST.
Golden Age Passes are available FREE OF CHARGE to any patron over 60 who requests one.
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-Elementary News- Your Principal: Mr. Drew R. Wagner
What a great start to the school year. The students are getting “hooked on learning.” Our school-wide theme this year is incorporating fishing and learning. There are many times students get disinterested in school throughout the school year. This school-wide theme is another step we are implementing to keep students engaged. It is awesome to see the great activities around the school incorporating our school theme. Furthermore, September has been a busy month. October is going to be as busy. We continue to reach our school wide goals by attending professional workshops to improve instruc-tion, implementing our new Math IXL supplemental program, and continuing to enhance our school to home communica-tions. The status of our goals is coming along very well.
Our new supplemental math program is making great strides for student engagement. The classrooms are in the process of using this great resource to enhance the students’ engagement in math. It does take time for this resource to be fully implemented. Mrs. Larsen in 6th grade says, “I’m excited about the potential ways to utilize IXL to support our math cur-riculum and to encourage students to make individual progress no matter what level they are currently at with a skill.” In the upcoming days there is going to be more professional guidance to support staff and students with this program. If you would like to learn more about Math IXL on-line please visit www.ixl.com. Then click on math on the upper right hand side of the page. Go ahead and explore.
Lastly, our school to home communications continue to improve with our team concept. We continue to find different av-enues to relay information. Remember to visit the elementary twitter page, and if you haven’t signed up, please consider doing so. We are also sending out the parent newsletter to families personally through e-mail that have requested this service. It is just another way to make sure information is getting home appropriately. Yes, it is a plethora of information at times. The reason is we do not want you to feel like you are out of the loop. It is also amazing how much your teachers are communicating through e-mail, personal contact, or phone calls home to relay important information concerning your child. THANK YOU STAFF! You deserve it! This will be an on going process each year. Thank you for taking time and reading the information that is coming home. WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT!
OUR journey continues. We look forward to seeing you in the building in the months to come! Life is GOOD!
October 6th: Kick-off Reading Incentive Program; “Hooked on Reading”October 6-10th: Fire Safety WeekOctober 15th: Bully Prevention lessons for all grade levels by Fremont Crisis CenterOctober 16th: Picture DayOctober 28th: Morning with MomOctober 27th-30th: Book FairOctober 27th and 29th: Parent/Teacher conferences-Early out; 1:15pm dismissalOctober 31st: NO SCHOOL
*October is National Anti-Bullying month. The elementary will recognize this month by having several different anti-bullying activities throughout this month and also throughout the school year.
BE A BUDDY NOT A BULLY!
Upcoming Events In October
MR. NICK WEMHOFF Assistant Principal/AD
The following is an article taken from Jon Gordon’s newsletter that I felt would be beneficial for everyone to read. I hope each and every one of you can use this message in your personal life whether you are a student, parent, or a patron of our school district.
5 WAYS TO THINK LIKE A CHAMPIONI meet and learn from Champions every day. Not just in locker rooms but in classrooms, hospitals, home-less shelters, homes and office buildings. I’ve learned that to be a champion you must Think Like a Cham-pion. Champions think differently than everyone else. They approach their life and work with a dif-ferent mindset and belief system that separates them from the pack.
1. Champions Expect to Win - When they walk on the court, on the field, into a meeting or in a class-room they expect to win. In fact they are surprised when they don’t win. They expect success and their positive beliefs often lead to positive actions and outcomes. They win in their mind first and then they win in the hearts and minds of their custom-ers, students or fans.
2. Champions Celebrate the Small Wins - By celebrat-ing the small wins champions gain the confidence to go after the big wins. Big wins and big success hap-pen through the accumulation of many small victo-ries. This doesn’t mean champions become compla-cent. Rather, with the right kind of celebration and reinforcement, champions work harder, practice more and believe they can do greater things.
The Fort Calhoun Chapter of TeamMates® school-based mentor-ing program is currently seeking adult male and female mentors. · What is the time commitment? One hour per week during the school day – summers off.
· Where do meetings take place? Meet at the elementary or high school depending on the age of the student.· Do you currently have children waiting for a mentor? Yes – we are currently in need of 6-7 mentors in our community.· What do I do during that hour? Have fun, play games, sports activities, get to know each other.
If you are interested in more information or would like to attend a training session to see if mentoring is for you, please contact Kori Grosse-Rhode at [email protected] or 402-468-4547.
Follow our activities and scores on TWITTER @ftcactivities
3. Champions Don’t Make Excuses When They Don’t Win - They don’t focus on the faults of others. They fo-cus on what they can do better. They see their mistakes and defeats as opportunities for growth. As a result they become stronger, wiser and better.
4. Champions Focus on What They Get To Do, Not What They Have To Do - They see their life and work as a gift not an obligation. They know that if they want to achieve a certain outcome they must commit to and appreciate the process. They may not love every min-ute of their journey but their attitude and will helps them develop their skill.
5. Champions Believe They Will Experience More Wins in the Future - Their faith is greater than their fear. Their positive energy is greater than the chorus of negativ-ity. Their certainty is greater than all the doubt. Their passion and purpose are greater than their challenges. In spite of their situation champions believe their best days are ahead of them, not behind them.
If you don’t think you have what it takes to be a cham-pion, think again. Champions aren’t born. They are shaped and molded. And as iron sharpens iron you can develop your mindset and the mindset of your team with the right thinking, beliefs and expectations that lead to powerful actions.
Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great. - Niccolo Machiavelli
