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HERSHEY PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

AUGUST & SEPTEMBER 2017 P .O. Box 369 , Her shey, NE 69143

www.hpspanthers.org (308) 368-5572

Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year. I am anxious for the school year to begin. I am very excited and honored to have the opportunity to be the Superintendent of the Hershey Public School district. I encourage you to get involved in your school in any way that you can. Feel free to stop by my office or give me a call if you have any questions or comments throughout the year. I am positive that I can help facilitate the great educational opportunities that the students of the Hershey School District are already getting.

I want to take this opportunity to welcome the following new staff members to Hershey Public Schools:

• Lauren Charles will be teaching 7-12 math, Lauren graduated from Hastings College. • Courtney Feeney will be teaching 2nd grade, she previously taught at North Platte and

graduated from Chadron State College with her BA and received an MSed from Peru State College.

• Michael Jorgenson will be teaching Industrial Arts, Michael graduated from Hershey and received his BA from UNL. Michael holds Educator and Inspector certifications from the American Welding Society.

• Sam Siegel will be teaching History and Government, he is a graduate of UNK • Liz Swartz will be teaching 7-12 math, Liz graduated from Metropolitan State

University of Denver in 2017. • Kylie Wallace will be teaching 7-12 Language Arts. Kylie graduated from UNK in

2016. • Becky Winder will be our elementary counselor, she previously taught in North Platte

and Hutchinson, KS. She received her BA from Emporia State University and her MA from Wichita State University. Becky will also be teaching Jr. High Math

• Alex Woodside will be teaching Instrumental Music, he is a graduate of UNL. We are excited to have them as members of our staff!

Also Brett Julius will now be our 7-12 Guidance Counselor, and Jared Thomsen will move to 7-12 Assistant Principal/Activities Director! We are excited for these two staff members to move into different roles at Hershey Public Schools.

On August 21st, Hershey will experience a total solar eclipse. Because of this once in a lifetime phenomenon we will not be in session that day. Students will be able to enjoy this event with their families. Our staff will be teaching about the event in the days leading up to the solar eclipse.

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I am excited to announce that Hershey Public Schools is once again working with Lunchtime Solutions to provide breakfast and lunch menus for our students. Lunchtime Solutions was selected primarily because of the variety of their menu, the number of choices available; two for elementary and four for middle and high school; a farm to table program with local farmers, and an emphasis on customer service. Students may purchase additional entrées or return as many times as they wish to the free fruit and veggie bar until they are full. I invite you to come to school and eat lunch with your child to see first-hand the menus and choices that will be served!

You will see some updates when you attend activities at the school this fall. Both gym floors have been sanded down and repainted. New carpeting and seating has been placed in the elementary entrance, and we are currently remodeling the welding lab.

Our staff has been working very hard to make information about Hershey Public Schools more accessible to parents, students and patrons of the district. We have a website, http://www.hpspanthers.org that is kept up-to-date with timely information. Our website has a SOCS app that goes with it that can be downloaded from the app store at either iTunes, or the android store. This app has Push notifications so that you can get instant notice on your smartphone when an update is made. Please search for our app and install it on your smartphone or tablet. We also have a Facebook (Hershey Panthers), Twitter (@hersheypanthers) and Instagram (@hpspanthers) presence, just search for Hershey Panthers. If you follow Twitter, you can follow using #hpspanthers. Our video streaming app will be on YouTube this year. There will still a link off our website for live streaming.

PowerSchool also has a mobile app for students and parents so that you can keep up-to-date on grades and assignments daily. Please download the PowerSchool app from the app store as well. It is available on all platforms. School announcements are also published each day in PowerSchool. School closing information will once again be given through the school call notification system called School Messenger. Have a great month and feel free to stop by my office or give me a call if you have any questions or comments.

Just a reminder that the Hershey Public Schools Education Foundation will be having a 100 year All School Reunion dinner on August 26, 2017. I hope that many of you can attend. Tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite, at the bank, or here at the school.

Educationally,

Mrs. Jane Davis, Ed. S.

Superintendent

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NEWS FROM YOUR HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL I would like to say welcome back to everyone and I anticipate that we will have a great

2017-2018 school year. I am very excited to continue to build relationships with the families and students that attend our school system. I truly feel that we have a teaching staff and support staff that we can all be proud of and trust to provide our students with a top notch education. This year we will be focusing on our staff’s strengths and how we can all work together to provide the best possible education that our students can get. I am proud to be the principal in Hershey.

Our mission at Hershey Public Schools is: Hershey Public Schools is a progressive school district providing a safe environment that inspires personal achievement and a passion for learning.

At Hershey Public Schools we are working toward “Educating Every Student, Every Day, Every Way”.

As we begin the school year we will have some new members to our teaching staff. Lauren Charles will be teaching Algebra and Geometry and she will be our high school quiz bowl sponsor and jr. high girls basketball assistant. Lauren will be moving from Hastings where she has worked in their school system and coached and refereed numerous sports. Michael Jorgenson will be our new Skills and Technical Sciences (STS) teacher. Michael will also be our head girl’s basketball coach and he will be sponsoring our Skills USA program that will be starting this school year. Michael is a Hershey graduate and has worked recently in the Lexington Public Schools. Brett Julius will be our new high school guidance counselor. Mrs. Julius has previously taught English in Hershey. She will continue to be our student council sponsor and she will also be a 12th grade sponsor. Sam Siegel will be teaching Social Studies and will be an assistant football and track coach. Sam is moving from Lincoln and will be a first year teacher. Liz Swartz will be teaching upper level Math and she will be a junior class sponsor. Liz student taught in North Platte and recently moved from Denver. Jared Thomsen will our new assistant principal and activities director. Jared was a 3rd grade teacher in Hershey for two years and also helped with our football program. Kylie Wallace will be teaching English to fill the position that Mrs. Julius had. Kylie student taught in North Platte and she will be a jr. high volleyball assistant coach, assistant track coach, and she will be the sophomore class sponsor. Alex Woodside will be our new band and marching band teacher. Alex will also sponsor the drum line. Alex student taught in Lincoln and recently graduated from UNL where he was a member of the UNL marching band. Please take time to welcome these teachers to our staff and community.

Some important information: -School begins at 8:15 and ends at 3:42 -Fridays we dismiss at 2:39 -Breakfast is served daily at 7:45am -We will not be having school on August 21 which is the solar eclipse -August 15 at 7:30pm students in grades 9-12 will receive their chrome books. 9th grade meets in the old gym, 10th grade meets in room 3, 11th grade meets in room 7, 12th grade meets in the library

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-August 18 at 5:00pm there will be a community pep rally before the football game -August 18 at 6:00pm will be the football scrimmage -August 22 at 5:00pm will be the varsity volleyball jamboree at St. Patrick’s

Please follow Mr. Steinbeck on Twitter for important news and information about Hershey High School. Search for Jeff Steinbeck @hps_panthers

NEWS FROM THE ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR The school year is finally upon us and I am so excited to begin a new journey and

represent our district as the new Activities Director/7-12 Assistant Principal. Please feel free to swing by my office whenever you are in the building and introduce yourself, or simply just to say hi. I look forward to learning many new faces as I am now on the opposite end of the school in the High School. We are so fortunate to be part of such an amazing school district with exceptional teachers, parents, and students!

All of our student athletes and coaches have worked so hard over the summer to improve our teams and set the bars high for Hershey. I promise you that all of our coaches/sponsors are and will be working hard to continue the awesome traditions here at Hershey Public Schools and to succeed on and off the playing fields. We not only have the best students but the best coaches as well. On Tuesday, August 15th, I’m asking all parents to attend the Activity Parents Meeting in the east gym. This is something new that I am trying this year and I look forward to seeing all of you there, after you check out your child’s laptop. I urge you all to please carefully read the student handbook as new additions and changes are being made. Please look over these policies and other policies in the student handbook on our website at http://www.hpspanthers.org

August 16th at 1:00 PM Great Plains Health Sports & Therapy will be conducting their annual impact test for all incoming freshmen, juniors, and new option enrolled students. This impact test creates a baseline score in case they were to suffer from a concussion. This will be administered at the school in the commons area. His /her coach will notify your child if they are expected to be there. In all sports if a student has at least one sign or symptom of a concussion they will be removed from competition right away. That student will not be able to return to play unless released by a licensed care professional and the release form is signed. This is the case even if the student ended up not being diagnosed with a concussion. Our coaches are trained to look for signs and symptoms of concussions and if to pull the student immediately if a sign or symptom is seen. The safety and well being of all our students is our number one priority. If a student has a concussion, we have a return to learn protocol that we will follow to ensure that your child is ready to fully return to the classroom and to not get behind. Our coaches are also certified in seeing signs of cardiac arrest and heat illness.

With school starting, that also means that the buses will be en-route and hauling your children to and from school. My job is to make sure our bus drivers transport your children the safest way possible. The biggest thing is that there are strict rules in place to ensure that safety. If you ever have any questions or concerns with your bus, route or incidents on the bus do not hesitate to contact me right away. All of our bus drivers are properly trained and understand they have one the most important jobs in this entire school.

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I am very excited for the school year to begin and believe it will be an amazing year for Hershey Public Schools. Any questions or concerns that any of you may have please feel free to stop by or call me at the school. We are here for your child and look forward to working with them this school year.

The Community Pep Rally will be Friday, August 18th at 5:00 PM . The cheerleaders put this on and it is a free will donation to help support their team. They will begin feeding everyone at 5:00 pm and the pep rally will start at 5:15. The football scrimmage will begin at 6:00 pm. Jared Thomsen Assistant 7-12 Principal / Activities Director (308) 368-5573 jared.thomsen@hpspanthers.org “Educating Every Student, Every Day, Every Way”

NEWS FROM THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL: Welcome to the new school year at Hershey Elementary. Whether you are new to our

district or a veteran Hershey Panther, everyone looks forward to the start of the school year. It’s a time of anticipation, excitement and it brings a great deal of positive energy to the community! We are confident that this will prove to be an outstanding year for your family and for Hershey Elementary.

The instructional day for elementary will run from 8:15am-3:35pm on Monday-Thursday and 8:15am-2:33pm on Friday. To enhance student safety and ease traffic congestion, elementary students are dismissed 6 minutes earlier than Jr. High and High school.

Outside doors will unlock at 7:45am. Students WILL NOT be allowed in the building until 7:45am without written consent from the office and/or a teacher. It is imperative that we have our staff in the building and stationed at supervisory posts before students enter. Please make the proper arrangements to allow your child to arrive at school between 7:45-8:05am. Upon entering the building, elementary students will go to the cafeteria for breakfast or the west gym for wake-up-walk. At 8:05am, all students will be released to classrooms to begin instruction at 8:15am.

On the pages inside this newsletter is detailed information for the first days and months of the school year that I hope will get us off to a smooth start. I encourage all parents and patrons to attend the Elementary Open House scheduled for Thursday, August 15, 2017 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Please refer to the article elsewhere in this newsletter for details.

Jason M. Calahan,

Elementary Principal

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NEW ELEMENTARY STAFF MEMBERS We are excited to welcome two new staff members to our elementary team! Courtney

Feeney will teach second grade and Becky Winder is our new elementary guidance counselor.

Mrs. Feeney is a graduate of Maxwell High School. She received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Chadron State College and holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Peru State College. Mrs. Feeney comes to us from North Platte Public Schools where she taught at McDonald Elementary since 2012.

Mrs. Winder is a graduate of Derby, High School in Derby, KS. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics education from Emporia State University and her master’s degree in school counseling from Wichita State University. Mrs. Winder comes to us from Hutchison, KS with 13 years of experience as a teacher and counselor.

Please stop by the school, introduce yourself and help us welcome these educators to our district and community!

CHANGES IN YOUR CHILD’S SCHEDULE As the school year begins, we want to remind you that any changes to your child’s after-

school routine need to be verified by our office before 3:00p.m. The elementary office is often flooded with calls during the last 5-10 minutes of the school day by parents requesting that their child be excused from the bus to go to a grandparent’s house, a friend’s house, etc. Please do not wait until the last minute to call the school as this makes it difficult to verify the alteration and notify your child, his or her teacher, and the bus driver of the change. The safety of your child is our number-one priority and we want to make sure everyone is on the same page when there are changes to his or her daily schedule.

SAFETY PATROL During the first few weeks of the school year, the 5th and 6th grade students will be asked

to volunteer to serve on the school’s Safety Patrol. This group is responsible for the safe crossing of students across the highway west of the school. Students who are interested in being a member of the Safety Patrol must be committed to being on time, able to follow rules and procedures, show leadership, and willing to serve the entire school year. If interested in serving, students need to contact Mr. Calahan.

Parents are asked to visit with their child and encourage them to be part of this vital group. By being on the Safety Patrol, students will develop leadership skills, responsibility, and a sense of pride and worth in volunteering their time helping others.

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The Safety Patrol needs members to work before and after school. Students who ride the bus after school can serve on the patrol in the afternoon and still catch their bus ride home.

OPEN HOUSE On Tuesday, August 15, 2017, Hershey Elementary School will be hosting a PK-6 Open

House. The Open House will run from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to tour the building and meet the teachers.

The Open House has no formal time limit in any room, so come and go as your time allows. This format will allow patrons to visit as many rooms as they wish in order to meet their children’s teachers. Students are encouraged to bring their school supplies to place in their classroom so they will be ready to go the following day.

SUBSTITUTES From time to time substitutes are needed to take the place of staff members who are

unable to report to work due for various reasons. If you would like to have your name on our substitute lists, please contact the school office at 308-368-5572. Substitutes are needed in the following positions: Teachers, Para-educators (teacher aides), kitchen help, bus drivers and custodians.

DESTINATION IMAGINATION Students in grade 3 and above who are interested in participating in Destination

ImagiNation are asked to sign up in the elementary office. An organizational meeting will be held sometime in September to get the program off and running.

DI is a community-based, school friendly program where young people take what they know and what they do well and learn to apply it to solve Challenges. They work cooperatively on a team and push the limits of imagination to best not their competition, but themselves.

As DI gets up and going, we will be in need of parent volunteers to become team managers to help with the student teams. Without a manager, there can’t be a team! So, if you want a rewarding and lasting experience, please consider becoming a team manager.

FUTURE PROBLEM SOLVING Students in grades 5 and 6 will have an opportunity to participate in the Future Problem

Solving program again this year. The FPS program is designed as a way of helping capable students think more creatively and productively about critical issues. Fifth and sixth grade students interested in joining a FPS team can sign up in the office.

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ACCELERATED READER – DOG TAG PROGRAM The AR Dog Tag incentive program will continue this year for all K-6 students. Students

in grades K-3 receive AR certificates at every 10 point increments (up to 40 points) by reading and passing a comprehension test on AR library books.

Beginning at 4th grade (and any younger student who has earned the points), students who accumulate 50 points will receive a dog tag. From then on, each additional increment of 50 points will result in earning more dog tags.

Accumulated points earned over past years will carry over to this year. So, students will begin the new school year with the points they had at the end of school last year.

JR. HIGH VOLLEYBALL Junior High Volleyball Parent's Meeting--Monday, August 21, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. located

in Commons Area

Family Activity Passes 2017-2018

$75.00 Family (Fall Season) $75.00 Family (Winter Season) $135.00 Family (Fall & Winter Season) $30.00 Student $75.00 Single Adult (Fall & Winter Season)

(Excludes all tournaments and track meets.)

Please purchase in the high school/activity directors office.

Admission prices per game will be: $5.00 adults & $4.00 student

It is the policy of the Hershey Public School District not to discriminate on the basis of sex, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, age

or national origin in its education programs, administration, policies, employment or other agency programs.

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HERSHEY PUBLIC SCHOOL

REGULAR MEETING

MONDAY, JULY 10, 2017

The Hershey Public School Board of Education held their regular meeting on Monday, July 10, 2017 in the board conference room. Official notice of the meeting was advertised in the July 6th edition of the Courier Times and posted in three places within the Village. The meeting was called to order@ 7:00 pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the notification to those in attendance of the posted Open Meeting Law Poster. Members present were Steve Koch, Lucas McConnell, Jodi Seamann, Brenda Johnson and Yvette Troyer, Bob Arnett was absent. Also present were Superintendent Davis, Bookkeeper Apple, and Principals Steinbeck and Thomsen. Principal Calahan was absent.

Approved the consent agenda which consists of minutes of the June 12 regular meeting and the Bills for payment in the amount of $485,257.61, all financial reports.

Approved Kathy Fisher's resignation.

Approvt:d amending the 2017-2018 school calendar.

Approved KSB policy updates.

Approved purchase and installation of an AIP AudioNideo Entry System from Hinton's Lock and Alarm for $8526.45

Approved Inland Truck Parts and Service as official bus mechanic for the 2017-2018 school year.

Approved extended contracts for 2017-2018 school year.

Approved classified salaries with the majority of the staff receiving a 3% raise, substitute teacher pay will remain the same at $120.00 per day for the 2017-2018 school year.

Approved the purchase of a 2018 Chevy Suburban LT from Jerry Remus for $32,975.00

Approved the sale of surplus equipment through online sales auction and or consignment.

Approved electrical bid from Copeland Electric LLC to supply new 3 phase electricity to welding room in the amount of $19,979.25

Discussion was held on KSB policy updates and staff and student handbooks.

Principal Reports: Mr. Steinbeck gave a summer school update and discussed mentor teachers for the 2017-2018 school year. Mr. Thomsen gave updates on coaches clinic schedules and itinerary.

Superintendent Report: Mrs. Davis gave an update on summer maintenance projects and discussed new meeting software and training. Next meeting will be held on Monday August 14, 2017 @ 7 :00 pm in the board conference room.

Meeting adjourned @ 7:53 pm.

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