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HERSHEY PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

August / September 2018 P.O. Box 369, Hershey, NE 69143

www.hpspanthers.org (308) 368-5572

Welcome to the 2018-2019 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:

• Kyle Bottom will be teaching 7-8 English, Kyle graduated from York College and is originally from Imperial, NE.

• Traci Messersmith will be teaching 6th grade, she previously graduated from and taught at Wallace and graduated with her teaching degree from UNK; she and her family live in Hershey and her children attend Hershey Public Schools.

• Jadyn Johnson will be teaching vocal music, Jadyn received her degree from UNL and is originally from Aurora, CO.

• Codi Lorensen will be teaching High School SPED, she previously taught in North Platte. She received her BA and her MA from Wayne State College. Codi lives in North Platte with her family and her children will be attending Hershey Public Schools.

• Ian Nelson will be teaching Instrumental Music, he is a graduate of UNL and was a member of the UNL marching band, he graduated from Alliance High School.

We are excited to have them as members of our staff! On August 15th, Karen Haase will be presenting on digital citizenship for parents and

students. This is in conjunction with the Chromebook checkout. Please plan on attending, Karen is an acclaimed and entertaining presenter on social media usage and digital citizenship.

On August 16th, PreK-6 will be holding their open house. Please plan to attend this event!

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

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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. A much needed new roof was placed on the 1981 addition of the school, carpeting was added to the commons area entrance doors, and updated directions on parking areas our facility will be located on our website. New carpeting has been installed in the first grade classrooms, and all of the hallways and classroom floors have been waxed and polished. New fencing has been put up at each playground. A special thank you to our custodians for all of their hard work this summer.

A special thank you to the HELP club and to all who made the spring carnival such a success. The HELP club has purchased new playground equipment and the school will be renovating the North Playground Basketball Area with a new surface. We are looking forward to the installation, which will occur in the fall. This is year one of a three year plan to renovate the North Playground.

Hershey Public Schools is becoming a Strengths-based school! All students in grades 5-12 and staff will know and have an understanding of their top 5 Clifton’s Strengths. Administration, teachers and students will work with the 34 strength areas to better know each other and build upon our relationships. My top five strengths are achiever, learner, analytical, maximizer and developer. I am very excited that we will be learning and working on our strengths! 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 be a link on 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.

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 2018-2019 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 and student 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”.

I am pleased to announce our new staff that will be joining our team in Hershey for the 2018-2019 school year. Mr. Kyle Bottom will be teaching 7th and 8th grade English and coaching boys basketball and track. Kyle was formerly teaching and coaching in Sutton. In the music department our new vocal teacher will be Ms. Jadyn Johnson. Jadyn student taught at Elkhorn schools and she is a member of a very successful barbershop quartet. Our new band instructor will be Mr. Ian Nelson. Ian student taught in Lincoln and was a member of the Cornhusker marching band while in college. In the Special Education department we have hired Mrs. Codi Lorensen. Codi has been teaching special education in the North Platte school system. Please take some time to meet our new staff and make them feel welcome in the school and community of Hershey. 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 -August 15 from 6:30-8:30pm Karen Haase presentation to students and families. Parents of 7th-9th grade students are required to attend the Karen Haase presentation. Computer handout 7th-12th grades. ($25 lease fee) -August 16 from 12:30-2:00 Mrs. Benjamin and Mr. Steinbeck will be available to help Seniors with their class schedule -August 16 from 2:00-3:30 Mrs. Benjamin and Mr. Steinbeck will be available to help Juniors with their class schedule -August 17 from 9:00-10:30 Mrs. Benjamin and Mr. Steinbeck will be available to help Sophomores with their class schedule August 17 from 10:30-Noon Mrs. Benjamin and Mr. Steinbeck will be available to help Freshmen with their class schedule -August 17 at 5:00pm Community Pep Rally -August 17 at 6:00pm will be the football scrimmage -August 20 students first school day with an 11:30 dismissal -August 21 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

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Please note that I have included a flyer in the newsletter with our Standard Response Protocol (SRP) for parents and patrons to review. Our staff and students will be receiving training on our school safety processes as we begin the school year.

Jeff Steinbeck

High School Principal

News from Activities Director The school year is finally upon us and I am so excited to see each and every one of you! 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 extremely hard over the summer, improving to better our teams and set the bar higher for Hershey High. I promise you that all of our coaches and sponsors are working hard to continue the awesome traditions here at Hershey Public Schools, where we strive to succeed on and off the playing surfaces.

Hershey High School recently signed an agreement with Under Armour. I am excited to announce that we will have our own Hershey Panthers apparel store. The website will be up and running in the next week. The store will offer a variety of gear at a reduced price that will be rotated with different apparel throughout each season. If you have suggestions on what you would like to see offered in the store, please feel free to let me know. The website will be released on all social media outlets when it is officially opened.

I am looking for football dads to help paint the football field prior to each home game. I always feed all volunteers and appreciate the help. Last year we had an awesome group of dads who were willing to show up and make the job efficient and fast. If you would consider volunteering your time that would be awesome! We paint the field every Wednesday, of a home contest, starting around 3:30 PM and finishing around 7:00 PM at the latest. We welcome help even if you can’t make it until later in the afternoon or evening. Please contact Sherri or myself if you are interested in volunteering.

I urge all of you to carefully read the student and activity handbooks, as new additions and or changes have been made. The student and activity handbooks can be found on our website at http://www.hpspanthers.org under the “high school” or “activity” tabs.

Concussion awareness has been a point of emphasis for the past 5 years and it seems as though we have at least one incident per season. Hershey Public Schools is very fortunate to partner with Great Plains Health Sports and Therapy to take care of all of our needs. 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 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. 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 ensuring the safety of your child’s transportation.

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.

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Here are some very important dates to circle or add to your calendar: • Start of Fall Practice: (Monday, August 6th) - All physicals, NSSA consent form,

handbook/activity and extra-curricular drug testing forms must be turned in prior to practice #1 • Band Camp: (Wednesday August 8th- 10th) • The Community Pep Rally: (Friday, August 17th) - This will start at 5:00 PM. The cheerleaders

put this on every year and it is a free will donation to help support their team. Cheerleaders will begin feeding everyone at 5:00 and the pep rally will follow. The football scrimmage will follow (6:00 PM).

• Students’ 1st day of school K-12: (Monday, August 20th) - Dismiss at 11:30 AM • Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame Jamboree Volleyball Game: (Tuesday, August 21st)-

The match will be hosted at North Platte St. Pat’s and will start at 5:00 PM. Brady, NPSP, and Hershey will choose to play the best of a 5 set match against one school or two sets against two other schools

• Bus Evacuation Drill: (Friday, August 24th) - 8:25 AM K-12 • Varsity Football @ Hastings St. Cecilia: (Friday, August 24th) - 7:00 PM • Hershey Fall Festival: (Saturday, August 25th) - All day • Cross Country @ North Platte St. Pat’s Invite: (Thursday, August 30th) - 5:00 PM at the River’s

Edge Golf Course • Varsity Volleyball @ Lexington Tournament: (Saturday, September 1st) - 10:00 AM

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 7:45-8:15am. 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

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Elementary Open House scheduled for Thursday, August 16, 2018 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Please refer to the article elsewhere in this newsletter for details.

Jason M. Calahan,

Elementary Principal

NEW ELEMENTARY TEACHER We are excited to welcome a new teacher to our elementary team! Traci Messersmith will join

our staff this year and teach sixth grade.

Mrs. Messersmith received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from The University of Nebraska at Kearney. She comes to us from Wallace Public Schools where she taught at Wallace Elementary since 1998. The Messersmith family moved to Hershey last year with their two children, an 8th grader and a senior.

Please stop by the school, introduce yourself, and help us welcome Mrs. Messersmith 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.

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.

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OPEN HOUSE On Thursday, August 16, 2018, 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 apply for a substitute position, please visit our website at www.hpspanthers.org or contact the school office at 308-368-5572. Substitutes are needed in the following positions: Teachers, Para-educators (teacher aides), bus drivers and custodians.

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 increment (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.

HERSHEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS PRE-SCHOOL-6th GRADE OPEN HOUSE

On Thursday, August 16, 2018, Hershey Elementary School will be hosting a Pre-School-6th Grade Open House for parents and students. The Open House will run from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Come see the classrooms and meet your teacher. The Open House has no formal time limit in any room, so come and go as your time allows. Students are encouraged to bring their school supplies to place in their classroom so they will be ready to go the following Monday.

YEARBOOKS The Hershey High 2017-18 Yearbooks will be distributed, beginning on the first day of school,

August 20. If you purchased a book, it may be picked up before school, 7:45-8:00 a.m., during the lunch hour, or after school at 3:45. A limited number of yearbooks are available for sale for those who did not purchase by an advanced order, for $45. These will be available after all pre-purchased orders are picked up.

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Class of 2019 Senior Photos. For all seniors making arrangements for their portraits, please have your photographer submit 2-3 poses of your choice for use in the yearbook. The portrait should be formatted in a 2x3 ratio (width by length), preferably posed from shoulders to head. We will work with you to select the photo for your spot in the 2018-19 yearbook. Please submit your choices by December 1. Contact Rich Rolofson if you have any questions.

Junior High Volleyball Parents Meeting— Tuesday, August 28th at 6:30 in the commons area

Family Activity Passes 2018-2019

$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

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HERSHEY PUBLIC SCHOOL

REGULAR MEETING

WEDNESDAY JULY 11, 2018

The Hershey Public School Board of Education held their regular meeting on Wednesday July 11, 2018 in the board conference room. Official notice of the meeting was advertised on the school website. 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 Meetings Law Poster. Members present were Steve Koch, Bob Arnett, Jodi Seamann, Lucas McConnell, Brenda Johnson and Yvette Troyer. Also present were Superintendent Davis, Bookkeeper Apple and one visitor. Principals Steinbeck, Calahan & Thomsen were absent.

Motion by Bob Arnett, second by Brenda Johnson to approve the consent agenda which consists of the minutes to the June 11th regular meeting; bills for payment in the amended amount of $470,561.66 and all financial reports. All in favor, motion carried.

Motion by Luke McConnell, second by Yvette Troyer to approve a one year contract for Intelligent Services for $7,145.45 to be paid quarterly with Trane. All in favor, motion carried.

Motion by Jodi Seamann, second by Bob Arnett to approve the purchase of I-Observation teacher and Principal evaluation software and training from Learning Sciences for a cost not to exceed $23,600.30. All in favor, motion carried.

Motion by Luke McConnell, second by Bob Arnett to approve KSB policy updates 2006, 2007, 2013, 3020, 3022, 3023, 3040, 3047, 3048, 3049, 3050, 4012, 4013, 4014, 4047, 5008, 5017, 5026, 5027, 5035, 5037, 5045, 5054, 5057, 6021, 6027, 6031, 6036 All in favor, motion carried.

Motion by Brenda Johnson, second by Yvette Troyer to approve leasing a bobcat 5600 from Titan Machinery for $5,750.00 for 250 hours of use, includes bucket and forklift attachments. All in favor, motion carried.

Motion by Brenda Johnson, second by Luke McConnell to approve the classified salaries and substitute teacher pay for 2018-2019 as presented. All in favor, motion carried.

Motion by Jodi Seamann, second by Yvette Troyer to approve the 2018-2019 extended contract days for staff as presented. All in favor, motion carried.

Motion by Yvette Troyer, second by Bob Arnett to approve a bid from Sterling West to replace playground equipment not to exceed $39,952. All in favor, motion carried.

Motion by Luke McConnell, second by Jodi Seamann to approve the purchase agreement for the purchase of Lot 1 Niedan Olson 2nd Replat of part of Lots 3 and 4, Niedan-Olson Subdivision in the E1/2 of Section 29, T-14-N, R-22-W of the 6th P.M., Hershey, Lincoln County, Nebraska for $30,000 from the Hershey Land Company, L.L.C., and authorize and empower Board President Koch and Superintendent Davis to see to it that the responsibilities of the school district are carried out. All in favor, motion carried.

Discussion was held on recommended changes for the staff and student handbooks for 2018-2019.

Superintendent Report: Mrs. Davis: Reported on AFR audit preparations, building updates & budget work session dates.

Next regular meeting will be held on August 13th at 7:00 PM

Public Hearing will be held on August 13th at 6:40 PM for Parent Involvement Policy #5018, Title I Parent Involvement Policy #5057, Student Fee Policy #5045, and Bullying Prevention Policy #5054

Budget work sessions will be held August 2nd at 7:00 PM and August 29th at 7:00 PM in the board conference room.

Meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM

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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