December-January News
Elkhorn High School
EHS Families,
Happy December! Thursday marked the start of Winter Activities and about two and a half weeks left in S1! I want to take time to thank both students and families for their support as we are closing in on the end of the first half of this school year!
With the remainder of the semester (11 student days and 2 finals days as of the end of the day today), I encourage you to continue having your students reach out to teachers, utilizing 8th Hour in the library, study for finals and finish up any missing work to make sure they are as ready as possible for Semester 2. It is easy to focus on the Holidays and upcoming time off, but a strong push from home always goes a long way to help us ensure students stay on track to succeed in a rigorous course in order to keep every door open after high school!
Second Semester will offer new challenges and experiences, but also affords students the opportunity for a fresh start if needed. Students will be able to see their 2nd Semester schedule on Powerschool on Friday, December 8th. Most of our classes are year-long, however, several courses, especially electives, are semester-long. If your student has a new class for the second semester, please encourage them to prepare by knowing their teachers’ names, email addresses, and classrooms. Any student wishing to drop a year-long course with a passing grade will schedule an appointment with me. Additionally, I always want to use this time to push students to stay in challenging courses. As a reminder, AP Coursework is weighted, which means a 3 is a 2 on a transcript, a 2 is a 1, and a 1 is a 5.0. Elkhorn’s goal is not just to make a student eligible for college, rather to be ready for college - and taking challenging courses is one of the greatest reasons EHS grads see such high success rates in their post-high school education. I bring this up now as I am a firm believer in building student grit through rigorous high school courses to ensure they are ready for whatever life throws their way when they leave our halls!
Finals:
-Semester 1 Finals will take place on Tuesday 12/19 and Wednesday 12/20.
-Students will take semester finals for periods 1, 2, 3, and 4 on Dec. 19th & periods 5, 6, and 7 on Dec. 20th.
DAY 1 - Tuesday, December 19th, 2023
1st FINAL - 8:10-9:33
2nd FINAL - 9:37-11:00
4th Lunch/Study - 11:04-12:30
3rd FINAL - 12:34-1:55
4th FINAL - 1:59-3:20
DAY 2 - Wednesday, December 20th, 2023
5th Study - 8:10-9:33
5th FINAL - 9:37-11:00
4th Lunch/Study - 11:04-12:30
6th FINAL - 12:34-1:55
7th FINAL - 1:59-3:20
Both Final Testing Days are full days of school with the regular 3:20pm dismissal time.
Please encourage your student to plan and prepare for successful semester exams. We created a schedule that provides students built in study times over the lunch hour and at the start of Day 2 to avoid seven straight finals.
Early Finals: To ensure test security - EHS does not permit a student to take early finals without principal pre-approval. Parents will need to contact Mr. Schroeder (mschroeder@epsne.org) about an unavoidable absence. In most cases, a student who must miss finals will have to finish their finals on December 29th from 12:00pm-4:00pm or during the staff in-service on January 2nd, 2024 in the front office from 8am-Noon.
A Celebration: On Friday, November 10th - EHS honored 400 students for earning the honor roll as well as over 200 Elkhorn Excellence Award winners as nominated by staff. Congratulations to these students on a strong 1st quarter! Student honorees were recognized with a certificate, a school t-shirt, as well as an ice cream at lunch.
Upcoming Dates to Know:
-Friday 12.1: All EPS Foundation Scholarships Open for Seniors
-Friday 12.8: EHS NHS Still has 84 spots remaining for our annual BLOOD DRIVE
-Tuesday 12.19 & Wednesday 12.20: Semester 1 Finals
-Tuesday 1.2: Teacher In-Service - No School
-Wednesday 1.3: Semester 2 Begins for Students
-Monday 1.15: MLK Day, Teacher In-Service - No School
-Tuesday 4.9: Statewide PreACT/ACT for 9th-11th Grade; no school for Seniors this day
Thank you, and have a great December!
Mark Schroeder
Annual EHS Canned Food Drive Sponsored by DECA-FBLA-FCCLA
- Did you know that 20% of students in Douglas County don’t know where their next meal is coming from?
- DECA-FBLA-FCCLA are having their annual Canned Food Drive to benefit the Western Douglas County Food Pantry’s Food Basket Project.
- The drive is starting Monday, November 13th and runs until Friday, December 7th!
- Pack your student's book bag with any donation to bring to their TA teacher!
Mark your calendar! Save these dates.
12/8: Blood Drive with the Red Cross and NHS
12/19: Semester Finals
12/20: Semester Finals
12/21 Winter Break begins
1/3: Classes resume
1/15: No School, Teacher Inservice
2/14-15: Parent Teacher Conferences, Early dismissal (2:20 p.m.)
2/16: No classes, Teacher Inservice
2/17: No classes
3/15-3/22: Spring Break, No classes
Safe2Help for Students
Safe2Help is available to students K-12 in Nebraska. If you're struggling with an issue that affects someone's safety, crisis counselors are waiting to help, 24/7. Make an anonymous report by calling 833-980-SAFE (7233), downloading the app, or going to safe2helpne.org.
District Reminders from Elkhorn Public Schools
Elkhorn South Cheer Fundraiser
Elkhorn North H.S. Winter Junior Cheer Clinic
Junior Dance Clinic - Under the Sea
Silent Disco Night at EHS - 2 DJs!
Dancing, concessions, souvenirs, free photo booth, activities, and more! Each participant is loaned a pair of headphones to tune into/switch between one of two live DJs. Scan the qr code to get your ticket.
Career Fair
*Businesses are encouraged to join us to share information about their organization and/or information about current employment opportunities available to students.