BOE/District Highlights - December
Crete Elementary School
The 2nd grade team received a grant from the CPS foundation.
CES Celebrations Committee
The CES Celebrations Committee recently hosted the staff Christmas Party at the Perry enter on Doane's Campus. There was a social hour, followed by a delicious meal. Staff members were invited to bring a guest and approximately 100 people attened. Our Celebrations Committee members are Casidee Sommer, Joy Scheele, Chelsea Lee, Janet Carriker, Heather Wendelin, Carmen Hesser, Erin Schmidt, Brooke Ramel, Katie Bohling and Samantha Covert.
Preschool Curriculum Writing Process
The Preschool Team met with Dr. Hajek on November 27th during the PD day to work on the Curriculum Writing Process. During this time Dr. Hajek discussed the Marzano/Preschool connection and what it looks like in a preschool classroom. Then she had each member of the team reflect and share about new materials that are being piloted, the curriculum process itself and expectations for preschool students. Dr. Hajek end the sesion by having members start working on a vision for CPS Preschool. All team members shared that they enjoyed the work that done during the PD and that they look forward to continuing through this process.
Building Connections
Through our new MTSS Behavior process, the MTSS team has been looking at student data to see if there are students that need another level of support. One thing that we have identified with a few students is the need for them to have some 1 on 1 time with an adult, that is not their teacher, during the day. Janelle Vergith, our head custodian, is one of the adults in our building that volunteered to do this with students. Her and her check-in buddy recently built a Christmas Tree out of wood, painted and decorated it. The process took them about 2 weeks to complete and it is currently on display in the office! The classroom teacher of this student has shared that this time in the students day has made a significant difference in their social emotional behavior.
MAP and DIBELS Testing
All of the elementary students are taking DIBELS assessments for English language arts. The 1st and 2nd grade students are also doing the MAPS math and English Language Arts assessment. These assessments will be given during the month of December.
Teachers and administrators will review the data and prepare instruction and interventions for the rest of the school year based on the results. The goal is to use the professional development day on January 3rd to prepare for the second semester.
Crete Intermediate School
MAP and DIBELS testing
All intermediate students are taking the winter MAP and DIBELS assessments for math, English language arts and also science. These assessments will be given during the month of December and the first two weeks of January.
Teachers and administrators will review the data and prepare instruction and interventions for the rest of the school year based on the results. The goal is to use the professional development day on January 3rd to prepare for the second semester.
Lemonade War
The entire school read the book, Lemonade War, during the first semester as part of the “One Book, One School” activity. As a culminating project, the grade levels had their own lemonade war during recess. The students sold lemonade for $.50 a glass and the grade level who sold the most lemonade was able to choose the charity to receive the donation. The 5th graders won the lemonade war and donated almost $420 to the Capital Humane Society in Lincoln.
Food Drive
Thanks to all the students at Crete Intermediate students for donating canned food items or non perishable items to the local food bank. The students donated over 400 items and to celebrate, Mr. Coffey dressed up like a turkey during lunch.
Crete Intermediate is EXCELLENT!
The message to Crete Intermediate parents from Mrs. Fye:
Last week, the Nebraska Department of Education released the AQUeSTT classifications for all public schools in Nebraska. Crete Intermediate is among only 27% of the schools in the entire state to receive an excellent ranking. This is the highest classification that can be achieved. Several factors are included in our final classification:
Academic Achievement
Academic Progress
English Language Proficiency and Progress
Graduation Rate
School Quality or Student Success
Attendance
PROUD! PROUD! PROUD! I am so proud of our staff and students! To receive an excellent ranking is an honor, not easy to achieve and should be celebrated. This ranking is a direct result of our teachers’ dedication in preparing effective instruction, providing our students with a safe environment to learn and working relentlessly to ensure all students are being successful academically and behaviorally. Along with the amazing work of the staff, our students continue to have a growth mindset and work so hard everyday! Lastly, part of Crete Intermediate receiving this excellent ranking is that our chronic federal absenteeism rate was low last year. This means we only had approximately 30 students miss more than 10% of the school year (17 days or more). Thank you for making sure your child is in school unless they are sick or have other important appointments or events.
If you see a Crete Intermediate staff member, please take a moment to thank them for their hard work! They are truly providing our students with a world-class education.
Crete Middle School
Middle School Hosts Winter Concert
On December 5th, the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth-grade choirs performed in front of a large crowd of supportive school community members. Under the direction of Mrs. Bond and Mr. Wooten, each choir performed a handful of holiday festive music.
Teacher Grants awarded by the CPS Foundation
On Tuesday December 5th, the CPS Foundation awarded numerous Teacher Grants to teachers at CMS.
Pay It Forward Campaign By Ms. Bird
During the week of December 4th, CMS students participated in the "Pay It Forward" Campaign. Students and teachers were featured on the morning announcements telling their own personal pay it forward stories. The best story was featured at lunch on Friday.
Congratulation to Juan Diego Cardenas Loera for the best "Pay it Forward" story at CMS.
MAPs Testing underway at Middle School
All Middle School students are taking the winter MAP assessments for Math, English Language Arts and Science. These assessments will be given during the month of December.
Teachers and administrators will review the data and prepare instruction and interventions for the rest of the school year based on the results. The goal is to use the professional development day on January 3rd to prepare for the second semester.
Crete High School
FBLA Breakfast with Santa 2023
Cardinal Boys Wrestling
Cardinal Girls Wrestling
Boys Basketball
Adult Education/Federal Programs
CPS Adult Education #1 for December 2023
Nebraska PY23 Adult Education Snapshot
The program year 2023 Nebraska Adult Education Snapshot was released on Monday, December 11, 2023. This snapshot is a summary of state-wide performance across nine programs that cover all of Nebraska with WIOA Title II Adult Education services from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. Program year 2023 featured record high performance across Nebraska in multiple categories. The Crete program was a major contributer to this statewide success.
Crete Public Schools is the only WIOA Title II funded program administered through a Nebraska school district. With over 200 students served in PY23, Crete was the 7th largest program.
CCLC Family Events
Two upcoming CCLC family engagement events will celebrate student achievement, while enjoying the holiday season.
Middle School on December 15
Elementary on December 12
Instructional Programs
CPS EL Department
- We are currently in "Stage 1: Analysis". On October 30 and November 30, we completed an internal review. We reviewed our current practices, discussed NDE's suggested practices, and analyzed our current EL student data.
- In January, we will research best practices and discover whether any instructional shifts need to be made.
- In February, we will unpack NDE's English Language Proficiency Standards to determine the depth and breadth of understanding for students.
- And, by the end of the school year, we will draft an EL instructional vision which will align with the district mission and vision.
Student Services
Sixpence Team Attends Annual Networking Event in Kearney
On December 4th and 5th the Sixpence Team (Family Educators Yecenia Luna Rodriguez, Danielle Drevo, Lorena Mendez, and Program Coordinator Katie Bevins) attended the annual Sixpence Networking Event in Kearney. The Networking Event brings programs together from all over the state to review program data, engage in professional learning, and network with other programs.
Our Crete Sixpence Data Snapshot showed that during the 22-23 school year, our program served 38 children and 5 prenatal mothers. We made a huge jump in the number of families with at least 10 children's books in the home from 69% the previous year to 92% during the 22-23 school year. The number of books in the home is highly correlated to early literacy skills in children. Another highlight from our data showed that 93% of children made program goals for social emotional outcomes including self-regulation, attachment, and initiative as measured by the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment.
Danielle Drevo presented information about electronic documentation and organization of a Google site to all programs at the event. Our program has been utilizing these tools for over a year, and the efficiency we have gained has allowed us more direct time with children and families. Danielle's presentation was well received, and other programs asked lots of great questions!
Our team also participated in a professional learning session from Nebraska Growing Readers. NGR is a new statewide program that is designed to create access to relevant books for all children birth to age five regardless of location in the state. NGR aspires to cultivate a love of reading in communities by fostering an early love for books and shared reading, to develop "book gardens" across our state, and, most of all, to remind parents that they are their child's first teacher. NGR will hold writers workshops that allow educators to author and illustrate books with content relevant to their community and in languages other than English. These books can be printed in small batches and accessed easily on a mobile device through an electronic bookshelf. We are very excited about the opportunities this program will bring to our Crete families!