Raymond Central Newsletter
March 2018
Elementary Parent-Teacher Conferences
Work Scheduled to Begin on N-79 Raymond Road to Valparaiso
The Department of Transportation project manager is Robert Sanburn of Lincoln. Motorists can expect delays, reduced speed, and are asked to drive cautiously through construction zones.
Plant Sale Through Janet's Jungle
Raymond Central Public Schools will be hosting its sixth annual Plant Sale! All proceeds from the sale will be used to help fund guest speakers, authors and retreats for students.
Plants can be preordered March 12-April 6. All elementary students will have order forms/packets sent home Tuesday March 13. Orders may also be placed online at the following web address: www.janetsjungle.com. (RCPS is charged a processing fee for online orders.)
Orders can be prepackaged for a $5.00 fee per order form. Families may find this helpful if they are picking up multiple orders. Simply add $5.00 to the total and write “prepackage” below the total. Prepackaged orders will be in the lunchroom to pick up on Saturday, April 29.
The sale and pick up will take place Saturday, April 28, 2018 from 9am-2pm in the Valparaiso Elementary gym. Presold plant orders are guaranteed through 12noon. Plants not picked up will be considered a donation to the open sale.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kendra Carlson or Kris White at 402-784-3301.
Thank you for your support.
From the Desk of Dr. Joel...
Is anyone else excited to see the cold, snow, ice and wind go away? It is never an ideal situation to cancel or delay the start of school, however, it is important that we provide time for road crews to complete the necessary work to ensure safe travel. Thank you for your support of keeping our students safe on the roads to and from school.
I would like to say THANK YOU to Ceresco students, teachers, and parents for making the most out of their day on Monday, February 19. Omaha Public Power District made it near impossible to determine when power was going to be restored due to issues with ice and wind. When the decision to have school was made, OPPD was reporting power would be restored by 10 AM. Since power did not come back until late afternoon, students and staff at Ceresco had school with no lights, access to technology, or a functional kitchen. As I spent time in the building that morning, both students and teachers were hard at work to ensure no instructional minutes were wasted. It was a day they will never forget and is another example of why Raymond Central is a FANTASTIC school district and one I am proud to be part of.
Once again our nation experienced a tragic incidence of school violence. I know our collective thoughts and prayers are with the students, parents, staff, and community members of Parkland, Florida. Raymond Central’s commitment to provide a safe environment for our students and staff remains a daily priority. In February, the Raymond Central Safety and Crisis Committee attended a Nebraska Department of Education Threat Assessment Workshop. The focus for the committee is to adopt the “I Love You Guys” K-12 standard response protocol. Our goal is to standardize the safety and crisis vocabulary so all stakeholders can understand the response and status of the event. For students, this provides continuity of expectations and actions throughout their educational career. For teachers, this becomes a simpler process to train and drill. For first responders, the common vocabulary and protocols establish a greater predictability that persists through the duration of an incident. Parents can easily understand the practices and can reinforce the protocol. As the district works towards adoption of the “I Love You Guys” protocol, it is important for us to carefully listen to students and emphasize that we are a caring school district and everyone has an important role in maintaining a safe school environment.
If you or your student see or hear something that needs to be reported, please do not hesitate to contact the appropriate school site. The Raymond Central administration and counselors are committed to keeping our students safe and are here to listen when issues arise.
Have a wonderful March,
Dr. Joel
Important Dates for March Activities
March 7th - Spring sports pictures 3:30pm - track, 3:45pm - Baseball
March 12th - District Speech @ RC
March 15th/16th - Malcolm Music Contest
March 15th - Baseball vs DC West - 1st game
March 17th - Track @ Doane - 1st meet
March 17th - Class C All State Honor Band
March 20th - FFA Alumni Article/Labor Sale
March 22nd - State Speech @ Kearney
March 24th - Regional DI @ RC
March 26th - NHS induction ceremony
High School Art
Spanish Club Offers Help With Backpack Program
SkillsUSA Members Visit Elementary Schools
The More You Know
Traditions of Saint Patrick’s Day:
Shamrock shakes from McDonald’s
Irish Band Music
The snake
Corned beef and Cabbage
The Leprechaun
Shamrocks
Wearing green
Facts of Saint Patrick’s Day:
St. Patrick stood on a hilltop with only a staff in his hand and banished all the snakes from Ireland
Saint Patrick was not even Irish
At 16, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders
Saint Patrick died on March 17, 461
He was honored as the patron Saint of Ireland
The celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day with parades began in America
The first parade was in New York in 1762
Destination Imagination
Destination Imagination is in full swing for the 2017-18 school year. Starting this year, we are excited to offer sixth graders the opportunity to partake in Destination Imagination.
This year there are two teams that are putting their creative and problem-solving skills to work. There were several challenges to choose from: Scientific, Engineering, Fine Arts, Improv, Service Learning and Technical. These teams have been working on their team building skills as well as working with a budget. Each of the teams get to choose two team choice elements, that show off their interest, skills, areas of strength and special talents. Each challenge has two parts. Part one is the Team Challenge, where the team gives their performance in front of friends and family. Part two is the Instant Challenge, where the team gets a challenge and tries to come up with a quick solution in a short period of time.
The group of girls calling themselves team “Scarlet Guard” ` has chosen the Fine Arts challenge “Change of Tune.” This group of 7th graders must use music and lyrics to tell a story. In this challenge the team must create and present a two-act Musical that tells a story. At some point during their performance, the tune must change and provide a second act. This team has been working diligently on this challenge.
The second team that is being creative and putting their problem-solving skills to the test, is team “5 Musketeers.” This team has chosen the challenge: “Drop Zone”. In this challenge, the team must build a structure using only wood, glue, fishing line and/or latex free rubber bands. The structure has some strict guidelines that must be followed. During their eight-minute performance, free weights will be dropped from a certain height, to see if their structure can handle the impact without breaking under the force. This team has a couple of surprises, they have brought in a couple of Raymond Central 5th graders. This team has also been working diligently on their challenge.
On March 24, 2018, Raymond Central High School will be hosting our regional tournament. Please come and see what these students have accomplished. The competition will start at 9 am and continue through 4 pm. When a team qualifies for the next competition, which will be Affiliate Finals in Kearney at UN-K on April 7, 2018. If a team qualifies for the final step in Destination Imagination, that team will be able to participate at Global Finals in Knoxville, Tennessee. That competition will be held May 22-26, 2018.
If you see any of these following students, please wish them “good luck” in their upcoming competition.
Team Scarlet Guard
Jaden Kohl 7th
Aleyna Cuttlers 7th
Addison Kottas 7th
Team 5 Musketeers
Ashton Anderson 6th
Blake Richter 6th
Robert Ortiz 6th
Colten Wiese 5th
Caleb Redstrom 5th
High School Counselor Calendar
March 6th Mini College Fair- JATC Electrical, CUNE, Creative Center, Bryan, UNMC, Northwest Missouri State, Marines
March 9th Deadline to register for April National ACT
March 10th 9-noon Seniors Scholarship Saturday worktime breakfast provided
March 15th Local Scholarships Due
March 21st Transition Fair- more details to come from Mrs. Benes and Ms. Osten
March 28th 8th grade Career Field Trip to UNL East Campus
April 2nd NO SCHOOL Easter break
April 3rd State ACT for juniors at RC (DO NOT MISS SCHOOL)
April 3rd Freshman College Visit
April 3rd Sophomore College Visit
April 3rd Junior High Health Fair
April 3rd Senior Field Trip
April 19th Mini College Fair- JATC Electrical, CUNE, SCC
May 12th Graduation
Dual Credit Registration for Fall 2018
Southeast Community College: Dual Credit Advantage program (options are online, Mrs. Newman- PreCal/Calc, Mrs. Evevoldsen - English Comp) and SENCAP courses (online or Mr. Carriker's courses). Registration will be during study hall in April.
UNL Nebraska NOW- Online only through UNL. Here is the link. https://admissions.unl.edu/specialized-information/nebraska-now/ Through this link you will be able to see the courses they offer. These can change each semester and may still be updated through this summer.
Peru State- online only. https://admissions.unl.edu/specialized-information/nebraska-now/ is the link to their information. They offer the basic general education courses.
John Baylor Test Prep for April 3rd ACT.
All juniors have been signed up for online John Baylor ACT prep. Emails with the link have been send to each student's Raymond Central email, last September. If you don't know the rcentral email you need to see Mr. Marsh. Your password for John Baylor Prep is mustangs17. This ACT Prep has over 10 video lessons in the subject areas regarding the test. Let me know if you have issues logging in once you have accessed the website. http://www.ontocollege.com/ is the link.
Teammates Mentor of the Month
March's Teammates Mentor of the Month is Barb Ohnoutka. She assists with the Pre-K program and has shared some insight on the Teammates program and her experiences with it. When asked what impact Ohnoutka has seen on students and mentors that have joined the program, she responded, "the biggest impact I've seen on the mentees is their improved social skills with peers and adults. I've watched mentees go from being the disrupt-er of the classroom or on the side-lines at recess, to appropriately interacting with their peers and improving in their academics. Mentors are inspired to be a positive role model through the Teammates Program. I believe that when a mentor has the opportunity to be around the mentee and their peers, it enlightens them to the social issues within a classroom and how valuable this program is to kids and Raymond Central."
Ohnoutka elaborated on how Teammates has benefitted her personal life by creating that opportunity to make a career change and become the Pre-K Para for Raymond Central.
Her advice to future mentors is to set aside those ideas to be ready to fix a child, "rather be the ears and heart that the kid needs. Find what the mentee wants to get better at doing and be the catalyst. Be attentive, nonjudgmental, consistent with meetings and you will see that they want to go from surviving to thriving."
Central Cooks
Kindness Retreat
About Us
Email: rcentraljournalism@gmail.com
Website: www.rcentral.org
Phone: 4027852685
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RaymondCentralHS/
Twitter: @RC_Mustangs