Burke Bulldog Weekly Update
Important information and updates for learning
Message from Principal Rasmussen
Dear Burke High Families,
Our hearts go out to those impacted by the tornado on Friday, April 26. It was heartbreaking to see the devastation in the eastern and western parts of our city. There are many opportunities in our community to assist supporting those families that were impacted.
Congratulations to our newest members of our Burke National Honor Society. We had a nice Induction ceremony on Sunday, April 28. We inducted 36 new members and they are all outstanding representatives of Burke who are already living the Pillars of National Honor Society.
We start the week of May this week and it will be a marathon of events and activities leading up to our graduation on May 23 at 9:00 a.m. at Baxter Arena. Please encourage our students to finish strong!
Strive for 95 is our district focus and effort to increase the number of students reaching 95% attendance or higher (missing 9 days or less throughout the school year).
Research states that students who miss less than nine days of school each year are more likely to stay engaged, be successful and remain on track to graduate. Chronic absence (missing 10% or more of school) is an early warning sign that students are at risk of not reading proficiently by the end of third grade, struggling academically in middle school and dropping out of high school. Attend. Aspire. Graduate.
As always, we have an open door here at Burke High School and value your feedback. It will be important for all of us to stay connected as we continue through the school year.
If you have questions about school, feel free to contact us at 531-299-2580.
Go Bulldogs!
We are providing updated information to this link weekly to help keep our students and families informed of information related to Burke High School and student learning for the 2023-2024 school year. We hope you find it to be a valuable resource.
2024 Prom Court
Burke High 2024 Prom Court
Burke Theatre and Music Departments Present Hairspray
Burke Theatre and Music put on a great show with their spring musical Hairspray! We had tremendous support from our community at the 3 productions on April 5-6-7. We have amazing talent here at Burke in our award winning performing arts department!
Congratulations to Junior Lea Hanson; State EDRising President
Congratulations to junior Lea Hanson for being selected as President of the Nebraska EdRising. She is a leader in our school and within the State of Nebraska. We are proud of Lea and her accomplishments.
The Senior Letter Outlines Important Dates For Senior Students and Families
Our "Senior Letter" is available to download or view. This document outlines the important dates and deadlines for our seniors. We are attaching a PDF to download for future reference.
The Burke Beat Student Online Newspaper
Stay up to date with what our Newspaper students are doing by clicking on the following link to access The Burke Beat!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SENIORS
Seniors go-to information link from our school counselors is here within the Senior Newsletter: https://www.smore.com/pv6cb
We will include snips of important information as the year progresses.
Orders can be taken online at the following link:
Let's Celebrate The Class of 2024
THURSDAY, MAY 23: COMMENCEMENT 9:00 a.m., UNO Baxter Arena. Graduates should be in assigned seats wearing cap and gown at the Arena by 8:15 a.m. for final directions. Processional starts promptly at 8:50 a.m.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22: COMMENCEMENT REHEARSAL – Seniors should report to the UNO Baxter Arena from 8:15 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 22 to assemble into assigned seats. This is a full rehearsal and attendance is mandatory for graduates. Seniors should exit the UNO Baxter Arena immediately following rehearsal.
COMMENCEMENT SPECTATORS – Burke High's graduation ceremony will be Thursday, May 23 at 9:00 a.m. inside Baxter Arena. The address is 2425 South 67th Street in Omaha. Attendees will not need a ticket to enter the event.. If family members or guests have special needs, such as wheelchair access or a sign language interpreter for Commencement, please call Ms. Michele Stogdill at 531-299-3894 by April 29. The Commencement will also be live-streamed for those unable to attend.
School Calendar for 2024-2025 Is Available
For our advanced planners, we are attaching the Omaha Public Schools Calendar for 2024-2025.
New Cell Phone Expectations Across All Instructional Classes
Dear Burke High Families
The students of the Omaha Public Schools all have been provided an iPad with wifi access to support learning in our classrooms. Our students have become familiar with the use of the iPad and the applications that are available to support learning and are doing a wonderful job. Our teachers and students are utilizing our district provided devices to engage students in learning. These provided devices include safeguards to reduce use for non-school purposes.
The use of cell phones in our classrooms and other personal electronic devices are not needed for instructional purposes and often times create frequent distractions to our students. We are not alone with addressing the challenges that personal cell phones and other electronic devices create in our instructional spaces. We began rolling out cell phone expectations in March of 2023 so most of our students and families understand the expectations for cell phone use.
Beginning this school year, Burke High will implement cell phone expectations and practices in all of our instructional classrooms. We are sending this communication to our families in advance so we can begin to work together to help our students and families have conversations about this new practice.
Classrooms will have a designated area within the room that is safe and visible if a student does not have a backpack or space that will keep their device off their person. Teachers will have professional judgment to determine if access to cell phones will be allowed and beneficial at any point during the instructional time and will communicate those expectations to our students.
The expectation of students entering the classroom is that personal cell phones and non-district electronic devices are put away in their backpack on silent or powered off. These devices should not be visible to the student or teacher. This includes ear buds or headphones.
If a student is accessing a personal electronic device during the instructional period without permission from the teacher, the following sequence of interventions will be applied. Compliance with any step along the way will prevent movement to the next step.
1. Teachers will ask students to place their electronic devices in the designated visible and safe location within the classroom. These will be numbered and align with student seating in the classroom.
2. Teacher will contact the assigned Dean of Students and the device will be collected and held in the Assistant Principal’s office for the remainder of the day. If the student refuses to turn over the device, the student will be removed from the classroom and our school will contact parents/guardians if this intervention is necessary.
3. If habitual non-compliance with these expectations leads to frequent disruptions to learning, teachers will refer the student to his/her administrator to work with the student and family to determine a personalized plan to meet the expectations.
Let us reiterate that our goal is not to confiscate cell phones and create additional power struggles with students and families. Our goal is to preserve the best instructional learning environment that we can and we believe that students will perform better, achieve at higher levels, and have better learning experiences in our classrooms.
This is where we need our parents/guardians help and support. Ensure communication between the parents and students during the school day goes through the attendance office or main office, such as reminders for appointments or changes in plans for after school. Students will still be allowed to use cell phones during passing periods and during the lunch periods, but the timeliness of response from your student may decrease from what you may have experienced in the past. Our attendance office can be reached at 531-299-2588 or via email at Burke-attendance@ops.org
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns via email (Darren.Rasmussen@ops.org) or phone 531-299-6831. Thank you for supporting Burke High and being a partner in the success of all of our students.
Sincerely,
Darren Rasmussen
Principal
Frequently Asked Questions about our Cell Phone Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions about our Cell Phone Expectations
1. What about smartwatches? Smartwatches should not become a distraction from directing attention to our classroom teachers or classroom learning environment. They should be on silent mode while in classroom instructional spaces. We will work with our families if these devices become a distraction for individual students.
2. Are we requiring students to put cell phones in the classroom pockets upon entering the classroom? No. We are encouraging students to put their phones in their personal bags FIRST. A phone only goes into the wall pocket if they choose OR if the student must be redirected.
3. What about hallways and restrooms? Cell phones must be put away while students are on restroom breaks or on “passes” during the instructional blocks. Cell phones may be used before and after school, during the passing periods throughout the school day and in the cafeteria during lunch times. If students are using their cell phones in the hallways or restrooms during instructional blocks, they will be escorted to their classroom and asked to place their phones in the classroom pocket until the end of that instructional block.
4. What about during Homeroom? Cell phones must be put away during our daily Homeroom advisory time and have the same expectations as our instructional classroom spaces.
5. Can I have my earbuds in while my phone is off? We are asking students to put their earbuds away in a safe space during instructional class times.
6. Can students have cell phones during evacuation drills? Yes, our goal is to reduce distractions and preserve instructional time. Evacuation drills are already a disruption to the instructional time, so using them as a technology break is okay.
7. What if I do not have a backpack to store my cell phone? This would be a great opportunity to use the cell phone pockets within each classroom. Cell phones need to be on silent and out of visible sight of the student and teacher during instructional times, or in the safe, visible space within our classrooms.
8. As a parent, what if I need to get in touch with my child during the school day? Ensure communication between the parents and students during the school day goes through the attendance office or main office, such as reminders for appointments or changes in plans for after school. Students will still be allowed to use cell phones during passing periods and during the lunch periods, but the timeliness of response from your student may decrease from what you may have experienced in the past. Our attendance office can be reached at 531-299-2588 or via email at Burke-attendance@ops.org
9. What if my Ipad is lost or the battery is dead? It will be important for students to charge their Ipads nightly. Charging student Ipads at night should become a routine for students as we have limited charging spaces throughout the day.
Extracurricular Activity Fees Waived for 2023-2024
On Monday, Aug. 7, our Board of Education approved waiving extracurricular
activity fees for the 2023-24 school year. Therefore, all students can receive
an activity card at no charge. Our district will provide each secondary school
with funding to account for this change.
We recommend that families submit an Educational Benefits Form to receive
additional services and benefits they may have previously obtained with the
free and reduced form.
Credit Card Processing Coming Soon to Activities
Beginning this fall, Omaha Public Schools secondary schools will accept credit and debit cards for gate admissions and concessions stands at extracurricular events. We know many of our community members have asked for this service. We are excited to offer this new opportunity to spectators. We appreciate your patience while we work to train our staff and get the proper equipment installed.
Burke Bell Schedule for 2023-2024
2023 - 2024 School Calendar
Academic Support and On-Line Tutoring Now Available
Important Calendar Items
April 20 - Prom held at Creighton University
April 28 - National Honor Society Induction 2:00 p.m.
May 8 - Senior Last Day
May 13 - Senior Honors Night 7:00 p.m.
May 23 - No School for Student so we can celebrate with our 2024 Graduates and Families
May 23 - Burke Graduation at Baxter Arena 9:00 a.m. (No School for Students)
Free Breakfast and Lunch is provided for all students
Breakfast begins in our school cafeteria as early as 6:55 a.m. and students are assigned a lunch period within their schedule.
Standard Response Protocols for Emergency Situations
Safety is everyone's responsibility!
If you or someone you know is in need of support, or you would like to report a safety concern, Safe2Help Nebraska Hotline is available 24/7 at 531-299-SAFE or Safe2Help Nebraska.
Infinite Campus Parent Portal Access
Online Payment Options within Omaha Public Schools
Online Payment is a reliable and secure electronic payment processing solution for fees and fines transactions. The Infinite Campus Online Payment has been launched and parents or guardians can set up a payment method and select fees to pay through their Campus Parent Portal account.
Parents or guardians must have a Campus Parent account to do this. If a parent or guardian needs to set up their account, they should contact their child's school. Please contact our school at 531-299-2580 for information on setting up the Campus Parent Portal Account if you haven't done so.
Omaha Burke High School
Website: https://burke.ops.org/
Location: 12200 Burke Blvd, Omaha, NE, USA
Phone: 531-299-2580
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OPSBurkeHigh/
Twitter: @OPS_Burke