October News
Elkhorn High School
From the Desk of Mark Schroeder, Principal
EHS Parents/Guardians,
If you can believe it, we are already in week 7 of school. I cannot say enough how much I appreciate the efforts of your students and families in helping us get back to school, stay open, and resume our focus on being one of the strongest academic and extracurricular high schools in the state. As the year has progressed we have been able to not only resume in-person learning, but the incremental opening of athletics, activities, clubs, and even spectator attendance has all been possible due to students adhering to social distancing and keeping our positive case count low.
With this said, I know the uniqueness of this fall has been a challenge, and I hope your student is adjusting well. Please know you can always reach out to me with any questions or concerns moving forward.
One of my favorite aspects of this fall has been the opportunity to see the adaptability and innovation of our students. Homecoming cannot look the same? Kids create a virtual pep rally and a socially distanced coronation. All students cannot attend games? Games will be broadcast on STRIV and we will have student announcers on the mic. All of this in combination with a successful adaptation to a COVID classroom is further proof of how resilient the students you have sent us really are.
Last week saw our remote parent teacher conferences, which went pretty smoothly. I wanted to extend a special thank you to our teachers and counselors, who made a combined hundreds of phone calls to struggling learners over the course of conference week in addition to proctoring the ACT. This team has been asked to do a lot this fall and has handled it all in stride.
If you have not already, please consider completing the ZOOM PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES. We have made no determinations regarding how the next parent teacher conferences will look, but we want to always be reflective about our practices and your feedback is extremely helpful in this.
Moving forward, one of our biggest challenges will certainly be fatigue. With social distancing, mask wearing, and the like. I would implore students, staff, and families to continue pushing the importance of these protocols. Douglas County Health recently revised their quarantining procedures to reward mask-wearing. Starting last week, if a student tested positive but was appropriately wearing a mask, and the students they came into contact with were appropriately wearing masks, we no longer have to quarantine students who sit for 15 minutes or longer within 6’. Obviously, this would still result in quarantines for someone a student sits with unmasked at lunch or if the student is not wearing a mask appropriately, but this rewards our students for diligently wearing masks, which is a welcome change in procedure. If I could summarize it: because our students have done such a nice job with these new protocols, we have earned more opportunities to stay in school moving forward.
Doors Open at 7:45am and the Weather is Changing
I would like to offer some of our parents an opportunity to help with students who arrive early to school who have to wait outside for the doors to open. Students need to dress warmer as they wait for the doors. I would always suggest sweatshirts and layers. If you need to drop your child off at the school and they are waiting outside for more than 20-25 minutes because you work downtown or in an area of town where your commute is long and you need to be at work, I understand. When the weather gets cold, I will open the doors for students and they will either report to the gym or commons in assigned seats until 7:45 am. I want to help our parents who need the building open because standing outside in the elements for a prolonged period of time is unsafe but I will have to monitor who is inside and assign them seats. Please email me at mschroeder@epsne.org if your working situation and student drop off requires EHS to open the doors earlier for your student. Once I understand the numbers, I will make a seating chart in either location and hold your student accountable for being in that spot before school.
Some upcoming dates to be aware of:
-October 22nd - End of Quarter 1
-October 23rd - Teacher In-Service
Thank you again for all of your efforts as well as the efforts of your students this fall. Personally, I cannot wait to see full hallways, gyms, and bleachers again - but I have no doubt our persistence this year’s policies has gone a long way towards that goal.
Have a great one, please let me know what I can do for your family.
Go Antlers!
Mark Schroeder
INTERVENTIONS
As students progress through the year, they will develop study habits and routines. I am always appreciative of how much time our students spend studying, writing, and preparing. Undoubtedly, this will benefit them extensively in college and beyond.
With three weeks until the end of quarter one, I wanted to take this time to introduce families to some interventions for struggling learners you may not have previously been aware of:
Guided/Math/SAT Study Halls:
The Guided Study Program is an intervention for students who need additional academic support during the school day. The Guided Study program operates in addition to traditional study halls. Regular education students are placed in Guided Study Hall or Math Study Hall after a student has received two or more grades of 5 on a mid-term, quarter, or semester grade report. Students on the Student Assistance Team (SAT) will report to a SAT Study Hall, which operates similarly to GSH and MSH. Certified teachers and a teacher assistant work with the guided study students to encourage them to organize their work and improve their study habits, monitor student progress by reviewing mid-term reports and grades via PowerSchool, monitor usage of the student agenda for assignments, insist that students are engaged in constructive work each day, communicate with classroom teachers regarding student progress, provide academic support and assistance as needed and reinforce the importance of education.
Increased grades and long-term success can result in a student returning to a traditional study hall and exiting one of our guided study hall programs.
8th Hour:
The Student Assistance Team continues to offer a structured study environment after school, complete with tutors and teachers. Any student is welcome to stop by and seek help, get caught up on assignments, or form study groups. While students are encouraged to attend on their own, we are requesting help from parents to encourage or even require their student's attendance. If students get behind in their classes, attendance may become required by the school in an effort to hold students accountable for their learning. The 8th Hour is held in the Media Center Monday-Thursday from 3:30-4:30. In addition to 8th Hour, Elkhorn High School will often place students in Academic After Hours. Academic After Hours sessions run weekly on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 3:30-6:30pm. This sustained block of time affords students a quiet, academic-focused area to complete missing assignments or prepare for upcoming assessments.
Mentor Program:
Elkhorn High School’s National Honor Society helps to facilitate a student mentoring program for students struggling with specific classes. If your student is really having a hard time with Algebra, Biology, Spanish 2, etc. and they believe they would benefit from increased one on one instructional time, please have them check with their counselor about perhaps setting up a mentor.
TA Fails Tracking:
Every Tuesday during our Teacher Advisor time in 2nd period, teachers will be provided a list of students currently failing any courses. Teachers will take this time to follow up with students regarding plans to reach out to teachers, etc. Our goal is helping students to focus on struggling classes as early and often as possible, as well as to get as many adults as we can in the building to work for your student.
Thank you for looking into these interventions. This spring and fall (the whole year, really) have been difficult but we will continue to work tirelessly on interventions to help your students mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their schooling. I want to thank you for all of your time and efforts as well.
Congratulations to these hard working EHS students who have been named National Merit Semi-finalists. We are so proud of you!
Tourin O'Rourke
Kayli Pham
Hudson Windrum
Zoe Zimmerman
ALL STUDENTS! Order Yearbooks before the price goes UP!
HERE is the link!
- Yearbook Order Forms
- Senior photo submission forms
- Senior Yearbook Tribute
- Be sure to submit orders by the due dates!
EHS Athletics and Activities, October News
EHS Guidance Counseling Center, October News
COLLEGE PLANNING IS NOT JUST FOR SENIORS
Hale Happenings
From Our Nurse
Having Issues Getting to EPS Online Resources?
Follow the EPS Technology Department on Twitter.
The EPS Technology Department recently created a new Twitter account to help keep parents and students informed of any technology platform outages. Get updates by following @ElkhornPS_Tech on Twitter.
GOOGLE CLASSROOM GUARDIAN EMAIL SUMMARIES
Starting Tuesday, September 8th, guardians will be able to receive email summaries about their student’s activity in Google Classroom. Guardians will receive an email invitation on September 8th and will need to accept the invitation in order to receive Google Classroom email summaries. Email summaries do not include grades.
In email summaries, you can review:
Missing work—Work not turned in when the summary was sent.
Upcoming work—Work that’s due today and tomorrow (for daily emails) or that’s due in the upcoming week (for weekly emails).
Class activities—Announcements, assignments, and questions recently posted by teachers.
If there’s no activity to report or if a teacher turns off email notifications, you might not get an email summary.
Please click on this link for more information.Elkhorn Public Schools Foundation - Bids For Kids
Read more: https://www.elkhornfoundation.org/2020/bids-4-kids-virtual-auction-raises-over-36000-for-elkhorn-public-schools-math-reading-intervention-programs/
Employment Opportunities
Make a Difference with the Elkhorn Public Schools!
The Elkhorn Public School District is currently hiring teacher assistant/paraprofessionals for the 2020-2021 school year in our elementary and secondary settings. EPS is seeking caring and collaborative individuals with a desire to help students achieve.
· Family friendly hours – follows the school day and calendar
· Competitive pay ($15.15/$15.65)
· Rewarding working environment
Apply at www.elkhornweb.org
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION – EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The Elkhorn Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, veteran status, national or ethnic origin, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, child birth or related condition, or any other category protected by law in its education programs, administration, policies, employment or other district programs.
It is the intent of the Elkhorn Public Schools to comply with both the letter and spirit of the law in making certain discrimination does not exist in its policies, regulations, operations or employment practices. Grievance procedures have been established for anyone who feels discrimination has been shown by Elkhorn Public Schools. These procedures can be obtained from the Executive Director of Personnel.
Inquiries concerning the application of the Elkhorn Public Schools’ policy of nondiscrimination should be directed to the Executive Director of Personnel, 20650 Glenn Street, Elkhorn, NE 68022, (402)289-2579.