Raymond Central Public Schools
September 2022
From the Desk of the Superintendent...
Greetings! Two weeks ago we welcomed about 742 students to our campuses. The year is off to a great start! Our staff has worked hard to prepare the physical plant, organize the managerial pieces, and design the instructional elements for a successful start to the school year. The RC staff are highly energized and enthusiastic about the work ahead. We appreciate our parents/guardians who entrust us with their greatest treasures each and every day. Your continued help in making sure that your student(s) comes ready to learn and grow is critical. Building relationships with our students, parents/guardians, and patrons is an important part of creating an optimal learning environment. We will continue to focus on building relationships and reinforcing high expectations for student behavior and respectful consideration for others.
We are fortunate to have many familiar faces within the student body and the staff but there are also some new faces joining us in our journey. We are pleased to welcome the newcomers to our team. New staff members include:
Megan Alyward - Science
Jen Crees - Health Tech
Aiden Cronin - Paraeducator, Valparaiso
Hannah Evans - Kindergarten, Valparaiso
Kate Gralheer - Paraeducator, PK3
Elijah Hackbart - Industrial Technology
Riley Haug - Science
Jennifer Hoffschneider - Cook, Jr/Sr. High
Josh Karel - Spanish
Mark King - PE, Jr/Sr High School
Jaxn Kobza - Technology Director
Tony Kobza - Assistant Principal/AD, Jr/Sr High
Deb Kruse - Elementary Assistant Principal
Chelsea Larkins - PK3
Kristen Lovell - Paraeducator, Valparaiso
Julie Mueller - Paraeducator, Valparaiso
Stephen Oppliger - Bus Driver
Abby Rood - Band
Scott Shepard - Jr/Sr Principal
Nathan Sliva - Third Grade, Ceresco
Jacob Staroscik - Science
Bruce Theye - Van Driver
June Theye - Van Assistant
Clair Trenhaile - Speech Pathologist
Cheri Truax - Paraeducator, Ceresco
Kelly Tvrdy - First Grade, Ceresco
I am particularly excited about the opportunities that await us this year. These opportunities are a result of the hard work, dedication, and vision that continues to flourish in our learning community. The information that was gathered from our internal and external stakeholders in the Vision 2025 process serves as the roadmap for our continued work.
We will continue our work to review our long term facility needs. We will have our second patron meeting on Wednesday, August 31, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the findings that BVH architectural firm has found from their facility analysis and review of educational alignment. As a result of that work, BVH has identified elements that could contribute to facility options as we move forward into facility master planning.
Please take advantage of the opportunity to support your child in their educational endeavors. Be there for them, listen to them, and help them be problem solvers. We look forward to working with you to ‘make a great year.’
GO MUSTANGS!
Mrs. Lynn Johnson
STEM Class? What's that??
Band Update:
- High School Band traveled to Memorial Stadium to watch the Cornhusker Marching Band Exhibition Show on Aug. 19 (I think I sent you a picture from that one.)
- High School Band had their first pep band performance on Aug. 30 at the Varsity volleyball game (picture attached).
- High School Band will be traveling to Grand Island to perform at the Nebraska State Fair on Sept. 2.
- They will also have their first home football game performance on the same night, Sept. 2.
RC Activity Decals For Sale
A pic is attached.
Need some projects done?
You will be responsible for paying for materials.
Got a challenge? A project that you've been putting off? Contact Mr. Hackbart today!
Teammates/Amazon Smile Donation
Donating without spending any extra money may sound too good to be true but if you’re already an Amazon shopper, then welcome to AmazonSmile. Anyone with an Amazon account can shop through smile.amazon.com and donate 0.5% of their Amazon purchases to Raymond Central Teammates. The great thing about this is, that you do not donate your own money, the donation comes from Amazon!
“AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service,” according to the AmazonSmile website. The AmazonSmile website looks identical to the regular Amazon website, the only difference is that you’re making a difference with your purchases.
The donations raised through AmazonSmile will support student scholarships and background checks for mentors. Through your Amazon account, it is possible to track not only how much money you have personally donated to the cause but you can also see how much the organization as a whole has acquired through the program.
If you already shop at Amazon, please consider going through AmazonSmile. Very few items on the website are not AmazonSmile eligible.
To set up your donation, visit https://smile.amazon.com and search Teammates Mentoring Program Valparaiso, NE. If you are already supporting a program and would like to switch to TeamMates Mentoring Program, look for the yellow writing under the search box that says “supporting;” and selecting that will bring up an option to change.
Sign-up today at smile.amazon.com!
Teammates Wanted!!
Sixth-grade boy at RCHS would like a male mentor who enjoys reading, especially Harry Potter. He is interested in playing card games and board games and getting to know you better! This creative young man has been waiting for a mentor for nine months.
Fifth-grade boy at the Valparaiso site would like a mentor to hang out with. This young man enjoys drawing, and games and would have fun getting to know you better! This young man has been waiting for a mentor for six months.
Fifth-grade boy at the Valparaiso site would like a mentor who enjoys sports and outdoor activities. This young man would love to throw a football or play some hoops with you! He has been waiting for a mentor for six months.
Fifth-grade girl at the Valparaiso site would like a female mentor. This young lady enjoys all things arts and crafty, cooking and computers! She has been waiting for a mentor for six months.
Fourth-grade by at the Ceresco site would like a mentor. This young man enjoys football, being outside and helping others. He has seen mentors in the building since he was in second grade and requested to have an adult friend to hang out with him.
TeamMates is a school-based one-to-one mentoring program that matches screened, trained mentors with youth in grades 3-12. Mentors and mentees meet once a week at the mentee's school and focus on building a long-term relationship that ideally lasts until the mentee graduates from high school. If you have questions about the Mentor eligibility please contact the TeamMates Central Office at (402) 390-8326, Kris White at (402)-784-3301 or (402)-665-3651, or Tasha Osten at (402)-785-2685.
Order Your Yearbook NOW!
We had so much fun including everyone in the district last year that we are doing it again! All staff and students from Preschool to the Graduating Class of 2023 will be included in one beautiful book. If you have students in more than one building, you can buy one book and have everyone's photo included!
(Elementary yearbooks will still be available for families with only elementary students! Please contact the Elementary office if you would only like an elementary yearbook!)
The Journalism Team has already been working hard on a theme that we think you will love this year! Soooo...Don't delay!! Order your Yearbook TODAY!!!
Yearbook Order Forms for the 2022-2023 Yearbook are available in the office or in Mrs. E's room. There will be NO extra books ordered, so please make sure you get yours ordered now!
Pricing is as follows:
$50 per yearbook from August 17, 2022 to December 31, 2022
$60 per yearbook from January 1, 2022 to May 20, 2022
If you have multiple children and would like more than one yearbook:
$95 for two yearbooks until December 31, 2022
$140 for three yearbooks until December 31, 2022
NO discounts starting January 1, 2023
Senior/Business Ad space is also available! Please email:
rcentraljournalism@gmail.com for more information or with any questions!
SENIOR PARENTS--If you have not already done so, please email a senior photo and a baby photo of your graduating senior to: rcentraljournalism@gmail.com
Digital Citizenship with Youths--A Message from SCIP Nebraska
The online world has become increasingly dominant over the last few decades. Starting
from loosely connected chat rooms, it has grown into a vastly intricate network that dominates a
majority of all our social interactions. Youths today have never experienced a world without this
network. In fact, a third of all internet users are beneath the age of 18. Because of this, the
approach we take to practicing and teaching digital citizenship matters more than ever.
Digital Citizenship began in the 1990s, where it was used to describe internet
competency, and one’s ability to participate with society through the use of technology.
However, with the advent of the 2000’s, digital citizenship became more focused on internet
safety due to concerns of the older generations. Rumors ran rampant of the negative impact of
the internet on children, such as claims that it was lowering their test scores, increasing their
aggression, and hypersexualizing them at an early age. However, data doesn’t back up these
claims. For instance, SAT scores improved in Math and held constant in English until 2016,
when they both saw a massive improvement after the test’s redesign.
In her TED talk, “The Heart of Digital Literacy”, Anne Collier discusses how to approach
digital citizenship, given the mistakes that had been made with it in previous years. She places a
strong emphasis on respecting the digital citizen, and learning from them as one tries to teach
them about digital citizenship. Collier states that there were three main literacies to focus on and
to attempt to demonstrate to youth. The first is digital literacy, which is the competency with
which one utilizes the digital sphere. The second is social literacy. With the massive power of
social networking websites and apps, teaching children how to interact competently with others
online is a necessity. Finally, the third is media literacy. This is particularly relevant, as it is
one’s ability to read and assess the information presented to them and determine whether it is
trustworthy and reliable.
Using these pillars, it’s recommended that people experience the digital sphere with their
youths, in order to demonstrate proper digital citizenship directly. This may look like:
Listening, when they talk about newer interests, without expressing judgment.
Experiencing newer facets of their digital lives with them. Have them show you the apps
or games that they’re on, and ask them to teach you how to use the app or play the game
alongside them.
Expressing judgment of the content, rather than of the youth for viewing the content. For
instance, one might question an unreliable source in media, rather than criticizing a teen
for having watched the video that cited it.
For more information on Digital Citizenship, take a look at some of the resources that
Common Sense has published on their website:
https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship
Watch Collier’s TED Talk here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uww2XHnijKw
Watch Dr. Finkelhor’s lecture here:
School Community Intervention and PreventionSeptember 2022
SCIP is funded in part by: Lincoln Public Schools, United Way of Lincoln/Lancaster County, Region V Systems,
Nebraska DHHS: Division of Behavioral Health and Region 4 Behavioral Health System
https://www.ted.com/talks/keegan_korf_kid_you_posted_what_how_to_raise_a_digital_citizen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uww2XHnijKw
https://respons-ability.net/definition-digital-
citizenship/#:~:text=Digital%20citizenship%20has%20evolved%20from,literacy%2C%20to%20
use%20that%20technology.
https://blog.prepscholar.com/average-sat-scores-over-time
https://www.cigionline.org/publications/one-three-internet-governance-and-childrens-rights/