China Presentation

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On Monday, January 23rd, Bev Wellnitz was at Hay Springs Elementary to give our students a presentation about China. Accompanying Mrs. Wellnitz as an observer was Mrs. Jeanie Snyder, who taught for 28 years before retiring. Bev read the kids a book about China, passed around some chopsticks for the kids to look at, and spoke about the Chinese zodiac. Each year of the 12 year Chinese Zodiac cycle is represented by a certain animal and many Chinese believe that a person’s personality traits are determined by that animal. The students also learned about the Chinese New Year which is on January 22nd and how this year is the year of the rabbit. Several short videos were shown to the kids as well, the first about “pinyin”, the art of paper cutting. The second video was about how about silk material is produced from silkworm cocoons. The last video was about Chinese shadow art or shadow puppetry. And what presentation about China would be complete without forturne cookies for the audience?  Thank you Mrs. Wellnitz and Mrs. Snyder!

Strategic Planning Survey

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Hay Springs Public Schools will be taking part in Strategic Planning this year, similar to what our district did last year. We are partnering with the Nebraska School Boards Association again this year and will be sending out surveys to the parents whose email addresses that we have on file. We ask you to take the survey and share your view point on all aspects of our district.

Employees, Board Members, Parents and Students (5-12) will be provided the opportunity to take the survey starting on January 23rd. The school district will utilize the feedback from the surveys to set goals to keep improving the educational process and experience for our students. Names of those who take the survey will not be shared with the school.

Thank you for your support of Hay Springs Schools, and thank you for giving us your perspectives on how we are doing. If you have any questions, please contact me.

Sincerely,
George Clear

Trout In The Classroom

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On Thursday, January 12th, the fifth grade class received our Rainbow Trout eggs! We received approximately 100 eggs from Nebraska Game & Parks as part of the Trout in the Classroom program. We will raise them in our classroom tank until April when we will release them at the pond at Chadron State Park.

Equine Therapy

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To the Lakota people the Sunjkawakhan(horse) is a four legged friend and companion that provided transportation, friendship, and pride. The horse is revered in Sioux culture for its grace and courage. On Thursday, January 19th, Hay Springs Elementary students had the opportunity to learn about the impact the horse has had on Lakota culture and the impact the horse is making today in the area of mental health. Patty Coleman, an equine therapy specialist with St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota, developed the school’s equine therapy program from scratch and has enjoyed watching the program grow and positively impact youth of all ages. Patty discussed with students a horse’s ability to listen and make no judgments which allows students to make a deep connection, process their emotions and become much more productive in and out of the classroom.

 

Busy Kindergarteners

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Kindergarten is exploding with excitement! We are adding, subtracting, working on our shapes (2D and 3D) as well as reading CVC(consonant vowel consonant) words and writing stories. Each week we study new spelling words and learn 3-5 new vocabulary words. So if you see a Kinder please ask them what they have been learning and be prepared to have a great conversation! Ms. Meeks is super proud of all of her Kinders!

First Grade Receives Grant To Study Food Sources

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First grade applied for and was awarded a $100 grant through the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation to study where our food comes from and where it is produced in Nebraska. Our first lesson this week was about milk. We learned about a dairy farm and milking machines in Diller, Nebraska. Locally we also were fortunate to have community member Megan Reimann send us a video about how to care for and milk a dairy cow! She also sent us fresh cows milk. It was very interesting to see the difference between fresh milk and store bought!

We also used some of our grant money to buy the ingredients to make homemade ice cream in a bag! Our main reading story this week was “From Cows to You.” We are able to tie in our Agriculture in the Classroom activities to include reading and social studies content as well!

Our curriculum has 10 different food items raised and produced in Nebraska so be looking for more updates!

 

MS Excel State Champion

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Hay Springs Public School had two students complete the Microsoft Excel 2019 certification tests, Lillian Dorshorst and Brooke Winter. Both are now certified for life. One of our students is the State Champion in Microsoft Excel 2019 test. She will be moving on to the National competition in June. Lillian Dorshorst we are very proud of you!

4th Graders Hit The Oregon Trail

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4th graders started the quarter by traveling the Oregon Trail through Nebraska. We started at the Little Blue River where we ate Skeeter cakes (cornmeal pancakes with mosquitos in them, really it was flax seed). Next we traveled to Ft. Kearney where we accidentally pulled water hemlock (poison) and ate it killing 3 wagon members. Windlass Hill and Ash Hallow were very beautiful and had refreshing water but some of our wagons got stumped (rolled down the hill and crashed). One family even had a new baby here, which they named Ash. At Jailhouse and Courthouse Rock we saw rattlesnakes and tried hardtack. Our next stop was Chimney Rock were we learned to make a toy named a “humdinger”. Our last stop is Scott’s Bluff. Hopefully, we can finish through Nebraska without digging any more graves!