Week Of The Young Child

Dear parents and families,
This week, April 16th- April 20th, is The Week of the Young Child. The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. NAEYC first established the Week of the Young Child in 1971, recognizing that the early childhood years (birth through age 8) lay the foundation for children’s success in school and later in life. This week allows us to celebrate early learning, young children, their teachers, and families. We will be participating in activities each day in our classroom and I will be sharing these with you through the school website and Facebook page, as well as posting pictures outside of our classroom. Please join in by participating in activities with your child at home!

Music Monday! April 16, 2018
Sing, dance, celebrate, and learn

Through music, children develop math, language, and literacy skills-all while having fun and being active
TRY THIS: Find the beat to connect music, movement, and math. Practice clapping, drumming, or stomping to the beat of the music while counting.

Tasty Tuesday April 17, 2018
Healthy eating and fitness at home and school

This fun, food-themed day is about more than just cheese and crackers. Cooking together connects math with literacy skills, science, and more. With the rise in childhood obesity, you can encourage healthy nutrition and fitness habits at home and in the classroom.
TRY THIS: Measure your ingredients while making your snacks! Ask children if they’d like the same or different amounts of each ingredient.

Work Together Wednesday April 18, 2018
Work together, build together, learn together

When children build together they explore math and science concepts and develop their social and early literacy skills. Children can use any building material—from a fort of branches on the playground to a block city in the classroom, or a hideaway made from couch pillows at home.
TRY THIS: Practice organizing blocks by size! Try building a block tower with large blocks on the bottom and little blocks on top!

Artsy Thursday April 19, 2018
Think, problem solve, create

Children develop creativity, social skills and fine motor skills with open-ended art projects where they can make choices, use their imaginations, and create with their hands. On Artsy Thursday celebrate the joy and learning children experience when engaged in creative art making. Use any materials—from crayons to paint, clay to crafts!
TRY THIS: Bring art outdoors! Offer dark and light paper, chalk and pastels, and suggest children create their own versions of the day and night sky!

Family Friday April 20, 2018
Sharing family stories

Engaging and celebrating families is at the heart of supporting our youngest learners. NAEYC applauds family members’ role as young children’s first and most important teachers. Since we do not have school on Fridays, this would be a great day to plan an activity as a family!

Horses, Ducklings, Chicks and Dogs – Oh My!

We have had some very exciting Show and Tell times in afternoon preschool this year! It has been great to see the show and tell process grow throughout the year. During show and tell time the listeners practice their listening skills by being quiet and respectful while the student shares and then they ask questions. We first had to learn exactly what a question was, rather than sharing our own stories. We then moved from asking the same questions each time, such as, ‘where and when did you get it’, to more meaningful questions like, “do you keep it in a special spot” and “do you take care of them like give it a bath”. Also, during this time, the speaker is able to strengthen their communication skills, their language, and their confidence as they share about themselves with the class. We have had animals visit for show and tell in the past (some very calm cats, a playful dog, and even a small horse), but this last week was full of them! When children bring animals for show and tell, we work on being quiet and gentle while getting to know the animals. We loved getting to see and pet a “unicorn”, ducklings, chicks, and a small dog. These animals came at a great time as we have been talking about springtime animals being born and learning all about the different baby animals. The children took turns feeding cookies to a very patient “unicorn”. We had learned about ducklings webbed feet and then got to see them in our classroom! The kids have done an amazing job with bringing in show and tells that they enjoy sharing with the class.

Tales of Wyoming’s Outlaw West, April 24th

Hay Springs Public Schools will be hosting Tom O’Day’s Presentation of “Tales of Wyoming’s Outlaw West” as told by Tom O’Day and Bronco Nell on April 24th, in the Auditorium at 2:00 PM (K-5th grade students and staff) and at 3:00 PM (6th -12th grade students and staff).  Visit the Wild West with Tom O’Day and Bronco Nell as they tell stories of cattle rustlin’, train robbin’, ridin’ with Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch and more!

Rescheduled to April 24th!

Excellence In Teaching Award

The Excellence in Teaching Award is sponsored by Security First Bank along with the American Legion. This award seeks to encourage and recognize the professional and leadership excellence of Hay Springs educators essential for quality education, increase awareness of the positive aspects of education in Nebraska, and promote pride in the school and community.  Use the form below to nominate a teacher.

Nomination Form

6th Grade Takes Virtual Trip

The sixth grade class went on a virtual field trip to Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park, to visit the rhino barn. The rhino barn is 17,500 square feet. We learned that there was a volcano in Idaho that spewed ash clear to the Ashfall Fossil Beds. The Fossil Beds were once a water hole that became filled with over ten feet of ash. Some of the 12-million-year-old animals we saw were rhinos, horses, camels, saber tooth deer, turtles, and birds. The smaller animals died first because they had smaller lungs so their fossils were on the bottom. One unique thing about Ashfall Fossil Beds is that the ten feet of ash preserved the 3D fossils. This summer will be their 27th summer of exploring this site. They estimate that they STILL have 10 to 15 more years of digging.

WNCC Open House

Yesterday, April 4th, 2018, eight HSHS students attended the WNCC open house for applied technical trades. Students were able to tour 7 technical trades offerings. They were: Advanced manufacturing, Aplied Ag Technology, Auto Body, Auto Tech, Aviation Maintenance, Power Line Construction and Maintenance, and Welding.

Many tours offered simulators and demonstrations from their modern and complete facilities. About 150 students from surrounding areas came to learn about career possibilities and programs that would give them the background for jobs with great potential and the need for skilled technical workers.

“Best high school field trip!” quoted senior Ciara McCance.

2018 Scholarship Interview Schedule

The 2018 Scholarship interviews will be taking place on Wednesday, May 2nd at Security First Bank at the following times:

7:30 – MATTIE JOHNSON
7:45 – HAILEY SUMMERS
8:00 – THOMAS SCHERBARTH
8:15 – PAYTON SCHOENHALS
8:30 – EMMA ROBERTS
8:45 – SAMANTHA KEARNS
9:00 – CIARA MCCANCE
9:15 – KAELOB MARX

2018 Quiz Bowl

The Eighth grade quiz bowl team and the gold medals they were awarded for their performance at the Chadron Middle School Quiz Bowl competition.

The Panco meet in Crawford was cancelled due to weather. However, the Middle School participated in the Chadron Middle School Meet on Wednesday, March 21st. We took two teams of seven students, one eighth grade team and one seventh grade team. The eighth graders finished 2nd last year in the seventh grade division and we were looking for a win this year.

The Chadron meet has grown to include 12 schools: Alliance, Bridgeport, Chadron, Crawford, Gering, Gordon/Rushville, Hay Springs, Hemingford, Lusk, Mitchell, Scottsbluff, and Sidney. The competition is tough as many of the larger school compete in several meets over the year. The two teams with the highest total points for three rounds go to the Finals to determine the winner.

Both Hay Springs teams performed well answering questions on a variety of topics including: English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Fine Arts. When we finished the day, both teams had placed third. However, the next day we were notified that due to an error, the eighth grade team should have been in the finals and would be awarded gold medals. Congratulations to the Eighth Grade!

Members of the 2018 Middle School Quiz Bowl team are:
Eighth Graders – Ashley Tobiasson, Gabe Varvel, Julie Johnson, Jazzy Smith, Laney Smith, Logan DeCoste, and Sam Hindman.
Seventh Graders – Aydon McDonald, Breely Smith, Colter Meeks, Hally Johnson, Mia Skinner, Samantha Morrison, and Toby Scherbarth

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