Week Of The Young Child

This week, April 2-8, 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 world’s largest early childhood education association, with nearly 60,000 members and a network of 52 Affiliates. 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 life. The Week of the Young Child is a time to plan how we—as citizens of a community, of a state, and of a nation—will better meet the needs of all young children and their families. Please watch for more information and pictures as our preschool classroom celebrates this week with Music Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Work Together Wednesday, Artsy Thursday, and Family Friday.

Community Visioning

Hay Springs Students Cast a Vision for the Future of Their Community

Last Tuesday, the Hay Springs High School student council shared their perspectives about their community and priorities looking 10 years into the future. This activity was funded in part by a USDA-RD grant for the Northwest Nebraska Rural Prosperity initiative and facilitated by Craig Schroeder with the Heartland Center for Leadership Development.

Key themes that emerged from the students’ work included: appreciation for living in a closely knit small town with community support for youth activities, valuing local small businesses, desire for more activities for teens, community improvements including the golf course and parks, renovation and new uses for rundown buildings, more restaurants, and quality affordable housing. The students noted the annual Friendly Festival as an important community event and would like more activities for teens to participate in.

Regarding the future, the students expressed interest in more career and business opportunities in addition to agriculture, increased access to the local health clinic, and added educational options to prepare student for a variety of career pathways. They also envision construction of a sale barn, more restaurant options, a movie theater, bowling alley and activities including fishing tournaments, demolition derby, golfing and summer league sports.

The next step is to invite additional Hay Springs students to share their ideas with community leaders and together determine one or more priorities to begin work on.

Community Engagement Input

On March 23rd the Hay Springs Board of Education conducted a Community Engagement meeting hosted by NASB. We had approximately 25 individuals in attendance to discuss the needs of our educational system. The following link will allow you to contribute your input prior to the summarization of that event. Please complete the questionnaire by Monday April 4th.

Here is the link to the community questions: https://nasb.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dollsYoqv1GP3ee

We also have a paper copy at the school office if you would prefer to contribute in this manner.

Panhandle All Conference Basketball

Congratulations to the following athletes for being selected to the Panhandle All Conference Basketball teams!

Girls Team
2nd team: Sam Toof
Honorable Mention: Sadie Hanks

Boys Team
1st team: Logan DeCoste and Gage Mintken
2nd team: Gabe Varvel
Honorable Mention: Toby Scherbarth and Dylan Young

PANCO Music Contest Results

Hay Springs Music department was named the PANCO Music Champion at the PANCO Music Contest held in Hay Springs on Monday, March 28th. Attached are the final results of the day with the following students being named as outstanding performers:

Bo Thies – Outstanding Percussion Solo
Gabriel Varvel – Outstanding Piano Solo
Abigail Nelson & Ava McKillip – Outstanding Brass Ensemble
Gabriel Varvel – Outstanding Men’s Vocal Solo
Hay Springs Men’s Choir consisting of Jett Rassmussen, Wesley Jacobs, Logan DeCoste, Gabriel Varvel & Kaden Langford – Outstanding Large Vocal Ensemble
Hay Springs High School Band – Outstanding Large Instrumental Ensemble

The high school students will perform their solo’s at our Pre-Contest Concert on Tuesday, April 19th at 7pm in the auditorium. They will then perform the next day, Wednesday, April 20th at the District Music Contest in Alliance. The 7th & 8th grade students will perform their selections at their spring concert next week on Tuesday, April 5th at 7pm in the auditorium.

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