Water Education

During the last week of January the seventh and tenth grade science students had guest speakers dealing with water. Mr. Aaron Taylor from the city of Hay Springs attended the seventh grade class to inform our students where their drinking water comes from and where their waste water goes. Mr. Taylor’s information was very interesting to the students, who had lots of questions and the students were appreciative of his talk. The two most repeated statements from the students were that the swimming pool and water tower hold nearly the same amount of water and that filtered waste water is reclaimed by watering alfalfa.

The same week Ms. Chaley and Ms. Jade from the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies presented both the seventh and tenth grade classes with activities about water in our environment. The seventh graders focused on water health. They learned how to study the macro-invertebrates living in a stream to determine the purity of the water. Some invertebrates are very tolerant to pollutants while others are very sensitive to them, by identifying which organisms live in a stream the purity can be determined without chemical tests.

The grade ten class had several activities presented to them regarding water on the plains. They found out what type of prairie we have in the area, how plant roots help the soil, which yard grasses use less water and how the prairie and water relationship changes throughout the seasons. Both classes were interested in the information and treated our guests with respect and politeness. We were very fortunate to have these speakers come to our school!

Building Readers Feb. 2020 Newsletter

Building Readers provides the guidance, steps to take, specific direction and concrete recommendations that parents need to help their kids learn to read, and to read more proficiently. Click the links below to read the newsletter and extras!

Building Readers Elementary Newsletter(02/2020)
Building Readers Elementary Booklist
Building Readers Extras

Building Readers Jan. 2020 Newsletter

Building Readers provides the guidance, steps to take, specific direction and concrete recommendations that parents need to help their kids learn to read, and to read more proficiently. Click the links below to read the December newsletter and extras!

Building Readers Elementary Newsletter(01/2020)
Building Readers Elementary Booklist
Building Readers Extras

Patriot’s Pen

Every year the Veterans of Foreign Wars sponsors an essay contest titled, “Patriot’s Pen.” The contest is open to middle school students nationwide. Each year the students are given a writing prompt and are required to write 200-300 words to qualify for the contest. This year’s prompt was titled, “What makes America great?” It is up to each writer to interpret and write what the prompt means to them.

This year Hay Springs 8th grader Ava McKillip was chosen to be the local VFW winner. From there, her essay was entered into the District competition. Again, Ava’s essay placed first. Her essay is currently being considered in the Nebraska state competition. If Ava’s essay receives first prize again she will be entered into the national completion. Ava would also receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington D.C.

I think everyone associated with Hay Springs can be proud of the accomplishments of Ava. We are blessed to live in the United States and Ava’s essay demonstrates how our young people do not take that gift for granted. Good luck Ava! Hay Springs is proud of you! — Mr. Bounous

Here is the text of Ava’s essay:

What Makes America Great?

“What makes America great?” is a question all of us Americans should ask ourselves. We have the freedom to study whatever religion we please, we have the right to vote on the leaders of our nation, and freedom to express ourselves.

For one thing, America gives people the privilege to study and practice the religion of their choice. People come to America specifically to exercise their religions without being persecuted. In some countries, people are lead to believe solely in one religion and one religion only. If they choose not to follow that religion or speak against it, they can suffer persecution. Being able to practice our religion is a gift we shouldn’t take for granted.

Another reason for our country’s greatness is that we have the right to express our opinion through voting for our country’s leaders and policies. Firstly, voting for our leaders gives us a voice on whom we think should lead our country. We can choose a candidate who represents our opinions and beliefs. As citizens of America we can vote on different policies affecting us locally, at a state level, and nationally. Several examples are county property taxes, doing away with daylight savings time, gun control, and health care.

The freedom to express ourselves is another aspect of making our country so great. Some other places in the world don’t allow people to have their own social media account, let alone put their opinion about leaders or current topics. Also, we can write articles in newspapers and magazines expressing our opinions, speak on TV, as well as post opinions on our social media pages. These are all different ways to convey our opinions to the public.

People immigrate to the United States of America to be able to freely study and practice a religion of their choice without persecution. They come to America to be able to vote for their leaders and freely express themselves and their opinions. People come to America because it is the BEST place ever!!! I am proud to be an AMERICAN!!!!

Building Readers Dec. 2019 Newsletter

Building Readers provides the guidance, steps to take, specific direction and concrete recommendations that parents need to help their kids learn to read, and to read more proficiently. Click the links below to read the December newsletter and extras!

Building Readers Elementary Newsletter(12/2019)
Building Readers Elementary Booklist
Building Readers Extras

Building Readers Nov. 2019 Newsletter

Building Readers provides the guidance, steps to take, specific direction and concrete recommendations that parents need to help their kids learn to read, and to read more proficiently. Click the links below to read the September newsletter and extras!

Building Readers Elementary Newsletter(11/2019)
Building Readers Elementary Booklist
Building Readers Extras

Building Readers Sep. 2019 Newsletter

Building Readers provides the guidance, steps to take, specific direction and concrete recommendations that parents need to help their kids learn to read, and to read more proficiently. Click the links below to read the September newsletter and extras!

Building Readers Elementary Newsletter(09/2019)
Building Readers Elementary Booklist
Building Readers Extras

Planter Boxes

There has been some demand for the re-purposed planter boxes that the woods students made last year from the renovated bleacher seats in hawk stadium. The school shop class will be taking orders for more and will be building them as time allows. If anyone is interested, please let Mr. Badje or the office know. Cost will be $20 each. Proceeds will go to the ITE program improvements. (Flowers not included. 😉 )

  • Shop Hawk Shop Clothing and Apparel