Hay Springs Outscores Neighboring Districts

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All school districts in the State of Nebraska anxiously awaited the results of the Nebraska State Assessment test, which were released by the Nebraska Department of Education on November 8. These tests determine which schools met AYP (adequate yearly progress) and which schools were on the PLAS list (Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools). For Hay Springs Public Schools it was another year of excellent news.

All schools at Hay Springs (elementary, middle level, and high school) met AYP. Not only did they meet AYP but we were one of the highest achieving schools in the area on this assessment test. We outscored neighboring districts at most grade levels in both Reading and Math.

The State of Nebraska also released the schools on the PLAS List (Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools). The PLAS list categorizes the lowest performing schools into three categories: Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. Again, Hay Springs Public Schools is not on the PLAS list.

Two years ago Hay Springs did not make AYP at the Middle Level and High School and was on the PLAS List at the Middle Level and High School. We took the low ranking very seriously and addressed our academic challenges head on. The staff addressed attendance, created mandatory remedial programs, scheduled summer school for students failing classes, focused on curricular needs, improved instruction, and encouraged students to be responsible for their own learning. We are pleased that our efforts have been successful.

Take time to celebrate our success, show your appreciation to a teacher, support personnel, and school board members. Acknowledge a student’s effort and hard work, and recognize we have many outstanding parents that support education, expecting their child to learn and be successful.

Cell Phones For Soldiers

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Cell Phones for Soldiers is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing deployed and returning troops with cost-free methods to communicate with family while serving in the United States Military. Since the program began in 2004 it has raised more than $7million and provided over 114 million minutes of free talk time. They mail roughly 12,000 calling cards every week. The organization has also recycled over 8.3 million cell phones.
Hay Springs High School is now a designated drop off sight for Cell Phones for Soldiers. There is a box for donations near the main office at the school. Please bring your old cell phones, chargers and iPods to donate. These items will be recycled and the money is use to purchase calling cards for the soldiers. If there are any questions you may visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com or contact Zoe Schneider.

HSTV Newscast for November 10, 2011

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The HSTV Newscast is back! Video Production students are simultaneously working on other projects and special reports, so expect to see the Newscast about once a month for the remainder of the year. Also, we are now rendering low-resolution versions of most videos for people still on dial-up or slow DSL. Please  spread the word so more people can enjoy. See the link below for the low-resolution version.

[vimeo clip_id=”32213301″ width=”400″ height=”300″]

Low-resolution version for slower connections

Box Out – Basketball Preview

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Whoosh! This year’s Junior High Basketball season has started. The first day of practice was Tuesday, October 25. This year’s head coach is Mrs. Binger, and her assistant is Matt Roberts. There are a number of six girls on the team. Practices are Monday through Friday from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Katrena says, “I think we have lots of potential if we keep going at it.”

High School Girls Basketball practice is set to start on November 14. This year’s head coach is Mr. Badge and the assistant coach is April Stangle from Chadron. The first High School Basketball game is Friday, December 2 against Cody-Kilgore. The game will be at home at 3:00 p.m.

The High School boys Basketball team will also start their practice on November 14. The head coach for this year is Derek Ginn. The boy’s first game for this Basketball season will be Friday, December 2 at home against Cody-Kilgore. The game will start at 3:00 p.m. following the High School girl’s game.

Read Every Day – Lead a Better Life

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The turnout for this year’s book fair was the best year that Mrs. Matthews has ever had. Around 100 books were sold and brought in a total of about $800. Mrs. Matthews said that she saw more middle school and high school students participate in this year’s book fair than she has in the past years. For anyone looking for more great books, Mrs. Matthews recommends they go online to http://scholastic.com/schoolbookfairs. This website provides a variety of books for everyone, from preschool to adults. Books can be searched by age, grade, price, or topic. Any orders can be shipped to the school until November 11, and the shipping is free. This is a great website for anyone who might be looking for books for Christmas. Mrs. Matthews said, “It was a very good year; I was very pleased.”

The Great Pumpkin Investigation

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Monday October 31, the Hay Springs first graders performed The Great Pumpkin Investigation. The Investigation was from 2:00-3:00 o’clock. There were three groups of little “investigators” with three kids to a group. Mrs. Anderson led one group and two parents led the other groups. Each group had their own pumpkin. The little investigators conducted a number of different experiments to do on their pumpkins. The tasks consisted of how many lines their pumpkins had, how big around they were, how tall they were, how heavy they were and many other fun tasks. They also counted how many seeds there pumpkins had. The smallest pumpkin had 491 seeds. The next biggest pumpkin had 461 seeds. And the biggest pumpkin had 432. The class found it funny and interesting that the smallest pumpkin had the most seeds and the largest pumpkin had the fewest seeds. After counting the seeds the kids carved faces on their pumpkins. Mrs. Anderson said, “I think the kids had a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.”

Elders’ Wisdom Committee to Form

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It’s Never Too Early to Plan! Staff and community members are invited to join the Elders’ Wisdom Committee to discuss and plan this year’s program. The committee will give all interested parties a chance to become stakeholders.

The program is important to the community so it needs to be shared by all. The Video Production class will continue to develop the video, this year being a full-fledged documentary, but there are many other decisions to be made regarding honoree selection and the evening’s program, including entertainment, the meal, dessert, etc. If you want a say, you need to join.

The committee will meet before winter break in order to plan, and then again in the spring before the event to preview the video and make last-minute adjustments. Please email Mrs. Janes at mjanes@panesu.org, drop her a note, or call, if you would like to help steer this year’s Elders’ Wisdom.

Mr. Pummel adds, “This has been a long-standing program for our community to honor our senior citizens.”

Come One, Come All

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This semester’s parent-teacher conference will be Thursday, October 27 from 4:15-8:00 p.m. Parents of the middle level and high school students will be able to drop in anytime from 4:15-8:00 p.m. to meet with the teachers. Elementary parents will be receiving a schedule for an appointed time when those teachers will be available to meet. Parent-teacher conference is held twice a year at the end of the first and third quarters. Students are expected to accompany their parents during the conference as they are the ones whom the parents and teachers are discussing. The object of the conference is for parents to meet with the teachers and discuss the progress of their children. This can also help parents to see where their kids might be struggling and may need some extra help. Any parents who will not be able to make it to conferences may schedule to talk with the teachers a week before or after October 27.

Mr. Pummel says, “We look forward to seeing everyone at the conference.”

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