District OR-1

District OR-1 Newsletter

District OR-1 Public Schools

May, 2014

Linde Walter

425 F Street, Box 130

Palmyra, NE 68418

402-780-5327 Fax: 402-780-5349

Superintendent: Rob Hanger

Secondary Principal: David Bottrell

Activities Director: Aaron Hoeft

Elementary Principal: Linde Walter

50 Dogwood ST

Bennet, NE 68317

402-782-3535 Fax: 402-782-3545

www.districtor1.org Twitter: @OR1_Panthers

Superintendent Notes...by Robert Hanger

PHS Mathletes Earn Gold! ...by Mr. Maas

On Friday,

March 21st,

PHS attended

the annual

PSC Math Day at Peru State

College. This event is a math

competition designed to test a student’s

individual knowledge of mathematical

concepts, as well as testing a team’s

ability to work together in a quiz bowl

format. As is the case each year,

Palmyra’s students would have a great

time attending the event, getting to tour

a college campus, eat in the college

dining hall, and have fun competing

with other schools.

This year, PHS was represented by

Dani Vlcek, Grace Patton, Dallas

Ringland, Cameron Bruce, Alex

Clough, Klaire Phillips, Trevor Book,

Drew Huxoll, Ross Bartels, Liz

Robinett, Alex Broening, and JJ

Boyce. The group was sponsored by

High School Mathematics Instructor

Tyler Maas.

Senior Cameron Bruce paced PHS by

winning a first place medal in the

individual competition. The PHS

Algebra II team also won the gold

medal in the quiz bowl portion of the

competition, knocking off Norris on the

way to the title!

May, 2014

District OR-1 Public Schools 425 F Street Palmyra, NE 68418 http://www.districtor1.org

Special points of interest:

Notes from the Superintendent

Summer Happenings

N E W S

Mr. Malone earns FFA Advisor of the Year

Golf tournament to be held at Hidden Valley

...Continued on next page.

Notes from Mr. Hanger

A s we prepare to close

the 2013-2014 school

year, I would like to extend

my appreciation to our stu-

dents and staff. In reflection,

the year has been a reward-

ing one with so much success

in the classroom and in the

wide array of activities that

we offer our students. We

are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with our youth as

educators, mentors and role models. Those students are a direct

reflection of our school and the communities we serve. The class

of 2014 will become our latest group of ambassadors as they em-

bark on the next phase of their lives. I am reminded that we are

blessed in so many ways at District OR-1 that it would be impos-

sible to list all for which we are grateful. First and foremost, I

would pass on my thanks and gratitude to our parents who pro-

vide us with assistance in the education process as well as provid-

ing their time through a variety of booster clubs and service or-

ganizations. District OR-1 is home to great students and an out-

standing team of individuals who make up our educational and

support staff.

I wish all of you a safe and relaxing summer and quality time

with family and friends. Safe travels to all of you who will be

vacationing.

In reviewing our work in curriculum during the school year I

firmly believe that our body of work

continues to reflect our Mission and

Vision Statements:

Superintendent: Rob Hanger

Palmyra Principal: David Bottrell

Bennet Principal: Linde Walter

Activities Director: Aaron Hoeft

Serving the Communities of

Bennet, Palmyra, and Douglas. Serving the Communities of

Bennet, Palmyra, and Douglas.

”Emotions are the breath of life. Angergy is the inhale, sadness is the exhale. When we fully breathe and fully feel we are fully alive.” Mk Mueller

High-Way 4: Feel All Your Feelings

Mission:

“Together, we prepare our students to successfully

meet the challenges of the future.”

Vision:

District OR-1 commits to a course of action provid-

ing continued academic growth through a curricu-

lum that recognizes limitless potential and inspires

faith in a positive future for every student. With a

sense of community ownership and responsibility,

we will remain fiscally accountable and attentive to

current and future high-tech facility and staffing

needs.

We have accomplished so much in adapting our cur-

riculum to meet the full intent of those statements and

that work continued throughout the most recent school

year. A few highlights include but are not limited to:

* Continued emphasis on Character Education with

66% of our staff at PHS now trained in 8 To Great

and a completed roll out of Second Step in grades

K-8.

* A conversion to a full K-12 Guidance program with a

special thanks to Mr. Chaffee for hitting the ground

running in order to make that a reality.

* Development of a K-6 behavior plan that will be con-

sistent building wide.

* Further development of Odyssey Ware software to

augment curriculum in grades 3-12.

* Joining the Check for Learning (C4L) districts across

Nebraska to further assist our preparation for NeSA

testing.

* Continued development of data gained from district

wide MAPS assessments (Measures of Academic

Progress).

* Staff QPR training, QPR stands for Question, Per-

suade and Refer, three steps anyone can learn to

help prevent suicide. Just like CPR, QPR is an

emergency response to someone in crisis and can

save lives.

* Math series review and adoption.

* Career Academy and dual credit course offerings

forming partnerships with Peru State, Southeast

Community College and Northeast Community

College.

Facilities Work:

This year District OR-1 entered into partnership with

Clark-Enersen Architects and Trane. While Clark En-

ersen will continue to investigate facility options for the

district, Trane has completed a detailed study of systems in

our current building including but not limited to heating,

cooling, roofing, lighting and domestic hot water. Both

firms are sharing the same engineer so as to avoid any du-

plication of potential projects and the associated costs.

This summer we will be replacing the control system in the

Palmyra building which dates back to 1996. We have al-

ready replaced the control system in the Bennet building

with completion of the boiler/chiller project in 2011. We

will expand on that work in the elementary by replacing the

existing pumps original to the building with new variable

frequency loop pumps and a replacement of the hot water

heater which is also original to the building.

A brief recap of 2014 legislation:

LB 725 modified state aid allocated through the Tax Equity

and Educational Opportunities Support Act (TEEOSA).

The bill reduces the local effort rate in the formula for

FY2014-15. The local effort rate in the state aid formula

had been previously set at $1.03 for FY2015. LB 725 de-

creased the local effort rate to $1.00.

LB 923 creates the position of State School Security Direc-

tor within the Department of Education. The Commissioner

of Education is required to appoint the director based on

experience, knowledge, and skills in the field of school se-

curity.

Under LB 923, the State Board, based on the recommenda-

tions of the State School Security Director, may adopt and

promulgate rules and regulations establishing minimum

school security standards on or before July 1, 2016.

LB 967 eliminates the instructional time allowance and

teacher education allowances in the state aid formula be-

ginning in FY2016-17. The bill also reduces the amount

allocated in the formula for each allowance by 50% in

FY2015-16. The amount allocated for the instructional

time allowance is reduced from $20 million to $10 million

and the teacher education allowance is reduced from $30

million to $15 million in FY2016.

The bill also includes intent language to assure that every

family in the state has access to an early childhood educa-

tion program in at least the school year prior to the school

year for which the child is eligible to attend kindergarten

(four year olds). The bill also provides intent language that

any additional funds appropriated for early childhood edu-

cation grants after January 1, 2014 shall be used for pro-

grams for four year olds. The unobligated balance of such

funds is to be re-appropriated for FY2016 and FY2017.

High School Athletic Banquet May 5th at PHS.

Dinner served at 6 p.m. followed by the awards

ceremony at 7 p.m. See the weekly bulletin and

district website for meal forms and pricing.

Remembering Our Fallen

Monday May 12th through Thursday May 15th Palmyra

Junior/Senior High School will host a display titled

“Remembering Our Fallen” in the High School gym. A

very emotional exhibit, “Remembering Our Fallen,” is a

sad reminder of the ultimate sacrifice made by over 80 Ne-

braskans killed in The War on Terror while wearing our

country’s uniform in Afghanistan or Iraq. The exhibit is

open to the public. Remembering Our Fallen was created

by Bill & Evonne Williams of Patriotic Productions,

Omaha, and is financially sponsored by Bellevue Univer-

sity, Bellevue and made possible for display in our commu-

nity by Farmers and Merchants Bank, Palmyra and Bennet

Legion Post 280 in Memory of John Taylor.

I wish all of you a safe and relaxing summer and quality

time with family and friends. Safe travels to all of you

who will be vacationing.

E-books Coming This Fall to District OR1 Schools By...Matt Smidt: Librarian/ District OR-1

Beginning in the fall of 2014, both Bennet Elementary

and Palmyra Jr/Sr High School will begin an adven-

ture that will change the way students read. We have

reached an agreement with ESU2 in Fremont to join

their consortium, which was started with 10 schools

in 2012. Money from the elementary library fundraiser

earlier this semester is being used to cover the initial

setup and first year subscription.

The ESU2 consortium is with the book distributor

Baker & Taylor. Compatible with mobile iOS and An-

droid smart phones and tablets, but also with Win-

dows operating systems and side-loadable onto Kin-

dle Fires, B&T’s proprietary Blio and Axis e-reader

apps accommodate most user devices. Via Adobe

Digital Editions, individuals with Mac OS computers

are also potential patrons.

The Blio e-reader offers an interactive, 3D graphic

experience that is great for emerging young readers

and accommodates students with vision disabilities.

Text-to-speech software syncs the book to the audio

while a cursor moves along so you can read as you

listen, Many books have studio recorded audio (a real

person’s voice) further enriching the pleasure of the

reading experience.

Axis 360 is B&T’s digital distribution (circulation) plat-

form; it features an enticing Magic Wall where book

covers revolve magically in a changing display and

open with a touch to reveal summaries, as well as

related titles, other works by the same author and

reader reviews.

Students will have an account created for them to ac-

cess the libraries. Currently there is a K-6 library and

a 7-12 library, each has over 2,100 books to choose

from. We will be joining 27 other schools from across

the state, more information will be released as the

2014-15 school year starts. If you would like to see

what the Magic Wall looks like and do some explor-

ing. the K-6 wall is at http://esuelem.axis360.baker-

taylor.com/ and the 7-12 wall is at

http://esuhs.axis360.baker-taylor.com/.

Notes From Mr. Hoeft

NSAA Academic All State

Award Recipients for the winter

activity season were announced.

This award recognizes student

activities’ participants for their

academic prowess. To be con-

sidered for this award, a student must be considered a

“difference maker” in an NSAA activity, contributing sig-

nificantly to the school’s activities program. Honorees

must attain at least a 93% cumulative grade point average

on a 100% scale. Danielle Vlcek was selected for Girls’

Basketball and Jordyn Bottrell was selected for Speech.

Students wanting to participate in an activity at PHS for the

2014-15 school years will need to have a physical turned in

to the office prior to the first day of practice. Physicals ob-

tained after May 1st will be accepted for the 2014-15 school

year, however not before that date. A link to an NSAA

approved physical form as well as the NSAA Student/

Parent Consent form is located on the school website under

the High School Athletics Tab or search “physical”.

Once again maintenance to the football field will be per-

formed in the coming months and into the summer. At the

point when maintenance commences the field will be

closed. Look for posted signs and check the district web-

site for further information in the coming weeks.

Foreign Language News...by Mrs. Gilll-Rose

Well, what a great competition this year at the University

of Nebraska - Lincoln Foreign Language Fair! There

were 1500 students in attendance, studying Spanish,

French, German, Japanese, and Chinese that competed

and the most ever in attendance

in its 38 years of existence.

Spanish students that attended

received a superior in Drama

(Kaylee Hoover, Klaire Phillips,

Jessie Poskochil, Jessica Hicks,

Grace Patton, Olivia Versaw,

Frankie Dowding), a superior in

Folk Dance (Grace Patton, Echo

Pester, Ciera Wendt, Dani Vlcek,

Megan Royal, Daniel Haussler),

a Superior in the poster competition (Haylee Furtwangler

and Josh Santos - level 2, Sarma Rutmanis - level 1) a

very good in Poster (Sarahi Barajas and Sami Black -

Level Native speaker, Casey Preston and Callie Stall -

level 1), and in music a superior (Jessie Poskochil - level

2, Carly Poskochil - level 1).

The extra special news is what happened when the judges

looked at the overall scores this year. Jessie's score was

the highest in Spanish music at level 2 (a student having

studied 3+ years in the same language). She brought home

a school trophy and a medal for her talent. In the poster

competition, the same thing happened with Sarma. She

earned the highest score in the competition but at Level 1

(studying 1 to 2 years of the same language), winning a

school trophy and an individual medal.

What an OUTSTANDING group!

Palmyra FFA does well at 2014 State Convention

Palmyra FFA participated at the State FFA Convention and Career Develop-

ment Contests April 9-11 in Lincoln. There are 150 chapters in the state with

over 7100 members and over 3700 members attended the convention and

competed in contests.

Outstanding Individual awards were received by Victoria Talcott: 1st place Gold Proficiency award in Di-

versified Crop Production, selected as one of Top 9 Star State Degrees with her SAE in Agricultural Produc-

tion and 8th place Gold Medal in the Cooperative Speaking contest, selected to participate in the Ag Issues

Academy with State legislators/Ag organizations and her selfie picture entered in Nebraska Farm Bureau

Contest won 1st Place. Victoria Talcott, Kourtney Kempkes and Shelby Bruss received the State Degree

which is a high honor awarded to approximately 30% of the senior members eligible for the award in Ne-

braska for their Supervised Ag Experience, Activities and community service. Mr. Malone was selected the

Farm Bureau State FFA Chapter Advisor of the Year, being nominated by the Senior Officers.

The Chapter received a Silver Chapter Rating ranking it in the top 20% of chapters. In the Career Develop-

ment Contests, after qualifying in their District contest: Livestock Management Team, 11th place in state: Vic-

toria Talcott, Kourtney Kempkes, Jami Hillman, Clayton Lewis, Elizabeth Robinett and Mariah Cunningham.

Welding- Team was 28th /76 teams, Luke Thomsen- Oxy Acet. 25th, Brian Bruggeman- Arc 25th James

Bremer- MIG 52nd. Jr. Livestock Judging - Team was 38th /76 teams, Clayton Lewis 27th /304 Purple, Jona-

than Fitzsimons/ White, Makenzie Mayer, Elizabeth Robinett; Sr. Livestock Judging- Team was 60th,

Lindsey Mills 74th / Blue, Tanner Bornemeier, Tara Bornemeier, Peyton Lambert.

Congratulations to Mr. Malone for earning the Nebraska Farm Bureau

Ag Promotion Committee, “FFA Advisor of the Year Award.”

Mr. Malone was nominated for this award by Kourtney Kempkes, Jordyn Bottrell, Victoria Talcott, and

Emma Bremer (past member). This award honors his service to Palmyra FFA and Nebraska’s agriculture

community. Mr. Malone has also volunteered for the Palmyra Rescue Squad for more than 20 years.

Congratulations

FROM THE COUNSELOR By Michael Chaffee

“Providing Academic, Per-

sonal, Social, and Career

Counseling to enable Students

to become Successful.”

Summer Plans?

It won’t be long now and

summer will be upon us! For

most of us we will simply be

changing gears and remaining

at a pretty hectic pace of ac-

tivities and accomplishments,

but for a significant number of our students summer will

have much leisure time. If you do not have a plan to re-

main active with academic pursuits, summer leisure can

create a significant drop in the basic academic skills of

reading and writing. Do you have a plan for your kids to

not only remain active with sports and leisure pursuits, but

also with reading and writing? This can be as simple as

keeping a summer journal of activities, thoughts, and ex-

periences. It can also be done with weekly trips to the li-

brary or bookstore to reinforce reading and reflec-

tion. Consider sending your children to camps and

workshops like Camp Kitaki and Bright Lights.

Hopefully you are planning a summer vacation; be

sure to have your son or daughter write a reflection

to share what they experienced!

ParentFurther.com From time to time, all parents need

a little help. Sometimes, a piece of solid, encouraging ad-

vice can help you have an “a-ha” moment that changes the

way you think and act. Instead of focusing on what’s

wrong with kids, positive, strength-based approaches to

parenting focus on what’s right with kids (and parents),

and the small, every-day steps you can take to help kids be

successful in the future. Search Institute offers a very

helpful parenting site at ParentFurther.com. Go there and

explore the many free tips, articles and downloads that

will help you in your parenting role.

Seniors … borrow wisely for college!

Review these tips before you decide how much to borrow

in student loans:

· Borrow only what you need, even if it’s less than the

amount offered in your award letter.

· Try to use your student loan money only for tuition,

books and fees. Get a job during college to pay living ex-

penses.

· Compare the estimated starting salary of potential

future careers to your estimated college debt to ensure you

can afford future loan payments.

· Apply for financial aid each year you attend col-

lege by completing the FAFSA.

· Continue to look for scholarships while you’re in

college.

· Keep track of your student loan debt throughout

college at nslds.ed.gov.

To learn more about student loans, see the “Paying for

College” section at EducationQuest.org. Use the Stu-

dent Loan Repayment Calculator to estimate future loan

payments.

Making the transition to college…

Seniors, check out the “Students Transitioning to Col-

lege” section at EducationQuest.org. You’ll find infor-

mation about:

· Wrapping up your senior year

· How to manage your money

· Selecting a major

What to expect your freshman year of college

· Helpful apps to download before you head to college

You’ll also want to check out these

EducationQuest Blog articles:

· 5 things to do at student orientation

· Making the most of your college

orientation day

Juniors… what you can do this summer to prepare

for college!

· Start narrowing your college choices. By the

fall of your senior year, you should have narrowed your

choices to three or four schools. Visit some college cam-

puses this summer and check out college websites.

· Watch some ideos. EducationQuest’s “Find the

Right Fit” Video features two high school seniors who

go through the process of finding colleges that match

their career interests. The “Go.Visit.College!” Video

provides campus visit tips from college students and

college representatives. Check them out!

· Update your Activities Resume at Education-

Quest.org. Include extracurricular activities, honors,

awards and part-time jobs.

· Look for scholarships. Check out

ScholarshipQuest at EducationQuest.org, which has

over 2,000 local and statewide scholarships. You should

also pay attention to the scholarships current seniors

have received.

Find a summer job to help pay for college ex-

penses. Ask prospective employers if they offer

education assistance programs.

May “To Do” List

Seniors ___ Apply for student loans, if necessary.

___ Register for freshmen orientation at your college.

___ Start a list of dorm room essentials.

___ Get a summer job to help pay college expenses.

Juniors ___ Register by May 9 for June 7 SAT.

___ Register by May 9 for June 14 ACT.

___ Continue campus visits.

___ Get a summer job and save for college.

The Role of Emotional

Intelligence in Reducing

Bullying

In this Education

Week article, Marc Brack-

ett and Susan Rivers (Yale

University Center for Emo-

tional Intelligence) say that

most anti-bullying initia-

tives are ineffective be-

cause they address symptoms, not the underlying

causes. “Taking the law-and-order approach, char-

acteristic of many existing programs, does not of-

fer youths or adults the fundamental skills needed

to regulate powerful emotions that, when unregu-

lated, can lead to psychologically and physically

harmful behaviors,” say Brackett and Rivers. The

heart of the matter, they believe, is “a lack of emo-

tional intelligence – a set of skills for understand-

ing, communicating about, and regulating feel-

ings… Neglecting the emotional education of chil-

dren and adults risks leaving children at the mercy

of every emotion they feel and every aggressor

who comes along.”

“Emotions matter,” they say, “and they

matter a great deal in school. A child who feels

anxious, jealous, hopeless, or alienated will have

difficulty learning, making sound decisions, and

building relationships.” Bullying leaves emotional

damage all around:

* Victims have a higher incidence of depression,

anxiety, and suicidal ideation.

* Perpetrators experience depression, anxiety, and

hostility and are prone to substance abuse and

antisocial behavior.

Bystanders can feel hopeless, insecure, and

show symptoms of trauma.

Those who bully and are bullied have it worst of all, with a

higher likelihood of being involved with criminal activity and

partner abuse later in life.

“Fortunately, emotional intelligence can be taught just like math

or reading,” say Brackett and Rivers. With their colleagues at

Yale, they have developed the RULER program and imple-

mented it in more than 500 schools. The program integrates

emotional intelligence into daily classroom routines, showing

adults and student how to:

• Recognize emotions

• Understand what causes them

• Label emotions

• Express emotions

• Regulate emotions

RULER schools write an “emotional intelligence charter” that

articulates how colleagues want to feel, what they will do to fos-

ter those feelings, and how everyone in the school can work to-

gether to prevent unwanted emotions, manage them when they

occur, and handle conflict. RULER schools also develop a “mood

meter” to help staff and students gauge their feelings, set goals,

develop self-regulation strategies, and reach their objectives. For

more information on the program, see http://ei.yale.edu/ruler/.

“An Emotionally Intelligent Approach to Bullying Prevention” by

Marc Brackett and Susan Rivers in Education Week, Feb. 19,

2014 (Vol. 33, #21, p. 40, 32-33), www.edweek.org.

The goal of the Life Skills Class is to help give students in the

class an idea of how to handle everyday tasks. These tasks in-

clude laundry, banking, and cooking. Here are two of the

classes favorite meals the class created in the last month.

Pita Pizza

2 pita breads

2 tsp pizza sauce

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup each chopped peppers, onions, mushrooms

HEAT oven to 375 F, PLACE pitas on baking sheet top with

sauce, cheese and toppings, BAKE for 7-10 minutes

Cheesy Beef Enchiladas

1 lb. ground beef

1 jar (16oz) thick salsa, divided

1.5 cups of shredded cheese, divided

12 flour tortillas (6")

HEAT oven to 350°F. BROWN meat in large skillet; drain. Re-

turn meat to skillet. Stir in 1/2 cup each salsa and

cheese. SPREAD 1/2 cup of the remaining salsa onto bottom of

13x9-inch baking dish. Spoon meat mixture down centers of tor-

tillas; roll up. Place, seam-sides down, in baking dish; top with

remaining salsa and cheese. BAKE 20 min. or until heated

through.

TIM JENSEN MEMORIAL AWARD

In 1977, a young man stood on the stage in the old gym and received his high school diploma. In addition to the diploma, Tim Jensen was awarded nu-merous scholarships, including the one that he prized most highly, an ap-pointment to the United States Military Academy. Throughout his high school years, Tim Jensen was a student with a purpose, a goal. He knew what he wanted from life and he knew the sacrifices one must make to achieve a goal. Tim wanted more than anything to be a pilot. Many times, he talked of his desire for an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy. Tim knew he had a bad back. The “Jensen Back” he called it. For fear of fur-

ther injury to the back, thus lessening his chances for acceptance to the Air force Academy, Tim gave up football, a sport he loved, but in his true spirit became a Student Manager for the team. All students are special in different ways. Those of us that had the opportunity to work with or know Tim, knew he was special. Academically talented, active in football, basketball, track, speech and music, Tim gave his very best in every endeavor he tried. He was a leader in the school. Presi-dent of his Senior Class and delivered the graduation speech for the class of 1977. When Tim found out that his back would not allow him to pass the physical for the Air Force Acad-emy, in his true nature, he had already made alternative plans. His application for an appointment to the United States Military Academy had already been submitted. Tim accepted the appointment to the Military Academy, and was a 1981 graduate of the school. In talking to Tim, it was easy to see the pride he had in that institution. I remember an afternoon that Tim spent at our house several years ago. Our son had received an appointment to West Point and was wrestling with the decision that had to be made. His words were simple but full of thought—The Academy is not everyone, you must decide if its best for you, but for me it is the greatest thing that could have ever happened. Capt. Tim a. Jensen died Feb. 15, 1985, in a helicopter accident at Fort Rucker, Ala. At the time of the accident, Capt. Jensen was serving as the Commander of the Air Traffic Control Company- U.S. Army Information Systems Command Signal Battalion. After graduating from West Point, Tim was able to do that which he had always wanted. He was trained as a Rotary Wing Aviator and an Instructor Pilot. In the 1981 West Point Yearbook, Jensen’s classmates wrote to him. . . “To compliment his talents, Tim’s initiative has taken him to the top of all his endeavors. Whether it be excelling in academics or organizing the Addic Council, T. J. leads the way.” In addition to the Addic Council, Jensen was also active in the Cadet Glee Club, the Cadet Chapel Choir, the Aero-Astro Club and the Dialectic Society during his days as a cadet. Tim’s awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Army Aviator Badge. The Tim Jensen Memorial Award is being initiated and will be perpetuated by his brothers Larry and Ken.

What Does It Take to Make That Graduation Cake?

As the seniors get ready to graduate and plan their parties they

have questions. Could I make my own graduation cake? Mrs.

Cunningham’s response, “Sure you could with some practice

decorating.” So the Family and Consumer (FCS) class has

been working on cake decorating skills this month.

We started out learning to use the star tip to make stars and

borders. We practiced with Crisco to learn not to eat our mis-

takes and it is softer so your arm didn’t hurt. Next, we prac-

ticed different flowers (roses, daisies, apple blossoms, sweet

peas, and etc). I showed students different ways to make the

same flower such as the rose on the rose nail or on a pen-

cil. Some flowers are made directly on the cake and others are

made on the nail, frozen and then placed on the cake when

needed. Then, how does one write on a cake? The only advice

I can give you is that your penmanship will be like you write

with a pencil. It will take hours of practice to change your

writing style.

After a week of practicing the parts of decorating, we were

ready to do the real thing. Students made cakes and butter

cream frosting. They planned their own designs and set off to

complete them in three class periods. Results are pictured be-

low.

ART AWARDS

This year’s art department was busy participating in many contests and shows this past year.

Starting in the fall Sarma Rutmanis was chosen as this year’s Partners for Otoe County’s Drug-Free

Poster Contest which is hanging on display in the lobby.

In recognition of Youth Art Month the annual ECNC art show was held through the month of March

at the downtown Wells Fargo in Lincoln. Each participating school displayed its ten best 2-D pieces

along with various 3-D sculptures from all high school classes. Students representing Palmyra this

year included Maggie Eisenhauer, Hannah Lionberger, Sarma Rutmanis, Lyndsey Sheil, Taylor

Belew, Olivia Wensel, Haley Furtwangler, Jessie Grieser, Josh Santos, Shae Snider, and Shelby Bruss.

All selections were judged by the participating art teachers. Taking the Gold Medal Award from Pal-

myra was Shae Snider with her Japanese Koi fish oil painting. Others receiving recognition included

Josh Santos - 1st Honorable Mention with his Impressionist Tiger Painting, Olivia Wensel - 2nd Hon-

orable Mention with her Zentangle drawing , and Shelby Bruss - 3rd Honorable Mention with her ab-

stract elephant drawing.

Palmyra also participated in this year’s Lauren Kimmel High School Art Exhibit in Neb. City. The

7th annual Exhibition showcased artwork by juniors and seniors from 13 southeast Nebraska schools.

The show was on display through March & April at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts.

The exhibition featured 2D and 3D works created from a variety of media by more than 50 budding

artists.

Students with work on display included photography by Alex Clough. Sculpture by Taylor Belew,

and Haley Banahan. Palmyra also received a $700 grant for our participation in the show to use for

purchase of something new for the art department.

Palmyra-Bennet-Douglas

TeamMates Banquet

Palmyra-Bennet-Douglas

TeamMates Mentoring Pro-

gram hosted a celebration

banquet on Sunday, March

30, 2014 at the Palmyra Ac-

tivities Center. The event

included a delicious dinner

catered by Buffy Cornish,

speaker Suzanne Hince, Ex-

ecutive Director of Team-

Mates Mentoring Program

and recognition of mentor

mentee matches. Those in

attendance were reminded

that another caring adult in

the life of a youth can make

a great impact.

If you would like to be a

mentor and be that caring

adult contact Michael G.

Chaffee, TeamMates Coor-

dinator, 402-780-5327 Ext 315,

chaffee.mic@districtor1.net

Front row: Nick Reed, Tristan Somers, Erynn Somers, Maddie Thomson, Jami Hill-

man. Middle row: Roger Smith, Sally Smith, Sharon Kramer, Suzanne Hince,

Tammy Beecham, Mary Wallen, Nancy Moser. Back row: Wil Tewes, Larry Kramer,

Corby Vrbka, Grant Clough, Michael Chaffee, Becky Hall

Summer Strength and Conditioning:

Begins Monday, June 2nd. 8a-10a. This program will

be similar to what was done last year. Show up on Monday,

June 2nd and see what it's all about!!!! Incoming 8th grad-

ers through Seniors, boys and girls, are welcome to at-

tend. Questions??? Contact Coach Maas at

maas.tyl@districtor1.net

4th Annual PHS Golf Tournament:

Mark your calendars -- June 6th!!! See the

attached flyer for more details. Sponsors

and golfers are needed. Contact Coach

Maas at maas.tyl@districtor1.net to register,

to sponsor, or to ask questions.

HS Football:

Coach Maas has a list of camps available

for you to attend this summer if you are interested in better-

ing yourself. Please see him for more information on camp

opportunities. Also --- if you are a parent of a HS football

player and have not received an email from Coach Maas,

please email him (maas.tyl@districtor1.net), so he can add

you to his listserve. You will then receive all information

football related.

HS Basketball:

Coach Maas has a list of camps available for you to at-

tend this summer if you are interested in bettering your-

self. Please see him for more information on camp oppor-

tunities. Also --- if you are a parent of a

HS basketball player and have not received an

email from Coach Maas, please email him

(maas.tyl@districtor1.net), so he can add you to his

listserve. You will then receive all informa-

tion basketball related.

PHS will again be holding our own

camp on June 9th and 10th. Look for an

informational flyer and registration in the

weekly bulletin in the near future!

Girls Basketball Camp information:

June 2 through the 6th and it will start at

1:30 and end at 4:30 each day. I will be

sending out a waiver to the girls so that

their parent or guardian can sign.

Palmyra High School VB Camp

Incoming 2014-2015 Grades 9-12

@ High School Gym

July 30-31 6:30-9:00pm

Summer Happenings

MAKE A DINNER DATE

Foundation For Knowledge Scholarship Dinner will be held

on August 26th at the Lincoln Roadhouse.

Download the District OR1

APP from your device

App Store!

Co-teaching in 9th grade Geography

Many of us have seen, heard, or been a part of

a situation where there are more students with

questions than there are teachers to answer

them. The co-teaching model at-

tempts to alleviate some of these is-

sues in general education classrooms

while serving students across all

ability levels. While not a new idea

in schools, it is being utilized in the

Jr.-Sr. High School in Palmyra.

In recent years the idea of co-

teaching has become popular in

schools across the country. The

ability to place two qualified teach-

ers in a classroom benefits everyone.

Students benefit by having a second,

qualified teacher in the classroom to

provide guidance and assistance. A

second teacher can provide insight,

teaching examples, share instruc-

tional strategies of which the class-

room teacher may not be aware, or

simply provide quality feedback to both stu-

dents and the primary teacher. Classroom

teachers have the advantage of another adult in

the room with whom to collaborate, plan les-

sons and brainstorm ideas.

Co-teaching has been in place at PHS for

years, but is being implemented effectively for

students in geography classes. Mark Kotik,

social studies teacher, and Curt Thomas, spe-

cial education teacher, use this method to serve

the diverse needs of their geography classes. It is, by all accounts,

effective.

Mr. Kotik and Mr. Thomas have worked together for four years, and

in that four year span, the two have been able to implement some of

the key components to be effective co-teachers.

One of the most important aspects of a suc-

cessful co-teaching partnership is a common

plan time. Mr. Kotik and Mr. Thomas have

focused on using their common plan to develop

assignments and assessments to meet the needs

of all students in the classroom.

They have taken advantage of the use of iPads

in the classroom to develop electronically

based projects to engage student learning.

Some digital assignments include electronic

flashcards to learn chapter vocabulary, data-

base projects and reports over different regions

of the world, and providing students access to

chapter notes from Mr. Kotik’s website. In

addition to these 21st century learning strate-

gies, Mr. Kotik and Mr. Thomas have been

able to use more traditional assignments such

as handouts and student created maps on the

iPad through a variety of apps.

Another important component of the co-teaching movement is shared

classroom responsibility. While Mr. Kotik’s name appears on the

report card, he is not solely responsible for grading and critiquing stu-

dent work. The teachers work together to develop grading tools for

assessments which meet the needs of all students in the classroom.

The greatest aspect of co-teaching is that all students benefit from

having two teachers in the classroom. This helps to enhance the

learning of all students, and everyone wins.

State Wrestling...by Mr. Panlko

As the old saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” The Palmyra Panther Wrestling season came to an

end Friday February 21st at the Century Link Center in Omaha. Houston Hornby represented the Panthers in the State

Wrestling Tournament, and had a tremendous showing. The 195 pound wrestler started off with an important first

win (11-4) over Austin Miller of Southwest. In the quarterfinal round, Hornby matched up with the eventual state

Runner-up Dylan Loberg of Randolph, losing by pin.

Friday, in the second round of consolations, Hornby lost in sudden death overtime to Alex Olivan of Clearwater/

Orchard thereby ending his season. Congratulations to all the Panther wrestlers on a tremendous season.

Extra Mile Walk 2014

The Bennet BackPack fundraiser, Extra Mile Walk,

was held Sunday, April 27, 2014. The walk was

held at the Bennet Elementary gym because of the

rain. Twenty-eight came out to walk the extra mile

for the Bennet BackPack Program in its sixth year.

At the Extra Mile Walk fundraiser we collected

money to buy food for the backpacks for the 2014-

15 school year. A backpack of food goes home

each week during the school year to qualifying

families. Qualifying families are those who are par-

ticipating in the free and reduced lunch program.

Each backpack of food costs $200 for a school year.

The Bennet BackPack Program plans to purchase

food for 18 backpacks next year, making our goal

$3600. At the time of the walk students and staff

had collected $1,458. Front row: Josh Dvorak, Matthew Dvorak, Maddison

Dvorak, Trevor Kerkman, Elle Kerkman, Lucy Chritiansen,

Carol Nisley, Doug

Nisley, Dana Jensen,

Alisa Ramaekers.

Middle row: Rebecca

Dvorak, Rylie Walter,

Gina Christiansen,

Lisa Dowding, Hailey

Dowding, Lisa Sted-

man, Bradley Sted-

man, Christian Jensen,

Drew Ramaekers.

Backrow: Owen

Ramaekers, Laura

Kerkman, Jared Kerk-

man, Linde Walter,

Colton Walter, Chad

Walter, Kaden Walter.

Not pictured: Dave &

Becky Hall

Donations are still being accepted and can

be made out to the Food Bank of Lincoln,

4840 Doris Bair Cr, Suite A, Lincoln, NE

68504 with a note in the Memo to Bennet

BackPack Program.

PowerSchool recently introduced a new login system called

Single Sign On (SSO). SSO gives parents quicker and more convenient access to PowerSchool data. SSO allows parents

and guardians to set up their own individual login credentials and, for those with multiple students in the district, access to all their students' information

with a single login. In addition, SSO allows users to retrieve forgotten login and password in-formation themselves rather than requiring a call to school. Pearson has also released an im-

proved Mobile App. Once SSO has been turned on next August, the Mobile Apps will become usable.

Please note that ALL passwords currently used will be deleted prior to the beginning of school in August. Detailed instructions will be sent home in the August newsletter with easy-to-use

procedures to get up and running. We are excited to grow the number of parents using PowerSchool. We are confident this is a big step in helping parents rich conversations with

our students. …Burke Brown

Peru State Business Contest...by Mr. Conn

On Wednesday, February 12, Palmyra busi-

ness students attended the 41st Peru State Busi-

ness Contest. The competition consisted of

twenty-three schools from all over southern

Nebraska. Students were able to test their

knowledge of business concepts and principles

by participating in objective tests over subjects

including accounting, advanced accounting,

business communications, business law, busi-

ness math, computer concepts, economics, en-

trepreneurship, introduction to business, key-

boarding objective, marketing, personal fi-

nance, and web design. In addition to objective

tests, several students got to participate in

skills or performance tests including job inter-

view and keyboarding skills. The job interview

competition tested students on their ability to

create a resume and cover letter as well as their

ability to perform in a live interview where

judges pretended to be potential employers.

The keyboarding skills competition consisted

of a three minute typing test where speed and

accuracy was crucial. The top five fastest typ-

ists with the least amount of errors were

awarded medals.

Palmyra high school was represented well. Eleven students at-

tended the competition including Jessie Poskochil, Corryn Lewis,

Kaylee Hoover, Marcus Kinney, Jessie Grieser, Vanessa Knutson,

Alex Clough, Daniel Haussler, Ross Bartels, Chaney Behrands, and

Frankie Dowding. All eleven students competed well, but several

finished among the top ten with the top five in each contest receiv-

ing a medal for their achievement. Jessie Poskochil placed sixth in

accounting and fifth in job interview. Alex Clough placed second in

computer concepts, sixth in personal finance, and tenth in business

math. Ross Bartels placed eighth in entrepreneurship and Frankie

Dowding placed fifth in keyboarding skills.

First Grade Science Night

First graders and their families gathered for first grade science night Thursday, March 27th at Bennet Elementary.

This was the third year for the space night. It is an opportunity to expand the learning that went on in the classroom

and to participate in some additional activities. This year students were able to make galaxy globes, an edible sun, the

solar system, a constellation scope and create their own constellation. These activities engaged the whole family and

everyone had a great time exploring space!

Maybe one day we will read about one of these

students becoming an astronomer or an astro-

naut!

There were a variety of books available to read

on the moon, stars and planets. Cameron and

Noah Steinblock were checking out those books

in the reading area.

Constellations. The Bohaty family, Gage, Karen, Clint and Trinity discuss the

constellation they want to create with mini marshmallows

and toothpicks.

Reading

There were

a variety of

books

available

to read on

the moon,

stars and

planets.

Cameron

and Noah

Steinblock

were

checking

out those

books in the reading area.

Left: Edible model of the sun.

Izaiah Freeman, Kayley Thomson, Emma Ring

ready to eat their model of the sun with its sun spots

and solar arches.

Below: Galaxy Globes.

Galaxy globes made with hair gel, glitter, and glow

in the dark stars has Rylie Walter, Madison Dvorak

and Addision Vasa, excited about the dark!

Constellation scope. Hayden Laschanzky and

her mom Catherine are checking out the con-

stellation scope they made.

Solar System. Emily and Julie VanMeter, Desirae Ring, Kolby &

Mychelle Thomson and Emma Ring (hidden) are working hard on

putting together the solar system.

Joseph Schmucker Shaelyn Snider Victoria Talcott Alex Thomsen Tara Timmerman

The Staff, Administration and Board of Education wish to con-

gratulate the senior class of 2014 for a job well done. Please

join in their celebration on Saturday, May 10th at 2:00 p.m.

in the Palmyra High School Gymnasium.

Class Flower: Red Rose

Class Colors: Blue and Silver

Class Motto: I always knew that when I looked back on the times I cried. I would

laugh; but I never knew when I looked back on the times I laughed, I would cry.

Echo Pester Caitlin Peterson Jessie Poskochil Dallas Ringland Megan Royal

Dani Vlcek Ciera Wendt

Jordyn

Bottrell

Carly

Frazee

Kaylee Hoover Paige Huxoll Kourtney Kempkes Corey Koelzer Morgan Leif

Corryn Lewis Alexandra Lienau Hannah Lionberger Sadie McPherrin Grace Patton

Haley Banahan Cody Beanblossom Cameron Bruce Shelby Bruss Skylar Clark

Bradley Fry Bren Fry Daniel Haussler Christopher Hill Jami Hillman