High School Students Participated in NCC Art Day

On Wednesday, April 12th, ten high school art students participated in the Nebraska Capitol Conference Art Day. This year’s NCC Art Day was hosted by Louisville High School. 
The day included a presentation and activity, led by Mindy Burton, an artist and full-time art teacher at Milford High School. The students displayed work in eleven different categories, and three judges spent over two hours critiquing the work. 
Every student from Fort Calhoun received at least one award, and most of them received multiple awards. Brooke Johnsen was voted the top artist from Fort Calhoun. She also received the People’s Choice Award and the Student’s Choice Award. Brooke also received the top award of Best In Show for her entry “Reflecting”. Congratulations to all the students who participated. 
 

Brooke Johnsen – 

Acrylic/Tempera/Oil: 1st Place, 1st Place 
Black and White: 1st Place

Printmaking: 2nd Place

Glenn Hunter – 
Acrylic/Tempera/Oil: 2nd Place
 
Regina Namuth – 
Clay: 1st
Colored Drawing: 1st Place
Printmaking: 1st Place
Watercolor: 2nd Place
 
Kylie Perfetti – 
Colored Drawing: 1st Place, 2nd Place
Clay: 1st Place
 
Sasha Robinson –
Clay:1st Place
Acrylic/Tempera/Oil Paint: 2nd Place
 
James Miller – 
Acrylic/Tempera/Oil: 3rd Place, 3rd Place Black and White: 1st Place
 
Bella McLaughlin – 
Black and White: 3rd Place 
Colored Drawing: 3rd Place
 
Simone Bonacci – 
Pencil Drawing: 3rd Place, 3rd Place
 
Harrison Geiger – 
Acrylic/Tempera/Oil: 1st Place 
Watercolor: 1st Place, 1st Place 
 
Ava Bittner –  
Acrylic/Tempera/Oil: 1st Place, 1st Place, 1st Place, 2nd Place
Colored Drawing: 1st Place
 
Sophie Conrad – 
Acrylic/Tempera/Oil: 1st Place, 1st Place
Colored Drawing: 1st Place
 
Outstanding Student Artist from Fort Calhoun – Brooke Johnsen
People’s Choice  Award – Brooke Johnsen
Student’s Choice Award – Brooke Johnsen
Best of Show – Brooke Johnsen

Science Fair Winners 2023

Congratulations to our 2023 Science Fair Winners! 

1st Place: Gannon Otte – Strength of Paper Shapes

 
2nd Place: Raeann Massey – Effects of Temperature on a Tennis Ball’s Bounce
 
3rd Place: Aiden Johnson & Quinn Billesbach – Is Density or Mass a Better Predictor of Sediment Settling Time?
 

Congratulations Scholastic Art and Writing Award Recipients

Congratulations to our students who were awarded a Scholastic Art or Writing award this year. The artwork is currently decorating our hallway but will be heading to the TAC building for the Scholastic Art Exhibition. There were many unique, fun, and creative pieces this year. 

Ava Bittner
“Lavender Walls” (Painting) – Silver Key
“What A Day” (Painting) – Gold Key
Sophie Conrad
“Pumpkin Spice Latte” (Painting) – Honorable Mention
“Quiet, Winter Suburbs” (Painting) – Honorable Mention
Harrison Geiger
“Hallways of Hell” (Painting) – Gold Key
Brooke Johnsen
“After Midnight” (Painting) – Honorable Mention
“An Escape Of Sorts” (Drawing & Illustration) – Gold Key
“Head In The Clouds” (Printmaking) – Honorable Mention
“Insomniac” (Painting) – Silver Key
“Reflecting” (Drawing & Illustration) – Gold Key
“Sour Trip” (Painting) – Honorable Mention
Minnie Ma
“Farewell to Concubine” (Painting) – Honorable Mention
Bella McLaughlin
“Timmy the Turtle” (Drawing & Illustration) – Honorable Mention
James Miller
“Gobsmacked Goggles” (Painting) – Honorable Mention
Regina Namuth
“4th of July” (Printmaking) – Honorable Mention
“Alaska Bears” (Ceramics) – Gold Key
“Noodles” (Painting) – Honorable Mention
Jake Ng
“All In A Days Work” (Sculpture) – Honorable Mention
“Natural Thinker” (Photography) – Honorable Mention
“Workers of Nature” (Photography) – Honorable Mention
Abe Parys
“Purple Chimp” (Painting) – Honorable Mention
Kylie Perfetti
“Colorful Coral” (Mixed Media) – Honorable Mention
“Lime” (Ceramics and Glass) – Honorable Mention
Sasha Robinson
“Best Friend” (Painting) – Silver Key
 
 
Grace Genoways
“I Am” (Poem) – Honorable Mention Scholastic Writing Contest

Congratulations Spelling Bee Winners 2023

Congratulations to our Spelling Bee winners! All of our students performed very well at both the Junior High and the Elementary School. This year, the top finishers at the Junior High were Connor Jabens, runner-up, and Leo Morris, winner. The Elementary top spellers were Colette Bonacci, runner-up, and Zoey Coontz, winner. They will all represent our school at the County Spelling Bee held in Arlington on February 9th at 9:00 AM. Good Luck everyone!

Dept. of Education Parent Survey

As a part of the Nebraska Department of Education’s Indicator 8 State Performance Plan, parents of children receiving special education services for the 2022-23 school year are asked to complete a short survey. The survey should only take about 5-10 minutes to complete. 
Here is the link to our district’s surveyFORT CALHOUN SCHOOLS PARENT SURVEY
If you would prefer a paper copy please contact: 
Ashley S. Dougherty
Special Education Director
402.468.5533

Seniors Benefit from Alumni Panel

Fort Calhoun High School welcomed back 7 graduates on December 16, 2022, for an alumni panel to speak to current seniors about their post-secondary paths. Topics included the alumni’ current career paths (ranging from college and ROTC to entering the workforce) and what advice they would give the current seniors.  Seniors received valuable information to help them plan for life after high school. The event is just one example of how the school prepares its students for college, career, and life. This alumni panel is an event the school plans to have on an annual basis.  So if any alumni are interested in being part of the panel in future years, please contact Mr. Wemhoff, Mrs. Hernandez, or Mrs. Krambeck.
Panelists in the picture above are  L-R in the front row.
 
Grant Hansen – class of 2020  @ UNL 
Sports Media Broadcasting major 
 
Jacob Haggar – class of 2019 @ UNO
Emergency Mgmt Major and ROTC
 
Aaron Johnson -class of 2019 @ UNO
Multidiscipline Studies & Environmental Science Major and ROTC 
 
Rianna Wells – class of 2021 @ UNL
Nursing Major and ROTC 
 
Isabella Benoit – class of 2021 @ Nebraska Methodist College
Medical Imaging Major 
 
Hailey Ertzner – class of 2020 @ UNO
Graduate of MCC Business and now studying for her Real Estate License  
 
Danielle Howell – class of 2019 
is now a Dental Assistant 

Blood Drive 2022

Thank you to everyone who came out to donate blood this year. We had 51 people come in including a record 33 students who tried to donate this year!

Fort Calhoun Now Has a Unified Basketball Team

We are selling t-shirts to help promote our unified basketball team. If you are interested in purchasing a t-shirt, please complete this ORDER FORM and submit it with payment (cash or check). Orders and payments are due to the elementary or high school office by Monday, December 19th.

Friday, December 2nd was the first practice for our Fort Calhoun Unified Basketball team. Unified athletes are individuals grades 6th-age 21 with disabilities. The athletes are paired up with a partner of similar age. Our team will be playing against Ashland-Greenwood on Saturday, January 7th between the varsity girls and boys games. We can’t wait for you to join us and cheer on the team! Please spread the word. 

Fabulous Food Drive 2022

It was a great year for the food drive at Fort Calhoun Elementary.  The event was organized by the student council and all the items collected were donated to the food pantry at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun. The winning classroom was Mrs. Hodson’s 3rd-grade class and they won an ice cream party!  The Student Council Members had fun setting the can up to look like a replica of the businesses in Fort Calhoun and then delivered them to the church. Thank you to all the families who donated cans this year! As you can see from the pictures, it was a huge success.