Substitute Teachers Needed
Biology Class Dissect Trout
The Biology students teamed up with The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and participated in the Trout in the Classroom project this year. As a part of the project, Biology students were given fresh trout to dissect as an extension to our curriculum. They learned about the external and internal features of a trout before the dissection. Each year, this dissection is the highlight of biology!
Teacher Allie Schleifer Receives NSEA Community Service Award
Congratulations to 4th-grade teacher, Allie Schleifer, for receiving the NSEA Community Service Award. In addition to her job, she is also currently serving as the Vice President of the FCYSO that facilitates and runs youth sports programs. Serving as Vice President, Allie attends monthly meetings keeping all the different sports organized. As in any organization, if there are no volunteers, most of the tasks fall upon the board. Allie has recently also had to run the concessions stands and is the interim baseball director. Even though Allie has her plate full at work and home, she continues to work tirelessly for the youth in Fort Calhoun.
Congrats to our 2024 NCC Art Show Students
Congratulations to the students below at the NCC Art Show. Nice work! Thank you Mr. High-Horse for all the work that you do with our kids!!
Congrats 2024 Outstanding High School Leader Award Recipients
Congratulations to the Fort Calhoun leaders for being nominated and receiving the Midland University 2024 Outstanding High School Leaders Award. Go Pioneers!
Pictured are Dr. Wemhoff, Sam Genoways, Lucie Larsen, Levi Lasher, and Anna Taylor.
Congratulations 2024 Science Fair Winners
First Place: Noah Duros & Cavin Greiner – How the Presence of Rebar Affects the Strength of Concrete
Second Place: Mabel Wilmes & Ella Stamm – How Much Weight Can a Mag-Lev Train Hold?
Third Place: Gabbi LeColst – How Light Affects Plant Growth
Nice Work Pioneers!
Students Attend Law Enforcement Open House
On Friday, March 1st, Mrs. Hernandez, FC High School Counselor, accompanied a group of students to the Law Enforcement Open House that was sponsored by the Nebraska National Guard 402nd Military Police Battalion at the Readiness Center near Bennington. There, students from around the Omaha area, learned more about Military Police Communications, Vehicles, Weapons, and Security / Movement Ops. There was also a career fair featuring several area Sheriff Departments, the Omaha Police Department, and the DEA.
FCHS students attending were: Jefferey Pringle, Aimee Boyd, Adyn Kane, Samantha Ladwig, Riley Lingle, and Colton Kendall.
2024 FC Dance Team at NDTC
Our Dance team earned a bid to Nationals at camp this past summer. This allowed them to attend the National Dance Team Competition (NDTC) in Orlando, Florida Feb. 2nd-4th. They entered into the Varsity Intermediate category for their Pom and Hip Hop dances.
For Pom, there were so many teams that they had to have prelims, semi-finals, and finals. They take half of the amount of teams to move on from each category. Our team competed in prelims Saturday night and advanced to the semi-finals Sunday morning. Unfortunately, they did not advance to finals but they did place 13th in the nation for their Pom dance.
With it being their first year attending the NDTC, we are very impressed with the outcome. Great job Ladies!
Triennial Assessment Results 2024
Fort Calhoun Community Schools Community members:
Our District takes pride in supporting the needs of the whole child, to ensure that all children are safe, supported, engaged, and challenged each day they come to our buildings.
Research indicates that initiatives focused on improving aspects of students’ well-being in schools—such as addressing childhood obesity, preventing bullying, supporting students’ mental health, and restricting schools’ use of exclusionary discipline—have been found to be successful in improving student success, and academic excellence. We have assessed our wellness policy as part of the USDA requirements. Below are the results of our assessment.
Local School Wellness Policy Assessment:
https://www.fortcalhounschools.org/wp-content/uploads/USDASchoolWellnessPolicy.pdf
Local School Wellness Policy Progress in reaching goals: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSArlLL34bFgef5MBpZ5GchkfcOs4W5CkmLmPMgRT72yDsGQJgj4ONVXkm4eCmq4A/pub
These findings are posted on the school’s website under the Food Service heading as well as having been presented at the school board meeting 6/12/2023.
If you have any questions, please contact Superintendent Mr. Green @ jjgreen@ftcpioneers.org
Fort Calhoun Staff Mental Health Day 2024
On Monday, January 15th, Fort Calhoun Community Schools hosted a Staff Mental Health Day. The goal of the day was for staff to focus on building knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of mental health in order to better meet the needs of the students in Fort Calhoun Community Schools.
The day began with Anita Saalfeld, High School Spanish teacher sharing about her personal journey with mental illness. Following the keynote, staff members attended 6 breakout sessions. Each session allowed FCS staff the opportunity to choose from six presentations in the area of mental health. The session topics included information to use with students, as well as for their own personal mental health. 17 individuals from the field of mental health presented 18 different topics including challenging behaviors, grief, trauma, sleep, nutrition, self-care, anxiety, depression, digital wellness, and sports psychology.
Sue Miller Harsin therapist from Upper Room Counseling presented a session entitled, Your Body is Talking to You. Sue shared information regarding the importance of self-care including sleep, nutrition, and exercise. “There is so much in our lives and in our world that we have no control over. This can cause a sense of despair, exhaustion, depression, and anxiety. We have two amazing resources that are within our control; sleep and nutrition. Focusing on good rest and healthy nutrition can greatly improve our mental health and sense of well-being.” said Miller Harsin.
This event was made possible through NDE grant funding as a part of the School Mental Health Systems of Care Program in collaboration with ESU #3 and Region VI Behavioral Health. https://smhs.esu3.org/
Staff members provided feedback regarding the event.
“We need to remember as educators to refill our own cup. Self-care is not selfish, but a vital antidote to compassion fatigue. Nurturing our well-being ensures we can continue to inspire, guide, and support our students with the passion they deserve.” -Jacque Fischer, 7th-8th grade School Counselor
“Planning and attending the mental health day put on by our district was an enlightening experience that created shared moments between our staff as well as provided us all with information to better support ourselves and students in multiple areas of mental health.” -Delaney Appel, Elementary Special Education Teacher
Thang Tran from the University of Nebraska Omaha leads his presentation, Navigating A.I. and Mental Health in Schools.
Sue Miller Harsin from Upper Room Counseling presents her session, Your Body is Talking to You.
Kendall Lanning reads her book entitled The Fox and the Feather to staff during her presentation, Supporting Grief.
Tessa Rutledge, Elementary P.E. Teacher, blows bubbles as a part of a deep breathing exercise during FCS Staff Mental Health Day.