Elementary Talent Show 2019

Wow! We have some talented students at Fort Calhoun Elementary. Last Thursday, March 28th, students displayed a variety of talents ranging from singing to magic to archery. It was a fun show for all. Thank you to all who helped put it together especially Mrs. Benoit and the Elementary Student Council. Also, helping out were Miss Bryan with music and Mr. Dave and the 6th graders for set up and clean up. And of course we also need to thank all the supportive parents who helped their children prepare for the event. Great job everyone!

Congratulations Science Fair Winners 2019

The Fort Calhoun Science Fair was on Monday, March 18th. The winners at the Junior High level were –

1st –  Adriana Hernandez with “Which pet eats more food?”  

2nd  –  Megan Braymen  with “Will creamer or milk with coffee stain teeth worse?”

3rd   –  Raegen  Wells with “Removing stains”  

The Freshman winners were –

1st – Aaron Swanson and Ethan Shaner with “Donutology”

2nd –  Amya Coon and Lucia Perez Valencia with “How does blood spatter effect a crime scene?”

3rd –  Eriauna Wolf and Katherine Jabens with “In which liquid do skittles lose their color fastest?”

And the overall winners were –

Morgan Therkildsen and Tessa Skelton with “Battery Grass”  

                                                                           

    

Quiz Bowl Conference Champions

Congratulations to the High School Quiz Bowl team on their first Capitol Conference championship since 2008! Zoe Fickbohm, Ben Haggar, Grant Hansen, Avery McKennan, John McKennan, and Aaron Johnson went undefeated, notching wins against Syracuse, DC West, and two wins against the defending champions, Platteview, to capture the title. The team will represent Fort Calhoun at the ESU 3 tournament on Monday, March 11, with a chance to go to the state Quiz Bowl competition in April. Great job, guys!

L-R Coach, Mr. Justin Shields, John McKennan, Zoe Fickbohm, Avery McKennan, Grant Hansen, Ben Haggar and Aaron Johnson. Photo by Mr. Shields

Scholastic State Art Competition 2019

Congratulations to the art students who earned awards from this year’s Scholastic State Art competition. On Saturday March 2nd the students attended a ceremony, held annually, at the Omaha Public Schools Teacher Administrative Center building. There were over 3,800 works of art submitted from students across the state of Nebraska, and just over 34% earned awards. Fort Calhoun students earned a total of 29 awards, with multiple students earning multiple awards. All the entries that received awards from across the state will be on display at the Omaha Public Schools Teacher Administrative Center, located at 3215 Cuming St., from February 26 until March 29, 2019.

The 2019 award recipients are: (left to right) front row: Cory Underwood, Stephanie Mlynarik, Katie Barta, Cameron Reynolds, Nathan Blizzard, and Avery McKennan; back row: Mr. High Horse, Emilia Finke, Alyssa Mitchell, Bailey Donovan, Evelyn Holmstedt, and Kennedy Bradburn. Not pictured: Nathan Premer, and Espen Hervik.

Award recipients are as follows

Katie Barta, 9 – Two Gold Key for Drawing and Illustration

Cory Underwood, 9 – Honorable Mention, Still life Drawing and Illustration

Cameron Reynolds, 10 – Honorable Mention, Bluejay Painting

Kennedy Bradburn, 11 – Gold Key, October 1, 1994, Printmaking

Bailey Donovan – 11 Silver Key, Who We Are, Mixed Media

Bailey Donovan, 11 – Gold Key, Pick a Spott, Printmaking

Evelyn Holmstedt, 11 – Silver Key Peacock, Printmaking

Alyssa Mitchell, 11 – Silver Key, Kernel Printmaking

Nathan Blizzard, 12 – Honorable Mention Life Short Film

Nathan Blizzard, 12 – Silver Key Earth, Short Film

Nathan Blizzard, 12 – Silver Key, Importance Portfolio

Nathan Blizzard, 12 – Silver Key, Bullying Short Film

Nathan Blizzard, 12 – Gold Key, Fisherman Short Film

Emelia Finke, 12 – Two Honorable Mentions for Painting and Drawing and Illustration

Espen Hervik, 12 – Honorable Mention Mjolnir (Hammer of Thor) Mixed Media

Avery McKennan, 12 – Honorable Mention, Heirlooms, Mixed Media

Avery McKennan, 12 – Silver Key, Oh Brother, Drawing and Illustration

Avery McKennan, 12 – Silver Key, Yes, I Made That, Portfolio

Avery McKennan, 12 – Silver Key, Eagle Sculpture

Avery McKennan, 12 – Gold Key, Chicken Pox, Mixed Media

Avery McKennan, 12 – Gold Key, Grandpa, Drawing/Illustration

Avery McKennan, 12 – Gold Key, What Are You Staring At? Drawing and Illustration

Stephanie Mlynarik, 12 – Two Honorable Mentions for Portfolio and Sculpture

Stephanie Mlynarik, 12 Two Silver Key for Drawing and Illustration and Painting

Nate Premer, 12 – Silver Key, Blue Macaw Printmaking

Nathan Blizzard’s video “Fisherman” won a Gold Kay Award in Short Film

Searching For Humanity

Mrs. Wellman-HighHorse’s English 12 class is reading the memoir “Night”, written by Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel. They attended the “Searching for Humanity” Holocaust exhibit at the SAC Museum. Students had a guided tour of the Holocaust exhibit, participated in an anti-bias and the dangers of being a bystander activity, and listened to a speaker whose mother was a Holocaust survivor. Two students who attended reported that it was very touching and they went through a “roller coaster of emotions.” They said, of course, it was very sad but then hearing stories about how some children were rescued and how second-generation survivors are keeping the memories of their ancestors alive is touching too.

Pictures by Sara Wellman-HighHorse

Artist in Residence at Fort Calhoun Elementary

Students at Fort Calhoun Elementary participated in a fun art project recently. The PFE sponsored an Artist in Residence, Julia Noyes from UNL. The program involved the entire school and consisted of a curriculum-based art project developed and conducted by Julia. The students learned about the process of making mosaics and took part in creating two murals to be displayed in the school.  We want to thank the PFE and all their volunteers for hosting this event, and all the families who donated supplies for the project.

100th-Day Celebration

Our 100th-day celebration was STEM-based. Students built using 100 coins, cups, dominoes, and other objects. Students had fun with different art activities, songs, and a 100th-day snack! They especially liked making their 100th-day t-shirts. The older students even got to celebrate by having a 100th-day trivia contest and helping the younger students with their centers. We are 100 days brighter here at Fort Calhoun!

picture by Carly McElhose

Dance Camp 2019

Students at Fort Calhoun Elementary had a ton of fun at Dance Camp on January 12th. More than 40 girls attended this event organized by the High School Dance Team. This year, they had a “Greatest Showman” theme and danced at halftime of the Girls’ Varsity Game against Yutan. According to some 3rd grade girls who attended, it was a blast because the got to eat pizza, spend time with friends and at the end of the dance, they all threw roses into the air.

American Legion Mural

After several weeks of planning, prepping, problem-solving, dedication, and teamwork Fort Calhoun Art students are finally finished with this large mural for the American Legion Post 348 in Fort Calhoun.

The mural measures 10 ft. high by 30 ft. wide.

We are extremely proud of all the students who contributed to this project. We’re thankful for opportunities like this to showcase the students’ talents. Thank you to all the supportive administrators, co-workers, and community members.

The following is a list of students who helped with the project.

Shelby Altstadt

Bailey Donovan

America Johnson

Allyssa Wright

Sadie Finch

Hannah Conklin

Stephanie Mlynarik

Carter Gochanour

Kennady Bradburn

Sara Jabens

Alyssa Mitchell

Carly Underwood

Evelyn Holmstedt

Mattie Finch

Carly Finch

Aaron Swanson

Morgan Shaner

Emilia Finke

Ben Haggar

Kelsie Premer

Elementary Students Go Carolling 2018

The 6th Grader’s from Fort Calhoun Elementary school, led by their music teacher Samantha Bryan, sang Christmas carols for the residents at Autumn Pointe Assisted Living Community. The students did a great job and the residents enjoyed hearing some Christmas classics.