Raymond Central Public Schools

It is that time of year! The following link is the signup to either donate to our Caring Shelves Thanksgiving boxes or to sign up to receive a Thanksgiving box. If you have any questions, please reach out to Celia Newman (celia.newman@rcentral.org).

1. Level Up Your Handwashing

First, it is very important to wash your hands, well and often. You should spend about 20 seconds total washing your hands.

Some pointers for handwashing:

• Wet your hands before adding soap

• Scrubbing with soap should take about 10-15 seconds of the total wash time.

• When you rinse your hands, don't rinse your wrists or arms above the soapy area.

• Use a paper towel to shut off the tap if it isn't automatic.

• Use a paper towel to grab the door handle or use the foot pull if available.

When to wash:

• After using the restroom
• Before eating or preparing food
• After coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose
• After your hands have become visibly dirty or contaminated
• After contact with someone who is sick

2. Keep it at Home

Second, stay home when you are sick! Your health and the health of your peers take priority.

When to stay home:

• If you have a fever

• If you have diarrhea or vomiting

• Contagious signs: heavy coughing, persistent sneezing, or pinkeye.

• Severe fatigue: body aches, dizziness, or trouble breathing.

  
  

The CDC recommends returning to regular activities after being fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication. If severe symptoms aren't improving after 3-4 days, you should see a medical provider.

3. Immunize!

The third way to stay healthy this fall is to stay up to date on your vaccines and boosters. The best time to get vaccinated is before viruses begin spreading in the community. Vaccines are available at clinics and pharmacies all over town and are often free with insurance. Ask your trusted healthcare provider which immunizations are appropriate for you.

More information:

CDC respiratory illness guidelines: https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/index.html.

CDC Covid guidelines: https://www.cdc.gov/covid/prevention/index.html

CDC flu guidelines: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.html

Welcome to Fall!

As we are fully into the 2nd quarter of the year we are finding more ways to help our students grow! In the first week of November our 6-8th grade students will be attending a Life Skills Pep Rally that includes leadership and motivational topics. Included in this event will be attendance at a Nebraska Women's Basketball game.

Some of our high school students will get the opportunity for the first annual Nebraska Capital Conference Leadership Summit. This event will be held at Arlington High School and give students a chance to learn leadership skills that they can bring back to our building.

Veterans' Day will also give our students an opportunity to show respect and honor those veterans in our community. Our CTSO (Career and Technical Student Organizations) groups that include Skills USA, FFA and FBLA will help host this event on November 11th at 9:00 AM. All community members are welcome to attend.

Finally, we took a career interest survey for all 6-12th grade students. It was a great way for us to see what our students want to do after high school to help us determine how we can better serve our students futures. The career interest areas with the highest interest in all grade levels were; 25% Healthcare & Human Services, 13% Arts, Entertainment & Design, 12% Construction, 10% Agriculture and 7% Marketing & Sales. We are continuing to work to find ways to get our students better connected with the world outside of the classroom so they are better prepared for their life after high school.

Go Mustangs!

Tony Kobza

JH/HS Principal

On October 22nd, HAL students in 3-8th grade traveled to Fremont to attend a Special Ops activity out on by the UNL Extension Office.

Students in 3-5th grade investigated the products and food that come from animals. This included making their own butter and figuring out the carcass weight of an animal by using a watermelon as a stand in.

Middle school students came prepared to work on their entrepreneurial skills by creating a product and its business plan.

High school NHS members spent the morning at the Ceresco Elementary school with the kindergarteners! They read a book titled "Cora Cooks Pancit". It's a story of a young girl who cooks a special meal that honors her family's traditions. Pancit is a noodle dish special to Filipino-American families that Cora helped her mother make to surprise her family with. NHS students were excited to read and talk with the kindergarten students and share this wonderful story! The kindergarteners also shared the wonderful things they learned from loved ones and the meals they like to eat with their families. NHS students will be back in November with another story!!

Tutoring is available for core classes at the JH/SH building! National Honor Society students are available to help with homework, test preparations, or skill building! Contact Mrs. Newman, Mrs. Klepper, or Mrs. Polak for more information! Students can also fill out the form below to request a tutor by scanning the QR code.

On October 1st part of the Central FFA livestock judging team traveled to Northwest Missouri State University to participate in their Fall CDEs! It was an early morning but a great day!

The team consisting of Joshua VanOverbeke, Kaitlin Rezac, and Hudson Jelinek placed 5th overall.

Individual placings out of 147 individuals

Joshua VanOverbeke— 5th overall

Kaitlin Rezac — 20th overall

Hudson Jelinek — 26th overall

Jolee Kliment — 27th overall

Tierney Twohig — 30th overall

Lydia Donahue — 50th overall

Central FFA Competed at District Land Judging, taking 21 students to Linwood on October 7. The team consisting of Coleman Field, Isaac Zobel, Wyatt Suchy, and Lucy Echtenkamp placed 4th overall and punched their ticket to the State Land Judging Contest next Wednesday.

Central FFA Competing at State Land Judging on October 14. The team consisted of Isaac Zobel, Wyatt Suchy, Lucy Echtenkamp, and Coleman Field. The team placed 12 out of 34 teams!

Individual results included:

• Wyatt Suchy 62nd Pink Ribbon
• Coleman Field 43rd White Ribbon
• Isaac Zobel 30th White Ribbon

On Friday, October 9 our FFA members held Feed-a-Farmer events at both Frontier Cooperative in Ceresco and Farmer's Cooperative in Raymond. Between both coops we were able to serve over 100 meals to members of the community!

On Wednesday, October 28 FFA members traveled to Leigh to compete in their annual livestock judging contest. There were over 500 individuals and 26 schools present! Results are below:

Senior Team consisting of Amirah Potter, Jolee Kliment, Lydia Donahue, and Kaitlin Rezac placed 5th out of 24 teams

• 10th overall Amirah Potter
• 17th overall Jolee Kliment
• 18th Overall Lydia Donahue

Junior Team consisting of Joshua VanOverbeke, Allison Rezac, Ella Donahue, and Hudson Jelinek placed 11th out of 24 teams

Junior individual results (out of 216 individuals)

• 3rd overall Joshua VanOverbeke
• 6th overall Allison Rezac

Junior High Team placed 7th out of 14 teams

Junior High Individual Results ( out of 122 individuals)

• 8th overall Saige Potter

Our next chapter meeting is November 19th at 6:30pm in the commons at the high school!

Junior high boys basketball began practice on October 20th. We have 35 young men participating on the team this year. This is a record high number of participants.Their first game is November 10th at Yutan starting at 4:30. Coaches are Mr. Henderson. Otis Chatham and Sheri VerKamp.

GO MUSTANGS!

The yearbook showcases EVERY student from Preschool to graduating seniors.

Ordering for the 2026-2027 yearbook is now available! Forms are available below!

Order yours today!! Prices are:

$60 from now until December 31, 2026

$70 per yearbook from January 1, 2027 to May 7, 2027

Business and Senior Ads are available for the following sizes/prices:

½ page for $65

Full page for $120

The HS Band had an AMAZING season this October! The students faced new challenges of harder music and more competitions this year, and they did wonderful! Congratulations to them for a great season, and thank you to everyone for all your support. The results are below:

• Bennington Marching Invitational, October 3rd - Division II Excellent
• Conestoga Marching Invitational (first time!), October 12th - Division I Superior
• Oxbow Marching Contests in Ashland, October 17th - Division I Superior
• NSBA State Marching Contests (first time!), October 24th - Division II Excellent

All the groups are now hard at work for our Veterans Day Program on Wednesday, November 11th and our Winter Concerts. Come check out some cool music and the students' amazing hard work!

December Concerts:

• Elementary Winter Concert (K-2, & 3-5) - Thursday, December 3rd @ 6:00pm
• 6th-8th Band & Choir Concert - Monday, December 7th @ 6:30pm in the RCHS Main Gym
• HS Band & Choir - Monday, December 14th @ 6:30pm in the RCHS Main Gym