JH/HS Principal Newsletter

It has been a fun, fast paced two weeks here at Hershey Public Schools!!! It has been a joy having students and staff back in the building and feeling the energy which they bring. In my classroom walkthrough's these first two weeks I have seen great teaching taking place and students actively participating/engaged in their classroom activities. That is what we daily want to strive for here at Hershey and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with our staff on our Marzano framework and having common expectations in the classroom here at Hershey. Please take a few moments to check out the information below as it pertains to the month of September. And as always, do not hesitate to reach out to me here at the school with any questions or concerns you may have. Let’s make it a great month here in Panther Nation!!!

This month we will “officially” launch the Thrillshare Rooms communication platform for all teachers and parents to use to communicate within the classroom. Each parent should have received a text message and an email explaining how to sign up for their students' classes. This will then allow parents and students to be able to see what is taking place in class as well as serve as a place for safe and secure communication between teachers, students, and parents. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the school and we will be happy to help you out!

One initiative we are working on for the 23-24 school year is having a common set of expectations/language for staff, students, and community members here at Hershey. This initiative is being called PANTHER MOJO and will be visible around the school and on social media posts. From this we have created an acronym from MOJO which stands for the following

Meaningful Engagement

cOmmon Expectations

Joy in Learning

Opportunities for Growth.

As a staff we see these four common expectations as a great roadmap for success for the students and staff here at Hershey. These items provide all stakeholders a rallying point to come back to throughout the year to make sure we stay on the path to provide the best learning experiences for our students and staff!

The JH and HS students will take part in the Fall MAPS testing on September 12th and 13th. Students will test in the morning on the first day and the afternoon on the second day. We ask that parents/guardians help ensure students get a good night's rest on those dates and come prepared to test. The data collected from these tests helps drive our 7-12 instruction as well as identify students who may need some extra support in the classroom. Thank you in advance for your help with this!

-9.1.23 - V FB vs Kearney Catholic (Summers Field)

-9.2.23 - V VB @ Lexington Invitational

-9.4.23 - Labor Day - No School

-9.5.23 - ELA HQIM & Leadership Cohort @ Wallace High School

-9.5.23 - GG @ Broken Bow Invitational (Broken Bow C.C.)

-9.5.23 - V SB vs GICC/DT & Hwy 6 Triangular (Centennial Park)

-9.5.23 - R/JV/V VB @ Cozad High School

-9.7.23 - JH/HS CC @ Chase County Invitational (Imperial G.C.)

-9.7.23 - JH VB @ Adams Middle School

-9.7.23 - JH FB @ Adams Middle School

-9.7.23 - R/JV/V VB vs Lexington High School (Main Gym)

-9.7.23 - V SB vs Chase County High School (Centennial Park)

-9.8.23 - V FB vs Centura High School (Summers Field)

-9.9.23 - V SB @ Cozad Invitational (Bellamy Park)

-9.9.23 - V VB @ Lexington High School

-9.11.23 - GG @ Hershey Invitational (Lake Maloney)

-9.11.23 - V SB @ Holyoke High School

-9.12.23 - JH VB @ Ogallala Middle School

-9.14.23 - JR & SR's @ College Fair (North Platte H.S.)

-9.14.23 - JH VB @ Sutherland Middle School

-9.14.23 - JH/HS CC @ McCook Invitational (Heritage Hills G.C.)

-9.14.23 - Reserve VB @ Ogallala Reserve Quad

-9.14.23 - V SB @ Southern Valley/Alma High School

-9.14.23 - JH FB vs Chase County Middle School (Summers Field)

-9.15.23 - GG @ Hershey Quad (Lake Maloney G.C.)

-9.18.23 - JH VB vs Chase County Middle School

-9.18.23 - Reserve VB @ Sutherland Triangular

-9.18.23 - SB vs Chase County High School (Centennial Park)

-9.19.23 - GG @ Ogallala Invitational (Crandall Creek G.C.)

-9.19.23 - R/JV/V VB @ Kimball High School

-9.19.23 - SB vs Bayard High School (Centennial Park)

-9.20.23 - SkillsUSA Fall Leadership Conference (Hastings, NE)

-9.21.23 - SB @ Ogallala Duals (Western Diamond Complex)

-9.21.23 - GG @ Bridgeport Invitational (Courthouse & Jailhouse Rock G.C.)

-9.21.23 - JH/HS CC @ Ogallala Invitational (Crandall Creek G.C.)

-9.21.23 - JH VB @ NPSP Middle School

-9.21.23 - JH FB @ Valentine Middle School

-9.21.23 - R/JV/V VB @ McCook High School

-9.22.23 - V FB @ Mitchell High School

-9.23.23 - Marching Band @ Bearcat Marching Festival (Kearney H.S.)

-9.25.23 - GG @ Cozad Invitational (Cozad Country Club)

-9.25.23 - HS CC @ UNK Invitational (Kearney Country Club)

-9.25.23 - SB vs SV-Alma High School (Centennial Park)

-9.25.23 - Reserve VB @ North Platte High School

-9.25.23 - JV VB @ NPCC Invitational

-9.26.23 - SB vs Gothenburg High School (Centennial Park)

-9.27.23 - GG @ D-C-S Invitational (Benkelman G.C.)

-9.28.23 - R/JV/V VB vs Valentine High School

-9.28.23 - JV CC @ Gothenburg Invitational (Wild Horse G.C.)

-9.28.23 - JH FB @ Ogallala Middle School

-9.28.23 - JH VB @ McCook Middle School

-9.28.23 - V FB vs Chase County High School (Homecoming Game)

-9.30.23 - 2023 Homecoming Dance

We will be holding the PK-12 School Picture RETAKE day on Tuesday, September 12th. All parents should have received an email from Nebraska Portraits this past week with your pictures which were taken on Friday, August 25th. You have the choice as the parent/guardian to get a re-take of the picture if that is your desire. IF your student was absent on that day, please use September 12th as the date to get their school picture taken.

Below are some GREAT tips and reminders shared by our 7-12 guidance counselor, Jolene Pettera!

• NebraskaLand Bank Scholarship information was given to all seniors 8/28/23

• North Platte Area Educational Planning Program (EPP)/College Fair Thursday September 14th at NPHS

• Visit (or revisit) your top college choices.

• When applying for colleges, scholarships, etc use your PERSONAL email.

• The following schools currently have no application fee August 1st to November 1st. Use the code for each school. UNL-HUSKERS, UNK-Lopers, NCTA-NCTA, UNO-no code fee waived.

• National ACT Dates: September 9th.

• Finalize the list of colleges to which you want to apply (3, usually no more than 5). These should include at least one that you definitely know will accept you. Always have a plan B.

• Go on-line for the latest college catalogs and admission applications.

• Study the catalogs for courses and majors offered and sources of financial aid.

• Register for the ACT, SAT, ACCUPLACER tests and prepare for them.

• Service Academy and/or ROTC/RHOP/RLOP/KHOP/KLOP applications must be started.

• Watch for notifications of scholarships.

• Start to ask teachers/employers for a letter of recommendation now for scholarships! Give them a resume and plenty of time before the deadline.

• Create a Resume (activities, accomplishments) example will be given

• Write a biographical sketch (Who are you?) example will be given

• Check out EducationQuest for information and checklists.

Below is the link to the 2023-2024 Student Handbook. This outlines the rules and expectations for students here at Hershey Public Schools! We have covered the following items with the 7-12 student body in a school wide assembly as well as in grade level meetings. Your support and encouragement of our school policies at home goes a long ways in creating a great environment for learning here at HPS!

• Safe/Secure School
• Chromebook Usage
• Cell Phone/Personal Electronic Device Policy
• Academic Eligibility & Good Standing
• Lunch/Open Campus
• Grading: Make-up Work / Late Work
• Dress Code

Here is the link to the complete 2023-2024 Student Handbook: https://www.hpspanthers.org/page/handbooks

The 2023 Hershey Panther Homecoming will be held the week of September 25th through the 30th. Class hallway decorating will take place on Sunday, September 24th. This year due to official shortage and lack of other dates, the homecoming football game will be on THURSDAY, September 28th. The neat thing about this is that we will dismiss school early on that date, host Valentine High School in a R/JV/V volleyball homecoming game starting at 3:00 PM and conclude the day with the varsity football game vs Chase County at 7:00 PM. Homecoming coronation will take place following the game. The 2023 Homecoming dance will be on Saturday, September 30th with the location TBD due to the construction project. We look forward to sharing out the themes for the week here in the near future.

Below is the bell schedule for the upcoming school year:

1st Period 8:15-9:03

2nd Period 9:06 - 9:54

3rd Period 9:57 - 10:45

4th Period 10:48 - 11:36

5th Period 11:39 - 12:26

JH Lunch 11:35 - 12:05

JH 5th Period 12:07 - 12:57

SH Lunch 12:26 - 12:55

6th Period 1:00 - 1:48

7th Period 1:51 - 2:39

8th Period 2:42 - 3:42

On Friday School is let out at the end of 7th Period at 2:39 PM.

As district and breakfast menus are updated, they can be found at the following LINK: https://www.myschoolmenus.com/organizations/300

Below are the dates school will not be in session during Q1:

9.4.23 - Labor Day

Please mark your calendars for this year's parent teachers conferences. It will be held on October 19th and 20th.

Students and families are encouraged to communicate concerns related to the mistreatment of others. For students, a trusted adult is the recommended point of contact. This can be an administrator, teacher, coach, or other trusted person. This adult will then work with administration to respond promptly and appropriately. Parents/guardians are encouraged to communicate concerns directly with HPS Administration.

The most important part of any school is the safety and well being of the students and staff! Several items exist within schools to support school safety. These include:

• Secured access during the school day. Visitors to school must check-in at the main office after they are allowed access through the office doors. All other doors are to be closed and locked during the course of the school day.

• Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is established. This provides a consistent student and staff response to potential emergencies. More information about SRP can be found at this LINK.

• Minimizing deliveries during the school day. We understand that a parent may wish to deliver food to students for special occasions, and we appreciate this. We discourage this from being a regular occurrence.

• Minimizing student visits to vehicles during the school day. Students that forget a school-related item in their vehicles may check-in at the main office before they are allowed to visit their vehicles.

We appreciate the important part our students, staff, and families play in keeping our school safe.

In the first two weeks of school, we have successfully completed one of our two district wide tornado drills as well as one of our two bus evacuation drills for the school year! We believe that we want to continue to prepare our students in the case of an emergency so that we are prepared in the case of a true emergency!