Specials Spotlight

Middle school artists are busy painting the High School Musical set. They are working with me after school during operertta rehearsals. We have 17 4'x8' wooden panels to transform into East High's hallway, theater backstage, science classroom, locker room and gym. They are also helping me restore some lockers that Coach Dunn brought up from the basement of the old Cathedral High School. Thanks Coach! Special thanks to the students who have helped so far: Eden Garcia Garduna Espinoza, Tha Say, Francesca Kolterman, Catherine Neuman, Lilly Bergmann, Sara McChesney, and Kalliope Knoble. They are so eager to help, and are working so hard! I couldn't do this without them. Plus, it's fun painting along side them as a team!

The library has been buzzing with excitement as we continue exploring this year’s Nebraska Golden Sower nominees! Our PreK-2nd graders had a blast cheering on the competitors in Dog vs. Strawberry by Nelly Buchet. After seeing who crossed the finish line first, students put their own imaginations to work by illustrating brand-new games for the duo to compete in.

Meanwhile, our 3rd-5th graders dove into the "pandemonium" of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo. This heartwarming tale reminds us that "every good story is a love story," though the students were particularly fond of Pinky, a six-year-old aspiring outlaw! To channel that humor, students designed their own "Wanted" posters for characters, friends, and even siblings.

Finally, our 8th graders impressed us with their professionalism during their podcast presentations. They tackled the complexities of social media safety, offering mature insights on how to stay protected online. Mrs. Hickey and I were truly blown away by the clarity and depth of their research on such an important topic.

Hello! If you are interested in supporting the Operetta program or would like to just rock some new spirit wear, apparel for this year's show High School Musical Jr. is now available. Check out the link below!

As an added bonus, chorus members are welcome to wear this shirt along with uniform bottoms as an alternative to their full uniform for the Operetta performances. I will be sending more information regarding these performances soon! Thank you for your support and I am looking forward to sharing the amazing work our students are pouring into this production!

Middle School students on Monday engaged in 3-ball hockey, which brought high levels of competition and teamwork. Each student had the opportunity to be goalie at least once while also contributing on offense and defense. Stick control and accuracy was very impressive amongst all three classes. We will continue hockey next Monday. Friday classes will be completing their third and final round of Fitness Assessments starting next week. Ensuring a good night of sleep and eating breakfast will help prepare students to do their best.

PreK through 3rd Grade played a game called Pin Guard this week. Each class was divided into two teams. Both teams determined and set up bowling pins within the given zone. Students were trying to be the first team to knock down the opposing team’s pins while defending their own. There were several creative approaches to setting up pins. 4th and 5th Grade competed in a variety of relay races to prepare for their Fitness Assessments next week. Relay races consisted of four, predetermined teams to complete tasks such as running, throwing, catching, shooting a basketball, and traveling on scooters.

Our students have been having a wonderful time exploring robotics with our Bee-Bots! The Kindergarten students practiced their programming skills by playing “Score a Goal.” Using the push attachment, they programmed the Bee-Bots to push a ping-pong and wiffle ball into a goal box.

The 2nd-grade students took on an engineering challenge. We discussed the concept of slope and tasked them with constructing a bridge for the robot to cross. They had to be creative, using only two wooden blocks, cardboard, and tape to build a sturdy structure. We are fortunate to have a variety of robots to offer for each grade level.