Masters Elementary
October 18, 2026
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Wednesday, October 21st, from 4:30 - 8:00 p.m. and Thursday, October 22nd, from 12:00 - 7:30 p.m. This is an opportunity for the teacher and parent(s)/guardian(s) to discuss students’ progress and determine goals for the remainder of the year. Conferences are currently being scheduled through Bookings, a Microsoft web-based booking calendar. Please go to https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/MastersElementaryConferences@omahaps.onmicrosoft.com/?ismsaljsauthenabled to schedule a time to meet with your child(ren)'s teacher.
Sincerely,
Lynnette Keyes
Principal
Scholastic Bookfair
Get ready—the Scholastic Book Fair is coming to our school during conferences! This is a great opportunity to build your child’s home library with new books that will get them excited about reading, while also earning funds for our school. The easiest way to let your child shop the Fair independently is by creating a Book Fair eWallet through our school homepage. It’s easy to set up and easy for family and friends to add funds. With eWallet, you’ll also have the chance to contribute to Share the Fair™—the giving program that supports students at our school who need help buying books. Consider participating so that no child leaves the Fair empty-handed! Preview the books coming to the Fair by taking a 360° virtual tour via our school’s Book Fair homepage and explore the titles, watch video book trailers, and more. We can’t wait to see you at the Fair and help every student discover a book they’ll love!
Thank You!
Thank you to everyone who supported our Penny Wars fundraiser. With your support, we raised $814.56 for our school store, October conference dinner for teachers and other student and staff celebrations.
A special thanks to Portaplay Bounce House Rentals for donating a bounce house for our winning grade levels, first and second grades. They had a great time!
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Mrs. Hassenkamp, Masters' Instructional Facilitator, and Mrs. Rinehart, second grade teacher, for being nominated and selected as Masters' Moments That Matter Staff Members of the Week for the past two weeks. Way to go!
Students, staff and families are encouraged to nominate staff members to acknowledge their excellent work. To nominate a Masters staff member, please click the nomination link. Each week, one staff member will be selected and celebrated as our Moments That Matter winner! The weekly recipient will also receive a special prize or gift card, generously provided by our wonderful community partners.
Masters BEST!
To support Masters' Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Behavior (MTSS-B), our school recognizes students each month who go above and beyond in demonstrating Masters Best! (Be respectful and kind, Engaged, Safe, Take responsibility). Classroom teachers nominate students who best represent Masters Best! in their classroom. Each honoree is named our Masters BEST Monarchs of the Month and receive a coupon from Godfather's Pizza for a free medium one-topping pizza. We're excited to celebrate our students for showing kindness, courage, gratitude, and leadership throughout the year!
September's Masters BEST Monarchs include Edna Iang Hlei, Keean Lee, Owen Cook, TaeJahn Lane Almgren, Dallas Smith, Anelise Dahlheim, Lila Talmon, Say Kpru Soe, Sugam Acharya, Bradley Cook, Chloe Anderson, and Arely Montanez-Lopez. Congratulations, Monarchs! Keep up the good work!
Attendance
Keeping students in school from bell to bell is essential because consistent attendance boosts academic performance, increases graduation rates, and builds essential life skills like responsibility. Missing even 10% of school (about 16 days per year) can lead to reading difficulties by third grade, middle school challenges, and a higher risk of dropping out. Each minute missed counts against your student’s future.
To add on to our fabulous attendance incentives, because it is so important to keep your students in school from bell to bell, we honor and recognize students that have maintained perfect attendance and/or missed 1 day or less each month. These students received Monarch locker ribbon tags for the month of September. We will continue this incentive each month for students that miss 1 day or less. Students receiving 8 attendance ribbon tags by May 2027, will celebrate with a field trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo. Keep showing up and working hard, Monarchs!
Additionally, students with first quarter perfect attendance will receive game time this Tuesday afternoon. Students with first quarter perfect attendance include: Blessing Poe, Jaxson Parsons, Hser Loh Dah Pi Nah Kya, Mateo Gonzalez Rodriguez, Brianna Wah, Jeremiah Prince-Rios, Daphne Walsh, Aaron Perez Martinez, Julia Lwin, Emiliano Gonzalez Rodriguez, Dylan Pineiro Martinez, Marco Vera Gonzalez, Anabelle Cabrera, Cindy Mu, Ava Thomas, Moogay Soe, Yar Eh Blue Doh Htoo, Jasmine Rios, Kyliah Dortch, William Say, Davaiya Johnson, Karmen White, Aranza Perez Martinez, Johnny Moolwin, Zayleigh Doebelin, Araiyah Dortch, and Keyla Uriostegui Abarca. Way to go, Monarchs!
No School
There will be no school for all students on Thursday, October 22nd and Friday, October 23rd due to conferences. Enjoy the time off with your child(ren).
Cold Weather
As the weather is changing, students need to wear warmer clothes to school. We will go outside for a short recess during the lunch period if it is above 25 degrees and not raining/snowing. Hats, gloves and coats will become necessary as the weather continues to change. Please help us keep your child(ren) healthy by monitoring what is worn to school.
Late Start
School will begin two hours late (10:50 AM) for all students on Oct. 27th, 2026, and Jan. 26th, and Feb. 23rd, 2027. Staff will use the time for data-driven work to improve teaching and learning across Omaha Public Schools. Staff will take attendance as they do on a regularly scheduled school day. Schedule conflicts will not be considered an excused absence.
Students currently enrolled in before-school programs will be able to arrive at the program at their usual time and receive breakfast. Breakfast will not be provided for students not enrolled in the before-school program. Lunch will be served to all students.
Trunk or Treat
Candy Grams
To help support various school student and staff incentives, we will sell Candy Grams in the commons area before school Monday, October 26th - Wednesday, October 28th. Students can purchase a Candy Gram for $1.00 for any student or staff member. They may purchase as many as they would like and class sets will be sold for $10.00. The student will fill out the Candy Gram with the recipient's name, the teacher's name, and a short message. A sweet treat will be attached to the Candy Gram, and it will be delivered to the recipient on October 30th.
Halloween
The annual Halloween Parade will be held on Friday, October 30th at 2:45 p.m. Mrs. Quandt’s kindergarten class will lead the parade by grade level. The parade will start at the front doors and then travel north down the sidewalk to Ellison Street and then turn back south on 97th Street to return and circle the school blacktop for an all student viewing. In the event of inclement weather, students will parade through the hallways and end in the gym where parents and friends may view the parade. Room parties will follow the parade. Alternate activities with specialists will be provided for students not participating.
Snacks With the Counselor
We are excited to invite parents and guardians to join Ms. Wills for our Snacks with the Counselor series! These monthly gatherings are a chance to connect, share ideas, and learn together in a relaxed, supportive setting. Each gathering will last 30-45 minutes and focus on a specific topic to help support your child’s growth and success, with open discussion about the counseling program’s future at Masters. They will be held at the school in Ms. Wills’ classroom, room 17, starting at 4:15 PM on Wednesdays.
Upcoming Dates & Topics:
Nov. 11th – Anxiety
Dec. 2nd – Internet Safety
Feb. 17th – Anger Management
Mar. 24th – Positive Discipline
Apr. 21st – Confidence and Self Esteem
I hope you’ll join us for one, or all these conversations as we work together to support our students and strengthen our school community! Go Monarchs!
Calendar
10/19 Second Quarter Begins
10/21 Parent Teacher Conferences
10/22 Parent Teacher Conferences/No School
10/23 No School
10/27 Two Hour Late Start
10/28 Third Grade Field Trip - Durham Museum
10/28 Fifth Grade Field Trip - Rose Theater
10/30 Halloween Parade & Parties, 2:45 - 3:50 p.m.
11/10 Fifth Grade Field Trip - Glow Baseball (CHI Ctr.)
11/11 Third Grade Field Trip - Rose Theater
11/11 Snacks With the Counselor
11/19 Fourth Grade Field Trip - Lauritzen Gardens
12/10 Holiday Program, 9:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m.