EAGLE NEWS

• November 20-24 -No School-Thanksgiving Recess
• November 22 PEP Holiday Donation Due Date (see link below to donate)
  
• December 7-PEP Panera Saddle Creek location 4-8p
• December 11-PEP Meeting 7pm library
  
• December 19-20-Final Exams
• December 22-Winter Break Begins
  

Activities and Athletic Schedules

Please help Central PEP (PTO) spoil our staff by donating towards our initiative to give each Central staff member a small gift before the holidays. Please follow the link and sign up to donate towards the cause. A donation link is included in the the sign up.

Click to donate.

During their Freshman year, Central High School students will select a pathway. Students in pathways take their core classes (English, math, social studies and science) along with career-focused classes and electives. Student choices are what determine the differences in the high school experience. At Central High School , Pathways are a series of four or more classes focused on a group of related careers, or cluster. Students in a pathway take classes with a wide range of other students across career interests. All freshmen will select their Pathway in their Freshman Seminar course before Winter Break. Registration for the 2024-25 school year will occur in late January and early February 2024.

First quarter we celebrated students who met the strive for 95 benchmark. Students who miss less than 1.8 days per quarter meet the criteria.

Here is the data of students who met:

53% Freshman

47% Sophomores

41% Juniors

37% Seniors

From your CHS School Social Worker, Ms. Dawnna Hill--

The NEST

Central is proud to house the NEST, which is a basic necessity closet for students, here on campus. If students need to access the NEST at no charge, they can reach out to their assigned Counselor, Administrator, or Social Worker to do so, during a non-instructional time.

SPECIAL THANKS to our ongoing generous community partners that help show up and provide the resources that are needed and accessed daily. From our Central staff, to current and alumni parents and families, surrounding churches, for profit organizations, and grant funded supports, we are just so blessed and grateful. Not only during this time of November, but all year round. Your partnerships and collaboration are truly serving so many children and families each week. Thank you all for your actionable spirit, hearts of generosity, and kindness. It has brought me particular joy to have received AMAZING donations this week from not one, but two young people in middle school using their own birthday celebrations as a way to collect donations and support the NEST. The future is bright, and I certainly am downtown PROUD. Special LOUD shout outs to Isabelle and Avalyn!

PLANNING-- As we look to prepare quickly for December and additional winter recess times, Ms. Hill will be actively recruiting for additional student supports. If you'd like to donate a cash tax-deductible donation to the NEST for future expenses, you can mail in a check to Ms. Hill at Central High School and let me know you'd like the tax form mailed back out to you. If you, your workplace, your small group, place of worship, or place of community service want to provide blessing boxes for students (holiday meals, gift cards, food supports for break), reach out to Ms. Hill to coordinate details. If we can recruit more supports, we can connect those resources with families, which will bring relief and comfort during the weeks away from school. Thanks for your consideration.

External Community Resources

Looking for extra supports for your family? Wish you knew about community resources in our greater Omaha area? Ms. Hill looks to compile known community resources in her padlet, that is available for your access. Check it out and see if there is a community resource that looks to serve you and your family! Know about resources that aren't listed? Send them in! 2023-2024 Community Resources (padlet.org)

All students who are taking an AP class have the opportunity to take the AP exam for each AP course in May. Students are automatically registered for the AP exam when they join their AP Classroom. If a student does not wish to take the AP exam, they need to email Mrs. Meyer at angela.meyer@ops.org by November 5th. AP exams will be ordered on November 15th. If a student does not test when an exam has been ordered for them, CollegeBoard will charge a $40 fee.

Students who pay to register for the December 2023 ACT will receive a discount code that can be used to take another ACT® test for free. The discount code will be sent to your email no later than Dec. 18, 2023 and must be used by Jan. 31, 2024. Use you free ACT to build your superscore on any test through July 2024. Remaining Saturday test dates: February 10, April 13, June 8, July 13.

ACT: Seniors-do you need to retake your ACT? Juniors—want to take the ACT? The next ACT is Saturday, December 9th . Students register themselves online at MyACT.org by November 3rd. After November 3rd, a late registration fee will apply. Students who qualify for educational benefits (free/reduced lunch) can receive up to 4 fee waivers to take the ACT for free. The fee waiver will cover the late fee. Email angela.meyer@ops.org for a fee waiver.

SAT: Register online at SAT.org. Fee waivers are also available from Mrs. Meyer, room 134.

Central recognized 54 AP Scholars this week. Thirty-two students who earned the AP Scholar recognition graduated in 2023. Twenty-two current students have earned the AP Scholar honor by taking at least 3 AP exams and scoring a 3 or higher on each exam. Nationally, less than 10% of students earn the distinction of AP Scholar.

Front row: James Weber, Lucy Rawlinson, Claire Nipper, Natalie Tse, Elizabeth Wiggins, Hafsa Osman, Naideline Garibo-Olivar Back row: Ms. Kirksey, Orion Schoell-Schafer, Marasia Harris, Jonah Koesters, Brayden Simpson, Jaden Cheloha, Sam Morris, Aaron Seger, Delaney Reiss. Not pictured: Maddie George, Lachlan O'Keefe

Our Freshman Academy is in the midst of our friendly competition for the Freshman Cup. The current standings are Crandell in first place with 7 points. Sayers in second place with 6 points. McClarnon in a close third with 5 points. And Townsend in fourth with two points. There will be a challenge in December, January, February, March, and April...plenty of points still available! We will celebrate the Freshman Team with the most points in May with popsicles, sunshine, and music! The winning team will also have their name and year added to our Freshman Cup Challenge Trophy, memorializing their win for all future freshmen to envy.

At Central HS we offer Spanish, German, French and Chinese. Students are immersed in the language and culture.

Srta. Forrest's Spanish classes did a lesson with Ms. Kawecki in the library on the Spanish-language folktale/ghost story of "La Llorona." Students heard oral recordings of the folktale, compared different versions of the story, listened to traditional and contemporary songs inspired by the folktale, and wrote comics that retold and summarized the folktale.

Other Spanish classes were learning about all the things associated with Dia de los Muertos like calaveras and papel picados, with the more advanced classes writing calaveritas literarias, short poems meant to poke fun at something.

Frau Meyer's German 3-4 class learned about traditional German clothing like Lederhosen and Dirndl and the history of Oktoberfest last week. We finished with a German Oktoberfest hat competition! German 1-2 classes learned about the German Day of Unity (October 3rd) and the History of the Berlin Wall. ​

M. Ringlein's s French students attended French Auberge, paid for through a grant with the Central High School Foundation, at Camp Carol Joy Holling in Ashland. This is a two day (one night) stay where French students (grades 9-12, levels 3-4 to AP) immerse themselves into a French-speaking camp full of cultural trivia, games, an escape room, a lip-sync music video contest, and more. Students enjoyed delicious French lunch and dinner on Saturday, stayed overnight, and then enjoyed a French breakfast on Sunday. In addition, students who made the extra efforts to encourage speaking and engagement earned "bons points" which gave them access to a raffled prize table.

Mlle Steinauer's class participated in a "field trip" to Paris' famed Pere Lachaise Cemetery. They read clues in French to identify the famous French person for each tombstone.

We invite all parents to sign up to be a member of PEP which is Central's parent organization. Central High School prides itself on having a very supportive group of parent volunteers, and we always welcome more! Your membership dollars are our principal source of income and allows us to support the Central community. Additionally, if you plan to volunteer in any capacity at Central High, you must be a member of PEP so that you are covered under our personal liability umbrella.
Thank you for helping support Central! We encourage everyone to SIGN UP HERE for a PEP membership for only $15.

If you would be interested in any volunteer or donations, SignUpGenius will be posted soon.

Our next PEP meeting is on December 11, 2023 at 7:00pm in the Central High School Library

Merchandise can be purchased at http://omaha-central-hs-pep.square.site

Please contact us at omahacentralhspep@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Completing this form online or on paper can give you access to many student and family opportunities. See the links below.

Central High School and the Omaha Public Schools offer academic support outside of the school day to our students. Students are welcome to take advantage of the following supports:

• This is an open-door program available to all students. No reservation is required to receive tutoring: "No sign up; just show up!". It is staffed by Central teachers in the core subjects and funded by the Central High School Foundation.

• Tutoring is available in the library from 3:15 to 4:15 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
• The program also funds essay help on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings in rooms 229 and 235.
  

• Through online tutoring with Paper, students in grades 3-12 have access to:

  • 1:1 live chat tutoring sessions with experts
    • Support in 200 subjects
    • Available in English, Spanish, French and Mandarin
  • Expert review of written work (essays, creative writing, poetry, lab reports)
  • Hundreds of resources and activities for families support students at home
  • Interactive shows and activities to expand learning beyond the classroom
  • Students can access online tutoring seven days a week via the Clever dashboard on their iPad until 11 p.m.

On Saturday, Nov 11, Central hosted their 2nd ever robotics tournament. 45 teams from across the Omaha metro area and state participated in the tournament. Over 130 kids were in attendance for the competition. It was a wonderful day. A huge shout out to our OPS Robotics Staff and volunteers that helped put the tournament on. Teams that earned awards during the competition qualified for the State Robotics Championships later this spring. Keep an eye on Central Robotics.

• Our district works proactively to make the best decision possible when winter weather or emergencies require us to adjust our regular learning routines.

  Our toolkit of alternatives includes the following options:

  • Remote Learning Day
  • School Closure (no remote learning, schools are closed and district offices remain open)
  • District Closure (no remote learning, schools and district offices are closed)
  • Late Start (two-hour delay)
  • Early Release (two-hour early dismissal)
    
    

  On a Remote Learning Day, teachers will contact students through email, Seesaw, Teams or Canvas with independent learning activities by 8:30 a.m. Teachers will have virtual office hours from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. if students and families have questions or wish to visit with the teacher about their academic progress. Attendance will not be taken on Inclement Weather Remote Learning Days.

  Whenever possible, our district will announce changes to a daily routine the night before. However, we know weather conditions and other emergencies can develop rapidly and a decision the morning of a school day may be necessary. When that happens, we will communicate as early as possible in the morning.

  We will follow our communication routines. If weather, power outages or other circumstances force a change to our normal day, we will communicate directly with all staff and families. That communication will be through email, text message and phone call. Families should ensure their contact information is current in Infinite Campus. We will also share the information on our website and through local media.