October Newsletter

I can’t believe that we are already in October and that the end of the first quarter is October 18th.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be happening on October 23rd from 2:00 – 8:30 pm The Middle School and the High School Parent/Teacher Conferences will take place at the High School. The Elementary will be holding conferences at the Elementary School and child care will be available in the Elementary gym. That day, the Elementary School will be dismissed at 1:05 pm, the Middle School at 1:20 pm, and the High School at 1:35 pm. Please know that you can always reach out to your child’s teacher at school when you have a question or concern. The ability to check on grades and assignments using PowerSchool and to be able to communicate with your child’s teachers through email hopefully helps you keep up to date on how your student is doing more easily. You will be receiving more information from your child’s school with regards to times and where teachers will be located the night of conferences.

Students that Drive

Remind your students that drive to be especially careful at corners in the country. Sometimes our young drivers forget how much traffic we have this time of year. I know many of you will be working long hours with harvest – stay safe.

Severe Weather

The decision to have a late start or to cancel classes is difficult and often there are people that have differing opinions on the severity of the weather or road conditions. Please remember that you ALWAYS have the ability as parents to decide to send your child to school late or even to keep them at home due to road or weather conditions. We are in a large school district that covers many square miles. Weather and roads can vary a lot from one side of the district to the other. Our families that live on gravel roads often have different conditions than our families that live in town. Please make the best decision for your family on these days.

We will alert you to late-starts/closings through our social media – website, Facebook, automated calls, and our text alerts. We will also call 10/11 news and have it on their closing alerts. If you have not been getting the automated calls/texts, please login to FinalForms and confirm the phone numbers listed on the Automated Calling System page.

Sometimes we may have a late-start to give us more time to make a final determination on canceling classes for the entire day. If we announce a late start, it is still possible that we could announce a closing prior to the late-start time.

Town Route Pick-up

There may be times due to road conditions that we will only pick-up and drop-off students in towns. On these days, students that live in town will follow their regular pickup routine. Should we ever need to call for a town route pick-up we would not pick-up students on our gravel roads, but they could get on a bus at the following stops. Grafton route students would be picked up at the Grafton Post Office at 7:00 am on a regular start and at 9:00 am on a two-hour late start. Fairmont route students would be picked up at the middle school at 7:20 am on a regular start and at 9:20 am on a late start. Ohiowa route students would be picked up at the Ohiowa City Auditorium at 7:00 am on a regular start and at 9:00 am on a late start. We hope to have the buses at those sites 5 minutes prior to their leave times. We would be unable to pick-up Geneva route students on a town route day. The shuttles would still run between the middle school and the elementary and high school. Town route pick-up days and snow days will follow the same notification procedures.

Online Lunch Account Pay

Our online lunch account pay system (e-Funds) is up and running, and many of you have already set up accounts. If this is a convenience that you are interested in you can go to https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/56816/ and set up an account. E-Funds will allow you to set up monthly recurring deposits, deposits when you’d like, or even deposits when the account gets to a certain amount.

Reminder

As for students that enjoy hunting or trap shooting, as always, they may NOT have a firearm at school or even in a locked vehicle on school property.

Busing

We continue to need help driving school buses. We have nearly had to cancel/postpone field trips due to our lack of drivers. If you know of someone that might be willing to be trained and possibly drive a morning route, afternoon route, or both – please let them know we are hiring. Bus Driver rate starts at $24.88 an hour.

The Fillmore Central School District is pleased to introduce a new program called e~Funds for Schools. This program offers various options for parents/guardians who choose to make payments online and is extremely user friendly. Not only will you have the ability to pay for breakfast and lunch payments electronically withdrawn from your checking account or charged to your credit card, you also have the flexibility to make a payment at any time through the school's website. The e~Funds for Schools service is offered to you by a third-party service provider and they charge for processing your payment(s), similar to other online banking services. The district does not request or keep records of family checking or credit card account information. Cash and checks will still be accepted in all three buildings.

Elementary parents, please note that elementary milk money will not be able to paid through e-Funds. Please bring cash or check to the Elementary.

The e~Funds for Schools electronic payment service is provided to the school by a third-party service provider. The service provider has a nominal fee for their service. There is a $1.75 transaction convenience fee for each electronic checking payment that you make. The system carries a Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) charge if the payment is “bad.” For payments made by credit or debit card, there is a convenience fee of $2.95 per each $100 increment in the transaction. When you set up your account, please review your options carefully.

• Wednesday, October 2nd, 1:05 Dismissal for Teacher Development

• Friday, October 4th, 12:30 Grandparents Day at the Elementary

• Tuesday, Oct. 15th, 2nd Grade Field Trip to the Edgerton Museum

• Wednesday, October 16th, Public Health Flu Shots for Students

• Friday, October 18th, End of the 1st Quarter

• Wednesday, October 23rd, 1:05 Dismissal for PT Conferences

• Wednesday, October 23rd, 2:00 - 8:30p.m. Parent / Teacher Conferences

• Thursday and Friday, October 24th and 25th, NO SCHOOL - FALL BREAK

• Thursday, October 30th, Picture Retakes

• Thursday, October 31st, Fall Parties

SCHOOL APP, WEBSITE, AND FACEBOOK

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

Fall elementary parent teacher conferences are scheduled for October 18th from 2:00-8:30pm in-person at the elementary. Each parent/caregiver will have a scheduled conference time with their child's classroom teacher to discuss their individual child's performance during the first quarter of the school year. Individual scheduling details will be shared in the coming weeks. Childcare will be provided to ensure the opportunity to have an uninterrupted conference with your child’s teacher. Childcare will take place in the elementary gym.

Tips and Suggestions

1. Visit with your child. Is there anything your child wants you to discuss?

2. Emphasize the positive areas of the grade report.

3. In areas of needed improvement, make a detailed plan with your child and the classroom teacher. Agree on the role of each person (child, parent, teacher) to support the improvement plan.

4. Please call the school (402-759-3184) any time you have concerns, suggestions or insight that might improve your child’s educational outcomes.

5. If you feel that you will need more than the 15 minutes allotted to discuss your child, please call your child’s teacher to plan a separate time.

ABSENCES

If your child will be absent from school, please notify the school by 8:45 a.m. If the school has not been notified of an absence by 8:45, we will make contact with the home to determine the whereabouts of your child. If we are unable to make contact, we will notify the sheriff’s office to do a “wellness check.” These procedures are in place for the safety of all of our students.

MEDICATION FOR STUDENTS

Please do not send medications to school with your child. An adult must turn in medications to the elementary office. These procedures are in place for the safety of all of our students.

BOX TOPS

Thank you parents, students, grandparents, community members, and friends of the elementary school for your support of our school by scanning your receipt containing box tops with the box tops for education app. Your efforts have provided additional funds to purchase materials and provide learning opportunities at the elementary.

STUDENT CONDUCT AT SCHOOL SPONSORED ACTIVITIES

To ensure the safety of all, and reduce distraction from the game; running, playing with balls, and climbing under the bleachers are not allowed at outdoor events. During indoor events, please try to limit trips to the concession stand so they occur during intermissions, timeouts, or other breaks in the game. Your help in communicating and supporting these expectations are appreciated.

ESTABLISH ROUTINES AND POSITIVE HABITS FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR

It's the beginning of a new school year--the perfect time to set the stage for learning success. To make sure your child shows up at school ready to learn:

• Get a head start. Many families find that organizing at night prevents morning "rush hour." You can review school papers, pack and refrigerate lunches, set backpacks by the door and agree on outfits.

• Establish sleep routines. Choose reasonable bedtimes so everyone is rested when the alarm clock goes off. Do your best to stick with them.

• Develop morning habits. If your child does the same things, in the same order, each morning, it's less likely that she will forget a step. For example, make bed, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth and put on shoes.

• Choose a homework time. With your child, pick a time when she will have the most energy and motivation to do assignments. Create a quiet study spot, complete with necessary supplies, where she can work at the same time each day.

• Use organizational tools. What will help your child stay organized? She might use calendars, to-do lists or a folder system.

• Set priorities. Schedule things like schoolwork, family meals and even free time on a calendar. Treat them like appointments. If there are openings, your child can add activities.

Reprinted with permission from the September 2013 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2013 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc.

Second grade has been studying matter in science. We worked together in teams to build a beaver dam, test its ability to stop water flow, and discuss the properties of matter that had the most success. These scientists worked together so well, we can’t wait to spend more time exploring!

What is Early Development Network Services Coordination?

Services Coordination helps families of children with special needs below age three:

• Find services to meet developmental, educational, financial, health care, child care, respite care and other needs

• Work with multiple providers to make sure services are provided as needed

Why is Service Coordination Needed?

Nebraska families of children with special needs have found it difficult to locate needed services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and then to coordinate the services with the providers.

Who is Eligible for Services Coordination?

Eligible families are those with an infant or toddler below age 3 who has a disability or developmental delay and qualifies for special education through the public schools.

Year round services coordination is provided.

There is no cost to families.

How Can Families Apply?

To request Early Development services for your child or to refer a child, call the local number below. With prior parental permission, referrals may be made by anyone who suspects a developmental delay in an infant or toddler.

Dismissal For Professional Development

We would like to remind everyone that throughout the school year, we will have early dismissals at 1:20 PM on the first Wednesday of each month, resulting in a 2-hour early release. The next early dismissal is scheduled for Wednesday, October 2nd. These early dismissals are intended to provide our staff with opportunities for professional development, which aims to enhance student performance and support our school improvement objectives. Please note that there will be no middle school practices on these early dismissal days. All regular bus and supervision routines will occur, just two hours earlier than usual.

Early Dismissal for Homecoming Parade

On Friday, October 4th, the Middle School will be dismissed at 2:00pm for the Fillmore Central Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conferences for Fillmore Central Middle School will again take place at Fillmore Central High School. These conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, October 23, from 2:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Each parent will receive a printed progress report detailing their child’s academic performance up to that point. Teachers will be available to discuss students’ academic achievements or concerns. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s building principal.

• Progress reports can be picked up at the high school during conferences and you will be directed to the locations of your student’s teachers.

• Progress reports that are not picked up at conferences will be mailed home.

No School – October 24-25. We would like to take the opportunity to remind parents and students that there will be no school on Thursday, October 24 and Friday, October 25.

PowerSchool (Online Grades Portal)

We are committed to having strong communication with students and parents concerning all aspects of student performance and growth. One of the resources we utilize for sharing academic performance information is PowerSchool, our online grade management system. To access the parent features in PowerSchool, please visit our district's homepage and click on the “PowerSchool” button. You will need a username and password to log in to your account. This information was provided in the student packet distributed at the start of the school year. If you have lost or forgotten your username or password, please reach out to the office for assistance with your PowerSchool login details.

Red Ribbon Week

Fillmore Central Middle School will take part in Red Ribbon Week, a program recognized nationally, from October 28 to November 1. The aim of this initiative is to raise awareness among students and the school community about drug prevention. Various activities will be organized throughout the week to educate students about the significance of being drug and bully free.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Wednesday, October 2: 1:20p.m. Dismissal for Teacher Professional Development

• Friday, October 4: 2:00p.m. Dismissal for Homecoming Parade

• Wednesday, October 23: 1:20p.m. Dismissal for PT Conferences

• Wednesday, October 23: 2:00 - 8:300 p.m. Parent / Teacher Conferences

• Thursday, October 24: NO SCHOOL - FALL BREAK

• Friday, October 25: NO SCHOOL - FALL BREAK

• Monday, October 28– Friday, November 1: Red Ribbon Week

• Wednesday, October 30: Picture Retakes

Mrs. Schiermeyer's fifth grade science classes have been engaging in science experiments to begin the school year. This particular experiment the class investigated the mass of different items and collected data to show their observations.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conferences will take place on Wednesday, October 23rd from 2:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. All high school teachers will be located in the gymnasium. FCCLA sponsored child care will not be available at the high school, so please plan accordingly. As has been the norm, our teachers see the most parents between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. If you are able to come in outside of those times it would be greatly appreciated, however, you have the option to come in anytime between the hours of 2:00 p.m and 8:30 p.m.

Fall Testing

Our fall testing has taken on a little different look this year. Traditionally, we have MAP tested all 9th and 10th graders, and had an ACT practice, on the same day. This year we have decided to split testing based on different goals. Our 9th grade still MAP tested and they completed those assessments in early September. Our 10th and 11th grade classes will both be getting some ACT practice. The 11th grade will take a practice ACT on October 8th and the 10th grade will take a practice ACT on October 9th.

Class Competition Points

We once again will be having a class competition this semester with the winning class earning a teacher provided pot-luck lunch in January. Our NHS/StuCo has taken some ownership of this competition and it seems to be going very well. We are using a variety of things for competition points. Examples are: least amount of students on the ICU list, participation in Homecoming dress-up days, semester GPA, music trivia during HR. This is a friendly, but competitive way to get all kids involved.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.

GO FC!!!

Ryun Theobald

Our Spanish 3 class had a special visitor (Vanessa's mom, Ivonne) come teach us about an authentic snack sold on the streets throughout Mexico. We learned how these "cocteles de fruta" in Mexico are prepared and served. Ivonne let us choose from the ingredients (pineapple, watermelon, jicama, mango, cucumber, lime, chamoy, and tajin) to customize our own fruit cups. Our Spanish 4 class continued the discussion about "cocteles de fruta" during our class, and we tried the recipe on our own. It was fun to try spicy fruit!

Activity passes are $75 per person. Activity passes are able to be used at any regular season games.

Fillmore Central Fans that are 65 years or older are free. Please contact Dawn to make sure you are on the list or to be added.

For questions contact Dawn Temme at 402-759-3141 or at dawn.temme@fillmorecentral.org

Would you like the flexibility of driving 2.25 hours in the morning, 2.25 hours in the afternoon, or both for a total of 4.5 hours a day? This might be the opportunity for you!

Duration: Monday - Friday, August - May with multiple routes and activities available.

• Two positions and routes available – We will pay for training

• Starting wage: $24.88 per hour, with increases based on experience

• Benefits: 80% paid BCBS single health insurance, personal days, paid sick leave, state retirement

Applications can be found at https://www.fillmorecentral.org/page/careers.

Contact our Transportation Director, Jac Marchand, at jac.marchand@fillmorecentral.org for more information.

Come and be a part of the Fillmore Central Music Program! We are looking for someone to accompany our choir and choir members between 5 and 15 hours a week. This position would run September through early May. Our choir practices daily from 9:10 am to 10:10 am (approximately). Concerts, contests, and preparation for each may increase hours during some weeks. Opportunities to work with middle school choir may be available.

Duration: 5-15 hours a week, Monday - Friday, September - May.

Wage: Based on assignment and experience
Requirements: Must pass a background check

Questions: Call 402-759-4955.

Interested? Applications can be found at https://www.fillmorecentral.org/page/careers, or from the Superintendent’s office at 1410 L Street, Geneva, NE 68361.

Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled. EOE

Fillmore Central is looking for Substitute Teachers for the 2024-2025 school year! This is a great way to be involved in our district with a flexible schedule.

Day Rate: $145.00

Don’t have a teaching certificate? No problem! Local Substitute Permits are available through the Nebraska Department of Education. More information can be found on our website.

Applications can be found at https://www.fillmorecentral.org/page/careers.

Questions: Call 402-759-4955.

Fillmore Central is looking for substitute cooks for all buildings. This is a great way to be involved in our district with a flexible schedule.

Questions: Call 402-759-4955.

Interested? Get an application at https://www.fillmorecentral.org/page/careers or from the Superintendent’s office at 1410 L Street, Geneva, NE 68361.

Submit application materials to josh.cumpston@fillmorecentral.org or 1410 L Street, Geneva, NE 68361.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. EOE

Fillmore Central is looking for substitute para-educators for all buildings. This is a great way to be involved in our district with a flexible schedule.

Questions: Call 402-759-4955.

Interested? Get an application at https://www.fillmorecentral.org/page/careers or from the Superintendent’s office at 1410 L Street, Geneva, NE 68361.

Submit application materials to josh.cumpston@fillmorecentral.org or 1410 L Street, Geneva, NE 68361.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. EOE