Welcome Back to School!

It's that time to welcome you all to another school year. Our school building and teachers can't wait to have your children walking the halls, sitting at those desks, reading books in the library, making music in the music room, and bouncing balls in the gym!

Each and every Tuesday I will do my best to send an electronic newsletter to the email address you shared inside PowerSchool. I encourage you to develop the habit of looking for it and then taking a couple of minutes to read it over. I'll do my best to have important information for that time of year.

If you ever have questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at school! We look forward to seeing all our students on Wednesday, August 14th during OPEN HOUSE from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. The first day of school is Thursday, August 15th!

We can't wait to spend the next nine months working with your children!

Mr. Herzberg

CALLING ALL KINDERGARTNERS!!!

Mrs. Studley would like to invite all Kindergarteners to her classroom the NIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL starts - Wednesday, August 14th. Children are encouraged to bring their school items, meet Mrs. Studley and look around our classroom from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

All incoming Kindergarteners for the 2024-2025 school year are required to have the following forms on file by the first day of school in August. According to Nebraska Law, if your child is NOT properly immunized, they may not attend school.

• A completed immunization record (shot record).
• A physical exam performed by a physician, physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner. Call to make an appointment soon, spots fill up fast.
• A vision exam is required by state law and must be completed within six months prior to starting school. It may be performed by a physician, physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner along with the required physical exam, or a separate exam conducted by an optometrist or ophthalmologist meets this requirement.
• A dental exam is strongly recommended.
• A copy of your child’s certified state birth certificate (the hospital certificate is not accepted). A copy can be ordered from the Nebraska State Vital Statistics Office if needed - https://nevitalrecords-dhhs.ne.gov/
• A completed care plan for all children with medical concerns – examples: asthma, diabetes, seizures or allergies. This care plan should be completed by the child’s doctor. Please inform the school nurse of any health concerns.

If you have any of the above paperwork Mrs. Kuck; our school secretary, will be happy to collect it during our open house!

We look forward to seeing everyone next week! All 1st - 8th graders are also invited to school to look around, meet their teachers and see their classmates! Our building will be open from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

We look forward to seeing all of you during the evening at some point!

Mr. Herzberg

Teamwork makes the dream work!!! That is the motto of our PTO and over the years we've had great support from all families! This year will be the same. During OPEN HOUSE there will be multiple sign-up sheets available for anyone to see the variety of activities the PTO will be hosting throughout the year for our kids. That's what makes our PTO so 'GREAT' - the help our families provide! If you feel like you can help us, we'd appreciate you signing up!

PTO FACEBOOK PAGE!

• You'll want to follow our PTO's Facebook page this year! It provides a great deal of information about all the great things they will be doing!

https://www.facebook.com/St.LiboryPTO

Please note: School lunches are no longer free. Lunches will be charged as noted below for the 2024-2025 school year. If you would like information on free or reduced meals, please see the information/application below.

Lunch price

• $3.20 — K-5th Grade
• $3.35 — 6th-12th Grade
• $4.35 — Adult

Extras

• Milk — $.50
• Extra Fruit/Vegetable — $.75
• Entree — $2.00

Charging meals is not allowed; please ensure that your student has adequate funds to cover meal purchases and/or ala carte items.

Free & reduced meal applications may be submitted at any time during the school year but eligibility does not apply until the application is approved. Previous eligibility will carry over to September 25, 2024. At that time, students will revert to paid status until a current Free & Reduced application has been received and approved.

Cash or check may be sent to the office or you may pay via e-Funds.

For those that need a school supply list you can find one at this link:

CLICK HERE!

As noted in our device user agreement during the registration process, each year students in grades 6-12 are required to pay a technology use fee. This $25 fee allows students to take the Chromebook home. This fee can be paid online on our website (under links, online payment) or in the office at school. It is important to remember that this fee does not include damage fees. Students will be charged a $25 incident fee for any damage or repairs needed on their devices. This is a per-incident fee and is a flat $25 fee per incident. We ask that these 6th-8th grade fees be paid ASAP. Without this payment, student Chromebooks can not be taken home.

Note: These technology fees may be waived if you have qualified for Free and Reduced Lunch and completed the sharing information form. This process must be done prior to August 15th.

This Fall we will again offer Football, Volleyball, and Cross Country to all 7th and 8th-grade students. We will be sharing more information in the next week as well.

Sports Physicals - To be eligible to participate in sports at Northwest High School or Northwest Middle School, a sports physical is required to be done before the first day of practice. The sports physical may be done any time after May 1st, 2024. Completed physicals must be on file in the activities office prior to the first day of practice. Please contact the Activities Office if you have any questions, 308-385-6394 ext. 5144

Practice for all MIDDLE SCHOOL fall sports will begin on Monday, August 19, 2024.

Sports Schedules - can be found under the SPORTS CALENDAR tab on the district website as well.

Parents and Students,

The information below is new in this years handbook. Please take a moment to read through it and talk about it with your children.

Thanks

Mr. Herzberg

Middles School Grading Procedures

We offer eight classes that we will provide grades for: English language arts, math, science, social studies, technology/art/careers, music, physical education, and band (for those choosing band). Parents/Guardians have access through PowerSchool to monitor grades daily.

Teachers will typically enter at least one grade each week in Powerschool. Please understand circumstances arise that may affect this, but that is our goal. Some classes will have daily grades. (PE & Music use a rubric for daily participation. If your child has a 70 or below (F) you will receive a Powerschool alert notification each Monday.

1. Daily Intervention/Study Hall- Intervention/Study Hall are opportunities for students to receive individualized instruction whether they are struggling, failing or just looking for extra support in content areas. A “D or F” grade automatically places your child in intervention. If a child is in an intervention it will include teacher and/or peer support.

2. Fixes & retakes on most assessments. A student who does poorly on a test, 85% or below in most cases can retake it. A student must communicate with the teacher within a day or two requesting a retake opportunity. The teacher will inform the student of required steps. (Generally this would include review time with the teacher or going through some individual work that will show they are prepared for this particular assessment during intervention, during study hall, and/or before/after school. Students are responsible for informing the teacher of a wish to retake, complete follow up reviews/work, along with showing up at assigned times. Students who fail to meet requirements stated by the teacher will receive the initial assessment grade. Student retaking a test will receive the higher of the two grades.

3. An opportunity to redo an assignment/daily work may be granted by the teacher. So long as the teacher does not feel the student is taking advantage of multiple opportunities. The student will receive the higher of the two grades. Students need to have completed and turned in the original assignment on the initial due date.

4. Time Frame- Daily redo’s and assessments retakes must be made within two weeks of the initial due date. Students who have excused absences or illnesses will be allotted two days for each day absent within administrative approvals or extenuating circumstances.

In all classes other than PE, music, and band, which are performance-based classes, and participation grade you can expect the following:

• Thirty percent (30%) of your child’s grade will be made up of more formative measures, such as quizzes, daily assignments, practice tests, and warmups. Seventy (70%) of your child’s grade will be determined by summative assessments. These would be things like tests, final presentations, portfolios, and large projects. This grading philosophy is aligned to the Northwest High School grading policy for credit.

AI - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Responsible Use Guidance for using AI Tools

• AI Output Review: Always review and critically assess outputs from AI tools before submission or dissemination. Students should never rely solely on AI-generated content without review.

• Bias and Misinformation: Be aware that AI-generated content may possess biases or inaccuracies. Always verify AI-produced results using trusted sources before considering use in academic work.

• Safety & Respect: Students may not use AI tools to create or propagate harmful, misleading, or inappropriate content.

• Transparency: Any use of AI to aid assignments, projects, or research must be declared.

Usage: AI tools will be used for educational purposes only and at the discretion of the teacher. Misuse or malicious use of AI technologies will lead to disciplinary action. Strictly using AI and not properly sourcing information is considered plagiarism.

CHEATING ON TESTS / COPYING / AI

Students who cheat on tests, copy homework, plagiarize, text message, photograph and or scan test material, homework, research papers, etc. will receive zeros on said tests, quizzes, homework, etc. This includes students who give test answers, test material, homework, etc. to other students as well as the student receiving the material. A student may be given an alternative assignment / test, but the highest grade he / she can receive is a 50%. The administration, in conjunction with teachers, can treat certain issues differently on a case by case basis if deemed necessary by the administration.

Here is a link to the K-8 Student Handbook 2024-25. Reminder please review the handbook for attendance, grading, cell phone, apple watches, illness, artificial intelligence (AI) and other policy updates.

You can follow along on Social Media at the following two locations:

On TWITTER: https://twitter.com/stlibory

On FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/St.Libory

We do our best to post important information on our school website, and these two locations.

The first day of school will be THURSDAY, AUGUST 15th. Please note school will be dismissed at our regular 3:15 p.m. time. The bus will run accordingly, and all other students need to be picked up accordingly.

Friday, August 16th will be another FULL DAY. (8:00 - 3:15 p.m.)

If you are interested in purchasing a Northwest High School Activity Pass, please call Mrs. Ann Beckman in the Athletic office at the high school for more information! (308-385-6394) or email her at abeckmann@ginorthwest.org. She will be happy to help you.

Good Luck to all VIKING teams this school year!

Please see the image below in regard to the safest traffic pattern we can use before and after school. The number one thing we all need while dropping off or picking up our kids is 'patience'! Please take your time, and be extra careful. All vehicles will enter the parking lot through the NORTH gate and everyone will exit through the SOUTH gate. We will again have 3 school buses in our parking lot. Two of them will park just east of the building and our activity bus will park toward the south exit. Thanks a bunch for not being in a hurry!

Email: akuck@ginorthwest.org
Website: www.ginorthwest.org
Location: St Libory Elementary School, 435 St Paul Rd, Saint Libory, NE, United States
Phone: 308-687-6475
Twitter: @StLibory