It is November and we still have plenty of school left before the end of the first semester. Keep supporting your students to practice good academic habits which will help them finish strong in December.
Elkhorn North High School successfully completed its first quarter of academics and activities for the 2024-25 school year and we are beginning the second week of the 2nd quarter. The counselors and administration will be checking our students' grades with a mid-quarter grade progress report during the fourth week of the quarter and talking with students who are struggling academically. We will continue to serve our students with many opportunities that will help them become the adults they aspire to be. A well-rounded educational experience that focuses on academic rigor will assist our students as they navigate through many difficult decisions regarding future course study in high school, college planning, post-secondary institutions, and workplace opportunities.
On Friday, Nov. 1, ENHS will be recognizing students on honor roll for quarter 1 with an Elkhorn North Excellence t-shirt donated by the EPS Foundation. The EPS Foundation supports our mission by recognizing students for academic success and helping with classroom grants, scholarships and partial subsidizing of our AP tests.
Over 667 students achieved a GPA of 3.25 or higher for Honor Roll Quarter 1. OUTSTANDING!
These students achieved through the collective effort and commitment of staff, students and parents. Clearly, we all have the same goals in mind- excellence in everything we do. I appreciate your support of Elkhorn North High School because our success is the result of our families’ commitment to their students’ education.
We will be displaying the students' names on our academic bulletin which is located near the front doors. It is important to recognize students in the classroom for their work. I know that our students are studying long into the night at times and sometimes they are not getting enough sleep. Routines and good habits can benefit students along with studying without distractions of their cell phones and social media notifications.
The topic of rigor and college preparedness has been frequently discussed this quarter. I am often asked, “What will students need for college? Eighty-six percent (86%) of the graduating class of 2024 enrolled in a 2 or 4 year postsecondary education.
Clearly, I want our students to be successful in college and in life and have a vested interest in their future. It is better for students to be challenged to their utmost potential in high school, where they have built-in support systems of caring parents and educators at their side. I believe that as educators, we are morally obligated to ensure that our students are prepared for life after high school. “Can the student honestly state that he/she has done everything possible to be prepared for college? Have they taken advantage of rigorous levels of curriculum in order to prepare for college?”
I believe if students leave ENHS without being challenged and find their first real academic challenges in college, they will struggle in isolation, away from caring adults, and become overwhelmed. Our guidance department, teachers and administrators will continue to encourage our students to take the rigorous coursework in preparation for college. We look forward to continued conversations with our parents and students regarding college preparedness. I would encourage all of our parents to thoughtfully promote their students to take the most rigorous courses possible during all four years of their high school career.
School Improvement External Visit for Accreditation:
On November 14, Elkhorn North High School will present their 5 year School Improvement Action Plan, Goals and Data to members of an external accreditation team that works closely with the Nebraska Department of Education. Elkhorn North’s Goals:
Increase % mastery on All Four Subscores on ACT Benchmarks.
Increase Daily Attendance Rates / Decrease % Chronic Absenteeism
Increase Learning by Decreasing Failures Rates
Implementation of our School-wide Behavior System The WOLF WAY
The school improvement team is excited to present our action plan and results that show progress towards meeting our goals. I look forward to sharing the accreditation results with our Elkhorn North parents and stakeholders in our December newsletter.
Grades for Parent view on Power Grade:
All grades will be semester grades. Therefore, semester grades this year will be total points and NOT the average grades of Q1 and Q2. When parents login to view a student’s grades, we are displaying current Quarter 2 progress and the Semester 1 grade. The semester grade is based on the total points and eventually the final test of the semester. Please do not try to average Q1 and Q2 to figure out the SEM. 1 grade. PowerSchool will tally the continued total points.
Attendance Policy and Absences:
Our attendance policy states that students who exceed 8 absences during a semester will forfeit ½ credit for that class unless there are chronic health conditions or special circumstances. Parents may appeal the ½ credit through the attendance appeal process. I am thinking about ways to improve our attendance and I believe that we need to be better at communicating the benefits of regular attendance for students who struggle with absenteeism. The absenteeism cyclical pattern is hard to break once a student is perceived to be buried with work and doesn’t see a way out of the problem. Our teachers are willing to work with students who miss school and provide opportunities for learning when they return. At times, coming back to school can be difficult for students because they have lost hope and think that avoiding school is a suitable alternative to coming back to the classroom to face the mounting work left undone.
Parents, please help our chronic absenteeism by communicating with the administration and supporting a plan to get the students back to school learning. We will provide chunks of assignments in a timely manner so that they don’t feel overwhelmed and want to stay home to avoid going back to be even more overwhelmed. We want our students in attendance, but not if they have a fever or are sick with an illness. Any absence counts unless it is an activity absence recognized by the Dept. of Education. I plan on having conversations with our counselors and staff regarding what we can do to respond to students who are missing school and to have a plan moving forward.
Doors open at 7:00 a.m. for students who are dropped off early. It is cold, please come inside.
Students may enter ENHS at 7:00 a.m. and go directly to the commons tables or they may visit their teachers beginning at 7:40 a.m. to receive help in the course.
Throughout January, the counselors will re-engage our students to discuss next year’s course offerings and PreACT / ACT testing in April. Our counseling department has a robust plan to meet the college and career needs of our students as they matriculate from 9th to 12th grade.
Final Examination Days at ENHS:
Thursday, December 19 and Friday, December 20
In order to protect the integrity of the exams, which are aligned across departments in all three high schools, no finals will be proctored before the assigned times. Please make every attempt to ensure that your student is present for finals week to fully prepare and achieve at the highest levels. Please contact the administration in the extreme case that your student will not be in school for finals. Please note that these are full days with no early dismissal times. Students will have preparatory time built into this two day adjusted schedule, but please also communicate with your student the importance of being prepared for the cumulative final exams. Students may not be called out during finals periods, even if they are finished with their exam. Students are expected to be at school all seven periods both finals days. Please encourage your student to utilize study periods on finals days and help us curb students signing out during these periods. In most cases, students who miss finals will have to make up finals during the break or on the teacher in-service day, Friday, Jan. 3.
If you would like to contact me to discuss concerns, ask questions or comment, please call me at 402.289.0322 or email me at dradicia@epsne.org
Take care, Dan
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