The RPS Weekly Message

RPS Parents and Guardians,
Welcome back! We’re excited to ring in the new year and return to our regular learning schedule here at Ralston Public Schools. As we begin our second semester, I want to take a moment to remind everyone of our two big goals for the year.

The first goal is the continued implementation of our reading curriculum at the elementary and middle school levels. I’m happy to report the new curriculum has received positive feedback from both our staff and students. We now have a year and a half of experience with this curriculum, and we’ve seen solid growth in the percentage of students who are proficient or above proficiency on last year’s state assessments. Initial practice exams this year suggest we may see even larger gains. While we are still early in the implementation process, we are confident the long-term benefits of this change will positively impact students for years to come.

The second goal for the year is to improve attendance. Attendance is one of those areas that requires ongoing energy and commitment, and so far, our efforts have been successful. Last year, we saw improvements in seven of our eight schools in average daily attendance, and all eight schools reduced the number of students absent more than 10% of school days.

This year, we have either maintained or improved attendance in nearly every school. I’ve included a spreadsheet below outlining our attendance data from the first semester. When comparing this year to the last three years, it’s clear your efforts in having conversations with your student(s) about the importance of being present in school are making a positive impact on attendance. Please continue these conversations as we move beyond the semester break and begin preparing for spring testing.

To refocus on our attendance goal, we are committed to reducing the gap between our average daily attendance and the statewide average by 25% this year. Currently, we are on track to meet this target, and I hope you will continue supporting our efforts to improve attendance. Ideally, we’d like to see all eight of our schools reach 95% average daily attendance or above. As we all know, very little works well in RPS without students regularly being in the classroom. Please continue partnering with your schools to help us raise our achievement levels to their highest possible point.

Together, we are making a difference and improving on previous years’ performance. Thank you once again for your efforts. Let’s have a great second semester!

Mr. Jason Buckingham

Superintendent
Ralston Public Schools

** IMPORTANT- This is for students not currently attending Ralston Public Schools. Students currently enrolled in grades Kindergarten through Eleventh Grade are automatically enrolled for the following school year. **

Enrollment and Option Enrollment is now open for the 2025-2026 school year for students who are entering kindergarten through the 12th grade.

We encourage everyone enrolling students for next school year to start and finish this process as soon as possible!

If your child is currently attending Pre-Kindergarten at an RPS school outside of your neighborhood boundaries, please note that they will return to their neighborhood RPS school for Kindergarten.

For those families enrolling students in kindergarten, to be eligible, the students must turn five on or before July 31, 2025.

Option Enrollment - For families living outside the RPS District boundaries who want to enroll students in the District; Option Enrollment is also now open. The deadline for Option Enrollment applications is Friday, March 15th. Families who apply will be notified of their student’s option enrollment status after the March 15th deadline.

Pre-Kindergarten - Registration for the 2025-2026 school year will open after 9:00 am on Monday, February 3, 2025. Pre-Kindergarten is only available for students who live within the District boundaries and who turn four on or before July 31, 2025. Applications submitted before 9:00 am on February 3rd will not be accepted.

For more information, families can visit the District website and click on Enrollment under the For Families section. If families have specific questions on the enrollment process, they can contact the building they are enrolling their students in.

We very much appreciate the time, dedication, and passion our staff provide our students and families each and every day. We would like to take this opportunity to recognize two District Administrators who have decided to retire after long tenures with Ralston Public Schools.

Mr. Pat Flinn, Director of Ralston Public Schools' Buildings and Grounds Department, recently retired after an unprecedented 49-and-a-half-year career with the District. His last day was Friday, January 3, 2025. Mr. Flinn is considered the longest-serving employee in the history of Ralston Public Schools, with the next closest tenure being 43 years.

Mr. Flinn began his career with the District on June 11, 1975, as the head custodian at Blumfield Elementary. A native of Omaha and a graduate of Benson High School, he spent 14 years at Blumfield before transferring to Meadows Elementary as head custodian in 1989. He continued in that role until 1996, when he was promoted to Director of Buildings and Grounds, a position he held for 28 years.

Throughout his career, Mr. Flinn was a tremendous asset to RPS. He cleared snow from school properties, kept our facilities clean and ready for students and staff, played a key role during the high school bond issue renovations in the early 2000s, responded to all District alarm calls, mowed and maintained school grounds and ballfields, supervised maintenance staff and custodians, managed maintenance contracts with outside contractors, and was always willing to lend a hand whenever needed.

Thank you, Mr. Flinn, for your passion, dedication, and commitment to Ralston Public Schools.

Dr. Mike Rupprecht, Ralston Public Schools' Executive Director of Human Resources and School Improvement, is retiring after more than 30 years with the District. His last day will be Friday, January 17, 2025. On Monday, January 20th, Dr. Rupprecht will begin his new role as the next Director of Human Resources with the Iowa School for the Deaf.

Dr. Rupprecht earned his Bachelor's degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1992. He began his career with RPS as a substitute teacher for a year and a half before being hired full-time as a Language Arts teacher at Ralston Middle School. In 2003, Dr. Rupprecht earned his first Master's degree from Peru State College. That same year, he became a CADRE Associate for Ralston Public Schools. He earned his second Master's degree in 2007 from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Dr. Rupprecht was then appointed as the District's Instructional Data Coordinator in 2009, and in 2013, he earned his Doctoral Degree in Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. That same year, he became the Executive Director of Human Resources and School Improvement, a position he has held for the past 11 years.

Dr. Rupprecht has had a wonderful career with Ralston Public Schools. He has served the District in many capacities, including as a classroom teacher, mentor to first and second-year teachers, a leader in the Ralston Education Association, recruiting and hiring new certified and classified employees to the Ram Family, and has guided the District's school improvement process.

Thank you, Dr. Rupprecht, for your commitment and leadership to Ralston Public Schools.

The Ralston High School HOSA organization will host its annual Winter Blood Drive with the American Red Cross on Friday, January 24th from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm in the gymnasium at Ralston High School.

To register, visit the LINK!

By registering to be part of the Ralston High School HOSA Blood Drive, not only are you making a life saving difference but you are also supporting our students. By hosting blood drives throughout the year, the American Red Cross supports a scholarship fund to benefit engaged students as they move on to higher education. The scholarship program is available for high schools that host at least one Red Cross blood drive during the year.

There is still time to register for the Ralston High School 2025 Dance Clinic. Scan the QR Code in the image or click on this LINK to view the registration form. The Dance Clinic is being held on Thursday, January 16th from 5 - 7 pm at Ralston High School. It is for students ages 5 - 13 and is $40 (includes camp t-shirt, snack, and two adult tickets to the home basketball game). Participants will learn a dance, motions, technique and will perform at halftime during the Ralston basketball game.

Winter weather is now upon us. To receive snow day alerts from Ralston Public Schools, your contact information must be up-to-date in your R-Kids account.

Click HERE to update your information now in R-Kids!

Parents are notified of snow days via an automated phone call, text message, and email. You don't want to miss these important messages!

Notifications will also be on all District and school websites and social media pages. RPS notifies all the local news stations, allowing them to share this information with their viewers as well.

Calling All Rams! Do you know an outstanding Ralston High School graduate who's making waves? The RHS Distinguished Alumni Award is your chance to shine a spotlight on an exceptional Ralston Ram who's inspiring our community.

Let’s celebrate the inspiring stories of our alumni! Nominate someone today and help us showcase the incredible impact RHS graduates are making in the world.

Nominations are due by Saturday, May 31st!

For more information: https://www.ralstonschoolsfoundation.org/2025-nominations.html

Thank you to the Ralston Schools Foundation for their support of our educators. The Foundation awarded over $10,000 in grants to 15 teachers from across the district this fall.

These grants will fund innovative classroom projects that enhance student learning. We appreciate the Foundation’s commitment to education and their role in helping our teachers implement new ideas in the classroom.

Congratulations to the following RPS staff members:

Rebekah Paxson - Seymour Elementary - Read Across America "Old Wild West"

Ralston High School Intervention Team - RHS Attendance Grant

April Balm & Jemarie Giovanini - Ralston High School - When Everything Clicks

Miki Valenta - Ralston High School - Culinary Arts

Diane Naughton - Ralston High School - Modern Computer Art Techniques

Michael Gentry - Ralston High School - Additional Softball Equipment

Ed Schmitt - Ralston High School - Health & Wellness RHS

Teryn Solan - Ralston High School - New Swim Equipment

Melanie Reeves - Blumfield & Mockingbird Elementary Schools - Belonging Banners

Carrie Winkelman - Blumfield Elementary - Emotional Regulation for Little Learners

Erica Lawton, McKenna Schettler, Amber Bassett - Blumfield Elementary - Sensory Room

Trevor O'Reilly - Mockingbird Elementary - Calm Down Area

Rosa Long - Ralston Middle School - EL Multicultural Enrichment

Alicia George - Ralston Middle School - Library Reading Incentive Program

Tim Krayer - District Wide - Tech Powered Partnerships for Classroom Success

KMTV Channel 3 recently did a story on this trend and featured Ralston High School Nurse Candace Johnson. To view the story, click on this LINK.

As a reminder to all RPS parents and guardians, the OneWorld Mobile Health Center can provide vaccinations. If an RPS employee or student needs the flu or COVID-19 vaccination, they can schedule an appointment with the Mobile Health Center and receive it on campus at either Ralston High School or Ralston Middle School.

Interested individuals must call 402-880-4870 to set up an appointment. A OneWorld Health professional will administer the vaccinations.

You can also schedule a vaccination at any OneWorld metro clinic. To find a clinic close to you, please visit OneWorld’s website by clicking HERE.

Each week in Ram Recognition, Ralston Public Schools will highlight some good news happening across the District.

RPS would like to highlight fall sports athletes from Ralston High School for their conference and state honors based on their performance this past season. #RamProud

Cross Country: Academic All-Conference - Isabel Orellana, Makayla Hargrave, Lauren Walmrath, and Lesly Davila-Rios; Academic All-State - Makayla Hargrave and Lauren Walmrath.

Football: Academic All-State - Xavier Hughes-McCrimon, Kevin Bahena Flores, Torsten Fries, Gage Grandel, Brody Jenkins, and AJ McCormack; Academic All-State - Torsten Fries and Brody Jenkins; All-District - Conner Brown (1st Team), Cade Stix (1st Team), Anthony Baughman (1st Team), Chan Phan (1st Team), Donnie Williams (Honorable Mention), Bryson Goodman-Sargent (Honorable Mention), Brayden Vandervort (Honorable Mention), Brody Jenkins (Honorable Mention), and Gage Grandel (Honorable Mention).

Softball: All-Conference - Bayla Bodnar (1st Team), Makenzie Macrander (1st Team), Lilly Elsasser (2nd Team), Lucy Bodnar (Honorable Mention), Tatum Farrell (Honorable Mention), and Maddie Ochsner (Honorable Mention); Academic All-Conference - Lucy Bodnar, Ashlee Cavender, Jada Dafferner, Lilly Elsasser, Hayvn Harms, McKinley Stehlik, and Maddy Vukov; Academic All-State - Lucy Bodnar and Lilly Elsasser; School Record Breakers - Maddie Ochsner (Stolen Bases Season - 35), Makenzie Macrander (Strikeouts Season - 175), and Bayla Bodnar - Fielding Percentage Career for Cather - .991).

Boys Tennis: All-Conference - Teddy Croskey, Owen Elsasser, and Tony Heig; Academic All-Conference - Gavin Gutgsell, Tony Heig, and Brandon Roy; State Qualifiers - Hunter Eckley, Owen Elsasser, Gavin Gutgsell, Miller Hatterman, Brodie Muhlecke, and Brandon Roy; Academic All-State - Tony Heig and Brandon Roy.

Volleyball: All-Conference - Sadah Willey (2nd Team) and Lexi Norman (Honorable Mention); Academic All-Conference - Genesis Acosta-Barrios, Sophie Bowyer, Lilly Nelson, Addi Salvador, and Kendra Sutton; Academic All-State - Sophie Bowyer and Lilly Nelson.

Unified Bowling: Academic All-Conference - Austin Bryan, John Slizoski, Leslie Barradas Jimenez, and Brandon Wells; Academic All-State - Austin Bryan and John Slizoski.

One-Act Play Production: Academic All-Conference - Jay Fugate and Morgan Ritchey; Academic All-State - Jay Fugate and Morgan Ritchey.

Construction crews have been busy over winter break. The new Tiny Rams area is under construction as are the first set of classrooms. This is a multi-year project and we are excited to get things started.

Future leaders at work! In December, Ralston High School FFA Officers and Junior Officers had the opportunity to visit Mrs. Carr's 8th-grade Ag students at Ralston Middle School.

They led an interactive workshop on the process of handling piglets in the swine production industry and shared their personal experiences in FFA. The officers also highlighted how FFA has positively impacted both their school and community!

It's wonderful when families can visit and participate in their students' learning experience. The Froggies Pre-K at Meadows Elementary School celebrated the season with a Parent/Child Winter Tree Decorating Activity.

It was a great way for families to come together, get creative, and make memories as they decorated beautiful winter snow cone trees. We couldn't tell if the students liked making the trees more than eating the sweet treats used to decorate them.

Throughout the month of December, Ms. Johnson and Ms. Urbach’s students have been learning about the different holidays celebrated during this season and exploring the traditions that make each one special. To bring their learning to life, they created a special lunch for their families! The students have been learning about:

• Food safety and its importance
• Choosing and planning recipes for each dish
• Creating a shopping list and budgeting the costs
• Designing invitations and placemats for their guests
• Discussing what a tradition means and why it’s so important

They were so excited to share what they learned with their families and make lasting memories!

We would greatly appreciate your feedback on the RPS Weekly Message to help us improve future editions. Please email your thoughts and suggestions to jim.frederick@ralstonschools.org.