North High Newsletter

Greetings Viking Families,

Thank you to everyone who participated in Parent-Teacher Conferences. The 4th Quarter is underway, and we are in the homestretch of the 23-24 school year. Please note the following priorities for the Viking Community:

PTSO Membership/Leadership

Consider joining the PTSO to support student activities and educational opportunities that go beyond the school room doors. We are looking for parents/guardians interested in serving on committees as well as leadership roles. We have enjoyed long-standing support and partnership from this dedicated group of people. We hope you will continue this tradition by giving your time and talent. Anyone interested in learning more about the PTSO, please contact: OmahaNorthPTSO@gmail.com.

Every Minutes Counts

As we finish the school year strong, remind and encourage students to be on time each day, attend every class and stay engaged until the end of the school day. We continue to support and redirect students who are showing up late, skipping classes or trying to leave before the school day ends. Students must learn that every minute counts and impacts learning, their attendance record, and the overall school climate. Regular attendance and consistent effort are life-skills that will serve students well in college, career, and life.

Be a Viking-Responsible, Respectful and Accountable

We are committed to the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral development of all students. We are working hard to help students develop problem solving, coping, and emotional regulation skills. We know that hurting people hurt people. We have resources available to assist students and ask that you reiterate the importance of making good decisions and being their best selves. If you feel that your student(s) needs additional support, please contact the school to speak with their counselor or our school social worker.

Updated Cell Phone Practices for the 24-25 School Year

As we plan for the 24-25 school year, please know we will be updating our building-wide cell phone practices. These updated practices will include being cell-phone free in all learning environments. The expectation will be that cell phones are put away such that they are completely out of sight and not in use. More details will continue to be communicated as we approach the 24-25 school year. It will continue to be the expectation that all students bring their OPS issued iPad charged and ready for use at school every day. Please begin having conversations with your student about the importance of having their cell phone away and bringing their iPad daily to focus on learning.

We are proud of our students and look forward to celebrating their accomplishments in the coming weeks culminating with graduation on Thursday, May 23rd at 2pm at Baxter Arena.

Please read this newsletter carefully for important dates and upcoming events. As always, we thank you for your continued support and involvement in the Viking Community. If you have any questions, please call us 531-299-2700.

Go Vikings!

In addition to Homework Help Room after schools, academic support is available for students during Viking Choice Time on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students can meet with North teachers for support in math, english, science, AP classes, and more during advisement on Tuesdays and Thursdays!

Did you know OPS students have access to Paper, a FREE online tutoring platform, available 7 days a week until 11pm? Paper is an app accessible in the Clever dashboard on student iPads (see the attached photo for what the app looks like in Clever). With Paper, students in grades 3-12 have access to:

• 1:1 live chat tutoring sessions with experts
• Support in 200 subjects
• Four languages available (English, Spanish, French and Mandarin)
• Expert review of written work (essays, creative writing, poetry, lab reports)
• Hundreds of resources and activities to help best support students at home
• Interactive shows and activities to expand learning beyond the classroom

Please encourage your student to take advantage of this resource to help support their academics this school year.

This school year, similar to last, all juniors (grade 11) will take the ACT. All juniors are required to take this state assessment. The test takes a little over four hours and requires an environment with no distractions. As a result, 11th graders will be the only students in attendance on that date, including students who take the NSCAS-Alternate Assessment.

The ACT test administration date is Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Attendance is critical on this day. Students who have taken the ACT in the past are still required to participate in this state administration. To facilitate the required testing environment, students in grades 9, 10, and 12 will not have school. Breakfast and lunch will be served. Building principals will provide information regarding post-test activities and release information. Busses will arrive at the 3:05 p.m. dismissal.

MyACT has free resources that can help students prepare for the ACT. Students can create an account at my.act.org Students may have already set up an account at school.

Thank you for your continued efforts to assist students in preparing for the ACT on Tuesday, April 9.

Students and Families: the included QR code and link below will allow you to view the statements and agreements that are on the current Title 1 School-Parent Compact for the 2023-24 school year. Please include your input on each statement for the 24-25 school year. Our partnership and commitments to each other help drive our students' success!

Survey Link: https://forms.office.com/r/kKZhxkQzcv

Please click the link or scan the QR code below to fill out this anonymous survey. Results from this survey go directly to the Nebraska Department of Education.

LINK: https://nde.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_egqalo2HjtfSbKm?Q_CHL=email&RID=CGC_7SZtdrVMP5X9ZTu&_g_=g

We want our students to be recognized for their hard work and dedication to their studies.

Turn in all scholarship offers to Ms. Nolan in the counseling office by Friday, April 19.

We will accept screen shots, emails, or actual letters from Universities/Colleges.

Turn in ALL scholarship offers, even if you are not planning to accept some of them.

Make sure this information is visible:

1. Your name
2. The scholarship name
3. The award amount
4. The college/university/scholarship organization who is providing the scholarship

Senior Scholarship Night, Tuesday April 30, 2024 @7pm

In order to receive your blue scholarship cord during the graduation ceremony, you must participate in Scholarship Night.

Questions? Email Ms. Longacre (kristin.longacre@ops.org) or stop in the Counseling Office at North High.

Graduation will take place on Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 2pm at the Baxter Arena. The graduation ceremony can be streamed using the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/live/Q4PKlKmzvIA?feature=shared

North High students who are 16, have a 2.0+ GPA, and good attendance are encouraged to apply to be a summer intern with OPS! Please see the included flier for more information.

Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed by schoolwork, struggling to make connections, feeling stressed, anxious, down, or just need someone to talk to, we can help!

The Methodist Community Counseling Program provides students confidential mental health counseling services by a licensed mental health practitioner conveniently located right here at North High Magnet School. Please reach out to Mikayla Linakis for more information on how to receive these services or contact your guidance counselor.

Mikayla Linakis, PLMHP

Mental Health Practitioner

mikayla.linakis@nmhs.org

(531) 299-2706

Please consider making a tax deductible donation to the Omaha North Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO). We are most visible selling concessions during athletic events, but we also support students and staff behind the scenes. For example, last Friday we provided teachers and staff cookies and cocoa as the semester comes to a close. We’ve given over $3,500 to student organizations to support their activities, and supported and attended Student Council and Omaha North Foundation events. The list goes on. Any support you can give, regardless of how small, will be greatly appreciated. Please click the link below or scan the QR code below. Your donation is tax deductible & greatly appreciated!

Link: https://omahapublicschoolsfoundation.org/north-ptso/

If you are interested in joining the dance team, come to tryouts after school on April 8th & April 9th from 3:15-5:00 in the Old Gym - no experience required! Interested students must:

• Attend on both April 8th & April 9th
• Be on time to practice
• Wear appropriate dance clothes (no jeans) and shoes (no open toe shoes).

Please take a moment to provide the district with important feedback regarding your child(ren)'s school. Scan the QR code below or click this link: www.tinyurl.com/OPSParentVoice

As part of the 2nd quarter Rhetoric and Memory/Online Portfolio Unit, AP Literature and Composition students wrote letters to tell an author about how books can make a difference in the student's life. Students were then encouraged to submit their letters to the Letters About Literature competition.

It is with great pleasure to announce that congratulations go to Aidan Blakely, this year's annual Letters About Literature competition Runner-up. Aidan wrote to Amy Tan about their book The Joy Luck Club.

Earlier this month, the World Language Department took French and German students to a competition at UNO. The students participated in singing, poetry creation, poetry recitation, and poster presentations! Way to go, Vikings!

Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped us with the 2024 Nebraska State High School Robotics Championship. All of our roboteers and along with those from all of the others schools that competed appreciate your willingness to support this event.

Shirts from the 2024 Nebraska State High School Robotics Championship are still available. Shirts are $15. If you are interested in purchasing one, contact linda.holliman@ops.org. All proceeds go to help the Omaha North Robotics Team

1064B won the Innovate Award at the 2024 Nebraska State High School Robotics Championship (3/8-9).- The Innovate Award is presented to a team that demonstrates an effective and well documented Engineering Design Process. This award also qualified them for the 2024 VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas Texas in April..

1064A impressed the judges at the CREATE US Open Robotics Tournament (3/14-16). The Build Award is presented to a team that has built the most durable and robust robot. The robot is reliable on the field and holds up under rigorous competition and its design shows attention to safety and detail. The judges were most impressed with 1064A's hanging mechanism winch that allowed the robot to hold itself off the ground and had the possibility to hold their Alliance Partner off of the field without causing damage to the field or the bots

The entire 1064 team (represented by 1064A, 1064B, and 1064P) were also honored with the Sportsmanship Award. The Sportsmanship Award is presented to a team that earned the respect and admiration of the volunteers and other teams at the event. These Vikings were presented this award in large part to their help of the international teams at the competition. Teams from China arrived with parts that were ruled as illegal, and our students rushed back to school to help them get the necessary parts to make the robots legal for competition.

For the first time since the creation of the CREATE Open Robotics Competition the Omaha North Robotics Teams did not participate in a competition leading up to the CREATE Open Robotics National Championship. This did not deter them from overcoming the changes in the game and developing a working within a different set of rules. Even though our teams had some early struggles, both teams finished in the Top 10 after the Qualifying Rounds (O1064B in 5th and O1064A in 10th). The Viking teams worked together as Alliance Partners in the Finals Rounds and secured a 3rd place finish. O1064B was awarded with the Sportsmanship Award for their willingness to volunteer and work with event staff to ensure the tournament started on time.

Both teams were awarded the Prettiest Pit Award for their efforts in decorating their team pit; the team finished in the Top 5 twice. O1064A, working with teams from Hong Kong, New York and Dundee Elementary, brought home back to back Mega Alliance Challenge World Championship wins. These teams were able to work together to score higher in each of the four challenges in the Mega Alliance Challenge. This is the 3rd consecutive year that a team from North High has been on the Mega Alliance World Championship Team

Miles R, Brendan G, Emerson H, Isabella S, Mani S, Sadie L, Leo P, Ellie Y, and Audra M competed in this 2 day Math Competition. Audra Mo finished in the Top 50 in the State overall and the churros were a big hit!

The Chess Squad, led by Nyan A competed in a "friendly" competition against Millard North. Our team was very competitive with Nyan almost beating the #1 player in the State!

Math Squad members Autumn B, Marissa W, Alex D, Miles R, Nyan A, and Chris M made the trek to Maryville in the beautiful activity bus. Miles R finished in the Top 20 overall and many other members got to experience their first competition. The campus was well received by the Vikings and maybe there will be future enrollment there!

Check out some photos of JROTC in action! The Viking Battalion JROTC junior varsity color guard competed at the annual University of Nebraska ROTC Invitational Drill Competition on March 2 and won 1st place for their performance. Way to go, vikings!

Cadet /Lieutenant Colonel Alex J reports to the JROTC Brigade Commander Selection Board. C/LTC James was questioned by the board on JROTC regulations, leadership principles, the seven army leadership values and how he would handle specific leadership challenges. He was chosen as this year's Deputy Brigade Commander and second-in-command of the OPS brigade. As such he was the master of ceremonies at the annual JROTC Military Ball.

Cadet/Captain Mariah T pins on Cadet Ashley Ms new rank after she successfully passed the promotion board. 30 JROTC cadets earned promotion during the spring promotion board conducted 27-28 March. Cadets reported to the promotion board staff and were quizzed on subjects that included identifying cadet rank, JROTC specific uniform and marching drill questions, and cadet staff identification.