Since Covid-19 prevented our veterans from coming into our school this year to share a meal with students – our students decorated the windows of the cafeteria to show their appreciation for our local veterans. Each grade level was responsible for one window in the cafeteria. Check it out the next time your drive past Jefferson Intermediate School!
Students in Señora Johnson’s class celebrated Día de los Muertos by making and decorating skulls, masks, and making a box of life.
Día de los Muertos stands for Day of the Dead and it is celebrated in Mexico and Spain. The holiday starts on Nov. 1 and ends on Nov. 2. The tradition is to celebrate the people who have died. They decorate graves and tombs with candles, sugar skulls, pan de muertos, pictures of the dead, and many more offerings.
“My class is making paper mache masks and I am making Pan de Muertos for an assignment.” Brendon Runge ‘23 said. The masks are the size of a hand and with a skull painted on it.
The students enjoyed taking a break from learning spanish and working on crafts to celebrate this tradition.
The Jeffs’ Best Award was created by the Fairbury Public Schools Board of Education to highlight and celebrate the great work of our staff.On behalf of the Board of Education, I would like to congratulate Tam Ruhnke, Jefferson 5th Grade Teacher, as the recipient of the November Jeffs’ Best Award!
Here was the nomination statement:
“I would like to nominate Tam Ruhnke for the Jeffs Best award. I have known Tam for many years and have witnessed her dedication to our school system and her students. She is always trying to better herself as a teacher by learning new technologies for student engagement, trying new teaching techniques, and adapting to every change come what may. She never lets herself get stagnant. She keeps learning and growing as an educator. If she see a new teaching idea or technology tool, she will check it out and see if it can help any of her students.
When teachers were having to teach from home this last spring, Tam was trying to make sure she kept relationship building by connecting with her students outside of class time. When a student needed help, she made herself available at all times of the day. She didn’t just worry about their personal lives but made sure they were keeping up with academics. She made many personal phone calls to parents and students to make sure they were understanding the content she was teaching.
Tam has served on many committees throughout her years at Fairbury Public Schools. She has been an integral part of the School Improvement Team and now the district and Jefferson MTSS teams. She also serves on the technology committee, reading/language arts committee and Superintendent’s Faculty Advisory Committee. She never complains when asked to serve, she just does it.
She is a model teacher for our new teachers and a dedicated employee. She rarely asked for personal time off, even if she has days available. She is there for her grade level team and help in any way possible.
Tam works hard for her students and our district. She is at school many days before the sun rises and never complains when having to stay for late meetings or school activities. That shows her dedication. Please consider Tam for this recognition.
The Believers and Achievers program is sponsored by the Nebraska School Activities Association and U.S. Bank. This is a state-wide program that recognizes the future leaders in our communities.
There were three high school seniors from Fairbury Jr-Sr high school that were selected for this years Believers and Achievers program. Those students included Josh Robertson ’21, Brynn Novotny ’21, and Ellie Ohlde ’21. All three of these students display an excellence in academics and participation in NSAA activities. As well as show a commitment to citizenship, school involvement and community projects.
These three seniors applied for the Believers and Achievers program and were then judged on their scholastic achievement, NSAA activity participation, School involvement, Community Involvement, and a citizenship essay.
“There were a couple of reasons I wanted to apply, last year the ones that got [the Believers and Achievers award] were top notch leaders, so to be able to apply for the same thing they did gives me a good feeling,” Brynn Novotny said. “I always try to look for those leadership honors because it makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing.”
Robertson ’21, Novotny ’21, and Ohlde ’21 are the school honorees for the 2020-21 school year. There will be 48 outstanding students chosen by the NSAA from all of those who applied for the program where they will be recognized for their achievements at the half time of an NSAA state championship event.
While students got the day off of school, parents and teachers met on October 22 for parent teacher conferences.
The parents met with their children’s teachers to discuss and go over their child’s grades and how they have been performing in school.
“I think they’re a good way for teachers to talk to students’ parents,” Trayce Blas ‘23 said. “You would think that parents would want to hear how their children are doing in school and how they behave in school.”
This year’s parent teacher conferences had some differences like requiring parents to wear facemasks while in the school and also allowing for online meetings between parents and teachers.
“I feel like parent teacher conferences are not as necessary as they used to be especially when parents have access to powerschool everyday,” math teacher Julie Petersen said. “I also have 109 students so it is hard to meet with the parents of all my students.”
Please support the FHS band program by purchasing merchandise with our new band logo.
Click on the link to order:https://www.bsnteamsports.com/shop/jeffband20
Mark your calendars! Central and Jefferson schools are happy to announce that on Monday, October 19, 2020, children’s author Geoff Herbach is coming to visit our schools virtually! Geoff has written the popular children’s book “Hair Pocalypse”. He is also the author of a number of middle school books such as, “Hooper”, “Anything You Want” and “Strange Times”. We hope your student will enjoy the presentation and join us in thanking the PTA for sponsoring Geoff’s virtual visit.
The First Grade Students at Central, in their Knowledge Unit, have been studying Fables and Folktales from different countries. Several high school students from Ms. Davidson’s Honors One Class came to Central to read some of their favorite folktales and fables to the first graders. It was a great experience for all!
