Check out the Fairbury Jr. Sr. High Online Newspaper, The FHS X-Ray! Students are busy posting the latest in sports, activities and classroom news. https://fhsxray.com/
Fairbury Jr. Sr. High Online News – The FHS X-ray
Band Successful at FHS
The Fairbury Bands have had a successful start to the 2018-19 school year. On Saturday, August 4, the junior and senior high bands concluded their summer camp by marching in the Wilber Czech Days parade, where the band placed 1st in the bands division! This past weekend, the band participated in the Yorkfest Parade, winning second place and a trophy. The band will be appearing in the Homecoming Parade Friday, September 14, as well as the Melody Round-Up Parade in Hastings on September 22, and Harvest of Harmony in Grand Island on October 6.
Social Studies Standards Review
What do you think our students should be taught in social studies — including history, civics, economics, and geography? The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) seeking input on the Nebraska Social Studies Standards! The social studies standards provide the framework for what students are expected to know in grades K-12, and your feedback will help make improvements to the current standards which will be revised this year. The survey should take less than 15 minutes to complete and closes on September 30, 2018. To complete the survey, use this link: Social Studies Standards Survey.
Cory Epler, Ph.D.
Chief Academic Officer
301 Centennial Mall South, PO Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
Phone: 402-471-3240
Construction Tech Rebuild
Students in Construction Tech are busy with their first project of the year. In between rain storms and high winds, the boys have been busy at the home of Taylor Biehl taking down an existing garden shed. Upon inspection of the building, the students came to the conclusion that much of the frame of the building was still usable, so they decided to replace any rotten boards with new ones. The bottom sill plate was replaced with a green treated one and the siding and roofing will also be replaced. The building may even get some overhang to help make the siding last longer.
Plans include to put a new roof on and shingle the building to match the house. The boys are having a good time with the demolition phase. I am sure that the rebuilding phase will be rewarding as well. There is a lot of construction going on in Fairbury like our new pool and the “H” street project. The weather certainly has been an issue with all projects around town weather big or small. Included are some pictures that were taken while the students were removing the battered materials. More to come!!!
10 Years of TeamMates
TeamMates of Fairbury was recognized at the Annual Partnership Meeting on July 24th for reaching its 10th year of mentoring. Fairbury, among other communities, has been making quality matches based on shared interests and the school and community has benefited from the program’s presence. Statistics based off of data collected last school year showed some promising numbers; over half of our local matches are staying together for at least 3 years, 90% of students in the program had fewer disciplinary referrals, and 100% of matches in Fairbury had fewer unexcused absences. The goal of the Mentor is not to tutor or fix the student, however, our statistics show that TeamMates helps engage both students and volunteers alike with 95% of Mentors claiming to leave their weekly visit in a better mood than when they arrived. If you would like to become a part of this fun and advantageous program, please contact coordinator, Tiffany Ebke at tebke@fairburyjeffs.org to learn about the application process and learn about upcoming training dates!
Strategies For Keeping Your Sanity With Homework
Welcome back to the new school year! For some parents, homework can be a nightmare so here are a few tips to help make homework time more efficient and less stressful for you, as well as more productive for your child(ren)!
- Identify a space in your house for homework completion. This might be the kitchen table, the student’s room or an office space. All spaces have advantages and disadvantages and it’s really up to you and your child to identify the best space. If your child is easily distracted, it might be the best space is his room or an office area. If your child needs more supervision, a kitchen table might be a better space.
- Keep a schedule for homework and maintain it. For many families coming home right after school and completing homework is the best plan for them. For example, your child might come home and have a snack from 3:45-4:00 and then have “Homework Hour” from 4:00-5:00 every day. Choose a time that works for your child and family. Even if your child says they don’t have homework, keep the schedule. This is a great time for students to do some personal reading if there is no homework!
*A good rule of thumb is for every grade they should have 10 minutes of “homework time” after school. So first grade = 10 minutes and their “homework hour” is only 10 minutes long. Second grade =20 minutes so their “homework hour” is 20 minutes long, and so on.
- Pre-correct for obstacles in getting homework done. For example, if your child is disorganized and will “forget” pencils and paper, have them ready to go. If your child will “forget” their reading book have a book or magazines for them to read stored in your homework space. If your child puts everything off until the end of the day and THEN remembers he or she has homework, schedule your homework time for right after school and not in the evening. You could even make a rule that there is no free time, video games or time with friends until homework hour has been completed.
If this is something new you are trying for the first time, don’t be surprised if your child tries to ignore, argue or escape from this new routine. But be persistent! This is not only helps them get homework done and reduces your stress, it also teaches them good study habits for whatever is next for them, Intermediate school, Junior high, High School and post-high school education.
Finally, if you ever need any help, I’m here to provide it. Call me or email me anytime!
Jill Timmons, Ph.D. NCSP
School Psychologist
Fairbury Public Schools
Fairbury FFA Attends 90th State FFA Convention
The 90th Nebraska State FFA Convention was held April 4th-6th in Lincoln, Nebraska. This year, the Fairbury FFA had 28 members attended the state convention. We had several members qualify for state CDEs at our district competition back in March.
The Ag Sales team was made up of all sophomores including Devin Wanamaker, Dalton Petersen, John Kerwood, and Kennedy DeBoer. None of them earned a ribbon, but it was a great learning experience! The next contest was Agriscience which is a freshman or first year contest. It was made up of Riley Wood, Taylor Gustafson, Harlie Blas, and Sarah Engelman. Riley Wood and Taylor Gustafson both earned red ribbons. The agronomy team did extremely well this year! The team was made up of senior Ashley Griffee and juniors Michaela Buchli, Tori Likens, and Delaney Miller. Griffee placed 2nd overall and earned a purple ribbon while Buchli earned a blue. The Natural Resources team was made up of seniors Jake Maschmann, Brock Barton, junior Trevin Arnold, and sophomore Dalton Petersen. Maschmann earned a blue ribbon while Barton earned a white. The next contest was floriculture. This team was made up of seniors Jordan Ruhnke, Shavara Kroeker, Paige Livingston, and freshman Brooklen Bear. Ruhnke earned a red ribbon in this contest. Junior livestock judging also went to state this year! To be in the junior division, you must either be a freshman or sophomore. The team was made up of freshmen Shelby Klaumann, Sarah Engelman, and Konnor Hasselbring. While none of them earned a ribbon, they all learned a lot about livestock judging! The Meats & Technology team was made up of juniors Jared Engelman, Kane Hasselbring, Colton Starck, and sophomore Taylor Runge. The final contest was Welding. This team was made up of sophomore John Kerwood and seniors Jesse Graves and Brock Barton. Taylor Runge was also part of the 2017-2018 Nebraska State Chorus. He had to audition back in December and was talented enough to be selected. Fairbury Jr/Sr High School Principal Mr. Nicholas Kroon received the Cornerstone Award. This is awarded to school leaders who have a school wide vision for Career and Technical Education and support Career Education Programs within their school. The Fairbury FFA Chapter also had four seniors earn their state degrees including Brock Barton, Jesse Graves, Miranda Heidemann, and Paige Livingston! It was a great year and an amazing experience!
Physical Forms
All 7th graders are required to have a Physicals and Up to date Immunization records to include a current Tdap. These are due August 1, 2018 in the High School office.
Any student wishing to participate in sports in the 2018-2019 school year must have a sports physical. These are due prior to the start of the first practice for the sport the student wishes to participate in.
Parents MUST fill out the parent section and sign prior to the physical appointment.
Recycle or Trash
Continuing our project based learning lessons after Earth Day, students in Mrs. Julie Petersen’s standards math class dug in to the trash to collect data. With the leadership of guest speaker, Julie Diegel from Nebraska Recycling Council, students sorted a large bag of trash collected from Fairbury Public Schools. Step one was to categorize the trash: aluminum, plastic, office paper, color paper, compost, and landfill. Students wore gloves and aprons and participated to a varying degree. Ms. Diegel helped us understand the recycle symbols and contaminated products. Step two was to weigh each category and approximate the volume. Step three included calculating the amount of trash this one bag sent to the landfill rather than recycling.
Special thanks to custodians Bill and Tommy for their assistance with this educational project.
