"HERD" That...

The construction of the new Elm Creek Elementary School continues to be on track. If you've driven by our school you have seen that the shop building has been removed, a new sewer line is installed, and delivery of materials has begun. The questions I am asked most often are: 1. How is the project coming along? 2. Are we staying within our planned budget? 3. Was this the right time to take on this project?

1. How is the project coming along? It is going very well and at this time we are on track. Since passing the bond we have sold the playground equipment we needed to move, the sewer line is almost done, and site preparation has started. The reinforcing steel has come in and we expect the structural steel to arrive in June. The goal is to have the erection of the building's steel structure completed by the time school starts in August 2022.
   
2. Are we going to be able to build this within budget? The short answer is No but with a small yes as well; let me explain. After the bond was passed at $11,980,000 we began finalizing plans with discussions on finishes, lighting, door hardware, types of flooring, etc. Some additional and necessary items were added to the project and with those came additional costs. The additions include the moving of the sewer line, the burying of overhead electrical lines, adding a chair lift for accessibility to the second floor weight room, and adding air conditioning to the competition gym. When the final bids were totalled we were at a cost of over $13,000,000. The board committees went back to work and made adjustments that brought the cost down to about $300,000 over budget. The district will use ESSER funds to pay for the HVAC in the gym and a portion of the chair lift system for the second floor weight room. I am pleased to share that the adjustments made did not reduce the size of the building or take away from the functionality or quality of the project.
3. Was this the right time for the project? As we know, timing plays a big factor in construction and this year is a great example of that. Did the materials and labor for this project cost more than expected? Yes. But, by passing the bond when we did we were able to get a 1.9% interest rate on our bond loans. Compare that to interest rates that school projects are currently getting and we see a savings of $3.8 million over the course of twenty years, or roughly .04 cents on the levy each year. So, yes, we are slightly over budget but with current interest rates we saved a great deal of money over the course of the loan.

I want to thank our community members, teachers, and students for all their support and faith as we continue growing Elm Creek Schools. I can’t wait to see our students walk into their new school.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bret Schroder, Superintendent

Elm Creek Public Schools

April 19, 2022

Hello Elementary Families,

It is a busy time of year! We are so incredibly proud of our students and their hard work during these last few weeks of testing! We can’t wait to celebrate their accomplishments towards the end of the month with lunch at the park and some fun activities! Please join us for the spring Music Concert on Monday, May 2nd. Please read below for more information.

Summer School Change:

Please read the letter regarding our change for our summer school program! There are still spots available!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Re8yJRss-gGUY4KutQa7W5eepA11r26vRpx1tUYbiUo/edit?usp=sharing

Upcoming Events:

Kindergarten Round Up:

-April 21 at 5:30pm

-This event will take place at the library in the school. The students will explore the Kindergarten classrooms while the parents go through a presentation to learn more about the Kindergarten year. There will also be time to fill out the necessary paperwork.

For Kindergarten, your child will need a physical, current immunization record including Kindergarten shots, and their original birth certificate with the State Seal. All of these documents will need to be provided to the school prior to your child starting Kindergarten in the fall.

Elementary Spring Concert:

-Monday, May 2nd

-K-3rd-6:00-6:30

-Intermission- 6:30-6:45

-4th-6th- 6:45-7:30

-Elementary Track and Field Day -K-6

- Friday, May 13th

Start Time: 11:30am

Rain Date: Monday, May 16th

-If weather permits we will be having lunch together at the park starting at 11 before the events start. Please join us for a sack lunch at the park with your child!

Preschool Events:

Elementary Track and Field Day-PK: Wednesday, May 11th

Last Day of School for PK ONLY: Wednesday, May 11th

Kindergarten Registration:

Parents/Guardians of the students entering Kindergarten for the 2022-2023 school year:

Kindergarten Registration is now taking place at Elm Creek Public Schools for the 2022-2023 school year.

If your child will be 5 by July 31st, 2022, please come to the office to fill out the needed information to register your child for the 2022-2023 school year.

For Kindergarten, your child will need a physical, current immunization record including Kindergarten shots, and their original birth certificate with the State Seal. All of these documents will need to be provided to the school prior to your child starting Kindergarten in the fall.

Little Buffs Preschool Enrollment:

Parents/Guardians of the students entering Preschool for the 2022-2023 school year:

Preschool enrollment is now taking place at Elm Creek Public Schools for the 2022-2023 school year!

Please note the following change:

For the 2022-2023 school year, there will be a change to the preschool fee. The preschool fee will now be $400 per semester.

-Child must be 3 on or before July 31st, 2022.

-Items to bring to the main office for enrollment:

-Birth certificate

-Current immunization records

-Morning class: (Breakfast and snack served)

-Afternoon class : (Lunch and snack served)

-We would love to have your application by May 2022!

Love Blue, Live Gold!

Mrs. Williams

Good evening MS and HS families:

This week we are welcoming students and staff back from a long break. We will have our activities awards banquet on April 21st. This event will take place at 6:00 pm in the main gym, and the Elm Creek Booster Club will be sponsoring a meal that evening. Please come out to celebrate the accomplishments of our activity participants.

District Music Contest is this Friday the 22nd in Wood River. Best wishes to our Choir and Band as they represent our school at his event with their gifts and talent.

Prom is coming up on April 23rd. A message will be sent to Jr. and Sr. students and parents and on April 4th. This is the communication that was shared for those who missed it. Outside date forms are available in the office and must be returned by Thursday, April 21st.

The FFA Banquet is the 25th at 7:00 PM. The 7-12 Concert is the 28th at 7:00 PM.

TESTING INFORMATION:
***NWEA MAP assessments will begin in the coming days. Below is the schedule we will follow for these assessments for Grades 7,8,9,10, and 11.

Tuesday, April, 12th and Wednesday, April 13th (COMPLETED)

Reading Tests in English class.

Monday, April 25th

Science Test in Science class.

Wednesday, April 27th and Thursday, April 28th

Language Usage Test in English class (9th grade will do this test on the 26th&28th)

Wednesday, May 4th and Thursday, May 5th

Math Test in Math class.

We will have make up days as needed after the May 5th Test.

***NSCAS assessments for grades 7 and 8 will take place on April 20, 21, and 22. Here is the schedule for these assessments.

Wednesday, April 20th

7th Grade - Pds 1 and 2 - MATH TEST

8th Grade - Pds 1 and 2 - ENGLISH TEST

Thursday, April 21st

7th Grade - Pds 1 and 2 - ENGLISH TEST

8th Grade - Will begin after lunch- MATH TEST

Friday, April 22nd

8th Grade - Pds 1 and 2 - SCIENCE TEST

Graduation is the 14th. Here is the communication that was shared out on the 18th.

Here is the link to the HS Golf Season. Here is a link to the HS Track Season. Here is a link to the MS Track Season.

Have a wonderful week.

Mr. Spotanski

If you suspect that your young child’s growth or development is happening slower than that of other children the same age, it never hurts to have a professional take a closer look! The same is true if a child has a health condition that could impact development. Many children do not out-grow a problem and they may need extra community services and support to live healthy and successful lives. Early Development Network (EDN) is here to help. EDN provides services to young children (ages birth to three) with delays or disabilities and their families at no cost to the family. EDN is staffed by caring professionals who will listen and respect families. Together we will help coordinate resources and services that best meet the needs of each individual family. If you or someone you know has questions or concerns about a child’s development, the best place to start is to call the school at (308) 856-4300 and ask to speak with Cindy Carlton.

Come check out the BOGO Scholastic Book Fair at our school, April 25th - May 2nd. It will be open after school and also before and after the music concerts (April 28th & May 2nd). Take advantage of this money saving opportunity to purchase books and fun items!

The K - 3 library students have voted each week in March to determine which book will "win" our "March Book Madness" bracket! This week will determine the overall winning selection. A bulletin board in the library serves as our bracket and is updated each week. The students have enjoyed the voting process and seeing the updated board each week to see which book wins each round.

The book fair website is https://www.scholastic.com/bf/elmcreekelementaryschool2. Patrons may shop online April 25 - May 8. All sales benefit our school!

Driver education classes run from June 27 - July 1, 2022, 8:00 am to 12:30 pm with student/parent orientation on June 27 at 8am. Range exercises in Kearney, Thursday, June 30, 2022, 9:30am - 6:00pm and on-street driving will be scheduled with Mr. Bauer. Transportation to Kearney on June 30th will be the responsibility of Parents/Guardians. Students must be 14 and have obtained a learner's permit or school learner's permit. There will be some tuition dollars available for Elm Creek students that pass the 2022 class.

This course conforms to the rules and regulations of the DMV and exceeds the criteria established for insurance discounts. Nebraska DMV regulations require that, “Students must attend all course presentations and pass all examinations”. Therefore, any missed portion(s) of the course, for any reason, must be made up prior to the issuance of a waiver. For questions contact the Nebraska Safety Center or Rick Bauer, to register use this link: https://www.unk.edu/offices/safety_center/driver-education.php.

The vocal music students have had tremendous success this year that I would like to share with you. We had six students make the UNK honor choir which was unfortunately canceled in January, but reschedule recently for April 4th!! These are the students who will be attending:

Brooklyn S

Luke W

Anjolina P

Abrieana P

Rylee G

Tranessa H

We had an amazing day a couple days ago at FKC music contest at SEM. Out of the eight entries performed for vocal music at the contest, all of them received superiors! We were the only school attending to achieved this honor!

They were:

Solos—Anjolina p, Abrieana P, Chloe H, Luke W, Denise H, Rylee G, Brooklyn S

Duet—Rylee G, Luke W

Coming up:

April 22nd, District Music at Wood River

April 28th, 7-12 spring concert

May 2, k-6 spring concert

Thanks for supporting music in our school!!

Mrs. Amber Reiter

The track team would also like to say a huge THANK YOU to the Elm Creek Booster club for purchasing us new warm up suits. These have come in very handy in the cold, windy weather this year and we’ve gotten lots of compliments about how nice they look at meets. Thank you Booster Club!!

Hello all Mr. Weber and Mrs. Keep back with some news about One Act for the Fall of 2022.

We are looking at doing a serious drama for this upcoming year and we are working on narrowing it down between a couple different options. However, to help us get a good idea of how many parts we might need to plan for and how much extra help we have with the crew, we are going to have some early sign ups here this spring.

On Monday, April 25th please stop by the Library Flex Room after school sometime between 3:30pm-4pm to let us know if you have any interest. We also will be available to answer any questions you have at that time! We would love to have anyone and everyone who is even slightly interested come visit with us to hear about the awesome things that we do in One Act at Elm Creek. Feel free to also stop by Mrs. Keep in the library or Mr. Weber in the elementary to let us know that you are interested if you cannot make it on the 25th. All 7th-12th graders are welcome to come join One Act!! See you all then and Be Gold!!

Update on Track Team coming in May 1 Edition

Update on Golf Team coming in May 1 Edition

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Elm Creek School District's mission is to... Educate all students based on high educational standards. Support a safe environment that welcomes diversity and mutual respect among adults and students. Prepare all students, in cooperation with staff, family and community, to be well-rounded contributing members of society.

Notice of Non-Discrimination

The Elm Creek Public School District hereby gives this statement of compliance and intends to comply with all state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination. This school district intends to take any necessary measures to assure compliance with such laws against any prohibited form of discrimination.

Elementary Students: Terah Williams, Principal, 230 East Calkins Ave., Elm Creek, NE 68836, (308) 856-4953, terah.williams@elmcreekschools.org

Secondary Students: Cory Spotanski, Principal, 230 East Calkins Ave., Elm Creek, NE 68836, (308) 856-4300, cory.spotanski@elmcreekschools.org

Employees and Others: Dr. Bret Schroder, Superintendent 230 East Calkins Ave., Elm Creek, NE 68836, (308) 856-4300, bret.schroder@elmcreekschools.org

Administration:

Dr. Bret Schroder, Superintendent.

Cory Spotanski, Secondary Principal

Terah Williams, Elementary Principal

Newsletter Publisher

Chris Shoff

Questions, Comments or ideas for future newsletter articles...

email: chris.shoff@elmcreekschools.org

Email: chris.shoff@elmcreekschools.org
Website: https://www.elmcreekschools.org/
Location: Elm Creek Public School, 230 E Calkins Ave, Elm Creek, NE 68836, USA
Phone: 308-856-4300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElmCreekBuffs
Twitter: @ElmCreekBuffs