I hope this newsletter finds all of you enjoying what the Fall season has to offer. Trips to the Apple Orchard, Roca Berry Farm, Football, and outdoor activities abound this time of year. During our October staff development day, our morning will be focused on mental health of our students as well as our staff. We know that expectations and demands are high on each of you, we also hope that when you leave our buildings you are able to fully be present in your personal life. We are going to learn more about compassion fatigue and how best to manage this so that you can be your best self here at work as well as in your personal life.

The Nebraska Teacher Certification Department has done some reorganizing over the past couple of months. They are also working on hiring additional staff to assist with the backlog of applications they have received. One aspect of this reorganization is a new website. It is important that you register on this website, as the state will no longer be sending letters to you when your certificate expires. Once you register, you will get electronic notifications regarding your certificate. You are also encouraged to examine what NDE has listed as your experience, if there are inaccuracies, please email or call the contact listed on the website. https://teach.education.ne.gov/#/

Our October professional development day will provide many opportunities to reflect on and positively impact the mental health of your students as well as yourself. We will be featuring Jen McNally as our keynote speaker in the morning, she is local, however, she has been presenting on the topic of mental health all over the nation. We will also have opportunities to learn more about our EAP and how to access services when needed.

We will have several staff attending Medal of Honor training, many of you previously attended these sessions. The focus will be on developing leadership and character traits in your students and student-athletes.

Please remember that one of our parameters regarding grading and reporting is that we will honor tradition. The title of this article may conflict with this parameter, but the content gives good information for us to reflect on.