JH/HS Principal Newsletter

We have arrived to the final month of the school year and with the weather turning warmer and the world greening up around us, it feels like it is the end of the school year!! The 2023-2024 school year was one filled with highs and lows, successes and failures, and smooth roads and bumpy roads!! But through it all, the students and staff at HPS continued to show up and bring their best version of themselves to the hallways and classrooms everyday in Hershey! I look forward to working with the students and staff for a few more weeks and then begin the transition to our summer schedule and begin work on the 2024-2025 school year!

There are a couple items of note in this month's newsletter. First, please check out the IMPORTANT DATES for the month of May. There still are a number of activities on the schedule and many opportunities to support our students as we close out the school year! Second, there is information concerning the final week of school and what the semester test schedule will look like for Panther 7-12 students. Finally, there are some items concerning summer school and summer strength and conditioning sessions here at Hershey once school gets out!

Finally, please know that all stakeholders are here for ALL students to be successful. If there are any questions or concerns you have, please feel free to reach out to the staff and administration here at Hershey Jr/Sr High School and we will be more than happy to help make sure ALL students are successful and have a great experience here at Hershey!

We are continuing to be intentional on making sure that each week we are touching base with our initiative for the 23-24 school year, PANTHER MOJO. MOJO stands for the following:

Meaningful Engagement

cOmmon Expectations

Joy in Learning

Opportunities for Growth

As a staff this past month we have talked about the importance of Opportunity to Grow as a PK-12 staff. For us, this includes the following: Classroom 1) Learn from Mistakes 2) Student Work Displayed 3) Next Step Ready / Hallway 1) Safe, Secure Hallways 2) Student Work Displayed 3) Pride in Our Building

We have enjoyed working with staff and students this year on Panther MOJO and look forward to how we can continue to reflect on and reinforce common expectations for the 2024-2025 school year!

The second semester has provided us as a K-12 staff to continue to look at the Marzano Educational Framework we have adopted and reflect on what this looks like in our classrooms. We look forward to reflecting on the year that was in working with the Marzano Educational Framework and setting our sights on how we can collectively deepen our understanding and implementation of the Marzano Educational Framework!

Congratulations to HPS Senior, Alex Brown, on being selected as the HPSEF April Student of the Month! Alex is an active member of the Hershey student body as he participates in football and track & field. Alex is diligent in the classroom and is a positive leader in the hallways at Hershey High School!!!

Hershey staff commented that Alex "has a diligent approach to tasks with his strong sense of obligation. His quirky and lively humor brightens both fields of academics and athletics." Another staff member said that "Alex is always ready to help when needed. He is dependable and is pleasant to be around." A final Hershey staff member stated that "Alex Brown is determined to succeed academically while excelling in sports, which makes him a role model for other students and displays a balance of responsibilities. His work ethic and resilience are something to be acknowledged and celebrated!"

Again, congratulations to Panther Senior, Alex Brown, on being selected as the HPSEF April Student of the Month!!!

5.1.24 - Boys Golf @ Sandhills Thedford Invite (Thedford G.C)

5.2.24 - Boys Golf @ NPSP Invite (Rivers Edge G.C.)

5.2.24 - Girls Tennis @ Kearney Catholic Invite (Harmon Park)

5.2.24 - JH Track & Field @ SPVA Championships (Sutherland H.S.)

5.3.24 - HS Track & Field @ Elm Creek Invite (Elm Creek H.S.)

5.4.24 - HPS Graduation (Main Gym)

5.7.24 - Boys Golf @ Sutherland Invite (Oregon Trails G.C.)

5.7.24 - Girls Tennis @ Ogallala Invite (Ogallala H.S.)

5.7.24 - Elementary Spring Sing (Activities Center)

5.9.24 - HS Track & Field @ C-9 District Meet (Bayard H.S.)

5.9.24 - Boys Golf @ Ogallala Invite (Crandall Creek G.C.)

5.10.24 - HPS Spring Sport Pep Rally

5.11.24 - JH Track @ Nebraska State Championships (Gothenburg H.S.)

5.13. 24 - Boys Golf @ C-5 District Meet (Lakeside C.C.)

5.13.24 - HPS School Board Meeting

5.16.24 - Student Last Day

5.17.24 - HS Track @ NSAA Class C State Meet (Omaha Burke H.S.)

5.18.24 - HS Track @ NSAA Class C State Meet (Omaha Burke H.S.)

5.20.24 - Girls Tennis @ NSAA Class B State Meet (Wood Center, Lincoln, NE)

5.21.24 - Girls Tennis @ NSAA Class B State Meet (Wood Center, Lincoln, NE)

5.21.24 - Boys Golf @ NSAA Class C State Meet (Elk C.C., Columbus, NE)

5.22.24 - Boys Golf @ NSAA Class C State Meet (Elk C.C., Columbus, NE)

Below is the link to the 2023-2024 Student Handbook. This outlines the rules and expectations for students here at Hershey Public Schools! We have covered the following items with the 7-12 student body in a school wide assembly as well as in grade level meetings. Your support and encouragement of our school policies at home goes a long ways in creating a great environment for learning here at HPS!

• Safe/Secure School
• Chromebook Usage
• Cell Phone/Personal Electronic Device Policy
• Academic Eligibility & Good Standing
• Lunch/Open Campus
• Grading: Make-up Work / Late Work
• Dress Code

Here is the link to the complete 2023-2024 Student Handbook: https://www.hpspanthers.org/page/handbooks

Hershey Junior/Senior High wrapped up the spring season of state testing at the end of April. Students showed up and gave great efforts on their NSCAS, MAPS, and ACT tests over the course of two weeks! Thank you to the HPS staff for preparing our students for this season and also for proctoring testing during this time. Additionally, thank you to Mrs. Sarah Ostmeyer and Mr. Kort Smith for all of their work behind the scenes to ensure our testing season went smoothly. We look forward to seeing the spring data and celebrating the successes of the 7-12 Panther student body!

Below is the schedule for the last week of school for 7-12 Hershey students:

• Classroom Review Dates - May 9th & 10th
• Monday (May 13th) Content # 1: Science / English / Industrial Arts / Business / Art
• Tuesday (May 14th) Content # 2: Social Studies/Ag Ed/Math/Spanish/ Health-PE-Music
• Wednesday (May 15th) - All Content Area Make Up - Alternative Activities = HS Helpers for Field Day
• Thursday (May 16th) - Final Checkout

Once again this summer, Hershey will be offering summer school for 7-12 students who failed courses during the school year and would like to recover credit. Additionally, summer school is available for students who need to make up time due to excessive absences in order to receive full credit for classes taken this year. Summer School will start on Monday, May 20th and run through Friday, May 31st. Summer School session will run from 9:00 - 11:00 AM and 1:00 - 4:00 PM. For more information or to enroll for these sessions, please contact HPS 7-12 Principal, Jordan Cudney, ASAP to reserve your spot!

Summer months mean that summer strength and conditioning sessions are right around the corner!! All 7-12 Panther athletes are strongly encouraged to take part in summer strength and conditioning sessions led by Coach Chris Stier and other HPS coaches. Sessions will start on Monday, June 3rd, run Monday thru Thursday, and will be approximately 90 minutes in length. The focus for Panther athletes during these summer sessions will be speed and agility, strength, and injury prevention. Sessions will run as follows starting on June 3rd:

• High School Boys: 6:00 - 7:30 AM
• High School Girls: 8:00 - 9:30 AM
• Junior High Boys & Girls: 9:30 - 11:00 AM

Sport specific open gym sessions will also be available during these times as well! Please contact specific sport head coaches for more information concerning times and locations for any/all open gym sessions!

Below is the bell schedule for the upcoming school year:

1st Period 8:15-9:03

2nd Period 9:06 - 9:54

3rd Period 9:57 - 10:45

4th Period 10:48 - 11:36

5th Period 11:39 - 12:26

JH Lunch 11:35 - 12:05

JH 5th Period 12:07 - 12:57

SH Lunch 12:26 - 12:55

6th Period 1:00 - 1:48

7th Period 1:51 - 2:39

8th Period 2:42 - 3:42

On Friday School is let out at the end of 7th Period at 2:39 PM.

As district and breakfast menus are updated, they can be found at the following LINK: https://www.myschoolmenus.com/organizations/300

Students and families are encouraged to communicate concerns related to the mistreatment of others. For students, a trusted adult is the recommended point of contact. This can be an administrator, teacher, coach, or other trusted person. This adult will then work with administration to respond promptly and appropriately. Parents/guardians are encouraged to communicate concerns directly with HPS Administration.

The most important part of any school is the safety and well being of the students and staff! Several items exist within schools to support school safety. These include:

• Secured access during the school day. Visitors to school must check-in at the main office after they are allowed access through the office doors. All other doors are to be closed and locked during the course of the school day.
• Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is established. This provides a consistent student and staff response to potential emergencies. More information about SRP can be found at this LINK.
• Minimizing deliveries during the school day. We understand that a parent may wish to deliver food to students for special occasions, and we appreciate this. We discourage this from being a regular occurrence.
• Minimizing student visits to vehicles during the school day. Students that forget a school-related item in their vehicles may check-in at the main office before they are allowed to visit their vehicles.

We appreciate the important part our students, staff, and families play in keeping our school safe. So far this year, we have successfully completed BOTH district wide tornado drills, eight fire drills, BOTH bus evacuation drills, and three of our SRP drills for the school year!

We believe that we want to continue to prepare our students in the case of an emergency so that we are prepared in the case of a true emergency!