S'More Community News - NPHS

11-18-2022

Administrators' Article

Cory Spotanski

There are 19 school days remaining in this semester. Our first two terms have gone by in a flash. There have been some challenges and success shared by our staff and students, and we are thankful for the opportunities to grow together.

We want to highlight some of the upcoming events that will take place yet this term.

Monday the 21st is NHS induction in the PAC. This event begins at 7:00 pm and will honor the 47 new inductees to the NPHS National Honor Society.

We are looking forward to Tuesday's event for Mental Health and Wellness. Our Student Services team has organized an amazing event for our Juniors and Seniors including keynote speaker Tom Farley.

MAP assessments for Freshmen and Sophomores will take place on December 5th and 6th.

We have On-to-College Test prep kickoff for our Juniors on December 19th. This event has John Baylor on site helping our students learn strategies of how to better achieve on the ACT test that will be taken on March 21st.

Happy Thanksgiving and reminder that there is no school on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th.

Counselors' Corner

Brianna Quiroz

The counseling office has been buzzing with activity. We've wrapped up our college visits for this fall semester and are making plans for more visits in the spring. Check the announcements for upcoming information. Seniors who are planning to pursue the college route should be completing the Local Scholarships. Applications can be found in the Counseling Office and are due, along with all letters of recommendation, to the Counseling Office by December 16th. Juniors and sophomores are getting ready to take the ACT and PreACT in March. Starting December 19th, we will host John Baylor as he presents the ACT prep On to College to help prepare our Juniors for success. All students will have access to this prep course; please encourage your student to check it out! Finally, as we near the end of this term, we are planning for next school year's schedule. Talk to your student about their grades as passing the classes they are in now is essential to their success (and less work) in their later high school years. Also talk about pathways. We have great programs in Agriculture, Welding, Construction, Family Consumer Science, and Computer Technology! More information to come on scheduling in the months ahead. As always, we are here for you and your students not just academically, but socially and emotionally also. Please reach out.

The Library Beat!

Jami Tatman

Click here to see more resources from the library!

Classroom Content

Nancy Fleecs

Hi, I'm Mrs. Fleecs from the Special Education Department! I feel I'm one of the lucky ones, I get to go all around the school to different classes helping students! One block I'll be in a Math class and the next it might be English 12! Have you ever heard the term; Jack of all trades...Master of none? I need to know something about all subjects so I can help my students, somedays that proves to be a little tricky! If you ever see me in your class and need help, don't be shy I'd love to help ya out!!

Keith Lloyd

Hello to all those who are interested,

I am Keith Lloyd, a Nebraska native and lover of everything outdoors our great state has to offer. My family moved to North Platte in the late spring of 2021. I am married to a beautiful and loving woman who enjoys the outdoors and exploring just as much as I do. Together we have 3 boys Walter (1st grade - Lake), George (preschool) and Clyde (born October 2022). We love to go camping, fishing, hunting and support our North Platte High School activities. Our family goal is to know and practice a sustainable way of life and to be productive and caring members of our community.

I teach two classes at NPHS, forensic science and Earth science. The two courses could not be more different but I enjoy them both tremendously. Currently in forensics we are looking at different types of evidence used by investigators and how to analyze that evidence. From fingerprints to burn residue we investigate all the ways a forensic scientist could utilize crime scene evidence to assist in solving crimes and/or provide testimony in court.

In Earth science we just completed a unit on how Chimney rock was formed and how Nebraska’s geology is continually changing throughout time. Our class also has a special opportunity this school year to be a part of the partnership between the John Brower Center and the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in designing and exhibiting pieces to be displayed in San Francisco, California next March.

Emily Kearney

My name is Emily Kearney and I teach English 9. We are currently reading through George Orwell's classic Animal Farm, which is an allegory for the events that took place during and after the Russian Revolution. Students are really getting into this book and have created some amazing pieces to showcase their understanding of what propaganda is and how it is used.

Along with teaching, I have also been helping out with Key Club this quarter. We have been busy volunteering around the district and city. Key Club members have hearts for service and share this passion with both the school community and the community of North Platte. We recently helped with the Downtown Association's Halloween Walk, Washington Elementary's Halloween Parade and Fun Night, and Jefferson Elementary's Veteran's Day program. This holiday season, we will be busy helping with Jefferson's Movie Night, Christmas at the Cody's, the Drive-Thru Light Display at the Lincoln Historical Museum, and many other events.

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Emily Hasenauer

Hello Bulldog Nation! Mrs. Hasenauer here. I am a math teacher here at NPHS with both Geometry and Algebra 2. We are about 3/4 of the way through our semester together. Geometry will be finishing up our unit on Polygons before Turkey day. When we get back for the long haul after Thanksgiving we will be working on my favorite shape CIRCLES! We will end the semester with a quick look into 3-dimensional shapes. For Algebra 2 we are finishing our unit on Radicals. After Thanksgiving we will be working mostly with exponents and logarithms, we will also be talking about interest rates as well as rate of growth and decay. Hoping to finish off this semester on a high note!

Jeremy Stevens

In American Government, we've been covering the three branches of government, the seven articles of the Constitution, 27 Amendments, voting and elections, and early U.S. history topics. I'm also coaching Mock Trial and we are going to be competing in the regional finals after Thanksgiving against Ogallala.

Bailey Mason

Hello from the Art Department!

In Mason's Sculpture class, this term kicked off with what we call "Trash to Treasure". These amazing students came up with their own concept/message, then predominantly used recycled materials in order to produce some impressive creations. As they were placed into the display case right outside the classroom, each artist gave their sculpture a title card, and most chose to include some sort of extra comment, fun fact, etc. in order to better communicate their inspiration behind the work. The results are absolutely stunning!

Since these unorthodox beauties were completed, the class has been working tirelessly on the clay unit as they are creating surreal head sculptures. Each one represents its own unique universal theme, and we cannot wait for them to dry & go through the bisque firing process over Thanksgiving break. Afterwards, the students get to decide on a surfacing method that best suits their vision. We are so excited to share images of the final products in the future, so stay tuned!

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Jeff Henne

We are working on final projects in Woods 2. Here is a night stand made by a student. We also have a duck call made by a student after he had completed his final project.

Jordan Frey

Update from the Transition House: Each day we work to further independence for students in our program. They attend daily jobs, complete janitorial tasks at the house, and prepare lunch. Students are placed at job sites in the community and we value the businesses who have welcomed us in to learn different skills.

At the high school, I am teaching a life skills reading class. In October, we finished a unit on the scientific method. We ended the unit with some experiments including dry ice and how its properties compare to regular ice.

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Traci Foster

Hi! I’m Traci Foster and I am in my 17th year teaching at NPHS. I am married to my husband Jeremy and we have raised 3 amazing kids together (Jaydn 25, McKenna 23, Malorie 21). We also just welcomed our first grandson into the family, born at the beginning of November. We are expecting a second grand baby girl in May, so our family keeps growing. I am one of 3 faculty members in the Family and Consumer Sciences/Health Department. In the past I have primarily taught Healthy Lifestyles. But this year, along with Health, I am also teaching Lifespan Development and Introduction to Design Principles. There is a lot of diversity in what I teach in a day, which makes it engaging, challenging and enjoyable all at once. Each of the classes I teach are a part of a program of study offered at NPHS. In Healthy Lifestyles, students are finishing up our Mental and Emotional Health unit. We have focused on brain development, recognizing and managing emotions, practicing stress management techniques and accessing Mental Health resources. In Lifespan Development we are starting on development through the life cycle, starting with pregnancy and neonatal care. In Intro to Design, students have learned the elements and principles of design as they relate to fashion and interior design applications. When we return from Thanksgiving break students will be starting projects focused on textiles, upcycling materials and the use of technology in design.

Action from Activities!

Nicole Bruck

With the fall sports season coming to a close, the purple out games raised $2400 that was donated to the Callahan Cancer Center. Great job fall sport athletes! NPHS Cheer is ready for the winters sports season to get started.