News from Activities Director
Hershey Schools is working hard to communicate with all students about completing their school work and disseminating information on future events. We have had great feedback from students and parents on how they are getting along and making the most of their time.
All the sports programs and extracurricular activities had a Zoom Banquet meeting the week of April 20th. Coaches have been and will continue to send out workout information to their athletes. Hershey Schools is looking forward to returning for the 20-21 school year. We have outstanding student athletes that make Hershey a great place.
Greg Welch,
Activities Director
News from Mrs. Davis - Superintendent
May typically brings the Hershey school community together with graduation celebrations throughout our community. This year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will alter the way we celebrate our 2020 Senior Class. On May 9th, Hershey Public Schools will release a video honoring our seniors. This will be located on our website and on our YouTube Channel. We have rescheduled an in-person graduation ceremony for August 1st at 10:00 AM at our Football/Track Facility. This celebration will be held in accordance with any directed health measures that are imposed on the Village of Hershey and/or Lincoln County.
The 2020 senior class has achieved many honors and awards. You can view the Activity/Honors highlight reel on our YouTube Channel. The honor that I am most proud of, is attaining the highest ACT average in our SPVA Conference. Congratulations on a job well done!
Mrs. Amy Beyer and Ms. Kelli Holton are both retiring from Hershey Public Schools at the end of this school year. Michael Jorgenson, Jayden Johnson, Ian Nelson, Mindy Ebmeier and Cale Streeter will be leaving Hershey Public Schools at the end of the year as well. I would like to take this opportunity to wish them all the best of luck and to thank them for their service to Hershey Public Schools and community.
National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 4 through May 8. Our teachers and support staff have worked tirelessly to ensure learning continues during this COVID19 school closure. I have been amazed at their creativity and commitment to our students and our community. They have truly been lifelong learners as they have immersed themselves into learning and refining skills needed for remote learning activities. On Tuesday, May 5 we will observe National Teacher Appreciation Day for our staff!
We are busy planning for the 2020-2021 school year. The first and foremost item that we are addressing is to identify which learning standards need to be reviewed for students that may have been shortened or missed during the COVID19 school closure. We are also watching guidance from NDE on their recommendations for summer school. At this time, we are planning remote summer school learning activities for students in K-3 and we are planning on holding remote credit recovery opportunities for students in grades 9-11. Parents will receive more information on these opportunities in May.
You will be receiving a copy of our 2019-20 annual report in the mail in June. Schools are required by Rule 10 of the Nebraska Department of Education guidelines to inform the public of certain financial and education items. We compile this information in brochure form each year and mail it to all patrons. I hope that the informational brochure gives you valuable information about our school district. If you have any questions, please come in and see me or contact me by phone.
Mrs. Jane Davis, Supt.
News from the Elementary Principal.
Dear Parents,
Who could have ever imagined what school would look like in April 2020! I certainly didn’t think I would be sending a newsletter from an empty school during my first year as elementary principal. Please utilize the school website to access “Continuity of Learning Website” this platform allows the school district to provide clear expectations and norms for both students and parents. We are here for you. Teachers have set their “office hours” and have posted all work/assignments through this platform. Feel free to keep using email as that is usually the quickest way to correspond with each other. As I help my own child navigate his on-line learning I am reminded, almost daily, that this is a struggle for students and parents. If students are frustrated (or you for that matter), take time to go for a walk, throw a football, or just unplug. Balance is everything right now.
As we continue this historic journey together, I am thankful for the bonds we have strengthened with our educators, students, families, and staff. I am also thankful for the new relationships we have formed as a result of this crisis. Without all of you, we would not have been able to make this shift away from our traditional in-person learning environments to remote learning.
As a community of learners, I also believe this is an opportunity to look deep within ourselves and utilize the resiliency that lives in all of us. Despite our separation and setbacks, we have learned to thrive in new ways. Your resiliency and effort through these times are truly inspiring. They are also not without extreme effort from all of us. With that in mind, take time to find moments of joy and peace in our daily lives, despite what is going on around us. Our buildings may be closed however, learning and innovation are open for our students, educators, and staff. We will work to fulfill our vision and mission for our students in this new environment. I would like to personally take this opportunity to thank this community for its support of our schools. What a great place! I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
Students' last day of remote learning instruction will be Thursday, May 14th. As your child(ren) transitions into summer vacation, it is important for him or her to spend time reading, writing, and practicing math facts. I wish all of you a safe and happy summer! Even though we are on summer vacation, I encourage you to spend some academic time with your child each day so that they continue to grow educationally throughout the summer.
Be Safe & Be Well,
Jared Thomsen
Elementary Principal
(308) 368-5572
Empowering students to reach their full potential.
“Educating Every Student, Every Day, Every Way”
News from the High School Principal
Welcome to May! With the end of online school nearing we have many events and activities worth mentioning. First and foremost, is our Senior’s virtual graduation on May 9th at 10:00am. This class of kids has worked hard and are finishing strong in their careers at Hershey in unprecedented times. Please plan on viewing our graduation on the Hershey Panthers YouTube channel to help honor and celebrate our students. This class of students has been very rewarding to work with and deserves the best. I have seen many of the students in this class excel in academics and the activities that they participate in. They are also a group of students that have set some lofty goals for their futures. Each student in this class has many strong characteristics that will help them be successful in life. Their parents and the staff at Hershey Public Schools have done an outstanding job of preparing them for life. It is exciting knowing that they will become successful members of society and forever be a part of Hershey Schools. We are also still planning a graduation ceremony for our seniors on August 1st at the Hershey football field. This ceremony will take place at 10am and more details will be available as we get closer to the day of the ceremony.
I would like to mention our Hershey Education Foundation students of the month from the senior class for the 2019-2020 school year. They are as follows:
August- Varsha Huebner January- Carlee Brownawell
September- Josh Eshleman February- Bethany Burklund
October- Samuel Mackley March- Celie Childears
November- Abigail Carter April- Ashley Kosmicki
December- Rachel Abbott May- Ambrosia Legg
Another exciting week that we have in May is Teacher Appreciation Week. It will start on May 4th and run through May 8th. On Tuesday, May 5th we will observe national teacher appreciation day. This day is a day to honor and recognize all of the positive contributions that teachers make in our lives. Please take some time to send a teacher an e-mail and maybe share a positive story about how you have been impacted by an educator. As an educator, my best moments are when a student or former student tells me about the impact I had in their life and says thank you. That is better than any gift I could ever receive on that day.
I am pleased to announce the new staff that will be joining our team in Hershey for the 2020-2021 school year. Mrs. Sara Anderson will be teaching K-12 Vocal Music and Swing Choir. She is coming to us from the North Platte school system where she has been teaching middle school vocal music. Mrs. Anderson is married to Mr. Drew Anderson who teaches Science to junior high and high school at Hershey.
Mrs. Rebecca Brittenham will be teaching Instrumental Music and she will also be instructing our marching band. She is coming to Hershey schools from Adams Middle School where she has been teaching band. Mrs. Brittenham is married to Mr. Jeff Britenham who teaches high school Science at Hershey. Mrs. Brittenham will also be helped with the Panther Pride Marching Band by Ms. Lori Evans who will be helping during marching band season. Ms. Evans has been the director of the Hershey band and brings a wealth of experience to the program.
Mr. Will Winchester will be teaching Skilled and Technical Sciences and will also be our Skills USA sponsor. He is coming to Hershey from North Platte High school where he has been teaching welding and other trades. Mr. Winchester has been very successful in the Skills USA program and he will continue to build our STS program that has grown in recent years.
Dr. Doug Long will be teaching Science classes in our Health Career Academy at Hershey. Dr. Long has been working at Great Plains Health and many people in our area know him for the time and treatment that he has provided local schools and individuals at sporting events. Doug is transitioning to teaching which was the degree he initially pursued in college before making the switch to Athletic Training. His classes will be dual credit which will allow our students preparing for college or the workforce to have the opportunity to gain credit at the high school level. Dr. Long will also be creating an Athletic Training program for our students to participate in and will work in Hershey Schools with our athletes.
Mrs. Rachel Peers will be teaching Algebra and Geometry and also coaching some of our activities. She comes to us from Maywood Public Schools where she has been teaching Math. Mrs. Peers was at Hershey when she student taught a few years ago.
Mrs. Christie Copper will be teaching middle school special education. She comes to us from North Platte High School where she has been teaching special education.
Mr. Alex Lowther will be teaching K-12 Physical Education and Strength and Conditioning. He comes to us from Flagler, Colorado where he has been teaching PE and sponsoring numerous activities. He will be an assistant football coach and also assistant girls basketball coach.
Miss Samantha Kennedy will be our new head girls volleyball coach. She will replace Amy Beyer who has had a very successful career coaching at Hershey. Samantha comes to us from Chase County Schools and she will teach 6th grade at Hershey Elementary.
Please take some time to greet our new staff and make them feel welcome in the school and community of Hershey.
A reminder to join our YouTube channel through the Hershey Panthers account. Most of our activities are broadcast on the Hershey Panthers YouTube channel. Please go to YouTube and like the Hershey Panthers account.
I wanted to make sure that all of our students and families are aware that May 14th will be our final day of classes for 7th through 11th grade students. Please encourage your children to finish strong with their teachers and make sure they are getting the most out of what teachers are providing at this time.
As we work our way into the summer online, please remember to check our school website and social media for events and important information. Over the summer, I am always available to talk with parents and stay in communication with your needs. Please feel free to e-mail me at jeff.steinbeck@hpspanthers.org with any questions or needs that may arise at the end of the school year and during the summer break. I will also try to keep up with my Twitter account and post some information there. My Twitter account is @hps_panthers. I hope that everyone is staying healthy and in good spirits. I am really missing our staff and students and look forward to seeing everyone on August 17th when school resumes!
Jeff Steinbeck
High School Principal
Ambrosia Legg- Hershey Foundation May Student of the Month
Ambrosia is a student that loves to learn and wants to have an impact on the world. She is a student that works very hard and challenges herself in school. As a student, she has had a positive impact on the student body at Hershey High School by always being positive and leading by example. Ambrosia started a "book collection" for the underprivileged children in Jamaica that were collected by Hershey students and delivered to a school in Jamaica with the help of Mrs. Damoude. She is goal-driven and motivated to do the best she can in everything she does.
The NSAA has announced that only the 9th and 7th grade students will need to have a new (current) physical as of the school year 2020-2021. Students that will be in in 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades will be able to use the previous years physicals. If you did not have a physical for the school year of 2019-2020 and plan to participate in sports you will need a new physical.
