Schools – Page 110 – Fairbury Public Schools

5th Graders Attend a Showing of “The Nutcracker”

On Friday, December 4th, sixty-three fifth grade students from Jefferson Intermediate attended a showing of “The Nutcracker” presented by Ballet Omaha at the Orpheum Theater. Students and teachers attended the second act starting at 1:00. Students prepared for the production by viewing the first act at school. They also learned about the music from the ballet in music class. The students were in awe of the beautiful architecture and history of the Orpheum Theater as well as the intricate costuming.

Soup It Up For Kids

Fairbury Jr-Sr High Dedicates New Sign

Fairbury Jr-Sr High School recently dedicated a new sign near the entrance to the school drive that was generously donated by Endicott Clay Products. The latest sign is a bigger, better version, and there were contributions from former FHS graduates on the design and construction that make it even more special.

Mr. Gary Davis of Endicott Clay Products worked with Fairbury Public Schools administration to invite interested students to come up with possible design options for the new sign. After reviewing the designs submitted, Taylor Miller’s (‘14) rendition was chosen. There were some minor design modifications, but the essence of her original drawings inspired the creation of the new sign that depicts Fairbury Public School’s commitment to activities, the arts, and scholarly pursuits. Fairbury graduates, Jared Starr (‘94) and Justin Bennett (‘99) donated their time to complete all the masonry work on the project.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to drive by and see the new sign at the top of hill, please do so. We are very fortunate to have Endicott Clay Products and former graduates who are so willing to use their time and talents to bless Fairbury Public Schools with this beautiful new sign!!

2nd Grade Field Trip

The second graders spent the day at the Hastings Museum’s Native American Festival. The students watched the Mini Moccasins Dance Troupe, created a pot, watched Tiny Giants a 3D movie, heard Native American spirit stories, explored the museum, as well as many other activities!

Practice Pays Off for Livestock Judgers

On November 17th, 13 members of the Fairbury FFA Chapter competed at the District 5 Livestock Judging competition at Southeast Community College in Beatrice. The contest is split up between junior livestock evaluators that are in grades 9th and 10th and senior livestock evaluators that are in grades 11th and 12th. The top four teams in each division qualify for the state contest that is held during the Nebraska State FFA Convention in April. Fairbury was represented by four senior evaluators that consisted of Blake Bauer, Jonathan Engelman, Althea Estellar, and Madison Black. This team placed 5th and was one spot away from qualifying for state. This team, however, did have the district champion evaluator as Blake Bauer won the senior competition. Fairbury was represented by nine junior evaluators that consisted of Jordan Ruhnke, Evie Schwab, Michaela Buchli, Tori Likens, Kaylee Sipek, Olivia Koop, Tommy Kroeker, Colton Starck, and Kristin Branson. The team that consisted of Jordan Ruhnke, Evie Schwab, Michaela Buchli, and Tori Likens placed third and qualified for the state competition. Congratulations to all of the Fairbury FFA Livestock Evaluators for your hardwork and success.

November Junior High Students of the Month

Junior High Students of the month for November are 8th graders Adriana and Taylor, and 7th graders Page and Dylan. Students are nominated by their teachers based on effort and their behavior in the classroom. Congratulations Students!

Circle of Security Parenting Class Series

The Circle of Security Parenting Class series is being offered in each of the 5 PHS Counties (Fillmore, Gage, Saline, Jefferson and Thayer) for 2016.

These are sponsored by the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation and are FREE to parents.

Strengthening families is a priority within our 5 counties. This series is considered to be a “promising practice” and is outstanding. This is a great benefit for our communities and FAMILIES.

For more information contact Stephanni Renn, Circle of Security Coordinator at 402-239-5920 or srenn@nebraskachildren.org

St. Jude’s Christmas Cards

As a member of St. Jude Children of Hope my family and I get updates and information about children receiving treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This month we received another letter about a little girl who only wanted a Christmas card for her Christmas wish. To say that the letter left a lasting impact on myself, is an understatement. I told my class about the letter and they decided that they wanted to give to the kids as well. So, Mr. Evans 6th grade class made 30-40 Christmas cards and are sending them to the children at St. Jude’s hospital.

Jefferson 3rd Graders Study Pottery

The third graders at Jefferson Intermediate School learned in their Enrichment class about pottery, then and now. They learned that the Native Americans took pride in creating their pottery by hand using the methods of pinching and coiling. Archeologists have found many of these primitive pots over the years. In the past pottery was created for practical uses rather than the artwork of the piece.

The students learned the basic method for making coil and pinch pots. The clay we used came from Endicott Clay. The students learned about where and how it was gathered in much the same way the Native Americans gathered their clay from the earth. However, the Native Americans would try to make their clay stronger by mixing other materials into it like sand, plants, or shells. The students learned the clay needed to be kneaded to remove air bubbles. They had to roll the clay into ropes or coils and building them up on top of a round base to make the coil pots. The Native Americans would usually pinch their coils until they blended together so that the pots had smooth surfaces. The students like many artists left their coils to add to the decorative look of the pottery.
The Native Americans would then put their pottery in a fire pit and heat it to around 1,500 degrees. The students clay pots were glazed and sent up to the high school to be fired in a kiln after they air dried. The clay pots were done just in time for Christmas. Most of the students will use their clay pots for gifts.