District OR1 Weekly
(Bennet Elementary and Palmyra High School) News
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October 21, 2021 (Elementary & High School)
October 15, 2021 (Elementary & High School)
October 8, 2021 (Elementary & High School)
October 1, 2021 (High School & Elementary Combined)
September 24, 2021 (Elementary & High School)
September 17, 2021 (Elementary & High School)
September 10, 2021 (Elementary & High School)
September 3, 2021 (Elementary & High School)
Interested applicants may obtain an application from the office of the superintendent. These positions will be open until filled. Contact Michael Hart at 402-780-5327, or e-mail at hart.mic@districtor1.net with any questions. E.O.E
District OR1 is hiring for the position of "Classroom Teacher" at Bennet Elementary School beginning in January 2022.
District OR1 is hiring for the position of "Custodian and Bus Driver" for immediate hire.
CLICK HERE to Download the Job Description for District OR-1: Elementary Teacher
Click HERE to download application for teachers/certified staffing
CLICK HERE to Download the Job Description for Bus Driver / Elementary Custodian
Click HERE to download application for support personnel
Click HERE to download application for Guidance
Click HERE to download job description for PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Click HERE to download job description for EARLY CHLIDHOOD
Click HERE to download application for support personnel
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October 18, 2021
Panther Families:
As we begin the new week, I wanted to send out another community update.
Board of Education Vacancy Update:
As I mentioned in the last update, our Board of Education began a community-wide search for a qualified candidate to fill our vacant board seat. After the September 15th regular board meeting, interested district residents had an opportunity to apply for the vacancy, candidates were interviewed, and an appointment has now been made.
I am pleased to announce that Mr. Gary (Dean) Busch has been appointed to fill the board seat left vacant by Mr. Doug Church. Dean’s appointment was approved at the October 11th regular board meeting and Mr. Busch will officially begin his board duties on Monday, November 8th.
Board service is an excellent way for patrons to serve their communities and school districts at a local level. Mr. Busch’s appointed term will run from November 8th, 2021 - January 9th, 2023.
Current District OR-1 COVID Data:
Updated 10.18.2021:
In terms of COVID-19 data specifically related to our district, we have had 23 positive student cases (9 at the elementary and 14 at the high school) and 4 staff positive cases (2 at the elementary and 2 at the high school) in the district since the beginning of school on Wednesday, August 11th for a total of 28 total positive cases.
LLCHD Directed Health Measure (DHM) Update:
The Lincoln Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD) DHM requiring mask wearing indoors in Lancaster County remains in effect until Thursday, October 28, 2021.
Please stay tuned next week for updates on whether or not this DHM will be extended, revised, or eliminated.
Vaccination Information:
The City of Lincoln provides updates every weekday that include the latest data on COVID related information. These updates are all posted at covid19.lincoln.ne.gov and on the city’s home page at Lincoln.ne.gov.
Listed below are some additional resources regarding vaccines:
“Close Contacts” and Quarantine Communication Update:
One of the things you may have recently noticed is the difference in the way that we are currently communicating with parents regarding new positive COVID cases in the district (especially at the high school).
Because contact tracing through our local health departments has become extremely limited due to staffing shortages and other extenuating factors, we are now sending home communication to all parents if we have a new positive case in a school.
This new method of communication is intended to be more efficient for our school staff because it enlists the help of parents and others to help clarify the context of each COVID positive situation and expedites the notification of possible “close contacts'' in a more efficient manner.
Contact tracing is a bit easier at the elementary level due to the students generally having a smaller number of teachers that they see during the day. Contact tracing at the high school is more complex because of the changing class schedules and the myriad of extracurricular activities in which students are involved.
We hope that this communication also provides another reminder for students and parents to stay vigilant in monitoring their own symptoms and taking extra precautions to mitigate additional spread of the virus or other diseases like the flu.
Each time a student tests positive, the family is given instructions by our school nurse on the specifics for quarantine and how to review and notify possible “close contacts”.
In summary, these general notification letters encourage masking and self-monitoring for a designated amount of time from the onset of the notification of the new case. If your student needs to do something other than self monitor and mask, you will be contacted by our school nurse.
Household Members of a Positive COVID Case:
When a student has a COVID positive person in their household, we are asking that any unvaccinated student quarantine at home for 10 days. This household quarantine for unvaccinated individuals allows our staff to manage and minimize the potential transmission of COVID at school.
Out of an abundance of caution, we ask that families notify the school even when they have an adult in the household test positive for COVID.
To help make this process as manageable as possible, students are assumed to be unvaccinated until proof of vaccination can be verified by our school nurse.
Household members that are fully vaccinated may self monitor, mask, and remain at school.
All COVID positive individuals will need to isolate for 10 days regardless of vaccination status.
End of First Quarter and No School next Friday, October 22nd:
This is just a reminder that the end of the first quarter was Friday, October 15th and grade reports will be sent home later this week. Please be looking for these grade reports!
This Friday, October 22nd is “fall break” and there is No School for students or staff that day!
Fall Activities Season Kudos!
Congratulations to all of our students, coaches, and activity sponsors for a great start to the fall activities season! Our teams and activity groups have all been outstanding and we are very proud of all of their achievements and accomplishments.
Good luck to our teams and activity groups with games, events, and postseason action still ahead of them.
Special congratulations to our Girls Cross Country Team for being District Champions!
Good luck to our boys and girls at the state cross country meet this Friday in Kearney!
Special thanks to all of our Booster Clubs and student support groups for their work in doing the critical “behind the scenes” work that makes our events and activities so special!
Our winter sports season begins on Monday, November 15th.
Strategic Planning
Just a reminder of our Strategic Planning Community Engagement Meeting coming up on Sunday, November 7th 2021 at Palmyra High School. This 90 minute Community Engagement Meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. and the meeting is a wonderful opportunity for our patrons to meet others and share thoughts and ideas about how to best move our district forward in the coming years.
All community members are invited to attend the community engagement meeting.
More information about this meeting and the Strategic Planning process will be available and posted on our website and social media channels throughout the month of October and early November.
At the meeting, we will be asking patrons to provide feedback on the following questions:
Identify the points of pride, accomplishments, and achievements of the school district.
Identify the future challenges that may impact the district and the community and how this may affect the school district.
Identify the knowledge and skills a student should possess as a graduate of the school district.
How can the board/district improve communication to inform patrons of the district’s needs and priorities?
If you are unable to attend the community engagement meeting on Sunday, November 7th, we will also provide other options for community input. Please look for these input opportunities on our district website and social media platforms in the coming weeks.
Thank you again for your support for our students, our staff, and our district.
Have a great rest of your week,
Mike
The District OR-1 Board of Education is pleased to announce that Mr. Gary (Dean) Busch has been appointed to fill the vacant board seat of Doug Church whose resignation was accepted by the board at last month’s (9/13) regular board meeting. This board appointment was approved at last Monday’s (10/11) regular board meeting and Mr. Busch will officially begin his board duties on Monday, November 8th, 2021. Board service is an excellent way for our patrons to serve their communities and school districts at a local level and we are excited to have Mr. Busch on the board. Mr. Busch’s appointed board term will run from November 8th, 2021- January 9th, 2023.
COME GET YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS!
Foundation For Knowledge, District OR-1 and the Palmyra Athletic Boosters will have the 1965 Buick For Boosters on display at the LAST home Football Game Friday October 8th!
Tickets will be available for $20 from the Athletic Boosters.
Net proceeds go to the Foundation for Knowledge – District OR-1 Endowment Fund for the benefit of the Palmyra Athletic Boosters.
For more information about the car please contact: James Waltke at (402)423-9477 (office) or (402) 430-1681 (cell) or Dan Cummings(Bombers Garage) at (402) 805-0507 or go to District OR-1 School at www.districtor1.org or www.bombersgarage.com
Good Afternoon, Panther Families:
Due to the updated information regarding the extension of the Lincoln Lancaster County Health Department’s Directed Health Measure (DHM), I wanted to provide another update for you before we get to the end of the week.
Current District OR-1 COVID Data:
Updated 9.30.2021: In terms of COVID-19 data specifically related to our district, we have had 14 positive student cases (7 at the elementary and 7 at the high school) and 3 staff positive cases (1 at the elementary and 2 at the high school) in the district since the beginning of school on Wednesday, August 11th for a total of 17 total positive cases.
Our district numbers were elevated a bit this week, but overall our staff and students continue to do very well with following our protocols and doing what is needed to contain the possible spread of the virus.
All current “close contacts” associated with these identified positive cases have been notified and those individuals have either been quarantined or are self-monitoring and masking in accordance with local county health department guidance. We will remain vigilant in monitoring our positive cases and “close contacts” and take necessary measures to mitigate possible future spread of the virus. These protocols help us remain proactive in keeping our students and staff safely in school whenever possible.
Thank you again for your patience as we continue to learn how to most effectively navigate the evolving circumstances associated with the pandemic.
Directed Health Measure (DHM) Extended:
The Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD) announced on Tuesday (9/28/2021) that the current DHM requiring mask wearing indoors in Lancaster County will be extended through Thursday, October 28, 2021.
Please click here to access the LLCHD COVID-19 dashboard to learn more about current local conditions.
Impact of the DHM on District OR-1:
The continuation of the Lancaster County mask mandate doesn’t change our current “Safe Return to School'' plan. As a reminder, face masks will continue to be required for everyone at Bennet Elementary through the duration of the Directed Health Measure (Thursday, October 28th).
Masks will also continue to be required for all students and staff riding on district school buses and vehicles through the duration of the Directed Health Measure (Thursday, October 28th). This includes activity trips.
We will continue to carefully monitor our current district health conditions and we will make necessary adjustments and recommendations as the COVID-19 conditions change.
Any changes will be communicated to our patrons as soon as possible through a community update or through our district communication channels.
Vaccination Information:
Pfizer recently submitted vaccine data to the FDA and are expected to pursue authorization in the coming weeks.
The most recent timeline estimates we have received suggest that children aged 5-11 may gain first shot access to the Pfizer vaccine sometime before the end of this year. We will continue to keep parents posted as we receive information from our local health departments.
The City of Lincoln provides updates every weekday that include the latest data and information on COVID. These are all posted at covid19.lincoln.ne.gov and on the city’s home page at Lincoln.ne.gov.
Listed below are some additional resources regarding vaccines:
Board of Education Vacancy Information:
There is still time if you would like to consider applying for the current opening on our Board of Education.
If you are a registered voter, live within the boundaries of the school district, and are interested in applying for our current board opening, please contact our district office at (402) 780-5327 or come by the high school in Palmyra and pick up an application.
Applications will be accepted through Friday, October 1st at 4:00 p.m.
Completed applications should be addressed to: Brandon Desh, President of the Board of Education: District OR-1 Public School District, 425 F. Street, Palmyra, NE 68418.\
Strategic Planning
As I stated in our last community update, we are in the process of completing a new Strategic Planning process for our district. A critical aspect of effective strategic planning is to gather input and recognize the expectations of district and community stakeholders on issues related to the education of our students, their academic achievement, and the environments in which they learn.
To assist in this role, the board has enlisted the support of the Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB) to facilitate the engagement of community stakeholders for Strategic Planning.
Strategic Planning Survey: If you have not already gotten the survey, NASB will be sending out a survey to all parents and students in grades 5-12 asking for input on our upcoming Strategic Planning process. Thank you in advance for answering the survey!
Strategic Planning Community Engagement Meeting:
We are hosting a 90 minute Strategic Planning Community Engagement meeting on Sunday, November 7th, 2021 beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Palmyra High School in the main gym.
All community members are invited to attend the community engagement meeting to share their thoughts and ideas about how to continue to make our school district even better.
More information about this meeting and the Strategic Planning process will be available and posted on our website and social media channels throughout the month of October and early November.
We hope to see you on Sunday, November 7th at the high school.
Listed below are the questions we will be asking community members at the community engagement meeting.
Identify the points of pride, accomplishments, and achievements of the school district.
Identify the future challenges that may impact the district and the community and how this may affect the school district.
Identify the knowledge and skills a student should possess as a graduate of the school district.
How can the board/district improve communication to inform patrons of the district’s needs and priorities?
If you are unable to attend the community engagement meeting on Sunday, November 7th, we will also provide other options for community input. Please look for these input opportunities on our district website and social media platforms in the coming weeks.
Social Media Posting and Information:
Social media can be a very powerful thing and provide some extremely positive experiences for students and families, but we must also remain vigilant that there are sites and information that can be harmful to children and we may not even know it. Social media can be a wonderful tool, but it can often be used to spread misinformation or misrepresented information which can have unintended or negative consequences for individuals and organizations.
As parents and school officials, it is hard to know everything that is going on in the “wild, wild west world” of social media, and it is impossible for schools to monitor and respond to all of the digital activity that takes place with our students. However, working together we can help keep our children safe by talking about social media and setting solid boundaries regarding digital usage.
In light of various “challenges” recently promoted through social media platforms like TicToc, etc. this is just a reminder for parents to talk with their students about social media, examine digital device content, limit screen time, and stay vigilant about monitoring social media usage.
Just a few things to consider:
Don’t let kids charge the phone or tablet in the bedroom.
Place computers in public parts of the house.
Consider “Technology Timeouts”: Limit texting during meals, homework time, etc.
Thank you again for your support for our students, our staff, and our district.
Have a great rest of your day!
Mike
