Calendar Web-Site:The monthly school calendar can be accessed by

logging into midstatenebraska.org. Log-in and click on the Wayne Jr/Sr High link. You can select the monthly calendar for the day, week,

or month. You can also print off the calendar to have. Check out the “Notify Me!” option to receive

texts or email notifications for any activity you check off. Just follow the instructions on the page. You may also “Subscribe” by following the directions posted on the page. All of the instructions work on your smart phone, too!

From the Desk of Superintendent, Dr. Mark LenihanDear Parents, Patrons, and Supporters of Wayne Community Schools: We are in the midst of a fantastic school year and want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your continued support of our school district. Our mission, “Learning for Life, Every Student, Every Day” is embraced by all of us here at Wayne Com-munity Schools as we strive to do the best job we can in educating our students. The community of Wayne provides a wonderful support to our schools and for that we are extremely grateful! I hope to see many of you at our upcoming games, concerts, fine arts and school events, your support is much appre-ciated. Sportsmanship matters. Wayne Community Schools enjoyed an awesome fall in athletic and activity competitions! Our students performed in-credibly in all of the activities, and our coaches and sponsors did a great job leading and guiding the students. We also enjoyed incredible support from our parents and community. Something I hear over and over again, from administrators and staff at oth-er schools, is how much they enjoy when the Wayne Blue Devils roll into their town for a game or a con-ference activity. They are always impressed with the amount of people who follow and support our kids, and how our kids act with class and dignity. Those are always conversations I feel very good about, and appreciate the manner in which our school repre-sents itself. One area the Nebraska School Activities Asso-ciation has asked all schools to improve upon is the manner in which athletic officials are treated dur-ing competitions. The NSAA has seen a dramatic decrease in the number of officials that are avail-able, and it is starting to become a problem having enough officials to work competitions. From the NSAA research, the main reason officials are leaving the profession has more to do with the way they are treated by fans during games than other factors such as pay, age, or burn-out. I have always believed it is important for all the adults in a school commu-nity to be great role models for our students, and I feel it is important, as winter activities begin, to please consider the manner in which we react to of-ficials’ calls during games. As an administrator and

fan of the Blue Devil athletes, I understand frustra-tion if calls don’t go our way. However, I think it is more important for us to keep ourselves in check with any reaction that is negative toward the offi-cials. I firmly believe that most people who officiate do so because they want to have a positive impact on high school athletics and the student athletes. Please take some time before winter sports be-gin to think about reactions when calls are made, and refrain from negative or demeaning comments. The impact may have an outcome of the amount and quality of officials to work our games in the fu-ture. Even in the junior high or club basketball set-tings, I believe it is important to treat officials in a re-spectful way. Just as the elementary and junior high students are getting their start playing competitive sports, most of the officials that work those games also may aspire to be a high school official. Officiat-ing is not easy, but it is a very important part of the competitions that take place. Most of the time calls that go against one team or the other even out, and they very rarely have an impact on the outcome of a ballgame. More importantly, however, let’s all think about the bigger picture and the example we can set for our students regarding respect, dignity, and

kindness! Thank you in advance for your coopera-tion on this important issue! We have had a tremendous start to the 2019-2020 school year! Our staff continues to work very hard with your students in achieving their academic success. Thank you all for your continued support of Wayne Community Schools and, as always, please feel free to contact me with your questions or con-cerns.

www.wayneschools.org. It will be posted on Friday

before the Board Meetings, which is the second Monday

of each month.

The current Wayne Community Schools Board Agenda can

be found at:

Wayne Community SchoolsWayne Elementary School | 312 North Douglas Street | 402-375-3854

Wayne Jr./Sr. High School | 611 West 7th Street | 402-375-3150Early Learning Center | 803 Providence Road | 402-833-1450

www.wayneschools.org

December, 2019

Winter Weather!! With winter weather upon us, PLEASE listen to KTCH or watch TV news for any postponements and cancellations. If you are not receiving phone calls or texts from the school on these things, please contact the school and we will make sure you phone number is in the system. If your number has changed, PLEASE make sure the school has your new number. Early Learning Center WILL HAVE school on 10:00 weather late start days. There will also be NO BREAKFAST served on any 10:00 late starts.

With  winter  weather  coming,  PLEASE  listen  to  KTCH  or  watch  TV  news  for  postponements  and  cancellations.    If  you  are  not  receiving  phone  calls  or  texts  from  the  school  on  these  things,  please  contact  the  school  and  we  will  make  sure  you  phone  number  is  in  the  system.    Early  Learning  Center  WILL  HAVE  school  on  10:00  weather  late  start  days.  

There  will  also  be  NO  BREAKFAST  served  on  any  10:00  late  starts.  

 

From the Desk of High School Principal, Mr. Hight This fall has been an exciting one here at Wayne High School. Our cross county, volleyball, softball, and football teams all have had very successful sea-sons and were fun to watch. Congratulations, stu-dents! We wish the winter activities the best of luck, as well. Another big event that took place this past month at Wayne High was the Junior Job Shad-ow Day. Thank you Mrs. Knutson, Mrs. Koch, and Mrs. Hopkins for making this day run so smoothly. Also, thank you to all the 40 businesses that wel-comed the juniors into your business and worked with them. This day wouldn’t be successful if you wouldn’t allow these students two hours into the life of your occupation. Again, thank you!

Finally, some tips from High School Years about how to get your kids to open up. Sometimes it may be hard to believe, but teenagers want to talk to their parents about their lives. And those who do are more likely to succeed in school and resist risky behaviors. Try these ideas to encourage your teen to open up. 1. Get his opinion - High schoolers have their own opinions about many issues. Get your teenag-er’s thoughts on a newspaper article, how he feels about Meatless Monday, or who he thinks will make the football playoffs. Be sure to listen carefully to his responses—he’ll see that his opinion is important to you. 2. Offer undivided attention - Regular one-on-

one time lets your teen talk to you privately without worrying about others listening. You might walk the dogs together every night or cook pancakes on Sundays before everyone else wakes up. Other ideas include shooting the breeze while you shoot hoops or dropping by his room to say good night. Make it routine so he knows that’s when he can bring up anything that’s bothering him—or just chat. 3. Keep him talking - If your high schooler makes a comment that concerns you (“That party got crazy!”) and then shuts down, don’t rush to fill the silence. He may need time to figure out what to say. If he doesn’t continue, ask questions that help him tell the story but doesn’t sound like an interro-gation. (“It was his birthday, right?” instead of “Was there alcohol?”) Resources for Educators. (2019, October). High School Years: Working Together for Lifelong Suc-cess.

2 — Wayne Community Schools Newsletter — December, 2019

FFA Planting and HarvestingFrom planting to harvesting, the Wayne FFA has had a great year of experiences!

2019 NHS InducteesFirst Row: Zach Schenck, Emily Armstrong, Frances Klausen, Madison Kaup, Maggie Fehringer, Sarah Tompkins, Hailey Backer, Kayla Fleming. Second Row: Korrina Niemann, Allyson Avery, Erin O’Reilly, Autumn Avery, Kelsey Heggemeyer. Third Row: James Tompkins, Savannah Leseberg, Alyssa Chinn, Tori Kniesche, Faith Junck. Fourth Row: Micah Carson, Gunnar Jorgensen, Tyrus Eischeid, Trevor DeBoer, Joshua Lutt, Shea Sweetland, Blake Bartos.

Veterans Day QuiltsQuilts of Valor recipients and quilters from the Quilt Shop in Wakefield. The quilts were given at the Veterans Day program at Wayne Jr/Sr High School. Quilt recipients were: Merlin Frevert, Lawrence Sprouls, Charles Maier, Allan Wittig, Loren Park, Delmar Holdorf, Mike Mallette, Jean Steen, Christopher Woehler, Bill Long, Bob Ensz, Ken Nolte, Dennis Junck, and Sandra Hansen. Quilters presenting the quilts were: Sandra Preston, Diane Zach, Tracy Henschke, Imogene Brasch.

Wayne Community Schools wishes you all a great holiday season! Enjoy your time together with family.

K-12 resume school on Monday, January 6.Early Learning Center resumes school on Monday, January 13.

Wayne Community Schools wishes you all a great holiday season! Enjoy your time together with family.

K-12 resume school on Monday, January 6.

Early Learning Center resumes school on Monday, January 13.

Meet one of our Foreign Exchange students

Matus is staying with Jean and Chad Dorcey. My name is Matus Snopek. I am from a country called Slovakia that is located in the Central Europe. My school back home was small; there were like 400-500 students. I came here because I wanted to experience American culture and to meet some new people. The thing about Nebraska I like is that people here are really nice. What I do not like is that I got fat here.

This Photo by Unknown

Medication Guidelines reminder is given With the advent of a new school year upon us and all of the shared illness this might mean, we wanted to remind everyone of some of the safety precautions that are in place, regarding medication while students are at school. Remember that the school is considered a drug free zone.This includes not only prescription medications but also, over the counter medications that we often carry with us for minor discomfort (acetaminophen,ibuprofen, anti-histamines, etc.). It is often easy to forget that these over the counter medications are also drugs and come under the jurisdiction of our medication poli-cies. We have included the Guidelines for Adminis-tering medication from our school's handbook. If you have any questions or concerns please let us know. “Guidelines for Administering Medication: Whenever possible your child should be provided medications by you outside of school hours. In the event it is necessary that your child take or have medication available at school, the parents/guard-ians must provide a signed written consent for the child to be given medication at school. A consent form is available at the school health office. In the case of a medication that the student takes on a regular basis or a scheduled medication, further documentation is required by the state and can be obtained through the school nurse or building of-fices. This documentation must be renewed an-nually. All medications must be provided to the school by the parent/guardian in the pharmacy-labeled or manufacturer-labeled bottle. Repackaged medi-cations will not be accepted. All prescription med-ications also require a physician’s authorization to be given at school including those for asthma and anaphylaxis (ei: inhalers and Epipens). This should be the health care professional who prescribed the medication for the treatment of the student’s condition. The school nurse may limit medications to those set forth in the Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR). Please limit the amount of medication pro-vided to the school to a two-week supply. The administration of prescription and/or non-prescription (over-the-counter) medications by school personnel is subject to the following condi-tions: 1. For the safety of all children, students are not permitted to have medicine in their possession while at school with the exception of some types of medications and if pre-approved by their physician and school officials (IE; inhalers, Epipens, Insulin de-livery devices). ALL other medicines should be kept in the nurse’s or building office. 2. Prescription medication must be brought to school in the original container and appropriately labeled by the pharmacy or physician. Over the counter medications must come in the manufac-

turer's original container. 3. All medications must be properly labeled with the child’s name, medication name, directions for administration and possible side effects. 4. A signed and dated note from the parent or

guardian must accompany all requests for students to receive medication at school. Parents will be con-tacted each time a student requires non-scheduled medication. (IE: OTC medications for occasional headaches).

Wayne Community Schools Newsletter — December, 2019 — 3

“J is for Jacks!” Learning the alphabet is fun!

State Marching BandCongratulations to the Wayne High School Marching Band on their excellent year of competition!

Senior Pictures Seniors need to turn in a baby picture and senior picture for the yearbook before Christmas break to Mrs. Davis. The senior picture should be sent electronically. The baby picture can be brought to school for Mrs. Davis to scan. Seniors should also have a quote for the yearbook.

Junior Job Shadow Day All Wayne High School 11th graders participated in two job shadow experiences last Tuesday, Novem-ber 5th during our 3rd annual Junior Job Shadow Day. Businesses and employers in the Wayne area volunteered to take students for 2-hour time slots. Students selected two careers in the Wayne area they were interested in shadowing, and then stu-

dents were matched up with the businesses that could host those careers. This was year three of the event, and the comments from both students and businesses have been overwhelmingly positive. We had a 100% student attendance rate for the day be-cause students were so excited to get involved in the community, which is a credit to our local busi-nesses. Following are the businesses/organizations that volunteered to host students this year. Wayne High School is extremely grateful for the commu-nity support of this event. Thank you for making this a positive experience for our students!1st Realty Sales & Management , Angela Rethwisch Photography, Arnie’s Ford, Brookdale Wayne, Ca-nine Design, Country Nursery, CountryView Reha-bilitation, City of Wayne, D.V. Fyre-Tec, Elkhorn Val-ley Bank & Trust, Ellis Plumbing, Family First Dental, FSA, Great Dane, Hair Envy, Heritage Homes, Her-man Chiropractic, Horizon Construction, Knutson Law, KTCH/KTCY Radio, Main Street Garage, Mikey C Productions, Nebraska Extension, Nebraska State Patrol, Northeast Nebraska Insurance Agency, Prov-idence Medical Center, Rainbow World & Childcare Center, Rezurrected Rod, Sand Creek Post & Beam, State National Insurance Agency, State Nebraska Bank & Trust, The Seed Source, Tom Hansen CPA, U-Save Pharmacy, United States Postal Service - Wayne, Wayne Area Economic Development, Wayne Elementary School, Wayne Head Start, Wayne Her-ald, Wayne Public Library, Wayne State College, Wayne Veterinary Clinic, Williams Form, Zach Heat-ing & Cooling.

4 — Wayne Community Schools Newsletter — December, 2019

— Wayne Elementary News — — Kitchen —

New Bank in School at Wayne Elementary

At Wayne Elementary we are moving into a very busy time of the year. The end of the 2nd quarter and the beginning of the 3rd quarter contain many events. Please remember that you are always wel-come to attend our events! During the month of December our students will be caroling in the community. The week of De-cember 9th the 3rd graders will be caroling at Care-age and our 4th graders will be visiting Wayne State College. The week of December 16th will include our 1st graders caroling at Brookdale along with our 2nd graders visiting the Senior Center. This is a great opportunity for our kids to get out into the community to show off their talents. This all will be followed by a Radio-Sing-Along at the elementary that will be played on the radio at a later date. This is also dance season at Wayne Elementary.

Wayne is proud to be working with local farmers and Wayne County Farm Bureau to procure produce and beef for our meal program. Students have been served watermelon, cantaloupe, some cucumbers and tomatoes. Salad greens have been given to us from the FFA grow towers. We enjoy the local gar-den produce as the growing season allows. Our kitchens are part of an educational lunch-room activity called Farm to School Nebraska, Har-vest of the Month. Some of the items we already have on our menu, such as melons, cabbage, squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, leafy greens and dry beans. We are looking forward to trying turnips and asparagus. We hope to educate students on more vegetable choices that are grown in Nebraska, that they can grow and prepare at home with their family. What do I consider local? First comes Wayne County, then Nebraska. The melons we used were Norfolk melons. The dry beans were grown in the Panhandle of the state. A new item we tried on our fruit and vegetable bar, offered to the K-12 students, is plums. The stu-dents have enjoyed them. The variety we received was called Bubble Gum - it has a different outside color, but they are so sweet and delicious. School meals are lessons for life: learning about the food we eat and where it comes from; what part of “My Plate” does it cover; using table manners while eating; and learning how to clean up after we are done. The school cafeteria might be one of the few times some of our students eat as a family, at a table with silverware and plates that are not thrown in the garbage when done, or someone picks up af-ter them when finished eating. I think as parents and grandparents, these are areas we need to mod-el and teach our children. These are lessons for life. This winter season, turn off electronic devices that distract from everyone being able to listen to each other. After a meal is over, do a family activity - maybe a card or board game. Thank you for letting your students eat at the Wayne Community Schools family table. My staff and I hope you take the time to do this as often as you can.

Judy Poehlman and the Wayne Community Schools Kitchen Staff

On October 24, State Nebraska Bank & Trust held the grand opening of its new SNB Blue Devil Branch at Wayne Elementary School. Since then, over 150 elementary students have opened savings accounts, and nearly 90 students make weekly de-posits as part of this in-school savings program to teach financial literacy to youth. Students can open a savings account at school at any time with a signed parental permission form. Students maintain their accounts during their time at school, with withdrawals allowed only when the student graduates from 6th grade or leaves Wayne Elementary. On a student’s first deposit, State Ne-braska Bank & Trust deposits $5 into the student’s account. Instead of interest, students receive fun incentives from the bank based on frequency of de-posits. These special savings accounts are only ac-tive at the SNB Blue Devil Branch. The branch is open every Thursday morning, 7:30-8:20 am, in the school cafeteria to accept stu-

The annual Father-Daughter dance will be held on December 13th. This dance will be followed by the Mother-Son dance on February 7th. Both of these evenings will have a Hawaiian theme. We look for-ward to a big crowd on both of these evenings! These memorable events are put on by Wayne El-ementary Boosters. Finally, we have our second set of Parent-Teach-er Conference on January 24th. During the month of January we will be sending home slips for fami-lies to fill out regarding their students. We always have a great turn out and we look forward to col-laborating with our families to best serve our stu-dents. Thank you for all you do and we look forward to seeing all of our families in the building!

Sincerely, Mr. Plager

dent deposits, until the end of April. The branch is staffed by 5th and 6th grade student tellers under supervision of bank employees and school staff, and it will re-open each school year. The goal of this program is to provide Wayne students opportunities to not only learn about sav-ings and how banks work, but to also become sav-ers themselves. The emphasis is on regular savings, not big balances. To help prepare students, Wayne State College faculty and students taught lessons on financial literacy in each classroom. As part of a state-wide effort led by the Nebraska Council on Economic Education, the SNB Blue Devil Branch be-came the 30th in-school savings program and the first in northeast Nebraska. For more info, contact Mr. Andi Diediker, 5th grade math teacher and the program’s school con-tact, or visit www.statenebank.com/about/blue-devil-branch/.

Be sure and “LIKE” our school’s

FaceBook page! www.facebook.com/

Wayne-Community-SchoolsYou can also follow us on

Twitter! Wayne Blue Devils @WayneSchools.

Upcoming events, current happenings,

fun things can be found there!

This goes for any size bus! ALWAYS stop and DO NOT go around the extended arm! Thank you!

Yearbook NewsletterParents and Students, “How you doin’”, Christmas time is coming around and that means there’s not much time left to get your yearbooks for cheap. Before Christmas, yearbooks are $40 per book. After Christmas, they’re $50. If you’re curious about the theme, here’s a hint, “I’ll be there for you.” We’re looking forward to your purchases and can’t wait for you to see our finished product. Contact Mrs. Davis for more information at her email, didavis1@waynebluedevils.org

Socktober The Wayne Elementary third grade class participated in Socktober again this year! Socks are the most needed, but the least donated item for those in need. The students gathered over 185 pairs of socks! The socks were donated to Micah’s Closet to be distributed to anyone who needs them for free. The socks donated were of all sizes from infant to adult. A special thank you to the students and their families for all of the donations this year!

This goes for any size bus! ALWAYS stop and DO NOT go around the extended arm! Thank you!

Phone MessagesIf you are not receiving phone messages or texts from the school, please contact the school. We will get your number on the list!