Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Timing of administrative contract renewal was a major discussion point during a joint board meeting, Nov. 20, in Ewing. Following discussion about certificated staffing, Orchard educator Kristin Johnston asked if the staffing timeline is applicable to administrative staff. “As far as when the principal and administration decide staffing who stays or goes, is that going to be the new administration deciding or the current administration,” she asked. The same approach will apply to adm...
Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard school boards covered a long list of agenda items, Nov. 20, during a three and one-half hour meeting, in Ewing. Discussion focused on the new Summerland school district, which will take effect June 6, 2020. While a chunk of the meeting was spent discussing staffing and administration timeline, other topics included the new district's reorganization petition, selection of Summerland school board members, policies, curriculum and sales of assets. Steve Williams,...
Phase one: complete. With last week's successful passage of the Summerland school bond, board of education members from Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard planned to meet Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Ewing, to start phase two of the consolidation and building processes. Ewing Principal Greg Appleby said, "We have a lengthy agenda to discuss a number of items, including policy." Dale Martin, superintendent of Nebraska Unified District #1, which includes Clearwater and Orchard, said a number of items need...
Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard children wanting to share Christmas wish lists with Santa have an opportunity to do so. Ewing information technology application classes are acting as liaisons for Santa. Letters should be received by Dec. 13 and include the child's full name, grade level and address in the letter. Letters should be mailed to Computer Elves, Ewing Public School, PO Box 98, Ewing, NE 68735. Clearwater and Orchard youth, preschool age and younger, are invited to write letters to...
A number of weather-related postponements and cancellations are in effect for Tuesday, due to a potential winter storm that may affect the area. The junior high wrestling meet that was to be held in Elgin has been cancelled. No school on Tuesday: Ewing Schools Clearwater Schools Orchard Schools Chambers Schools Wheeler Central Schools Elgin Public & Pope John Neligh-Oakdale Schools No sale at Creighton Livestock....
Phase one: complete. With Tuesday's successful passage of the Summerland school bond, board of education members from Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard plan to meet Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Ewing, to start phase two of the consolidation and building processes. Ewing Principal Greg Appleby said, "We have a lengthy agenda to discuss a number of items, including policy." Dale Martin, superintendent of Nebraska Unified District #1, which includes Clearwater and Orchard, said a number of items need to be...
With the passage of the Summerland school bond, Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard boards of education will meet in joint session, Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Ewing. Nebraska Unified Superintendent Dale Martin submitted the following agenda to the Advocate-Messenger for publication. A Special Joint Meeting of the Clearwater Original Board of Education, the Ewing Board of Education, and the Orchard Original Board of Education will be held on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. at Ewing Public School. A Special Joint Meeting of the Clearwater...
Hadley Cheatum, Avery Cheatum and Kaci Wickersham, students at Orchard Public School, will sing the national anthem at the 2019 Class C1 football championship at Memorial Stadium, in Lincoln, Nov. 26. Approximately 200 auditions were submitted for consideration. The game will be televised on NET, with the trio scheduled to sing at 10:12 a.m....
Orchard Public School released its first quarter academic honors recently. Students receiving all A's are named to the principal's honor roll, including Cody Wickersham, Wyatt Shabram, Connor Thomson, Ashley Melcher, Moxon Fox, Sam Cheatum, Gunnar Shabram, Hadley Cheatum, Madison Melcher, Taelyn Switzer, Mason Hoke, Gage Clifton, Levi Cronk, Carter Bergman, Avery Cheatum, Kaci Wickersham and Grace Maxwell. Students who averaged 85% to 100% are named to the B honor roll. Those students include...
Getting kids involved with other cultures and people from different countries is one way many schools benefit in the United States. Orchard Public Schools is blessed with a second foreign exchange student for the 2019-20 school year. Silvia Bode-Garcia, an 18-year-old from Margarita Island, Venezuela, joins Madleen Repein, from Germany. Bode-Garcia will reside with Sam and Barb Schwager during the school year and will be a member of the senior class. Silvia wanted to become an exchange student...
Close Up participants from Clearwater and Orchard will host a breakfast, Sunday, Oct. 20. Serving will begin at 8:30 a.m. and continue until 1 p.m. at the Clearwater Public School multi-purpose room. A free-will donation will be accepted. Funds raised will be used to defray trip costs....
Orchard’s advisory board of education faced a short agenda when they met in the high school business room last Wednesday, Oct. 9. Principal Cathy Cooper updated board members Candace Hoke, Kristi Schutt, DeAnna Clifton and Nate Schwager on recent parent-teacher conferences. She reported a 93% elementary parent turnout, with 71% participation at the high school level. “That’s a really good percentage and it probably went up, because a couple of parents and teachers got together and talked at an alternate time,” she said. “We probably were clos...
The Oct. 10 edition of the Summerland Advocate Messenger included a section of frequently asked questions regarding the proposed Summerland school building project. Questions and responses were supplied by Bobcats Unite, a group of volunteers from Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard communities who have been researching the issue, finding answers to questions and presenting information to the public. This article contains the second half of questions and responses. Summary Statements (based on...
The Nebraska Department of Education released AQuESTT profiles last Wednesday. Accountability for a Quality Education System Today and Tomorrow is an assessment of the state's schools that was developed to ensure all students across backgrounds and circumstances have access and opportunities for success, according to David Jesperson, public information officer for the Nebraska Department of Education AQuESTT annually classifies schools and the state's districts as excellent, great, good, or need...
Approximately 120 individuals attended an informal gathering at Summerland Golf Course, Oct. 6, to learn facts and figures associated with the Summerland school building project. Tobin Buchanan, a bond analyst with First National Capital Markets, said the Summerland project, when compared to others he has worked with, is unique. Most bond projects involve a rural community, often with a 100-year-old, three-tier building "that's outlived its usefulness." "(With that scenario) you're not...
Why are the Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard school boards calling a special bond election November 12th? For several years, the three school boards have been working to find the best solution to address needs each district faces when it comes to operational efficiency, enrollment limitations, aging facilities and limited program offerings for students and families in their communities. Following a rigorous process of identifying the urgent needs, utilizing community engagement to determine an effe...
The Orchard Public School Advisory Board of Education faced a short agenda when they met last Wednesday at the high school. Board members heard from Principal Cathy Cooper that enrollment numbers used for football classification, as of last Wednesday, sat at 47, the maximum allowed for eight-man participation, in order to qualify for state playoffs. An increase in the number of boys enrolled in grades nine, 10 and 11 in any of the three schools, would push the future Bobcats to 11-man. Enrollment on Oct. 1 will determine classification....
Preliminary enrollment figures for area schools were released recently. Enrollment at Clearwater Public Schools, Ewing Public Schools and Orchard Public Schools show a decrease from 2018-19 numbers. Clearwater Public Schools All three schools in the Unified District report fewer students. Superintendent Dale Martin listed the number of students per grade at each respective site, in a report released Aug. 21. Clearwater Public Schools boasts the largest enrollment of the Unified schools, with...
Clearwater Public and Orchard Public Schools will celebrate homecoming, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 3. Dress up days will be held in each school. Clearwater students will strike their best movie star pose on Tuesday, relive the past during decades day, Wednesday, and sport blue and black for the Bobcats on Thursday. Orchard students will have a dress up day on Tuesday, celebrate wacky Wednesday and pair up for duo day on Thursday. Both schools will cheer for the Cyclones and Bobcats Friday. The...
The Orchard advisory school board approved several policies when three members and Principal Cathy Cooper met last week at the school. Board member Nathan Schwager was absent. The policies included several to align activity policies in the three schools forming the Summerland Bobcat cooperative, Orchard, Clearwater and Ewing, along with changes recommended by the state school board association. Several statewide changes deal with electronic nicotine delivery systems, alternative nicotine products, tobacco products, look-alikes and products...
Not every day do you get to talk to someone from a different country, but students from several communities will get the opportunity every day. Maddy Repein is a foreign exchange student from Cologne, Germany, and she is living with Bob and Bev Krutz of Orchard until June 2020. Repein is only 15 years old, and she will be a senior at Orchard Public Schools. Maddy would be a sophomore back in Germany, and she does not receive credit for spending a year in America. When she returns to Germany,...
Many things make a town look attractive, but Loretta Foote of Orchard knows exactly how to catch the eye of other gardeners with her beautiful flowers and shrubs. Foote took an interest in gardening at a very young age. She received a small packet with wildflower seeds as a present when she was four or five, and she fell in love with gardening. The packet of this kit is even placed in Foote's scrapbook. "My grandma and my mom have inspired all of our family," says Foote. Not only does she raise...
Mark you calendars for Saturday, Aug. 24. The Summerland Lady Bobcats will open their inaugural season at the Bill Marshall Volleyball Classic. The Bobcats are slated to face Axtell, at 10 a.m., at Grand Island Central Catholic. A second match will begin at noon against Schuyler Central. The EPPJ Lady Wolfpack will also participate in the tourney. The Wolfpack will face Palmer at 10 a.m., at Grand Island Northwest, follwed by an 11 a.m. match against Pender. The fourth annual classic features a...
