The Norris School District Educational Foundation is a legally incorporated, non-profit organization established in accordance with state and federal tax laws. Contributions to the Foundation may be sent to the following address: Norris School District Educational Foundation, % Larry Grosshans, Route 1, Box 93A, Firth, NE 68358. The Foundation will issue a receipt.

Contributions made directly to the Norris School District may also be tax deductible. Contributions made directly to the schools may be sent to the following address: Norris Park Project, Norris School District #160, 25211 South 68th St., Firth, NE 68358.

All contributors who donate $250 or more will receive a plaque. Five categories have been established for benefactors: $250 to $499-Bronze; $500 to $749-Silver; $750 to $999-Gold; $1000 and up-Platinum.

All individuals and organizations that contribute $250 or more will have their names listed on a display board near the entry to the Norris Park area. If a major benefactor is found ($50,000), one of the fields will be named after that person, or that person may name the field to honor another person.

The total amount needed to complete Phase I is $130,000 in cash or in-kind. Donations can be to the project in general or directed to specific parts of the project. John Hendricks, who is a Norris District patron and also Vice President of General Excavating, arranged for the donation of the site preparation and the seeding of the field areas. That contribution was a tremendous boost to the project.

Site preparation....................................................... $25,000 ...............................John Hendricks-General Excavating

Field Seeding........................................................... 5,000 ...............................John Hendricks-General Excavating

Other seeding and fertilizer................................... 3,000+ ..............................___________________________

Underground irrigation.......................................... 22,000 ...............................___________________________

Marching band/soccer field fence....................... 10,000 ...............................___________________________

Softball field backstop and fence......................... 14,000 ...............................___________________________

Softball field lights................................................. 35,000 ...............................___________________________

Softball infield aglime............................................ 5,000+ ...............................___________________________

Metal bleachers, 65-seat section......................... 3,000@ ...............................___________________________

Landscaping-trees, park benches, etc................ 2,000+ ...............................___________________________

(Elementary playground-east fence)................... 3,500 ...............................Parent-Teacher Organization

The First Annual Norris Alumni Basketball Tournament was held on March 27-28. The tournament organizers contributed the proceeds of the tournament — $1,000 — to the Norris Park Project.

From The Desk of The Special

Education Director

Special Education Records

All public school districts are required to keep certain special education records on file for five years beyond graduation. After that time those records are destroyed. Individuals who received special education services, which may have included resource room assistance, speech or physical/occupational therapy, can request their records instead of having them destroyed. The school must receive a written request within twenty days of the 5th year graduation anniversary.

This June, we will be shredding the Special Education records of students who graduated in the spring of 1994, unless a written request has been received. Requests should be sent to:

Dr. Jerry Dalton

Special Education Director

Norris Public Schools

Box 93A

Firth, NE 68358

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO REFER

While some professionals may believe that a child will outgrow a problem, it’s better to provide help early to make sure that the child has a better chance of success. Many children do not "outgrow" a problem—they may need extra help called early intervention.

Your school and the ESU #6 Preschool Interagency Coordinating Council have a service called Child Find designed to identify children (birth to age 3) who may be at risk for learning and could benefit from special services. Children who display trouble with learning, moving, playing, hearing, seeing, and talking may qualify to receive free assistance. All children develop at different rates.

Call Child Find at: Educational Service Unit #6

Colleen Fussell, Services Coordinator

PO Box 748

Milford, Nebraska 68405

Another year gone by. I thought we just started last week!!! I hope that this school year has been as enjoyable for you as it has been for me. I would like to do a quick review of some trends in education that are important to keep in mind as we move into a new year and prepare to make our school even better. I am amazed at how many people will stop and see me to say they visited with someone who said "You live in the Norris School District? I have heard that it is the best one in the state." Our reputation is a positive one, yet we must look to the things that we can do to improve.

This year we Adopted the 6 trait writing model. All teachers use the same rubric to give students feedback about their writing. We continue to look at education issues from a K-12 perspective and look at how we can be better writers in all areas of our curriculum, not just in the English department.

Technology is becoming a part of every-day life, and we continue to develop the many tools that we have access to. Many staff members now use PowerPoint, which is a presentation tool that allows a teacher to present a lesson using a monitor and computer the same way that they used to use the chalkboard. In doing so they can pull resource material from the Internet, from a picture file, from documents that they receive from professional organizations, etc.

Standards have been developed for Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies. We will continue to develop our curriculum so that we are addressing all the standards at least, as well as the additional topics that we feel are important for a well rounded background. This summer our teachers will be working hard to review all the current courses so that we are preparing students for the next century (which is already here!)

School to Career is a program that allows the community to participate with the education of our children by providing work settings that match real life skills with the requirements of our courses. We are excited about the prospects of placing students in many places as well as expanding career education by such things as job shadowing and apprenticeships.

Teaming has been a part of the Middle School and 9th grade classes for many years, and we will continue to explore how we can use this concept to better teach concepts. Today’s workplace requires employees to work together to solve problems, and the climate of the school should reflect the same concept.

Other areas that will continue to keep our attention include:

Keeping our school safe.

Exploring how we might better use time and space.

How we can tie our efforts at High School to post-secondary institutions.

Expanding the distance learning opportunities at High School.

Providing our students with social skills.

Nurturing the leadership potential for every student we have.

We have had a tremendous year at Norris High School and the future looks bright for the students who will follow. The Senior class has contributed a fine example for the underclassmen who will return, and I wish all of them good luck for continuing their success. Next Fall will be here before you know it.

Titan Yearbooks

Save the memories of the 1998-1999 school year by purchasing a Titan annual. Yearbooks are on sale through the end of the school year for $45.00 For further details, contact Mrs. Renaud at 791-0010, extension 351, before or after school.

Junior-Senior Parents

Your HELP is being requested in providing snack items and beverages for the students while they are at Madsen’s as part of their PROJECT PROM. By the time the young people get to Madsen’s, they are ready to eat again.

This is the thirteenth year Project Prom has been offered for the benefit of our young adults. Project Prom is May 9, and the juniors and seniors have raised money for a trip to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City. Bowling, arcades, and pool at Madsen’s Bowling will follow prom before the group leaves for K.C.

Those Junior and Senior parents who wish to contribute a case or two of pop, or juice boxes, a tray of sandwiches or cookies, relishes, or fruit, or chips, please contact Rosy, Project Prom Coordinator, at 791-0010. This is a voluntary request for you parents, and the group will have whatever you choose to provide.

Norris School is making available to you, at a sizable savings, a chance to get your sport physical completed for next fall and out of the way of your summer activities.

Sports physicals will be offered this year at Norris by the coordinated efforts of Mr. Dave Schultz, athletic trainer at Nebraska Orthopedic and Sports Medicine and The Lincoln Family Practice Residents Physicians Program. These physicals are available to students who will be in grades 8-12 during the 1999-2000 school year and who will be participating in school activities. These physicals fulfill all requirements necessary to participate in middle school and high school athletics. (They cannot, however, be used for the required 7th grade physicals.)

It is requested that the girls wear sports bras, tank tops, and shorts; and that the boys wear tank tops or t-shirts and shorts.

The physicals will be given in the high school - enter through the main doors on the west side of the building. Appointments are available for Saturday, May 15, 1999 from 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM. Call Rosy at 791-0010 between 8:30 AM and 3:30 PM to schedule an appointment.

The cost of the physical exam will be $30.00. Payment may be mailed to the attention of Rosy, or brought into the H.S. Health Office—PAYMENT WILL BE DUE BY MAY 12. Please make checks payable to Norris High School.

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department now has vaccine for Hepatitis B available for all children from birth through age 18. (as incorrectly reported last month as age 19.)

Please notify your school’s Health Office of the dates (all 3) when the series have been completed for your child.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

A Norris Forest work day is scheduled for Saturday, May 1, 1999 from 9:00 am to Noon. The rain date will be Saturday, May 8th.

Anyone (adults, teenagers, children, families, organizations, etc.) who can help should meet on May 1st at 9:00 am at the entrance of the Norris Elementary School to organize "crews".

Thank you to all who helped make our annual Spring Recital a success; to the students who performed, all those who attended, the parents who donated desserts, and especially to the music staff and volunteers who helped set up, serve, and clean up. Watch your next activities calendar for the date of the 2000 Spring Recital.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help with the District Music Contest. The support of parents, friends, and relatives for this event was outstanding. If you weren’t able to help with this year’s event, mark your calendars now to help out next year.

The annual Fine Arts Banquet and Awards Night will be held on Thursday, May 6th at 6:30 pm. The menu for the banquet is baked ham, oven roasted potatoes, green beans, corn, salads, rolls, and black forest cake for $6.75 per person. Make your banquet reservations in the High School Office by April 30th. Help us recognize the outstanding students in the Fine Arts program!

During our next and final meeting of the year, we will be electing officers for next year, and discussing proposals for the use of the proceeds of various fund-raisers held this year. We encourage you to attend.

Dates to remember:

April 26th—Music Booster Meeting at 7:30 pm

May 6th—Fine Arts Banquet at 6:30 pm

May 10th—Middle & High School Spring Concert

The Middle School Music Concert scheduled for Thursday May 13th, is being moved to Monday May 10th. That is the same evening as the High School Music Concert. The concerts will be performed back to back. The evening will progress as follows:

Middle School Music Concert 6:30-7:30PM

Auditorium will be cleared

Farmhouse Fraternity Scholarship

Eligibility: The criteria for determining the scholarship winners will be based on three important areas:

1. 3/8 will be based on scholarship and academics

2. 3/8 will be based on leadership activities and other general activities

3. 2/8 will be based on the letter of recommendation

Financial Data: Three-$200 scholarships within the state.

Deadline: April 25

Farmers Co-op—Plymouth, NE Scholarship

Eligibility: Students applying must major in an agriculture related area

Financial Data: A $500 scholarship will be awarded to a student in each of the following schools: Tri-County, Fairbury, Meridian, Odell, Wilber/Clatonia and Diller plus one at large scholarship to a student not in one of the above school districts.

Deadline: May 1

James M. Cox Foundation Scholarship

Eligibility: 1. Financial need. 2. First preference given to student residing in Hamilton and York counties, secondary consideration given to those living anywhere in the eastern third of the state.

Financial Data: Sixty - $1000 awards

Deadline: May 1

TITAN BOYS BASKETBALL CAMP

High School Camp: June 1 - 4

Date: June 1 - 4

Time: 1:00 - 4:00

Cost: $30.00

Due: May 3

Grades 3-4: (Current School Year)

Date: June 14 - 18

Time: 1:00 - 3:00

Cost: $30.00

Due: May 3

(Forms have been sent home)

Grades 5, 6, 7 (Current school year)

Date: June 14 - 18

Time: 9:00 - 12:00

Cost: $40.00

Due: May 3

(Forms have been sent home)

From The Athletic

May Calendar Up-date:

Sat., May 1: Trap Club at Beatrice

Freshman Track at Waverly

Tues., May 4: FFA "Hired Hand For A Day"

Thurs., May 6: EMC Boys Golf at Platteview-9:00am.

May 7: M.S. Party-7:30-9:30PM.

Fri./Sat., May 7 & 8: State Trap Meet at Doniphan

Sat., May 8: Prom

Sat., May 15: 1999-2000 Sports Physicals

May Main Events: (Reminder)

Thurs., May 6: Fine Arts Banquet & Awards Ceremony

Tues., May 11: Honors Convocation

Fri., May 14: All-Sports Banquet & Awards Ceremony

Sun., May 16: Graduation

It’s hard to imagine another year is coming to a close. From my view, it has been a good year. I personally compliment this years senior class for the leadership they have shown. Both boys and girls have accomplished much, and certainly should be proud of their achievements. We will miss their all around contributions.

Our Co-Curricular is BIG! As you know, we have many activities that not only involve time, but many individuals. Again, I personally thank the many people that assist in making our program run well throughout the year. Whether you are a sponsor, coach, or home event worker, we couldn’t function without you. You do your job and do it very efficiently.

Finally, to the kids and their parents who complete the picture through participation. You are many in number and you do an outstanding job of representing yourselves and the school.

Parents, we still need to do a little work in the area of Fan Sportsmanship, but we’ll work on that next year.

The Middle School 6, 7, and 8th grade bands and choirs will be presenting a Spring Concert on Monday, May 10th, at 6:30 PM in the High School Auditorium.

The High School Spring Concert will be Monday, May 10th, at 8:00 PM in the High School Auditorium. The High School Band, Choir, Show Choir, and Norris Swinger Jazz Band will be performing. The cost of the High School Concert will be $1.00

A Note from the Band Director

Believe it or not, it is time to be thinking about marching band. We will be running drum major and rank leader interviews during the first week in May.

Scholarship Deadline

MAY CALENDAR

May 6 3:00PM Girls & Boys Track @ Plattsmouth Invite

May 7 7:30-9:30PM Middle School Spring Party (Gym; Multi-Purpose Room; Computer Lab)

May 10 6:30PM Spring Music Concert (H.S. Auditorium)

May 11 3:45PM Girls & Boys Track @ Auburn

May 14 3:30PM LAST DAY SCHOOL

SPRING PARTY

The Spring Party will he held on May 7 from 7:30-9:30PM. The party is for currently enrolled Norris Middle School students only. Parents are welcome to attend.

ANOTHER YEAR

Another year has ended. We are grateful to the 8th graders for the leadership and modeled behavior that they demonstrated this year. This class will be missed next year, but they are headed for bigger and better accomplishments and successes at the High School level. Thanks, 8th grade, for the role that each of you played. You were appreciated.

For the 6th and 7th graders, you will move up to the next level and the same leadership and role-modeling will be expected of you next year.

To you parents and guardians, thank for your support and your encouragement at home. Without that, we only work with 1/2 of the equation. Your transporting your students to numerous activities, helping them with assignments, not accepting "excuses", and just being there for them when they needed you (which was probably more than you thought!). Thank you.

Finally, a tremendous thank you to the most professional and the most student-centered Middle School Staff around. They have again shown their dedication and ability to meet student academic needs in an exemplary manner. Parents will continue to have an open invitation to come in and observe any classroom and see why I am so proud of these educators.

To each of you, may the summer break be relaxing and renew each of you as we all contribute to helping our young people become successful. It’s truly a team effort.

There will be a Lego Logo workshop for Norris students, who will be in grades 4-8 this fall, at the Norris Middle School June 14-18. The class will be limited to twenty students and will focus on using robotics driven by the Logo computer language. The class will run from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (noon). The cost will be $20 for the entire week and the teacher will be Tom Price.

The last day of school has been changed to

May 14th, Friday

In order to come into compliance with criteria established by the governing body of the National Honor Society, Norris will make changes in its selection process of candidates for membership. These changes will be announced in the fall of the 1999 school year.

Summer Driver Education

CONTACT DONNA OR HARLAN

MATH IN THIRD GRADE

By Marie Kisling

In math we have been working mostly on division and multiplication but we review addition and subtraction. For division we use beans and cups. We have a number of cups and number of beans and split up the beans into the cups. In multiplication we do time tests. A time test is fifty problems that we do in 2 minutes. At the end of the year we are going to have an ice cream party for multiplication. If you pass your x 2’s in timed tests you earn your bowl. If you pass the 4’s you earn your spoon. If you pass your 5’s you get one scoop of ice cream. If you pass your 3’s you get a topping. With each level you achieve you get another part of your sundae. The ice cream party is in the first week of May.

SPECIALS

By Andrew German

Four days a week we have specials. At specials we have art, P.E., music, and computers. In art we sometimes work on projects that other countries do. In P.E. we do different sports. Sometimes we go outside to the track. In music we always sing but sometimes we use instruments or watch a video. In computer we work on "Type to Learn" and Cornerstone. Sometimes Mrs. Weilage lets us do games when we work hard.

SCIENCE

By Megan Rice

In third grade we are studying heat, water, electricity, and wetlands. Our class went around the room to see what completed a circuit. My earring was a conductor. Our Pod went to the Nature Center and saw the wetlands. We did an experiment with heat. We took two cups of water and two rocks. We put one cup and rock in front of a window and the other cup and rock in the shade. We left them for awhile. Then we checked to see which one was warmer.

By Gaitlin Schlake

First in science we were studying wetlands. We went to Pioneers’ Park. We saw animals and dipped for snails. It was neat! After wetlands we studied the moon. The moon has four different phases. One is a new moon. Another thing we studied was bones. Bones hold up our structure and give us nutrition! We also study water. Our body is almost all water! Now we are going to study electricity. I like science. It’s fun.

POD TIME

By Abby Kroese

We go to the Pod to watch videos or hear Mrs. Wendelin read. We watch Nebraska Communities, What’s In the News?, or 3-2-1 Contact. Mrs. Wendelin reads the Golden Sower nominees to us and then we vote for our favorite.

By Dillon Kuenning

In Pod 3 we are learning about Nebraska. We watch a video called Nebraska Communities. It’s about a French guy in the 18th century and a Nebraska guy from the 20th century. Their names are Henri and Hank. Henri made a time device to visit the future. Hank tells Henry about Nebraska.

KEYBOARDING

By Garrett Nelson and Mark Pence

In computers we do a program called "Type to Learn". There are 21 lessons. After each level there is a warpspeed, then a game. Warpspeed is a revue on what you have learned. After you get done with the 21 lessons you do a notepad. Notepad is a kind of book that you have to type without looking at the computer. There are four notepad books. The reason why we have keyboarding is because they want us to be prepared for the future when we will have to use computers for most of our jobs.

By Hope Bowers and Barbie Karel

In typing we learn how to use the keys on the keyboard. We do it because when we grow up we will use the keyboard for many things. It’s just us and the computer working together. The computer shows us how to do the typing and shows us how well we did. Each lesson teaches us 2 or 3 letters. When you reach a certain speed of accuracy you go on to new sentences. When you are done doing lessons 1-21 you go to notepad. In notepad you type sentences and paragraphs from a typing booklet. But it’s not all work. We do games after each level.

By Jamie Schmidt

I love to type on the computer because you can learn many things from it like a,s,d,f,j,k,l,;. That’s the keys that your hands should be on. For little hands like mine it is hard to reach the y and b. Thank you to Mrs. Weilage for being such a great helper. Computer is the best thing to do in school.

FIELD TRIPS

By Christine Rahorst

In pod three we went to Chet Ager Nature Center during our unit of wetlands. We also enjoyed a play of the Jungle Book at Doane College in March. It was performed by the Doane students. We also enjoyed a family view of the moon at the Hyde Observatory. We are looking forward to a visit to the Joslyn Art Museum to see artifacts from ancient Egypt on April 27.

SPELLING

By Chip Kaplan

In spelling you have post test, pretests, spellevator, worksheets and buddy tests. Pretest is when you take a practice test and correct the misspelled words. That’s on the first day. Next we have a spellevator. That’s when you play on the computer. You are like this dust ball that runs and picks up letters for points. It has questions about your spelling words. After that we have a day off spelling. The next day we have a worksheet. The day before our post test we have a buddy test. Buddy test is like a practice test that you take with a classmate. That completes spelling for a week. Then it starts all over again next week.

TRY-A-THON

By HeidiJo Gugat

Pretty soon the Try-a-thon is coming again for the Norris Elementary kids to enjoy! Yea!! It will be May 7th. The Try-a-thon is always a fun thing to be in. Here are some of the things we do in it. We jump rope, do the monkey bars, balance with batons, play frisbee, throw the football, draw on the sidewalk or on the black top with chalk, sit down and throw a heavy ball as far as you can, and you can blow bubbles and a lot of different thins. We usually have popsicles after the Try-a-thon.

READING

By Katie TenHulzen

Reading is fun! We have reading every day. First we look up a word in our dictionary. The word is usually from our reading assignment. Then the teacher reads aloud. After that we read with a partner. Some of the books we read are: Aliens for Breakfast, Meet Addy, My Robot Buddy, Elaine and the Flying Frog, Muggie Maggie, and The Boxcar Children. At the end of the day we always have Drop Everything And Read time. Well, until next time, happy reading.

DICTIONARY

By Christie Collins

After lunch and before reading we do dictionary skills. There is a word on the board and we look it up. We have to write the phonetic spelling, the definition of the word, and use it correctly in a sentence. We always have a skill of the week with this word and do an example of it.

CAT TESTS

By Brad Bouc

Pod three has to do CAT tests this year. The teacher tells us what to do. First we do a sample together. We do tests on punctuation marks, capitalization marks, spelling, reading, and math. We had to fill little circles in. They had to be dark for a machine to check the book. We have to use certain number two pencils too.

By Nicole Frye

In school we are doing a CAT test. CAT test is not when you have to give a cat a test. It is a California Achievement Test when you have to take a couple of tests a day for five days.