(Submitted by Mikki Hastings, Interact Club)

Instead of celebrating Christmas by receiving, this year the high school Interact club is celebrating Christmas by giving. Through Operation Christmas Child, sponsored by the Samaritan’s Purse Organization, Interact filled 13 boxes (for the second year) for children overseas who may not receive a Christmas present this year. Items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, puzzles, stuffed animals, Barbie dolls, coloring books, crayons, socks, underwear, and packaged food filled the boxes that soon reached the hands of children, ages 2-14 across the world. This year, some boxes went to Ecuador; the destinations of all the boxes are unknown. Not only did the students involved with Interact make the project successful, but Mr. and Mrs. Butler, the Woods/Drafting teacher and Culinary/Personal Finance teacher, filled two boxes on behalf of their family.

This International project is only one of the many projects Interact has completed, and will continue to complete throughout the year. Other projects include multiple spa days for the residents at Prairie Pines, a dictionary delivery to third graders on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and a community wide coat drive. Collection boxes located at the high school and Walmart received approximately 30-40 coats that were then donated to the Police Department following the coat drive. The school resource officer, Officer Aaron Chrisman, has been giving the donations to members in the community that need a warm coat for the winter.

Interact currently has no ongoing projects due to Christmas Break. When January rolls around, projects will start up again. 

CHS Will Conduct Community Service Projects for Dec. 23rd

Chadron High School always looks to try a new venture on the last day of the fall semester.  The plan this year is to take some time to "give back" to our community that supports us all year.

From 8:30am to 11:30am on December 23rd, the students and staff of Chadron High School are hitting the streets to provide service to our community. We have many groups of 8-10 students with teacher supervision that are seeking businesses, groups, organizations, or our elderly to assist in any way needed.  We're willing to clean your back rooms or shops, stock shelves, rake lawns or scoop snow if necessary.

We've scheduled many of our stops already, but have the time for several more. If your buisiness or organization is concerned that you don't have 3 hours of work for us, perhaps you can take some time to visit and show us your business for a career experience for our students. 

If you would like to be added to our stops, please call the high school office at 432-0707.

Happy Holidays!

To Sign Up For HS Text Reminders...

In case you haven't signed up for high school text messaging notices:

   Send a message to:  81010

   With the message:  @chsnote

These are the notices sent by Mr. Mack about high school annoncements including school closings, school announcements and reminders for students and parents.

You can opt-out of messges anytime by replying 'unsubscribe' or 'stop' at anytime.

Remind is a one-way text messaging system. With Remind, all personal information remains completely confidential. Teachers and administration will never see your phone number, nor will you ever see theirs.

Deck The Halls ..And Doors of CHS

The Chadron HS Student Council Door Decorating Contest!

The Winning Door - Mr. Bradley

Mr. Matt

Mrs. Bauer

Mr. Bach

Mrs. Girard

Mrs. Paopao

FBLA Door

Library

Mrs. Lanphear

Library

Mr. Mack

Mr. Uhing

Mrs. Mahr

Library

Mr. Nelson

Mr. McCarty #2

Mrs. Welch

Mr. Pope

Mr. McLain

Mr. Lecher

Mr. McCarty

Did you know ...Chadron HS Ranks #2 in State?!

Best High Schools
in Nebraska

We reviewed 29,070 U.S. public high schools; 87 Nebraska schools made our rankings.View Rankings

(Partial Article published earlier this year from usnews.com)

Nebraska has a high school graduation rate of around 90 percent. High school students in Nebraska must complete at least 200 credit hours to graduate, and at least 80 percent must come from the state’s core curriculum. Students are assessed in the 11th grade in reading, writing, math and science through the Nebraska State Accountability tests, according to the Nebraska Department of Education.

In the 2015 U.S. News Best High Schools rankings, there are three silver medal schools and 84 bronze medal schools in Nebraska. Among the highest-ranked high schools in Nebraska areElkhorn High School in Elkhorn, located about 45 miles from the state capital of Lincoln​, and Chadron Senior High School in Chadron, located less than 20 miles from the South Dakota border in the northwestern corner of the state.

Top Ranked NE Schools

To be eligible for a state ranking, a school must be awarded a national gold or silver medal.

#1

Elkhorn High School

1401 VETERANS DR, ELKHORN, NE 68022

#2

Chadron Senior High School

901 CEDAR, CHADRON, NE 69337

#3

Lincoln East High School

1000 SOUTH 70TH ST, LINCOLN, NE 68510

Advanced Biology class busy with dissections

Julianne and Michael dissect a turtle.

(Submitted by CHS Junior, Jadyn McCartney)

Throughout the semester, Mr.Bradley's Advanced Biology class has had the opportunity to dissect different animals as students begin to learn about the evolution of the kingdom Animalia. Dissection allows students to compare the evolutionary changes from the earliest developed animals to the latest. Students learn about the differences in bone structure, heart, habitat, diet, and many other things. Dissecting is an easy way to see these differences, and put them into perspective.

The students have dissected a turtle, a frog, and a crayfish, and plan on dissecting a few others. The class dissects different animals about every two weeks, depending on the classes progress.

    

Michael and Dustin focus on details during dissection.

In the most recent dissection of the turtle, students were able to see how protective the shell of a turtle is, the difference in the lung of the turtle and humans, the sharp claws of this creatures, the beak they use, and many other distinguishing characteristics. It is hard for many people to visualize all of the anatomy that goes into each class of animals, so this is an easy way for the students to see the body structures. Many differences we see among the diversity of animals is their differences in hands or claws, lungs, teeth, and digestive systems. In addition the view of the inside of these animals is awesome.

    

Mr. Bradley is the one teacher in the high school that uses animals to dissect. The anatomy and physiology class also gets the opportunity to dissect a baby pig. They study the human body, and the pigs allow them to see certain things about the anatomy of the pig.

Chadron FFA Qualifies Three For State!

Chadron FFA members recently competed in the first FFA competition of the year held at Chadron State College. This competition is meant to showcase students abilities in the areas of public speaking, demonstrations and Interviews. The LSE competition had approximately 240 participants from 16 different schools, having 20 students from Chadron FFA participating.  Three of the Chadron High School students qualified for state by placing in the top two of their contests.  

Kane, Murphy and Hunter

In Jr. Public speaking, Katie Lewin earned a red ribbon, and Madison Cogdill earned a blue. Cooperative speaking, Renee Redfern earned a red ribbon. The Agricultural Demonstration teams, Team A composed of Sean O’Brien, Michael Collins,  Clay Madsen, and Dadrianna Serres, demonstrating GPS programing for farming earned a  red ribbon. While the Ag Demo. Team B composed of Beau Jersild,Cody Madsen, and Drew Jersild, demonstrating animal I.D techniques earned a blue ribbon. In Extemporaneous Speaking, Harlie Kennel and MiaKayla Koerber earn a red ribbon each. Brooke Roes earned a blue ribbon in job interview and Murphy Churchill received first place in job interview, and qualified for the State FFA Convention in the spring. Kane Wellnitz received second place in senior public speaking and also qualified for state.  Our third and final state qualifier of this competition, Hunter Hawk received second in junior public speaking. 

The Chadron FFA chapter kicked off the year with a great start, sending three Chadron students to state. Our next FFA competition will be held at WNCC on January 8th. It will include Welding, Ag Sales, Floriculture, and Livestock Management.

Personal Finance Brings Personal Success!

(Submitted by Brenda Budler, Business and FCA Instructor at Chadron High School)

Chadron Personal Finance Teams place 4th and 20th out of 344 teams statewide!

You can't read the news without seeing why a fundamental understanding of economics and finance is so important to the future of our youth and our country. The Nebraska Economic Council puts out a Finance Challenge online each fall semester to support their mission by creating a fun incentive for students to take ownership of their education, their choices and their future.

Congratulations to the Chadron 1 Personal Finance Team of Jadyn McCartney, Greta Welch and Kiya Passero. They placed 4th out of 344 teams in the state of Nebraska.

The Chadron 3 team made up of Andrew Smith, Kyla Parish, Chandler Hageman and Kyle Baumann placed 20th out of 344 teams. Great representation of western Nebraska with these student winners!

https://financechallenge.unl.edu/Home/Welcome

The Greatest Generation of Educators!

(The following information was shared by CPS Superintendent, Dr. Caroline Winchester with staff this week.)

Dr. Richard DuFour recently published his new book entitled "In Praise of American Educators”.  In recognition of American Education Week I think it is fitting to pass along a few excerpts. 

“No generation of American educators has ever accomplished what our teachers and administrators are achieving today.”  And I want to add this includes all of the support staff from bus drivers to custodians to para educators to office personnel—everyone.  He goes on to say,  consider the evidence:

• Graduation rates for the high school class of 2012 exceeded 80 percent for the first time in our Nation’s history.  Remember American Education Week was started to garner public support for the need for more education for the World War I veterans.  Twenty-five percent were reported illiterate.
• The improved graduation rate for Latino students was twice the national average and gains for African American students exceeded the national average.
• More students are succeeding in a more rigorous curriculum.  More students earned honor grades in 2013 than attempted AP exams in 2003. Since 2004 the number of students participating in AP programs has nearly doubled and the number of low-income students participating has more than quadrupled.
• Test scores are steadily improving.  NAEP data show test scores in reading and math have improved for almost every group of students over the past two decades.
• Since 2009 the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll indicate Americans most familiar with public schools love them.  Three of every four assign their local school a grade of A or B.
• American teachers receive high marks from their students.  From a 2013 poll of students 83% or more said they get along with their teachers, most teachers are interested in their well-being, most teachers listen to what I have to say, if I need extra help I will receive it and most teachers treat me fairly.

DuFour lists many more examples.  He goes on to say “Never have American’s educators accomplished so much for so many in the face of so many obstacles…..”

Thank you so very much for everything you do for the children of Chadron Public Schools and for the future of our Nation.  You are the “Greatest Generation of American Educators”.

  

   ~ Dr. Caroline Winchester, Superintendent of Schools

Flipping the College Decision Making Paradigm

This article was written by Dr. Diane Hollmes Blg Series Higher Ed and Post Secondary Learning and shared by our Cardinal Counseling newsletter recently.  As an educator, I see this mistake often!

Ask any adult, regardless of their education level, to recount how they approached the three choices:

• Major
• College
• Career

Ask them to describe, in order, which they chose first, second and finally last!

They will probably tell you that the first thing they chose was the college they wanted to attend. They might have picked a parent's alma mater, a fun school, the one as far away from their parents as possible, or the one by the ociean or in a big city. After choosing a college, most settle next on a major, but usually not until they have attended for a couple of semesters. That choice is too often driven by what they were interested in at that time, the requirement by the college that it was 'time' to choose in order to begin division classes, or maybe even coaxed by a best friend to 'major together.'

Finally, somewhere near or even after graduation, if they made it that far, they picked their career, and embarked onto the job market, expecting to get hired. In today's economy that is a rude awakening for students and parents alike. Today, 8.5% of college graduates are unemployed and 16.8% are underemployed one year after graduation, according to The Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

Your final question, particularly if your intervewee has been out of school for many decades: "Do you think graduating high school students today make the same choices in the same order?" The answer is a resounding yes.

Then ask them, as self-aware, mature adults today, what the selection order should have been. The answer is shocking in its simplicity and it only takes moments for the person questioned to come up with the answer. Career first, major second, and college third. The order makes sense. Your career dictates what maojor to pursue, which in turn defines which colleges are appropriate. It is an ah-ha moment for most. Now they get it, but for many it's too late.

The problem isn't that students are not going to college; the problem is that they are not finishing. They are not finishing often because they find out the don't like their major or don't see the point of further educatoin, they lose interst, and then decide to 'figure it out later.' President Obama set a goal of the U.S. having the highest percentage of college graduates in the world by 2020. How do we get there? Start career planning earlier.

Career planning connot start in the junior year of college. The research is clear: Students who enter college with an informed declared major are far more likely to graduate (by double), than those who wander through the maze of educational choices.

Second Grade and Sophomores Work on Children's Stories

Creating Children’s Stories: A Group Effort

 Written by: Mrs. Lanphear & Alexis Olsen

For the past ten days, Mrs. Uhing’s second grade reading group and Mrs. Lanphear’s English 2 class have been working together to write children’s books. Working in both classrooms, one high school student was paired with one, (or two) elementary students. Groups worked together to develop original content on: character, setting, and plot.

Using the website, Storybird, students have worked hard to write beautifully illustrated online books. Storybird encourages “artful storytelling” and invites readers and writers to “discover an endless library of free books.” They also offer “simple tools to create books.” Students used both resources and agree that the website is inspiring.

The first thing groups did when beginning to write their books was to discuss character. They had to develop a protagonist and an antagonist. Characteristics were revealed through actions, interactions, physical traits, and dialogue.

Second, students worked to include all of the essential parts of plot. For elementary students, this meant making sure the storyline had a beginning, middle, and an end. High school students had to be sure the story included exposition, figurative language, conflict, climax, falling action, and a resolution.

Third, and arguably most challenging, was choosing illustrations that made the story come to life. It was hard for the students to find an artist with multiple pictures that fit the story. Not only did students practice their reading and writing skills, they had to learn a lesson on compromise.

Finally, after matching the pictures to the story, they began editing their stories to make them perfect.

In addition to working together, the experience of visiting another building was exciting for everyone.

Some days walking to the other building was cold and windy, but both the high schoolers and the elementary students enjoyed seeing each other and experiencing the other student’s school.

In the end, the high schoolers thought the experience of working with the second graders was great. All of the second graders have vivid imaginations, so it was easy to make up the stories together.

A celebration, including book presentations and author interviews, is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in Mrs. Uhing’s classroom. Students are looking forward to reading their finished books to children and adults!

Health Professions Club Conducts Job Shadowing

Toni and Kaci job shadowing dental screenings.

The Chadron High School Health Professions Club was invited to participate in a job shadowing experience in dental screenings.  

Dr. James Hadden with the cooperation of the Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska recently conducted after school dental screenings, sealants and fluoride varnish treatments at the Chadron Middle School.

The Palatable Perks of Pavlova (Culinary Class)

(Submitted by CHS Senior, Shoilee Rahman)

The Palatable Perks of Pavlova

     After enduring complex and mundane academic courses all day, partaking in Culinary I allows me to be creative and learn everyday cooking skills. Recently, eggs have stolen the show in Culinary I. We had just finished making creme brûlée in an array of flavors using egg yolk; the whites of the eggs, however, were going to be used for a dessert called pavlova. A meringue-based dish, pavlova is a popular dessert. Known as a "fruit pie" with a "meringue crust," the dessert's origin can be traced back to both New Zealand and Australia, countries who claim they invented the dessert. Named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova in 1926, the pavlova recipe was not officially published until 1929. Though its origin remains unclear, pavlova is still considered to be a very rich and prominent dessert today.
   Wholly unfamiliar with this foreign dessert, I approached the pavlova lab with the utmost excitement. Prior to making pavlova at the end of the week, our entire class learned about the techniques behind making pavlova and the characteristics of meringue. Our class quickly learned how to create and distinguish between soft, medium, and stiff peaks in meringue-skills necessary for successfully making pavlova.

     Eventually, the lab began. Grabbing a chilled bowl and whisk from the freezer, my group instantly got to work. We were first instructed to beat the egg whites at medium speed until they held soft peaks. Later on, we beat the egg whites until they held stiff peaks. The egg whites, however, were not the only things that took a beating. By the time we were done creating the meringue, our wrists felt like they would detach from our arms. Partners were definitely convenient during this project because we could switch positions from time to time. To get the necessary flavor and texture, we also added vanilla extract, vinegar, superfine sugar, and cornstarch to the mix. After baking the meringue crust, our group got after the creme chantilly the following day. To the discomfort of our already weak wrists, making the whipped cream involved yet another arm workout.

    After topping the meringue crusts with the creme chantilly and fresh fruits, our group got to the best part-eating. Although the crunchy texture of the meringue was unexpected, I found pavlova to be a refreshing and favorable dessert. My experiences with meringue and whipped cream will help me make a variety of desserts later on. In the future, I plan on making pavlova for my graduation party and other gatherings.

Digital Citizenship Week is Oct. 18-24

(The following was shared with me from our ESU #13 from www.commonsensemedia.org)

It’s Time to Have “The Talk”

You don’t have to be an expert on texting, Instagram, Minecraft -- or whatever else your kids are into -- to have The Talk. Start by reading up on what's going on in your kids’ world (for younger kids and older kids). Ask them to show you what they like online, and why. Make sure to listen :) Then, express a few basic expectations, with the understanding that this isn't a one-and-done kind of chat. Good luck (you’ll be fine)!

Here are the 5 basics to cover during The Talk:

BE KIND.

Try to instill a sense of empathy in your kids. Remember: there’s someone else on the other side of the screen.

• Younger kids: Treat others like you want to be treated -- and always follow a website’s rules for behavior. Ask: How do you see other kids behaving online? What are some nice things you’ve seen other kids do?
• Older kids: Post constructive comments, and avoid getting into flame wars with trolls. Ask:What kind of positive behavior do you see online?

KEEP PRIVATE THINGS PRIVATE.

Talk about what’s OK for kids to share online and what’s not.

• Younger kids: Get kids to think about safety without scaring them. Don’t share your name, address, school, age, etc. Ask: Why don’t we want strangers to know certain things about us or our family?
• Older kids: Don’t broadcast your location, send photos to strangers, or share passwords with friends. Ask: What kind of information can be unsafe to share, and what’s fair game?

DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE.

Just because it’s online doesn’t make it true. Not everybody is who they say they are.

• Younger kids: Teach kids to be detectives. Ask: How can you tell whether something is true online? What are some signs that something might not be true?
• Older kids: Use reputable sources. Learn to recognize red flags. Ask: How can you tell what’s a reliable source of information? What are some signs something’s a scam?

DON’T OVERSHARE.

Think before you post. Use privacy settings.

• Younger kids: Help kids understand what sharing something online means. Ask: Who can see what you’re doing or saying online?
• Older kids: Encourage kids to pause before they act. Ask: What are some questions you can ask yourself before you share something online? Have you ever regretted something you’ve posted or said online?

STAND UP FOR OTHERS.

If someone’s getting bullied or picked on, speak up, report it, or reach out.

• Younger kids: Make sure kids know they can come to you for help. Teach them how to flag misbehavior. Ask: What would you do if you saw someone being mean online or in a game?
• Older kids: Give kids tools to use in a crisis. Ask: If someone was being mean to you online, what would you want your friends to do? Do you know how to flag or report bullying on a social network or in a multiplayer game?

CHS Hosts “Apply2College” Event

Chadron High School Hosts “Apply2College” Event

October 5th-9th

Seniors at Chadron High School took a critical step in the college preparation process when they participated in a college week that concluded with a college application event at the school. Throughout the course of the week CHS students attended a college fair at CSC, wore college attire, played trivia games for gear and prizes, and cheered seniors on as they took their first steps by filling out their first college applications.

The event is part of a statewide Apply2College Campaign sponsored by EducationQuest Foundation. Over 150 high schools statewide are conducting Apply2College events this fall to help high school seniors apply to at least one college.

During the event at Chadron High SChool, seniors got hands-on help with college applications from school staff.

“Completing a college application can be overwhelming for many students – especially those from families unfamiliar with the process,” said Loni Watson. “This event was designed to help reduce college application barriers many students face and should increase the number of seniors who go on to pursue higher education.”

The Apply2College Campaign is part of the American College Application Campaign initiative sponsored by the American Council on Education. All states are now participating in the annual program. States that have participated in previous years are finding that as many as 79 percent of students who submit a college application go on to attend college.

Cardinal Singers - Sweet Sing-Sation

SWEET SING-SATION

Presented by the CHS CARDINAL SINGERS

Concert and Dessert Buffet

$4 per person

Tuesday - October 19

7:00 PM - HS Auditorium