The SHS Academic Decathlon Team placed second in the Medium School Division at their recent, online Regional Contest on Wednesday, January 12^th at the SHS Library.  The team competed in a series of six tests on the topic of Music, Art, Literature, Math, Economics, Science and Social Science (Replacing the Quiz Bowl contest).  They were also given the novel “Sea Wolf” by Jack London. The theme of the contest this year was “Water-A Most Essential Resource.”  At the regional finals, in Medium Schools Division,  Omaha Gross High placed first, Seward High placed second and Alliance placed third.  Only Omaha Gross will advance to the State Finals.

Seward High’s Academic Decathlon Team members won a total of 40 medals.  The team won 9 First Place medals, 18 Second Place Medals and 13 Third Place medals.  Two medaled in every category and all members medaled in Math!  The Seward Team Top Score was achieved by Ethan Wilkinson.

Winning medals included Damien Gligorevic Art-3^rd, Music-1^st, Math-2^nd, Science-2^nd, Social Science-1^st.  Gavin Sukup Literature-3^rd, Math-2^nd.  Owen Krahulik Literature-3^rd, Music-3^rd, Math-2^nd, Economics-3^rd, Social Science-1^st. Nathan Hochstein Math-2^nd, Science-2^nd.  Blake Austin Economics-3^rd, Math-2^nd. Joseph Persinger Art-2^nd, Literature 3^rd, Music-2^nd, Math-1^st, Economics-1^st, Science-3^rd, Social Science-2^nd.  Jeanna Snyder Art-2^nd, Literature-2^nd, Music-1^st, Math-2^nd, Economics-3^rd, Science-1^st, Social Science-2^nd.  Jack Wall Art-2^nd, Music-2^nd, Math-1^st, Economics-2^nd.  Ethan Wilkinson Music-3^rd, Math-2^nd, Economics-3^rd. Nathan Nottingham Music-1^st, Math-3^rd.

The SHS Academic Decathlon Team Coach/Sponsor is High School Counselor Noelle Baker.  Monitors for the testing day included Craig Williams and Seward Optimist members Linda Flyr and Lana Urban.   

The Academic Decathlon team is co-sponsored by the Seward Optimist Club and the High Ability Learner Program (HAL) for the School District of Seward.  Seward has competed in this national academic program for over two decades. 

Seward High senior, Natalie Keller, was selected the 2022 January Youth Rotarian and recognized and honored at the recent Seward Rotary Club meeting on Wednesday, January 12th at the noon at the Jones Bank in Seward.  She is the daughter of Alan and Jan Keller.

Academics are important to Natalie and she has been on the SHS Honor Roll twelve terms, and has a GPA of 4.1!  She has taken a large variety of Honors classes and a participant of the Southeast Nebraska Career Academy Partnership (SENCAP).  She is a three year member of the SHS National Honor Society.

She has long been involved as a member of the Seward High FFA and a leader of the group.  She has been on the FFA Officer team for two years and served as FFA Sentinel FFA Secretary and Junior FFA President.  Natalie won the FFA Star Geenhand award, the FFA LDE Purple Ribbon x 4, the FFA CDE Purple Ribbon x 5, the State FFA Parli Pro Team Gold Medal, the FFA Senior Public Speaking  Third Place Award, the Geenhand Award and the FFA Chapter Degree. 

She is also an involved four year member of the SHS FBLA ( Future Business Leaders of America).  Natalie has also participated in Shelly's School of Dance for 12 years! She also received the Intentionally Selected Pride Award for Dedication and numerous PRIDE awards by SHS Faculty and Administration.

She has been on the Cheer Team foe three years and served as Cheer Captain.  She has taken piano lessons for five years and was an SHS Social Media Intern. 

Natalie was in Symphonic Band for two years, Pep Band for two years and Mixed Choir for two years.  She was a presenter at the NE Fall Tech Conference twice and served as a Delegate to  the NE Ag Youth Institute (NAYI) in 2021.

She also enjoys her Godteen group.

Her "Service Above Self" volunteer hours number over 150 hours- working with Outdoor Ed, CASA, Cheer projects, Dance Camps, Ag Literacy Day, Seward County Fair Grounds Day for FFA, FFA Volunteer for  the Seward County Fair, SHS New Student Open House, Greenhouse  and SHS Shop Prep and the annual SHS FFA Banquet.

She has attended classes at Southeast Community College with a 4.0 GPA.  her work experience includes Syngenta Seeds as a Pollinator, Young Nebraska Scientist as a Remote Researcher, and as a Seed Sorter- also with Syngenta Seeds.

She plans to attend the University of Kansas with a major in Marketing with a long term goal to become a Marketing Manager.

She was honored at the Seward Rotary meeting and will be honored and recognized again in May at the SHS Honors Night.  She received information on Rotary and a Bool Scholarship-and is a finalist for the Youth Rotarian of the Year.

The Seward Rotary Honors one SHS Senior each month and applications can be obtained at the SHS Counselors Office.

https://sites.google.com/sewardschools.org/sps-covid-19-data-dashboard/home

Below you will find more information about ESSER III funds provided to school districts across the nation. The list below is the allowable expenditure categories. The categories highlighted below are the areas that Seward Public Schools intend on using the funds allotted.  Seward Public Schools has been allocated $860,890 and has until fall of 2024 to expend these funds.  The goal of these funds is to help support students without having recurring costs to the district after the ESSER III funds are gone. If you have any suggestions regarding the use of these funds, please contact Dr. Josh Fields, Superintendent, at Josh.Fields@sewardschools.org

ESSER, passed as Section 18003 of the CARES Act in March 2020; ESSER II, passed as Section 313 of the CRRSA Act in December 2020; and ARP ESSER (ESSER III), included in Section 2001 of the American Rescue Plan Act, H.R. 1319, provides billions in funding for state and local educational agencies to spend on allowable activities to respond to COVID-19. ESSER is its own, separate, flexible program intended to assist with the COVID-19 response. ESSER I, II, & III funds must be tracked separately.

The ESSER III funding has the same allowable activities as the ESSER I and ESSER II funds; however an LEA must reserve not less than 20 percent of its total ARP ESSER allocation to address learning loss through the implementation of evidence-based interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive afterschool programs, or an extended school year programs, and ensure that such interventions respond to students’ academic, social, and emotional needs and address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underrepresented student subgroups.

LEAs may use their ARP ESSER funding on the following allowable activities under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act:

1. Administration – 10% administrative cap, includes indirect cost rate charged against direct costs. Reference.

2. Any activity authorized by the ESEA of 1965, IDEA, AEFLA, and Perkins. Note: McKinney-Vento was not included as an allowable use under ESSER III ARP Act.

3. Coordination of preparedness and response efforts.

4. Providing principals and other school leaders with resources necessary to address the needs of their individual schools. Note: Not included in ESSER III/ARP Act.

5. Activities to address the unique needs of low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities.

6. Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts of LEAs.

7. Training and professional development for LEA staff on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.

8. Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of a LEA, including buildings operated by such agencies.

9. Planning, coordinating, and implementing activities during long-term closures.

10. Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students who are served by the LEA that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors, including low-income students and children with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment.

11.  Providing mental health services and supports.

12. Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental after-school programs.

13. New ESSER II Addressing learning loss among students, including low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care, of the local educational agency, including: 1. Administering and using high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable, to accurately assess academic progress and assist educators in meeting students’ academic needs, including differentiating instruction.

    1. Implementing evidence-based activities to meet the comprehensive needs of students.

    2. Providing information and assistance to parents and families on how they can effectively support students, including in a distance learning environment.

    3. Tracking student attendance and improving student engagement in distance education.

14. New ESSER II School facility repairs and improvements to enable operation of schools to reduce the risk of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards, and to support student health needs.

15. New ESSER II Inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrade projects to improve the indoor air quality in school facilities.

16. New ESSER III Development of strategies and implementation of public health protocols that align with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on reopening and operating school facilities to maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff. CDC Guidance can be found at: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools

17. Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation and continuity of services in LEAs and continuing to employ existing staff of the LEA. Any entity that receives funds under the Education Stabilization Fund shall, to the greatest extent practicable, continue to pay its employees and contractors during the period of any disruptions or closures related to COVID-19.