Syracuse & Talmage Study Buddies Celebrate Accomplishments

Year end celebrations were held for the Syracuse and Talmage Study Buddies Programs.   

The Syracuse Study Buddies celebration was on May 3^rd.  Students and volunteers were joined by three special guests for the fun, games, and ice cream sundaes to celebrate the academic gains of the students.  Three characters from Star Wars were the special visitors and the highlight of the celebration. The guests encouraged students to continue to read and donated several books to the Study Buddies program. Students and volunteers got to visit and take pictures.

The Talmage Study Buddies celebrated by having a picnic. Due to weather the celebration moved indoors but everyone still had lots of fun. Students and volunteers enjoyed lots of food, games, and even a special showing of Marmaduke the movie.  These celebrations are a nice treat and a way to say thank you to the families and volunteers that have supported the Study Buddies Program.  This school year 20 students participated in the Syracuse and Talmage programs.  A special thanks to the 15 volunteers that truly make this fun and rewarding program happen!

Registrations Now Open for Summer Art Camp at the KHN July 25th -29th

2010 Summer Art Campers are pictured here with their group project.

The 4^th annual Summer Art Camp will be held at the Kimmel-Nelson-Harding Center for the Arts in Nebraska City July 25th-29th. The theme for Art Camp 2011 is recycle, reduce and reuse.  Students will use common recycled Items to create something new and beautiful.  Katy Bovick will be the artist for Summer Art Camp 2011.  Ms. Bovick has been the artist leading the camp forthree of the past four years. 

Students who are entering grades 1-7 in the next school year are welcome to register for Summer Art Camp.  A morning session will be held for 1st through 3rd graders from 9:30 to 11:30 am and an afternoon session will take place each day that week for 4th through 7th graders from 12:00 to 2:30 pm. There will be room for 20 students to participate in each session.  Registration forms will be available next week online at www.p4oc.org, or by calling 402-873-6343 to receive one in the mail. 

Summer Art Camp is sponsored by People United for Families, Kimmel-Nelson-Harding Center for the Arts, and the Nebraska Arts Council.

What you can do: 

• Register your child to participate.
• Donate a scholarship so another child can participate. 

Governor Heineman signed Legislative Bill 463 on Wednesday, designed to strengthen Nebraska's truancy laws.  Under the new law, schools will be required to provide early intervention once a student exceeds five absences in a school quarter and refer students to the county attorney when the students are absent for 20 days within a school year, whether those absences are excused or unexcused.

Otoe County Attorney David Partsch commented on the passage of LB463, saying "Skipping classes and having excessive absences from school are an early indicate that something is wrong in a child's life that needs to be addressed before things escalate.  Truancy is often the first step down a path that leads to the juvenile justice system.

Here in Otoe County, the schools have worked with my office on drafting and implementing polices to encourage early intervention in truancy issues.  We are trying to open lines of communication with parents to discover how we can help ensure children are receiving the best possible education available.  The juvenile justice and educational system are working together in striving to keep young people safe and out of trouble and to encourage academic success.

We are glad to see the Nebraska Legislature has made this important issue a top priority."

Thanks to Ashley Rutland, Stephanie Vaughn and the Hornby family for  taking a stand and providing comments for graduates and their families about the importance of celebrating without the use of alcohol.