Parents, thank you for your support as we had a great turnout at the February Elementary Parent-Teacher Conferences. We enjoyed the opportunity we had to discuss your child’s progress. The success of our students is a reflection of supportive parents.

The arrival of March means that spring is hopefully just around the corner! The weather this time of year is unpredictable and requires the need to pay close attention to the forecast and how your child is dressed for school. I know students will be anxious to break out their shorts, but as you know temperatures in Nebraska this time of year can fluctuate 30-40 degrees during the day. Please help to ensure that your child comes dressed appropriately to go outside for recess. It’s easy to take off
a coat, jacket or sweatpants when the temperature warms up later in the day.

Each spring, we begin to prepare for the incoming Kindergarten class. If you have a child that will turn 5 on or before July 31, you will want to save the date of Tuesday, August 4, when we will be holding Kindergarten Kick-Off! We will be sending out more information about Kindergarten Kick-Off and Online Registration to families with age-eligible children later in March. If your family is new to our school this year and you have a child that will be eligible for Kindergarten, please contact the Office so that we can add your child to our mailing list.

We appreciate the opportunity to work with your child(ren). Thank you for your continued support!

Mark Standage
Principal 

The Hamilton County Spelling Bee is held each year in February.  Fifth through eighth grade students are eligible to participate.  Two students and an alternate from each grade level qualify for the bee.  Fifth graders Evan Glass and Memphis Ommert won the right to represent Aurora Elementary School.  Bodie Chamness was the alternate.  Four places are awarded at each grade level.  Evan placed first and Memphis place second in fifth grade.  Great job Evan and Memphis, we are proud of you!  You represented our school well!

Winners

Kindergarten - Be Safe
Maddie Partington  

First Grade - Be Respectful
Mercy Cramer

Second Grade - Be Responsible
Ella Rawhouser

Third Grade - Be Safe
Blakeley Collamore

Fourth Grade - Be Respectful
Cate Dennis

Firth Grade - Be Responsible
Gwen Wieseler

Honorable Mention

Kindergarten - Be Safe
Blaike Arndt
Willa Jasnowski

First Grade - Be Respectful
Tia Farrand
Mia Stithem

Second Grade - Be Responsible
Rush Tesar
Piper Heinrichs

Third Grade - Be Safe
Gracelyn Cramer
Avery Vettel

Fourth Grade - Be Respectful
Raylea Kearn
Alejandro Avila Ramirez

Fifth Grade - Be Responsible
Breya Frew
Paislee Duester

We are excited about our upcoming annual Read-A-Thon that runs February 27 through March 9. Packets with full details will be sent home on February 27. This is a fun event to encourage your children to read and build literacy skills while also raising money for our school. Once again, Aurora Elementary students will have a goal to read 300 minutes (200 at home and 100 at school) with many fun things planned during the week to motivate the students to read and make reading fun. Students who complete sponsor letters to send to friends and family will be entered into a raffle drawing to win some great prizes!

During Read-A-Thon, we have Family Literacy Night planned for Monday, March 2nd from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Our theme this year is Grab Your Hat and READ with the CAT! We have many fun activities planned for the evening! 

School counselors design and deliver school counseling programs that improve life-readiness and academic success. They lead, advocate and collaborate to promote success for each and every student by connecting their school counseling program to the school’s academic mission and school improvement plan.

Direct services are in-person interactions between school counselors and students and include the following: classroom guidance lessons, small groups and individual, short-term counseling that is solution-focused to aid in student success. 

Indirect services are provided on behalf of students as a result of the school counselors’ interactions with others including: assisting staff and parents with student concerns, referrals to outside agencies and communicating with those agencies/professionals to aid in mental health/behavioral progress.

We are having a great year at AES and I am grateful for the support our students receive from parents, staff and the community.  Please reach out if you have concerns or areas I might assist in.  It’s a great year to be a Husky Pup!!

Erlinda Amen
K-5 School Counselor  

School counselors work to create a future world where all students thrive.

Did you know that penguins can swim up to 22 miles per hour?!  Or that penguins are some of the only birds that can’t fly?  First grade has been busy researching and studying penguins across all areas of our curriculum.  In our Bridges Math curriculum, we have been using inches to compare the heights of different penguin species.  Students compared their own height to the different penguin species as well.  The Rockhopper penguin with its yellow, wild eyebrows stands 18 inches tall and is a class favorite.  We have solved many penguin story problems and also written lots of math equations.  In Science, we learned about penguins and other polar habitats.  We wrote penguin facts using our best handwriting.  Our hallways are filled with penguin artwork too.  Waddle on over and check it out!     

Fifth Grade celebrated their completion of the D.A.R.E program on Monday, February 9th with a D.A.R.E. culmination.  Chief Graham and Officer Dvorak presented 5th grade students with a certificate of completion to honor their hard work throughout the program.  One 5th Grade student from each class was selected to read their D.A.R.E. Essay during this celebration. Those students were Holden Duester from Mrs. Brechbill's class, Bryson Dahlin from Mrs. Wilson's class, Huxley Hoegh from Mrs. Lorence's class and Trynley Hayden from Mrs. Evan's class.  Congratulations to all!

The fifth grade Quiz Bowl team competed at the ESU 9 Quiz Bowl competition on February 3rd. This was their first live, in-person competition and they started off strong with decisive wins in their first and second rounds. After that, they competed in four back-to-back rounds and were finally eliminated by our own Aurora 6th grade team who ended up placing second overall.  The kids performed very well and learned a lot about how this particular competition works. This group of kids has a bright future in Quiz Bowl and I know they will do even better next year! ~Mrs. Evans

During the recent Book Fair, students were invited to guess how many pompoms were in a jar. The correct number was 240.  The closest student in each grade won a bag of books.  Pictured above are the winners: Jonas Peh, Piper Riley, Penelope Thomas, Walter Lyon, Briggs Fried, Max Clark, and Alethea Budler.  

Kindergarten:  Piper Riley with a guess of 190

First Grade:  Briggs Fried with a guess of 205

Second Grade:  Max Clark with a guess of 241

Third Grade:  Penelope Thomas with a guess of 228 and Jonas Peh with a guess of 252

Fourth Grade:  Walter Lyon with an exact guess of 240

Fifth Grade:  Alethea Budler with a guess of 250