21st Century Skills....

York Public Schools, like most school districts, is committed to preparing our students for their future; not our past. You might often hear "21st Century Skills" and wonder what that means. Below is a summary of popular terms and notions that deal with 21st Century skills.

** Learning to collaborate with others and connect through technology are essential skills that are emphasized within the 21st Century framework.

** Different avenues of thinking are highlighted through creativity/an emphasis on creation of projects, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, and learning.

** Communication and collaboration are emphasized as important traits of a productive work place.

** Employable skills that are often emphasized for 21st Century programs include citizenship/digital citizenship, life and career awareness, and personal/social responsibility.

** Collaborative problem-solving is an approach that is often used in schools as it gets students working together to solve a common challenge, which involves the contribution and exchange of ideas, knowledge or resources to achieve the goal.

** Learning through digital means is also often emphasized. This can include social networking, technological awareness, and simulation. Each of these elements enables individuals to function in social networks and contribute to the development of social and intellectual capital.

It is an exciting time to work with students of all ages. Today's challenges preview tomorrow's opportunities. YPS remains committed to improving and increasing opportunities we provide our students.

The Importance of Family Foundations

Family Foundations is a home visitation program that works with children birth to 3 years of age. This program helps teach parents to have a healthy family. Family Foundations is also guided by the Early Childhood Advisory Committee. At Y.E.S there are several people who help with this, Chelsey Koehn, Lindsay Heiden, Hillary Mundt, and Jodi Harcrow.

Contact this program by phone: 402-362-1414, by email: kris.friesen@yorkdukes.org, or by website:www.SingASongofSixpence.org or Family-Foundations.com to know more.

Birth-to-five programming is a major push across the country and we're excited to have the opportunities in place that we do.

UNK Honor Band and Choral Clinic

On Monday, January 27th eleven YHS students went to the University of Nebraska at Kearney to participate in the Honor Band and Choral Clinic. The day concluded with a concert at 6:00 pm in the UNK Health and Sports Center.

Congratulations to the following students:

Students that participated in the Honor Choir were Alex Heinz, Emily Meisinger, and Lauren Boyer.

Jared Fletcher participated in the Festival Choir.

Students that participated in the Women’s Choir were Allison Woods, Hayley Peterson, Kirsten Wagner, Payton DeMers-Sahling, and Ravyn Richards.

Cori Bolte participated in the Festival Band.

Caleb Magner participated in the Honor Band.

We are proud of each of these participants for representing our school, our community, and our music/band programs in such a positive manner!

Go Dukes!

Still Remembering Tony Howe

January 25, 2012 was a VERY sad day for many folks in/around York. The best father I've ever seen was killed in a car accident that evening leaving behind his wife and three young sons. Tony Howe was a tremendous volunteer, father, husband, and community member. He had a huge heart and would do anything for anyone.

He was a dedicated youth coach, a TeamMate mentor, and all-around dependable person that was willing/able to do whatever needed to be done to help someone out. It's hard to believe that it has already been two years.

Just being around Tony made me want to be a better dad. He always had a way of making you smile and feel good. I still think of him quite often. I only knew him for about 21 months but he made a tremendous impact on me in that short time.

Hug the ones you love and never take things for granted. One day Tony was hugging his kids, goofing around like a big ol' kid himself, and the next day he was gone. Life is too short.

We still miss you Tony.

Sheldon Art Exhibit at Cornerstone Bank

The Sheldon Art Exhibit will be in the lower level of the main Cornerstone Bank from February 7 through March 5. This year the exhibit is titled “Picturing Nebraska." There will be 20 pieces of art covering this topic. The exhibit is open to the public during normal bank hours.

YPS intends to send multiple student groups to Cornerstone Bank to take advantage of this great opportunity. The Sheldon Art Exhibit is a wonderful way to help highlight the importance of art in our daily lives.

Job Openings at York Public Schools

We are officially kicking off the "job hiring season" this year with a bang. Right out of the shoot we have some extremely important positions to fill for 2014-15. Below is what our vacancy announcement looks like. Please help us spread the word.

York Public Schools, a progressive Class B district just 45 minutes west of Lincoln, has several job openings. Interested candidates are encouraged to submit a resume, cover letter, and credentials to: Dr. Mike Lucas, Superintendent of Schools, 1715 North Delaware Ave. York, NE 68467. Visit www.yorkpublic.org or e-mail mike.lucas@yorkdukes.org for more info. EOE.

• High School SPED – Moderate/Severe Disabilities Life Skills Program
• High School Language Arts
• Head Speech Coach
• After-School Program Coordinator
• Assistant Coaching positions may be available, but are not required:
o High school volleyball
o High school girls’ basketball
o High school boys’ basketball
o High school track
o High school football

YPS is lucky to have such wonderful community support...

York Public Schools is truly blessed to have such outstanding support from our community. We have so many individuals, businesses, and committees that partner with us to help make our school district the best that it can be. The most recent example comes from an outstanding business that is definitely a pillar of the York Community.

"THANK YOU" to Don Freeman and York Agri-Products for donating materials and labor so that numerous, additional handrails can be added to our main high school gym. This makes travel up/down our court side bleachers much safer for all involved. We are so appreciative of Agri-Products for this tremendous gift!