Cedar Hollow Parents,  

Happy Holidays!  Here is wishing all of you a fun, safe holiday season.  We want to make sure you are updated on all the events surrounding the holidays here at Cedar Hollow.  Here is a list of upcoming events for you to refer to.

Monday, December 11:  5-8 Holiday Band Concert @ 6:30 @ Northwest auditorium.

Tuesday, December 12: K-4 Holiday Vocal Concert @ 6:30 @ Northwest auditorium.

Friday, December 15:  We are going to have a schoolwide celebration at approximately 2:30 where we will have pizza donated by our wonderful PTO for all students and staff.  This will not impact our school lunch.  We will still have lunch as normal on this day.

Monday, December 18: 5-8 Holiday Vocal Concert @ 6:30 @ Northwest auditorium.

Tuesday, December 19 – Friday, December 22: We will have dress up days as listed below. These are optional and just ways for kids to have fun before their break.  We will also have a few fun contests at various times through the week as well. 

 

                                    K-2                                                                   3-8

Tuesday          Grinch, Red and Green Day                Grinch, Rudolph, Red and Green Day

Wednesday    Pajama Day                                         Holiday Hat and Hair Don’t Care Day

Thursday:       Silly/Christmas Sock Day                     Flannel, Christmas Sock Day

Friday:            Christmas shirts, sweaters, hats, etc.   Ugly Christmas Sweater Day

On another note, our Holiday giving has begun!  If you have items you would like to donate to the organizations below, please feel free to bring them to school.  You are not limited to your students’ grade level choice, but each group of three grades has selected a group that they would like to give to. Our K-2 choice for giving is the Grand Island Police Department.  Our police department has requested small notepads (with encouraging thoughts from students), pens (no caps and no gel pens), rulers, and Gatorade drinks.  The grades 3-5 choice is Hope Harbor.  Here is the link to their needs.  Hope Harbor    The middle school choice is Willow Rising, which is the old Crisis Center.  Here is the link to Willow Rising’s needs.  Willow Rising

I also want to give you information about our school closings due to weather.  If you received this newsletter communication via text/email, you are signed up for our school communication system and will receive closing information in this format as well. Notifications will also be shared via social media and our website. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your notification process please contact the school office.

🧥 Please check the lost and found table before Christmas break, located by the office. 

Here is a Family Tech Tip from Mrs. Callihan: Conversations around technology use are important for families.  This tip will help establish routines for your child to carry over to their own technology use.

Each year the Nebraska Department of Education releases the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) results and the Accountability for a Quality Education System Today and Tomorrow, or AQuESTT classifications. Both these reports provide insight into how students are performing academically on Nebraska’s state standards. 

Cedar Hollow students have consistently scored well above the state average on the NSCAS test and this past year showed great growth as we moved past the impact of COVID.  With district scores in the parentheses following, these are our Cedar Hollow scores from 2 years ago and this past year.  In English Language Arts we had 56% (52%) in 2022-22 score on track or advanced, and this past year, 2022-23 that improved to 73% (72%).  In Math, in 2021-22 we had 65% (66%) score on track or advanced, and this past year 2022-23, that improved to 82% (81%).  These tests were taken by students in grades 3-8.  In science, only our grade 5 and grade 8 students take the NSCAS, and our increase for those on trac or advanced was from 76% in 2021-22  to 91% in 2022-23.  That is great growth from our students and we are so proud of them!

In addition, our K-2 students scored impressively.  Last year, in K-2, 84% of students met their spring benchmark on Dibels (Reading), and 76% of our K-2 students scored at the 60th percentile or higher on their spring MAP test, which means 76% of our students were in the top 40% of all students nationwide.  Truly impressive scores by our students as a whole!

I want to end with sincere holiday wishes for a peaceful, happy holiday season.  Thank you for being such a wonderful partner with us in your child’s education!

Sincerely,

Mr. Mazour