Preschool - Mrs. Malone, Ms. Onkka

We began March reading a lot of stories by Dr. Seuss. Students loved looking for the rhyming words that he incorporated throughout his stories. 

3-2-1, Blast Off! Exploring our solar system was out of this world! We learned that God created everything including the sun, moon, & stars. Ask your child to name their favorite planet. 

At the end of March, we will spend some time discussing the true meaning of Easter. 

All of our classes had so much fun participating in the Rose Theater workshops. Stay tuned for even more adventures in the month of April!

Kindergarten - Mrs. Guinan, Mrs. Millar, Mrs. Vaughan

Our students enjoyed their first field trip this year to the Rose Theater to watch “Ada Twist the Scientist.”

The boys and girls have been thinking about how they can be more like Jesus during the Lenten season. We will pray the Stations of the Cross during Holy Week.

The kindergarteners did a great job of preparing and ministering their first Mass with their fourth grade buddies!

In math, the boys and girls have enjoyed learning how to tell time to the hour.

First Grade - Mrs. Kleffman, Mrs. Caito, Mrs. Wynegar

In math, 1st graders are expanding their skills by adding double- digit numbers. Another goal for each 1st grade student during these final months of the school year is to become more independent learner\s. To prepare students for 2nd grade, we will be asking more of them in reading such as following directions, being a problem solver, and completing work independently. We want all students to be ready to tackle the new challenges they will have in 2nd grade.

We want to wish all of you a very blessed Easter season. Please ask your 1st grader to share with you the events of Holy Week. They have been learning this during our Lenten prayers and studies.

Second Grade - Ms. Hargens, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Truscott

Spring is here! Let’s hope it is bringing the warm weather with it. Please remember that your child may still need a jacket for first recess. It is not always to the high temp of the day when we go out at 11:00 A.M.

Our mathematicians have been working on place value and are working on adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers. Scientists have been exploring different land and water habitats. Please continue to practice math facts nightly! 

Reading nightly will continue to make your second grader a strong reader. The time spent reading with your child greatly benefits them for years to come. 

Have a wonderful and blessed Easter! 

Third Grade - Ms. Ruelas, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Schofield

Great News!  Pioneer Day will be Friday, May 1st. Information about dressing as a pioneer, packing a pioneer lunch, and opportunities to help with activities on Pioneer Day will be sent via email soon. We will need parent volunteers for some of the activities, and a Sign-Up Genius will be sent with a variety of ways to help. Please be on the lookout for this information.

Our authors have been working with adjectives to add details to sentences and make our writing more interesting. We will be using this new knowledge as part of our focus when we revise and edit our personal narratives over the next few weeks.

As our Lenten journey ends and the Easter season begins, let us all rejoice in the risen Christ.

Fourth Grade - Mrs. Madison, Mrs. Thede, Mrs. Schroen

On March 3, grade 4 students celebrated Nebraska’s statehood day! Nebraska turned 158 years old on Saturday, March 1. The students celebrated with cookies and a birthday party!

As we approach Holy Week, we wish all of you a blessed Easter.

Fifth Grade - Mrs. Dotzler, Mrs. Jones, Ms. Salerno 

Fifth grade had a blast at the State Fair! Thanks to all the parents who helped make this day so special and to all the visitors who came to learn about the Nifty Fifty States! The students worked so hard to research and then write their 5-paragraph expository essays and create wonderful displays of their states. We are very proud of their effort!

Reminder: The state capital test in social studies is April 1st.

Sixth Grade - Mrs. Wane, Mrs. Bernt, Mrs. Guinotte

English - Students continue to work on mastering the English language as well as editing their writing. We will be taking the writing and editing assessments this month to see how much students have improved since the fall.

Literature - Students have been working hard this year and have come to our final sixth grade novel. Look for A Wrinkle in Time (AWIT), as it was sent home mid-March. Students will also be taking the Archdiocesan Language Arts assessment this month.

Math - Students have been mastering the area of 2D shapes, applying formulas to find the space inside rectangles, triangles, parallelograms, and circles. With a strong understanding of these concepts, the class is now moving on to 3D shapes. They will explore surface area and volume, learning how to calculate the space and covering of prisms, pyramids, cylinders, and other solids through hands-on activities and real-world applications.

Social Studies - We’re moving from our exploration of the Silk Road to learning about the growth of Christianity. After discovering how trade routes connected cultures and spread ideas across continents, we’ll now focus on how Christianity began and expanded throughout the ancient world. Students will examine how this new religion influenced societies, shaped beliefs, and connected people all around the world. 

Science - Students will study tectonic plates and how they change the Earth’s surface through volcanoes and earthquakes. They will be building and testing structures to withstand an earthquake, creating volcanic eruptions, and learning about volcanoes around the world. 

Religion - Students have been studying the Exodus and Seder Meal. On Wednesday, March 25th students participated in the Seder Meal. Thank you so much for all of the volunteers who will made this special event possible. We will be focusing on the Beatitudes through out the month of April. 

JUNIOR HIGH

English - Mr. Leever

English 7

Students have completed speeches/presentations regarding their chosen topics on a health/medical topic. Everyone did a great job choosing their topics and presenting their information in interesting ways. Students will next study adverbs and verbal phrases.

English 8

Students have completed speeches/presentations regarding their chosen topics regarding heroism. Everyone did a great job choosing their topics and presenting their information in interesting ways. Students will next study verbs and subject-verb agreement. 

Science - Ms. Kolberg

Seventh graders wrapped up the heredity unit learning about hemophilia and how carriers can go from generation to generation without having the disease. We have now moved on the the human body for our final unit. The skeletal and muscular systems were covered recently, and we will be moving on to the circulatory and respiratory systems of the human.  

Eighth graders are starting on the Force and Motion unit. We covered Newton’s first law of inertia and learning about how things in motion want to stay in motion and things at rest want to stay at rest. One of the recent activities involved finding the mu of our shoe (friction). Friction will be one of our enemies when we begin the final project of the water bottle rocket at the end of the school year.

Math - Mr. Polacek

It is hard to believe that we have made it to Quarter 4 of this fast-moving year. The students have been fantastic in their efforts, and we still have many important topics to cover to make sure the students are well-prepared for next year.

The algebra classes are finishing up quadratics (ask them to sing the quadratic formula to you) and will be starting on radical expressions and trigonometry. We will be simplifying square roots and cube roots and doing all of our mathematical operations on them as well as perfecting our Pythagorean Theorem.

In Pre-Algebra we are continuing the algebra chapters with a look at polynomials and slope; both are a great introduction to the rigor that will be expected next year in Algebra. We will be adding, subtracting, multiplying, and even dabble in factoring polynomials. Algebraic expressions and equations will be the final topics in 7th Grade Math as we get ready for a big leap into 8th grade! Keep up the great work and finish strong!

Religion - Mrs. Nigrin

Happy Holy Week!

As we enter into the Holiest time of the church year, the students in both 7th and 8th grade will be reviewing the events of Holy Week and what happens at each of the Holy Day Masses.

7th graders will need to complete and turn in their Confirmation forms by April 1. We will be identifying those things that pull us away from God and the things that bring us closer to God. 

Literature - Mrs. Fosbender

8th graders will continue on their journey of reflecting on the Sacraments and how each one gives us the graces to become closer to God our Father. We will relate them also to those who are choosing to enter into the Catholic faith this Easter season.

Eighth grade literature students recently finished reading the novel Touching Spirit Bear. To extend their learning, each student created a totem pole featuring five symbols that represent either their family or their own personality. Throughout March and into April, eighth graders will move into a Holocaust/World War II unit. During this time, they will read novels in literature circle groups and practice a variety of reading strategies as they work through their books.

Seventh grade students are beginning their Adventure/Mystery novel unit. They will tap into their creative side by completing three-tiered projects that include research, writing, and illustrating components. Like the eighth graders, seventh grade students will also participate in literature circles as they read and discuss their novels.

Social Studies - Mrs. Sullivan

In social studies, the 8th grade students are actively engaged in learning about WWII and will be moving into studies of the Holocaust and then the Cold War. We will explore the causes of the wars, the countries and people involved, as well as the outcomes of the wars. Learning will involve not only our textbooks, but also PowerPoints with guided notes as well as small group projects and investigations. The 8th graders also have the opportunity to participate in the Law Day Essay Contest. The students will be writing essays on The Rule of Law and the American Dream.  

The 7th grade students are starting their studies of Asia. They will spend time learning about the countries, culture, geography, history, religion, language, and many other aspects of life in these countries. Our next studies will take us to Australia. As with our other continent studies, the students will explore the history, geography, and ways of life in many Asian countries. We will use a combination of textbook, workbook, and PowerPoint/guided notes to help us with our exploration. The 7th graders will also engage in small group projects and investigations. 

The eighth grade students would like to thank you for supporting their frozen food fundraiser. The students raise money to buy a gift for the school from the eighth grade class.

SPECIALS

Art - Mr. Pflaum

Here is a quick summary of what students are working on in art class:

Kindergarten - The little artists have finalizing their camouflage chameleon drawings.

First grade - The first graders are continuing work on their Romero Britto-inspired illustrations.

Second grade - Second graders are also nearing the completion of a western desert themed drawing using various media.

Third grade - The students were introduced to the importance of the Japanese cherry blossom trees and are painting their own version of the tree.

Fourth grade - The fourth graders are working on their elementary design art and will soon be starting a two-point perspective drawing.

Fifth grade - Fifth graders are working on their Georgia O’Keefe-inspired acrylic paintings.

Sixth-grade - The students are completing their pointillism drawings and will soon be working on a sum-i brush ink drawing.

Seventh-grade - Seventh graders have been using clay to sculpt their Dr. Seuss houses.

Eighth grade - The students are working on their large collaborative pop culture paintings.

Samples of various student work can be viewed in the private school Instagram gallery: https://www.instagram.com/svdpmrpflaumart/

Computer - Mrs. Kuhr

Kindergarten - Students wrapped up the robotics unit with the Sphero Indi. The students had a blast and learned how to code the little robot using different colored squares. Now they are going to do a few lessons on CAD (Computer Aided Design) and using CAD style websites.

1st Grade - For a few classes, students went on a really fun math site called Prodigy. Think of it as a cute Pokemon math game. The site also goes at their level and builds on to what they know. Each student received a login and a slip to take home with them to practice. No worries if your little student can’t find their login info. Just email me at kuhra@svdpomaha.org. The link is on my 1st Grade Symbaloo.

2nd Grade - Second grade students have also been logging in to their Prodigy accounts. The difference between 1st and 2nd is that second graders can use their Google school accounts. They can find their link in their computers Google Classroom. I will keep this account open for them all the way through their 5th grade year.

3rd Grade - Students have started a Google Earth unit. Besides learning how to use Google Earth, students will be finding land formations or buildings that, from above, look like a letter from their name. They will then add all the images they found to a Google Drawing to recreate their name.

4th Grade - Students are currently in the Digital Citizen unit. Students are learning about online safety through discussions and creating their own digital hero. They will finish the unit creating their own comic strip, where their digital hero saves the digital day by following the rules of online safety.

5th Grade - Students have finished working on programming a platform style game in Scratch. They have worked so hard. The games look really good. You will definitely want to see what they created. We are now starting a ciphering unit. We will be going over a couple of different ciphers and then students will create their own cipher.

6th Grade - Students are currently working on an animation unit. They made flip books and GIFs. They will start using the online tool Wick Editor to create a traditional animation clip and one using key framing. They will then create a 30-second animation.

7th Grade - Students have finished a Cave Surfing game in Scratch. These projects are a must see. They have started a robotics unit using Spheros. They will design a chariot and program it to race around the room.

YEARBOOK photos are needed. Please think about sharing photos of your students' Confirmation and First Eucharist photos. Scholarship, sports, holiday parties, and more are needed for the yearbook as well.

Educational Strategists - Mrs. Heavey Gr. K-2

Help your child strengthen reading comprehension skills by practicing these strategies.

Activate Prior Knowledge: Good readers connect personal experiences or prior knowledge to ideas in text. This connection helps the reader understand the material.

Make Predictions: When readers anticipate what may happen next in a story, it provides a greater purpose for reading. It is fun to find out if the prediction is correct.

Ask Questions: Check for understanding by asking your child questions about the story. Try to make this more like a conversation then a drill. “I was surprised when the character jumped in the lake. Why do you think he did that?” Turn the tables on your child and have them ask you questions about the story.

Retell the Story: Ask your child to retell the story in his own words. If your child is having trouble with this, model how to retell the story or reread the story a second time.

Mrs. Price Gr. 3-5

During the months of March and April, the literacy support groups have been working with genres. Students played a fun genre game called, “I Have…Who Has…?” Often times students may feel like reading is not interesting or just isn’t “their thing.” With this game, the students were introduced to several genres to find what best aligned with their interests. This encouraged them to find books that would excite them and reignite their drive to read. If your child is stuck in a reading rut, talk to them about their interests and consider starting your search for a new book by first looking within a specific genre that genuinely interests your child!

Ms. Bousquet Gr. 6-8

As we near the end of March, many eighth graders enter the familiar “eighth-grade-itis” phase of their time at SVdP. Homework feels even more like a chore, the last day of school countdown is mentioned multiple times a day, and end-of-year field trips and events shift focus away from academics. It’s natural; we’ve all been there.

At the same time, this is when academic expectations are at their highest and students get an early look at the material they’ll be expected to master next year. It’s a great time to reinforce routines that already work and to experiment with new ones in preparation for high school. Consider granting more independence while encouraging students to be intentional about finding systems that support their success. Those who have relied on minimal studying may need to develop new strategies to meet the demands ahead, so even if they feel like it’s unnecessary or tedious, encourage them to create notecards or study aids and use them regularly throughout the unit rather than cramming at the last minute. Anything you do now to build that foundation will give students a valuable head start as they navigate the many new experiences and emotions of next year.

Guidance - Mrs. Skudlarek

March has come and gone quickly, and it has been a wonderful month in guidance classes! Our theme for March was Making Positive Decisions, and students across all grade levels explored what it means to make healthy, thoughtful choices in their everyday lives.

Kindergarten & First Grade
Focused on understanding their bodies and how to keep them healthy. We talked about making nutritious food choices and the importance of staying active each day. These early lessons help build lifelong healthy habits!

Second Grade
Second graders shared their creative “Gus” writing after learning a three-step decision-making process. They applied these steps in a fun and imaginative way—helping a friendly dinosaur make good choices to survive in the wild!

Third Grade
Students explored seven important organs in the body and learned how each one helps keep us healthy. This knowledge will support our transition into our upcoming unit on drug awareness in April.

Fourth Grade
Fourth graders practiced using the decision-making process in real-life scenarios, especially situations that could lead to negative consequences. They will continue building on this learning as we begin our drug awareness unit next month.

Fifth Grade
Our fifth grade students discussed how one decision can create a “ripple effect” and impact others. They are continuing to explore how positive choices relate to avoiding risky or addictive behaviors.

Middle School (Grades 6–8)
Students in grades six through eight focused on making positive social decisions, particularly around gossip. We discussed how gossip can be hurtful and unnecessary, and how choosing kindness and respect strengthens our school community.

Career Day Highlights 
Our 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students had a wonderful opportunity to participate in Career Day! They heard from ten different speakers representing a wide variety of careers and backgrounds. We are so grateful to the volunteers who took the time to share their experiences and inspire our students.

Thank you for your continued support at home in reinforcing these important skills. We look forward to continuing our learning in April!

HAL - Mrs. Miller

The 4th and 5th grade HAL math students have been learning all about polygons and perimeter this past month. They will soon add perimeter and area equations to their knowledge bank for geometry concepts. The 6th grade pre-algebra students finished up a unit on using percentages in a variety of ways. They used the percent equation and percent proportion to solve a variety of problems. The 7th grade algebra students focused on radical expressions and a variety of methods to simplify radical equations. 

In HAL literature, the 7th grade students are in the middle of their novel The Lightning Thief and their study of Greek mythology. They also created a mythological creature and wrote a short myth about it. To finish up their novel, Touching Spirit Bear, the 8th graders constructed totem poles to symbolize their past, present, and future. Each student also chose an animal symbol for their totem to represent characteristics they see in themselves.

Media Center - Mrs. Kaiser

Wishing all families a blessed Lent and Easter! Grades K-3 have been comparing various versions of folktales and fairytales. Students in grade 4 have been reviewing their research and citation skills. Grade 5 students have studied how circuits work. Ask them to show you their light-up greeting card! Grade 8 students have studied information literacy and how to be wise users of online information. 

Thank you to the following students and their families for donating a book to the library: Izzy Kelly, Vance Adams, Nessi Fay, Cora Hamel, Nealie Vaughan, Peyton Stubbs, Mako Manjoro, and Leo Meyers.

Music - Mrs. LeMense

We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with prayer and song! 

We learned that St. Patrick was taken from his home and brought to Ireland as a slave.  After six years, he returned home, but felt the call to become a priest and to go back to Ireland to spread the Word of God!  ☘️  We also learned and sang fun Irish songs like, “Molly Malone,”  “The Unicorn Song,” and “The Irisher Washwoman.”  

Here are a few leprechauns from a first grade class:  It’s a song that says, “Inside out, upside down, on St. Patrick’s Day!"

The 5th graders have just begun their ukulele unit!

Many students are “naturals” at this!

The 4th graders are planning to perform a little concert for the 3rd graders in the coming weeks.

We will be scheduling this on a Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 P.M.. 

3rd graders are learning folk dances in preparation for their Pioneer Day!

We’re learning a round dance, a square dance, and a reel dance. 

2nd graders are dancing, too! 

1st graders will be going on their symphony field trip when we come back from Easter break.

We’ve been using iPads in class to prepare by learning the names and families of instruments and becoming familiar with some of the music for the concert!  

6th grade just finished creating their Pop-Opera songs! I loved seeing the creativity of all the students. 6th grade has also been filling out “Music Madness” brackets based off of Quaver’s Music Madness 2026. If you hear your student talking about the song “Lime Juice Tub,” just know it’s the favorite to win! Up next we will learn about World Music Drumming. We will start learning about the various percussion instruments in Africa and then move onto the percussion of Latin America. 

7th grade completed and performed their composer skits. Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Joplin, Chopin, and more were brought to life in their storytelling! 8th Grade finished their music genres project by creating a band and a song that fit within the Rock, Pop, or Jazz Genres. Our next unit will center on the guitar and learning how to jam with instruments throughout the classroom. 

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is going fantastic! The students are making great progress, and the singing is amazing! Our performance will be Thursday, April 23 at 6:00 P.M. Hope to see you all there!

PE - Mrs. Conry

March Madness is in the air, so it makes perfect sense to have a basketball unit. It’s important to me that the students understand the game. I decided to make a bracket with mixed teams so the students can help each other learn the game. Many have played, but some have not. We talked about obvious violations traveling, double dribble, and fouls. Some classes were apprehensive to get in there and play. I helped those students and answered any questions they may have. It is more fun when you understand what you are doing and why.

We talked about offense and defense skills and strategies. They applied the knowledge of basic rules of basketball in game situations. We discussed the importance of proper etiquette and good sportsmanship while playing. I emphasized to be kind and tolerate those who do not play basketball. 

Team games are fun for junior high students. They like to compete and be challenged in a game situation. It's fun for me to see who improved, as well as appreciate those students who have played basketball many years.

PE - Mr. Boone

K-2

During March, the students worked on their hand skills of dribbling a ball. The younger students worked on first letting the ball bounce and then catch it. Other dribbling activities included Dribble Fitness, Driver’s Test, 7 Dribbles, and Walk The Dog. The students ended the unit by playing scooter basketball. Heading into next month, these grade levels will be working with scooters. 

3-6

Kicking things off for this unit, these grades started working on their dribbling by doing a Dribble triathlon, driver’s test, knuckle collectors, and dribble tag. From there the focus was on proper shooting form by following through on their shots. Students played activities such as Make it Take it, Challenger, Ultimate Shooting, Knock Out, and 5 Point Shooting. 6th grade ended the unit by playing 5 v 5 basketball.  

Spanish 2nd-4th - Mrs. McDermott

Second grade through fourth grade Spanish have completed the topics they have been working on during 3rd quarter: 2nd grade - La Familia (the family), 3rd grade - Los Animales (animals) and 4th grade - Las Estaciónes y El Tiempo (the seasons and weather). They had their work published in a class book that will be kept in their classroom. Students can read this class book at their leisure during free reading time. They will be excited to see each others work published in a book.

Spanish  5th-8th - Mrs. Singh

5th- Fifth grade students have been learning about Spanish speaking countries in Central America and the Caribbean.They have also been learning/practicing colors in Spanish. Students illustrated pictures by repeatedly writing the name of  the color. Take a look!

6th - Sixth grade students have learned to talk about items they have in class (pen, pencil, notebook, scissors, etc). They have also learned how to say their class subjects in Spanish. They wrote a short speech about their class schedule and are memorizing them to present in class. Please ask your student to recite their speech for you!

7th - Seventh grade students finished a foods unit studying breakfast foods. We are moving on to include lunch and dinner items. Their culminating activity for the unit will be to create a breakfast menu from a Spanish speaking country. They will show the prices in the currency of their country and write the conversion of $1 to the currency of their country. They will also include a dish that is typical in their country. It’s time to take a field trip for some Mexican, El Salvadorian, Peruvian or Puerto Rican food…let your students order in Spanish! I absolutely recommend the tacos at Corner Kitchen. They have Mexican street tacos influenced by global flavors!

8th - Eighth grade students have finished studying the verbs SER and ESTAR.  Both verbs mean “to be” in English, so students have learned when to use each verb. They also have talked about their emotions and are working on a daily activity in March where they record how their day was. Students selected a color to represent each emotion, then colored in a petal of a flower with the associated color. They will hand in their completed picture April 1st. No joke! 

I hope you encourage your student/s to practice our current vocabulary at home! I appreciate your support. ¡Gracias!