Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Two new paraprofessionals hires were approved Monday by the Summerland Public School Board of Education during its regular meeting. Superintendent Molly Aschoff told the board that administration had posted a job notice for a special education/Title 1 para position, with a van route to the Central Learning Center in Clearwater. During that period, a late para resignation was received. Elementary principal Cathy Cooper said four or five applications were received and three individuals were...
The countdown for the first day of the 2024-2025 school year is underway, as Summerland Public School students will return to class, Thursday, Aug. 15. A 1:30 p.m. dismissal is scheduled that day. Staff members will report to work for staff development Aug. 12 to 14. Families of students in preschool through sixth grade are invited to an open house, Wednesday, Aug. 14, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The Bobcat Booster club will host a burger bash, Wednesday, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., at the school. Preschool...
Graduate and undergraduate degrees will be conferred for 200 summer graduates at University of Nebraska at Kearney commencement exercises, Friday, Aug. 9, at UNK’s Health and Sports Center. Presley Jeanne Darlene Young, of Orchard, will receive a Master of Arts Degree in education, curriculum and instruction and Summerland principal Jacob Birch, O’Neill, will receive a Master of Arts Degree in education, school principalship 7-12....
A longtime educator will fill a void this fall at Summerland Public Schools. Laurel Miller, who previously taught at Clearwater, will teach math. Cathy Cooper, elementary principal, said only a handful of applications were received to fill a position left vacant after Jacob Birch accepted the junior/senior high school principal's job. Cooper, along with incoming superintendent Molly Aschoff, talked with former retirees about the position. "Laurel (Miller) has both a science and math...
PROCEEDINGS SUMMERLAND PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION April 15, 2024 Summerland Public School Board of Education met in regular session, Monday, April 15, 2024, at 7 p.m. President Steve Thiele called the meeting, which was advertised in the April 10 newspapers,to order at 7 p.m. Thiele noted the Open Meetings Act posted in the board room. Attendance was taken. All board members were present: Ed Nordby, Nate Schwager, Scott Thiele, Steve Thiele, Austin Twibell, Jeremy Wagner. Motion by Twibell, seconded by Schwager, to approve the agenda as...
Summerland Public Schools will potentially add two vehicles to its fleet, using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to pay the bill. The district currently has $153,629 in untapped pandemic-related federal funds available. During the board's April meeting, held Monday, Superintendent Kyle Finke suggested the district purchase a 65-passenger Thomas bus with approximately 32,000 miles, for $92,650. "It's coming off a lease," he said. A year ago, the district purchased a bus...
Two contracts will be extended when the Summerland School board of education meets in regular session, April 15. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., in the board meeting room at the school. Action will be taken on a contract for Jacob Birch, who accepted the junior/senior high school principal and athletic director position. Birch currently teaches mathematics at Summerland. A second contract offer is listed on the agenda; however, details of the offer are not listed. Board members...
Jacob Birch will serve as junior/senior high principal, beginning in the 2024-2025 school year. The announcement was made Tuesday, April 2, after Summerland Public School faculty were notified of his hiring. Candidates for the position went through the interview process last week, according to school officials. The board of education will approve the offer when they meet April 15. Birch, a Burwell native, received his undergraduate degree in mathematics education at the University of...
Adyson Mlnarik will trade her Carolina blue uniform for Hastings College crimson. The Summerland High girls' basketball standout signed a letter of intent, in front of family, coaches and teammates, March 13, on the SPS basketball court. Mlnarik told the "Advocate-Messenger" she chose HC "because it was a place where I felt I would fit in great." The 5-foot-eight point guard averaged 23.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game during her senior campaign. The Bobcats finished 17-7, just...
What a great time to be a Bobcat! Our students are shining in all activities. Backtrack to November when the volleyball team qualified for state competition and the football team played in two rounds of the playoff system. Nothing like starting the year off on the right foot. The marching band did well at competition in Wayne. Speech and drama students continue to earn awards. Next week, the speechsters compete in a tough C2 district, a trip to the state meet on the line. I have a feeling...
A fourth-quarter surge in Friday's D1-7 girls' district final led to overtime for Summerland. But at the end of the extra period, the Bobcats fell one point shy of knocking off the defending Class D1 state champion Centura. Adyson's Mlnarik fadeaway three-pointer, with under five seconds remaining on the clock, fell shy. Lydia Robertson leapt out of bounds and tossed the ball back into play, but the scoreboard's buzzer - and the rush of Centura's crowd to mid-court - told the story. Centurions,...
Despite a loss to Elgin Public/Pope John in Thursday's girls' subdistrict basketball final, the Lady Bobcats will continue post-season play. They enter district finals as a wildcard and will face Centura, Friday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m., at the school located at 201 N. Highway 11 in Cairo. Bobcat head coach Jacob Birch said his squad is excited to have the opportunity to receive a wildcard berth and have another chance to compete. "Centura is a very good team and won a state championship last year....
The third time playing Elgin Public/Pope John wasn't the charm for the Lady Bobcats in the girls' subdistrict final. At the end, EPPJ outlasted Summerland, 44-42. Coach Jacob Birch said, against EPPJ, his team had an outstanding first quarter and led the game 14-1 at that point. "EPPJ battled back and it was a back-and-forth fight until the end," he said. "I was very proud of the way our girls competed and played all out. Defensively and on the rebounds, we brought great energy and intensity."...
Niobrara/Verdigre tried to knock the Summerland girls' basketball team off the consolation podium, Saturday, at the Niobrara Valley Conference Tournament played at Summerland. A last-second three-pointer got nothing but net for the Cougars, but it was one point too little as the Bobcats held on for a 59-58 victory. Birch said his team had good energy after a tough Thursday night loss. "I thought our girls all played well together. Ady (Mlnarik) had an outstanding performance with 39 points, nine...
Every player on the Bobcat girls' varsity roster saw action during a 66-28 win over the Wausa Lady Vikings. Things just clicked. "In a game where we were able to build and sustain a large lead, I felt that we got our energy back and found a spark that we had lost coming out of Christmas break and the break due to the multitude of snow days," said head coach Jacob Birch. Ady Mlnarik scored 26 points and Lydia Robertson pitched in 24 during the Jan. 25 home contest. Jenna Funk pulled down 10...
Despite a 31-point night from Bobcat senior Ady Mlnarik, the Lady Bobcats wouldn't muster enough points to down Elkhorn Valley, in a Jan. 23 contest played at home. Head Coach Jacob Birch said, "I was proud of the team's effort late in the game to close the gap after getting down double digits. Early in the fourth quarter we cut the lead down to three with under two minutes left in the game." Birch said from that point, the Bobcats started playing the foul game. "Elkhorn Valley did a nice job of protecting the ball and making free throws," he...
All 14 Bobcat girls' basketball players saw floor action, Dec. 12, in Summerland's 66-32 win over Stuart. Coach Jacob Birch said his squad had a "great showing" in the road game. "The team had nice scoring contributions from Ady Mlnarik with 25 points; Lydia Robertson, 20 points; and Preslie Robertson 13 points. Jenna Funk had a great defensive effort with seven steals and seven rebounds. Senior Kelsey Schlecht knocked down a three-point shot," Birch said. The Bobcats scored 16 and 17 points, respectively, in the first two quarters, while...
Junior Lydia Robertson scored a career high 30 points and pulled down six rebounds in Thursday's 64-34 win over O'Neill. Summerland took the lead, up 15-12 after one quarter and outscored the Eagles, 17-3, in the second to take the lead and never look back. Coach Jacob Birch said his team played well. "It was probably our most complete game so far this season. We played very well defensively, rebounded decently and really limited our turnovers," he said. In addition to the play of Lydia...
Adyson Mlnarik has attended basketball games since before she entered kindergarten. On Dec. 8, the Summerland senior joined an elite group as she drove the lane for a layup against Niobrara/Verdigre. The bucket netted Mlnarik 1,000 points for her career. "It's been a big week," she said, Friday. Mlnarik's had a hot hand since the season began, averaging 29.2 points per game, connecting on 47% of field goals attempted. From the charity stripe, Mlnarik is accurate 84% of the time. From...
Despite 30 points from senior phenom Ady Mlarnik, the Bobcats couldn't quite catch Niobrara/Verdigre in Friday night action. The Cougars left Summerland with a 57-53 win. Early in the first quarter, Mlnarik drove the lane for a bucket, her 1,000th career point, cementing her place in Bobcat basketball history. The Robertson sisters - Lydia and Preslie - each finished with eight points. Head coach Jacob Birch said his squad dug themselves a little bit of a hole getting down by 11 or 12ish in the...
Summerland jumped out to an 11-4 lead over Boyd County, Saturday, and never looked back as the Bobcats defeated the Lady Spartans, 43-30. Yet, head coach Jacob Birch said the Bobcats overcame some adversity to "grind out a tough win." "Boyd County played well and took us out of what we want to do offensively, so credit to them there," he said. "We played hard and our second-half defense really made a difference." Ady Mlnarik scored 19 points and Jenna Funk pulled down 11 rebounds in the win....
Ady Mlnarik poured in 32 points in season opener to spark Summerland to a 72-49 win over Neligh-Oakdale, Nov. 30, at Elmer Lindahl Gym in Neligh. Lydia Robertson added two dozen points to the effort, while Jenna Funk pulled down 11 rebounds. Head coach Jacob Birch said his team had nice showing in its first regular-season game. "We had a jamboree game against Battle Creek on Monday and that allowed us to see a lot of things that we can work to improve," he said. The Bobcats led 24-4 at the end...
Lydia Robertson navigates traffic in the lane while putting up a shot. She scored 17 points in Friday’s 63-27 win over CWC at Chambers. Ady Mlnarik scored 22 points and Jenna Funk grabbed eight rebounds in the win. “Lots of encouragement across the board and a total team effort,” said coach Jacob Birch....
Basketball enthusiasts may notice one rule change when regular-season play begins tonight. The one and one is done. Instead, the bonus - two free throws - will be awarded for common fouls committed when a team is in the bonus. A second change is that teams will be in bonus once the opponent commits five fouls in a quarter. Fouls reset each quarter. Summerland boys' basketball coach Brett Kaczor said he likes the change. "It's going to take some time to really get used to shooting two free...
When the school bell rang for the first time last week, six new educators experienced their first day of class at Summerland Public Schools. Kara Ahlers will teach fifth grade. She graduated college in December 2018, with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She has an endorsement in reading and writing. "When I worked as a para years ago, the teachers who I worked with were amazing at encouraging and reassuring me I could be someone who could make a difference in the lives of our...
