Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Graduates of the SMAC program listen as Arik Doty reads his essay
Students Making Awesome Choices (SMAC) is a program the is designed to educate the sixth grade students at West Elementary about topics and issues that the students will encounter as the journey toward becoming young adults.
Some of the topics discussed include drug awareness, digital safety and decision making skills.
Emails are sent to parents that outline topics that are covered during class. The teachers hope that parents can use the topics as a springboard for great family discussions.
The students design logos for SMAC during their art classes and the winning design is voted on by their classmates. Each student receives a t-shirt with the logo for completing the course of study.
As a culminating activity, students write an essay about that they have learned and how they feel that the course curriculum will impact their choices in life.
The program begins each January and concludes in May with a graduation, dance and track meet. The staff at West Elementary feels that the program is a tremendous success and is a huge part of the student’s sixth grade year.
Funding is usually provided for the purchase of the SMAC t-shirts. This year was the first year that funding for that purchase was eliminated. With the short notice given to the school, there wasn’t enough time to raise funds for the purchase.
The estimated $1100 needed to cover the cost of the t-shirts wasn’t figured into the school’s budget, so there were no available funds to purchase the shirts.
The teachers knew that the students looked forward to receiving their t-shirts so that they could show off their accomplishment of finishing the SMAC program.
Concerned teachers contacted local businesses to see if anyone was willing to help raise funds to purchase the children’s t-shirts.
The response was positive and the funds were donated from local businesses to purchase the t-shirts for the children.
The sixth grade students at West Elementary want to thank these local businesses for their generous donations: State Farm-Katie Haas, Points West Bank and Insurance, Financial Partners, Western Drug and Farm Bureau-Brett Kratzer.
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