Literacy Night: A Successful Night of Reading & Learning at PV Elementary!
Platte Valley Elementary’s Literacy Night was a huge success! Thank you to all the families, students and staff who came together to celebrate the joy of reading, explore literacy activities and make learning fun beyond the classroom. We’re grateful for our supportive Bronco community and everyone who helped make the evening a memorable experience for our students!
Platte Valley FFA Member Earns 3rd Place in the Nation
Congratulations to Mesa Arnold for earning 3rd place in Division 1 Social Science of Agriscience in the nation at the 2026 National FFA Agriscience Fair! Mesa’s achievement highlights the hard work and dedication behind her agricultural research and brings pride to Platte Valley Middle School, the district, and our community. We’re proud to see Mesa represent Platte Valley on the national stage!
National Success: Celebrating Platte Valley FFA
Platte Valley FFA made the district and community proud, representing Platte Valley on the national stage and bringing home impressive results! From the dedication and hard work leading up to the competition to the achievements earned at the national level, these students showcased their skills, passion for agriculture, and commitment to excellence. Congratulations to our FFA members and advisors on an outstanding national experience and well-earned success. The entire Platte Valley community is proud of you!
Livestock Judging Results
Congratulations on our livestock judging team for earning the Silver ranking! Individual placings were:
Zach Vaughn - Gold
Hayley Walker - Silver
Cash Shelton - Silver
Hazen Weber - Bronze
Dairy Cattle Evaluation Results
Congratulations to our dairy cattle evaluation team for their Gold Ranking! Individual placings were:
Taylynn Gore - Bronze
Jesse Sater - Gold
Silver Cruz - Gold
Owen Klundt - Gold
Conduct of Chapter Meetings
Congratulations to our Conduct of Chapter Meetings team for their Gold Ranking, being in the top 12 of 42 teams! Congratulations to Ellie Marshall was High Individual on the Test! Team members include:
Zemery Weber
Evalyn Hanson
Ellie Marshall
Stetson Decker
Jackson Wagner
Jayden Ellicott
Lucas Salmon
Nolan Winter
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Veterans Day Breakfast/Assembly
11/6/2026, 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Platte Valley MS Performing Arts Center
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5th Grade Musical
11/10/2026, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Platte Valley MS Performing Arts Room
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No School - Thanksgiving Break
11/23/2026 – 11/27/2026
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Platte Valley Junior Wrestling
Platte Valley Junior Wrestling is opening pre-season registration for wrestlers ages 4–12 as of January 1, 2027. Practices begin November 9, 2026, with a $20 registration fee that rolls into the regular season. Families are also invited to a parent and volunteer meeting on Monday, November 2nd, at 6 p.m. in the middle school cafeteria to meet coaches and board members, ask questions, get registration assistance, and learn about volunteer opportunities. Visit plattevalleywrestling.com to register and sign up for updates.
Financial Aid Assistance Night: November 3rd
Platte Valley seniors and their families are invited to a Financial Aid Assistance Night on November 3rd from 4:30–7:30 p.m. at Platte Valley. Representatives from Dream Team, Aims Community College, and UNC will provide assistance with FAFSA and CASFA applications, with bilingual support available. Families should bring a laptop and charger, FSA ID logins if available, and 2025 tax returns and income information. Light snacks and drinks will be provided. This event is open to all seniors and their families, regardless of Dream Team participation.
Platte Valley School District and the Town of Kersey are proud to collaborate in keeping our community connected! Check out the Town’s newsletter for local news, updates, and upcoming events here: https://canva.link/ht7zksu4dctjcu4
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Celebrations, Winter Closure Communications, Leadership Platte Valley and Time of Thanks.
Celebrations. As we enter into November we have already gone through the first quarter of the school year, having now gone over 45 days into the school year. As the Chief Executive Officer of our school district, I continuously look at a variety of items to evaluate how our students, schools, and district as a whole are doing. This ranges from and includes formative assessment data we take three times a year through NWEA, to the annual assessments through CMAS/PSAT & SAT, to participation in co-curricular activities such as athletics, FFA, FBLA, as well as our graduation rate and student attendance.
The reality is we are charged with working to help educate our students to grow, eventually graduate, and become productive members of society. With that comes a multitude of ways to evaluate our success. It is what has led us down the road of entering the Student-Centered Accountability Program (S-CAP) that I shared with our community last month. Accordingly, we have several celebrations we are excited to share.
Co-Curriculars, National FFA and Success Skills. As many school districts do, we take great pride and appreciation in the work our students do in co-curricular activities. Congratulations to senior Mariolita Garcia-Jimenez for qualifying for the state cross-country meet. Mariolita placed 14th at regionals running a PR 20:08 and qualifying for the CHSAA State Cross Country Meet. It is the third year in a row Mariolita has qualified for the state meet.
At the end of October we had two students, Mesa Arnold and Luke Larson, place at the National FFA conference in Indianapolis. Mesa earned 3rd place in her Social Science of Agriscience presentation and Luke finished 8th place in the country in his Animal Systems in Agriscience. The Conduct of Chapter Meeting (CCM) team finished in the top 12 of all teams across the country. The CCM team included Stetson Decker, Jayden Ellicott, Lucas Salmon, Nolan Winter, Jackson Wagner, Evalyn Hanson, Ellie Marshall, and Zemery Weber. An additional ten students competed at the national conference in Indianapolis. Those students were: Zach Vaughn, Hayley Walker, Cash Shelton, Hazen Weber, Taylynn Gore, Jesse Sater, Silver Cruz, and Owen Klundt.
In addition to the competitions, students attended workshops to learn about leadership development, agriculture, and career exploration with students from across the country. These opportunities, which align with our Success Skills work, help us to prepare students to leave Platte Valley Schools as productive members of society. For additional examples of how our Success Skills work is impacting students in the classroom, check out our Platte Valley You Tube channel which can be found by clicking the YouTube icon on our website or going directly to our page here: Platte Valley Schools RE-7 - YouTube.
First Quarter Attendance Data. Academics is no different than athletics in that it is not a passive activity; students cannot learn without attending on a regular basis and actively engaging in their work. Accordingly, an item we watch closely throughout the year is our attendance data. This has been a strength for the District and illustrates the importance our families and community places on education at Platte Valley School District. Our first quarter data is below for your reference.
Attendance Data – 1st Quarter 2026
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Elementary School
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August
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September
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October
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K
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96.1%
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96.4%
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93%
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1st
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97.9%
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97%
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96.2%
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2nd
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95.9%
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96.1%
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96.8%
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3rd
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95.5%
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96.1%
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96.8%
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4th
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95.7%
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95.6%
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95.5%
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5th
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96.2%
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95.3%
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96.8%
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Elementary
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96.2%
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95.9%%
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95.8%
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Middle School
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6th
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95.8%
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96.6%
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96.7%
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7th
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95.9%
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95.4%
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94.5%
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8th
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97.6%
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95.6%
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94.7%
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Middle School
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96.4%
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95.9%
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95.3%
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High School
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9th
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95%
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91.8%
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91.4%
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10th
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95.1%
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92.6%
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90.5%
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11th
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95%
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93.9%
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95.4%
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12th
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91.4%
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90.5%
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95.4%
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High School
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93.9%
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91.7%
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92.2%
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Total Averages
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95.04%
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94.6%
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94.4%
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The District’s first quarter 95.8% attendance rate is approximately a full percentage ahead of where we were this time last year and continues to track above the state average of 90%. We were a leader on the importance of attendance prior to the state making it an emphasis again several years after COVID. We continue to work and push and prioritize this, with a goal of hitting 95% across the District. That 95% number cannot take place without the work and effort from our students and families to continue to attend school.
First Quarter Honor Roll. Another celebration is our recently reported first quarter honor rolls. The “Superintendent’s Honor Roll (A)” and “Principal’s Honor Roll (A & B)” recognize students for outstanding academic achievement and effort.
Honor Roll Data – 1st Quarter 2026
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Middle School
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“Superintendent’s” Honor Roll – A’s
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“Principal’s Honor Roll” – A’s and B’s
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Total Honor Roll
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6th Grade
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10, 7%
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25, 28%
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35, 41%
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7th Grade
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13, 12%
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24, 18%
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37, 38%
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8th Grade
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8, 12%
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21, 13%
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29, 36%
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Total
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31, 12%
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70, 26%
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101, 38%
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High School
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9th Grade
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17, 17%
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22, 23%
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39, 40%
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10th Grade
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30, 33%
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22, 24%
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52, 57%
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11th Grade
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9, 11%
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24, 29%
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33, 40%
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12th Grade
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12, 16%
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20, 27%
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32, 44%
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Total
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68, 20%
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88, 26%
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156, 45%
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Seeing no less than 36% of any grade earn honor roll is a celebration and demonstrates the work our students and staff are doing to help pursue academic growth and excellence.
Leadership Platte Valley. Leadership Platte Valley is an effort to build capacity for our stakeholders (community and staff) to learn more about schools, how they work, what goes into them, and the work that we do. All are welcome to engage and we look forward to you attending. All meetings take place at the Platte Valley Central Office Board/Community Room beginning at 5:30.
∙ Wednesday, December 16th School Finance, Budget, and Investing in Public Education
∙ Wednesday, January 20th Safety and Security, Student Behavioral Support
∙ Wednesday, February 17th Instructional Framework and Learning Technology
∙ Wednesday, March 24th Success Skills, Career Connectedness & Post Secondary Readiness, and potential Student Panel
∙ Wednesday, April 21st - Operational Excellence (Facilities, Maintenance, and Long-Range Planning)
Winter Storm Closure Communications. We are approaching the time of year when winter weather can impact our ability to have school. Our goal is always to have school. We believe students are better off when they are in school with regular routines and in a safe environment. However, we also do not want to put our students and staff in an unsafe situation.
The decision on whether to delay the start of school or cancel school is often one of the most difficult decisions we make and is not made lightly. Timing of storms, wind, amount of snow, location and forecasts are all items we take into consideration when making decisions on holding school. We still go drive roads and check road conditions early in the morning from 3:30 am to 5:30 am to make decisions about our ability to have school. There may be times that we cancel school the night before so parents can make appropriate plans. However please keep in mind our goal is to have school.
Communication will only be sent out if we have a delayed start or cancel school. Please see more detailed information later in the newsletter regarding district communications including the use of Edlio, television stations, and social media when we make decisions to delay or cancel school. Finally, please check your Alma parent portal or contact the schools to make sure we have accurate email and cell phone contact information to ensure you are able to receive these important communications.
ParentGuidance.org. We want to remind families of the partnership with Cook Center and ParentGuidance.org., a non-profit organization that works to provide resources to families to help guide their children through all of the issues they will be confronted with as the grow up. These issues include dealing with social media, anxiety, body image, grief and loss, divorce, and much more. It is not uncommon for anxiety to increase during the holidays, both for adults and children. The resources are specific to parents and guardians and is being funded for two years through a grant with the WeldTrust. Please see the information below on how to access the resources available to our families.
Thankful. November and the holidays in general is an opportunity reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. In the grand scheme of things, we are incredibly fortunate to live, work, and go to school in the community that we do. We have an incredibly supportive community that has worked to support the students at Platte Valley School District. We have a high-quality staff that works to do all they can to educate, support, and guide children from PK to 12th grade, 3 to 18 years of age. Our students have the prospect to learn and grow through the academic and co-curricular opportunities that are available to them and help them to be ready to leave the protected walls of Platte Valley School District.
These opportunities would not be available to our students, the individuals we will eventually rely on and need to lead our communities and country in the future, without the investments and sacrifices of our community. Our mill-levy override has allowed us to effectively compete with area school districts to recruit and retain a high-quality staff. The passage of our bonds dating back to 1999 has allowed us to provide high-quality working and learning environments for our students and staff, while also being fiscally responsible for our community. These election initiatives provided us with the resources to continue to invest in our students and community while also being diligent about maintaining our District’s facilities and infrastructure. These same students will eventually be called upon to work, run, and lead our communities in the future. That is the purpose, and power of public education. We are grateful for these investments, sacrifice, and the foresight from our community to invest in our future leaders.
Finally, I would like to recognize and share my thanks for the Platte Valley Board of Education. We are thankful for the leadership and time donated by the individuals who collectively make up the Board of Education: James Welch, Luke Gardner, Mary Roth, Robin Meireis and Kristine Bauer. Thank you, Platte Valley Community, for all that you do, we have much to be thankful for.
Yours in Education,
Jeremy Burmeister, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around”. Willie Nelson
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Platte Valley Staff, Families and Community,
It is hard to believe we are already a quarter through the school year. October is a big month for us. On October 12, 2026, Scott Szabo from Lauer, Szabo & Associates present to the school board our fiscal year 2025/2026 school year financial audit. Once again, the district had a clean audit opinion and that the financial statements provided during the audit process were presented fairly in all material respects. You can refer to the MD&A beginning on page 4 of the audit to view the district’s analysis. The full Audit report can be found on the district’s website.
We are working through the October count process which determines a significant part of our funding for the year through the School Finance Act. Preliminary information has us down three total students K-12 compared to last year. This is four students above what was figured in the 26/27 fiscal year adopted budget. We will have more specific information related to finalized count and demographics in November or December when the October count process is completed.
Construction on the new middle school continues to go well. We continue to work through warranty items and some lingering projects within the building. There will be a big push to complete most remaining items within the building over Thanksgiving break. Demo has resumed on the remaining portion of the old middle school. After demo is complete work will begin on the remaining site and parking lot for the elementary. Scheduled completion for that is mid-November. Crews are also working on the outdoor learning area and the remaining portion of the promenade.
Justin Decker
Director of Technology
October Technology Tips
for Families & Community
Platte Valley Schools
Hello Families,
As we settle into the school year, October is a great time to talk about online safety, passwords, scams, and responsible technology use. Students use technology every day for learning, communication, and entertainment, and a few simple habits can make a big difference in keeping accounts and personal information safe.
October Focus: Staying Safe Online
Cybersecurity doesn’t have to be complicated. Some of the best protection comes from simple, everyday habits.
Encourage students to:
- Use strong, unique passwords and never share them with friends.
- Think before clicking links in emails, texts, games, or social media.
- Be cautious when a message creates a sense of urgency or asks for personal information.
- Keep devices and apps updated.
- Tell a trusted adult if something online doesn’t seem right.
Watch Out for Phishing & Scams
Scams aren’t limited to email. Students may encounter suspicious messages through text messages, social media, games, or other apps.
A good rule to remember: “Stop. Look. Think. Then click.”
Be especially cautious if a message:
- Says you need to act immediately.
- Asks for a password or other personal information.
- Offers a prize, gift, or deal that seems too good to be true.
- Contains an unexpected link or attachment.
- Comes from someone you don’t recognize.
When in doubt, don’t click the link. Instead, go directly to the official website or app.
Healthy Technology Habits at Home
Digital safety also includes developing healthy habits around technology.
Families can help by:
- Keeping devices in common areas when possible.
- Setting consistent expectations for screen time.
- Encouraging breaks during long homework or gaming sessions.
- Establishing a regular “tech off” time before bed.
- Talking with students about the apps, games, and websites they use.
Keep School Apps Updated
Keeping school-related apps updated helps ensure families have the latest features, fixes, and notifications.
For apps such as Edlio, check the Apple App Store or Google Play Store periodically and install available updates. Enabling automatic app updates can make this even easier.
One Simple Family Tech Tip
Take a few minutes this month to review the accounts your family uses most often. Check passwords, update devices, review privacy settings, and remove apps or accounts that are no longer being used.
A little digital housekeeping can go a long way toward keeping everyone safer online.
Thank you for partnering with Platte Valley Schools to support safe, responsible, and positive technology use for our students.
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