Dear Panther Families and Community,

I am pleased to share that the first few weeks of school have gone very well. It has been wonderful to welcome our students back and see the energy throughout our school. I also want to congratulate all of our fall activity participants, coaches, and sponsors on a successful start. The enthusiasm and Panther pride shown by our students, staff, and families at recent events has been outstanding.

I would like to take this opportunity to share several important updates and reminders with our families.

Hershey Public Schools continues to accept debit and credit card payments. Cards may be used for admission to games, concession purchases, items from the team store, and other miscellaneous office purchases. Please note that standard processing fees will apply.

This payment system is separate from our online school lunch payment program.

We are very excited to once again have Opaa! serving as our Food Service Management Company. Parents and family members are welcome to visit the school and eat lunch with their child(ren) to experience our school lunch program firsthand.

Opaa! also offers several convenient features for our families. Edutrak is available for all online lunch payments and can be accessed at https://foodservice.edutrak.com/.  We are also pleased to once again serve Birdwood Beef through our school lunch program.

To help support our school nutrition program, we ask each household to complete and return a 2026-27 Meal Application as soon as possible. Applications are available online through the family account feature in Edutrak. If you have questions regarding meal accounts, applications, or our school lunch program, please contact the School Nutrition Office.

Hershey Public Schools will continue to rely on our mobile app as an important communication tool for students, parents, and staff. The Rooms feature will again be utilized, along with the app’s ability to send voice calls, text messages, push notifications, and other important updates from one platform out to our students, teachers and parents

We ask all families to make sure the school has your most current phone number and email address. Strong and timely communication is important, and we will continue to share significant updates with families as quickly as possible.

The coming weeks will include many home and away activities for our students. We encourage families to continue checking our school website, mobile app, and social media accounts for schedules, updates, and livestream information. Livestream links may include our Hershey Public Schools YouTube channel as well as channels provided by opposing schools.

Thank you for your continued support of Hershey Public Schools as we begin another school year together. We appreciate the partnership of our families and community and look forward to celebrating many successes throughout the year.

 Go Panthers!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Jane Davis, Ed.S.
Superintendent

Debit/Credit Card Payments

Hershey Public Schools will be accepting debit and credit card payments. Cards may be used for admission to games, concessions, purchases at the team store, and other miscellaneous office items that are tied to the Activities Account. Please note that standard processing fees will apply. This system is not connected to the online lunch program.

Team Store Opens Soon!

The Hershey Panther Team Store will be opening in the next few weeks and will feature T-Shirts, Polos, 3/4 zips, Sweatshirts, Hoodies and Hats! The Team Store accepts our new electronic payment methods! Show your team sprit with some new panther gear!

Please watch for our digital online store in the coming weeks!

Student Council Calendar Events:

Homecoming Coronation:  October 2nd (after the football game)

Homecoming Dance:  October 3rd 8pm-10:30pm

Canned Food Drive-November/December

NEW THIS YEAR! 

Winter Dance (name TBD) February 13th 8pm-10:30

Panther News for PreK–6 — Click to Read!

From the JH/HS Principal's Desk

September 2026

We are off to a great start at Hershey Jr/Sr High School! It has been exciting to welcome our students and staff back into the building and see the energy that comes with the beginning of a new school year. Over the first few weeks, our focus has been on establishing routines, building relationships, setting high expectations, and creating an environment where our students can be successful.

As I begin my first year at Hershey, I continue to be impressed by our students, staff, families, and the support of the Hershey community. There is a lot to be proud of at HPS! From the great things happening in our classrooms to the start of our fall activities, our students have many opportunities to learn, grow, get involved, and represent Hershey well. I am excited to see what this school year brings!

As you look through this month's newsletter, please take a few minutes to review the Important Dates for September along with the other information and reminders included for our families. We hope the newsletter can serve as a helpful resource for keeping you informed about what is happening at Hershey Jr/Sr High School.

One thing that is especially important to me is building strong partnerships between our school and our families. Please never hesitate to reach out with a question, concern, or even something great you would like to share. We have the privilege of working with your students each day, and I look forward to working together to make this a great year at HPS.

Go Panthers!

Mrs. Douglas
7-12 Principal

Nebraska Portraits School Retake Picture Day

Families of students are reminded that the school picture retake day will be on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22th and will take place throughout the day here at HPS. Ordering information will be shared electronically via email to all parents/guardians in the days following picture retake day. 

This day is for any student/family that missed the original picture day or is wanting a second chance in taking their school pictures for the year. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the school office for more information. 

Important Dates in September

9.7.26 - No School - Labor Day 

9.8.26 - No School - ESU 16 PLC Day @ Hershey High School 

9.22.26 - TK-12 School Picture Retake Day

9.14.26 - HPS School Board Meeting 

9.19.26 - Marching Band @ Bearcat Festival (Kearney H.S.)

9.29.26-10.3.26 - Homecoming Week

10.3.26 - Homecoming Dance

Weighted Grading for Dual Credit Classes 

Hershey Public Schools uses a weighted grading for ALL Dual Credit Classes. This list of dual credit classes offered at Hershey that will count towards this include the following:

English 1010

English 1020

College Algebra

College Speech

College Psychology

College Sociology

College Trig

College Stats

College Wealth Build

College Accounting

College Economics

College History 2010

Welding 1050 

The grading scale is similar to a number of other area schools who use weighted grading for dual credit courses.

Grading Scale
A = 5.0
B = 4.0
C = 3.0
D = 2.0
F = 0.0

2026-2027 Hershey 7-12 BellSchedule

Below is the bell schedule for the upcoming school year. We will plan on having ONE LUNCH for all 7-12 students with a staggered release from 5th period as detailed below:

1st Period 8:15-9:01

2nd Period 9:06 - 9:52

3rd Period 9:55 - 10:41

4th Period 10:44 - 11:30

5th Period 11:33 - 12:19

Lunch 12:19 - 12:52

6th Period 12:55 - 1:41

7th Period 1:44 - 2:30

8th Period 2:33 - 3:19

Homeroom 3:22 - 3:42

On Friday School is let out at the end of 8th Period at 2:39 PM.

School Safety 

The most important part of any school is the safety and well being of the students and staff! Several items exist within schools to support school safety. These include: 

Secured access during the school day. Visitors to school must check-in at the main office after they are allowed access through the office doors. All other doors are to be closed and locked during the course of the school day.

Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is established. This provides a consistent student and staff response to potential emergencies. More information about SRP can be found at this LINK.

Minimizing deliveries during the school day. We understand that a parent may wish to deliver food to students for special occasions, and we appreciate this. We discourage this from being a regular occurrence.

Minimizing student visits to vehicles during the school day. Students that forget a school-related item in their vehicles may check-in at the main office before they are allowed to visit their vehicles.

We appreciate the important part our students, staff, and families play in keeping our school safe. This year we plan on running eight fire drills, four SRP drills, two tornado drills, and two bus evacuation drills all in an effort to help students and staff be prepared in the event of an emergency. 

Panther Power Hour

We are excited to begin Panther Power Hour next week for students in grades 7–12! Panther Power Hour provides students with additional opportunities before or after school to get extra help from a teacher, ask questions, complete missing work, or make up time needed for recovery credit. Our goal is to give students another resource to stay on track and take ownership of their academic success. Please see the attached schedule for available days, times, and teachers. We encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity whenever they need a little extra support! 

Fall Activities are rolling!  We have had an exciting start to our season.  All of our programs have had their first contests of the season.  The Lady Panther Golf Team did a great job Friday at Bayard. 

As a team they finished in 3rd place out of 12 teams!

They shot a 462 with Adi Moore & Jensyn Hampton medaling in 6th and 9th place respectively.   Few activities are as busy as girls golf.  Their September schedule will see them travel all over Western Nebraska.  This Thursday Sept 3rd they will travel to Chappell for the Creek Valley invite. 

The rest of their September schedule is as follows-

Sept 8th- Broken Bow Invite

Sept 14th – North Platte St. Pats Invite

Sept 17th – Perkins County Quad at Grant

Sept 22nd Ogallala Invite

Sept 24th – Bridgeport Invite

Sept 28th – Cozad Invite

Sept 29th – Elwood / Eustis Farnam Invite

If you get a chance go check them out!

Panther Cross Country is one of the few programs that combines both Jr. High & High School teams at most meets.  Cross Country is an incredibly positive experience for all participants!  Panther Cross Country started their season last week at the Medicine Valley invite.  They set many course and personal records in their first meet at Medicine Valley!  Personal records set at Curtis were-

Girls Team finished in 4th place-

Karlee Johanson – 19th  (26:28)

Brekky Powell – 25th (30:33)

Avi Swartz – 27th (31:37)

Girls top finishers were-

Livia Jones – 10th (24:27)

Braislee Wilson – 14th (25:30)

Grace Cox – 16th (25:50)

Faith Kearney – 21st (26:56)

Boys Team finished in 2nd  place-

Boys Personal Records-

Conner Nickels – (31st) 27:44

Boys top finishers were-

Matthew Blomstedt – 3rd (19:01)

Sam Sachtjen – 6th (20:15)

Zaiden Powell – 10th (20:47)

Jackson Arensdorf – 13th (21:22)

Eli Weekly – 35th – (32:36)

You will have 5 opportunities to cheer on Panther Cross Country this month!

Sept 3rd – St. Pats invite

Sept 10th – Chase County Invite

Sept 17th – Ravenna Invite

Sept 24th – Ogallala Invite

Sept 28th – UNK Invite (High School only)

Go cheer on Pather Cross Country!

The Lady Panther Volleyball Team exploded onto the scene last week in their first match at Broken Bow! 

They went into one of the hardest places to play against one of the top programs on their schedule and pulled out a thrilling 3-1 win against Broken Bow.  Each set came down to the wire with the Lady Panthers showing GRIT and TOUGHNESS.  A true Culture of Achievement!  They have one of the toughest schedules in the area and this week showcases that.  They are definitely up to the challenge! You have many opportunities this month to go see the Lady Panthers.  Come be loud!!

September Lady Panther Volleyball Schedule-

Sept 1st – @ Ogallala

Sept 3rd vs. Kearney Catholic

Sept 5th – @ Lexington Invite

Sept 8th – vs. Cozad

Sept 10th - @ Lexington

Sept 15th - @ Maywood Hayes Center

Sept 19th - @ Ord Invite

Sept 21st - @ JV Tri at Sutherland

Sept 22nd – vs Kimball

Sept 24th – vs McCook

Sept 26th – Hershey Invite

Sept 28th - @ JV Invite at NPCC

We plan to have one of the best home court environments in Nebraska this year in volleyball.  Come be a part of it!

Hershey Panther Football started off the season last Friday with the toughest opponent in C-2 as they played pre-season number 1 Grand Island Central Catholic at Grand Island.  Many publications have chosen GICC as the favorite to win the C-2 State Championship.  This was a great opportunity for the Panthers to see how they line up vs the top ranked team in  C-2.  Our guys battled hard and competed the way #ImpactPlayers do.  Like all of our programs, Hershey Football puts a lot of work into their program.  Any loss is hard to take.  However, they are ready to respond this Friday with their “Home Opener”.  Come to Summers Field for an awesome night of high school football this week as the Panthers take on Gothenburg.  It is also Chic-Fil-A night! This will be a fun night for our school & community!

Other opportunities to catch the Panthers this month-

Sept 3th vs. Gothenburg

Sept 11th @ Hampton / Heartland

Sept 14th JV @ Valentine

Sept 18th – vs. Wood River

Sept 21st JV @ Chase County

Sept 25th @ Ogallala

There are some great match ups this month for Panther Football.  Whether on the road or at home go check out some Flex Bone Football!

Hershey Marching Band will have one competition this month as well.  You can go see them September 19th at the Bearcat Marching Festival in Kearney.   This will be a great warm up for their many performances in October!  Our band does a great job performing at our activities.  This is a great chance to go cheer on the Panther Band!

Hershey Cheer & Hershey Dance is ready to show off their hard work over the Summer.  You will see them at all home contests this month.  As a school & community Hershey has established themselves as a great supporter of our cheer and dance programs.  When they take the floor make sure we continue to provide an elite Cheer / Dance environment!

Our Junior High Volleyball & Football programs will begin competing in September.  Our coaches and 7th and 8th graders are working hard to get started in the activities.  Please take some time to cheer on our Jr. High programs.  They will represent our school with a lot of Panther Pride!

Jr High Football September Games-

Sept 3rd @ Lexington

Sept 10th @ Adams Middle School

Sept 17th @ Chase County

Sept 24th vs. Valentine.

Jr High Volleyball September Games-

Sept 10th vs. Adams Middle School

Sept 15th vs. Ogallala

Sept 17th -vs. Sutherland

Sept 21st vs. Chase County

Sept 29th vs. Our Redeemer

Brent Bauer

Activities Director

Hershey Public Schools

Lunch Menus

To see the lunch menus - Click Here

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