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OVERVIEW OF ALL SCHOOLS

MANY YEARS OF SERVICE: Operation Others, consisting of students from the Omaha-area Catholic high schools, is a student-run, nonprofit service program that raises funds all year, then works to provide nearly two weeks of food for underprivileged Omaha families during the Christmas season. This is Operation Others' busy season. Catholic Charities and Operation Others are partnering for the second year to collect full Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, from turkeys to pies, for more than 2,000 families in the Omaha area. Operation Others has been doing the holiday meals program for 42 years. Students from Creighton Prep, Duchesne, Gross, Marian, Mercy, Mount Michael, Skutt, Roncalli and St. Peter Claver plan and participate in the preparation, packaging and delivery of the food. On Nov. 23, volunteers will have a turkey and food drop-off at Skutt and Creighton Prep.

WAY BEYOND 1, 2, 3: About 1,400 students from 100 Nebraska high schools participated Thursday in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's annual Math Day. The mathematical sciences were promoted in recreational and competitive mathematical activities. Events included Math Bowl competitions, a campus tour and activities using physics, chemistry and more. This was the 20th year for the event.

MUTUAL ATTRACTION? Omaha Public Schools will have a Magnet Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at Westroads Mall. Learn more about magnet school opportunities within OPS. Meet staff and learn about the special curriculum of each of the district's magnet schools. They are Fullerton, Lothrop, Skinner, Western Hills, Conestoga, Crestridge, Catlin and Spring Lake Elementary Schools; Beveridge, Buffett, Marrs, King, McMillan and Morton Middle Schools; and Benson, North and South High Schools.

CHECK IT OUT: Omaha-area Catholic high schools are holding open houses this month for potential students and their parents. The schedule:

Creighton Prep: Nov. 22, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Duchesne: Nov. 22, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Gross: Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Marian: Nov. 22, noon to 2:30 p.m.

Mount Michael: Nov. 22, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Roncalli: Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Skutt: Sunday, noon to 3 p.m.

St. Peter Claver and Mercy held open houses earlier this month.

FUN FOR KIDS: From the Plattsmouth Elementary School newsletter is this information helpful to all parents of grade-schoolers: NASA Kids' Club has educational games, engaging multimedia and visuals and educational activities for K-4 students. The skill levels provide a natural progression through the site that allows users to find games that are best suited to their abilities. Developmentally appropriate content is based on national education standards and benchmarks per grade level. Visit NASA Kids' Club at www.nasa.gov and click on the For Students tab.

FOR THE ARTS: Papillion-La Vista South High School's annual craft fair will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 21 at the school, 10799 Nebraska Highway 370 in Papillion. More than 100 crafters will be featured. Admission is $1. The event is a fundraiser for the school's vocal and drama departments.

PLEASANT AFTERNOON: It was all treats and no tricks for 25 Marian High School girls recently. They spent an afternoon with their neighbors, members of the Servants of Mary, at the Motherhouse to celebrate Halloween. At the party, students paraded in costume and provided candy bags to members of Marian's founding order. The girls then shared hot chocolate, cookies and conversation with the nuns.

FIFTH-GRADERS ONLY: The OPS Gifted and Talented Department sponsored its annual “Build It” competition for fifth-graders at Benson High School. Each elementary school sent two fifth-graders to participate. The program offered students a chance to explore the fields of architecture and engineering through several hands-on activities. Students rotated to different stations, where they built projects such as model bridges, roller coasters and card towers. They also constructed a large geodome.

THINKING GLOBALLY: The Beta Club at Westside High School will have an international carnival from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.

NORTHWEST METRO SCHOOLS

OUI, OUI: Bennington High School's French students celebrated 2009 National French Week this month. Students wore their French Club T-shirts with their new French berets. Some classes prepared pain perdu (French toast) in class. After a lesson on French Impressionism, some students visited the Joslyn Art Museum and had lunch at Tony Abbott's French Cafe & Bistro.

CARNIVAL FUN: Bennington Elementary School's carnival will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday in the gym.

GOVERNOR, ATHLETES: Gov. Dave Heineman spoke to Abbott Elementary fourth- and fifth-graders on Veterans Day. He talked about Nebraska history, his job and the importance of getting a good education. On Thursday, parents and first-graders at the Millard school played bingo with University of Nebraska at Omaha athletes.

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP: Aldrich Elementary third-graders got up early Wednesday for a 7 a.m. virtual field trip to India. They went to Cisco Systems, which has a facility linking Cisco offices worldwide. The students used a video conference room with three large-screen, high-definition monitors linking people in a virtual meeting room. In that room, Aldrich third-graders met third-graders at an International Baccalaureate school in New Delhi. The pupils shared information about their schools and communities, then answered one another's questions.

CENTRAL METRO SCHOOLS

MUSIC AND SHARING: Loveland Elementary fourth-graders will give a musical program at 7 p.m. Thursday. Loveland is a Westside school. In other Loveland news, students shared their Halloween candy with residents of the Open Door Mission.

ONE-ACT PLAYS: Omaha Christian Academy's speech and drama students will perform two one-act plays at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday in the school cafeteria, 10244 Wiesman Drive. Being staged are “All in Disguise” and “Oh, What a Tangled Web.” Tickets are $4 for adults and $3 for students. A dessert bar will be available between the plays. Suggested donation for the dessert: $2 a person.

WEST METRO SCHOOLS

ARTS CAFE: Seventh- and eighth-grade visual arts students at Beveridge Magnet Middle School had an Arts Cafe, a fall art festival that showcased the artwork of Beveridge students and professional artists Gerard Pefung and Maorong Jiang from the Asian World Center at Creighton University. Other highlights of Arts Cafe included a silent art auction, performances by Back Beat and the Beveridge Bulldog Dance Company, and a soup dinner and fair-trade coffee sale.

PATRIOTISM IN ACTION: Cody Elementary students in Millard honored veterans Wednesday with a musical tribute and the reading of patriotic essays.

SOUTH CENTRAL METRO SCHOOLS

CURTAIN TIME: Westside Middle School's Drama Club will give a performance at 7 p.m. Thursday in the school auditorium.

VISITING AUTHOR: Jerry Pallotta, author of many A-Z books for all ages, visited Pawnee Elementary in OPS on Wednesday.

SOUTH METRO SCHOOLS

BOOKS AND MUSIC: Tara Heights Elementary in the Papillion-La Vista School District will have a book fair from 9 a.m. to noon today. On Thursday, first-graders will give a 6:30 p.m. music program at Papillion-La Vista High School. Sixth-graders will give a music program at 7:30 p.m. at the high school.

MORE BOOKS: Walnut Creek Elementary in Papillion will have a book fair Monday through Friday. At 2 p.m. Friday, the second-graders will give a presentation in their classrooms called “Billy's Thanksgiving,” followed by refreshments.

FEAST FOR FAMILIES: G. Stanley Hall Elementary in La Vista will have a Family Feast on Tuesday. The school encourages families to bring a traditional dish to share. This will be a time to enjoy food from various cultures, as well as spend time getting to know staff and other school families. Students will showcase some of their talents, projects, writings and other work.

NIGHTS OF MUSIC: First- and second-graders at Carriage Hill Elementary in Papillion will give a music concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Papillion-La Vista South High School. Thursday will bring family library night from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

MORE MUSIC: Second-graders at Patriot Elementary in Papillion will give a 6 p.m. music concert Thursday.

EVEN MORE MUSIC: Second-graders at Portal Elementary in La Vista will give a 7 p.m. Thursday music program.

WESTERN IOWA SCHOOLS

LOTS OF SINGING: Rue Elementary kindergartners and first-graders will give a vocal music program at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday. Other kindergartners and first-graders will give a vocal music program at 2 p.m. Thursday.

FOUR GRADES: Second- and third-graders at Gunn Elementary in Council Bluffs will give a fall music program at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The fourth- and fifth-graders' program will follow at 7:30 p.m.

ON STAGE: Kirn Middle School in Council Bluffs will present the musical “Best Little Theatre in Town” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

SCHOOL VISITOR: Paul Dabdoub, who uses funny stories and real-life struggles to connect with today's youths, will speak at various southwest Iowa schools as well as host Treynor State Bank's Youth Rally at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Treynor Community Center. To learn more, visit www.tsbank.com.

150 AND GOING STRONG: The Council Bluffs Community School District will have a communitywide open house Tuesday to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Council Bluffs schools. Tuesday's open house at all Council Bluffs schools will feature school history displays, building tours, demonstrations of student work, refreshments and the chance to see former teachers and classmates. Schools will be open from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Details and school addresses can be found at www.cb-schools.org.

NEBRASKA SCHOOLS

TRACKING THE FLU AND MORE: A new feature on the Lincoln Public Schools Web site offers a weekly illness report on student absences. The report offers an average overall percentage of absences due to illness each week in the school district. You also can find the percentage of absences for each school. To find the illness report, go to www.lps.org and click on ParentCenter from the top row of tabs.

AT UNK: More than 170 high school seniors from 19 high schools attended the recent annual Multicultural Scholars and Leaders Day conference at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The event was free and open to all high school seniors.

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