By Allison Peck
Listen to the full interview on our Kubota Podcast
The North Platte Public Schools Foundation is celebrating a successful spring fundraiser while encouraging students to stay engaged through a variety of summer enrichment opportunities.
During a recent interview on Sandhills Post Radio, Executive Director Terri Burchell said the Foundation's annual golf tournament, held May 29, drew strong community support.
Burchell said 22 teams and 37 sponsors participated in the event, marking the highest number of sponsors in the tournament's six-year history. The fundraiser benefits both the North Platte Public Schools Foundation and the North Platte High School Booster Club.
"We raised a little over $15,000," Burchell said, noting final proceeds are still being calculated as expenses are finalized.
Attention is now turning to the Foundation's Evening of Excellence on July 17, themed "Christmas in July." The event will honor Distinguished Alumni recipients Rev. Herbert W. Burch, Class of 1963; Bishop Craig W. Loya, Class of 1995; and Tad Haneborg, Class of 1998.
Burchell said attendees are encouraged to wear festive Christmas attire and participate in the event's auction, which helps fund teacher REACH Grants and the Foundation's Prepared2Learn program. Ticket sales support future Distinguished Alumni scholarships.
The Foundation is also seeing strong participation in its Summer Launch Enrichment Program, which offers educational opportunities for students during summer break. Burchell said 86 students are currently registered across 14 sessions, with many elementary-level classes already filled.
One of the featured offerings is "Let's Make a Podcast," a three-day class led by North Platte High School Business Teacher and Bulldog Productions instructor Phil Willey.
Willey said the class is designed for middle school students interested in learning about podcasts and media production.
Students will spend time studying successful podcasts, learning about their role in modern media, and creating their own podcast projects.
"We get kids in high school all the time that want to get involved in podcasts, and we wanted to continue that and see if there's interest for middle school students," Willey said.
The class is scheduled for July 14-16 and will be limited to eight to 10 students to allow for hands-on participation.
Other summer offerings include Money IRL, which focuses on personal finance skills for high school students, and several STEM-focused classes that explore engineering, creativity and problem-solving through activities such as building Rube Goldberg machines.
Burchell encouraged parents to explore the available opportunities and register early, noting that many classes fill quickly.
More information about summer programs, event tickets and Foundation initiatives is available at NPPSF.org.