The District Countdown will serve as your one-stop shop for updates across the district. While buildings may still share grade-level or building-specific updates, this newsletter is designed to be the best place for all families—no matter the grade level—to stay informed about what’s happening in our schools.

Following months of careful research, data analysis, and collaborative presentations, the Clermont Northeastern Board of Education voted unanimously at the February meeting to transition the 5th grade to the Middle School, effective for the upcoming school year.

This decision is the cornerstone of a district-wide plan to better align our resources, space, and staffing to meet the evolving needs of all students.

Why This Move? A Future-Focused Decision

This transition is not just about moving one grade level; it is a strategic effort to address the increasing instructional and operational demands across the entire district. Key factors that led to this decision include:

Supporting Special Education: Since 2021, we have seen a 130% increase in students requiring specific special education services and a 200% increase in the need for paraprofessional support. Reclaiming space at the elementary level allows us to better meet IDEA requirements and provide appropriate instructional settings for evaluations and related services.

Maximizing Facilities: We are committed to ensuring our buildings are used efficiently. As part of this plan, the current District Board Office will be remodeled back into classrooms to serve the Middle School. As TJ Dorsey noted, "We are working to make sure classrooms are actually being used as classrooms."

Long-Term Sustainability: By reviewing enrollment trends and transportation efficiency, this move allows us to balance facility use in a way that supports our staff and students for years to come.

Preparing for Success

We understand that transition brings questions, and our administration has been working diligently to ensure a smooth handoff for students, families, and staff.

Collaborative Planning: Building administrators have already held meetings with impacted grade levels, special area teachers, and service groups. Middle School Principal Scott Houp shared, "We have learned so much meeting with each team... the Middle School is excited to welcome the fifth-grade team, and our current 5th-grade teachers are excited to be a part of this transition."

Logistics & Scheduling: Rooms for the 5th grade have already been identified within the Middle School. Please note that next year’s 5th graders will move to the early start time schedule.

Community Transitions: We are committed to making this a positive experience for our students. Tonya Schmidt emphasized that we will host special "going away" activities for each grade before they depart the Elementary school.

Next Steps for Families

In the coming weeks, the district will provide clear, detailed communication regarding:

Transition Activities: Orientation and welcoming events for both the incoming 5th and 6th-grade classes.

Transportation & Schedules: Specifics on the early start time logistics.

Support Services: How IEPs and specialized services will be seamlessly maintained in the new space.

We are not looking for a "quick fix," but rather a responsible path forward that positions Clermont Northeastern to support our students and staff well into the future. Thank you for your continued partnership and dedication to our schools.

We had another great week of learning and growing in preschool! The children have been working on listening skills, following directions, and practicing kindness with their classmates. It has been wonderful to see their independence continue to develop during centers, small groups, and transitions.

This week we focused on early literacy skills, including letter recognition and beginning sounds. In math, we practiced counting, number recognition, and sorting activities. We also enjoyed movement time and working together during play.

Please continue to read with your child each evening and practice recognizing letters in books, signs, and everyday print.

Thank you for your continued support — we appreciate our preschool families so much!

Save the date! On April 25th the CNE PreK-5 PTO is sponsoring Movie Night. The event is FREE, snacks and drinks will be provided. The event will be held at CNE Elementary, doors open at 5:30pm. 

Start saving those coins! Coin Wars will be March 16-20. The PTO has some amazing incentives planned for students and staff. Supporting PTO fundraisers allows them to bring special events for our kids,classroom snacks, games and so much more! 

The students at the elementary school had a big surprise this week. Kate, a resident at the Continental Nursing Home, knitted hats and scarves as a sweet way to say “thank you” to our students for creating and sending cards to the residents. It is so nice for our students to see that their kind act inspired Kate to also do something kind. 

CNE Middle School Families,

We had a great week at CNE Middle School! Thank you to our 40 8th-grade students who participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Assessment on Tuesday, Feb. 17th. Our students modeled the Rocket Way and demonstrated their knowledge. We received nothing but praise from the test proctors. 

Current House Competition Leaderboard for 3rd Quarter:

Endeavor:  52 Points

Discovery:  51 Points

Atlantis:      56 Points

Upcoming Events:

Friday, February 27th: KONA Ice will be at CNE Middle School. Students can purchase a treat starting at $4.00.

                                    Root Beer Floats: Students can use their Rocket Way points to purchase a treat at lunch.

Week of March 2nd: High School Counselor will meet with 8th-graders to schedule freshman classes.

Thursday, March 12th: Spring Dance from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the Middle School gym

Friday, March 13th: No school for students. Teacher Professional Learning Day

We hope all of our CNE Middle School students and staff have an excellent weekend! We look forward to seeing our students on Monday.

Students in Ms. Osborn's 8th-grade STEM class practiced dissection with a pickle in preparation for dissecting cow hearts.

National FFA Week!
FFA Week is February 23-27th (next week!) and Clermont Northeastern has some fun activities planned for everyone to be involved with, even if you're not in an agriculture class! See the details typed out below and the attached flyers for more information, or reach out to Ms. Stegbauer or Ms. Price with any questions!

Dress Up Days: We have a variety of themes planned for the week that students can dress accordingly with. See the attached flyer for details. We especially want to see a lot of FFA jackets on Friday, 2/27. If you do not have a jacket of your own but you have a family member or friend that was an FFA member and has a jacket, wear it and show your FFA spirit!

Duck Scavenger Hunt: We are going to be doing the Duck Scavenger Hunt once again. Small ducks will be hidden around the school with various letters on them. If you find a set of ducks that spell "FFA" return them to Ms. Stegbauer or Ms. Price in the Ag wing for a prize (can redeem an "FFA" set of ducks once daily). If you find a set of ducks that spell out "AGRICULTURE" return them to the Agriculture teachers for an additional prize as well! At the end of the week if you haven't put together a complete set of ducks please return them to the ag teachers.

Ag/FFA Trivia: Each morning on the announcements, there will be an agriculture or FFA related trivia question. Whoever emails Ms. Stegbauer (stegbauer_f@cneschools.org) with the correct answer will receive a prize! Verbal answers will not count, only email responses to Ms. Stegbauer.

We hope that everyone has fun during this week and learns something new about the Agriculture program at CNE!

Scheduling Classes for the 26-27 School Year
Our students will be working this week to finalize the classes they want to take next year.  Our final online scheduling day will take place the week of March 2nd, so please be sure to talk with your student to help them pick the courses that are best for them!

We held our annual Scheduling Fair last Thursday, and a QR code was available for access to our Course Guide.  In case you missed it, here’s a link to our 26-27 Course Guide

We also held our annual College Credit Plus (CCP) informational session.  This is required for all students interested in taking CCP classes for the 26-27 school year, whether the classes take place at CNE HS or off-campus.  If a student missed this session, the must schedule a meeting with Ms. Posey (our School Counselor) to receive the information.  All students must also complete and submit the “Intent to Participate” form by April 1st.

Junior ACT Day
Our Junior ACT day will take place on Wednesday, February 25th.  All juniors will have the opportunity to take the ACT for FREE this morning.  Students should remember to bring their fully-charged Chromebook and a calculator.  Please see an email from Ms. Kist-Kline for more information.

Senior Information
Please check out this link for important dates for Seniors!

What’s Happening: Pictured Below (Left to Right)
-Congratulations to Dylan Russell for being our Rotary Club Student of the Month!

E-Sports is on a roll! They continue to make waves in the Ohio Valley Ranking #2 behind Division 1 St. Xavier Hs School! Below you can see one of the Overwatch Players Cruze Cunningham was a guest on a live Esports Show on Twitch.

Tournament Season is Here!

It has been a high-stakes week for our CNE Rockets. From dominant performances on the mat to clutch wins on the court, our athletes are representing Rocket Nation with pride as we move into the postseason.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: ON TO THE SEMIFINALS

The Lady Rockets kept their season alive this past Thursday with a decisive 58–41 win over Clark Montessori in the second round of the state tournament. Jenna Brown led all scorers with 23 points, supported by Ellen Mathews (13 points) and Julia Best (11 points).

The Rockets now advance to the District Semifinals this Tuesday, Feb 24th, at 6:00 PM against #3 seed Williamsburg at Mason Middle School.

GIRLS WRESTLING: SBAAC STANDOUTS

Coach Tom Donahue’s team put on a clinic at the SBAAC Invitational this past Saturday. All five competing Rockets placed in the top four of their weight classes:

Liberty Johnson (125 lbs): Invitational Champion (2–0). Liberty now has 145 career wins as she heads into Sectionals!

Ava Stephan (130 lbs): 2nd Place

Clarissa Hoskins (135 lbs): 2nd Place

Lee (235 lbs): 2nd Place

Linda Coulibaly-Leiman (140 lbs): 4th Place

The girls travel to Western Brown this Friday for Sectionals.

BOYS WRESTLING: LEAGUE RUNNERS-UP

The Boys team earned an impressive 2nd place finish overall at the SBAAC Wrestling Tournament.

Jaxon Vining: League Champion and SBAAC Wrestler of the Year.

Wyatt Curnutte & Alex Neukam: Both placed 2nd and earned First Team All-SBAAC honors.

Luke Neukam: 3rd Place

Athan Foster: 4th Place

The boys will compete in the OHSAA Sectional Tournament at Blanchester HS this Saturday, Feb 28th.

BOYS BASKETBALL: REGULAR SEASON WRAP-UP

The regular season has officially concluded.

Freshmen: Finished strong with a 3rd place finish in the Western Brown Invitational.

JV: Ended their season with a solid 14–8 record.

Varsity: Coach Brian Lawhon is preparing the team for their First Round Sectional matchup against Seven Hills this Wednesday, Feb 25th, at 7:30 PM (at Western Brown HS).

BOWLING: SEASON RECAP

The bowling season came to a close this past week at the District Tournament. Congratulations to the following athletes on a fantastic season: Jada Smith, Layla Corns, Colton Brock, Peyton Fisher, Griffin Fraunfelter, Palmer Landis, Brandon Phelps, and Colton Schumacher.

IMPORTANT TICKET NOTE: All OHSAA tournament games are digital or cash at the gate, but no SBAAC or season passes are accepted. Online tickets can be found at https://www.ohsaa.org/tickets.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE & TICKETS

Girls Basketball (District Semis): Tuesday, Feb 24 @ 6:00 PM vs. Williamsburg (at Mason MS)

Boys Basketball (Sectionals): Wednesday, Feb 25 @ 7:30 PM vs. Seven Hills (at Western Brown HS) Girls

Wrestling (Sectionals): Friday, Feb 27 @ 9:00 AM (at Western Brown HS)

Boys Wrestling (Sectionals): Saturday, Feb 28 @ 10:00 AM (at Blanchester HS)

SBAAC All-League Results: Check the SBAAC website starting tonight, Sunday, Feb 22nd, at 6:00 PM for official winter honors.

GO ROCKETS!

This is a first‑shift position, Monday through Friday. Students must be at least 17 years old and hold a valid driver’s license.

Drop-Off
HS: 6:50 AM
MS: 6:45 AM
ES: 8:20 AM
AM PS: 8:15 AM
PM PS: 12:20 PM

Dismissal
HS: 2:03 PM
MS: 1:57 PM
ES: 3:20 PM
AM PS: 11:05 AM
PM PS: 3:10 PM

School Day
HS: 7:20 AM – 2:03 PM
MS: 7:10 AM – 1:57 PM
ES: 8:45 AM – 3:27 PM*

AM PS: 8:20AM - 11:05AM

PM PS: 12:25PM - 3:10PM

*The elementary day is 10 minutes longer this year.

CNE Schools Stay Connected with the CNE Schools App!

Did you know CNE Schools has its very own app? With just a tap, you can:
✔️ Stay up-to-date with school news
✔️ Check lunch menus
✔️ Get important alerts and notifications
✔️ See what’s happening across all our schools

It’s free, easy to use, and the best way to keep up with all the great things happening at CNE!

👉 Download it today from the Apple or Android App Store by searching “CNE Schools” or using the links below:

• Apple Devices

• Android Devices

Once you’ve got the app, don’t forget to turn on notifications in your Settings so you never miss an update!has an app for smart phones!  With the app you can find information about your child’s school, read news articles, view lunch menus, get updates and notifications all with the touch of a button.  Download the app today to keep updated on all the great things happening at CNE Schools.  The app is available free of charge in the Apple and Android App Stores.  You can search “CNE Schools” or follow the links below.  Once you download the app, make sure you turn on notifications in the “Settings” menu so you can receive updates and notifications from the school.

Apple Devices - https://goo.gl/jk6GcL

Android Devices - https://goo.gl/qXeivK