Gretna Public Schools

Whitetail Creek Elementary School

Email Address:  mjensen@gpsne.org

Parents,

 I hope that everyone had a super summer. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me. Here is my opening letter so that you have some information to begin the school year.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year! I would like to take this time to introduce myself to you. My name is Mr. Mike Jensen, and I will be your child’s fifth grade teacher this year! This is my ninth year of teaching here at Whitetail and my fortieth year of teaching overall. My family consists of myself, along with my wife, Sherri, son, Andrew, and his wife, Ally. Andrew and Ally have one daughter, Sunnie. She’ll turn one on September 18. My daughter, Ashley, and her husband, Shawn, have one son, Jens. He’ll turn three on September 4. They are expecting, and the new addition to their family will arrive in November. I love being a grandfather. I spend my free time, which there does not seem to be a lot of, watching Jens and Sunnie, gardening, hunting, and fishing.

I am looking forward to having your child in my fifth grade class this year! I understand that the start of the school year can bring about many emotions for both you and your child. I want you to be sure that my top priorities are to assist your child in reaching his or her full potential and to make sure that your child feels safe and comfortable both in our classroom as well as throughout the rest of our school. If there is anything you feel that needs to be brought to my attention, please encourage your child to talk to me, or feel free to email me or call me at school with anything you need.

• Open House / Back to School Night will occur on the evening of Tuesday, August 8th, from 5:00-7:00. Your child is welcome to bring some or all of their school supplies with them that evening so everything is in its place and ready to go when we begin our first day of school together on the 10th! 

• Curriculum Night will occur on the evening of Thursday, August 24th. There will be two sessions available for you to attend, both containing the same information. I will send out specific times for 5th grade as the night gets closer.

Snacks: It can be a long wait between breakfast and lunch so

I encourage you to send a healthy snack to school with your

child each day if they’d like to have one. Fruits, vegetables,

nuts, crackers, and dry cereal would all be excellent options.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if

there are any specific allergies that I should be made aware

of.

         Lunch: Your child may bring a lunch from home or purchase a

lunch from the school. Every child/family has a lunch account

and each account is assigned a number. You may deposit the

money into your child’s lunch account by visiting gpsne.org 

under the Parent/Student section.

Family Photo: Please bring a family photo (4 x 6 or 5 x 7) that

I will display in our classroom for the school year!

You are welcome to bring this with you on Back to School Night

or you can send it with your child on the first day of school.

I hope your child is as excited to begin his or her fifth grade year as I am. I can assure you that it will be filled with many new learning experiences that your child will look forward to sharing with you. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have along the way. You can call the school at (402) 895-3388 or email me at mjensen@gpsne.org. I will get back to you as soon as possible. Enjoy these last few days of summer and know that I am looking forward to working with both you and your child throughout the 2023-2024 school year! 

Sincerely,

Mr. Mike Jensen