From the Desk of Doug Goltz, CAO
Welcome to the 2026-27 school year. The new year commenced on August 12, and we welcome 245 Pre-Kindergarten through 12th-grade students alongside our dedicated staff. All of our lay teachers from the previous year have returned, and we are pleased to introduce two new members to our faculty: priests Fr. Samuel Beardslee and Fr. Leo Sieker.
The August Virtue of the Month at Sacred Heart School is “Charity.” We are grateful for the many benefactors who have supported our school financially and through their prayers over the years. Recently, the Slominski Family made a significant contribution to Sacred Heart School. Jim and Judy Slominski were longstanding supporters of our school, and all seven of their children graduated from Sacred Heart: Amy ‘84, Rochelle ‘86, Greg ‘87, Deirdre ‘88, Josh ‘92, Zac ‘97, and Tim ‘01. Judy passed away in 2016, and Jim in 2025. In honor of their parents, the Slominski children generously donated and collectively established a fund for Sacred Heart School totaling over $300,000. This fund will generate ongoing income through interest, supporting our school for years to come. This act of charity serves as an inspiring example for our Sacred Heart community and alumni. Such perpetual giving will help secure our school’s future. We sincerely thank them for their generosity.
This summer, numerous improvements were made to Sacred Heart School. Much of the work was completed by volunteers and funded through donations and fundraising activities, including Husker Seatbacks, Scrip Sales, the Booster Club Golf Tournament, and the Shrimp Feed. The school hallways were repainted by a dedicated team of volunteers. Significant enhancements were also made to Tiehen Gym. The Preschool and Music rooms now have epoxy flooring, and the restrooms, locker rooms, and hallways have been upgraded with new plumbing fixtures, flooring, cabinets, and fresh coats of paint. The exterior of Tiehen Gym has been repainted and signage added. The gym also received new wall padding, and the upper windows on the north side have been replaced. Tiehen is 102 years old. Additionally, new concrete was laid between the playground and the school by Brandon Schawang. New metal soffits—the roof overhangs of all three school wings—have been installed by Dallas and Trisha Fletcher, Mitch Bletscher, and Trevor Wustrack. Many volunteers contributed to the Tiehen improvements, including Danitra Lenard, Emily Wertenberger, Sarah Eickhoff, Billie Jackson, Debbie Lemerond, Mary Darveau, Jessie Casey, David and Kate Keithley, Donnie Stice, Luke Santo, Tom Carpenter, and Tony Ahern. Please see the before-and-after photos included in this newsletter.
This week, we will host home volleyball and football games. Please note that ticket prices have increased by one dollar. Adults will now pay $7 for admission. This adjustment aligns with the rising prices at other schools in our conference and non-conference, many of which now charge $7 for adults and $5 for students. Both MUDECAS and Pioneer Conference tournaments will also be charging these increased rates. Sacred Heart has adopted the new pricing but offers free admission to all our students, regardless of grade level, for home games. Previously, Sacred Heart elementary students were required to pay, but this is no longer the case.
This year our high school girls will be in D1 for volleyball and basketball. Our boys will be D2 in basketball. This is due to our high school currently having 41 girls and 26 boys. In football this year, our football team is in D3. Starting this year, there are now three classes of 8-man football. Why three classes? As participation numbers in high school football continue to decline, more schools are having difficulty filling rosters. Some 11-man schools are struggling to field teams that can compete but have enrollments too large to be eligible to play 8-man. The third class of 8-man was added, and the enrollment number cap was raised to allow schools to play 8-man that were previously ineligible or didn’t have enough for an 11-man roster. In Nebraska, there are now fewer 11-man football teams than there are in 8-man and 6-man. This year, 11-man has 122 teams, 8-man has 117, and 6-man has 41. Our current boy count has our enrollment the smallest in D3 after Hy annis. Technically, we are 6-man eligible and would be one of the smallest schools in 6-man, but we currently opt up to play 8-man. Football participation across the country continues to decline. So far, eight schools in Iowa have cancelled their seasons due to a lack of players. Class A schools in Nebraska forfeited games last season due to low numbers.
Why are fewer boys playing high school football? There are several possible reasons. Playing football is hard. It’s hot and a physically demanding sport. It takes a lot of commitment. In Nebraska, the Huskers have not done well the past several years. Nebraska high school boys in the past, may have played football because of the tradition of the Huskers. The current generation has not experienced these glory days of Husker football. At Sacred Heart, we have always had high participation from our boys to play football. I am thankful that during my forty years of coaching, many boys chose to play football for the Irish. The sense of pride has always been strong. We had boys who were not great football players due to a lack of size and lack of athleticism but were great teammates. They wanted to be part of it. They wanted to be on our team and wanted to help our team. While our lack of participation is at a lesser degree compared to other schools, we have our smallest roster in decades. I’m proud of and thankful for the boys on this year’s team. I keep hammering home how important all 18 of them are to this year’s team.
A huge reminder: please help us by volunteering to help with our Husker seatback fundraiser. The more volunteers we have, the less work for each volunteer. The more volunteers, the more we earn for our school, which helps keep our tuition low, pay our teachers, and allows us to make improvements to our school.
Sacred Heart School – a family educating heart, mind, body, and spirit for this life and the next. Thank you.
Doug Goltz, CAO
