School Pages - Nov. 2010

Brainerd Dispatch | www.brainerddispatch.com Wednesday, November 24 1S

Baxter Elementary

Central Lakes College

Crosby/Ironton

Crosslake Community School

Forestview Middle School 6th Grade

Garfi eld Elementary

Lowell Elementary

Nisswa Elementary

Oak Street Christian School

Pequot Lakes School

Pillager Elementary/High School

Pine River/Backus

Riverside Elementary

St. Francis Catholic School

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In this issue:

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Brainerd Dispatch | www.brainerddispatch.com 2S Wednesday, November 24

BAXTERELEMENTARY

Crosby Cares.The Medical Campus in Crosby.

www.crosbycares.com

Students in Mrs. Trusty’s and Mrs. Gogolin’s fi rst grade classroom carved pumpkins and collected data.

Pumpkin Carving

Baxter School staff enjoy dressing up as much as the students.

The kindergartners in Mrs. Ziegler’s class made their own “creatures” with inspiration from Dr. Seuss’s There is a Wocket in my Pocket. Grant’s “Zeet n my feet,” Maria’s “Blee in my tree,” Semme’s “Wasket in my basket,” and Allie’s “Trug on my rug,” were a few of the great creations.

The third graders in Mrs. Ruen’s class had a “spook-tacular” time making pump-kins out of plastic dryer vents and craft paints. It made for a “boo-tiful” pumpkin patch!

Mrs. Swanson/Smith’s fi rst grade class painted miniature pumpkins at their Halloween Party. The pumpkins were grown and given to the class by Mr. Raymond Drotts, a 96 year old man from Viking, MN, which is Mrs. Swanson’s hometown. He has donated his miniature pumpkins to Mrs. Swanson/Smith’s class for more than 5 years.

Halloween Party

Staff at Baxter wear their “Team Jerry” shirts in support of co-worker Jerry Grunewald who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer last summer. Jerry and his family have main-tained a positive attitude through-out the many treatments Jerry has been going through and have been an inspiration to all the staff here at Baxter!

Team Jerry!


The 2010-11 Central Lakes College Raiders, ranked fi fth in the pre-season Divi-sion III poll by the National Junior College Athletic Association: seated from left John Hicks, Marcus McDonald, Marcus Ayala, Nash Faulk, Ronnie Kornbaum, An-thony Kelly, Eric Green, and standing from left Assistant Coaches John Pecarich and Ben Seevers, Milton Moore, Maurice Hernandez, Kendall Brown, Steven Hal-wood, Justin Doyle, Jason Johnson, Nick Grewe, Kwamaine Johnson, Head Coach Jim Russell, and Assistant Coach Mike Paulus. Not pictured: Assistant Coach Daa-karr Bellfi eld.

CLC men’s basketball team

The 2010-11 Central Lakes College Raider women’s basketball team includes, front from left, Lindsey Roos, Brittany Gravelle, Stephanie Neugebauer, Nikki Pearson, Betsy Helmeke, and assistant Katie Zillmer. Back from left, Coach Dennis Eastman, Kelsey Wheeler, Elizabeth Mattson, Carlee Davich, Katie Hochsprung, and Assistant Coach Zachary Eastman. Not pictured: Angel Richards.

CLC women’s basketball team

Bryan Harvey, Aitkin, a student in the Central Lakes College natural resources program, showed a poster of animal tracks to Little Falls sixth graders at the Gov-ernor’s Deer Hunting Opener Youth Expo at Camp Ripley. Nineteen CLC students assisted at the event by supervising stations teaching outdoor skills. Other stu-dents from CLC who volunteered: Caleb Hill, Scott Shelito, Sharia Merten, Na-than Johnson, and Jason Gildart, all of Brainerd; Cody Neu, Laura May, and Mark Schneider, Little Falls; Eric Gruber and Michelle Dickson, Merrifi eld; Blake Quick, Hackensack; Charity Kern, Henning; Eric Rauchman, Mankato; Paul Kedrowski, Princeton; Steve McKay, Burnsville; Brian Steffen, Cushing; Katrine Newton, Pine River; and Justin Forrest, Tomahawk, Wis.

Camp Ripley Youth Expo

Central Lakes College is hosting nine students in the Community College forInternational Development program during the 2010-11 academic year. They ar-rived Aug. 1 to meet their mentor families, who maintain regular contact with thestudents and participate in activities to augment the time at CLC. The studentsreside near the Brainerd campus. The students are Jaka Mahendra, Indonesia;Bradley Van der Zandt, South Africa; Jose’ Sergio Cardoza Salguero, El Salvador;Hugo Ruano Diaz, Guatemala; Renata Barreto, Brazil; Muraty Harsono, Indone-sia; Dulce Perez Herrera, Guatemala; Miguel Porras Cruz, Guatemala; Djamalu-ddin Paratmadi, Indonesia. The students have toured with members of the CLCInternational Club to area landmarks such as the Paul Bunyan statue at Ake-ley, the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca State Park, the northshore of Lake Superior and Split Rock Lighthouse State park, and the Mille LacsIndian Museum. In addition, Barbara Felix and Wolfgang Zollner from Germanyare students at the Brainerd campus for the fall semester through the exchangeprogram, Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals.

International students at CLC

Central Lakes College opened the school year Aug. 23, and President Dr. Lar-ry Lundblad was at the front door to shake hands with early arrivals. The com-munity and technical college in Brainerd and Staples continues to attract a growing number of students, as they are coming from 82 Minnesota coun-ties, 15 countries, and as recent high school graduates, older stu-dents, and while fi n-ishing their fi nal two years of high school, if qualifi ed. Registration for spring classes has begun. The term starts Jan. 10, 2011.

President greets students

The Central Lakes College football team battled hard in the Minnesota Col-lege Athletic Conference championship Sunday, Nov. 7 but came up short, 34-31,against the Rochester team whose only loss in 2010 was to the Raiders.

It was the only loss for CLC after 10 straight wins.The run came to an end for the Raiders when quarterback Dominique Corder’s

last-ditch pass to a well-covered Nick Grewe with no time remaining was bat-ted down near the goal line.

CLC had the Yel-lowjackets on the ropes for most of the contest. Tyler Gui-mont, a Little Falls freshman kicker, put the Raiders on the board early with a 27-yard fi eld goal, and Ryan Fay hauled in a three-yard pass in the second quarter, ac-counting for the Raiders’ scoring and a 10-9 halftime lead.

CLC held a 24-9 lead entering the fourth quarter. Rochester piled up 180 yards - includ-ing plays of 64 and 65 - and 25 points in the fi nal 15 minutes of play.

The Raiders were fl agged six times for 55 yards and committed four turnovers. RCTC QB Derick Heit-kamp rushed for 28 yard and threw for 17, setting up the game-winning, 32-yard fi eld goal with :07 left. Late in the fi rst quarter a holding call at the goal line nullifi ed a Corder score. The league’s No. 1 QB, Indianapolis native Corder, threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 56 yards andone TD. Corder’s favorite target was Tyler Erickson, one of the MCAC’s best passcatchers, who caught TD passes of 27 and 17 yards and totaled eight catches for97 yards.

“This one will be hard to get over,” Head Coach Greg Medeck said. “We had avery successful season and you have to give them credit for what we’ve accom-plished this year. We came up short in a big game, and hopefully that doesn’toverride our entire season.”

It won’t. This game was fi lled with the “never give up” spirit that is the trade-mark of Medeck teams, which now have won 27 of 34 games in three seasons.

Watch for more excitement next season from returning game-breakers suchas Stoney Burns (pictured on one of his big gainers as a defensive back and anoffense threat), Jordan LaRoche, Barret Powell, Johnny Egan, Ryan Tri, FrankMays, and a host of strong front line muscle men.

CLC fans anticipate a host of talented recruits joining a prestigious footballprogram that is the pride of Minnesota.

Football team has 10-1 season

Stoney Burns (35) had an outstanding season for the Raiders, leading the MCAC with kickoff return yards as he averaged nearly 40 yards per attempt. Late in the season he showed his offensive prowess on end runs.

Tyler Guimont of Little Falls provided the Raiders’ fi rst points in the state championship game with a 27-yard fi eld goal. He made all PATs as well in his best effort of the campaign.

Tyler Erickson, an all-state wide receiver for CLC, was on tip-toes as he crossed the goal late in the state championship game in which the Raiders controlled the line of scrimmage and made timely big plays -- many involving Erickson.


Crosby-IrontonRangers

I am so eager for DPCR because I have heard that DCPR is going to be the best fi eld trip ever. I am sure because we get to go in the woods and sleep there. I think I will have fun in my learning group. In my room, I have two friends, my Dad, and my friend’s Dad. I really want to do the Rock Climbing Wall because I love climbing and

we go up to Duluth every year and we Rock Climb. I want to do Charlie to Base so badly because I watch a show called Man vs. Wild, and he does compass work and he survives in the most barren places in the world. I am excited to do Survival because I like to go in the woods and hunt and play and make little shelters and see a lot of different animals like squirrels, dear, rabbits, and porcupines. It’s going to be quite an experience. I really hope the food is good and the DPCR staff is fun and nice. I am so exited for DPCR.

After my trip to DPCR, the things I liked the most were: Tree Tops and Birds, Survival, and Campfi re.

Tree Tops and Birds was my favorite be-cause I like to hold animals and take care of them. Ben, with the birds, was really inter-esting because he catches a whole bunch of

birds and puts the information on the internet. He puts bands around their legs. We got to experience the bird’s heartbeat which sounded like a machine gun. We learned a lot about birds and their habitats. The Tree Top Tower was my favorite because I think going up high is fun. I looked down at every thing. I was so terrifi ed because it was so high, but I went all the way to the top, I was brave and I took lots of pictures of DPCR... I lay down on the tower. It was extordinary!

Survival was my second chosen thing at DPCR because my friends and I made a really good shelter and the instructor said it was the best she’s seen in a while. Our shelter was humongous, it was water resis-tant and they pored water on it and they shook it .We used lots of big dead trees and little sticks; we had a tarp over it and it was held down by logs. We fi t in my friend Nate, Will, Kaven, and myself. It could have fi t a few more. We had pine bows and leaves for padding on the inside there was a lot of sticks in there. We built it in a four foot ditch. We built a stick wall to keep in heat. We took little pieces of birch bark and put it around the fi re to block the wind. We used little sticks and birch bark to start a fi re on a rock that my friend found with two matches. We boiled water on the fi re in a big coffee can then we put it out.

The campfi re was hilarious. The DCPR staff did a fantastic job enter-taining us at the campfi re. Casey did a “Toast song” it was the best song ever. They did skits, and jokes. I sat close to the fi re but it got pretty hot so I moved to the back. I liked Casey’s musky story. I liked the skit my dad did too, It was about Uncle Elmer’s stew where they would ask for stew and he would say no the last guy stole the stew ate it and died. I also liked the Titanic 2 Still Sinking. It was about a girl who kept get-ting her lines messed up.

Thinking back about DPCR, I think it was the best fi eld trip ever. I would do any thing to go again. I loved everything there. I think the Tree Top Tower was the best. I climbed three out of the four walls. I couldn’t get the slanted one because there was a hump I couldn’t get over. The food was really good at DPCR.

After my experiences at DPCR, it was the best fi eld trip ever. I was correct the staff was really nice and the food was really good I liked the bread the most, and they baked the pancakes in a big cake pan they were so good. They did a contest where any food you wasted goes in a bucket and then you weigh it and write it down and my table didn’t waste anything. All their games were fun when the teacher said fl ood we had to get off the ground or we would get hit, when she said Scooby snacks we had to get in a circle or do a pushup. All the activities were fun to; the rooms had six bunks, a bathroom, and a shower. They had heat and carpet. Before each activity, we would meet our instructors in the great hall. My family might take a winter trip to Deep Portage Con-servation Reserve. I also liked Night Stalker. We learned a lot about owls and we played hide and seek in the dark. We did Wolf Howling. The Rock Climbing Wall was also fun. We got to climb a 35 foot wall. They had a wall straight up. They had an inverted wall. We had to wear harnesses and helmets for safety reasons. A couple of kids made it up the inverted wall, I only got half way up. Canoeing was awesome we went to a beaver dam and investigated we went all around the lake my friend will kept splashing me so I splashed him and we were soaked. Throwing tomahawks made me feel like I was a pioneer I stuck 3 out of 4. Brehndan Knox

Deep Portage Conservation Reserve

Earth MaterialsThe fourth graders at CRES have just

fi nished a unit on Earth Materials in Sci-ence. Students did several experiments on rocks and mineral studying their properties. As an at home project several student constructed volcano that were “erupted” at school.

Evan Rasmussen “erupts” a dry volcano using baking soda and air.

Ella Dwyer and Michaela Stangel perform a Scratch Test on a piece of calcite to determine its hardness.

Mallory Holmvig “erupts” her volcano with baking soda and vinegar as classmates Brooke Newman and Larissa Nielson look on.

Mariah Bodle ”erupts” her volcano made with baking soda and vinegar as classmate A J Forde looks on.

Trey Stangel is “erupting” his volcano with baking soda and vinegar as classmates Tyler Wynn, Marlee Zender, Mariah Bodle, and Shelain Lewis look on.

Left: Gabe Gibson and Tommy Fickett perform a Scratch Test on different minerals to determine their hardness.

Students at Cuyuna Range Elementary work with “big buddies” during a reading lesson.

Josh Shiffl er, transportation director, works with Cuyuna Range Elementary students on bus safety.

Digital Photography Projects

Señora Dietz took 6 Spanish students (Reba DeCent, Katelynn Foote, Whitney LaBorde, Alyssa Laffi n, Lacey Lin-dahl, and Larissa Olander) to Costa Rica in June for 9 days. The students were able to swim in a waterfall, go kayaking on Lago Arenal, see wildlife in Manuel AntonioNational Park such as monkeys, snakes, sloths, butterfl ies, witness a crocodile feeding up closeand personal and go zip-lining through the rainforest. It was a great adventure to discoverCosta Rica’s natural beauty and cultural treasures.

Spanish students visit Costa Rica


CrosslakeLUMBERJACKS

Community School

Recently the students from Crosslake Community School enjoyed their favorite book with their book buddy.

Book Buddy ReadingAustin AndersonKiley AndersonSeth SrockEthan GibbsLogan OlsonJacob YoungCody EndrissDylan NelsonJonathan RabeMatthew Bonfi gWilliam GustafsonVeronica HulkeKayla Richey

Madison AbrahamAlly AndersonMorgan EndrissShane HuttnerEllie LokenHunter MartinBrodie OlsonRory StarkkaLillian SwensonSidney VeitKorbyn HulkeMathew MejdrichEvelyn Swenson

Wade Loeffl erAlexis LuzarCruz MegazziniLogan MejdrichJoseph RabePierce SwensonTristan VeitRose AldridgeConrad RonoHannah ScottEthan ShetkaWolfgang Yetzer

1st Quarter Students with Perfect Attendance

EDUSS Program27 students were invited to participate in the program. Elev-

en participated and received prizes from several area business-es.

Back Row: Logan W., Jon R., Kalley N., Dillion H., Konner A, Director Mrs. Martin Front Row: Emily B., Korbyn H., Joseph R., Ghage B.

The businesses that supported the program and donated prizes were:

Alco Store, Pine RiverAunt Bea’s Pantry, CrosslakeCrosswoods Golf CourseHaven Books, CrosslakePine Peaks Lodge, CrosslakeReed’s Country Market, Crosslake

These students were recognized by their classroom teachers as demonstrating INTEGRITY above thenorm compared to their classmates.

Back row: Kate G., Taylor S., Sophia D., Sam H., Dylan N.Middle Row: Evan M., Emily B., Taylor S.Front Row: Matt M., Cole P., Cruz M., Bella C., Joe R., Myra N., Eddie S.

SidneyV. and Robbie H.


Third graders at Lowell Elementary School in Pam Caughey’s class calculated that Brainerd re-ceived an equal amount of daylight between sun-rise and noon and between noon and sunset on Nov. 9, two days after Daylight Savings Time ended.

“We use the newspaper that is provided by the Brainerd Dispatch and sponsors to grab sun-rise and sunset data in math on Tuesdays,” Ms. Caughey said. “We go down the column and grab and record the time. We track the length of day-light every Tuesday and then we start to see what’s going to happen. Is the longest part in the morning before noon or after noon? We will see a pattern and predict what’s going to happen next.”

Lowell Students Use Newspapers to Predict Hours of Daylight

Ms. Caughey told the students that their discovery of equal day-light hours in the morning and the afternoon is not a regular oc-currence. This hands-on lesson not only showed the students where to look for data and how to record it but how a simple math problem can help them understand the chang-ing world around them

She has received the newspapers in her classroom once a week for many years to conduct this weekly experiment with her students.

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in action

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The sixth grade students at Forestview are currently working on a Models and Designs unit. This unit is part of the Full Optical Science Sys-tem (FOSS) which is being implemented through-out K-6 classrooms in the Brainerd school district. This program allows for student inquiry, hands-on learning, and student-to-student interaction. The Forestview sixth graders recently completed the two meter challenge where they had to build a self-propelled go-cart that could travel a minimum of two meters.

Go Karts

A Tornado Watch is when conditions are right for producing a social tornado. Common places include: lunchroom, locker area, between classes, sports, chat sites, etc.

A Tornado Warning occurs when someone who is not present is mentioned in a negative way or a general negative statement is made. Example: “Did you see the pants Mindy is wearing today?”

A Tornado Touchdown means the twister has hit the ground and is causing destruction—destruction of friendships/relationships. You’ve been pulled in and have become a participant.

Throughout the year all 6th grade students will receive six Top 20 lessons. These lessons support the tools and language taught to stu-dents in 5th grade. Top 20 is about Thinking, Learning and Communicating in effective ways that help students to be their best at home and at school. Our monthly lessons help students build and maintain positive relationships with friends,

teachers, peers and family. Our November lesson focuses on the social

world of 6th grade students. Have you ever seen a tornado? Maybe you saw the movie, “Twister”, where the cow was sent fl ying across the road. The destructive force of a tornado occurs because its tremendous energy sucks everything towards it. It functions like a powerful vacuum cleaner

Top 20 Lesson: Tornados of NegativityTrudi Storbakken, Licensed School Counselor, Forestview Middle SchoolAlison Medeck, Licensed School Counselor, Forestview Middle School

wreaking havoc on everything in its path. Destruction. In Top 20, we talk about social tornados. A social tor-

nado occurs when someone is below-the-line and makes anegative comment about something or someone. A secondperson is drawn into the conversation and a tornado isstarted. As more and more people become involved in thenegative conversation, the tornado gains more and moremomentum. It tends to dominate the culture of the group. Tornados for 6th graders, or middle school students, are often formed through rumors/gossip, texting, social net-working sites, etc. There are three parts to a tornado—a watch, warning and touchdown.

Top 20 students are taught to recognize a social tor-nado. Students understand they have a choice whether or not to participate in the negativity. Students are re-minded that we need to be careful of our words because once they’re out there, we can’t get them back.

How can we protect ourselves from Social Tornados?

#1 Identify the Tornado as such: If you are approaching a group where a Tornado is being spawned, identify it as such: “Oh is sounds like there’s a Tornado going on here.”#2 Listen, but don’t join in. However, you still can be guilty by association if you are listening to the conversation.#3 Walk away.#4 Take more drastic measures: If certain friends or groups you hang out with are dominated by Tornados, you may need to take more drastic measures to protect yourself.#5 Expand your friendships: The more friends or groups you have, the less infl uence any particular friend or group will have on you. You can expand your circle of friends by: Getting involved, making a goal to meet three new people at school, making deposits in someone’s trust fund, not worry about other people’s opinions.#6 Limit your time: If certain friends are having too much negative infl uence on you, limit the time you spend with them. Instead of spending two nights on the weekend with them, just spend one. A good way of limiting your availability is making other plans.#7 Terminate the relationship: If a relationship is dragging you in a direction of your Worst Interest, it’s time to terminate. When a friend is infl uencing you in a negative direction, it’s time to end the relationship.

For more information on Top 20 lessons, visit us at www.isd181.org/fms or www.top20training.com

Mummies, tombs, scarabs…sounds like Halloween doesn’t it? Well in team 6A it sounds like the study of An-cient Egypt. Our yearly trek to the ancient African coun-try continues to intrigue sixth graders as they learn aboutthe history of this historical, yet mysterious land.

One group of students delved into the study of the Nile River, learning the importance of this lifeline. They be-gan their research with their textbook and then went on-line to investigate the importance of the Nile River. Theyproved their research through a Nile River brochure. Each brochure included a map of the Nile River, with details ofthe important sites and cities along its banks. The factsand pieces of artwork was meant to tease the audience to learn more about Egyptian history.

Another group broke into several newscasts. We saw wrapped mummies, PowerPoint presentations, sculpted pyramids and pharaoh masks. Each newscast taught us fascinating pieces of Egyptian history.

Our culminating project of Egypt was making Egyp-tian masks. Students selected favorite Egyptian charac-ters and created colorful foil masks. The commons area now lights up with colorful examples of ancient history. Carol Lang and Mike Schmidt

Egypt in 6A


GARFIELDELEMENTARY

Thankful

By: Gina WasniewskiTreesHikingAuntsNice teachersKind friendsFriendsUnclesLove

Thankful

By: Madison RodmanThankful for peopleHappy I have my mom and dadAlways learning at schoolNoon time fun on the playgroundKnowing I always have fun with friendsFood for us to eatUnbelievable friendsLoving my family

Thankful PoemsWith our new FOSS science, students are learning fi rst hand

about the sun, moon, and stars. So far, students have been out-doors observing the sun in the daytime sky and tracking their shadows’ changes throughout the day. This hands on learning is exciting and engaging.

Shadow Tracking

Once again we celebrated Hallow-een at Garfi eld with our annual school wide parade and classroom parties. Parents, grandparents, family and friends gathered in our large gym as classrooms “paraded” through the gym to show their costumes to all. What a fun afternoon for students and staff alike.

Halloween Fun

Garfi eld’s third graders hopped on a bus and headed to Villa Villakulla at the Great Theatre in St. Cloud. Students watched a live performance of the book, Pippi Longstocking. Konnor stated, “Pippi is so funny!” Katie’s favorite part of the play was “when the two robbers go into Pippi’s house.” The crowd was captivated during the en-tire performance. This lively musical paralleled closely with the book that was read aloud to all of the students in their classrooms

Pippi Adventure

Garfi eld students are aware and working hard at fi lling other peo-ple’s buckets daily. A “bucket fi ller” in our school is “caught” by a staff member using kind words, doing kind deeds and using appropriate actions towards others. Each Friday a bucket fi ller from each classroom is recognized and announced school wide. Here are some of the 3rd grade bucketfi llers so far this year! WAY TO GO!! WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!!

Have You Filled A

Bucket Today?

Michelle Pfeiffer, Brainerd’s Elementary Art Specialist, has been visiting Garfi eld’s 3rd grade classrooms monthly and has been inspiring each child to develop their own“inner artist.” Third graders have created self-portrait masterpieces using the medium of watercolor. They have also explored shapes, lines and collages.

Amazing Artists


Students of the Month

Student of the Month for ‘Most Polite’

Back left: Jessica K., Kayleigh O., Ashley N., Kallie J., Paige C., Madison P., Devin E., Nariah F., David D., Hunter K

Middle: Elias M., Logan S., Nicole B., Nick B., Aftyn A., Jenna H., Erin H., Jack E.

Front: Cullen C., Taliyah R., James P., Gavin B., Alison R., Abby W., Mason K., RayLynn L.

At the student of the month for “Most Polite”, Mrs. Czeck’s fi rst grade class and Mrs. VanVickle’s third grade class presented manners complete with the all school responses to the questions.

Lowell Students in 3rd grade Mrs. VanVickle and 4th grade in Mr. Meyer’s classes went to Camp Shamineau last month for team challenge events.

Luke and Izzy’s team was trying to work together to swing all member across to a roped off area.

Teams of 3 were challenged to move 1 of their members a great distance without letting them touch the ground.

These excersizes teach the students how to work together.

Climb Theater presented two different productions to the Lowell Students on bullying. The k - 2 grades enjoyed an interactive production while the 3 - 4 graders had a more serious message.

Climb Theater visits LowellThird Graders in Mrs. VanVickle’s class continue with the challenge of who can carry the farthest at Camp Shamineau.

Alex B. on the high rope element.

Jenna M., Lexi M, Spencer L , fourth graders pulling up the third graders at Camp Shamineau

Joe S. on the high rope element

Mrs. Czeck’s class learning about llamas at the farm!Emma C., Natalie M., Lily B. and Livia Thompson posing for a picture in the fi eld at the farm!

Fun at the Farm

Camp Shamineau


ELEMENTARYNisswa

Grade Teacher Representative

Kindergarten Mrs. Ward Isabelle OlsonKindergarten Mr. Koman Mason BroneakK/1 Multiage Mrs. O’Brien Max Roby1st Grade Mrs. Lambert Grant Gardiepy1st Grade Mrs. Rasmussen Madeline Ryan2nd Grade Mrs. Hansen/Drake Zella Drake2nd Grade Mrs. Headlee Mary Moore3rd Grade Mrs. Baker Max Darkow3rd Grade Mrs. Olson Madison Burnard4th Grade Ms. Ziegler Skyann Armstrong4th Grade Mrs. Bieganek Mason Hill

Congratulations to the following students who were nominated by their teach-ers or elected by their classmates to serve as Student Council Representatives for the 2010-11 school year. These students will meet regularly with Mrs. Herman and Mrs. Johnson to resolve problems, share ideas, and manage projects to make Nisswa Elementary the best school possible.

2010-2011 Student Council Representatives

On October 5th our class had a fi eld trip to Deep Portage. We rock climbed and canoed. Our class’s per-sonal favorite was rock climbing. There were 5 rock walls; each one was thirty fi ve feet tall. Everybody did great.

Canoeing was also really fun. Before we started ca-noeing we had a lesson on how to paddle and learned the sides of the boat. We canoed on Bass Pond, which is connected to Big Deep Lake. Some people saw a trea-sure chest at the bottom of the pond. No one knows what is in the chest and they may never fi nd out. Deep Portage was a lot of fun.

Deep Portage by Will Lundstrom and Danny Olson4th graders in Ms. Ziegler’s class

Nisswa kindergartners had a great time on Fire Safety Day at Nisswa Elementary School. We started theday with a fi re drill. Once we got outside we saw the fi re trucks come rushing in and spray the school. At an allschool assembly we met some fi re fi ghters who were fathers of Nisswa students. We ended the morning with aride on a fi re truck and a tour of the fi re hall.

Fire Safety Day by Mr. Koman’s kindergarten class

Nisswa school students once again took part in the annual Halloween parade thru downtown Nisswa. Stu-dents began by walking thru the “haunted hallway” of Lakewood Bank, continued down the trail thru Nisswa Square and onto Main Street. A special thanks goes out to the Nisswa Chamber and merchants for their gener-osity and kindnesses as well as the Nisswa Police Dept. who provided traffi c supervision.

Halloween

Members of the Section Champion Brainerd War-rior Football team visited Nisswa School recently where they visited with the students, played catch out on the playground and read Dr. Seuss books to several classrooms. Pic-tured are team members Joe Haeg, Jordan Hayes, Jack Luke and Jesse Zahn with Ms. Ziegler’s 4th grade class.

Good food is made from scratchAffordable menu prices ranging from $399 to $1499

Everything is made from scratch - even our salad dressings!

Open 6:30 AM til 8:00 PM, 7 days a week. 218.824.5131 • www.brainerdlakescafe.com


Oak Street Christian School is associated with the Brainerd SDA Church. The Church puts together a Fall Festival every year to raise money for local missions. This year, the students were asked to help plan, decorate, and run different booths. The evening was full of fun, food, and fellowship. We had hay rides, a cake walk, bobbing for apples, games, face painting, a jump house, a jail, glow in the dark miniature golf, and of course lots of food. The evening brought in almost $800 for local missions. After the kids swept and mopped the gymnasium, helped set up tables, and make banners, they got to enjoy the fruits of their labor as they played games, won prizes, and arrested their friends and family. Everyone went home that evening feeling very tired, but satisfi ed with a job well done.

Annual Fall FestivalOak Street Christian School has offered a fruit program to

the local community for over 20 years. It is used as a “healthy alternative” fundraiser for the school. We get shipments of citrus fruits from Florida (in the winter) and berries from Washington and Oregon (in the summer). Over 100 custom-ers from the Brainerd Lakes Area (extending as far as the

Twin Cities) order fruit from our school. Not only is the fruit reasonably priced and deliciously fresh, but proceeds go to help the students of our school. The students are grateful to the many people who support this fund-raiser, and to the local church members who put so much time and energy into offering the program.

Healthy Alternative Fundraiser

The students at Oak Street Christian School spent a whole day visiting the Science Museum of Minnesota. The highlight of the day was the Omnitheater showing of the Hubble Space Telescope. The students were once again reminded how great our God is. It was very humbling to see the vastness of space with the billions and billions of galax-ies that God has created. It was worshipful to stop and remember He loves and cares for each one of us, on our tiny little planet, enough to send His Son to die for us.

Other than the Hubble Space Telescope experience, the stu-dents got to enjoy many hands-on learning stations throughout the museum. One of their favorites was the geometry playground. There, they got to experience the strength of a couple of geomet-ric shapes as they climbed on the structures built from these shapes. And fi nally, the students were reminded how complex and wonderful their brains are as they enjoyed the optical illusions show. We always enjoy the Sci-ence Museum of Minnesota and look forward to the next time we get to go.

The (Humbling) Hubble Experience

Several students from Oak Street Christian School, along with youth from the BrainerdSDA Church got ‘down and dirty’ on October 29, when they joined over 100 area youth andadults to help raise awareness and support for homeless families in our community. Theybuilt cardboard tents and slept in them on one of the coldest nights of this season. Theseyouth, who were sponsored by Dorcas, the Seventh-day Adventist Community Service organi-zation, helped to raise over $5,300 to help New Pathways serve at-risk families with children

from central Minnesota.Oak Street Christian School

isn’t just about teaching the kidsthe ABCs. Our goal is to prepareour kids for the future. In thisevent the kids experienced whatit was like to NOT have so manyof the things they take for grant-ed. They experienced what lifeis like without running water orconvenient toilets. They learnedthat joblessness directly affectshomelessness, and that food andshelter are not easy to come byfor everyone. They were alsogiven the opportunity to discoverwhat a homeless family has to

go through to fi nd help, and what they have to overcome to return to a home of their own. They learned that be-ing a Christian is more than just “talking the talk”—it’s about “walking the walk” so that people know that there are others who care.

We are making a difference one student at a time. By Sue Sterling

Helping to Make a Difference


Pequot LakesPATRIOTS

Kat Thomas, from the Cuyuna Rock, Gem, & Mineral Society, came to Eagle View Elementary topresent fossils and rocks to Mrs. Harman’s, Mrs. Schommer’s, and Mrs. Zeidler’s grades 3-4 Multiage classes. She inspired about 45 kids in the Multiage Discovery Area about fossils, rocks, and minerals. While the stu-dents played a fossil game, they were able to hold and feel different types of fossils

Kat Thomas Comes to Eagle View ElementaryBy Abigail Reigel & Ashlynn Reynolds

Emma Benson studies an algae fossil.

Hayden Cameron looks closely ata fossil for the fossil hunt game.

Abi Reigel is searching for the amythst gemstone with a fossil leaf attached.

The fi rst Thanksgiving is said to have been celebrated in 1621. It involved the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians; it was a three-day feast. The food served included deer, berries, fi sh, clams, plums, and boiled pumpkins. According to History.com, the feast was in celebration of the fi rst successful corn har-vest, and even the Wampanoag chief, Massasoit, was there. Even though this was said to be the fi rst Thanksgiving celebrated, it didn’t become an offi cial holiday until October 3, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday. Now it is celebrated on the third Thursday in November. People enjoy many different types of food, but it is traditional to have turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, cranberries, stuffi ng, corn, pumpkin pie, and yams or sweet potatoes. According to an informal survey of our classmates, most students preferred ham, apple pie, cran-berries, and stuffi ng for their Thanksgiving dinners. Whatever your preferences for food are, remember the most important part of the holiday involves giving thanks.

ThanksgivingBy: Whitney Swenson & Tricia Villella

The Pequot Lakes Middle School Artists of the month are Sami Selter, Whitney Marchwick and Kaden Ardoff. Sami is in the 7th grade, attends art club, and is often working on artwork outside of school. Sami focuses on Anime style characters, but has other styles as well. Whitney is in 8th grade art. Whitney has created a cubists style painting based on Pablo Picasso’s work, and she also draws in the realistic style. Kaden is a 6th grade art student and shows promise with his realistic drawings, unique style, and his use of value to create realistic shadows. You can see artwork by these students in the district offi ce hallway at the school.

Artists of the Month

Sami Selter Whitney Marchwick Kaden Ardoff

On October 28th the fi fth grade classes of Eagle View Elemen-tary went to Dr. and Mrs. Cheek’s house in Breezy Point. Dr. and Mrs. Cheek kindly invited the fi fth graders to come to their house, take a tour, and have cookies. Before the tour, Dr. and Mrs. Cheek came to Eagle View to show us a video, tell about their travels, and answer some questions. Dr. and Mrs. Cheek have gone on hunting expeditions to Africa, Australia, and many other foreign countries. In their house they have a rhinoceros mount, a hippopotamus, an elephant, a lion, a crocodile, a wallaby, a hy-ena, a cheetah, and other exotic animals. We couldn’t believe how big the elephant head was! It was an amazing, incredible oppor-tunity to go to the Cheek’s house and see all of the animals.

Fifth Graders Take Unusual Field TripBy Karlie Trottier

On October 13, 2010, Ms. Jodie Tweed, who is an alumnus of Pequot Lakes High School, paid Mrs. Palmer’s journalism class a visit to talk about many aspects of being a journalist. She informed us about how her lifestyle has been affected by her job and what lengths she must sometimes go to when getting facts for a story. The whole class was very interested in what she had to say, and a lot of our curious class-mates had questions.

Ms. Tweed told the class some interesting stories and explained some of the tough situations she has experienced. Also, she discussed the branches of jobs involved in working at a newspaper company and emphasized how many people it takes to really cover a story and get a paper published. She wenton to explain how much her family life plays a role and how everyone around her can be affected byher working in this fi eld. Even though Tweed doesn’t always get holidays off, she loves what she doesand she really enjoys giving a good story to the public.

Ms. Jodie Tweed Visits Journalism Class By: Nykole Holmes, Jordyn Anderson , & Sammi Zabukover

Over the past few weeks the 6th grade built bridges out of popsicle sticks. Before we started any-thing we spent a day researching bridge designs on the internet. We all noticed that many of the bridges have triangles in them. Mrs. McKenna, our science teacher, told us that triangles have the best strength because the weight gets distributed. First we had to make blueprints. It took us a few days to get them a certain length and height. The bridges had to be at least 60cm long and we could only use 100 regular-sized popsicle sticks to build it. We were also only allowed to use plain white glue. (No super or gorilla glue allowed!) After we had our blueprint design checked by our teacher we got to start building! It was kind of hard to get started, but after we got going it was easier. Last but not least, we tested how strong our bridges were. We had a bucket that hung from the bridge and we put weights in one at a time. Our bridge had to hold 7.5 pounds in order to get an A. Besides get-ting a grade for the strength part, we were also graded on our blueprint, construction quality, and a written refl ection. It was a very fun project and we all learned a lot! Here are the three top winners. It was crazy to watch and see how much weight some of these bridges held!!

1st – Elsa Headlee, 75 pounds2nd – Britney Adkins, 65 pounds3rd – Sami Nelson, 60 pounds

They all won a gift certifi cate to the Dairy Queen!

By Quinn Kratochvil, 6th grader

Bridges


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Artist: Rhianon Fletcher

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 elementary students went to the gym-nasium to listen to candidates’ speeches for student council because they needed to elect leaders for each class. The speeches were inter-esting and well written. After the speeches, 1st through 5th grade students voted for students from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades to be representatives. The students went to the board room for the offi cial vote. They received ballots and went to a private booth. They voted for whom they thought was best. When they were down, they put their bal-lot in the box and got an “I voted” sticker. The voting went well.

The 2010-2011 Student Coun-cil Members are:

Samantha Bennett, Carson Van-Vickle, Ann Pugh, Braedon Nelson, Kyler Erickson, Heather Joslin, Jade Parks, and Halie Holzer

Congratulations!

Elementary Students Elect Their CouncilBy Maya Wellnitz

It’s Alphabet Sharing month in Mrs. Fredman’s KinderTroop room. Students are participat-ing in a number of activities that tie in with the letter of the day. Alphabet Sharing had its kick off day with the letter “A”. The students joined in an Al-phabet Clothesline relay. Two separate teams worked togeth-er to hang the alphabet letters in order on clothes lines. Other sharing days thus far have in-cluded bubbles, donuts, a clown, fancy clothes, hats, and inside out clothes. Homework for the kindergarteners involves bring-ing an item from home that be-gins with the letter of the day.

Kindergarteners Hang Out TheirLaundry

Mrs. Balsley’s Busy Bee Kindergarten had an amazing morning making applesauce. With the help of parent vol-unteers the bees peeled, cored, and sliced apples of every color. After combining each groups prepared apples, then water, sugar and cinnamon were added. The bees were patient as the aroma of cooked apples fi lled their room. At the end of a busy day, the home-made applesauce hit the spot!

How do you like them apples?

By Makinzie AgrestoThe week before Halloween, Mrs. Nordin’s

class graphed pumpkin information. It wasmath-circumference, weight, and estimating the number of seeds. They made bar graphs and line graphs. They fi nished by carv-ing them. They took them home just in time for H a l l o w -een.

Fourth Graders Graph Pumpkins

Mr. Saulsbury’s seventh graders are currently showing their bacteriophage models. Students were expected to have working models, the models had to be able to infect a “living cell” by pulling a lever, turning a knob, etc. The models DNA would then be injected into the cell. Many pairs DNA were represented by beads or candy.

Cells Come to LifeBy Taylor Wacha

Pillager High School is extending special congratulations to Alexa Fletcher and Rian Hutchison who were recently named School Winners for the prestigious Wendy’s High School Heisman Award. To be eligible for this award, students must exhibit excellence in academics, athletics, and community/school leadership. Rian was also selected as a state fi nalist.

The Wendy’s High School Heisman program, in conjunction with the collegiate Heis-man, celebrates the achievements of the nation’s top high school seniors in and out of the classroom. Just as the collegiate Heisman is known for being the top award in college football, the Wendy’s High School Heisman award is known for being the most presti-gious award at the high school level. The award encourages future leadership by recog-nizing well-balanced lifestyles at an early age.

“Alexa and Rian are an inspiration to those around them and will represent their school well in the next stage of Wendy’s High School Heisman award judging,” said Ar-chie Griffi n, the only two-time winner of the prestigious Heisman Memorial Trophy and Wendy’s High School Heisman program spokesperson. “I’m proud to be a part of a pro-gram that honors young men and women who embody the spirit of the Heisman tradition of hard work, dedication and an outstanding record both on and off the fi eld.”

PHS CELEBRATES OUTSTANDING SENIORS

Alexa Fletcher Rian Hutchison

Trevor Rohloff (Cross Country) and Emily Doss (Volleyball) have been selected as Pil-lager’s Huskies of the Month for October.

Emily, a senior setter and a 3-year letter-winner, is the quarterback of the team, and she has been very effective getting the ball to our hitters. She has had 5 matches with over 25 set assists this year and reached the 1000 set assist mile stone. October 2, when we won the Walker Tournament, Emily made 57 of 58 serves in and had 16 ace serves on the day, proving she sees the court well and fi nds places to score. Emily knows the game and always uses that knowledge to improve her play. In the off season, Emily stepped up her leadership this summer and helped plan captain’s practices as well as open gym time. She has been a good role model for younger players both on and off the court.

Trevor Rohloff is a 4-year letter-winner. He moved up to #8 on the all-time Varsity Honor Roll with his run at the Pequot Lakes Invitation (19:34) and 19:32 at Royalton one week later. As a senior captain, Trevor’s leadership makes the team stronger both on and off the practice fi eld. His performances are better this year due to his hard work and dedication.

These athletes were honored by the Husky Booster Club at the home volleyball game on Sept. 28 before the start of the varsity game.

Huskies of the Month

Trevor Rohloff Emily Doss

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Gym Scott’s Science students continue to harvest this year’s Community Gar-den bounty. The entire sixth grade spent class time pulling weeds in the commu-nity garden to get it ready to till. They also hauled in the remaining pumpkins with one that topped the scales at 101.2 pounds! The kids love to go out and work in the garden whether it’s rain-ing or sunny. We then had contest in the elementary to “Guessing the Pumpkin’s Weight.” The winner was Harley!

Firemen from both the Backus and Pine River Fire Departments visited class-rooms to share fi re safety information. K-4 students were able to also go outside

to see actual fi re trucks as fi remen shared in-formation on all of the special equipment they use in fi ghting fi res.

Teaming up for Fire Safety!

Thanks to the Pine River volunteer fi re fi ghters, ECFE children learned about fi re safety, got to sit in a fi retruck, and even had a chance to try on a real fi refi ghter’s uniform!

Mrs. Cochem’s Kindergarten Class enjoyed a visit from the Pine River Fire Department!

Classroom Label Contest

Mrs. Rowell’s First Graders collected the most labels for the Sept./Oct. Contest on the primary side with 1,345 labels.

Mrs. Ruud’s fourth grade class won the intermediate label contest by bringing in 1,248 labels for Sept./Oct.

The Pine River Backus Elementary Children brought in a total of 14,083 labels for the months of Sept./Oct. Continue to save your labels. Next label contest will end December 22, 2010.

Ms. TeHennepe and Mr. Hoffarth’s 3rd graders learned about the upcoming fl u and cold season by making snot.

Mad Mom Scientists Return!

School Readiness “Winning Ways to Literacy” Event. School Readiness parents came to school with their children to take part in a variety of fun early literacy activities.

Mrs. Cochems Kindergarten class has teamed up with Mrs. Sether’s Fourth gradeclass as buddies for the school year. Once a month they will meet to work on a proj-ect together. Our October activity was creating a pumpkin book the kindergartenerscould take and read. The fourth graders helped write the words while the kinder-garteners drew the illustrations.

The students in Mrs. Holden’s class were treated to two guest teachers, Naree Weaver and Janis Prange. Mrs. Weaver is the mother of Mrs. Holden and Mrs. Prange is a fi rst cousin to Mrs. Weaver. Teaching runs in the family! Mrs. Weaver fi rst taught in Anoka. She taught the rest of her career in Backus, retiring in 2000. Mrs. Prange taught in Wisconsin, Missouri, and California. She taught in the class-room as well as one of the fi rst ESL (English as a Second Language) classrooms with children from 30 different countries. She retired as a kindergarten teacher in 2002. Both teachers enjoy continuing to work in classrooms of their grandchildren. Mrs. Weaver subs for PRB and is a volunteer in great-granddaughter Evelyn Wat-son’s class. We enjoyed getting to know Mrs. Prange during her visit to PRB. What a wealth of experience!


RIVERSIDEELEMENTARYVeterans DayMy Heroes

As I looked up at the fl ag

Flowing gently in the breeze,

I thought of all the people

Who lost their lives for me.

I thought about the Air Force

And all those planes shot down,

I thought about the Army

Some lying on the ground.

I thought about the Navy

And all the ships at sea,

I thought about Marines,

As bold as bold can be.

I thought about M.I.A.s

Some lost and never found,

I thought about the P.O.W.s

And how their fears abound.

I thought of all the families

Who lost their loved ones at war,

I thought of all the friends who cried

Till they could cry no more.

As I thought of all the people

Who lost their lives for me,

I realized that they did it

So I could now be free.

Written by Stephanie Erlandson a 5th Grade Student from Henning, Minnesota

Riverside’s Worker Bees for the month of October are Megan Carter in Mrs. Gramer’s Second Grade and Max Walker in Mrs. Andresen’s Fourth Grade. Work-er Bees of the month are chosen from students who have earned bees by “beeing” responsible, “beeing” respectful, “beeing” helpful, “beeing” a friend, and/or “beeing” a good worker. Each classroom collects their students’ bees and once a week draws a worker bee of the week whose name goes in the drawing for worker bee of the month. Congratulations this month to Me-gan and Max.

“Bee-utiful!”

At Riverside Elementary School, the fourth grade stu-dents are learning about Eric Carle art. They used sponges, paint brushes and other tools to decorate and make their own Eric Carle paper. Then they will cut out their paper (later) and make an Eric Carle collage. -

Eric Carle Art

Emily Moore in Mrs. Andresen’s class

Riverside students were able to have Kris Peterson and Heidi Rudstrom from the YMCA at gym class to perform a 25 minute Drums Alive workout. The stu-dents and staff loved it!

Back by popular demand.....Drums Alive!


Mission StatementSt. Francis of the Lakes Catholic School, in cooperation with the family, is a vibrant school committed to challenging students to grow spiritually, academically and socially within a

Catholic-centered environment. Our students come from the entire region including Brainerd, Baxter, Pillager, Nisswa, Pequot Lakes, Merrifi eld, Aitkin, Deerwood, Ironton, Crosby, Garrison,

Pine River, Crosslake, E. Gull Lake & Fort Ripley.

Christmas Program

October Marathon Fundraiser results in over $43,000 for the school

St. Francis students collected over $40,000 from gener-ous friends. On October 20th, for several hours, students biked, walked, and completed exercise stations. A carni-val with infl atable slide, face painting, jump house, games and prizes followed the marathon at the school.

Since we exceeded our goal, a swimming party for the entire school is being planned. Also, Father Steve La Flamme will shave his head, as promised, because stu-dents reached $40,000!

Foundation Dinner 2010Bishop Paul Sirba graced the Foundation

dinner with his presence and his insightful key-note speech. St. Francis students entertained and clergy, parents and friends of the school gathered for dinner and conversation to sup-port the Foundation Trust, which ensures the school’s long-term fi nancial stability.

New Library and Computer Lab Captivates

This has been an exciting start to the school year with the new library and computer lab up and running. Students (age 3 to 8th grade) are enjoying 30 minutes of library time each week. Each class enjoys a story, and then students have time to check out and look at books.

Our blessings include a brand new computer lab outfi tted with 25 new computers. Students receive a minimum of 45 minutes of formal instruction each week. Classroom teachers have also individually reserved additional technology time for their students throughout the week.

The focus of the technology instruction this year is a team teaching approach. Classroom teachers and Mrs. Turner work together to integrate what students are learning in class with what’s being taught in the computer lab. Topics have included: click and drag activities, phonemic awareness activities, the study of dinosaurs, writing an organized, structured paragraph using Microsoft Offi ce, and implementing a new curriculum en-titled K to the 8th Power.

My name is Brittany Dorn, and I am a student teacher this fall in Mrs. Engel’s 2nd grade classroom. I will be in the classroom from October 6th - December 15th. I am sure the children and I will be helping each other learn and grow every day.

I am a senior at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and will

be graduating with a degree in elementary education in Decem-ber, after my student teaching experience is complete. I grew up in Little Falls, MN, attended a Catholic school during grades K-8, and graduated from Little Falls High School in 2007. I enjoy play-ing piano, camping with my family, sports, and movies.

Student Teacher Brittany Dorn

Our students are really focusing on being thankful this month. They are focusing on rememberingto say thank you to God for all his blessings and to others who do small or large acts of service. Theschool’s goal is 300 pounds of food delivered to the Salvation Army. The children will know they made adifference in people’s lives this Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Food Drive

I’m thankful for life, the garden and pond I have at my beautiful. I’m also thankful for my sisters and my brothers. The last think I’m thankful for is my grandma and grandpa.

Jalyn

Thank you God for the beautiful sunsets that we watch, the clothes that we wear, the fam-ily you gave us, the holidays so families can get together, the school we learn in, and the teacher that teaches us.

Helen

I’m so thankful for like in lots of ways. The think I’m thankful for is shelter. In lots of ways I’m thankful for the snow. I am thankful for my body. My family is what I’m thankful for the most.

Nic

I am thankful for my family and for the sun set. I am really thankful for my food and water. Thank you God for the churches. I am thankful for my house.

Louis

Our Christmas Program will be held on December 7th at 6pm at Tornstrom Auditorium in Brainerd, MN. Free admission. Ev-eryone is welcome to join us for this joyous event with children performing. Five dollars will buy a chance to win wine in a drawing with proceeds to bene t Fine Arts.

Documents

School Pages - Nov. 2010