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2008-09 News Stories |
2007-08 News StoriesThank You 2007-08 RetireesDistrict 742 salutes the women and men who retired during 2007-08. Thirty-eight retirees, some of whom labored more than 35 years, leave our service, but not our hearts. We deeply appreciate their work on behalf of children. View our Retiree Wrap publication. 06.30.08 Our Academic Top TenDistrict 742's brightest senior scholars were recognized May 27 at the Top Ten Reception in Council Chambers, St. Cloud City Hall. The Top Ten at Technical High School are Megan Duininck, Abraham Fark, Elizabeth Gorecki, Ellen Melrose, Zameer Merchant, Nivedita Sarnath, Kevin Schneider, Allison Schuh, Ariel Smelter and Nathan Wicker. Apollo High School's Top Ten are Geoffrey Bible, Beth Gallus, Abbey Haugen, Kayla Midas, Michaela Neu, Bako Orionzi, Jennifer Schmidt, Alex Schwegman, Michelle Wallace and Matthew Zimmer. View Apollo's scholars. View Tech's scholars. View the reception program. 05.28.08 Integration Planning ContinuesMinnesota Minority Education Partnership, Inc. (MMEP) facilitated a process to gather community input that would prioritize educational programming themes for our district's integration planning. This process involved: gathering key insights from previous community meetings on educational equity and excellence and facilitating an open and democratic meeting with several stakeholders in the St. Cloud community. View the report developed from their work. 05.09.08 Fun in the Sun Day at North Junior HighMay 2 was Fun in the Sun Day at North. The day is dedicated by the Nutritional Services Staff at North to the students. The cafeteria is transformed into a tropical paradise. A special menu, decorations, limbo, hula dancing, invited guests and prizes are all part of the fun. The cooks at North used their own time to conduct fundraising to pay for the event. Superintendent Watkins even stopped by to enjoy the festivities. 05.05.08 Jordahl is Preferred Superintendent CandidateThe Board of Education made Dr. Steve Jordahl the preferred candidate in the search to replace retiring Superintendent Bruce Watkins. The Superintendent Search Committee conducted its first round of interviews April 12 and 13 and had narrowed the pool of Superintendent candidates from five to three. Dr. Sue Ann Gruver removed her name as a candidate for District 742 narrowing the pool to two. Dr. Steve Jordahl's second interview took place on April 16. Dr. Leslie Steinhaus' took place April 17. Read about the candidates. 04.21.08 Board Approves Budget AdjustmentsAn increase to student activity fees is among the $1.5 million in proposed budget reductions for the 2008-09 school year approved at the March 27 Board of Education meeting. The general fund budget shortfall for 2008-09 is estimated at $4.8 million. Approximately $3.3 million could be obtained through the June 30, 2008 estimated fund balance and one-time capital transfers. View the budget adjustments. 03.28.08 Tech TARGET Students Visit State CapitolTech High School TARGET students participated in Youth Day at the Capitol on March 11. They met with their legislators and discussed bills proposed this session that would affect youth. The graduated licensing bill and the primary seat belt bill were two of the topics they discussed with the legislators. TARGET is a Minnesota State High School League activity. The students in this group are interested in alcohol and drug use prevention and safety issues. They plan fun yet meaningful activities in their school and community to promote their non-use message. View a photo. 03.12.08 Integration Revenue Meeting: SaturdayDistrict 742 and Holdingford District 738 have been identified by the State of Minnesota's Desegregation Rule to qualify for funding to provide equal educational opportunities for all students to achieve academic success. Based on 2006-07 data, District 742 has been defined as racially isolated under the Desegregation Rule. A racially isolated school district is one in which district-wide enrollment of protected students is more than twenty percentage points higher than enrollment in an adjoining district. Input from community stakeholders will help establish a Desegregation Plan. A community input meeting will be held March 15 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Apollo Auditorium. Read about Minnesota's Desegregation Rule. 03.03.08 School Board's Bargaining Position Q and AOn Feb. 28, the Board of Education presented information relative to negotiations and the mediation process. Information has been summarized in a Q and A handout, which the Board made available at that time. View the Q and A handout. 02.29.08 Leadership Profile for New SuperintendentA Leadership Profile Report, developed by the consulting firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA), will guide the search for a new superintendent. Superintendent Bruce Watkins retires June 30, 2008. Candidates will be presented to the Board of Education in April. Among the report's findings: the superintendent should have effective communication skills, have the ability to deal directly and fairly with faculty, staff, students and parents and have fiscal management expertise. HYA staff met with school district and community groups to develop data for the report. 02.13.08 Discovery Student Wins Highest HonorsA student representing Discovery School recently won highest honors in this year's WordMasters Challenge, a national language arts competition entered by over 230,000 students annually, which consists of three separate meets held at intervals during the school year. Competing in the difficult Blue Division of the Challenge, fifth-grader Jesse Amdahl earned a perfect score in the year's first meet, held in December. Read the full story. 01.28.08 Oak Hill Students Win Highest HonorsThree students from Oak Hill recently won highest honors in this year's WordMasters Challenge, a national language arts competition entered by over 230,000 students annually. The challenge consists of three separate meets held at intervals during the school year. Competing in the Blue Division of the Challenge, fifth grade students Kaitlin Buls, Leah Grunke, and Molly Parries all earned perfect scores in the year's first meet held in December. In the entire country, only 189 fifth graders earned perfect scores. Read the full story. 01.28.08 Westwood Students Win Highest HonorsA team of students representing Westwood Elementary School recently won highest honors in the WordMasters Challenge, a national language arts competition entered by over 230,000 students annually, which consists of three separate meets held at intervals during the school year. Competing in the Blue Division of the Challenge and coached by Nancy Diedrich, the school's fifth graders placed fourth in the nation in the year's first meet, held in Dec. Read the full story. 01.28.08 Staff Development Day ActivitiesJan. 22 was a Professional Development Day in District 742. Professional Development is a high priority in District 742. Teachers used the day to learn and grow professionally in order to help students achieve. Click here to find out what happened at the Jan. 22 Professional Development Day. 01.23.08 Westwood Teams Take First at Three USAT MeetsWestwood teams took first at three United States Academic Triathlon (USAT) meets held Jan. 11. Westwood Team C100 took first place at the Discovery Challenger Division. Team members are Cooper Gray, Jason Omann, Eli Knutson, Becca O'Neil and Christine Stephani. At Madison Elementary in the Challenger Division, Westwood Team C096 took first place. Team members are Matt Briese, Alli Hoggarth, Ben Randall, Katelyn Schneider and Sarah White. At Talahi Community School in the Challenger Division, Westwood Team C097 took first place. Team members are Kevin Duong, Ashley Gregerson, Alec Logeman, Rick Schug and Tim Wehrs. USAT is an Academic Achievement and Talent Development program coordinated by Karen Hommerding. 01.14.08 Board Reorganizes, Elects LeadersDebra Lalley is the Board of Education's new chair. Lalley was elected by fellow board members at the board's annual reorganization meeting Jan. 3 at the District Administration Office. Ronald Seibring is vice-chair. Les Green is clerk. Joanne Dorsher is treasurer. Learn more about our board members. 01.04.08 Clearview 1 Wins Southside K-Bowl MeetTeam 1 from Clearview Elementary School finished first at the final Knowledge Bowl meet Dec. 13 at Talahi Elementary School. Team members are Matthew Damhof, Coleman Goenner, Ashley Wolter, Rachel Michalski, Sam Peterson and James Prince. Lincoln 1 finished second and Oak Hill 3 finished third. 12.14.07 Late Start Staff Development ActivitiesThe two-hour late start on Dec. 12 provided time for Professional Development activities in District 742. Professional Development is a time for teachers to learn ways to improve their teaching in order to raise student achievement. Many sites have leadership teams that work collaboratively with their building administrator to design topics for staff development time. The topics chosen are based on building needs. Click here to find out what activities took place in each building. 12.13.07 Westwood 3 Wins Northside K-Bowl MeetTeam 3 from Westwood Elementary School finished first at the final Knowledge Bowl meet Dec. 11 at Westwood Elementary School. Team members are Becca O'Neil, Cooper Gray, Alec Logeman, Matt Briese, Ashley Gregerson and Jason Omann. Kennedy 4 finished second and Kennedy 1 finished third. 12.12.07 Clearview 2 Wins Southside K-Bowl MeetThe 3rd meet of the Southside Knowledge Bowl season was held Dec. 6 at Clearview Elementary School. Team 2 from Clearview Elementary finished first out of 12 teams. Team members are Matthew Damhof, Caleb Hennek, Jesse Roberts, Rachel Damhof, Hannah Robinson and Isaac Wieber. Oak Hill 1 finished second and Oak Hill 2 finished third. 12.07.07 Westwood 1 Wins Northside K-Bowl MeetTeam 1 from Westwood Elementary School finished first at the Knowledge Bowl meet Dec. 4 at Madison Elementary School. Team members are Alli Hoggarth, Matt Briese, Katherine Bastian, Meagan Brennan, Phillip Schmidt and Aaron Bible. Madison 1 finished second and Kennedy 4 finished third. 12.05.07 Lincoln 1 Wins Southside K-Bowl MeetThe 2nd meet of the Southside Knowledge Bowl season was held Nov. 29 at Oak Hill Elementary School. Team 1 from Lincoln Elementary School finished first out of 12 teams. Team members are Rebekah Theis, Haley McGuire, Arinn Ganguly, Kendyll Spells, Alyssa Cavanaugh and Ava Huebner. Clearview 1 finished second and Talahi 2 finished third. 11.29.07 Staff Development Day ActivitiesNov. 26 was a Professional Development Day in District 742. Professional Development is a time for teachers to learn ways to improve their teaching in order to raise student achievement. Many sites have leadership teams that work collaboratively with their building administrator to design topics for staff development time. The topics chosen are based on building needs. Click here to find out what happened at the Nov. 26 Professional Development Day. 11.27.07 Westwood 4 Wins Northside K-Bowl MeetTeam 4 from Westwood Elementary School finished first out of 15 teams at the Knowledge Bowl meet Nov. 27 at Kennedy Elementary School. Team members are Zachery Estwick, Matt Briese, Ashley Block, Samantha Holm, Andrew Dahlberg and Meghan Voight. Kennedy 2 finished second and Kennedy 4 finished third. 11.27.07 Clearview Wins Southside K-Bowl OpenerA Clearview Elementary team of Matthew Damhof, Rachel Michalski, Brennan Paulson, Coleman Goenner, Danny Kruchter and Kyra Hennek captured first place at the Nov. 15 Southside Knowledge Bowl meet at Lincoln. Lincoln Team 2 and Oak Hill Team 3 captured second and third, respectively. Knowledge Bowl meets are interdisciplinary academic contests for fifth- and sixth-graders. Questions test recall, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Teams compete in written and oral rounds. 11.16.07 Youthbuild Named Volunteer Group of the YearDistrict 742 Area Learning Center West (ALC's) Youthbuild program, in partnership with Stearns-Benton Employment and Training Council, was awarded the Volunteer Group of the Year Award at the Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Appreciation held at Gorecki Event Center at the College of St. Benedict Nov. 13. Members in attendance included Superintendent Bruce Watkins; ALC Director Mark Lindquist; Dave Masters, Youthbuild Coordinator; Bill Garceau, Youthbuild Coordinator; Cyndi Simson, Work Experience Coordinator; Brandon Hazelrigg and Bianca Hazelrigg, Youthbuild participants. During the past three years of program operation over 28 students have been involved in a total of over 3000 hours of service to Habitat for Humanity. View a photo. 11.14.07 Westwood Wins Northside K-Bowl OpenerA Westwood Elementary team of Matt Briese, Amanda Vasek, Hannah Staska, Alanna Hagerman and John Dahlberg captured first place at the Nov. 13 Northside Knowledge Bowl meet at Discovery. Kennedy Team 2 and Team 4 captured second and third, respectively. Knowledge Bowl meets are interdisciplinary academic contests for fifth- and sixth-graders. Questions test recall, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Teams compete in written and oral rounds. 11.14.07 Operating Referendum FailsOn Nov. 6 voters failed to pass both Questions 1 and 2 of the operating referendum. Question 1, which would have raised $620 per pupil, would have supported the current teacher to student ratio, student transportation services, student activities and district fine arts programming and operational efficiencies. Question 2, which would have raised $30 per pupil, would have supported upgrades and provided technology to improve student achievement and meet state mandated requirements for taking tests electronically. View the official election result. 11.07.07 School Board Election ResultsIncumbents Sigrid Hedman-Dennis, Bruce Mohs and Jerry Von Korff will retain their seats on the Board of Education based on the official results from the Nov. 6 general election. The new three-year terms begin in January. View the official election results. 11.07.07 Kennedy Teachers Visit New School SiteKennedy Elementary School teachers traveled to the site of the new school on Nov. 2 as a part of the staff development activities that day. This was the first look at the new school for most of them. It gave them an opportunity to see where their rooms will be located in relation to the rest of the building. Click here for a slide show of the visit. 11.05.07 Professional Development: District 742 Style!What is professional development anyway? By definition, professional development is the means by which educators acquire or enhance the knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs necessary to create high levels of learning for all students. Simply put, professional development is teaching educators ways in which they can improve their practice to, in turn, improve student achievement. District 742 is fortunate enough to have seven professional development days which are built into the calendar with two 2-hour early dismissals and 2-two hour late starts. Find out what happened in District 742 at the Sept. 26 early dismissal day and Nov. 2 professional development day. 11.05.07 Staff Members Receive LEEA AwardFourteen District 742 staff members were recognized for educational excellence at the Leadership in Educational Excellence Awards (LEEA). Read the full story. View a photo. 11.05.07 Hentges Receives SJU Alumni Achievement AwardBruce Hentges of District 742 received a Saint John's University (SJU) Alumni Achievement Award during his Class of 1972 35-year reunion banquet at Homecoming Oct. 6. SJU Alumni Achievement Awards are presented annually during the Homecoming weekend for each of the classes celebrating 20-year through 50-year reunions. An individual classmate is recognized for his accomplishments. Hentges was saluted for his coaching and education career and also for his great work with LEAF and MAPS. 10.08.07 United Way Highlights Westwood StudentsJoan Elton, second-grade teacher at Westwood Elementary School, and students Jacob Fujan and Hunter Jongeward were highlighted as part of the United Way's Annual kick-off breakfast held Sept. 20 at the Radisson Hotel, St. Cloud. Elton, Fujan and Jongeward shared their experiences regarding a service learning project that they and their second grade class participated in the spring of 2007. Students ordered supplies, created gift baskets and delivered them to residents in a local nursing home facility. Funding for the project was made available from a grant through the United Way’s Youth As Resources Program. Read the full story. View the photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5. 09.21.07 Secure Online Food Account Payments Now AvailableFamilies and staff now have the ability to make secure online food account payments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, using PayForIt.net. To set up an account you need a valid e-mail address, a credit card (Visa or Mastercard only) and your child's PIN number. Each child in your family can be set up on the same account. Money added to the account typically displays in less than 24 hours. You can also set up e-mail reminders to notify you when the account balance gets low or you can set up recurring payments. 09.21.07 Nov. 6 School Board ElectionThe general school board election will be held on Nov 6. The following incumbents have filed for re-election: 09.04.07
Visit http://pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us/ to find out where to vote. View a sample ballot. Operating Referendum: Nov. 6District 742 will place two referendum questions on the Nov. 6 ballot. Question 1 would provide $620 per pupil. The money would support the current teacher to student ratio, student transportation services, student activities and district fine arts programming and operational efficiencies. Question 2 would provide $30 per pupil. The money would support upgrades and provide technology to improve student achievement and meet state mandated requirements for taking tests electronically. View our Referendum Q&A document. Use the tax impact calculator to determine how much the referendum will cost property owners. Visit http://pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us/ to find out where to vote. View a sample ballot. 08.28.07 Schoolink Welcome Center Now OpenSchoolink Welcome Center is located in the Roosevelt Early Childhood Center. The Welcome Center is a place for families new to our community to register their children for any District 742 school and also receive the help, services, and referrals they need to get students ready to enter school. Visit our Schoolink Welcome Center web page for more information. 07.20.07 Kindergarten Language Immersion ProgramNew in 2007/2008 is all day Kindergarten Immersion Language Programs in Spanish and Chinese. Programming for this first year will only be for Kindergarten students. Click here for more information about immersion programs. Read about the Chinese Immersion Program and the Spanish Immersion Program. Click here for FAQs about Immersion Programs. Download the application form. Contact Julia Espe for more information. 07.01.07 |
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