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TRANSCRIPT
Volume XXIV, Issue 1
CAT TRACKS
Chisago Lakes High School
With fall comes the beginning of yet another school year. I
am extremely excited about what lies ahead this year. We
have a few new staff members who will be working with our
students “in and out” of our classrooms. Please welcome:
Lisa Lund: Lisa joins us in our student services department (a.k.a. guidance
office) as our Registrar. She has worked in the legal area as a para legal.
Jon Erickson: Jon joins our science department. He comes to us from
Moundsview School District. He has a degree from Bethel University.
Carter Vogt: Carter joins our student services department as one of our three
full-time counselors. Carter has his degree from University of Wisconsin-
Stout.
Jerilyn Mattson: Jerilyn joins our SpEd department. She comes to us from CL
Ed Center at Fairview where she taught for three years.
Kelly Houston: Kelly joins our special education department and will be work-
ing in mainstream classes.
Sadie Jorgensen: Sadie joins our special education ALP department and will
be working in both special education and mainstream classes.
Jennifer Langer: Jennifer also joins our special education ALP department
and will be working in both special education and mainstream classes.
Neil Heinecke: Neil joins us in our ADSIS Focus (study skills) program. He
has had experiences in public schools and in the private sector.
Matt Koehn: Matt is one of our three physical education & health teachers. He
has his degree from Bethel University.
Jason Thompson: Jason has been one of our special education teachers for sev-
eral years but will now take over the Dean of Students and Truancy Outreach
duties.
This group of staff members have a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences
that will enrich our classrooms this year. We are fortunate to have them
“onboard”.
Continued...
From the Principal...Mr. Ertl
September 2016
www.chisagolakes.k12.mn.us
Points of Interest:
Conferences
2017 Yearbooks
News from departments
Voice of Democracy
Contest
Attention Parents...
You are invited to
attend the first PTO
meeting at 6:30 p.m.
on Monday, Oct. 24
in the high school
media center.
PAGE 2 CAT TRACKS VOLUME XXIV, ISSUE 1
From the Principal...continued from page 1
CLHS Excels in the Classroom Last spring U.S. News & World Report released its 2016 Best High Schools Rankings in April and Chisago Lakes High
School was awarded a bronze medal! Schools were ranked within each state, as well as on a national stage. Out of the
21,000 schools, 500 were awarded gold medals, 1,790 were awarded silver and 2,515 took home bronze.
To continue our review, let’s examine CLHS’s test scores. CLHS was once again, ahead of the state in all three MCA-III
tests in science, reading, and math. The staff, students, and our entire community ought to be proud of our high school.
We are extremely proud of our past accomplishments and will be working with a high degree of diligence again this year
to achieve at our traditional high levels.
MCA Math MCA Reading MCA Science
Golden Behavior Wild Card
A CLHS student may receive a Wild Card from any staff member for exhibiting positive behavior, strong leadership
skills, integrity, or improving their academic performance. The Wild Card is redeemable in the guidance office once
they spin the wheel for a prize.
Golden Attendance Program CLHS recognizes positive school attendance to be an integral part of school success and has set up the following re-
ward program.
Students with perfect attendance during a nine-week grading period (one term) will receive a beverage coupon
and are entered in a drawing for a TV, home stereo, DVD player, etc. Perfect attendance is considered as no
tardies, no unexcused or excused absences (school sponsored activities will not be considered as an absence).
This fall, we will continue our student GO WILD incentive-based programs: Golden Attendance and Behavior pro-
grams. These programs are funded by the dollars we receive back from the Coke and Bernicks incentive programs.
CLHS Continues its High Standards CLHS was once again granted continuing accreditation for this past school year 2015-2016 from the
North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI). Chisago
Lakes joins over 9,000 schools across a 19 state region that were honored for earning accreditation. We
have maintained accreditation status since 1982.
To earn accreditation, schools must meet NCA CASI’s high standards, be evaluated by a team of professional from out-
side the school, and implement a continuous school improvement plan focused on increasing student performance. The
accreditation process is voluntary and requires annual review.
Accreditation provides an external mark of quality and a proven process for school improvement. Improvement begins
with a detailed analysis of student performance data that identifies areas of weakness, and leads the staff through
goal setting, plan development and implementation. We regularly assess and measure our progress in all goal areas,
and NCA CASI holds us accountable for demonstrating growth. The process keeps everyone in the building focused on
raising student achievement.
VOLUME XXIV, ISSUE 1 CAT TRACKS PAGE 3
From the Principal...continued from page 2
With our current improvement cycle, CLHS has selected the goal of “raising student math achievement” across all
curriculum areas. Staff development activities will focus on math strategies, assessment and interventions. Our
building is committed to this goal and raising student achievement across the content areas.
Parents and interested community members can learn more about NCA CASI accreditation at www.ncacasi.org.
Something to Reflect On…… I wish to end this edition of my Cat Tracks article with a short story I received from a teacher friend of mine who sent
me the link. It has a strong message as we embark on another great and exciting school year. The author is
Suminder Kaur:
BANK ACCOUNT
Imagine there is a bank, which credits your account each morning with Rs 86,400, carries over no balance from day to
day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use
during the day. What would you do? Draw out every pence, of course!
Well, everyone has such a bank. Its name is Time.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to
invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each
night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow."
Therefore, there is never not enough time or too much time. Time management is decided by us alone and nobody else.
It is never the case of us not having enough time to do things, but the case of whether we want to do it.
Until next time……take care.
The high school business department
continues to focus on providing a dy-
namic, progressive curriculum that
emphasizes real world lessons and
projects that will prepare students for
post-secondary education and the
world of work. Students can enroll in
computer courses such as Computer
Applications I and II, Web Design I
and II, and Introductory Computer
Programming. Personal Money Man-
agement, Business and Personal Law,
Marketing I and II, Accounting, Small
Business Ownership, and Introduc-
tion to Business are also great options
to round off the elective classes that
are offered.
*NEW: Through Project Lead The
Way (PLTW) we will be offering an
Introductory Computer Programming
course this year. Brian Swanson will
be the lead teacher in this new pro-
gram addition to the business depart-
ment.
Lynn Stoltz is in her 19th year at
CLHS and teaches Freshman Sem-
inar, Introduction to Business,
Computer Applications, and Per-
sonal Money Management. In ad-
dition, she is the Business Profes-
sionals of America advisor. BPA is
a great way for students to improve
leadership and communication
skills as a chapter while attending
leadership and competitive events
conferences off-site.
Jason Mahlen is in his 16th year at
CLHS and is the main instructor
for the computer classes. Students
are encouraged to take the founda-
tion class called Computer Applica-
tions I where they learn the basics
of the MS Office software suite
(Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), and
are exposed to Photoshop and Ado-
be Fireworks. They can enroll in
Web Design I, Web Design II, and
Computer Applications II based on
their interests and abilities discov-
ered. In addition, he will be teach-
ing Personal Finance and Business
& Personal Law this year.
Brian Swanson is in his 3rd year at
CLHS and 8th as a high school
teacher. He will be the main in-
structor for the Marketing and
PLTW curriculum. In addition, he
will be teaching Accounting and
Small Business Ownership. Mr.
Swanson has also taken over the
DECA advisor role and plans on
taking students to some local com-
petitive events this year.
We continue to make minor changes
to all of our business classes annual-
ly to give students the foundational
skills they need to be successful and
meet the needs of a dynamic and
progressive international business
and technology workforce.
PAGE 4 CAT TRACKS VOLUME XXIV, ISSUE 1
Meet your Guidance Office
Staff!
School Counselors:
Amy Malloy (A-G)
651-213-2511
Carter Vogt (H-N) 651-213-2509
Alyssa Randall (O-Z) 651-213-2508
Registrar (transcripts):
Lisa Lund 651-213-2510
College & Career Development
Facilitator (scholarships,
career/college exploration and col-
lege visits):
Jen Hegstad 651-213-2517
Therapeutic Services
Agency
Sheena Malm from Therapeutic Ser-
vices Agency (TSA) will be returning
this year. Sheena is a therapist from
TSA that will be located in the high
school during the school day. She will
be offering mental health services.
Parents interested in having their stu-
dent see a therapist during the school
day can call their school counselor.
Post-Secondary Planning
for all students
The counselors will be presenting a
new college/career information pro-
gram called MCIS to students in grade
level classes throughout the year.
9th grade - Freshmen Seminar – Stu-
dents will complete a career interest
inventory, start a resume, research
careers and colleges, create a 4-year
education plan and start to calculate
cost of education.
10th grade - English 10 – Students
will update their 4 year education
plan, complete a career interest pro-
file, research careers and colleges,
update resume and examine the
costs of higher education
11th grade - Academic Writing –
Students will update their 4 year
education plan, re-take career inter-
est inventory and/or interest profile,
research careers, complete a college
search, calculate the cost of higher
education and work on scholarship/
college essay writing.
12th grade – Individual Senior In-
terviews with counselor
Senior Interviews
Counselors began meeting with their
seniors September 12th to accom-
plish their “senior inter-views”
where we review graduation and
career/post-secondary plans. A let-
ter was sent home the week of Sep-
tember 6th with your student’s as-
signed interview date and time. We
encourage parents to be apart of
these meetings if possible. To pro-
vide more opportunity for parents to
participate we are offering evening
times on a limited basis. Please call
Jen at 651-213-2517 if you would
like to reschedule your student’s
appointment to one of the evening
spots. Parents/Students will not be
able to drop in during these hours.
Ms. Malloy: Wednesdays Sept. 21
and 28 from 3:00-7:00 p.m.
Mr. Vogt: Thursdays Sept. 20 and 27
from 3:00-7:00 p.m.
Ms. Randall: Mondays Sept. 19 and
26 from 3:00-7:00 p.m.
College Application Week
Counselors will be available in the
Media Center the week of October
24-28 from 7:50-2:30 p.m. to assist
seniors in completing their applica-
tions to college; this includes com-
munity college, technical college
and 4-year public and private col-
leges. Students are welcome to stop
in the Media Center during an open
hour, during lunch or during a class
if given permission from their
teacher in order to get help on their
college applications.
MN College Goal
Financial Aid Workshop
On Tuesday, November 15, CLHS is
a site for the Minnesota College
Goal Financial Aid Workshop. We
will start with a short presentation
by Shawn Reynolds, Director of Fi-
nancial Aid at Pine Technical Col-
lege, at 5:00 pm and 6:30 pm and
then open up our media center lab
for students and parents to be able
to work on their FAFSA application
and ask questions. A separate letter
will be mailed home from the high
school with more details about this
evening’s events.
ACT Testing
All juniors, Class of 2018, will take
the ACT + Writing on April 19th,
2017 during the school day, free of
charge. Students do not need to
register online for this date, regis-
tration will be completed in the
school day.
Seniors who would like to test/re-
test are recommended to sign up for
the September or October test date.
Students can register for the ACT
at www.actstudent.org.
To register for the SAT test go to
www.collegeboard.com
Amy Malloy (A-G), Carter Vogt (H-N) and Alyssa Randall (O-Z)
a variety of college and career re-
sources; available via on line or in
print. Students will find infor-
mation on ACT/SAT testing, Ac-
cuplacer testing, financial aid, col-
lege application resources (including
PSEO), as well as career opportuni-
ties such as job shadowing and in-
ternships. Students can find infor-
mation on upcoming college and mil-
itary visits and scholarship infor-
mation in the Career Center. All
students are encouraged to check
the high school website Guidance
Office & College/Career Center page
for the most updated information
and news on colleges and career op-
portunities. Any questions can be
directed to Jen Hegstad at 651-213-
2517 or at [email protected].
Transcripts
Chisago Lakes High School is
pleased to announce a new, quicker
process for obtaining student tran-
scripts. We have partnered with
Parchment, an electronic transcript
service, to better serve students and
families. Current and former stu-
dents and parents will be able to
order transcripts and have them
sent electronically to colleges, uni-
versities, NCAA, and other institu-
tions. The system is available 24
hours a day, seven days a week, and
365 days a year. There is a small
fee of $3.50 per transcript request.
Requests of transcripts for scholar-
ships will be free when requested by
Jen Hegstad in the CLHS Counsel-
ing Office.
The Link to Parchment is on the
CLHS website. Students and par-
ents are able to request transcripts
in person from Lisa Lund, Registrar
at CLHS, for a $5 fee. Please regis-
ter your student with Parchment
today! If you have questions, please
contact your student’s counselor or
Lisa Lund at 213-2510.
VOLUME XXIV, ISSUE 1 CAT TRACKS PAGE 5
Important Dates for
Juniors and their Parents
Junior Career Fair – January 6,
2017 during the school day
Junior Information Night – Febru-
ary 6, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. in the P.A.C.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
In an effort to provide parents with as
much information as possible the
counselors will be offering the follow-
ing sessions in the lecture hall during
conferences this year:
Term 1
October 3 – Lecture Hall
Time: 5:00 p.m. – All grades; Interest-
ed in learning about the different
ways students can earn college credit
while in high school? Attend an infor-
mational session about College in the
School, Advanced Placement (AP) and
Post-Secondary Enrollment Option
(PSEO).
Term 2 (note date change)
December 5 – Lecture Hall
Time: 6:00 p.m. – Grade 12; Scholar-
ship Information/local community
scholarship application process
Term 3
February 23 – Lecture Hall
Time: 5:00 p.m.— Grades 10-11,
MCA and ACT test prep Information
PreACT Testing
The PreACT test is a new test put out
by ACT. This is an optional test for
10th graders to sign up for. The test
will be given on Tuesday, November
22nd starting at 7:50 a.m. in the
Lecture Hall. Students will need to
sign up ahead of time in the front of-
fice. Cost is $15. The PreACT simu-
lates the ACT testing experience by
providing students early exposure to
ACT test-quality questions and pre-
dictive score ranges on the same 1-36
ACT scale. This would allow students
to identify areas of strength and areas
to improve upon prior to the ACT in
the junior year. The PreACT is lim-
ited to the first 100 students to
register.
PSAT Testing
Each year the PSAT is offered to jun-
iors in the top half of their class plus
high-ranking sophomores. Students
are not rEach year the PSAT is of-
fered to juniors in the top half of their
class plus high-ranking sophomores.
Students are not required to take the
test. For juniors, taking the PSAT is
the first step in competing for Nation-
al Merit Scholarships. The PSAT is
designed to help students to prepare
for the SAT. The SAT is required by
some ivy league and East coast colleg-
es in the Admissions process. This
year’s PSAT will be given on Wednes-
day, October 19th, 2016 in the high
school Lecture Hall at 7:50 a.m. Cost
is $17. All students taking the test
must be registered in the front office.
Registration begins September 19th.
The PSAT is limited to the first
100 students to register.
Career Resource Center,
College Rep Visits, and
Scholarships
Throughout the school year students
can access the Career Resource Cen-
ter located in the Guidance Office for
(continued)
PAGE 6 CAT TRACKS VOLUME XXIV, ISSUE 1
Reserve Your Copy of the 2016-
17 Yearbook!
If you did not purchase a yearbook
during the Back to School special
you still have the opportunity to
purchase. The current cost of the
yearbook only is $70.00. For addi-
tional cost you can add personali-
zation and icons to the cover. Or-
ders can be completed online or
send check or cash with order form
to the high school, attention
“yearbook”. Order forms can be
downloaded from the high school
website under parents/yearbook
or picked up in the front admin-
istration office or guidance office.
Senior Pictures!
Reminder that Senior portraits are
due no later than Friday, November
30th. There will be NO extensions
on this deadline. To ensure appro-
priate time for editing and proofing
deadlines are strictly adhered to. In
addition to a senior portrait a single
childhood picture can also be sub-
mitted along with the student’s sen-
ior portrait. All Senior portraits
must be sent in digital format.
Those who have childhood photos
that are in print format only can
give them to Jen Hegstad, Yearbook
Advisor, to be scanned and re-
turned. Please contact Jen at 651-
213-2517 or at
[email protected] with any
questions regarding yearbook.
VFW SPONSORS YOUTH ESSAY CONTEST
Prizes include $30,000 Scholarship, trip to DC
Entries due: by NOON on Monday, October 24, 2016
The Local VFW Post 7267 will once again sponsor the Voice of Democracy oral
essay contest for high school students.
To participate, students record a 3-5 minute oral essay on a cassette tape or CD. The essay
theme for this year’s contest is “My Responsibility to America". The top prize is a $30,000
scholarship and a trip to Washington, D.C. Local winners win a cash prize.
Students are encouraged to show their honor for our veterans by participating in the
contest. The oral essay requirements are relatively short, and the prizes are significant. As
the saying goes, “you can’t win if you don’t play.” Someone has to be the winner, so why not a
student from Chisago Lakes? Two years ago Chisago Lakes Senior, Ali Saueressig won at
the state level and in turn won a trip to Washington, DC. Last year Sarah Burch won at the
district level and went on to compete at state.
Students can get contest entry forms and rules from Mr. Wagner at the CLHS
starting October 3. The deadline for the contest is noon on Monday, October 24,
2016. Turn in your entry to Mr. Wagner, in room LA6.
Please contact Bonnie Anderson, Enrichment Volunteer Coordinator, at
651-257-2467 or [email protected], if you have questions or would like
additional information about the contest.
school nurse is available
to work with your and
your physician to develop
an emergency and/or indi-
vidualized healthcare
plan as necessary to help
meet your student’s
needs.
Influenza
season is just
around the
corner!
Remember to contact your
family's health care pro-
vider regarding flu shots
for your entire family.
Nasal flu mist may be an
option for some members,
consult with your medical
provider.
If your student is unable to
attend school due to diag-
nosed influenza or is at
home with "influenza-like"
symptoms, (fever of 100° or
higher, sore throat or
cough) please indicate this
in the message you leave
on the attendance line at
651-213-2513. This im-
portant information is com-
municated to the MN Dept.
of Health as they track the
occurrence of the disease in
our state throughout flu
season.
Thank you for your assis-
tance in helping us to moni-
tor this annual health con-
cern.
We look forward to working
with you and your student!
Laura Gustafson
School Nurse
651-213-2536
Cathy Bentfield
Health Assistant
651-213-2505
Please remember to update
the emergency contact in-
formation for your student
(s) in your ParentVUE ac-
count at the beginning of
each school year and as
changes occur. You’ll need to
do this for each of the chil-
dren in your household. Cur-
rent contact information is
very important should we
need to reach you in the
event your student becomes
ill or injured while at school.
If you haven't set up your
new ParentVUE account,
please do so. If you need
your activation key to set up
your account, contact
Marnee at 651-213-2502 or
You may notify the school
health office directly of any
chronic or current health
condition that we should be
aware of to be able to pro-
vide the appropriate care for
your student during the
school day. Medications can
be administered at school
with parent and physician
authorization (forms are
available in the health office
and on
the dis-
trict web-
site). The
VOLUME XXIV, ISSUE 1 CAT TRACKS PAGE 7
PAGE 8 CAT TRACKS VOLUME XXIV, ISSUE 1
The Art Department is Taking Photos Throwing Pots
Drawing and Painting
After years of students at CLHS have been asking for a photography class... it is here! Photography is offered to
11th-12th graders and the only prerequisite is Art Fundamentals. Term 1 class is up and running.
Digital photography offers experiences in; learning about your camera, history of photography, published
photographers, framing an image, lighting and using various types of visual compositions when taking
photographs. Photography will be offered throughout the year, so see your counselor to register!
Advanced Ceramics and Advanced Painting will be offered this year. These classes are designed for those
students who really loved ceramics and painting and now are given the chance to make independent, creative and
well developed projects. The work that students did last year was so unique and original. Can’t wait to see what
they come up with this year.
Congratulations to all the students who made it into the district calendar. We are so thankful that Bob Meyer
and the district keep producing it. It is such a wonderful opportunity to showcase our students to the community.
Congratulations to the students who participated in the East Central Regional Art Council’s “Open Gallery Art
Show” in conjunction with Braham Pie Day. It was fun to see our CLHS students on display with local artists
who make art professionally. The art will be on display through the end of September in Braham.
May SCHOOL WIDE ART SHOW at spring parent teacher conferences. This show is open to all
students, all mediums, if you haven’t taken an art class at CLHS, that is just fine, you can enter too!
**Remember you need an art credit to graduate** the Art Department offers a wide arrangement of courses to
meet the needs and interest of all students no matter the skill level. Art Fundamentals, Advanced Art
Fundamentals, Drawing, Painting, Ceramics, Photography, Adv. Painting, Adv. Ceramics and MORE!
PAGE 9 CAT TRACKS VOLUME XXIV, ISSUE 1