March 9, 2016 Vol. 1, Issue 10

Eighth Grader Qualifies For Spelling Bee

Elise  Weier  and  KARE-­‐11  reporter  Jana  Shortal  squared  off  in  a  mock  spelling  bee  last  week.  You  can  watch  the  story  online  at  http://kare11.tv/1RQ1h6W  

Shakopee West Junior High 8th grader, Elise Weier, has qualified for the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Weier qualified for the national competition by winning the South Central Service Cooperative Regional Spelling Bee on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at South Central College in North Mankato. Elise won regional bee by beating out 42 other competitors in 17 rounds of competition. She won the competition by correcting spelling the word “mercerize” in the 17th and final round. The Scripps National Spelling Bee will take place May 22-27. The onstage rounds of competition will take place May 25-26 in the Maryland Ballroom within the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

West Students Go On A Google Expedition Students at West Junior High took virtual field trips on Monday, March 7 using Google Expedition – a virtual reality platform built for the classroom, making it easy to immerse students in entirely new experiences. Google Expeditions are guided tours of places school buses can’t go. They are comprised of virtual reality panoramas and are led by a guide or teacher. These pictures are of Mrs. Micholic’s 7th grade science students, who were able to visit the Galapagos Islands without leaving Shakopee by wearing virtual reality viewers! They swam with sharks, chased birds, and learned many fun and interesting facts about the Galapagos. To learn more about Google Expeditions, go online to google.com/edu/expeditions.

 

 

I Love To Read Month

Sweeney Elementary held its annual Read-A-Thon on February 26 to celebrate I Love to Read Month. Teachers each chose a different theme and students traveled to three different classrooms to read books about their chose themes. Themes included books about camping, dinosaurs, Fly Guy, and many more.

Fourth Grade teachers at Eagle Creek dressed up like a rock band to help kick off I Love to Read Month. Eagle Creek’s theme this year was Read Like a Rock Star!

Read Like A Rock Star

 

 

Saber Sport Shorts Wrestlers Win State Titles

Swimmers Record Best State Meet Finish

Mitchell Named Mr. Basketball Finalist

Girls Basketball Team Seeks State Tourney Berth

Junior  Brent  Jones  and  sophomore  Alex  Lloyd  

Junior Brent Jones recently won his third straight individual state wrestling championship by taking first place in the 126-pound weight class this year. Sophomore Alex Lloyd captured his first state title at 145 pounds. Junior Alex Crowe (132 pounds) and senior Emmett Wagner (160 pounds) both took third place in their respective weight classes. Freshman Tyler Jones and junior Carson Poshusta also qualified for the state tournament this year.

Senior Steffon Mitchell has been named one of five finalists for the 2016 Mr. Basketball Award. The winner will be announced after the boys’ basketball state tournament. Mitchell averaged 25.3 points per game this season in 28 games. He finished his career as Shakopee’s all-time leading scorer with 1,985 points. The other four finalists for the Mr. Basketball Award are Johnny Beeninga from Wayzata, Brock Bertram from Apple Valley, Amir Coffey from Hopkins, and Michael Hurt from Rochester John Marshall.

The Shakopee girls’ basketball team will play in the section 2AAAA championship game at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 11 at Hopkins High School against the Minnetonka Skippers. The Sabers are the No. 1 seed and will enter the game with a record of 27-1. The Skippers are the No. 2 seed and will enter the game with a record of 24-4. Good luck Sabers!

The Shakopee boys’ swimming and diving team earned the program’s best ever finish at the state meet on Saturday, March 5 when it placed 15th in the Class AA standings. The team’s 200-yard medley relay team of senior Hunter Greenhalgh, junior Hans Hover, sophomore Alex Kraft, and freshman Liam Bergerson took 7th place with a time of 1:37.82. The team’s 400-yard freestyle relay team of Bergerson, Hover, Kraft, and senior Josh Klemm placed 14th. Senior diver Josh Theis placed 11th in the 1-meter diving competition, Bergerson placed 13th in the 100-yard backstroke and Kraft placed 16th in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events.

 

 

Two Tweets Not on … By Dave Orlowsky

Is pre-testing/assessing good practice? What happens if a pre-test is given, & some/many students are already proficient on 1/2 or more of the upcoming knowledge & skills…before instruction even starts? This could save time, impact instruction & enhance the student experience! (280)

Students Have Art Displayed at Normandale Fine Arts Gallery

Ten Shakopee High School students currently have works of art on display at the Normandale Community College Fine Arts Gallery. The art is on

display as part of the South Suburban High School Conference Art Show, which runs through March 17. Students with pieces on display include Kaleb Cardona, Robin Frost, Saturnina Gonzales, Julia Hance, Vera Melanina, Vy Nguyen, Judy Penman, Tristen Pink, Morgan Purdy, and Jade Tran. The Normandale Fine Arts Gallery is located in the College’s Fine Arts Building. Exhibit hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The gallery is closed on Sundays.

National School Breakfast Week is March 7-11

Shakopee Schools are participating in National School Breakfast Week, March 7-11. This week long celebration of the school breakfast program is aimed at increasing breakfast participation among students and informing parents that our schools are serving healthy and tasty breakfast options.

DLC’s Announce Creativity Contest Winners

Shakopee’s Digital Learning Coaches have announced the winners of their first ever DLC Creativity Contest (What I Love About Shakopee Schools). Congrats to Sara Connell of Sun Path, Loretta Greogry of Eagle Creek and Natalie Weatherman of Pearson 6th Grade Center. Click here to be directed to the DLC newsletter “Catching Creativity” to watch the videos.

 

 

Leap Day Celebrations

Red  Oak  Principal  Mitch  Perrine  and  Assistant  Principal  Ford  Rolfsrud  dressed  up  as  Frog  and  Toad  on  Leap  Day.  They  biked  down  the  halls  of  the  school,  stopping  in  each  classroom  to  hand  out  frog  pencils  to  the  students.    

Assistant  Principal  John  Mahal  of  Sweeney  Elementary  got  into  the  Leap  Day  Spirit  by  leaping  over  groups  of  Sweeney  students!  

Even  the  District  Office  got  into  the  fun  of  Leap  Day.  Mike  Burlager,  Scott  Hare,  Julie  Menden  and  John  Bezek  demonstrate  their  verticals!  

 

 

Around the Schools

Eagle Creek Students Explore Google Cardboard

CAPS Students Hold Teddy Bear Clinic for Preschoolers

Jackson Holds Kindergarten Concert

Girdner Wins Staff Chili Cook Off at Pearson

Pearson 6th Grade Center held its annual staff chili cook-off on Thursday, March 3. Tim Girdner took first place in this year’s contest, while Darren Hartje took second place.

CAPS students in the Health and Medicine program held a Teddy Bear Clinic for preschoolers at Central Family Center on Tuesday, March 8. Kids were able to bring in their stuffed animals for check-ups, which were conducted by CAPS students and students in the Nursing Assistant class at the High School.

Students at Eagle Creek Elementary recently had an opportunity to explore Google Cardboard – a virtual reality experience with a simple viewer that anyone can build or buy. Using an app, students had the opportunity to ride a virtual roller coaster and also explored space by traveling as an astronaut.

 

 

All race profit goes to the Shakopee Physical Education Programs in our Shakopee Schools.

June 4, 2016

Sun Path Elementary

Bring your family and friends for a day of fun, community and exercise.

Register online at www.active.com (search for Celebration of Children)

or visit the race website for additional information.

http://sites.google.com/site/celebrationofchildren5K

Central Family Center Gym April 1, from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm To sign up, contact Kay Palacio at apalacio@shakopee.k12.mn.us or call 952-496-5032 Or go online at www.redcrossblood.org and search by Sponsor Code: CFC Wellness Please bring Photo ID or Donor Card to donate. On the day of the event, you can go to redcrossblood.org/RapidPass before you go to donate blood to answer the questions. This can shorten the amount of time that you actually spend at the donation site. Call with any questions!

Upcoming Events

June 4, 2016 Sun Path Elementary

Bring your family and friends for a day of fun, community and exercise. Register online at www.active.com (search for Celebration of

Children) or visit the race website for additional information: http://bit.ly/1Xa9Smz