Brainerd Public Schools Spring14

LITERACY Training puts teachers on the same page

PALS

Future Farmers of America mentor second graders

iPad Minis

Nisswa School receives generous gifts from the community

SUCCESSFUL GRADUATE From BHS choir to the opera

Spring 2014 A publication of the Brainerd Dispatch

Contents

Features

5

Let’s Play Hockey

8

Nisswa School Receives iPad Minis

12

Brainerd’s adapted floor hockey program is popular with students, coaches and fans in the community andt ook third place at state this year.

ByD enise Sundquist

Thanks to generous gifts fromthe community, studentsatNis swaar e increasing their reading skills. ByRebeccaFlans burg

Literacy Collaborative Withs tudentsenteringkindergar ten demonstratingav ariety of skills, Brainerd schoolsareimplementinginno vative ways toteac hreading. ByJ ennyHolmes

16

5

19

PALS

2 2

Peggy Kriha Dye BHS Alumna Builds Opera Career

In this mentoring program funded by the community, older students share leadership skills, friendship and love of farming with second graders at Riverside.

By Arlene Jones

This successful alumna is following a dream that started in the BHS music program.

By Jodie Tweed

On the Cover:

Photob yJ oey Halvorson

In Every Issue Opportunity

24

Innovation

10

Winter Carnival

By Sheila Helmberger Operation Paperback

By Elsie Husom

Success

24

COSTCO Adopts Harrison Elementary

By Cynthia Bachman

Fun Facts

By Steve Lund

16 14

Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014 3

Superintendent’s

Introduction

I

t is bittersweet leaving our school community. Taking a great opportunity as an international schools superintendent also means leaving the best district I have ever known, the best educators and community I have ever seen. ItÕ s both an exciting and an emotional time.

We are a strong school system. We are earning our identity Ñ Opportunity, Innovation, Success Ñ through every changing season.

“Most important, our academic results demonstrate our shared commitment and belief that each student can learn and grow.”

Most important, our academic results demonstrate our shared commitment and belief that each student can learn and grow. Our school facilities work demonstrates new eras deserve new solutions. Our fiscal house is in order, and our enrollment trends are moving in a positive direction.

It will be our continued challenge to grow and adapt with student success as our vision. Working in partnership with our community, we hope to remain the district of choice for students and families in the Brainerd lakes area.

ION

AT PUBLIC

STAFF

PUBLISHER

Tim Bogenschutz

EDITOR

Meg Douglas

ART DIRECTOR Lisa Henry

PHOTOGRAPHER Joey Halvorson

COPY EDITOR

DeLynn Howard

Brainerd Public Sc hools magazine is produc ed by the Braine rd Dispat ch in cooperatio n with the Brainerd Public Sc hools.

•

For advertising opportunities: 218-829-4705 E-mail your comments, suggestions or topics to lisa.henry@brainerddispatch.com copyright© 2010 VOLUME THREE, EDITION SIX SPRING 2014

Steve Razidlo, Superintendent of Schools 506 JAMES STREET, P.O. BOX 974 BRAINERD, MN 56401 (218) 829-4705 4 Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014

www.brainerddispatch.com

M

o t t f o

2 h

By Denise Sundquist

Players practice hard to get to state.

LET’S PLAY

HOCKEY!

M

innesotans love hockey from backyard rinks to city parks to modern arenas. Besides offering students a chance to be on a traditional hockey team in high school, the Brainerd School District is one of the few districts in the state of Minnesota to offer adapted floor hockey (AFH).

Denise Saatzer is the mother of No. 2, Brock, an 11th grader at BHS. Brock has played on the team since seventh

grade. She has never missed a game.

She encourages all of the kids to do their best. Loudly. She keeps the crowd involved by leading the cheer, “Let’s Go Warriors! Let’s Go!” At one point during the game her son turned around from the bench and asked her to calm down.

Hmm, sounds just like a regular hockey mom. Denise said, “They fight for every goal they get. They work hard to go to State. They work hard to win State.”

Besides proud parents, the crowd is filled with school district employees supporting these student athletes as well as former players and BHS graduates, such as Mary Sebasky and Kelsey Brodmarkle When asked what her favorite part of being on this team was, Kelsey replied, “Everything.”

The team is led by head coach Todd Person, assistant coach Todd Sanford and volunteer coach Eric Rohlfing. Eric

Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014 5

Being part of a team is a new experience for many of the participants.

played on the first adaptive floor hockey team in 1995 when he was a senior. He has been a volunteer coach since 1996. When he’s not coaching, Eric is managing a local company, Future Vend.

“It’s a wonderful experience for these kids. It’s good for them both physically and mentally and teaches them a lot about themselves and others as well as sportsmanship.”

The biggest challenge is keeping enough kids involved to sustain the program. Teaching at Forestview has its advantages for Todd. He can network with the physical education teachers at the middle school and determine if 6 Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014

there are any students that would be interested in being on the team. Getting a seventh grader excited about this opportunity is easier than an older student. And once these students get involved, they’re hooked and are likely to play throughout high school.

Coach Person is fearless in his recruiting. He approached Cody Vleck several times at school about playing on the team last year but couldn’t get a commitment. When he saw Cody and his parents at church one Sunday, he asked Cody in front of his parents. The parents had wanted Cody to get more involved in school activities and the deal was sealed. Cody’s mom Amy said, “Being a part of a team was something he never experienced before.” While Cody was initially apprehensive, he started every game as a seventh grader. Cody’s pastor jokingly complained one day, “If I hear one more floor hockey story...”

Cody echoed his mom’s sentiments, “I never really wanted to join anything. AFH has helped me realize what I am capable of.

It has given me confidence to try other things.”

This year’s team is having a great season. Not because of the athletes, but because of the number of athletes. Denise gives credit to Coach Person, “Todd goes after these kids to get them on the team.

This is the best team they have ever had because we have two lines.

With more kids, everyone gets a chance to rest.”

Practices can be more fun than the games. Often times “guest” opponents show up including players from the Brainerd Area Hockey Association, the alpine ski team, varsity athletes from several other sports such as soccer, football and golf and even the staff from Riverside Elementary school.

Todd Person is thankful for the support he gets from other

AFH

DIFFERENCES Just like the hockey we grew up on, AFH is a winter sport that has five players on each team plus a goalie.

Athletes are equipped with hockey sticks, helmets, a puck and two goalie nets. Noticeable differences: • Each team must have two wheelchairs or one wheelchair and one adapted walker on the floor at all times.

• Players are required to shuffle rather than run to help even the field for players with physical limitations • No ice

Volunteer coach Eric Rohlfing (left) played on the first adaptive floor hockey team in 1995 and has been volunteering since 1996. This March, Brainerd took third place in the state adapted floor hockey tournament.

programs and the community support has been amazing too. The Brainerd Sports Boosters has purchased equipment for them and always includes them in “Athlete of the Week” and a traditional state tournament send-off breakfast at Prairie Bay. AFH has evolved over the last 20 years. The goal of AFH is to provide sports experiences for high school athletes with disabilities in the same manner as non-disabled athletes. Minnesota is the first state high school league to officially sanction adapted sports.

In 1995, then athletic director Ron Stolski gathered the physically challenged kids in the high school

cafeteria and told them about a new Warrior team. John Ward was the first head coach and instilled the same work ethic and values we now call “The Warrior Way.” In the last 18 years, Brainerd has reached the state tournament.

Brainerd AFH is open to 7th-12th graders, boys and girls, with a physical impairment that may include: cardio/ respiratory, neuromuscular, skeletal, traumatic or neurological impairment.

Practices and home games are held in the Riverside Elementary gym.

The bleachers are filled with the same enthusiastic parents and fans that are at the traditional hockey games cheering on the athletes and occasionally guiding

There is a penalty box behind the announcer’s table consisting of two folding chairs. Common infractions earning a trip to the penalty box include: Running, interference, tripping, hooking and slashing.

the referees through a bad call.

Winning records aside, it is still all about the kids. This is Brock’s second year as team captain. “I have made some amazing friends. AFH has taught me how to be a leader. It has increased my endurance and helped me realize what I am capable of.”

Sounds like a Warrior.

Denise Sundquist

Denise is the health and safety coordinator for the Brained School District. Since her boys left for college, she has embraced a more active lifestyle including triathlons, running races and mountain biking.

Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014 7

By Rebecca Flansburg

Nisswa School When Nisswa school needed more iPad minis and equipment for their Digital Learning Centers, the Nisswa American Legion came through.

T

hey say good things come in small packages and in late 2013, Nisswa Elementary School’s classrooms benefited from many small packages as a result of a very large gift.

It all started when a volunteer anonymously donated a generous sum of money to one of Nisswa School’s second grade classrooms. The teacher and Nisswa Principal, Erin Herman, opted to use the donation to create something new that would benefit the classroom’s reading program. Their creation, a digital listening center, (DLC) was designed to help students enhance their reading skills by experiencing books in a new and interactive fashion.

Using the donation, Herman and her staff bought several iPad minis, headphones and a splitter, an accessory that allows multiple students to use a single iPad at one time. This listening center allowed second grade students to watch, read, learn and discuss a specific ebook together while allowing the teacher to work with individual students in guided reading groups.

Says Herman, “With RAZ-Kids, an online subscription the school had purchased earlier, the students can

8 Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014

Recieves iPad Minis

watch a cursor on the iPad and follow along with the words while they listen to the book being read to them.” This allows students to see text of poetry books, song books and nursery rhymes while they hear the words. “The DLCs expose students to stories that may be a bit above their regular reading skills, but it also helps students experience extended vocabulary and word comprehension, says Herman.

After listening, students take comprehension tests and meet with teachers to talk about what they saw and heard. The stories often ‘stretch’ the students’ skill level with rich, languagebuilding extensions. “We were quickly amazed as to how much the students were retaining above their regular independent reading level,” explains Herman.

After witnessing the success in the second grade classroom, Herman hoped to provide DLCs to classrooms throughout the school. They needed more iPad minis, headphones and splitters, but the funds just weren’t available at the time, says Herman.

Not long after the initial donation of the DLC, the school was given another

gift. “Two wonderful gentlemen by the name of Bill Marshall and Dell Draves from the Nisswa American Legion approached us and asked if they were to donate a sum of money, what would the school use it for,” says Herman. The answer came quickly: more DLCs in other classrooms.

Immediately intrigued, the Nisswa Legion asked Herman to create a proposal outlining the school’s needs and the projected cost of those needs.

She asked for materials to create DLCs for four classrooms but their ultimate goal was to outfit all 10 classrooms. She also explained the school spent a great deal of money filling shelves with books for the students to use during reading time, taking up a lot of classroom space, as multiple copies of each title are needed to accommodate reading groups. “The school purchases as many as 75 titles a year. That’s a lot of books and a lot of bookshelf space,” says Herman. Adding DLCs would save space, another benefit.

This ambitious goal came with a hefty price tag. Herman estimated it would cost around $3,700 to outfit a total of 10 classrooms. Despite that number, the Nisswa American Legion Charitable

G v n N D

A m p a t s t O w h M o w c a

P t p f g H

Gaming Committee saw the value in this vision and agreed to donate the money needed to set the wheels in motion for Nisswa Elementary School’s school-wide DLCs. Shortly after receiving Nisswa American Legion’s donation, Herman made plans to make a trip to Baxter to purchase the much-anticipated iPad minis and accessories. This is where the story takes another happy twist. The day of the shopping trip to Best Buy also happened to be just a few days before Black Friday.

On arrival, Herman discovered the store was running a one day sale that enabled her to get a $100 gift card for every iPad Mini purchased. The school also saved on cases, headphones and splitters as well. The money saved, along with the gift cards, was quickly rolled into buying an additional iPad, headphones and a splitter.

When the shopping dust settled, Principal Herman was able to stretch the generous donation of over $3700 to purchase over $4700 worth of equipment for the DLCs. “It was like an early Christmas gift, and a gift that keeps on giving,” Herman added with a smile.

“We are very fortunate to be part of a community where we are treated so well...” ~ Erin Herman

The DLCs have been in use since December, resulting in nearly 300 students participating in, and benefiting from, online RAZ-Kids stories, other online literature and math. “We are very fortunate to be part of a community where we are treated so well by such a generous group of people — the Nisswa American Legion,” says Herman. “For that, we are very grateful.”

Rebecca Flansburg

Rebecca is a freelance writer and work-at-home-mom who lives in Baxter. She is also a full-time virtual assistant in the field of social media, content management and blogging. You can connect with Rebecca on her blog, Franticmommy.com.

Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014 9

Innovation

Students in Kathy Hegstrom’s BHS classroom collect books and DVDs for soldiers and veterans as part of Operation Paperback, a non-profit, national organization.

Paperback operation

P

by Elsie Husom

positively and BHS OpPb was launched.

That was three years ago, and from then to now, students have collected, packed and shipped almost 4,000 books and 350plus DVDs — a total of 123 boxes. Posted around the school, colorful flyers, designed and printed gratuitously by Brainerd Insty Prints, inspired students and adults to bring a donation to Hegstrom’s classroom. Don Engen, BHS math teacher, also added a collection point in his classroom.

This project is more than just donating books and DVDs. Hegstrom and students go to Operation Paperback online to find names of individual soldiers or veterans to see what types of reading they prefer and try to fill requests. Each box is addressed to a soldier, veteran, VA hospital or USO. Students are not required to participate, but most do. Many spend hours after school sorting, attaching the OpPB sticker to each book and packing. “We also toss in bookmarks, classroom news magazines, bookbags and a handwritten letter (students’ signatures covering the back) ending with “Thank you for your service,” says Hegstrom.

Student Krystal Mueller adds, “Children’s books are also sent. Parents are able to connect to their children via Skype (Internet) and read to them even though far away.”

To ship boxes filled with books is costly.

A specially decorated piggy bank perches on Hegstrom’s desk ready to swallow any spare change or bills that students, teachers and staff stuff in. “Piggy’s” contents usually don’t meet the $15-20 shipping costs for

aul Johnson is a soldier in the U.S. Coast Guard. His letter to Kathy Hegstrom’s BHS classroom reads: “I received your package from Operation Paperback and wanted to reach out to thank you all. As a wounded warrior with a traumatic head injury, reading has become very troubling for me, but through this program I have become able to read more easily.”

Johnson’s note is just one of many that decorate a large bulletin board in Hegstrom’s classroom. A BHS Social Studies teacher, Hegstrom says, “I was looking for a service “I received your package from Operation Paperback and project for my students. When I read about wanted to reach out to thank you all. As a wounded Operation Paperback, I was intrigued and warrior with a traumatic head injury, reading has become researched further.”

Kathy learned Operation Paperback is very troubling for me, but through this program a nationwide, non-profit organization that I have become able to read more easily.” collects used books and DVDs and sends them to American troops in 36 countries as well as ~ Paul Johnson to hospitalized veterans and military families U.S. Coast Guard stateside. Its slogan is “Giving our troops the opportunity to escape into a good book.”

Hegstrom presented the project to her classes to see if there was interest. Students responded 10 Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014

e a A

A s b a t s I

a o t H H t V t H o w a

each box of 40-50 books. Brainerd Trades and Labor Assembly and the Brainerd American Legion donate to the cause.

The boxes make up another expense.

At first, Hegstrom asked BHS cooks to save food boxes they received. However, boxes shipped overseas could not have any advertizing; all product names had to be blacked out. “This year,” Hegstrom says, “I ordered 100 plain boxes off the Internet.”

Another difference this year came about when one student’s grandmother offered 102 hardbound books. Realizing they would be more costly to mail, Hegstrom contacted the St. Cloud VA Hospital which was delighted to receive them. Bob Nelson, from the local Veterans’ Services Office, transported them to St. Cloud on one of his visits.

Hegstrom also gave them information on the national Operation Paperback with instructions how to register online as recipients.

To add more incentive to the collecting, classes compete to see which can bring in the most money and books/ DVDs. Students enjoy the competition, but even more, they feel good about their part in the project. As Shawn Smith says, “I like to hear back how much the troops enjoy reading the books.”

Students Karrina Myhre and Nathan Young “like this way of giving back to troops and veterans who have done and are doing so much.”

This year’s collection was the largest one yet, bringing in over 1,200 books and 130 DVDs. Student Alex Exum thinks it’s really cool that “we finished in time so veterans received the books for a great Christmas gift.”

The classes like receiving feedback from soldiers and veterans. One letter from an “official” girlfriend in Los Angeles said her PFC boyfriend was on special assignment — so special he couldn’t tell even her about it — but he could text her to ask if she would relay his thanks to

2

BHS for the wonderful books.

Most thank you notes express gratitude that the books they receive keep them occupied when recuperating in the hospital or when not on an active mission overseas. Reading allows them to get lost in the characters or people they are reading about.

For the students, BHS OpPB provides an opportunity to make a contribution to society and to show appreciation to our troops and veterans. For the soldiers and veterans, according to one soldier’s online comment, “It allows us to find a place of solitude amongst the pages of the books sent our way.”

Elsie Husom

Elsie is a retired educator who lives west of Brainerd. She enjoys reading, golfing, making art and volunteering for the Crossing Arts Alliance and other community programs.

Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014 11

By Jenny Holmes

Literacy Collaborative Teaching Students to Read

O

nce upon a time, a one-sizefits-all approach was used to teach reading across the United States. And for the most part, it worked.

But times have changed.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics data, only 20 percent of 4-year-olds in poverty can recognize all 26 letters of the alphabet, compared with 37 percent of their peers at or above the poverty level. Additional statistics reveal that a child from a middle-income family typically enters first grade with about 1,000 hours of one-on-one picture book reading time with parents, other relatives, or teachers; compared with a child from a low-income family, who averages less than 100 hours. First graders from lowerincome families have a vocabulary half the size of children from higher-income families. By age 3, children in lowincome homes will have heard one-third as many words as children in middle and high-income homes (10 million versus 30 million words).

The moral of the story? Today’s teachers must be equipped and ready to meet the literacy needs of a variety 12 Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014

the literacy Current and former coaches with to right) Jill left , row ck (ba collaborative model an Sebasky, Sus ke, Dra Lisa ler, Marohn, Sue Zieg nson, Swa Guy Kelm, Pam Warren, Tamie ker.

Bec ndy Julie Hunter and We nt row, left to New teachers receiving training (fro meck, Kacee Sch issa Mel ng, stro right) Sarah Arm Gilsrud, Jennifer Barrett, Taylor Demuth, Chelsea nda Bankers.

Bre Kapsner, Holly Thom and

of students when they walk through the kindergarten doors.

For the last 10 of her 25 years teaching in the Brainerd School District, Tamie Swanson has served as a literacy coach with the district’s literacy collaborative.

An emphasis on reading alone was never Swanson’s intent when she began teaching first grade at Baxter Elementary School. However, when Swanson heard about the literacy collaborative model piloted at Lincoln Elementary School, she wanted to know more. Funding wasn’t immediately available to add other schools to the pilot, so teachers, including Swanson, began to “dabble” in the technique, digging deeper to learn how this would benefit readers in their respective schools.

The literacy collaborative was first introduced to the Brainerd District by then-director Beth Swenson. Not a program, the literacy collaborative is a model that focuses on building the district’s capacity for improving the literacy achievement of all students.

The model is based on continuous improvement, in conjunction with

student data and collaborative work with Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass.

Jill Marohn currently serves as the District’s literacy trainer and coordinator and says the position is a natural fit based on her K-2 teaching experience, as well as her passion for literacy.

“When I started teaching in the District in 2000, I would attend a particular workshop relating to early literacy and a teacher across the hall would attend a different workshop; we’d come back with different thoughts and philosophies,” Marohn remembers.

“With the literacy collaborative, we now have the capacity for all teachers to speak the same language. We have an assessment model in place that checks in to ensure our system’s core instruction is solid. We’re constantly checking in to ensure we’re doing what’s best for our learners.”

In the District’s model, five individuals — both current and former teachers — work as literacy coaches.

As the trainer and coordinator, Marohn trains twice a year at Lesley University, where she has an opportunity to learn

from nationally renowned literacy researchers. Then, in turn, she brings the training back to her coaches who bring that same information to their respective elementary buildings to share with K-2 teachers.

Each school year, students undergo literacy-testing cycles. Every child participates in the first and last cycle, Marohn explained. However, the middle two cycles are reserved to assess those below the current benchmark level.

Teachers will take the data from those students falling below benchmark and determine next steps. Quarterly team meetings are often conducted to focus on the needs of those learners and determine what interventions are most appropriate.

“Our literacy coaches provide staff development and resources for teachers to best help each individual student,” Marohn said. “We’re constantly thinking and talking and working together to provide the best instruction for our learners.”

Swanson further explained the process, and her role as coach, once a teacher requests a literacy coach intervention.

“The teacher and I will meet in a preconference before school, where the teacher will come with questions and concerns, like ‘Why is what I’m doing not affective in growing my students?’ Oftentimes, I will observe in the classroom and then we will meet again after school and together develop a plan. Sometimes we coach around being better teachers of reading and writing or coaching around certain students. There are also teachers who request to see the model in action, and (request) the coach to come in and work directly with their students.”

“A huge portion of the process is just being reflective and analytical,”

Aa “

“Shouldn’t teachers know how to teach students to read and write when they leave college?”

Changing times and increased needs of students have pushed school districts like ours to implement innovative ways to reach students and promote literacy at an early age.”

Marohn said. “Obviously the teachers know more about their students than our coaches can. But as coaches, we can help them process through their data and give them the resources to help them make it through. Often, we’re discovering the process together. Many of our youngest learners are coming to school without extensive vocabulary or language skills. As educators, we’re brainstorming more now than we’ve ever had to.”

“It’s in no way a dog and pony show,” Swanson emphasized. “These teachers really want help and they aren’t afraid to ask for it.”

The literacy collaborative model isn’t new. In fact, development of the primary, or K-2 model debuted in the United States in the mid-1980s. However, changing times and increased needs of students have pushed school districts like ours to implement innovative ways to reach students and promote literacy at an early age.

“Shouldn’t teachers know how to teach students to read and write when they leave college?” Marohn asked, rhetorically. “It should be that easy, but it’s not. It’s hard work. And not a single one of us would be successful without the other. Our system is made up of a variety of educators, from district office administration, coaches and classroom teachers, to interventionists and special educators, all working and learning together.”

With the Literacy Collaborative, teachers are finding greater success closing the learning gap with students and reaching reading proficiency at a higher rate. “This has been confirmed through our Minnesota Collaborative Assessment scores and recent Department of Education designations,” says Marohn.

Jenny Holmes

Jenny is a former reporter with the Brainerd Dispatch with her own public relations and communications business. She lives in Nisswa with husband, Tim, and their two schoolaged children.

Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014 13

Nationally nominat in elementary

ated for excellence ary education.

The U.S. Department of Education nominated all six of the Brainerd School District’s elementary schools for the National Blue Ribbon Award, signifying high achievement over multiple years. This is the highest level of federal recognition a school can recieve in the United States.

As a district, and a community, we are proud to have this unprecedented number of schools nominated!

A Pe cad rfo em Me rm ic ass asu an r ce na essm ed b e y B tio

st lu na n are e Rib lly r ts or ate a sta am bon nke pe te’s ong Sch d te rfo hig the oo sts rm he ir ls , ing st sch oo ls.

ng the ap i c u d Re G ment e v e i h Ac g

tin onstra By demant progress t signific oving studen r in imp ement, Blue achiev Schools are bility a Ribbonured by the emic s d a a me se the ac . to clo vement gap achie

Success

By Cynthia Bachman

Harrison School’s Costco Volunteers (left to right) Sandy Drennan, Cheri Niemann, Bonnie Akandt, front: Keri Lansford. Not pictured Mary Reardon and Beckie Hamilton.

Harrison Elemen tary Success • K-fourth g

• Approx rade • 40 + staimately 260 students • Mascot: ff members • Motto: HHawk responsibly ave respect, Act safe, and S , Work together, K taught and oar to Success. It is eep recited dail y.

HAWKS G the first M atherings are sche to sing the onday of each monduled recite the P Harrison School s th recognize ledge of Allegiancong, behaviors. student learning an e and d

“Adopts” Harrison Elementary 16 Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014

W

hat would be a better surprise for a parent than to have someone provide your child’s basic classroom supplies for their grade school years? That is the gift presented to each of the students at Harrison Elementary when Costco adopted the school in the fall of 2013.

How did it come to be? Costco asked their local employees where they saw a need in the area and what would benefit the community. From the poll, Harrison was selected to be adopted.

Lisa Morgan, Harrison principal, got the call last spring from Mary Reardon, membership manager of Costco, with

the request to adopt Harrison. Morgan later met with Reardon to discuss the details of the adoption. One specific gift was to provide a backpack filled with basic school supplies for every student.

The 2013-2014 school year at Harrison began a “fresh start” for the students with the gift of generously filled backpacks with classroom supplies from Costco. The supplies and backpacks were delivered to the school by Costco then disseminated to the classrooms and labeled with the students’ names by the teachers.

The Harrison Welcome Open House was held on Aug. 29, 2013, for the students

to receive their backpacks. Costco employees greeted families and served cake in the school cafeteria after their classroom visits. Local Girl Scout troops (from other schools) also assisted with serving cake and clean up. The parents had been informed of the backpacks and supplies in the spring so they knew not to purchase supplies for their children.

Many parents were emotionally moved by the gift of essential classroom items for their child. The backpacks were filled with a zippered pencil pouch, No. 2 pencils, colored pencils, crayons, markers, erasers, five-pocket folders, head phones, four glue sticks,

After adopting Harrison School, Costco donated a backpack filled with school supplies for every student.

Backpacks and supplies ch pencil pou • Zippered d Pencils nd Colore a r la u g e rasers •R ers and E rk a s.

M , s n o notebook d • Cray n a rs e ld ket Fo • Five-poc ones • Head Ph e sticks, ruler • Four glu a 12-inch d n a rs o s • Scis

Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014 17

Reading Program scissors, 12-inch rulers and composition notebooks.

Costco’s adoption is an on-going commitment. It is more than the backpacks and purchased supplies. Feb. 2 was the kick-off of the Costco Reading Program. The Costco employees have committed to volunteer their time to oneon-one reading support with students of all levels. Seven Costco volunteers spent an hour every Wednesday in Harrison classrooms for six weeks. The volunteers give the students their full attention to increase individual reading skills as well as increase the confidence of the students.

In January, Costco invited the 58 second grade students to tour the Baxter store. The highlight of the tour was the large walk-in cooler. Costco provided each of the students with a personal size pizza and a bag of goodies. The Harrison Family Teacher Association (the schools version of PTA) provided funding for the transportation. Harrison teachers and

Costco employee s (clockwise) Keri Lansford, Bo nnie Akandt and Cheri Niemann, volunteer to spen d time, one-on-one , with students to increase their re ading skills and self-confidence.

parents volunteered as chaperons. It was reported back to the school that the Harrison students were the best behaved of all their tour groups. Bonnie Akandt of Costco has been giving tours for many years and said the Harrison group was her favorite because the children were respectful and very engaged.

Through the adoption, Costco has provided a collaboration of respect and 18 Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014

assistance that increases the children’s direct contact with adult volunteers and the community. It is evident when schools partner with the community and businesses that its impact prepares our students to be future members of society. Costco has committed volunteer time, resources and activities to Harrison students, giving back and paying it forward to the Brainerd community.

Cynthia Bachman

Cynthia is a graduate of BHS. She continued her education with a BA and later a Master of Education from the U of MN. Most recently she completed a BS/Nursing from the College of Saint Scholastic Duluth. She lives with her husband, Brian, in the Brainerd lakes area.

PALS

By Arlene Jones

Older Students Mentor Younger Students on Farming Practices

W

hen the second grade students filed into the agricultural classroom at Brainerd South Campus, second grader Moge excitedly sprinted over to his older partner Wade, greeting him with a high five and a huge smile. With excitement and giddy laughter, the children quickly filed in and sat next to their assigned PAL. A national program, PALS mentors teach young students about the science and business of agriculture. Through the PALS program in ISD 181, grade 9-12 National Future Farmers of America (FFA) students mentor Riverside second graders who develop special, oneto-one relationships while exploring their interests in plants, animals and the world around them. As a result, the younger students become more interested and engaged in school and develop stronger social skills.

Under the leadership of Denise Reeser, who is both the agricultural instructor and FFA adviser, PALS has a 15-year history within the district. Originally initiated between Reeser and retired Riverside third grade teacher Marianne VanVickle, the program has achieved sustainability.

The PALS program is 100 percent funded through various grants from community businesses and state organizations including Operation Roundup, MN and Crow Wing County Farm Bureau and Brainerd FFA Alumni. While PALS does have a national

Through the PALS program, older students mentor second grade students from Riverside in the science and business of agriculture.

curriculum, Reeser has worked to configure the program to fit the agricultural landscape of the district. Reeser says the curriculum is a mutual collaboration between herself and Riverside’s second grade teacher, Lori Hodge. Each individual PALS session, however, is led by the district’s FFA students.

This year, the 17 big PALS and 22 little PALS have investigated air and weather with balloon rockets and pinwheels, soils and liquids with floral arrangements and grains. Their first “get to know each other” activity was making T-shirts with their names on them, which the second graders wear on their ag class day.

During National FFA week, the second graders witnessed an official meeting of the FFA Chapter, structured with parliamentary procedure. They also reviewed the FFA students’ responsibilities in career development and supervised agricultural experiences, including entrepreneurship and research responsibilities of FFA students during competition.

When asked if they knew what entrepreneurship meant,

ERNIES

Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014 19

The connection of younger to older students often results in the younger students becoming more interested in school.

one second grader answered, “You own it.” When they learned about an FFA student’s responsibility in researching topics, another second grader answered, “It’s when you’re looking something up.”

The activities for this day also included floral identification, milk and cheese tasting and a fun hands-on activity called “Soil Sammies.”

After the official FFA meeting, the children quickly shifted into the next activity — floral identification — which was held in the onsite greenhouse. Leaving the classroom for the greenhouse, the outdoor environment was cold, windy and blustery. The greenhouse temperature was a balmy 74 degrees and the scent of dirt quickly encouraged the children as they attempted to identify floral specimens. Yearly, the FFA students propagate a variety of floral plants, selling these at their annual May fundraiser to support greenhouse operations. The second graders mostly identified six floral plants, some that even an experienced gardener would find difficult.

The next activity was identifying different flavors of milk.

Veronica Nelson, an FFA student, explained to the second graders that all milk is tested before it reaches market as milk can absorb flavors from a cow’s diet, or can become watery if containers are not drained well. Cheese identification came next, followed by Soil

Sammies. Soil Sammies are like chia pets. Using a nylon stocking for a capsule, the children planted grass seed in their rich soils and will take their Sammies back to the Riverside classrooms to observe their growth.

As they were filling the nylons, I asked second grader Adryann why she enjoys the program. She smiled and affectionately said, “I get to hang out with my pal.”

In addition to the agricultural curriculum this year, Hodge expanded the program to include the PALS becoming pen pals. She had the children create their own PALS journal, artistically crafted with twigs and brightly colored covers. The little PALS have dedicated classroom time for writing. Hodge says that this has been a motivator for the students to want to write more. One student asked, “Can I write more than one page?” After the second grade students enter their journal writing, Hodge personally delivers the journals to the ag classroom for the Big Pals to enter their responses. Hodge says it’s been an incredibly successful addition to the program and the second graders really look forward to reading the responses from their big PALS. Being a big PAL begins with an application process. Reeser says FFA students must have good grades and good attendance. Each month the big PALS student must miss their 4th and 5th hour to participate with the little PAL, and will miss two days in the spring when they lead the little PALS in annual field trips and farm tours.

Every March, the PALS program takes a field trip to the Caughey Farm in southeast Brainerd. On the farm, they learn about beef, dairy, sheep, goat and swine. They tour the dairy barns, milking barns, review equipment and animal feed, learning the entire life cycle of

20 Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014

the milking process. They also visit with the animals and learn about the different breeds.

In April, the little PALS have an opportunity to apply their firsthand knowledge, researching animals in partnership with their FFA leader, in preparation for the farm tour, which is held at the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds each May. There the little PALS will host farm tours at the fairgrounds in partnership with their big PALS, displaying rabbits, sheep, beef and dairy cows, swine and goats. The animal barns will be decorated with the posters they’ve created through their research processes.

It’s a great way for the little PALS to exhibit their leadership and mentoring skills to area preschool and kindergarten classes as they demonstrate a year’s worth of knowledge, friendship, mentorship, and a love for farming and agriculture that has been forged within the PALS program.

In March, Lori Hodge was awarded the MN Excellence in Teaching Agriculture Award for her work in the PALS program.

Arlene Jones

Younger students learn social skills as well as agricultural knowledge from the older students in the PALS program.

Arlene owns and operates The Farm on St. Mathias with her husband, Bob. A strong advocate for local foods, she launched SPROUT MN, a local food hub, in 2013. When not farming, you’re likely to find her with their grandchildren and Gordon Setters. She is a current Bush Fellow.

Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014 21

Peggy Kriha Dye

By Jodie Tweed

BHS Alumna Builds Successful Opera Career

“I love Brainerd. I’m a Brainerd girl, all the way.” ~ Peggy Kriha Dye

A

t the end of each of her recitals, professional opera singer Peggy Kriha Dye pays homage to her alma mater, Brainerd High School.

She ends each concert with the African-American spiritual, “Give Me Jesus.” It’s a tradition that started with the BHS A Capella choir, under the direction of former director Mike Smith.

Alumni have always been invited on stage to join in.

The BHS choir room was where Kriha Dye’s passion for music performance took root. She was a member of A Capella Choir and the Smith Sisters singing group while a BHS student and graduated in 1987. She also was a Brainerd Kixter, serving as captain her senior year.

A soprano, Kriha Dye performs in operas throughout the United States and abroad, traveling anywhere from two to five months a year. Kriha Dye also is general manager of Opera Columbus, overseeing all artistic and educational programming, as well as main stage productions, for the Columbus, Ohio, opera production company.

Kriha Dye is living her dream.

“I just can’t even believe it. Still, I pinch myself,” said Kriha 22 Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014

Dye. “I think, ‘How on earth did I do this? I feel very, very lucky.”

Luck may have played a contributing role in some of her success, but so did a lot of hard work, discipline and an unmistakable natural talent.

After she graduated from BHS, Kriha Dye attended St. Cloud State University. She thought she would become an elementary music teacher, but one of her music professors, Dr. Hugh Givens, encouraged her to give opera a try. She met internationally renowned recitalist Marlena Malas, who became her vocal coach, while she participated in a summer program at the Chautauqua Opera Company in New York.

Kriha Dye then found herself spending three days in New York City auditioning at the Manhattan School of Music.

She was awarded a full scholarship and never returned to St. Cloud State. She was three classes away from earning her master’s degree in music performance when she was selected to perform at the Julliard Opera Center, a remarkable opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

After two years of performances at Julliard, Kriha Dye was selected as an Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera. California became her home base for years as she also performed with the Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Shanghai Opera and many other companies.

Kriha Dye and her husband, Matthew, have two children, Annie, 13; and Nicholas, 10. For the first five years of motherhood, Kriha Dye said she would load up the children and take them on the road with her. Now the family lives in Ohio, and when she’s not busy hiring singers, directors

and running the opera company, she’s on tour performing. Her husband, who also has his master’s degree in music, is a project manager in IT at Ohio State University.

“I absolutely love it,” Kriha Dye said of opera. “The more I do it, the more I love it. I find it’s like the vocal Olympics.

A lot of people can run, but they don’t go to the Olympics. I feel it’s the same as singing. Opera is the most challenging and thrilling way to be an artist. You’ve got the music and ballet – it’s just a very rich environment.”

She has an agent in New York, and tours often with a Toronto-based opera company, flying in to perform in various cities for about six weeks at a time as a guest artist. She recently performed the title role in “Armide,” with Opera Atelier in Toronto’s Elgin Theatre, The Royal Opera in Versailles and the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, N.Y. She will be performing for one week at the Palace of Versailles in May. “I always seem to be going somewhere,” Kriha Dye said with a laugh.

“I get a little itchy if I’m in one place too long.”

Kriha Dye has performed in at least 10 countries throughout her career.

Although she doesn’t get back to Brainerd as often as she would like, Brainerd is home. Her parents, Carol Bombardier and George Kriha, both continue to live part-time in the Brainerd lakes area. One of her two sisters, Kelly Smith, lives in the Brainerd lakes area with her family. Kriha Dye tries to return every couple of years.

“I love Brainerd. I’m a Brainerd girl, all the way,” said Kriha Dye. Kriha Dye attended St. Francis of the Lakes Catholic School until sixth grade, then went on to attend Franklin Junior High School and Brainerd High School before graduating in 1987. Her first venture on stage was when she was about 10 years old and had a small role in “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” a Brainerd Community Theater production.

Kriha Dye said being in the BHS choir, particularly A Capella Choir, wasn’t simply a way to earn easy credit; choir was challenging, but so much more.

She also enjoyed it.

“The standard of excellence that we had there was inspiring and motivating,” Kriha Dye said. “The music we made was great.”

Kriha Dye said she enjoys discovering new talent in her role as general manager of the Columbus Opera and giving other young opera singers a chance, as many others did for her throughout her career.

It doesn’t just take talent, but also discipline and courage to become the best in whatever you choose to do, she said.

“You have to really fall in love with discipline at what you’re going after,” Kriha Dye explained. “I tell my singers, wrap your head around that. You have to be disciplined in your training, and you have to have the courage to go for it.”

Jodie Tweed

Jodie, a former longtime Brainerd Dispatch reporter, is now a freelance writer and lives in Pequot Lakes.

Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014 23

Opportunity

By Sheila Helmberger

r e t n i W als e u q s , r e t h g u a L and hugs... day

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aughter, squeals and hugs are surely the signs of a great day and there are plenty of each during the Region 5 Special Olympic Winter Carnival held for special education students at Camp Confidence each February.

This year 315 Special Olympic student athletes from around the region and their coaches, along with 80 volunteers, participated in the celebrated event which was held for the 33rd year. Kathy Donnelly helped spearhead the first event and although she has retired from the school district, she continues to serve as the Special Olympics coordinator for Brainerd schools.

The outdoor education specialist and volunteer director at Camp Confidence, Mary Harder has been a part of every carnival but one.

“In the beginning we thought we would just

24 Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014

make it a fun day,” she says of organizing the event. And if you ask any one of the special education students who attend, it looks like they’ve succeeded. She credits the longevity and success of the winter carnival to all of those enthusiastic volunteers, including fellow students and school organizations from several of the participating schools that come out to help each year, too.

The day offers a number of activities for the students to pick and choose. Help comes from places such as Arctic Cat out of Thief River Falls, who donates snowmobiles and face masks. The Merrified Marathons Snowmobile Club loads students up and provides rides to the athletes. This

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Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014 25

5 om Region Students fr inter sports in w participate hoeing and ice s w such as sno Region 5 Special e th fishing at al held inter Carniv Olympic W Confidence at Camp ary. every Febru

year the camp was the host to three dogsled teams that offered sled dog rides. There was also an opportunity for the students to try ice fishing with a professional fishing guide. Games such as broomball, inner tubing, ice bowling and Olympic beanbag toss are also offered. Classmates from some of the schools set up a spot to do face painting. The Wildlife Sanctuary and Nature Center at Camp Confidence is open on carnival day so students have an opportunity to visit their rabbits, ducks, geese, potbellied pigs, deer and a couple of corn snakes.

“The whole Region 5 participates,” says Mary. “Students come from as far north as Walker, as far east as Garrison, as far west as Browerville and Long Prairie, and as far to the south as Little Falls.” I know our

26 Brainerd Public Schools • Spring 2014

numbers sound heavy with volunteers but it’s such phenomenal exposure.”

Plus it takes a lot of manpower to run the day. And the peer experience and interaction at the winter carnival is such an important part of the event.

Volunteers give students an almost one-on-one attention to the athletes, says Mary.

Volunteers groom the trails for the sled dogs and snowmobiles and are also used to haul tubes back up the sliding hill. Some volunteers give rides to students on a hay wagon, getting them to events like the bonfire and dog sledding.

Robyn Hummer is a special education teacher at Riverside School.

She has been taking special education students out to Camp Confidence for the winter carnival for about 10 years.

“It is such an awesome event,” she says, “Many of my students would never have an opportunity to ride on a snowmobile, or better yet, a dog sled! The event happens regardless of how adverse the weather is, but regardless, it certainly doesn’t affect how much fun the students have! The smiles and squeals that come from the students speak volumes.”

Mary explains that the Confidence Learning Center, a 501c3 non-profit organization, is open to schools, families and group homes. “Hopefully more schools will take advantage of our phenomenal handson environmental/life science program opportunities. During the month of May, Confidence Learning Center serves over 1,100 school children and their teachers.”

Sheila Helmberger

Sheila lives in Baxter and has been contributing to area publications since 1999.

Over 900 coupon books were sold!

17 Businesses Participated esses all these busin ters Thank you to oud suppor pr en be ve who ha w School. of Forestvie

DEmedia Dispatch

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A HUGE SUCCESS! Forestview’s Coupon Book Fundraiser for digital equipment and programs was a huge success!

Thank you to the participating businesses, Forestview students and staff and everyone who purchased the books!

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