The Wright County
Monitor
New Pastor Page 2
Winterfest Page 16
146th year Number 4
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Official newspaper of Wright County
Passion for education developed early for new kindergarten teacher By: Jacob Snyder WrightCoMonitor@gmail.com
One, two, three...98, 99, 100. One day during her middle school years, Anne Ries met a child who rode the same bus as her. He was having difficulty counting to 100. So, she decided to help this child. The two started practicing
Northern Iowa (UNI). There she earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and elementary education with an endorsement in literacy. An endorsement in literacy allowed Ries to learn various methods for teaching students how to read and write, especially since they develop
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Practice, practice, practice makes perfect By: Jacob Snyder WrightCoMonitor@gmail.com “Ma’am. Sir. Can you hear me? Are you alright?” These are often common first questions out of a person’s mouth during an emergency situation. The action a person takes next is the most crucial and should be practiced so when the time comes for the real thing, they will know just what to do. The Clarion-Goldfield-Dows administration, faculty and staff spent part of last Monday, January 12, earning their re-certification for CPR and first aid. “It’s just a neat communitywide event,” said Erin Halverson, the C-G-D High School nurse and one of the leaders for the training. Each group, the high school
maintaining a person’s heartbeat until professional help arrives. Continue with compressions until help arrives. As a bystander, don’t be afraid. Your actions could save someone’s life. Performing CPR can be tiring, so if there are others in the room or area, trade off every so often, suggested Karla Thompson, a retired director of the Eagle Grove Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and another certified instructor on hand throughout the day. One of the major differences a person must remember between the three age groups is the method for performing CPR is done. For adults, you use both hands to perform compressions,” Halverson
CPR and first aid training is critical because it could mean the difference between life and death. (Top) Monte Leichsenring, an instrumental educator at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School, practices handsonly CPR on an infant while his wife Chris, an English and speech teacher, looks on. (Bottom) Karla Thompson, retired director of the Eagle Grove Emergency Medical Services (EMS), instructs a group of C-G-D Elementary teachers on the process for using an automated external defibrillator (AED).
Anne Ries, the newest kindergarten teacher at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Elementary School, plays a board game with two of her students last Friday morning. and continued until eventually, the student could do it on their own. This experience stirred something inside her, the desire to enter the field of education. Today, Ries is the newest kindergarten teacher at the ClarionGoldfield-Dows Elementary School. She started at the beginning of the 2014-15 academic year. “It has been wonderful,” she said of her time so far. “They were very welcoming.” Ries grew up in Sheffield, which is about 35 miles north and east of Clarion, and graduated from S-CM-T High School in 2009. Besides that experience helping the student, her desire to teach also grew from her time as a teacher’s aid her senior year in high school. She spent time in both a preschool and kindergarten classroom. And even before then, her desires to enter this field began to grow. “...Simply being around children in my family, babysitting, and working at a daycare has all contributed to my passion for this profession,” Ries said. After graduating high school, she attended Kirkwood Community College and North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) before landing at the University of
these skills at different paces. “It was a lot of hands-on experience, trial and error,” she said of the training. “And I worked with children of all ages.” Ries graduated from UNI in December 2013 and began substitute teaching in Mason City and Nora Springs among several other schools. Through substituting, she was able to gain experience through time in not just preschool and kindergarten classrooms but also higher levels, like fourth and fifth grade, too. It also provided her with the opportunity to see how teachers managed their classrooms and how that changed from grade to grade. One interesting idea in particular Ries decided to use in her classroom came from her time substitute teaching fourth graders. The punch system was simple. Each time a student is “caught” doing something good, they get a punch on their card. “When their punch card is full they get a pick reward,” she said. “I have seen a big switch [in my class] since I started using this system.” Ries commented that the transition to this District went well and the C-G-D administration and teachers welcomed her with open arms. continued on page 2
The high school students also took refresher courses on hands-only CPR and first aid last week. Once they completed the work, that means all the faculty and staff as well as ninth through 12th grade students are trained and ready when either of these is needed in a situation. and support staff in the morning and the elementary teachers and staff in the afternoon, learned a great deal of information about the proper techniques not only CPR and various first aid scenarios but also for helping a choking victim. Other staff members, like the bus drivers, joined in to refresh their memories on these life-saving procedures. Push on the chest hard and fast, approximately 100 presses per minute, according to the instructor on the video. “You begin CPR after you call 911 and send someone to go get the automated external defibrillator (AED), in case it’s needed,” Halverson said. However, if you are alone, then you will be required to do all three. Remember to remain calm at all times, she added. Hands-only CPR for infants, children, and adults is about
explained. “For children and infants, use just one hand.” She added that it’s critical to make sure the person is laying on a flat, hard surface. Refresher courses on first aid were also part of the day’s events. The administration, faculty and staff refreshed their memories on dealing with a variety of situations like a person who’s, for example, had a heat stroke, received a deep cut, or is suffering for hypothermia. “First aid is about learning how to respond to an emergency before a person with more advanced training arrives on the scene,” Thompson said. In the video shown, the most essential action is to first find out if the person wants your help. The same goes for CPR. From there you assess the situation and take the necessary steps until, like CPR, professional help arrives on the scene. Last Wednesday and Thursday,
the sophomores, juniors and seniors earned their re-certification in CPR and first aid. The freshman class had already completed the necessary refresher courses. Halverson commented that re-certifying the students is just as essential as doing so for the administration, faculty and staff. Emily Greenfield, an elementary music teacher, commented that spending a half-day taking refresher courses is time well spent. “The refresher courses are extremely important because, thankfully, we don’t use CPR every day,” she said. “The saying ‘use it or lose it’ applies in this case. If we’re not using it every day, we tend to forget what we’ve learned.” Chris Leichsenring, an English and speech teacher, agreed. She believes it is especially helpful for
their positions in the education field. “During the training, I was cognizant of the number of students currently in my classes with allergies, diabetes, asthma, and other conditions,” she said. “In the classroom the teachers are the first responders.” Halverson complimented several organizations like Wright County Public Health, who provided many of the mannequins, for their help with making the day a success. She also thanked emergency personnel like Thompson and others such as Beth Jackson, who works at Iowa Specialty Hospital, Clarion, and is C-G-D Board member, for volunteering their time to assist with the refresher courses. “We are so thankful people are willing to take the time to help with the event,” Halverson commented.
His Majesty and the Queen Congratulations to these students as well for being chosen for the 2015 Clarion-Goldfield-Dows High School Winterfest Court (back, left to right) Rilley Ring-Foss, Kenzie Kolb, Alyssa Troyer and Hannah Leist, (front, left to right) Jacob Harvey, Cody Kapka, Matthew Magee and Kenton Waters.
Logan Nelson, son of Jeff Nelson and Kathy Reichter, and Taylor Kruger, daughter of Mike Kruger and Pam Kruger, were crowned the 2015 Clarion-Goldfield-Dows High School Winterfest king and queen during half time of the Cowboys boys basketball game against St. Edmond on Friday, January 16. See a photo spread of the dance on page 16.