Summer 2015 Communicator

Communicator SUMMER 2015

Roadmap Focuses on New Strategic Directions

Excellence. For Each and Every Student.

Congratulations, Class of 2015!

By Superintendent CHACE B. ANDERSON I AM PROUD to report that a newlyrefreshed Strategic Road Map was recently approved by the School Board to guide and focus our important work for Wayzata students and families for the next three years (2015–2018). A committee of administrators and Board members met earlier this spring to review and recommit to the District’s mission, vision and core values and create the following four new strategic directions.

Through Focus on Priorities and Strategy Execution, We Achieve Excellence and Realize Our Vision

WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL’S Class of 2015 celebrated commencement at Mariucci Arena on Friday, May 29. More than 88 percent of the 772 graduates are making plans to attend two- or four-year colleges or universities. …Class of 2015 (continues on page 3)

Achievement: By the end of third grade, all students will achieve at or beyond grade level expectations for reading, writing, speaking and mathematics.

Each and Every: Student achievement will not be predictable by any demographic classification, i.e. race, socioeconomic status, gender or disability.

Personalization: All students will know and understand their unique talents, have a voice in their educational experiences, and take ownership for their learning, career aspirations and future success.

Health and Well-Being: All students will feel a sense of belonging and connection to their school where social-emotional, physical and mental health is nurtured and valued.

Work has already started to develop action plans to bring the new strategic directions to life over the next three years. Specific actions, activities and measures will be finalized over the summer for work to begin during the 2015–16 school year. Watch for more information in future issues of the Communicator and as always, I welcome your thoughts and ideas at chace.anderson@wayzata.k12.mn.us.

Construction Projects Underway GROUNDBREAKING EVENTS were held May 19 to celebrate two of the district’s building projects that are now underway. Pictured right, construction has begun on the new eighth elementary school, located at 17905 County Road 47 in Plymouth. Work is also underway on the Wayzata High School (WHS) classroom addition. The WHS construction project consists of: a four-story classroom and lab addition, music/performing arts addition, physical education addition/locker room expansion, cafeteria expansion and new upper and lower commons areas.

Construction on new secure entrances at both East and West Middle Schools is also happening this summer. The new elementary and key portions of the WHS additions are scheduled to be open in the fall 2016.

For more information send an email to construction@wayzata.k12.mn.us.

2 Attendance Area Modifications Approved by School Board THE WAYZATA SCHOOL BOARD voted unanimously to approve new elementary and middle school attendance areas effective for the 2016 –17 school year.

A committee of 19 parents met from March to May to develop a proposed scenario to populate the new eighth elementary school, create space at current schools experiencing overcrowding and accommodate future projected resident student

growth, primarily in the northern portion of the district, for approximately the next five years. Community feedback was considered by the Board and incorporated into the attendance areas approved at the June 8 School Board meeting.

“This process represents the cooperative spirit that I love about Wayzata Public Schools,” shared School Board Chair Linda Cohen. “It started with the work of our citizens committee, next the

administration made some modifications building on what the committee had done and then the Board weighed in after listening to the community.”

Approximately 1,000 elementary and middle school students will be affected by the attendance areas modifications. For more information, contact the Welcome Center at 763-745-5240, or welcome@wayzata.k12.mn.us.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

To look up the schools associated with your address or to see more detailed maps, use this QR code or visit www.wayzata.k12.mn.us/Domain/2632.

ELEMENTARY

WPSEF Awards “From Excellent to Exceptional” Grants THE WAYZATA PUBLIC SCHOOLS EDUCATION FOUNDATION (WPSEF) has announced six recipients for the 2015 “From Excellent to Exceptional” grant program.

The grant program funds innovative, curriculum-based projects throughout the district that might not otherwise receive funding. This year, WPSEF will distribute over $25,000 to fund programs in technology, math, language arts and music.

“One goal of the ‘From Excellent to Exceptional’ grant program is to fund projects that will have, directly or indirectly, a positive

impact on each and every student,” said Michael Hagerty, WPSEF Chair. “The other goal is to encourage teachers to think of novel ways to

teach and engage their students. We are grateful to all of the teachers who took time to apply for a grant and for the foundation’s generous donors who make these grants possible.”

Since 2007, WPSEF’s “From Excellent to Exceptional” grant program has provided nearly $140,000 to fund teacher-inspired projects in a variety of academic areas, including literacy and reading, math, environmental science, special education, physical education and fine arts.

A complete list of projects receiving funding can be found at www.wpsef.org.

3 CMS Students Make Sandwiches for Those in Need CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL seventh grade students sure know how to make a sandwich – 2,300 sandwiches in one afternoon to be exact. But these sandwiches weren’t for themselves; instead they made sandwiches for the 363 Days Food program, which distributes sandwiches to people in the Twin Cities living on the street or in shelters.

Students raised more than $1,100 in donations, far surpassing their own goals. Working with Costco, volunteers purchased enough supplies to make 1,800 sandwiches, but when students went through the supplies in half the time expected, volunteers had to go back to Costco for additional supplies, allowing students to make 700 more sandwiches and bringing the day’s grand total to 2,300.

CENTERPOINT ENERGY recently presented Wayzata Schools with an energy efficiency award for participation in its Conservation Improvement Programs. Through this program, Wayzata Public Schools received more than $110,000 in CenterPoint Energy rebate checks, saved thousands of dekatherms of energy and along with other participating organizations, reduced carbon emissions by about 100,000 metric tons.

“The steps taken by these groups have led to tremendous energy savings and carbon reductions…ultimately saving not only energy but money,” said Todd Berreman, director of energy efficiency for CenterPoint Energy.

EMS Held 7th Annual Charity 5K for Animal Humane Society WAYZATA EAST MIDDLE School held its 7th annual Trojan Pride Charity 5K Fun Run/Walk in May with proceeds benefiting the Animal Humane Society of Golden Valley and providing scholarships to send sixth grade students to Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center.

More than 240 people participated in this year’s event, and even pets got to enjoy this race for a good cause.

Congratulations, Class of 2015 (con’t from page 1) The summary of post-high school plans for the class of 2015 includes the following: University of Minnesota, all campuses: 148 Minnesota four-year state universities: 31 Minnesota four-year private colleges/ universities: 90 Minnesota one- and two-year colleges: 54 Out-of-state four-year public colleges/ universities: 243 Out-of-state four-year private colleges/ universities: 84 Out-of-state one- and two-year colleges: 1 College bound, school undecided: 28 College bound, non-U.S. colleges: 2 Total college bound students: 681 The remaining Wayzata students have indicated the following choices for their post-high school plans:

Wayzata Schools Named Energy Efficiency Champions

Other education: 21 Military: 7 Work: 17 Other plans: 46

The top 10 colleges chosen by 2015 Wayzata graduates are: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (112); University of Minnesota, Duluth (31); Iowa State University (25); University of Wisconsin, Madison (23); Normandale Community College (21); University of North Dakota (21); University of St. Thomas (20); North Dakota State University (17); University of Indiana (15); University of Missouri Columbia (15); Minnesota State University, Mankato (14); and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (13).

We’re getting even greener To continue the efforts to avoid unnecessary energy costs and decrease the district’s carbon footprint, Wayzata Public Schools is launching a five-year energy-awareness and savings program called PowerED. PowerED, administrated by McKinstry, is a program that promotes energy efficiency and wasteelimination with a focus on demonstrating how small changes – such as turning off lights, recycling and composting, shutting off unused electronics and buying locally produced items – can make a difference in our lives every day.

Registration Open for Fall 2015 Trojan Tots REGISTRATION for the Fall 2015 Trojan Tots preschool program is now open. This is a program offered through the Child Psychology II class at Wayzata High School for preschoolers who will be 3 to 5 years old and pottytrained by September.

Trojan Tots sessions run from 9:30 a.m. to noon Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from Sept. 22 through Nov. 6. Preschoolers will participate in a variety of learning activities such as math, science, language development, art, music and movement developed and presented by the Child Psychology II high school students.

The fee is $45 for the entire session.

To register for Trojan Tots go to www.wayzataschoolspayonline.com. For questions, please contact Stephanie Bonsen at stephanie.bonsen@wayzata.k12.mn.us.

4 Two WHS Seniors Named Intel Semifinalists WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOl seniors Bo Dai and Rahul Parhi have been named semifinalists in the 2015 Intel Science Talent Search – the nation’s oldest and most prestigious pre-college science and math competition.

Three hundred semifinalists were selected from more than 1,800 entries. Of those 300, five were from Minnesota.

Dai’s project was called Predicting RAD51 Working Partners by Random Peptide Phage Display. Parhi’s project was called Reliable Digital Arithmetic Computing Systems in Presence of Faults. Congratulations, Bo and Rahul on your accomplishments!

Bo Dai

Wayzata High School Wins Minnesota Scholastic Chess Championship

FIFTEEN STUDENTS FROM Wayzata High School competed in the 50th Minnesota Scholastic Chess Championship in March, and for the first time in tournament history, Wayzata High School won the state K-12 team championship! After seven rounds of intensive competition in two days, Wayzata players edged out the top seed school by half of a point in a dramatic finish in the last round.

The team includes seniors Justin Tran and Andrew Stern, juniors Max Sigal, Nicolas Pizzala, Trevor Nguyen and Zach Garvis, sophomores Jacob Ritter, Nathan Ritter, Joshua Li, Rithvik Pasumarty, Abhi Kamboj and freshmen Andrew Tang, Shubham Singh, Slava Campbell and Neha Gunapati.

Individually, freshman Andrew Tang won first place and sophomore Jacob Ritter took 12th place.

Rahul Parhi

Trewick Honored at WHS Graduation

Three WHS Students Recognized for Investment Essays

SUPERINTENDENT Chace Anderson acknowledged and gave special thanks to Mike Trewick, Wayzata High School (WHS) principal at graduation this year. “Mr. Trewick has positively impacted countless students during his career and we are grateful for his leadership,” said Anderson. Trewick has served as principal at WHS for the past seven years.

Prior to that, he was the principal at East Middle School and Birchview Elementary School. With the conclusion of this school year, Trewick assumed the principal duties at Oakwood Elementary. Scott Gengler is the new WHS principal.

TWO WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL students placed in the National SIFMA Foundation’s InvestWrite® student essay competition. Tyler Carlstrom, a sophomore, placed second and Megan Plummer, a senior, placed fifth in the spring 2015 InvestWrite competition. Junior Michaela Keller-Miller placed first in the fall state competition.

The InvestWrite essay competition challenges students to analyze an investment scenario in 1000 words or less. InvestWrite is a writing component of The Stock Market Game™, which is part of the curriculum in Managing Your Investments class at Wayzata High School. Students were required to choose two distinctly different stocks, bonds or mutual funds and write about why they would invest in these stocks for the long term.

Carlstrom was awarded a laptop computer, trophy and classroom pizza party. Plummer received a $100 gift card.

5 Wayzata MathCounts Team Wins State, Students Advance to Nationals

WAYZATA EAST MIDDLE School’s MathCounts team won first place in the state competition in March. MathCounts is a nation-wide competition, with live, in-person events across the country with school, local, state and national-level competitions. The following eighth grade students made up the first place team: Ayush Ram, Caroline Zeng, Geoffrey Chen, Matthew Qu and Sophia He. Additionally, Geoffrey Chen, Ayush Ram and eighth grade student Matthew Qu from Central Middle School made up the majority of the four-person team representing Minnesota at Nationals in Boston in May.

Celebrating Our Diverse Community

Destination Imagination Teams Advance to Global Tournament FOUR OF WAYZATA PUBLIC Schools’ 12 Destination Imagination teams that competed at the state tournament in April advanced to the Global Finals tournament in May in Knoxville, Tenn. Destination ImagiNation is an international problemsolving competition for kindergarten through college students that teaches life skills and expands imaginations through team-based creative problem solving.

Wayzata High School’s team, the Psychedelic Hippie Kaleidoscopes, earned first place at the state competition in the challenge “Improv Games.” Team members include senior Leighton Zhao and juniors Justin Greenberg, David Mo, Arman Shah and Abby Trouth.

West Middle School’s team, 4 Sounds in a Wave, took second place in state in the challenge “Making Waves.” Team members include eighth grade students Abby Meyers, Claire Weiss, Julia Mersch and Maya Anthony.

Plymouth Creek and Kimberly Lane Elementary’s team, Panthers, Coyotes and Trojans…Oh My!, took first place at state in challenge “Feary Tales.” Team members include fifth grade students Divya Konkimalla, Nathan Moon, Nick Cichoski, Nithya Malisetti, Nurain Jiwani, Raghav Maddula and Sarah Huebschen.

Oakwood Elementary School’s Pancake Pandas took fourth place in challenge “projectOUTREACH: Brand Aid” at the state tournament. Team members include third grade students Belle Greenberg, Josh Quiring, Kunal Dua, Max Segal, Raina Hartman and Sage Hartman.

WHS Junior Wins Prestigious Germany Trip

WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL celebrated its seventh annual International Festival on May 1 with more than 600 people in attendance. The WHS International Festival is an event to showcase the diversity that exists at the school and in the community. There were nearly 40 countries represented in this event with exhibits showcasing culture and heritage through history, clothing, food, games, activities, artifacts and dance performances.

Earlier in the year, Oakwood Elementary also hosted an International Night, allowing families with elementary-age children to “tour the world” as they visited tables prepared by Oakwood families showcasing over 20 countries of heritage or interest. This year, the event had a special focus on South America with food, music and dance from the region and even a Rio-style Carnaval parade.

WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL junior Cody Hou was recently named winner of a trip to Germany, an honor reserved for only 39 students across the country, by the American Association of Teachers of German.

Ginny Steinhagen of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German said, “Cody is the type of student who will really make the most of an opportunity like this... with his intellectual curiosity, interest in learning languages and outgoing personality, Cody will be a great representative of Minnesota.”

6 WHS Students Win Unprecedented Number of State Art Awards

Adrienne Barrier

Anna Calingaert

Aubrianna Ackerman

Avery Beltrand

Carly Schweitzer

Cassidly Lindahl

Catherine Vladykina

Claire Reid

Connor Olson

Elizabeth Hienz

Erika Wang

Frederic Lin

Gabriella Kinney

Haley McNiff

Hannah Heiring

Heidi Donner

Holly Weatherson

Ian Neville

Isabel Milano

Isack Strempke

Jack Ile

Katherine Knacke

Kira Dranchak

Mara Gosch

Mariah Schmidt

Martin Johnson

Mary Mueffelmann

Owen Rahm

WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS won 80 awards in the annual 2015 Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards, the longest-running, most prestigious national art competition.

The Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards is broken into three categories: Gold Keys, Silver Keys and Honorable Mention. Students at Wayzata High School won 23 Gold Keys, 18 Silver Keys and 39 Honorable Mentions – an unprecedented number of awards for Wayzata and the most awards presented to a school in the state.

Gold Key award-winning work was automatically entered into the National Awards competition in New York, and senior Martin Johnson received a national silver medal in digital art and senior Cassidy Lindahl received a national silver medal in painting. All national award–winning high school seniors are also eligible to apply for a special pool of more than $8 million in scholarships.

The Scholastic Art Awards are designed to foster creative expression by secondary students and to recognize and encourage achievement in the creative arts by offering visibility and scholarships. The awards represent work from a Payton Des Lauriers broad range of art disciplines including drawing and painting, crafts, sculpture, digital art and photography.

Congratulations to the following students for their awards: Gold: Aubrianna Ackerman, Anna Calingaert, Sarah Alexander, Heidi Donner, Kira Dranchak Hannah Heiring, Elizabeth Hienz, Martin Johnson, Katherine Knacke, Frederic Lin, Cassidy Lindahl, Haley McNiff, Isabel Milano, Mary Mueffelmann, Connor Olson, Owen Rahm, Claire Reid, Mariah Schmidt, Isack Strempke and Tiffany Zarriello Silver: Adrienne Barrier, Avery Beltrand, Payton Des Lauriers, Kira Dranchak, Rachel Gessner, Mara Gosch, Jack Ile, Gabriella Kinney, Taylor Leis, Haley McNiff, Isabel Milano, Ian Neville, Claire Reid, Mariah Schmidt, Carly Schweitzer, Catherine Vladykina, Erika Wang, Holly Weatherson and Tiffany Zarriello Honorable Mention: Aubrianna Ackerman, Adrienne Barrier, Kathryn Blake, Jana Blomberg, Anna Calingaert, Anne Christill, Kira Dranchak, Alison Engeriser, Frank Fetrow, Garrett Finn, Rachel Gessner, Paige Goedderz, Maria Gosch, Hannah Heiring, Martin Johnson, Gabriella Kinney, Katherine Knacke, Katelyn Krebsbach, Angela Ku, Grace Leinberger, Roselynd Lin, Cassidy Lindahl, Dana McNevin, Haley McNiff, Jessie Meng, Genna Nygren, Charlie Proops, Abby Pettengill, Claire Reid, Broderick Stout, Hannah Sutton, Jeenue Vang, Catherine Vladykina and Orien Zeng

Rachel Gessner

Taylor Leis

Sarah Alexander

Tiffany Zarriello

7 Wayzata Girls’ Synchronized Swim Team Wins Ninth State Championship THE WAYZATA GIRLS’ Synchronized Swim Team were named the 2015 State Champions in May. This is the ninth consecutive State Championship for Wayzata. Colleen Donlin, Lucy Liu, Hannah Ogren and Katrin Ree were also named All-State.

Wayzata finished with 151 points, followed by Stillwater with 81 points and St. Louis Park came in third with 78 points.

The individual state champions include the following girls listed by event: Solo Long: Katrin Ree Solo Extended: Colleen Donlin Duet Extended: Hannah Ogren and Katrin Ree Figures Extended: Colleen Donlin Team Short: Nicole Aadalen, Grace Bocek, Emily Fok, Katherine Fischer, Samantha Jackson, Madalyn Lubbers, Kathryn Pouliot and Nirali Somia Team Long: Elizabeth Alviani, Grace Julian, Nicole Miller, Claire Reid, Katlyn Ringquist, Riley Ruegemer, Anna Van Orsow and Lauren Webert Team Extended: Colleen Donlin, Brianna Herbert, Magdalena Leali, Lucy Liu, Hannah Ogren, Katrin Ree, Miranda Roberts and Grace Spencer Congratulations on another outstanding season!

Wayzata Girls’ Nordic Ski Team Wins State

Daughters of the American Revolution Recognize Wayzata Students THE LAKE MINNETONKA Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) recognized several Wayzata students.

American History Essay Contest

East Middle School sixth grade student Mara Prochaska and West Middle School seventh grade student Nirali Somia received top honors in the DAR American History Essay Contest. Mara’s essay went on to be selected for the state-level competition where it received first in state. This contest was established to encourage young people to think creatively about our nation’s great history and learn about history in a new light.

Good Citizen Award

The Lake Minnetonka DAR Chapter also named Wayzata High School senior Madison Marko the 2015 Good Citizen Award winner. The DAR Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest, created in 1934, is intended to encourage, recognize and reward individuals who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in their homes, schools and communities.

Christopher Columbus Essay Contest

THE WAYZATA GIRLS won their third consecutive Minnesota State Nordic Ski Championship at Giants Ridge in Biwabik in February.

Junior Michaela Keller-Miller finished in second place overall in the pursuit-format races. Senior Anna French, winner of the section championship, finished in fifth place. Senior Nicole Schneider finished 20th and Junior Kristine Keller-Miller finished 23rd.

Wayzata High School freshman Divya Goel won the DAR Christopher Columbus Essay Contest at both the chapter and state levels. The DAR, along with the National Italian American Foundation, judge the essays for historical accuracy, adherence to the topic, organization of materials, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, punctuation and neatness.

Wayzata Boys’ Track & Field Head Coach Aaron Berndt Named AA Coach of the Year WAYZATA BOYS TRACK and Field Head Coach Aaron Berndt was named the Class AA Boys’ Coach of the Year for the state of Minnesota. Coaches from around the state vote on the award annually.

Coach Berndt has been coaching at Wayzata since the spring of 2003. He began his 10th year as the head Wayzata Boys Track and Field coach in 2015. His teams have won three State Championships, the 2014 and 2013 State True Team State Championship and the 2012 Minnesota High School League State Team Championship. Congratulations, Aaron!

JV Debate Team win JV Nationals Tournament WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL JV Debate Team members Jeffrey Lu and Samyak Jain won the JV Nationals Tournament in Atlanta on Saturday, March 21. Debate team members Dhruv Methi and Aman Sharma were also quarterfinalists at the tournament. Additionally, all four of these debaters were among the top 10 speakers in the tournament.

Harry Potter Illustrator Visits Sunset Hill Elementary Mary GrandPré, illustrator of the world-famous Harry Potter series, stopped by Sunset Hill Elementary this spring to read to students, answer questions and even demonstrate how she creates her fanciful characters.

Excellence. For Each and Every Student.

Wayzata Public Schools 210 County Road 101 N. P.O. Box 660 Wayzata, MN 55391-0060

Communicator SUMMER 2015

Annual Empty Bowls a Success!

Nonprofit Org. US Postage Wayzata, MN Permit 43

Nearly 600 people filled the WHS cafeteria to participate in the 23rd annual Empty Bowls event, raising over $8,000 to help Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners fight hunger in the Twin Cities. For a suggested $10 donation, patrons selected a handmade art bowl crafted by WHS students, staff and alumni. Volunteers filled it with soup and bread donated from local businesses, and the bowl could be kept as a reminder of the evening.

The Communicator is published for residents and staff of Wayzata Public Schools. Contact Amy Parnell, director of communications and community engagement, at 763-745-5068 or amy.parnell@wayzata.k12.mn.us with questions or comments.

Wayzata Central Middle School to Host Summer Programming DUE TO CONSTRUCTION at Wayzata High School (WHS), summer school and community education classes normally held at WHS will be held at Central Middle School (CMS), located at 305 Vicksburg Ln N, for the summer of

2015. The high school building is scheduled to be closed from June 15 through July 31.

We apologize for the increased traffic in the surrounding neighborhoods. To minimize the congestion, a parking lot monitor will be present from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. daily.

For more information about summer programs, please visit www.wayzata.k12. mn.us/summerschool/.

Wayzata Public Schools

Community Education Summer Classses and Camps Grades K-8

June 2015 Summer youth catalogue now available

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