March 2009 Homepage Articles

Free Class Basic Computer Class Being Offered to the Community Free Class

The WRPS Technology Department will be offering a FREE Basic Computer Class at Lincoln High School. Six sessions will be held in Room 108 each Monday beginning April 13 and ending May 18, from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. The class will cover Computer Hardware, Operating System, Internet (including email), Word, and Excel. Please click here to register by April 6 (first come, first serve - seats are limited) or call 422-6056 if you have questions.

SMARxT DISPOSAL - Medication Round-Up
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Instead of sneaking out to meet the neighborhood drug dealer, today's teens are taking a few short steps to their parents' or grandparents' medicine cabinets or to their friend's locker at school to get high. It has become a relatively simple task for teens to find, steal, or purchase prescription drugs. These drugs can be dangerous, addictive, and potentially lethal when taken in large doses or in combination with other drugs or alcohol. The last thing a parent wants to do is make it easy for teens to abuse prescription drugs. Unfortunately, throwing away prescriptions isn't enough. A curious teen is not above rifling through the trash to find their next high. Please take advantage of this opportunity to quickly, anonymously and safely dispose of your prescription and over-the-counter medications and read the Smarxt Disposal flyer and the Proper Disposal Method document!

Family and Community Town Supper Participate in a free supper organized around food and table discussions to be held on Thursday, March 26. RSVP early, the program is limited to the first 150 respondents!
Topics will include underage drinking and prescription drug misuse Geared toward families with children ages 10 and up A panel of experts related to the above topics will be there to answer questions that you may have Great way to start communication with your child about these tough topics Inspirational local speaker whose life has been greatly impacted by underage drinking and prescription drug abuse Tips on what parents can do to help prevent prescription drug abuse in our area
Please RSVP to Heather Lisitza by Friday, March 20, at 422-6382 or Heather.Lisitza@wrps.org Please take a moment to read the flyer for more information about this event.

WRPS Early Admission Policy

It is a policy of the Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools that children may be admitted into kindergarten if s/he is five years old on or before September 1 in the school year s/he proposes to enter school. Children may be admitted into grade one if s/he is six years old on or before September 1 of the year s/he proposes to enter school.

It is also a District policy that parents of children who do not meet these age requirements may request early admission for their child to enter kindergarten or grade one by making application to the Director of Pupil Services prior to May 1 of the year he/she proposes to enter school.

At the time of application, parents will be given a copy of the District policy. Early admission to kindergarten or grade one will be permitted when such admission is in the best educational interest of the student, the school district, and in accordance with the established policy.

To make application, parents may call the Pupil Services Department at 422-6015, or write to the Director of Pupil Services at 510 Peach Street, Wisconsin Rapids, WI54494 by the May 1^st deadline.

Tom Helgestad Elected To WSSCA
Tom Helgestad, Director of Buildings & Grounds at Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools, was elected to serve a two-year term on the Wisconsin School Safety Coordinators Association (WSSCA) Board of Directors at the March 3rd Annual School Safety and Health Conference. “Tom’s dedication to the Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools is apparent through his involvement with WSSCA,” said Bryan Roessler, executive director of WSSCA. “Tom cares about the safety of the students and everyone in his community. Serving on the WSSCA board of directors will help him shape the direction of the training initiatives offered to other members of the school safety community statewide.” Tom Helgestad has been with Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools for 25 years and has been active with WSSCA for 22 years. He also serves on the Wisconsin Association of School Boards board of directors, the finance and building committee of St. Stephens Church and School, and the Tri-City Curling Club board of directors.
The Wisconsin School Safety Coordinators Association is a non-profit, non-government organization dedicated to improving safety, health and wellness in Wisconsin’s schools. WSSCA promotes total school safety through safety and health education, seminars, an annual conference and workshops. To learn more about WSSCA visit www.wssca.org.

Student Art Work On Display At Priebe Gallery
Students have been very busy in the Lincoln High School Art Department. Ten students had artwork juried into the prestigious High School Art Day Show at the UW-Oshkosh Priebe Gallery. The works range from various mediums such as drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, and fibers. Thirty-two artworks were submitted in all.
The following students had work accepted into the show: Ashley Fritsche, a metals piece Andrew Breitenstein, a metals piece Natalie Aumann, mixed media Amanda Hansford, metal casting Katie Killian, printmaking Amber Greycarek, film photography Carly Obermayr, digital photography Blia Thao, drawing Louise Arvestahl, drawing Brittany Hahn, photography
If you are in the Oshkosh area, feel free to stop by the gallery and check out the work. The show runs through April 2.

2009 Kohl Fellowship Award

Rachel Lent, a teacher at Lincoln High School, was selected for the very prestigious 2009 Kohl Teacher Fellowship Award sponsored by the Herb Kohl Foundation. The fellowship program recognizes only 100 public and private school teachers in our state each year. This award is based on teaching expertise, connections with kids, professionalism, and contributions to the community. Rachel is very deserving of this award, and the District is very proud of her accomplishments.

BloodStone Receives Award
Bloodstone, the Lincoln High School Art & Literary publication, recently received two national awards for the 2008 issue. The first award, a Gold Medal from the Colombia School of Journalism, is an award given for overall excellence in student produced magazines. Creative writing, artwork and graphic design all factor into this award. The second award was given by the National Council of Teachers of English. Bloodstone received an “excellent” rating by this organization. This award also bases the ranking on overall excellence, with specific emphasis on the prose and poetry featured in the magazine.
To provide some point of reference, the NCTE award had 489 schools entered from all over the nation. Lincoln was one of six in the state to receive a national ranking and is sharing the ranking with schools such as Fox Point and Arrowhead from Southeastern Wisconsin. Lincoln is the only school in the state from outside the Milwaukee Metropolitan area to place in the competition.
Bloodstone is entirely student edited, created and produced by Lincoln High School students, and recently celebrated its 25^th anniversary. “This project combines real-life problems, team building, and features the integration of many different disciplines working together to produce a high quality product. Research consistently indicates that this multi-faceted approach to real products offers perhaps the most complete kind of learning because it most closely mimics the kinds of skill needed in the workplace. “Our students, quite frankly are among the best in the nation, and I’ll trust achievement like that over a test score any day!” states Mark Larson, Art Department Chair and Bloodstone graphics advisor.
The 2009 edition of Bloodstone is being put together now and will be available to the public after its publishing date of May 18.

Passport to The World
Exclamations of “mmm…c’est bon!”, shouts of “azul, verde, rojo”, and various animal sounds could be heard outside classrooms of East Junior High on Saturday, March 7, as 3^rd graders participated in “Passport to the World”. Approximately 40 third-graders from all of the area elementary public schools had the opportunity to take part in a morning of exposure to the four World Languages that are taught in the WRPS district. The students learned the colors in Spanish with songs and rhymes while making a colorful paper carnation. They wore authentic kimonos from Japan while learning the names and sounds of animals in Japanese and creating an origami animal. The rooms and daily activities inside a German house were taught with the help of Gummy Bears. And students were treated to a French crêpe after graduating from their mini course as a French doctor’s assistant. This was the third year of the event which is a true service-learning project due to the active participation of more than 20 Lincoln High student volunteers. These LHS volunteers worked side-by-side with nine World Language teachers in planning and presenting the morning activities.

Start With Art...Learn for Life

Everyone is invited to see the KidzArt Show at McMillan Library from March 2 - April 6! There are hundreds of pieces of artwork created by WRPS Elementary School Students.

The Wisconsin Art Education Association Celebrates Youth Art Month!

The North Central Regional Art Show was on display at McMillan Library where 50 pieces were selected to go on to State. Thirteen pieces were chosen from the Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools. Several students from Grant, Rudolph, Vesper, Washington, and Woodside Schools as well as East and West Junior High had their work chosen to go to the annual State Youth Art Month Show at the Capitol in Madison.

The artwork will be on display in the Capitol Rotunda from March 7 - 20, ending with a reception from 12:00-1:00.

Class Builds New Dog House

Canine Officer, Diego, from the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department, has a new dog house. This house was built as a community service project by Mr. Linse’s West Jr. High School eighth-grade manufacturing and construction students. The students enjoyed the opportunity to learn many construction skills such as planning, layout, framing, painting and shingling. The class wanted Diego to be comfortable in his well insulated, two-room home with architectural shingles. Not only did the students fund raise for Diego, they are insuring his comfort now that he is here.

Spelling Bee Winners Announced

The winners of the Wisconsin Rapids School District's spelling bee have been announced. We wish to congratulate all the participants on their hard work. Please click here for a complete listing of the winners at the various schools.

Michael Cronce, an eighth grader at West Junior High and the son of Russell and Karen Cronce, won the regional CESA 5 Spelling Bee. Michael will go on to compete with a select group of spellers from around the state of Wisconsin and will be taking part in the Badger State Spelling Bee scheduled for Saturday, March 14. It will be held in the E. F. Schwan Performing Arts Center at Monona Grove High School.

The staff and students of West Junior High are extremely proud of Michael’s accomplishments.

Cheer and Stunt Win State

The Lincoln High School Cheer and Stunt Team competed at State competition on Saturday, February 14, 2009. Hats off to the team for winning the 2009 WACPC High School State Cheer Championship! Sue Poeschl also won Cheer Coach of the Year and four out of six team members earned All-State and Stunt Awards. Congratulations!

Area Educator Receives National Recognition
Susie Kronholm, 2^nd Grade Teacher at Howe Elementary School, was awarded “Reading Model Classroom” by the Wisconsin Rapids-based company, Renaissance Learning. Model Classroom certification indicates that Ms. Kronholm’s efforts to adopt Renaissance best classroom practices to a high degree have resulted in measurable improvements in student performance.
“Susie exemplifies the kind of commitment to the success of every student that is at the heart of effective teaching,” said Judi Paul, Chairman of the Board at Renaissance Learning. To receive Renaissance Model Classroom certification, an educator must demonstrate that their students are maintaining high-quality practice for a minimum of 12 weeks. In addition, educators must be actively working with individual students to meet Renaissance-recommended standards and be helping each student work at the level that promotes the most growth.
In addition to national recognition, Ms. Kronholm will receive a certificate of recognition of this class-wide achievement, more opportunities for professional development, and other benefits to share with the class and school. Congratulations, Ms. Kronholm!

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