Education

Waukon Middle School was awarded the CenturyLink Teachers and Technology Grant in the amount of $4,910 for an Interactive Touch Screen Display for the Waukon High School/Middle School Library. The grant was written by PreK-12 District Teacher Librarian Lisa Snitker. The interactive display will be used in the library makerspace where students can collaborate on the panel with 20 touch points and up to 10 users creating digital projects. A makerspace is a place where students can gather to create, invent, tinker, explore and discover using a variety of tools and materials. The interactive display will add resources available to students that will help guide their inquiry and exploration in learning through digital tools. The CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation's Teachers and Technology grants are designed to help fund projects that advance student success through the innovative use of technology.

Saturday, March 25, students from the Waukon High School Band and Vocal programs traveled to Cresco for the Iowa High School Music Association (IHSMA) State Solo and Ensemble Contests. Each soloist or ensemble performed for a certified judge and following their performance they received a rating.
A Division “I" rating is the highest rating and is considered to be a "superior" performance. Division “II” is an excellent performance, Division “III” is a good performance, Division “IV” is fair, and Division "V" is a poor performance.
The Saxophone Trio of members Erika Johnson, Katie Hagensick and Michael Smith received a “Best of Center Award” for the day, which consists of receiving a perfect score from their judge and being designated by that same judge at the end of the day as the best performance from that center for the day.
Results for Waukon High School performances from the contest day are as follows:

Kee High School’s production of the two one-act musicals “Big Bad Musical” and “Cinderella” was performed April 1 and 2. Pictured are members of the cast and crew of this year’s production. The musicals were both family-oriented shows that allowed the cast to interact with the children in the audience. Many of the children wore fairytale character costumes and were invited for a meet and greet after the show. Pictures in Cinderella’s carriage and with the other characters up on the stage were a highlight of the evening, as pictured below and to the right. Submitted photos.
 

St. Patrick School in Waukon will be hosting its annual 5K walk/run this Saturday, April 15. The event is open to all ages.

Registration for the event will be held from 7-7:45 a.m. the day of the race at the St. Patrick School Upper Building gymnasium but will not guarantee receipt of a long-sleeved t-shirt. The registration fee is now $25 ($20 for youth shirt sizes), and checks can be made payable to St. Patrick School.

The race will begin at 8 a.m. Medals will be awarded to the first two male finishers and first two female finishers in each age group.

For more information, call 563-568-2170 or e-mail kfahey@st-pats.pvt.k12.ia.us. Rain date has been set for Saturday, April 22.
 

Students in Mrs. Hemann’s first grade classroom at West Elementary School in Waukon have been learning about air, observing and investigating air and its properties. The students have used various tools to observe how air can be captured, how air can be compressed, and how air under pressure can move things. The students were able to create several things to test air and its properties. By working together, students made their own parachutes, a water fountain and a rocket balloon to show how air can move things. The students have investigated, observed, discussed and journaled about their findings. Photo and information courtesy of the Allamakee Education Association. Submitted photos.
 

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Business and Community Solutions is offering the two-session class “Microsoft Excel 2013 Fast-Paced – Level 1” Tuesday, April 18 and Thursday, April 20 from 5-8 p.m. at the NICC Waukon Center, located at 1220 Third Avenue NW.

This six-hour class is designed for those with little or no experience using Microsoft Excel, or for current Excel users who want an introduction to the 2013 version. Beginning-level skills will be taught and practiced. An illustrated textbook is included in the cost of the class.

To register online for “Microsoft Excel 2013 Fast-Paced - Level 1” (#54591) or for more information, visit www.nicc.edu/solutions, or call NICC Business and Community Solutions at 800-728-2256, ext. 399 (Calmar campus) or 563-568-3060 (NICC Waukon Center).
 

Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc. will hold a Recognition Breakfast Wednesday, April 12 at 7:30 a.m. in the Waukon High School Cafeteria. The breakfast is being held to thank individual and group donors and to introduce student applicants. Applicants and their parents will also be special guests.

Pledges from the recent phone-a-thon can be turned in at the breakfast or mailed to Allamakee Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 144, Waukon, IA 52172. Organizations and other scholarship donors need to have awards to Allamakee Scholarship Fund Treasurer Amy McCormick at Waukon State Bank by the breakfast date also and Awards Program information can be verified with Guidance Counselor Amy Wasson at Waukon High School.

The Kee High School Music and Drama Departments will be presenting a pair of one-act musicals this weekend as the school's annual musical production for this school year. "Big Bad Musical," which is about fairytale characters taking Big Bad Wolf to court, and the "Cinderella Musical" are both plays that will be interactive with the children in attendance. The "Big Bad Musical" book is by Alex Strum with music and lyrics by Bill Francoeur. It is produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., Englewood, CO. The Prince Street Players LTD production of "Cinderella" is based on the Fairy Tale of Charles Perrault, with adaptation and lyrics by Jim Eiler and music by Jim Eiler and Jeanne Bargy. The Cinderella-Prince Street Players Version is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

Waukon Middle and High School teachers and students showcased numerous projects they have worked on throughout the school year during spring parent/teacher conferences last week. The new annual event is called “Pride Projects.” The hallways of the middle and high school were lined with tables, display boards and projects that students explained, such as those pictured above and below. Staff and students were excited to show robotics, green screen projects, health activities, video presentations, mentoring experiences, math, reading and science projects, as well as band and chorus. The collaborative event was open to all parents and the community to view and interact with during spring conferences held Monday, March 20 and Tuesday, March 21. Photos and information courtesy of the Allamakee Education Association.
 

In today's world, people, animals and materials move around the planet in record numbers and speed. These same advances that make modern infrastructure so efficient have made epidemics and even pandemics inevitable; and as outbreaks of Ebola, MERS, yellow fever, Zika and influenza have demonstrated, the planet is woefully underprepared for the fallout.

Luther College in Decorah will host Waukon native Michael Osterholm, University of Minnesota Regents Professor and McKnight Endowed Presidential Chair in Public Health, for the first Dr. David J. Roslien Distinguished Lecture in Science and Leadership at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 4 in the Center for Faith and Life Main Hall on the Luther campus.

Osterholm's lecture, "Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs," is open to the public with no charge for admission. His critically acclaimed book by the same title was published March 14.