Education

Saturday, February 4 the Waukon High School Speech Department participated in the State Large Group Speech Contest at Dubuque Senior High School. Waukon had nine groups involving 36 students that had been selected to participate at State from the District contest held previously in Decorah. Throughout the day, the nine groups either performed or presented their taped presentations.  The groups ranging from a One Act play to taped radio programs were judged by a panel of three certified judges. The judges gave ratings from 1 to 4, with the best being a 1 rating and a 4 is a disqualification. The ratings of the three judges are averaged together for the final rating. Waukon had six groups receive one ratings and three groups receive two ratings. Then each judge is able to nominate groups for the All-State Festival, which is a very distinguished award.

Students comprising four Kee High School Speech teams performed at the State Contest hosted by Dubuque Senior High School Saturday, February 4. All four Kee teams received a perfect "one" rating from all three judges.

In addition to its "one" rating, one of those four Kee teams was selected to perform at the All-State Speech Festival on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames this Saturday, February 18. The mime performance of "Convertible Carelessness Casualties" was selected for that honor. Earning that All-State Speech advancement is the team of Rachel Walleser, Michelle Walleser, Kinley Schobert and Neve Goetzinger.

"Kee had a perfect day," Kee High School Speech instructor Tammy Manning commented. "It is great to have Kee High be represented at the All-State Speech Festival again."
 

Members of the Goodfella’s Riding Club, a non-profit group of like-minded individuals who ride motorcycles for the common goal of brotherhood and helping out in local and surrounding communities, are pictured above presenting Mrs. Jenette Schulte’s second grade classroom at West Elementary School in Waukon with an iPad, cover and Osmo set. Charlie Nierling, a former student of Mrs. Schulte’s, made a contribution and contacted the club to purchase the above items for her classroom. Submitted photo.
 

The Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School traveled to Indianapolis, IN October 19-21 to attend the National FFA Convention. A total of 35 members attended the event. The students first stopped at Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, IN, where students had the opportunity to visit the farm's dairy and swine ventures. They were able to see all aspects of the operation from birthing to the milking process on their large carousel. The next day the students went to the FFA Convention and Expo and spent most of their day attending workshops, shopping, walking around the expo booths and sessions. During the opening session students were able to listen to Diana Nyad, who talked about her experiences swimming 110 miles from Cuba to Florida. In addition to her experiences swimming, she encouraged FFA members to chase their dreams and never give up. The group finished the day going to the World’s Toughest Rodeo.

Monday, January 9, 22 students from Waukon High School attended the Northeast Iowa Conference Music Festival hosted by Charles City High School. The students rehearsed all day and presented a concert that evening. Former Waukon teacher and Allamakee County native Larry Wolfe, now the assistant principal at Charles City High School, commented that it was nice for the students from all the Northeast Iowa Conference schools to get together to create something beautiful instead of competing on the court, field or course. The students from Waukon High School who attended the festival included members of the Waukon High School Band (pictured in top photo) and the Waukon High School Choir (pictured in lower photo). Participating band members pictured at left include: Left to right - Front row: Maddie Ellingson, Mary Vander Velden, Cassidy Byrnes. Second row: Allison Hagensick, Morgan Van Ruler. Third row: Owen Halverson, Erika Johnson, Miann Barr.

Winneshiek County Development Incorporated has awarded Iowa's Dairy Center and Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) with the annual Sustainability Award. This award is presented to any business or organization that has gone above and beyond in employing good sustainability practices.

Waukon Veterinary Service and Brodahl Veterinary Service of Waukon partnered with Zoetis and the National FFA Organization to donate a total of $635 to the Little Switzerland FFA chapter at Waukon High School through the FFA Support Program. The donated funds are provided to chapters through the sale of cattle and equine medical products at both locations. The Zoetis Industry Support Program was pleased to announce that the participants in the program helped contribute more than $1.3 million to local FFA chapters nationwide. Their goal is to support the development of individual FFA chapters across the country. The donated funds will be used to provide contest materials and other necessities for the Waukon FFA Chapter. The support from Waukon Veterinary Service and Brodahl Veterinary Service has allowed the chapter to reach out to more students through their participation in FFA contests.

Saturday Clover Kids met January 21 at the Waukon Wellness Center, hosted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Ross Geerdes, Allamakee County Conservation's Naturalist, joined the meeting to share his knowledge about watersheds and the animals that live there. He brought along many furs to share and explained how each animal was different and how they lived around or in a watershed. With Waukon being close to the Mississippi River, most of these animals are common in the local area. The Clover Kids were able to touch each fur (pictured above) and note the differences in color and also how the fur felt; for example, animals that lived mainly in the water, such as otters, had fur that felt oily in order to repel the water off of them. Geerdes explained characteristics of each animal and how that helps each animal thrive in its environment. The youth also had the opportunity to meet Sally the salamander and pet her, along with a toad (pictured below).

This past summer four members of the Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School participated in the State Agronomy Contest at Iowa State University in Ames. Pictured above, left to right, Austin Day, Jacob Dougherty, Kyle Gordon and Michael Schulte spent the day being tested on their knowledge of the agronomy industry. Included in the competition was the judging of hay, silage and seeds, placing classes of various crops, identification of seed, plants and insects, a general knowledge exam, and finally a team practicum completing a crop budget. At the end of the contest the team was recognized as the Iowa FFA Agronomy Champions. The team was led by Austin Day, who placed sixth individually, followed by Michael Schulte in ninth. The team was also recognized as the top team overall in crops judging, identification and the team event.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

A brief regular meeting of the Eastern Allamakee Community School District Board of Directors was held at Kee High School Monday, January 16, despite icy weather conditions that gripped the area that evening. With those weather conditions in mind, a Zoom video internet connection was used to network some of the Board members and school administrators into the meeting who were unable to travel.

The meeting was called to order by Board President Heather Schulte, with Board members Bobbie Goetzinger, Melanie Mauss, Kelli Mudderman and Bruce Palmborg in attendance, along with Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier and Board Secretary Marian Verdon. The Board approved Authorizations which  included the January consent items, minutes of the December meetings, bills for January, Secretary’s Financial Report for December, and the Student Activity and Food Service December Reports.