Education

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) Board of Education held its regular meeting Monday, August 15. Board President Heather Schulte called the meeting to order. Also present were board members Bobbi Goetzinger, Kelli Mudderman and  Bruce Palmborg; Melanie Mauss was not present. In addition, school personnel attending included

Area adults and teenagers are invited to make Silhouette Jars at the “I Found it on Pinterest” Class being held Thursday, August 11 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of Robey Memorial Library in Waukon. This bi-monthly class will feature a project or craft found on Pinterest and all materials will be provided by the library.

Pinterest is a visual bookmarking tool that helps people discover and save creative ideas. To register or for more information contact the library at www.waukon.lib.ia.us or 563-568-4424.
 

The Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB) will be hosting “Endangered Driftless” as the final installment of its Summer Naturalist Series Thursday, August 25 at 7 p.m. Staff from the ACCB will discuss the flora and fauna endangered and threatened that calls the Driftless Region home. The Summer Naturalist series is held at the ACCB Headquarters located at 427 North First Street in Harpers Ferry.

The Summer Naturalist Series is a monthly series of family education programs hosted on the fourth Thursday of June, July and August. The programs are free to attend.  Cultural and environmental issues within Allamakee County and the Driftless Area will be discussed.

For more information on the Summer Naturalist program or any program offered by the Allamakee County Conservation Board, call 563-586-2996.
 

Robey Memorial Library in Waukon is offering a free program to encourage ninth through 12th grade high schools students to stay in the habit of reading. How the "Read for a Lifetime" program works:

1. Print (from www.waukon.lib.ia.us/teens/rfal) or pick up a reading log. This log lists the titles for the current year.
2. Each student reads four titles between September 2016 and August 2017.
3. Return reading log to the library and pick out a book from our prize collection.
4. Students who complete the program each year of high school will receive a book of their choice upon “graduation” out of the program.

The deadline for this program is August following the student’s 12th grade year. Anyone needing help with book suggestions in encourage to ask the library staff. Stop in often to check out books and attend free programs.

Hunter Seigenthaler of Waukon recently attended Advanced Space Academy at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center located at the Marshall Space Flight Center’s Official Visitor Center in Huntsville, AL. The weeklong educational program promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) while training students and adults with hands-on activities and missions based on teamwork, leadership and problem solving.

Seigenthaler was part of the Advanced Space Academy program, which is specifically designed for trainees who have a particular interest in space exploration. Seigenthaler spent the week training with a team that flew a simulated space mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Once aboard the ISS, the crew participated in experiments and successfully completed an extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalk. Seigenthaler and crew returned to earth in time to graduate with honors.

Parents Supporting Students and Teachers (P.S.S.T.) is a group of parents within the Allamakee Community School District that meets, plans, volunteers and - just as the name suggests - provides support for students and teachers within the district. The P.S.S.T. group is actually a new name for the original WE Care parental group.

Group members believe that parent involvement is one of the most important factors in raising student self-esteem and academic achievement. The group also realizes that all families are unique with their own needs, talents and time constraints, so an effort is made to provide as many different opportunities for parental involvement as possible.

With those opportunities in mind, P.S.S.T. is recruiting volunteers to join the group or even to just volunteer their efforts in support of the local school district's students and teachers. Those volunteer opportunities include the following:

The 2016 Summer Kid's Club within the Allamakee Community School District was pleased and honored to interact with community businesses and individuals to strengthen both student and staff knowledge of the past Native American cultures of Allamakee County in relation to today's present way of life. Numerous activities compared and contrasted the culture of each time period from the content of each presentation, while integrating third, fourth and fifth grade school curriculum of English, reading, math, literature, science/health, social studies and technology/STEM into daily discussions and reviews. These programs/presentations of active student participation and the use of hands-on materials provided an opportunity for establishing student background knowledge to be used for both their enjoyment and in their future learning.

Tuesday, May 31 junior and senior members of the Waukon High School band and choir departed on a trip to New York City for several days. The 39 students, 13 chaperones and two music directors had the opportunity to see such landmarks as Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, Central Park, American Museum of Natural History (where the movie "Night at the Museum" was filmed), Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Grand Central Station, 9-11 Museum and Memorial, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. John's the Divine, Chinatown and Little Italy. While there, they also got to see performances of the musicals  "Disney's The Lion King" and "Wicked."

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met Monday evening, July 18 for its regular monthly meeting. Board member Tom Baxter was absent. A handful of district staff members were on hand for the meeting as well.

During the Secretary’s Financial Report, Board Secretary Jaime Curtin reminded board members that the June financial information is still preliminary, and they will get the final figures in September.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The regular monthly Eastern Allamakee Community School District Board of Directors meeting was held Monday, July 18 at  Kee High School in Lansing. Board members Bruce Palmborg, Bobbie Goetzinger, Melanie Mauss and Board President Heather Schulte were present along with Board Secretary/Business Manager Marian Verdon, Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier and Kee High School Principal Mary Hogan. Board member Kelli Mudderman and New Albin Elementary Principal Chad Steckel were absent.

After the adoption of the agenda, the usual and customary authorizations were approved. They included July consent items: minutes of the June meeting, bills for June and July, the Secretary’s Financial Statement, and the Activity and Food Service Reports.