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Eveleth-Gilbert Public Schools A quarterly publication for the community, parents, students, and staff of Eveleth-Gilbert Public Schools. Second Quarter 2010-2011 Eveleth-Gilbert Public Schools Strategic Directions -By DEBORAH HILDE, Superintendent IN THIS ISSUE Page 1 Strategic Directions Page 2 Alumni Information Upcoming Events Weather Related Closings Page 3 Robotics Competition Discovering Small Engines Page 4 Growing a Salt Crystal Garden Gilbert Campus Highlights Page 5 Franklin News Applied Learning. Learning By Doing Page 6 VFW Essay Contest Winners Page 7 EG Students Helping Others Page 8 Student Councils at EG Schools Page 9 Flat Stanley Project High School Update Newest Board Members Page 10-11 Youth Frontiers Program Page 12 Community Ed Winter Offerings Independent School District 2154 www.isd2154.k12.mn.us The Eveleth-Gilbert School District is in the first year of implementation of a five year strategic plan. One of the goals for the first year of implementation is to provide more professional development opportunities for the teaching staff. Professional development for teachers is valued by the district as a means of empowering staff effectiveness. Elementary teachers meet in grade level meetings on a monthly basis. During the grade level meetings teachers examine student data for the purpose of improving instruction. They share and discuss interventions they are using to help students who are experiencing difficulty in learning new skills. They work cooperatively to develop additional interventions that will develop, refine, or enhance all students’ skills. At the present time, district administration are exploring the use of Viewpoint, a data warehouse, that would make individual student data more readily available to staff. Secondary and Elementary teaching staff have participated in technology training this year. Interactive white boards were purchased for twenty-one classrooms this year. The teachers receiving the interactive whiteboards were trained as to how to use the whiteboards and are now incorporating their use in classroom instruction. Teachers have found the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom increases student engagement. I encourage parents, grandparents, and other family members to ask the students if their teacher has an interactive whiteboard and what they think about it as a means of delivering instruction. It is administration’s goal to have interactive whiteboards available for use by all classroom instructors by the 2011-2012 school year. QUARTERLY CONNECTIONS We welcome suggestions as to what you may like to see in upcoming editions of the QUARTERLY CONNECTIONS. If you have a suggestion or would like to receive this newsletter via e-mail, contact Denise Berry at 218-744-7774 or email [email protected] A full-color version is available for viewing and printing on our district’s website www.isd2154.k12.mn.us

QUARTERLY CONNECTIONS 2

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Eveleth-Gilbert Public Schools

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Eveleth-Gilbert Public Schools

Strategic Directions

-By DEBORAH HILDE, Superintendent

IN THIS ISSUE

Page 1 Strategic Directions

Page 2 Alumni Information

Upcoming Events

Weather Related Closings

Page 3 Robotics Competition

Discovering Small Engines

Page 4 Growing a Salt Crystal Garden

Gilbert Campus Highlights

Page 5 Franklin News

Applied Learning. Learning By Doing

Page 6 VFW Essay Contest Winners

Page 7 EG Students Helping Others

Page 8 Student Councils at EG Schools

Page 9 Flat Stanley Project

High School Update

Newest Board Members

Page 10-11 Youth Frontiers Program

Page 12 Community Ed Winter Offerings

Independent School District 2154 www.isd2154.k12.mn.us

The Eveleth-Gilbert

School District is in the first

year of implementation of a

five year strategic plan. One

of the goals for the first year

of implementation is to

provide more professional

development opportunities for the teaching staff. Professional

development for teachers is valued by the district as a means of

empowering staff effectiveness.

Elementary teachers meet in grade level meetings on a monthly

basis. During the grade level meetings teachers examine student

data for the purpose of improving instruction. They share and

discuss interventions they are using to help students who are

experiencing difficulty in learning new skills. They work

cooperatively to develop additional interventions that will

develop, refine, or enhance all students’ skills. At the present time,

district administration are exploring the use of Viewpoint, a data

warehouse, that would make individual student data more readily

available to staff.

Secondary and Elementary teaching staff have participated in

technology training this year. Interactive white boards were

purchased for twenty-one classrooms this year. The teachers

receiving the interactive whiteboards were trained as to how to

use the whiteboards and are now incorporating their use in

classroom instruction. Teachers have found the use of interactive

whiteboards in the classroom increases student engagement. I

encourage parents, grandparents, and other family members to

ask the students if their teacher has an interactive whiteboard and

what they think about it as a means of delivering instruction. It is

administration’s goal to have interactive whiteboards available for

use by all classroom instructors by the 2011-2012 school year.

QUARTERLY

CONNECTIONS

We welcome suggestions as to what you

may like to see in upcoming editions of the

QUARTERLY CONNECTIONS. If you have a

suggestion or would like to receive this

newsletter via e-mail, contact Denise Berry

at 218-744-7774 or email

[email protected]

A full-color version is available for viewing

and printing on our district’s website

www.isd2154.k12.mn.us

Page 2 Quarterly Connections

Calling All Alumni………………...

District Alumni are a vital and

active part of the community

of learning at Independent

School District 2154.

Currently, we are in the

process of gathering

information to develop an

alumni webpage.

If you are a graduate of Eveleth

High School, Gilbert High

School, or the combined

Eveleth-Gilbert High School and

would like to be included, email

your contact information to:

[email protected] OR

mail the form below to: Denise Berry, Eveleth-Gilbert Public

Schools, 801 Jones St., Eveleth, MN 55734

UPCOMING EVENTS

Jan. 21 End of 2nd Marking Period

Jan. 24 Teacher In-Service,

No Classes for Students

Feb. 3 E-G Orchestra Pops Concert

Feb. 7-11 Snow Week

Feb. 21 Presidents Day, School Closed

Feb. 28 Jr. and Sr. High Conferences

Mar. 25 End of 3rd Marking Period

WEATHER RELATED CLOSINGS

E-G Schools currently utilizes the

Honeywell Instant Alert System to

notify parents/guardians of a weather

related school closing. If you have

recently had a change in contact

information, you are encouraged to

update your profile online at

https://instantalert.honeywell.com/

InstantAlert/Login.aspx

If assistance is needed contact

[email protected] or call

218-744-7774.

Weather related closings will also be

posted under “Emergency

Information” on the district’s website

www.isd2154.k12.mn.us

EVELETH & GILBERT ALUMNI INFORMATION

Last Name:________________________________________________

First Name:_______________________________________________

Maiden Name (if applicable):_________________________________

Spouse’s Name (if applicable):________________________________

Graduate of: Eveleth High School Gilbert High School

Eveleth-Gilbert High School

Graduation Year:________________________

Email Address:____________________________________________

Home Address:____________________________________________

City:_____________________, State:_____________ Zip:_________

Home Phone:_____________________________________________

Cell Phone: _______________________________________________

E-G HIGH SCHOOL

BOYS HOCKEY

SPAGHETTI FEED

February 2, 2011

4:30-7:30 pm

Goodfellas

$7.00

Takeout Available

Page 3 Quarterly Connections

E-G Senior High

Participates in Robotics

Competition

Mr. Haraden assists a student

Students begin taking apart small engine

Nearly a dozen Senior High students will

participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition

mentored by Mr. Tim Strasser. The

competition began on January 8 with a local kick

off event held at University of Minnesota Duluth

Campus.

The FIRST Robotics Competition challenges teams

of students to solve a common problem using a

kit of materials and a common set of rules. The

team has six weeks to build robots from the parts

and compete in games designed by a committee

of engineers and other professionals.

Discovering Small Engines

Everyone will own a small engine at one time or

another and at E-G Senior High there is a class

designed to give the basics of trouble shooting and

general maintenance. The Small Engine class is a two

period class located on the Gilbert Campus.

The purpose of the class is to understand the working

of a two and four cycle engine. Students learn

systems such as: compression, lube, fuel, and ignition.

The projects begin with taking apart two school

engines, one of which includes an overhead valve

engine. Once students have completed working on

the school provided engines, they can bring in their

own projects to work on.

The E-G small engine shop has new equipment a

portion of which was provided by a grant from

Minnesota Power.

Students look on as the instructor

explains the process

It is anticipated that 55,000 high school students

nationwide will participate in this years

competition.

Participation in this robotics competition was

made possible with a grant received by the JC

Penney corporation.

Page 4 Quarterly Connections

Growing a Salt Crystal Garden

The 8th grade Earth Science class, instructed by Mrs.

Zupancic conducted a Salt Crystal Garden Lab.

On the first day of the experiment, students poured

water, salt, bluing, and ammonia over pieces of sponge.

On the second day salt was added. By the third day,

crystals were beginning to form and students added more

salt, water bluing and ammonia. Food coloring was added

to colorize the salt crystals. Students documented the

changes in the crystal formations after each day.

For complete instructions on growing your own Salt

Crystal Garden, visit the district website at:

http://www.isd2154.k12.mn.us/Schools/

MiddleSchool/Pages/JrHighNews.aspx

We have successfully

completed semester one of

the 2010 - 2011 school

year. A lot of exciting things

have been happening on the

Gilbert campus since early

September. I would like to

thank staff, students, and

community members that

have helped this first

semester go so well. The second semester will be very exciting with new

schedules and new opportunities for our students.

One of the great things that happened on the Gilbert campus during

the first semester was an all campus food drive competition put

together by our student councils. The Nelle Shean and junior high

councils set up a giant graph to keep track of food items brought in by

each competing class. They also had individual prize drawings for

students that brought in food items or cash donation, and a pizza party

for the winning class. The students had a lot of fun with it as did the

staff. We were able to deliver 1881 pounds of food and $238 to the

Quad Cities Food Shelf. When we dropped of the items at the food

shelf, a staff member said she believed it was the largest single donation

they had ever received in her 23 years at the food shelf. I would like to

thank Danette Seboe and Jodi Thompson who put this together and

made it possible for our communities. I would also like to thank our

students, parents and staff for being so generous.

Also at the junior high, we had our first Youth Frontiers Courage

Retreat for all students on January 6th

. Our students participated in

activities and discussed the difficult decisions they are faced with

everyday as young people. They also discussed ways to help and

support each other in making the sometimes tough decisions to do the

right thing. At the end of the day our students were asked to write

down one act of courage, on their part, which would make our school a

better place for everyone. They were also given a chance to come

forward to share their act of courage with the entire junior high. I am so

proud of the many students who had the courage to share with the

whole school, and those that didn’t share their act of courage but had

the courage to support those students that did. Thank you again to

Danette Seboe who put this very powerful day together for our staff and

students. Also, thank you to all of the staff members that took such an

active role in the days activities and the senior high students who came

over to be our small group leaders for the day. You were all amazing.

As we look forward to the second half of the year, I would like to put

out a few reminders that will help your students be successful this

coming semester. Don’t hesitate to contact any of the teachers with

questions or concerns. They are here to help and they are very good at

what they do. You may also use the PowerSchool parent portal to keep

up on your student’s progress and attendance. If you do not yet have a

login and password please notify the office and one will be provided to

you.

Thank you all again for a great year to this point. We are looking

forward to the second semester and are hopeful that we will continue to

see parents and community members stopping by to see what’s

happening in our schools. Thank you for your continued support and

efforts to help make our schools the best they can be for our

communities.

Gilbert Campus Highlights

-By TODD UFFORD, Principal

Student’s add ammonia to the crystals

Adding food coloring on the final day

Adding liquid bluing Additional salt was added on day 3

Documenting changes in the crystal

formations

Mrs. Zupancic demonstrates the process

Page 5 Quarterly Connections

E-G Swim Team Says “Thanks!”

The Eveleth-Gilbert Boys and Girls Swim Teams wish to thank

the following people and businesses for supporting our

Spaghetti Fundraiser on November 2, 2010 in conjunction with

a Silent Auction and Raffle at Goodfellas in Eveleth:

Elementary Holiday Music

Concerts

AmericInn-Bill Aho

Amy Hutkowski-Lia Sophia Jewelry

Brandi and Jayme Lautigar

Canelakes Candies

Cara Ellis

Coates Plaza Hotel

Curl n Clip

Dave’s Pizza

Eveleth IGA

E-G Swim Team Families

Five Seasons Sports Center

Fortune Bay Resort & Casino

Goodfellas

Grand Casino

Hair Force One

Joanne Salmi-Lia Sophia Jewelry

Jon’s Drug

Laurentian Divide Salon

L & M Supply

Margie Koivunen

McDonalds

Perkins

Snickers Pizza

Super 8-Bill Aho

Textiles Plus

The Bottle Shop-Hibbing

The Wilderness at Fortune Bay

Thrifty Drug

Vicki and Harry Hanson

Village Inn

Wells Fargo Bank-Eveleth

A special thank you to Goodfellas staff for all their hard work!

Our apologies to anyone who was omitted!

NEWS FROM THE FRANKLIN

-By LYNN BOL, Principal

The Franklin students and staff

are adjusting nicely to the new

office. We love the space and

the wonderful sunny side of the

building. Just a reminder you

now enter the building through

the pink doors on both the east

(door 11) and west (door 10) sides.

December was a busy month with classroom craft days,

skating, sliding parties, and the wonderful holiday concert

presented by the kindergarten -3rd

grade classes.

January brings cold days and more snow, but the students

don’t seem to mind they just love to be outdoors and slide.

February is, as always, my favorite, “I Love to READ Month,”

and we have wonderful school activities that challenge the

students and get them reading. We will celebrate the month’s

activities with a magician and carnival for the students. Happy

Reading!!

Applied Learning. Learning By Doing.

Franklin Elementary Concert held on December 17

Nelle Shean Elementary Concert held on December 9

The Eveleth-Gilbert 7th

grade industrial technology

students apply the skills they

have learned in class to

construct a Co2 powered race

car. Students use a basswood

car blank to design their car to strict weight and size

specifications.

Students incorporate sketching, drafting,

engineering, physics, and aerodynamic principles in

the construction of their race car. “The students are

excited to learn”, said Mr. Clouse, Eveleth-Gilbert’s

industrial technology teacher. Research shows that

students have greater retention

of knowledge if they apply that

classroom knowledge to real life

applications.

This semester’s winner was

Trent Rolstone with an average

top speed of 123.6 miles per

hour. Thomas Koskela had a second place finish

with an average speed of 120.8 miles per hour.

Page 6 Quarterly Connections

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Eveleth-Gilbert Schools welcomes and encourages

volunteers. There are many opportunities for

volunteering in our district including serving on

committees, helping in classrooms, PTA activities,

or sharing special talents or interests with our

students.

If you are interested in volunteering, contact your

building principal, or the Superintendent’s Office at

218-744-7700.

VFW PATRIOT’S PEN ESSAY CONTEST

WINNERS

The Patriot’s Pen Essay contest sponsored by the Veteran’s of

Foreign Wars is open to students in grades 6-8.

1st Place, Stephanie Madzey 2nd Place, Mark Tikkanen 3rd Place, Paige Maki

VFW VOICE OF DEMOCRACY ESSAY

CONTEST WINNERS

The Voice of Democracy program sponsored by the Veteran’s

of Foreign Wars is open to students in grades 9-12.

1st Place, Matt Doran 2nd Place, Tim Madzey 3rd Place, Wynona Clinton

SAVE THE DATE…….

ORCHESTRA POPS CONCERT

Thursday, February 3, 2011

7:00 pm

Boardman Auditorium

Eveleth Campus

Joint Powers Cable

Commission Opening

The Eveleth-Gilbert School District is

seeking two community members to

serve on the Cable Commission. This

entity provides opportunities for

individuals and groups to produce and

cablecast programs which promote open

expression, education, economic growth,

public forums and artistic enrichment to

the local communities.

Meetings are monthly. Must be a

resident of the Eveleth-Gilbert School

District. Contact Superintendent

Deborah Hilde (218)744-7701 or

[email protected]

Page 7 Quarterly Connections

E-G STUDENTS HELPING OTHERS

National Honor Society holds Coat

Drive. Hats, scarves, mittens were

also collected.

Mrs. Bauman’s FACS class sews mittens

for area children.

EG Jr High and Nelle Shean Student

Council’s holiday food drive. All items

collected were donated to the Quad Cities

Food Shelf.

Planning is now

underway for the

Franklin

Elementary

School of

Excellence

Celebration on

Friday, April, 29.

A full day of

activities are

planned for

students, staff

and community

visitors.

Watch for more

information to be

sent home with

students and also

posted on our

website www.isd2154.k12.mn.us

MARK YOUR

CALENDAR!

After reading the book “It’s Our World

Too” by Phillip Hoose, Ms. Lautigar’s

5th grade class made blankets to give

as gifts for those in need.

Nelle Shean 6th graders collected

gently used clothing to donate to the

Salvation Army. EG Jazz Band spreads holiday cheer to residents of St. Raphaels

Page 8 Quarterly Connections

STUDENT COUNCILS SERVE OUR SCHOOLS & COMMUNITY

EG High School Student Council Officers

during a “working lunch”.

At Eveleth-Gilbert High School, the student

council meets several times during the school

year to plan

events that they

sponsor

throughout the

year. Recently,

they were

preparing for a

blood drive that was held at the high school on

Thursday, January 20. They are responsible for

planning activities during Homecoming and Snow

Week as well as acting as a liaison between the

school board and student body.

The advisor of the Senior High Student Council

is Ms. Cathy Larson. Officers are: President-

Ashley Beldo, Vice Presidents-Sami Boucher, Bre

Zattoni, and Ben Damberg.

The Jr. High Student Council advisor is Mrs.

Danette Seboe and officers include: President-

Brandon Wellman, Vice Presidents-Tucker Nelson

and Kortney Rosati, Secretary-Katelyn Rice, and

Treasurer-Mark Tikkanen.

The Jr. High Council sponsors a variety of

activities during the school year including

Homecoming and Snow Week events on the

Gilbert Campus, various dress-up days, school

dances, the 8th grade activity day, and the Jr.

High awards

program that is held

at the end of the

year.

Franklin Elementary Student Council

members are in grades four and five. The

co-advisors are Mrs. Sheena Stefanich and Mrs.

Becki Carey. Officers include: President-Maddi

Jankila, Vice

President-

Montana

Baldwin,

Secretary-

Sydney Hoag,

and Treasurer-

Malia Putzel.

The group does many things throughout the

year: can recycling, making cards for local

nursing homes, award ceremony fundraising,

and a book drive during “I Love to Read”

month.

Encouraging school spirit is a priority for the

Nelle Shean Student Council. Additionally, they

participate in the Gilbert Campus’ Veterans Day

program, recite the Pledge of Allegiance each

week for the school, coordinate the school-

wide recycling program, and partnered with the

Jr. High Stu-

dent Council

for the food

drive.

The advisor

is Mrs. Jodi

Thompson

and officers

are: President-McKenzie Perushek, Vice

President-Sami Haas, Treasurer-Caleb Kelson.

EG Junior High Student Council Members

Franklin Student Council making

holiday cards for a local nursing home.

Recycling classroom paper.

Page 9 Quarterly Connections

Flat Stanley Arrives at

Nelle Shean

The Flat Stanley

Project is an

international

literacy and

community

building activity.

Ms. Young’s third

grade class participates in the project each year.

Students first read the book “Flat Stanley” by John Brown.

Then each student chooses a person somewhere in the

world to send their own Flat Stanley to. The friend or

relative keeps Flat Stanley for one to two weeks, designs

him, then sends Stanley back to the classroom with pictures

and different information about their community.

This year, Stanley visited several interesting places like:

different communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan,

Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Indiana, Washington, California,

Florida, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Germany, Spain, and even

Thailand. The students had a great time doing this project.

They really looked

forward to the day that

their Stanley arrived in

the mail.

Once Stanley arrived

back to the classroom,

students shared their

letter, pictures, and

information with the class and made a poster board to

display in the hallway. Not only was this a fun project, but

also a great learning experience for the entire class!

Senior High Update

-By JAN MESICH, Principal

Introducing the Newest E-G School Board Members

I'm Mona Putzel and am a graduate of Eveleth

High School (prior to the consolidation). I've

been married to Frank for almost 40 years

and am a mom and grandma. I have a degree

in business and my background has included

corporate accounting as well as many years as a

public employee. I'm looking forward to the privilege of

working with the other members of the School Board as well

as our entire Administration. My focus is on students,

families and community support. Our staff, at every level, is

the very best. Communication among all stakeholders is

improving and with the addition of Denise Berry as our

primary communications person I'm sure we'll see a

dramatic growth in shared information.

My name is Beth Collins Wedge and I am

one of the new Eveleth-Gilbert school

board members. My husband and I live with

our two sons in Gilbert. I am a graduate of

Eveleth-Gilbert high school and Gustavus

Adolphus College. I am a fifth grade teacher at

Roosevelt Elementary in Virginia. When I am not in

school I like to ski, continue to try to keep my balance

on a snowboard, garden, officiate high school swim

meets, or read. As a former teacher for Eveleth-

Gilbert, I am very excited to be in a leadership role for

our district.

What’s new at EGHS?

Eveleth-Gilbert students

are currently involved in

the FIRST Robotics Com-

petition! Tim Strasser, our

Chemistry/Physics instruc-

tor, has volunteered to

serve as an advisor. The

goal of the program is to inspire students to pursue a career

in science or technology. Students have been given the di-

rective to build a sophisticated robot capable of participating

in a game that changes annually. The main event will be held

at the DECC in Duluth on Thursday, March 10 through Satur-

day, March 12.

The second semester begins on Tuesday, January 25. The

office has been busy as students pick up their schedules and

make preparations for their new classes. Report cards will

be mailed home during the first week in February.

Students will begin registering for 2011-2012 classes during

the first week of February.

The National Honor Society assumed responsibility for

some impressive projects this year. The winter clothing

drive resulted in the delivery of 102 coats to the Salvation

Army. NHS students also volunteer weekly at Willow Wood

(a memory care facility) and help with the Elk-o-Gram for the

Elk’s Club. They will work with elementary students during “I

Love to Read” month and will organize the annual Memorial

Day program. Thank you to Liz Biondich, NHS Advisor, and

her students for the many contributions made to our school

community.

Snow Week is scheduled during the week of February 7-11.

An enthusiastic group of staff and students are working hard

to ensure that this will be the best snow week ever!

Parent-teacher conferences for 7-12 grade students will be

held on February 28 from 3:30 – 7:00 PM in the gymnasium.

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend!

Page 10 Quarterly Connections

National Education Leader—Youth Frontiers—

Partnered with EG Jr. High on Character Development

Program -By Danette Seboe & Youth Frontiers Staff

To help build a more positive school community, on January 6th

, Youth Frontiers,

the leading character education organization in the Upper Midwest, partnered with

the Eveleth-Gilbert Junior High to host a comprehensive Courage Retreat for the 7th

and 8th

grade classes. Through initiatives that focused on the importance of being

respected and valued, Youth Frontiers delivered a program designed to improve

school climate and strengthen student character, as they have for hundreds of

schools across the country.

For over 23 years, Youth Frontiers’ successful and highly regarded retreats have

sought to teach students how to incorporate the values of kindness, courage, re-

spect and integrity into their personal and school lives. The organization aims to

strengthen core values, confront negative behaviors and enable students to recog-

nize the consequences of their actions. Last year, the nationally renowned, Twin

Cities-based nonprofit held over 600 retreats for more than 90,000 students and

educators. Since its inception, Youth Frontiers has reached more than one million students.

Youth Frontiers staff clearly understand the challenges students face every day in their oftentimes compli-

cated lives. They also know that at the root of one’s character lies values.

“We teach values unapologetically. Our mission is to change the way students treat each other in every hall-

way, lunch line and classroom of every school in America,” says Youth Frontiers Founder and CEO Joe Cava-

naugh, who General Colin Powell has described as “a leader in our nation’s effort to rescue America’s young

people.” Cavanaugh says,” we are not succeeding if our children receive an “A” in Math…and an “F” in life.”

Youth Frontiers offers high-impact retreats for schools, using interactive games, music, small discussion

groups and gripping stories to break down walls between young people, and to help them to see each other

differently. Throughout the retreat day, students begin to exhibit traits of true character – mending relation-

ships, stating acts of courage and respecting themselves and others.

30 Eveleth-Gilbert high school students, all juniors and sophomores, were trained by Youth Frontiers staff to

be small group leaders. These students did a fantastic job of keeping all the junior high students involved and

comfortable. This retreat was a very moving experience for everyone involved, including the high school lead-

ers, staff, and all of our junior high students. (continued on page 11)

High School Students welcome Jr.

High Students to the retreat.

Giant jump rope team activity Principal Ufford makes it through the giant

jump rope

Team building activity

Page 11 Quarterly Connections

At the end of the retreat, students were asked to write down one Act of Courage they would perform that

would make our school a better place. They were then given the opportunity to tell the group what their Act of

Courage would be, by placing a pebble in the pond (every act of courage creates a ripple and stirs up more!).

Many students spoke about not judging others, not making fun of others, not

spreading rumors, and stepping in when they saw bullying taking place.

Throughout the year, our school will have Courage activities that will re-

mind students of the changes they wanted to make in our school and keep

the themes of the Courage Retreat at the front of their minds. Some teachers

will be using activities designed by Youth Frontiers to further the learning and

changing that took place on our retreat day.

We feel we were very fortunate to be able to bring this organization to our

school. This Courage Retreat was very well designed for our 7th

and 8th

grade

students. We spent the morning playing large group games designed to get

the students comfortable taking risks and getting to know their small group and high school leaders. The small

group activities provided a chance for our students to connect with high school students to talk about what

junior high is like, including what is difficult and what they would miss. They talked about their biggest fears

and then focused in on how to address them.

We are so proud of our students and the effort they made during this retreat. The entire 7th

and 8th

grade,

and their 30 high school leaders, spent an entire day in the gym, in groups that DIDN’T include their friends,

and they had a fantastic time. They treated each other with respect, took chances that required courage, and

took a good hard look at how they treat each other during a normal school day. Some of our students took the

opportunity at the end of the day to apologize to their peers for pick-

ing on them or bullying them. Special thanks need to go to the senior

high students who worked hard (and were incredibly successful) to

make sure every student was comfortable and every student partici-

pated.

We look forward to seeing these Acts of Courage happen in our typi-

cal school days and will use what students learned in this experience

to talk through things that come up in school from now on. We expect

that this retreat, combined with ongoing activities and conversations

with each other, teachers, staff, and parents, will decrease the severity

and frequency of bullying and lessen hurt feelings caused by kids who

think they are just “being funny.”

The staff at Eveleth-Gilbert Junior High want all of our students to

feel comfortable in school, to be confident enough to get help when

they are being bullied, to be strong enough to stand up for those who are, and to be courageous enough to

know when they have crossed the line and become the bully. This retreat was a dynamic way to address all of

these things and more.

Youth Frontiers Character Development Program (continued from page 10) -By Danette Seboe & Youth Frontiers Staff

Pebble in pond sharing time

Small group discussion

Quarterly Connections Page 12

Back in the day……. Community Education -

Winter Offerings

Simple Flower Bracelet

Date: Thursday, February 24

Time: 5:00-8:00 pm

Location: EG Sr. High Media Center

Cost: $10.00 plus supply fee

Bead weave a simple flower bracelet out of

Swarovski crystals and 4mm round beads.

Snowmobile Safety Training

Date: February 22, February 24

Test: DNR Office on February 28

Time: 5:30-8:00 pm

Location: EG Jr. High Cafeteria

Cost: $5.00 payable to DNR

This class if for ages 12-16 years old.

Parent must be present at first class.

Basic Computer Skills

Date: February 1, 3, 8

Time: 6:00-800 pm

Location: EG Sr. High, Room 128

Cost: $30.00

Basic computer skills, word processing,

saving and printing. An overview of

Microsoft programs for new users or those

needing refreshing.

For a complete listing of Community

Education Classes see the

Community Ed webpage at

www.isd2154.k12.mn.us

To register for classes call 218-744-7717

Eveleth High School Band circa 1914.

Gilbert High School Band circa 1913.

A full color version

of this newsletter

is available for

viewing and

printing at

www.isd2154.k12.mn.us

Eveleth-Gilbert Community Education in

cooperation with Jaybee Travel offers a variety of

tours and day trips this winter and spring such as a

trip to the Minnesota Wild game or Chanhassen

Dinner Theater. For a complete listing visit:

www.isd2154.k12.mn.us/CommEd/Pages/ToursAndDayTrips.aspx

or call Jaybee Travel at 218-741-7769

Tours and Day Trips