Wildcat Pride                           May 12 , 2016
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We are well into May and time is flying by! Many school activities are culminating in big events - art shows, choir and band concerts, and field trips galore.  The high school greenhouse is open and busy, the outdoor classrooms are buzzing with activity, and classes are taking advantage of good weather days to move the learning outside. 5th graders are getting ready to transition to the middle school, 8th graders are getting ready to transition to the high school, and seniors are getting ready to transition to various new opportunities.

Students of Excellence Banquet and Recognition Ceremony 
"Congratulations to this year's Students of Excellence award winners on  this remarkable achievement. Your passion for learning and dedication to  your education is inspiring. I hope you will continue to constantly challenge  yourself as you work towards your goals and dreams. I wish you all the best  as you continue your education and my best wishes to you in all of your future  endeavors" was the message sent to the recipients from  Dr. Brenda Cassellius, the  Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education.
Resource Executive Director Mark Schmitz, Superintendent Joe Thimm, Kaitlyn Nichols, Cole Anderson,  Principal Dave Ertl, and Jack Hansen attended the event at the River's Edge Convention Center on April 27th.
The evening was dedicated to honoring the top 140 high school seniors for 36 Region 7 high schools.  The honorees were nominated by their school or district and received a plaque recognizing their accomplishment and a certificate from Governor Dayton. Over the past 29 years there have been 4,548 high school seniors recognized as Students of Excellence. 

With humor and a powerful message, keynote speaker Willow Sweeney, challenged students to think about how they feel on a good day when everything is going great. Embrace those "good day" habits and choose them every day.  "It can be easy to go down the negative thoughts and actions road," Sweeney said.  "Make TLC your banner. T for thinking effectively, L for learning efficiently and well and the big C for communicating with others in a way that lets them know they matter," she continued.

You can look over the program if you would like to see more about it.

May the 4th Lunch at Lakeside a HUGE Success!

Lakeside Elementary celebrated May the 4 th be with you - Star Wars Day in a big way! There was a special menu of Tie-Fighter Pasta, Light Saber Bread Sticks, C3PO Cantaloupe, Storm Trooper Strawberries, BB-8 Energy Pods (pea pods and baby carrots), Chewbaca Chocolate Pudding and Blue Bantha Milk.  Two special guests were there to greet students in the cafeteria as well.  None other than Darth Vader, complete with his light saber, and Princess Leia!  They walked around the cafeteria, high-fiving and encouraging students to eat their nutritious lunch.  Many staff and students dressed in Star Wars t-shirts and garb, and some even had Star Wars face tattoos.  The serving line and cafeteria had decorations and memorabilia from the movies as well.  "Remember, the Force will be with you, always!" More pictures...

  Students travel to Junior Achievement BizTown for hands-on fun!
As the culminating event, students from Lakeside and Taylors Falls elementary schools visited BizTown for the day.  Students prepare weeks in advance by learning about financial literacy, resumes and job interviews, and all the different sorts of jobs available at BizTown.

You can check out more pictures from Taylors Falls and Lakeside .
On the Calendar:

May 12: School Board Meeting at 6:30 in the District Office

May 13: 5th Grade Fun Night at the Middle School from 6-8 p.m.

May 17: PTO Night at the Northern - mention the school district and 10% of your pretax bill goes back to the schools.

May 27: Staff Development - NO SCHOOL

May 30: Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL

June 6: High School Graduation  Ceremony at 7:00 p.m.


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