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At WEM we practice BUCS PRIDE.
We are a Respectful, Responsible learning community dedicated to a
Safe and Positive learning environment for all individuals.
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Hello, everyone. It has been a snowy winter. Who is excited for spring break?
This newsletter starts off with the February school board meeting summary. There are articles and photos from WEM's inaugural "Reality Check" day for juniors and seniors, which was a big hit. You will also find a recap of Snow Week coronation, a couple of sports highlights, WEM's new online suggestion box, Community Ed activities, important dates, job openings, and more.
Do you have feedback or ideas for future e-newsletter content? I invite you to contact me. Please spread the word to others you think might like to be added by forwarding this email and/or directing them to the e-newsletter subscription sign-up page on WEM's website. Thank you.
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Margo Kulseth, MLIS
Communications Coordinator
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February School Board Meeting Summary
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WEM School Board Regular Meeting
February 27, 2023, at 6:30 p.m.
Call to Order - Gary Michael, Chairperson
Those in attendance said the Pledge of Allegiance. Six of seven board members were in attendance: Brenda Heuss, Gary Michael, June Rezac, Jay Schneider, Jeff Stangler, and Troy Tolzman. Jon Bakken did not attend. There were no additional agenda items added.
Approval
The Board approved the agenda, meeting minutes from January 23, 2023, and financial transactions through February 2023.
Presentation
The Board heard the Director of Special Education, Heather Harms give a presentation about Special Education Services provided to the district.
The Board also heard teachers Ashley Landru and Rachel Wetzel give a presentation about the 5th-grade Eagle Bluff trip. The trip seemed to be a success with, I believe, only one student not attending. This was the second year that the 5th-grade has taken this trip, and the teachers said they are learning more and more each year in regard to what the students prefer in terms of the various activities offered. Staff from Eagle Bluff indicated that the students were very well-behaved and engaged in the activities.
Editor's note: Find photos from the 5th-grade Eagle Bluff trip on our Facebook page.
Visitor Comments
There were no visitor comments.
Comments from visitors should be informational in nature and not exceed 3 minutes per issue. The Board will not engage in a discussion or debate in those 3 minutes but will take the information and find answers if it is appropriate. As part of the protocol, visitors must keep their ideas and opinions related to policy issues. It is unacceptable for any speaker to slander, engage in character assassination or discuss student or personnel issues (i.e. teacher, coaches, bus drivers, principals, Board Members, etc.) at a public board meeting. The person wishing to address the Board must stand at the provided lectern.
Consent Agenda
The Board approved the following consent agenda:
2022-2023 Coaches:
BASEBALL
- Joshua Smith - Head Coach, $5,450
- Macullen Lemcke - 1st Assistant, $3,885
SOFTBALL
- Crystal Lamont - Head Coach, $5,450
- Kelsey Bauer - 1st Assistant (60%), $2,331
- Madison Dufault - 1st Assistant (40%), $1,554
BOYS TRACK
- Jonathan McDonough - Head Coach, $5,450
- Matthew VanHoudt - 1st Assistant, $3,885
GIRLS TRACK
- Mike Richards - Head Coach, $5,450
- Carrie Richards - 1st Assistant, $3,885
CLAY TARGET
- Doug Androli - $750
- Tyson Cooley - $750
The board approved the following hires:
- Madeline Balfe - Peer Tutor, $12.00/hour
- Andrew Velishek - Junior High Play Director, $1,216
The board approved the following requests for leave of absence:
- Jeanne Bronstad - Assistant Cook - Beginning April 10, 2023 and continuing until doctor approves return to work.
- Tricia Slayton - Paraprofessional - Beginning March 14, 2023 and effective for possibly eight weeks.
The board approved the following resignation:
- Hanna Richardson - Early Learning Coordinator/Teacher effective the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
Recognition
The board approved monetary donations for February 2023, including $1500 from the LeSueur County Sheriff’s Youth Project, $600 from the Waterville Lions Club to the Elementary, $1000 from Jerry Miller for the Linda L. Miller Scholarship, $500 from Debbie Kuball for the Bob Kuball Scholarship, and finally about $19 from Casey’s for the elementary.
Reports
The following reports were provided to the board:
- Joint Principal Report from Bobbie Jo Bastian, Elementary Principal / Jennifer Wilson, 7-12 Principal for February 2023, and the corrected report for January 2023 that was an error at last month’s meeting
- Jeff Boran, Community Education & Activities Director report. A couple of important highlights include: Summer 2023 School Age Childcare registration is currently registering students with limited availability. If you are looking for this service, hurry up and get registered! Also, the 2023-2024 school year registration will begin soon and the 23/24 “Little Bucs Preschool” registrations will begin in March as well.
- No Board Member or Board Committee Reports
- Ryan Jensen presented a Superintendent Report. Ryan attended a school safety workshop for LeSueur County and they discussed responses to various situations and the terminology used during those types of responses so that law enforcement and district employees are on the same page. They also discussed NARCAN as an antidote for overdose victims.
Information / Discussion
The Board discussed in depth, the 2022-2023 calendar instructional hours that are required for the different aged students according to Minnesota Statutes. Essentially, if the seniors get the required hours, then all grades are good. The issue here is that the district has met the state allotted 5 days of E-learning in place of snow days, as well as exceeded the allotted snow days to a point that we are getting close to reducing the hours of our students to a level that is lower than the law requires. If we were to have two more full snow days, the students will not meet the hours required.
Basically, it is something to keep an eye on as winter comes to an end. Decisions for closing school will always be made with the health and safety of students and staff. If we need to make up hours, the administration would need to consider adding time to the school day.
Action
The Board approved a resolution to approve the Purchase Agreement for Ag Land. This has been in the works for quite some time and the Board approved the sale of about 12 agricultural acres near the baseball field to Jerry Marzahn for $81,300 as well as an $8000 donation to WEM FFA and a $2000 donation to WEM Kindergarten classrooms.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:09 p.m.
Upcoming Meetings
March 14, 2023 – Board Work Session
March 27, 2023
April 24, 2023
May 22, 2023
June 26, 2023
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Gary Michael, Chairperson
Note: WEM School Board meetings can be viewed live via Zoom video conferencing, and the recordings for past meetings are available on the website. The agendas and accompanying documents are also available online.
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On the morning of Wednesday, February 28, 2023, WEM juniors and seniors participated in a "Reality Check" event in the high school gym. This was the first event of its kind held at WEM. The future intent is to alternate this event with the annual career fair hosted for the past few years.
All the juniors and seniors are assigned an occupation based on the career interest work they have been doing throughout the school year. They are also assigned salary, marital status, children, and pets. The students visit booths to create a one-month budget based on their income and living situation. Some booths are required, such as realty, auto, cell phone, utilities, and insurance, and some of the booths are optional, such as child care, vet, toys (4 Wheelers, boats, etc.), investments, and donations. They also get unexpected surprises, such as a speeding ticket, medical bills, and even gifts. The goal is for students to gain an understanding of creating a budget and the cost of living based on their particular career.
After the event, students completed evaluations. Most students ranked the success of Reality Day as 4-5 out of 5. One comment was that there was "plenty of money leftover," while another said their "salary was unrealistic." Other comments were about discovering how expensive things are and the necessity of having a two-income household and/or an extra part-time job to make ends meet. Some things learned included the importance of starting to save early, shopping for cheaper options, and not dining out. At least one student expressed a desire to make their own choices about whether they want a spouse, children, and pets, but perhaps part of the exercise is to realize the best-laid plans as a youth do not always turn out as envisioned.
Many of the student evaluations also had comments about how the volunteers staffing the booths were nice, helpful, and insightful. Thank you to our community members for being involved (shown below), in addition to Mrs. Reuvers, High School Counselor, and Kelsey Rose from SCSC.
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State Wrestling Tournament
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Congratulations to the following three Grizzly Wrestlers (WEM/JWP) who qualified for the MSHSL State Individual Tournament held the weekend of March 4-5 at the ExCEL Center in St. Paul.
- Jack Cahill - Class A 220 lb state qualifier
- Keegan Kuball - Class A heavyweight state champion
- Brady Murphy - Class A 106 lb 4th-place winner
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Photo courtesy of Janesville/Waldorf/Pemberton Public School
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Caldwell Named All-Conference
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Congratulations to WEM junior, Lindy Caldwell, on being named all-conference, big south east division in gymnastics for 2022-23. WEM has a co-op with Waseca for this sport.
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Congratulations to the 2023 Snow Week Court! Coronation was held on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at 8:40 a.m.
Front row: King Ethan Greenwald and Queen Emma Woratschka
Back row: Auston Holicky, Ivan Pratt, Luke Michael, Izabela Slechta, Anna Nielsen, and Kaitlyn LaFrance
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New Online Suggestion Box
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Do you feel heard? WEM is excited to announce the addition of an online suggestion box. Please feel free to suggest anything that the WEM School District could do to make you and your students' experience at WEM better!
According to Superintendent Ryan Jensen, "The suggestion box is an attempt to create an opportunity for students, families, and community members to provide input. We want to foster a collaborative environment, and this is one way to allow stakeholders to provide input."
Suggestions are anonymous. There is only one open field in which to type a suggestion and submit it. Anyone who wishes to receive a response should include their name and contact information in that field along with their suggestion. The submissions will be shared with the district administrative team for consideration, along with other staff or board members as appropriate. If you request a response, please be patient and allow the team some time for discussion.
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Community Education / Activities
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New WEM Community Education Registration Website
WEM Community Ed has a new website to register and pay for Community Ed & school classes and activities found in the catalogs. (MSHSL-sponsored activities are NOT on this site.) It allows for online payments. Create an account by clicking on "My Account."
Drivers' Ed
Spring driver education classroom sessions are currently underway. Summer sessions are currently open for registration. Classroom sessions will start on June 5, 2023, on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Class is open to the first 30 students that are registered and paid. Register for classroom and behind-the-wheel training using the new registration website. Registration for behind-the-wheel instruction for summer will open in April.
Hall Walking
School hallway walking is open to the public during the winter at WEM. Hallway walking is:
- in the Waterville building only
- on school days only from 6:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. and again from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- intended for individuals or small groups (2 or 3)
Walkers should use entrance #4 (Waterville Elementary building off Paquin Street). Walkers must wear a visitor sticker with their name and the date. Stickers are located in the upper vestibule of the Elementary entrance on a table on the left. Direct any questions to the Community Education Office at 507-362-4403.
Open Gym
The WEM high school gym in Waterville will be open to students and adults for basketball on Sundays from 6:00 p.m. to 8 p.m. beginning on Sunday, January 8, 2023, until further notice. The cost is $2 per participant per night. Please bring cash to put in the envelope. Paul Eich will be the supervisor. Contact Activities Director, Jeff Boran with any questions.
Hunter Safety
DNR Firearms Safety Certification is required of anyone born after December 31, 1979, to purchase a hunting license in Minnesota and to participate in the High School Clay Target League. Students must complete the online course and register for the field day. Students must also attend in-person field days. From time to time, the Waterville area has field days, which we will try to advertise; however, sites may also be found on the MN DNR site.
Clay Target League
Clay Target League registration is now open. Please register ASAP. Ask either Mr. Androli or Mr. Cooley about getting help to register if necessary. They also will provide details of the informational meeting. (Also see Hunter Safety above.)
Little Bucs Preschool
Little Bucs Preschool registrations for the 2023-2024 school year will begin soon.
S.A.C.C.
School Age Child Care (S.A.C.C.) offers before- and after-school childcare on regularly scheduled school days. Online registrations are open for childcare on select non-school days and scheduled early dismissal days. Summer SACC registration is open, but it already has limited availability.
Spaces are limited and will be given in the order completed registration forms are received. Please visit the SACC page for details. Contact Ms. Jennifer with questions.
Elysian Little League (K-U13)
Registration for Elysian Little League will be at the Elysian Tourism Center:
March 27, 6-8 p.m.
April 1, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Fees by grade:
K-2 $30 shirt/hat included
3 $50, hat $15, jersey $30
4-7 $80, hat $15, jersey $30
Public Library
More Information
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March 14, 6:30 p.m. - School board work session
March 14 - Conferences (K-12)
March 16 - Conferences (K-4)
March 17 - End of Quarter 3
- 5th-grade science fair
March 20-24 - No school, spring break, band/choir trip
March 27 - REGULAR SCHOOL DAY (changed after the district calendar was released)
- 6:30 p.m. - School board regular meeting
March 30, 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. - 1st- and 2nd-grade music program
April 6 - Noon early dismissal, staff development
April 7 - No school
April 14, 2:15 p.m. - Kindergarten music/language program
April 24, 6:30 p.m. - School board regular meeting
April 29 - Prom
May 22, 6:30 p.m. - School board regular meeting
May 26 - Graduation
May 29 - No school (Memorial Day)
June 1 - Last day for students, noon early dismissal
June 2 - Teacher workday
June 26, 6:30 p.m. - School board regular meeting
For more details and more dates to remember, check the following:
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- Media Arts Teacher 1.0 FTE
- High School Science (Chemistry & Physical Science) 1.0 FTE
- Assistant Track Coach
- Junior High Softball Coach
- Early Learning Coordinator and Teacher - 1.0 FTE
- Industrial Tech Teacher - 1.0 FTE
- Head Football Coach
- Summer 2023 School Age Child Care (SACC) Supervisors and Workers
- Paraprofessionals Grades 5-12
- Director of Food Services
- School Bus Route Driver
- Substitute Teachers
- Custodian Substitute
- Junior High Baseball Coach (coming soon)
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WEM SD #2143
500 East Paquin Street
Waterville, MN 56096
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