Ordean East Middle School News
Volume 1, Issue 2 - May 7, 2020
Mr. Antonich- OEMS Goldfine Gold Star Nominee
Long-time Duluth leaders Manley and Lillian Goldfine established this award through the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation in 2006 to recognize public school teachers who inspire students and provide a strong foundation for educational, personal and professional success. This year, the OEMS Goldfine Gold Star Nominee is Doug Antonich. He is a 36 year veteran teacher who genuinely loves teaching and the joy of working with children. From MN history, to story-telling, to outdoor education, to the development of respectful listening, critique, and feedback- we all have so much to learn from each other. Thank you for your dedication to the students of OEMS.
The virtual celebration will take place the evening of May 27. I will share more details when they become available. In the meantime, we are thrilled to lift up Mr. Antonich as our Goldfine Gold Star Nominee!
ISD709 Family SurveyPlanning and Professional Development
If you haven't already, please complete the Distance Learning Parent/Family Survey by Monday, May 11. Surveys can be completed electronically or by paper and returned to any site or hub. We appreciate your feedback! Take the Survey
New Family Orientation- Postponed
Planning and Professional Development
You may be curious about how we spent May 1 & 4 without student interactions. We started each day with a virtual staff meeting. The focus on Friday was content, through the end of the school year. Monday's focus was mental health support for students and colleagues. We reviewed our crisis protocols, community resources, and learned of a new staff support through HDC. An airline analogy really hit home for me- "Cover your face with the oxygen mask first, so you can better support those around you." We will do our best to invest in self-care so we can be our best for others.
Congratulations to the OEMS students competing in the MN State History Day Virtual Competition
The following Ordean East students competing in the Minnesota State History Day Virtual Contest received Honorable Mention at the Sunday, May 3, 2020 awards ceremony. Over the past months thousands of students participated in History Day throughout the state and these students were honored as the very best at selecting a topic and researching it to prove it’s effects on Breaking Barriers in History after which they created presentation methods to help others understand the importance of these events. Congratulations to all the Ordean East participants!
Group Website
Tavin Roth & Aleta Anderson The Radical Barriers That Were Broken: The Highlander Folk School
Group ExhibitGarin Hackbarth & Samuel Phillips Sesame Street: Breaking Barriers in Children's Television
Individual Exhibit
Abigail Linsten Ada Lovelace
Hannah Mason Gallaudet University: Breaking Barriers in Deaf Education
Molly McNamee Eunice Foote, Suffragist Breaking Barriers in Climate Science
As OEMS students "Look Within", they placed top in the state!
Ordean East Middle School students placed top in the Minnesota State PTA Reflections Art Program. One student advanced to compete at the National Level of PTA Reflections Program.
1st (Advance to Nationals- Awarded Honorable Mention) Visual Art - Annika Saur
2nd Literature - Abigail Froehle
Pictured Left to Right: Abigail Froehle, Annika Saur
Nearly 300,000 students from across the country, and in American schools overseas, participate annually in the National PTA’s Reflections program. The awards program spans six arts categories (Dance Choreography, Film Production, Music Composition, Photography, Literature, and Visual Arts) across four grade divisions and the new Special Artist Division. This year, students explored the arts and the world around them through the theme, "Look Within." Learn more at PTA.org/Reflections
Congdon, Ordean East, Lester Park, and East High School neighborhood "Bike to School Week" was a success! Continue to get outdoors and enjoy the beauty of Duluth!
End of the year wrap-up: Materials collection (textbooks, Chromebooks, instruments, library books, etc) will begin the week of May 26. More details to come next week.
Blog post by Seth Godin~ Forward
Our experience of time always goes in one direction.
It might seem to speed up or slow down, but entropy and the outside world conspire to keep things moving from yesterday to tomorrow.
Given that nothing is ever going to be same, and that backwards isn’t an option, our only choice is forward.
That’s always been true. As soon as we encounter something, anything, it will never be as it was.
Fortunately, we have a chance to make things better. Every day.
Ordean East Middle School
Email: gina.kleive@isd709.org
Website: https://www.isd709.org/ordean-east
Location: 2900 East 4th Street, Duluth, MN, USA
Phone: 218-336-8940