Around 656
Sharing the great work of Faribault students and staff
We are Faribault and we will get through this together
It's been inspiring to see our staff, families, community members and local organizations rise to the occasion to support our schools and each other during this difficult time. Be strong and be proud because We are Faribault and we will get through this together.
Superintendent Todd Sesker
Bruce Smith Field lit up as symbol of hope and unity
On Friday, April 2, the stadium lights at Bruce Smith Field were turned on as a symbol of hope and unity for our student-athletes, staff and community members. Faribault Public Schools joined hundreds of high schools, colleges and universities in the state of Minnesota and across the country participating in this gesture.
"To say that we miss our student-athletes is an understatement. To say that our hearts are broken for our seniors would be putting it mildly," activities director Keith Badger said. "Our coaches, advisors and students prepared for this season never dreaming that, in a moment, it would be taken from them. Whatever sport or activity you're missing tonight, let the lights at Bruce Smith give you hope that, despite our current situation, things will return to normal and competition will return under the lights."
Staff, community volunteers step up to support FPS students
Our nurses assembled over 100 hygiene bags that were distributed to middle school, high school and ALC students. Thank you to the Rice County Health Dept., District 1 Hospital and The Nest for your donations
The Community School is distributing activity packets to help keep kids busy and engaged in learning while they're home.
The Faribault Diversity Coalition donated 50 wifi hotspots to help ensure all our students have internet access.
Sodexo, our staff and community volunteers have distributed breakfast and lunch to students around Faribault since mid-March. As of April 13, we have provided 35,652 meals!
Our staff members have provided day care for Tier 1 and Tier 2 emergency and health care workers.
Our teachers have gone above and beyond to reach out to all of their students and guide them through distance learning.
Faribault Transportation assembled over 300 facemasks for our day care and food service workers. Numerous other community members have made and donated masks, as well. Thank you for supporting the health and safety of our staff and students!
Virtual Spirit Week April 6-10
Despite obstacles, FPS continues to offer meaningful educational experiences
By Matt Steichen, Community Relations Coordinator
For people in southern Minnesota and around the world, the rise of the coronavirus has presented both new challenges and new opportunities to rise to the occasion.
As scientists, doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers have displayed heroism on the front lines, working to find cures and treatments, and caring for those who have been infected, other, more unsung groups have emerged as part of the proverbial glue that holds our society together in the age of quarantines and social distancing.
Among them are grocery store employees, delivery drivers, postal workers and educators.
On March 15, after the governor said it was time to start preparing for distance learning, the team of educators here in Faribault Public Schools was tasked with completely changing the way they do their job of delivering education to students. They had to learn how to use new online tools, develop a new array of strategies for engaging students and parents, and put in place a new curriculum that fit within the guidelines of our district’s new distance learning plan – all in two weeks. To add to the mayhem, they had to collaborate while overcoming a parade of ever-changing obstacles: first they couldn’t be within six feet of each other, then 10 feet, then there couldn’t be more than 10 people in a room, then they had to complete their preparation via video chats.
All their work culminated in Day 1 of distance learning on Monday, March 30. An influx of users around the country caused SeeSaw, Schoology and other online learning applications to briefly crash in the morning, but our educators continued work around those obstacles and do everything they could to support their students. No doubt they will continue to face challenges head-on, make adjustments and do everything they can to make distance learning a success as long as it’s necessary.
FPS staff members have also been at the forefront of our effort to provide meals for all students who need them. With the help of our food service partner Sodexo, Faribault Transportation, and other community volunteers, we provided 7,790 meals during the first eight days school was not in session.
Our staff members have also provided child care for emergency and health care workers, packed hygiene kits for students, and done lots of work behind the scenes to get access to wireless internet service and technology tools to as many students as possible.
All this preparation was done to set the stage for what we expect to be a meaningful educational experience for students, just taking place within a different environment.
VIDEO: Missing our students at Jefferson
Distance learning success stories
"I have a young man who is stuck in Mexico because of covid-19 for at least another month and is technically a drop. He missed us so much that he joined our Google Meets that I had invited him to; all the way, live and in color, from Michoacan, Mexico! He asked if he could continue to join us and hang out with us. That is so awesome my eyes welled up. That young man showed me that through all the challenges of distance learning, there are some bright spots. BIG shout out goes to that young man and his family!!!! Can I have an Amen brother!" -Faribault Middle School teacher
"I'm loving having students submit videos of themselves measuring ingredients and sending photos of foods they have made at home this week! I am giving options with their assignments so they aren't required to cook if they don't have supplies, etc. but it makes me so happy to see the messages from students who are applying it at home!" -Myranda Splett, FMS FACS teacher
Thinking of others
Distance learning the 'new normal' for Faribault staff, students and families
Story courtesy of the Faribault Daily News
Sarah Simon isn’t as concerned about her sixth-grade AVID students getting good grades as much as she is about their being present and focused right now. That alone is a challenge during distance learning, especially when there’s a pandemic going on.
“I don’t want a student to be worried about failing, but doing the best they can do,” said Simon, a teacher at Faribault Middle School. “That’s really what I want a student to focus on.”
Like every teacher in the Faribault school district, and every student and their parents, Simon has spent the past couple weeks adjusting to a distance learning platform.
Simon’s role is to support her students in sixth-grade AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) by helping them with organization in their academic classes and being available when they need help. Middle school students in general are transitioning out of an elementary phase to become independent learners, but Simon’s students are now experience atypical circumstances while learning at home.
In particular, some of Simon’s students have younger siblings they now find themselves helping during the day, meaning they need to balance their own learning with being an asset to their family. In these situations, Simon practices being flexible. She sets the sort of expectations she might set for summer school students, who she’s taught in the past. If taking on three tasks is too much for students, she encourages them to pick just one.
Simon also teaches seventh-grade language arts. A main focus for that class is promoting daily reading. She was fortunate to find a book all students can either access digitally or receive in the mail.
As a teacher, mother of two elementary school children and a graduate student, Simon has needed to find her own balance at home. She keeps a log of how often she talks to each student, and so far she’s reached all of them.
“I’m in my 13th year as a teacher and definitely have had a huge learning curve with this, but I couldn’t be more proud to be a teacher,” said Sarah. “I’m so proud of my colleagues and how we’ve all supported each other.”
Simon’s husband Jared, a Faribault Middle School phy-ed teacher, is also working from home. He sent out a calendar of different activities for his students to complete, including a push-up challenge to do with parents or siblings. Students then send in videos of their fitness activities.
“I think we all miss our students dearly and we’re trying the best we can to keep perspective and help families keep perspective,” said Simon. “We want to make sure families connect with us, and we will do whatever we can to support them.”
Parent perspectives
Amy Kramer, mother of three students in the Faribault school district, said distance learning was stressful at first but eventually became the “new normal” for her family. She and her husband still work outside the home as essential employees, so adding their children’s schooling to the equation was a challenge.
“Obviously it’s not the ideal situation at all, but I feel everyone is making the best out of it,” said Amy.
The Kramers’ three children — seventh-grader Carsen, fifth-grader Madelyn and third-grader Allison — each have different material to learn. Amy said Carsen, a student at Faribault Middle School, and Madelyn, who attends Jefferson Elementary, both complete their work on their own while Allison, also a Jaguar, sometimes needs extra assistance.
Amy appreciates that the district stresses that distance learning can be completed any time — even in the evenings or on weekends — if that works best for a family’s schedule. The Kramers found they like to start their tasks early, around 7 or 8 a.m., and finish their work by noon. The distance learning time duration varies depending on the day and the grade level, said Amy. Homework has taken Carsen as long as three to four hours while Allison completed all her assignments in 30 minutes one day.
To stay connected with their school, even from home, Jefferson Elementary invited students like Madelyn and Allison to dress up for Spirit Week and share pictures. Teachers also host personal FaceTimes with their students and Google Meets for the whole classroom. Carsen even had a virtual orchestra lesson with his teacher.
“The teachers are making the best out of this and still providing opportunities and giving students support when needed,” said Amy. “I can’t say enough good things about how the teachers and staff have been working through all of this.”
Like Amy, Krista Cox has two Jefferson Elementary students and one middle school student at home doing distance learning. Boden is a kindergartner, Micah is a third-grader and Cullen is a sixth-grader.
Krista’s challenge has been balancing her at-home daycare with her children’s learning and finding a new rhythm. Although the first week was overwhelming, she said this week seems “a bit easier.”
After the eye-opening and sad experience of picking up her children’s learning packets and supplies at school, Krista said the teachers have done an excellent job communicating and offering emotional support and gives them credit for doing “beyond what anyone should be expected to do.”
Little things have made the process easier on Krista. Micah is already familiar with the SeeSaw platform he uses in third grade, and Cullen was also using Schoology before school closed. The teachers also set up meetings for the whole class on Google Meets.
“I think that has been one of the biggest pieces that has helped them so far,” said Krista of Google Meets. “… One of the biggest things kids need to know is their teachers are still there and their friends are still there.”
For herself, Krista understands that things might go wrong on certain days, and sometimes routines need to be adjusted.
“We’re all just doing the best we can and staying healthy, and I really feel the school district has done an excellent job during this transition,” said Krista.
Senior in solitude
Faribault High School 12th-grader Keslie Demars was always told her senior year would be the best time of her life. No one could have predicted the class of 2020 would spend the months before graduation at home.
“It’s been really hard to take that all in,” said Demars.
Distance learning, she said, was something to get used to at first. After two weeks, it’s part of her normal routine.
“It’s been kind of hard because I’m so used to having a teacher teach me things every single day.” said Demars. “ … You definitely have to stay self-motivated.”
Demars said she usually completes her homework before or after lunch and finds that doing it first thing in the morning helps her work up motivation. She doesn’t have younger siblings at home, but she knows some of her friends find it difficult to share devices with younger brothers and sisters.
Academics aside, Demars’ involvement in extracurricular activities and student organizations changed significantly since the pandemic hit. She was especially excited to be a captain on the softball team, but although the season was postponed, her coaches continue leading workouts online.
As a member of the prom committee, Demars is part of the process of finding a way to make prom happen, even if it’s postponed. Graduation is another topic up for discussion. That may be postponed or done virtually.
Demars admitted it’s hard to find time to talk to her classmates because everyone completes assignments at different times, but they do see each other during online classroom meetings. Group projects are rare, and most of the work is done independently. One positive she noted is that teachers have offered great support.
“My teachers and my assistant principals have done a great job trying to keep our spirits up as much as they can,” said Demars. “… It’s really awesome your teachers don’t just worry about your education, but your mental health and what’s happening at home.”
Even though Demars is separated from her classmates right now, she recognizes they have a new unspoken bond that includes not only the Faribault class of 2020, but seniors across the nation.
“I think the thing that’s really going to stick with me is being able to connect with all the other seniors in the country,” said Demars. “We’re probably going to be the class that’s remembered for getting robbed of their senior year. Eventually it will be something we tell our kids about… We got to have a cool part in history, and we’ll always be remembered for something.”
Staff show off their home offices
VIDEO: Mr. Heinen's Thought of the Day
Student art displayed at the Paradise Theater
Wolff named DECA state officer
Bennett ran for the 2020-21 office position after being inspired by her classmate to make a difference in the student-led organization. On April 13, she was announced as the second Faribault student to become a state officer. She is excited to begin her term and continue building the Faribault DECA legacy.
“I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful team! I have looked up to so many state officers in the past and I can only hope to do the same for others!" Wolff said. "Some of my goals for this upcoming year are to increase membership to new DECA members, create stronger connections by networking and grow corporate sponsorships in our DECA program! I am so excited for this opportunity!"
The Faribault DECA chapter is very excited to have Bennett representing them, as well as the district.
“We know she will do great things for Minnesota DECA, and we are extremely proud of her," DeMars said.
FHS senior Zahara Ali one of 500 selected as Dell Scholar
Donate to our day care and food service programs through givemn.org
Even as school buildings across the nation are closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, many of them continue to provide essential services. In Faribault, our public school system is providing daycare for all health care workers like doctors and nurses, and emergency workers like policemen and firefighters. We're also continuing to provide free breakfast and lunch for any child age 18 and under in the community. During the first 10 days of meal service, we provided nearly 18,000 meals.
We are looking for donations that will help us continue to fund these essential programs, and help continue to support those battling the current pandemic.
It costs about $5 per day to provide breakfast and lunch for one child. Help us reach our goal of $5,000, which will provide meals for 1,000 children here in Faribault.
VIDEO: Public address announcer Terry Ronayne introduces the distance learning rockstars at Roosevelt
FHS principal Jamie Bente shows off his evolving quarantine beard
Peck's post catches on nationally
The post
Have you ever taken an online class? How about 6 at once? When you were a teenager? With spotty wi-fi? And Schoology crashing? And needing to share a device with siblings? While trapped at home?Filled with fear and anxiety? Yeah, me neither. Let’s cut these kids some slack.
Online comments
A friend of mine in Texas shared it on her Facebook page! So proud to be at Faribault Schools!
I have a friend who lives in Florida, and I saw it first on her FB page! I thought that was pretty cool!
Great message for all teachers, substitutes, and leaders!
Mr. Peck, you always knows what to say. What a great leader you are!
Another friend from Ohio shared it last night! So cool to watch this unfold!
FHS robotics 9th out of 60 teams at Duluth regional
The Faribault High School robotics team recently placed ninth out of 60 teams at the Northern Lights Regional in Duluth.
The group of 20 students overcame some early technical difficulties with their robot, Luigi, to win five of its last seven qualifying matches and reach the quarterfinals.
During each round, Luigi’s task was to navigate the competition surface, pick up yellow balls and throw them through a target. The robotics team has worked since early January on constructing a robot that could accomplish those tasks as efficiently as possible.
Click here to see Luigi in action (Team 5434): bit.ly/39GrmE4.
Follow our seniors on Instagram
Follow Faribault Seniors 2020 on Instagram to see our seniors’ plans for after high school.
Faribault Public Schools
Email: msteichen@faribault.k12.mn.us
Website: faribault.k12.mn.us
Location: 710 17th St. SW
Phone: 507-333-6000
Facebook: facebook.com/faribaultpublic/
Twitter: @District656