Aitkin High School Newsletter
Quarterly News
Message from Mr. Henrickson
The Dean’s Corner:
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am Jim Henrickson and have come here by way of Onamia Public Schools. I am the former head football and track coach for the Mille Lacs Raiders along with a few other titles. I recently moved to Aitkin and have loved it as I was here for a short time during my childhood.
The students have been friendly, respectful, and thankful for support. We have continued with Student of the Month and added Student of the Week. We are really trying to add some new and fun opportunities for our students. We gave the juniors and seniors the opportunity for food trucks during Homecoming week. I have added the song of the day for the kids to enjoy my great taste in music (most love it and who can go wrong with the great band of Journey for the first song).
We all know that kids will be kids some days and sometimes life teaches us some lessons both good and bad. The behaviors have really been
pretty good within the school, and I am proud to say I represent and AM AN AITKIN GOBBLER.
Upcoming Dates
- No School December 23-January 2nd. (School resumes January 3rd)
- January 20th - No School
- January 23 - 2nd Semester and Quarter 3 begins
- February 10 - No School
- February 20 - No School
- Link to our district calendar for all events - https://home.isd1.org/
- Link to athletics and events calendar - https://isd1.rschoolteams.com/
Student of the Week
Attendance is Important!
Student of the Month
ALICE Information
A = Alert, inform people of the threat giving as much information as possible.
L = Lockdown, students and staff lockdown and barricade their area if it is not safe to exit.
I = Inform, continue to pass along information to others, including 911.
C = Counter, as an effort of last resort students and teachers are being trained to use every effort to stop the intruder instead of becoming a passive victim.
E = Evacuate, if it is safe to evacuate.
ALICE is not a check -list of things to do. It is a list of choices we are offering our students and staff members in order to stay safe in the unlikely event of an armed intruder.
Please make sure that you keep the school up to date on any phone number or address changes in your household.
PBIS
E-Learning Days for the 2022-2023 School Year
Aitkin Public Schools will use e-Learning on days where weather or other circumstances do not permit us to have school in person. Instead, our students will engage in learning activities online through the use of Infinite Campus, Canvas, Email, and Phone Calls. Teachers will present instruction, share assignments and students will be able to participate in discussions and complete work using Canvas. During our e-Learning days our teachers will actively engage with our students, directing and overseeing their work. E-Learning days will be held in the event of unplanned school closures due to emergency situations such as severe weather, power outages, or public health issues.
How an e-Learning Day works:
Parents/Guardians will receive an automated phone call, text or email via the School Messenger service, announcements will be made on local television and radio stations. The school district web page, www.isd1.org will be updated to describe the school closure event.
Assignments and activities will be posted in Canvas throughout our e-Learning day(s).
Teachers will hold office hours from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm district-wide on the e-learning day.
Students will not report to school but will engage in E-learning activities from home as assigned.
Teachers will be available during the school day to answer questions and provide guidance through email or on Canvas.
The due dates for E-learning day assignments will be flexible. Students with special needs or circumstances may face unique challenges while performing the academic tasks. Provisions and accommodations will be made for their individual needs.
Please contact your child’s teacher(s) for more specific information as needed.
How will attendance be verified?
Attendance must be taken by the teacher and records of attendance will be kept. Some ways attendance can be verified include:
Logging in to the class page(s) on the district’s/school Canvas Learning Management System
Students can complete daily assignments to verify attendance during regular school hours.
Email exchange/phone call with the teacher.
A parent may verify attendance due to a lack of internet/wifi connectivity by contacting your child's school at 218-927-2115
Athletics/Activities Fall Wrap Up
The athletics and Activities Department has had an exciting fall so far. We had Football, Volleyball and Tennis all in session starting in August. Watching the excitement grow as the time to their first contest grew closer and closer is always the exciting part of the early fall seasons.
In total this fall we had 146 athletes working hard to present our
district as best as they could.
Volleyball
Our Volleyball team finished 13-15 on the year. By the second half of our season, they were able to improve and were able to finish the regular season sitting in a 4 seed for the first Round of the Section Tournament. We hosted a powerful Rockridge team, and were able to lock in a win to move on to the next round. The second round we traveled to play #1 Seed Greenway. The girls played hard, but came up short to finish off their season. We are very proud of our volleyball teams and wish our seniors all the luck in the world as they move on to the next step in their lives.
As our seniors go, this is where they might be landing; Jessica Much- will be playing volleyball in New Jersey, Teagan Piecek- will be playing Volleyball at St Cloud Tech, and it looks like Brooke Zubke- might be looking at playing at Central Lakes College.
Football
Our football team concluded the season with a loss in the section semi-finals and finished with a 6-4 record. We were unfortunately plagued with injuries after a 4-0 start to the season, but bounced back at the end of the year sending our seniors out winning their last game on their home field!
Our Individual Awards for this season will be announced at the banquet on Sunday, December 4th.
As of right now it looks like Craig Ashton will be playing
football at Minnesota State Moorhead! Congrats to our Football team on a great season, and good luck to our seniors as they move on!
Tennis
Our Tennis team as a whole struggled throughout the year due to be being very young. The girls worked extremely hard and did advance their skills on the court throughout the season. Their hard work didn’t go unnoticed by coaches as well as their senior class. Individually we had some girls play some great tennis.
Breanna Hines was able to advance to Sections Semi-Finals but missed a trip to state with a loss to a very tough 3 seed. Sam Much and Madi Lehrer won their first round in Sections , but lost in their second-round matches.
Our Individual Awards for this season are as follows;
Breanna Hines and Madi Lehrer were able to receive an All-Conference award, and Macy
Paulbeck and Samantha Much were able to receive Conference Honorable Mention awards.
We would like to congratulate the Tennis team on their hard work this season and wish our seniors good luck as they move on! Breanna Hines will be playing tennis at Northwestern University.
Aitkin Anglers
The Aitkin Anglers had a great season as well as we had 6 anglers advance to the State Tournament! Those Anglers were Maggie Borseth, Noah Moss, Quinten Crowther, Damon Washburn, Kolbe Sahr and Kaleb Sahr. We also had some anglers, qualify to fish a tournament in Lake of the Ozarks. They are; Maggie Borseth, Tanner Koonce, Mason Naus, Zach Ringhand, Kaleb Sahr, Kolbe Sahr, Will Vogtlin, Damon Washburn, Colton Weimer and Eion Quiel.
Congratulations to our Aitkin Anglers on their success and we wish our seniors luck as they move on to their next step in life.
Winter seasons are now in full swing. Girls Basketball had their first game on 11/29 in Pillager! Boys basketball will be starting their season off with a home game on 12/2 against Perham! Wrestling will be starting their season with a match in Hibbing on 12/6. We want to wish all our winter sports teams all the luck in the world as they work hard to represent ISD#1!
We also have BPA, Knowledge Bowl and FFA competing this winter as well and want to wish them luck as they study and work hard to prepare for their competitions.
School Health
This year, we have an early season with a considerable amount of RSV and influenza circulating. Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious, especially in young infants or older adults. CDC surveillance has shown an increase in RSV detections and RSV-associated emergency department visits and hospitalizations across the United States this season. RSV and influenza circulate each year in Minnesota, generally during the late fall and winter months. Please keep your child home if they are showing signs or symptoms of illness and are not feeling well enough to participate in normal activities.
Symptoms of RSV and influenza include:
Runny nose
Sneezing
Chills
Tiredness
Fever
Muscles aches
Sore throat
Headache
Cough
Symptoms in many children and adults are generally mild, however;
RSV can be severe especially in young infants and children with underlying health conditions.
Influenza can be severe in children less than 5 years of age, particularly less than 2, and those with underlying health conditions.
Testing for RSV and influenza is available and may be performed when recommended by your healthcare provider.
Return to Childcare or School:
Children with RSV can return to childcare or school once their fever is gone [with or without use of fever reducing medication] and when they feel well enough to participate in routine activities [able to eat and drink normally, have no respiratory difficulty, are alert and active, playful and
nasal secretions are controlled].
Children with influenza can return to childcare or school when they have been fever-free for 24 hours [without use of fever reducing medication] and when they are feeling well enough to participate in routine activities.
If you have questions or are uncertain, call your healthcare provider, school nurse or Public Health.
High School Parking Lot and Pick up after School
High School Contact Information
Email: ldemars@isd1.org
Website: https://home.isd1.org/
Location: 306 2nd Street Northwest, Aitkin, MN, USA
Phone: 218-927-2115
Facebook: facebook.com/AitkinPublicSchools