The District Insider
Volume 7, Issue 5 | December 2019
Eleven Grand Forks Public Schools seniors have been named district nominees for the U.S. Presidential Scholars in Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program.
Haley Blixt (Grand Forks Central High School), Rachel Craig (Grand Forks Central High School), Taylor Durbin (Red River High School), Aidan Fire (Grand Forks Central High School), Braelyn Liang (Red River High School), Katherine Liberman (Grand Forks Central High School), Thomas Marshall (Red River High School), Cole Ogren (Red River High School), Mark Olmedo (Red River High School), Gabriel Randall (Grand Forks Central High School), and Gary Wu (Grand Forks Central High School) have been submitted to the North Dakota Department of CTE for consideration of the award.
“These students possess the outstanding talents, leadership skills, and character traits that make each of them an excellent representative for Grand Forks Public Schools and our CTE programs,” said Eric Ripley, Executive Director of Career and Technical Education.
Each of the students has completed a CTE coordinated plan of study or career pathway, have a minimum 3.0 grade point average and 3.25 grade point average in their CTE coordinated plan of study or career pathway, and have demonstrated technical competence, employability, ingenuity, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
The state department will review all applications before selecting up to five state applicants to advance to the Commission on Presidential Scholars. The applicants will be reviewed by a committee of qualified individuals experienced in career and technical education. The committee will choose 60 applicants to be named as semifinalists. The 60 CTE semifinalist applications will then be reviewed by the Commission on Presidential Scholars. All 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars will be selected by the Commission on Presidential Scholars and will receive the Presidential Scholars Medallion at a ceremony in their honor in Washington, D.C.
Grand Forks Public Schools has been awarded an $8,000 competitive grant from the North Dakota Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department to assist in funding non-traditional career activities for students in grades 7-12.
Non-traditional careers are defined as one gender comprising less than 25 percent of the workforce. Within Grand Forks Public Schools, several CTE classes are offered that are considered non-traditional courses.
The grant will help fund a number of opportunities throughout the school system, including support of the “Girls Who Code” clubs at the middle and high school level, career exploration opportunities for middle and high school students, providing a Trades and Industry summer camp for girls, and the development of educational materials.
“The central goal behind all of these opportunities is to help encourage students to choose a career path based on interest, not on their gender,” said Eric Ripley, Executive Director of Career and Technical Education. “The activities supported by the grant are designed around career awareness and retention strategies.”
The grant was written by Ripley.
Mark Rerick, CMAA, athletics director at Grand Forks Public Schools, has been named a recipient of the 2019 Bruce D. Whitehead Distinguished Service Award.
The Bruce D. Whitehead Distinguished Service Award, which is given by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA), is presented annually to individuals from within the NIAAA membership in recognition of their length of service, special accomplishments, and contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. Nominations are submitted by state athletic directors associations, screened by the NIAAA Awards Committee, and selected by the NIAAA Board of Directors.
Rerick has worked as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, and activities director in North Dakota for almost 20 years, including seven years in his current role as the director of athletics. At Grand Forks Public Schools, Rerick has instituted two well-received mentorship programs, Coaching Boys into Men and Athletes as Leaders, which are designed to teach athletes how to respect their friends, community, and significant others.
He is currently a member of the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) Board of Directors, and has been involved with the Tournament Committee and the Athletic Review Committee since 2012 and 2015, respectively. He has also been a tournament manager for more than 60 district, regional, and state tournaments.
The award will be given at the 50th annual National Athletic Directors Conference, held December 17 in National Harbor, Maryland.
The Grand Forks Foundation for Education, Inc. is awarding $10,434 this fall to help fund a variety of enrichment projects in Grand Forks Public Schools.
The Mini-Grants have been funded through the Foundation for Education since 1992. Awards are usually for classroom-level or grade-level projects. All areas of curriculum and all grade levels are eligible for Mini-Grants.
Mini Grants:
- $320 Carmen Shannon and Discovery Elementary for Coding for Kinders.
- $340 Jennifer Neil and J. Nelson Kelly Elementary for Friends Forever: The Legacy.
- $454 Leigh McNichols and Ben Franklin Elementary for Movement and Self Awareness.
- $900 Tracy Whalen and Lake Agassiz Elementary for Updated Notification Collection.
- $1,008 Kari Lindemoen and Ben Franklin Elementary for Hear the Music!
- $1,238 Collin Schafer and Winship Elementary for Hoops for Kids.
- $1,400 Evan Pederson and Lake Agassiz Elementary for Gaga Ball for ALL!
- $398 Aimee Rogers and South Middle for South Foreign Language Library.
- $900 Elizabeth Loeffler and Elroy Schroeder Middle for World War II Literature Circle.
- $1,000 Nichole Cappon and Nathan Twining Elementary and Middle for Learning/Reading Lounge.
- $300 Eileen Zygarlicke and Community High for Mental Health Education: You Can Make It.
- $600 Elizabeth Hildebrand and Red River High for It All Starts with Pre-Vocational Skills.
- $752 Dana Kennelly and Student in Transition Education Program (STEP) for Community Engagement and Hopeful Future.
- $824 Paul Barta and Grand Forks Central High for Theatre Shop Band Saw System.
For further information on the projects that were funded this fall, please contact Foundation Executive Director Emilia Hodgson at 701.787.4866.
Grand Forks Public Schools has been awarded an $87,390 grant from the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction to explore the best ways to identify and serve students who have dyslexia.
Dyslexia affects parts of the brain that processes and interprets language. It influences a person’s ability to speak, read, and spell. Experts say early recognition of dyslexia is important to help students adjust and live up to their potential as adults.
“Research indicates that as many as one in five students have dyslexia, and it is important that we identify who they are early in their young lives,” said North Dakota State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler. “Although dyslexia affects a person’s ability to read, there is no link between dyslexia and general intelligence. With the right supports, students with dyslexia can adjust and thrive.”
Earlier this year, the North Dakota Legislature set aside up to $250,000 to provide grants for school districts to conduct dyslexia screening programs. Also receiving grants were the Kindred Consortium ($92,010) and West River Student Services of Dickinson ($50,000).
Each of the organizations will establish early screenings for students under age 7, as well as provide reading assistance and regular progress monitoring for students who are found to have dyslexia.
They will report annually to Baesler about the results of their programs. The superintendent is required to brief the Legislature about the projects’ effectiveness by July 2021.
Lending a Hand
To kick off American Education Week on November 18th, Winship Elementary students were greeted at the door by teacher Betsey McIntyre's father and uncles. Each of the five men attended Winship at some point during their elementary education, including School Board President Bill Palmiscno (second from right) (photo courtesy Betsey McIntyre).
Spreading Cheer for All to Hear
Century Elementary student leaders served hot chocolate to parents/guardians, teachers, and others during American Education Week (photo courtesy Century Elementary School).
Branching Out
Students in Mrs. Freund's class at J Nelson Kelly Elementary read a book about the branches of government and created their own trees to help remember what each branch does (photo courtesy Ann Freund).
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reading Bus
The Little Red Reading Bus had a few enhancements added, including antlers and a red nose, before participating in the HollyDazzle parade on November 24th (photo courtesy Emilia Hodgson).
- Congratulations to Grand Forks Central's Clair Hynek and Mikayla Weiss on being named to the 2019 NDHSAA Girls’ Cross Country All-State Team!
- Congratulations to Red River High School's Hunter McHenry and Matthew Rongitsch on being named to the 2019 NDHSAA Boys’ Cross Country All-State Team!
Congratulations to Daniel Hettich (Grand Forks Central High School) on being selected as one of 12 semifinalists in the state of North Dakota for the Coca-Cola Scholars Program. Only 1,928 semifinalists were chosen among over 93,000 applicants this year due to their outstanding leadership, academic achievements, and dedication to their community.
Congratulations to Camden Larsen (Red River High School) on taking 1st place in House II at the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) State Student Congress!
Congratulations to Elsa Musselman (Red River High School) on finishing in 1st place in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly at the NDHSAA State Girls' Swimming and Diving Meet!
Congratulations to Madeline Elseth (Grand Forks Central High School) on taking 1st place in the 500-yard freestyle at the NDHSAA State Girls' Swimming and Diving Meet!
Congratulations to Ella Fosse (Red River High School) and Alex Page (Red River High School) on being selected to the 2019 All-EDC Volleyball Team!
Congratulations to Torey Battles (Grand Forks Central High School), Brady Dvorak (Red River High School), and Peyton Lotysz (Red River High School) on being named to the All-EDC Football Team! Dvorak was also named an EDC Senior Athlete of the Year nominee.
Congratulations to the Grand Forks Central Academic Students of the Quarter (see photo below, from left-to-right): Alina Golovko, Quinn Roehl, Gabriel Randall, Peter Loyland, Adam Swartz, Logan Sandberg, Clara Hanson, Trinity Tuinder.
Certified Staff
- Physical Education Teacher - Red River High School
- Speech Language Pathologist
- School Psychologist
- Create a Teacher Application
Support Staff
Paraprofessional - Discovery Elementary School
Custodian - J Nelson Kelly Elementary School
School Secretary - Discovery Elementary
Cook Manager - Red River High School
ENCORE Site Coordinator - Century Elementary
Custodian (part-time) - South Middle School
Custodian (part-time) - Nathan Twining Elementary and Middle School
Dietitian - Child Nutrition
Cook - Main Kitchen - Child Nutrition
- Sign Language Facilitator
- Snow Removal (on call)
- Encore Para Program Application Pool
- Title I Paraprofessional Application Pool
- Special Education Paraprofessional Application Pool
- Lunchroom Paraprofessional Application Pool
- Food Service Worker/Cooks Application Pool
- Instructional Paraprofessional Application Pool
Coaching
- Speech Coach - Red River High School
- Middle School Athletic Coach Application Pool
- December 9 - Grand Forks School Board Meeting (6 p.m, Mark Sanford Education Center)
- December 11 - Elementary Early Release at 1:30 p.m. (PLCs)
- December 11 - Grand Forks Central/Red River High Schools One Hour Late Start (PLCs)
- December 17 - Grand Forks Air Force Base School Board Meeting (12 p.m.,
- Nathan Twining Elementary and Middle School)
- December 23-January 1 - No School K-12 (Holiday Break)
- December 24-25 - Mark Sanford Education Center Closed
- January 1 - Mark Sanford Education Center Closed
- January 2 - School Resumes K-12
Please join the Mark Sanford Education Center, Red River, Grand Forks Central, Valley, Ben Franklin, Century, and Discovery schools in supporting the 9th Annual Community Pajama Drive! Some of our Grand Forks Public Schools students will be the recipient of pajamas collected from this drive, which is spearheaded by Leigh Olson (secretary, Grand Forks Central High School). See the graphic above for more information, or check out the Facebook page through the link below.