The District Insider
Volume 8, Issue 4 | November 2020
Grand Forks Public Schools Receives Department of Defense Grant
Grand Forks Public Schools has received a $500,000 Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) grant for use at Nathan Twining Elementary and Middle School.
DoDEA supports research-based programs that aim to increase student achievement and ease the challenges that military children face due to their parent/guardian military service. The grant program will provide the school with the college and career-ready resources necessary to successfully expand Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programming.
“We are very fortunate to be a recipient of the DoDEA grant. This grant will allow our school to be more innovative and creative in the implementation of STEM activities and technology integration,” said Shari Bilden, principal at Nathan Twining Elementary and Middle School. “We will be looking to partner with different entities to support the goals of the grant. This is a very exciting time for our school.”
The DoDEA awarded $22 million across 21 grants as part of its 2020 cohort.
The grant was written by Taunya Schleicher, grant writer at Grand Forks Public Schools, and Elizabeth Berger, instructional design coach at Nathan Twining Elementary and Middle School.
Since 2008, DoDEA has awarded nearly $200 million in grants to over 180 military-connected school systems. These three-year projects impact nearly 280,000 military-connected students and more than 670,000 students overall in 900 schools.
The DoDEA is a field activity of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. DoDEA's mission is to plan, direct, coordinate, and manage the education programs for eligible dependents of U.S. military and civilian personnel of the Department of Defense. The DoDEA has congressional authority to provide resources to public schools to support the continuity of education for military-connected students through a competitive grant program.
Grand Forks Public Schools Receives Refugee School Impact Grant
Grand Forks Public Schools has received a $15,000 grant award from Lutheran Social Services to support English Learner (EL) students.
The goal of the grant is to strengthen academic performance and facilitate social adjustment of school-age refugees. The grant will provide transportation support for newly arrived refugee students to participate in summer school.
Refugees are defined and protected in international law as individuals moving outside their country of origin who have a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion.
Grand Forks Public Schools currently has 282 EL students in the school system who speak over 28 native languages. Nepali and Somali are the predominant native languages spoken.
The percentage of EL students who are growing at the expected trajectory to successfully exit the EL program was 45% in 2018-2019 compared to the North Dakota state average of 41%.
“We are grateful for our partnership with Lutheran Social Services. This partnership better helps us support the needs of our newly arrived refugees by helping them overcome barriers such as transportation,” said Travis Thorvilson, EL coordinator for Grand Forks Public Schools and principal at Winship Elementary School.
Día de los Muertos
Check out these beautiful masks created by 4th grade students at Viking Elementary! They learned about Día de los Muertos during Spanish class and created the masks, which are part of the holiday (photo courtesy Mrs. Starcevic).
Mealworm Observation
First grade students at Winship Elementary observed mealworms noting, "Live science is the BEST science!" (photo courtesy Mrs. Bernier)
Masked Up Royal Pride
This student sewed a mask with Ashly Hanna, Native Family Engagement Specialist. She said she loved the fabric and was proud of her creation, and has already taken a few special orders (photo courtesy Valley Middle School).
Schroeder Scientists
Last month, 7th grade students at Elroy Schroeder Middle School designed heat shields for their "Egg-stronauts" to safely make it to outer space.
Examples of Excellence
- Congratulations to Gannon Brooks (Red River High School) and Colten Mitchell (Grand Forks Central High School) on being named to the 2020 Class A Boys' Soccer First Team All-State! A job well done to Angel De La Cruz (Red River High School), Morgan Hoefs (Red River High School), and Jackson Macho (Grand Forks Central High School) on being selected to the Second Team.
- Congratulations to Claire Hynek (Grand Forks Central) for earning All-State honors for her 14th place finish at the NDHSAA State A Girls' Cross Country Championship! On the boys' side, Hunter McHenry (Red River High School, 8th place) and Quinn Roehl (Grand Forks Central High School, 11th place) were named to the NDHSAA State A Boys' Cross Country All-State team.
- Congratulations to Logan Sandberg (Grand Forks Central High School), 2020 NDHSAA State Boys' Tennis Singles Champion!
- Congratulations to Grand Forks Central's Braden Panzer and Evan Panzer on their 2020 NDHSAA State Boys' Tennis Doubles Championship! Taking second place was Ryan Muizelaar and Karsen Johnson from Red River High School.
- Max Weisser, head coach of the Grand Forks Central boys' tennis team, has been named the North Dakota High School Coaches Association Boys' Tennis Coach of the Year!
- Congratulations to the Red River Boys' Cross Country Team on taking first place at the EDC Cross Country Championships! The boys' team from Grand Forks Central finished fifth, while the Grand Forks Central girls' team took third, and the Red River team finished seventh.
- Congratulations to the following boys' cross country student-athletes on being included in the All-EDC team: Hunter McHenry (Red River High School), Dameon Zenawick (Red River High School), Broden Diederich (Red River High School), Quinn Roehl (Grand Forks Central High School), Matthew Rongitsch (Red River High School), Ryan Prusak (Red River High School), and Jonah Dafoe (Red River High School).
- Congratulations to Claire Hynek (Grand Forks Central High School), Gracia Larsen-Schmidt (Red River High School), Lauren Harrison (Grand Forks Central High School), and Marie Derenne (Grand Forks Central High School) on being named to the All-EDC Team in girls' cross country.
- Richard Dafoe, boys' cross country coach at Red River High School, has been named the EDC Boys' Cross Country Coach of the Year!
- Congratulations to the Grand Forks Central Boys' Tennis team on the East Region tournament championship! Logan Sandberg (Grand Forks Central) was the singles champion, while Ryan Muizelaar and Karsen Johnson (Red River High School) were the doubles champion.
- Named to the Boys' Tennis All-EDC Team were: Saylor Kuenzel (Red River), Ryder McDonald (Grand Forks Central), Braden Panzer (Grand Forks Central), Evan Panzer (Grand Forks Central), Espen Schneider (Red River), Sandberg, Johnson, and Muizelaar.
- Congratulations to Max Weisser (Grand Forks Central) on being named Boys' Tennis EDC Coach of the Year.
- Braden Panzer (Grand Forks Central) was named one of three Senior Athlete of the Year nominees in boys' tennis.
- Jaya Grube (Red River) and Clara Hanson (Grand Forks Central) received several accolades for girls' golf this fall. Both Jaya and Clara were named to the All-Eastern Dakota Conference Team, East Region All-Tournament Team, and the All-State Tournament Team!
- Congratulations to the following boys' soccer student-athletes on being selected to the 2020-All EDC Team: Gannon Brooks (Red River), Angel De La Cruz (Red River), Morgan Hoefs (Red River), Jackson Macho (Grand Forks Central), Colten Mitchell (Grand Forks Central), and Matthew Scribner (Red River).
- Check out this great article about Grand Forks Central graduate Matthew Peterson. The article expands on the true-crime opera Voir Dire (French for, "to speak the truth") that Peterson composed.
Job Openings
Support Staff
Early Childhood Special Education Paraprofessional - Lake Agassiz Elementary School
Tutors (part-time)
EL Paraprofessional - South Middle School
Shuttle Monitor - Morning Shift
Snow Removal (on-call)
Custodian (part-time)
Intervention Title I Paraprofessional - Century Elementary School
Executive Assistant - Grand Forks Foundation for Education
Early Childhood Special Education Paraprofessional - Nathan Twining Elementary & Middle School
Intervention Title I Paraprofessional - Lake Agassiz Elementary
Coaching
- Assistant Girls' Basketball Coach - Red River High School
Upcoming Events
- November 4 - Early Release (middle and high schools - 1 p.m.; elementary schools - 1:30 p.m.)
- November 9 - Grand Forks School Board Meeting (6 p.m.)
- November 11 - No School K-12/MSEC closed (Veterans Day)
- November 18 - Early Release (middle and high schools - 1 p.m.; elementary schools - 1:30 p.m.)
- November 20 - End of 1st Trimester (elementary schools)
- November 23 - Joint Grand Forks School Board/Grand Forks Air Force Base Meeting
- November 26-27 - No School K-12/MSEC closed