Education

Registration is ongoing through February 21 for a scholarship that offers Iowa high school seniors a chance to receive one of 30 scholarships worth $2,000 for college while learning important financial literacy skills. In addition, each recipient’s high school will receive a corresponding $250 award.

High school seniors may register for the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/SeniorScholarship between now and February 21. Iowa Student Loan® will award $2,000 scholarships to 30 students who complete two online financial literacy tutorials and score highest on a related assessment. Registered students also receive emails highlighting financial literacy tips, such as the importance of early career and college planning and ways to reduce student loan indebtedness.

Sunday, December 8 the Waukon High School Vocal Music Department participated in its annual Tour of Churches. Over $1,800 in donations were collected at St. John’s Lutheran, Old West Lutheran, First Presbyterian, St. Patrick’s Catholic, First Baptist, Zion United Church of Christ and St. Paul’s United Methodist churches and distributed to the Allamakee County Relief Office, the Allamakee County Food Shelf, the Backpack Program and the Waukon Community Meal. Several Waukon businesses donated items for the students to enjoy on their tour as well. Fareway donated string cheese, Kwik Star donated bananas and Culligan offered bottled water for each performer.

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) invites the public to attend a free information session to learn about the upcoming Welding Career Pathway Certificate program offered in Waukon January 21 at 6 p.m. at the NICC Waukon Center.

The demand for welders in northeast Iowa is high, and local employers offer stable jobs with good wages that are going unfilled. With the skills learned in this Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) class, participants will be ready to start their career as a highly sought-after welder in a matter of months. They will learn safe working practices, become familiar with welding equipment, use basic measuring tools, read manufacturing-part blueprints and identify standard welding symbols. By the end of this lecture and hands-on experience, students will also be able to weld carbon steel in multiple positions to meet American Welding Society (AWS) standards, and be prepared for immediate employment or continuation in the extended welding program.

The Iowa 4-H Foundation has announced applications are now available for its 4-H scholarship program. Over 100 scholarship opportunities valued at over $110,000 will be awarded. The various scholarship awards range in amounts from $500 to $10,000. Some of the scholarships are open to students pursuing any field of study, while others are open to students pursuing more specific degrees in agriculture, food and nutrition, ag business, animal science and journalism.

Former and current Iowa 4-H members are eligible to apply for 4-H scholarships if they meet individual scholarship requirements, as determined by the scholarship donors. Applicants must enroll as a full-time student to receive scholarship awards.

Monday, November 25, members of the Waukon High School Concert Choir and Concert Band pictured above and below, respectively, attended the Northeast Iowa Conference Music Festival hosted by New Hampton High School. The students rehearsed all day long with their respective ensembles before performing together at a concert held that evening as well. The Waukon High School Concert Choir students are under the direction of Sarah Bieber and the Waukon High School Concert Band students are under the direction of Jo Ann Knipfer Sherman. Pictured above are the participating members of the Waukon High School Concert Choir: Left to right - Front row: Madi Moser, Oonaugh Ahouse, Ainsley Lydon, Madelyn Helgerson, Peyton Verthein; Back row: Ryan VanderVelden, Denzel Decker, Aidan Jones, Nathan Liddiard.

Saturday, December 7, five members of the Waukon High School Concert Band performed with the Northeast Iowa Bandmasters Association (NEIBA) Honor Band in Oelwein. Being selected to the NEIBA Honor Band is the highest honor an instrumentalist can receive in the Northeast district, other than All-State. The students rehearsed throughout the day and presented a formal concert that evening. Pictured above are the Waukon High School Concert Band students selected to perform. Left to right: Vivian Khan, Sophie Halverson, Owen Halverson, Alexis Hogan, Bridget Duncklee. They are under the direction of Jo Ann Knipfer Sherman. Submitted photo.
 

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met Monday evening, December 16 for the board’s regular monthly meeting. Several items were approved under the consent agenda as follows:

In personnel matters, the board approved hiring Julie Stemper as a substitute bus driver, Laural Gulla as a middle school paraprofessional and David Hansmeier as a volunteer wrestling coach. The board also accepted the resignation of Gretchen DeVore from her position as Curriculum Director. In an email to the board, DeVore explained that due to medical issues, she was resigning effective November 1, 2019. ACSD Superintendent Jay Mathis thanked DeVore for her years of service to the Allamakee Community School District and said that they “wish her well.”

Waukon Middle School’s after school program, 10th Hour, chose to spend the day together for the two “no school” Professional Development days held earlier this fall in the Allamakee Community School District. The group’s first all-day trip started with making Thanksgiving decorations for residents of Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Students had a great morning reading stories, playing games and coloring with the senior citizens. They enjoyed giving them a turkey decoration (pictured above) they had made earlier to brighten up their rooms. That afternoon was a splash spent enjoying swimming, pizza and each other’s company.

Substitute teachers are in demand. For anyone who has considered becoming a substitute teacher, a one-weekend substitute authorization course will be offered in Elkader from December 20-22.

The Iowa Substitute Authorization allows an individual to substitute in a PK-12 classroom. For those who are Certified Paraeducators, an assigned special education classroom may be at the elementary, middle school, junior high school or high school level.

The four core components of the course are Classroom Management, Strategies for Learning, Diversity and Ethics. Upon successful completion of the program, the participant may apply to the Board of Educational Examiners for a license. A state and federal background check is required.

Local districts have the option of hiring individuals with the Substitute Authorization. It does not guarantee employment. Those who are interested are reminded to check with their local district.

The Iowa 4-H Foundation has announced applications are now available for its 4-H scholarship program. Over 100 scholarship opportunities valued at over $110,000 will be awarded.

The various scholarship awards range in amounts from $500 to $10,000. Some of the scholarships are open to students pursuing any field of study, while others are open to students pursuing more specific degrees in agriculture, food and nutrition, ag business, animal science and journalism.

Former and current Iowa 4-H members are eligible to apply for 4-H scholarships if they meet individual scholarship requirements, as determined by the scholarship donors. Applicants must enroll as a full-time student to receive scholarship awards.