Education

The 2016 Summer Kid's Club within the Allamakee Community School District was pleased and honored to interact with community businesses and individuals to strengthen both student and staff knowledge of the past Native American cultures of Allamakee County in relation to today's present way of life. Numerous activities compared and contrasted the culture of each time period from the content of each presentation, while integrating third, fourth and fifth grade school curriculum of English, reading, math, literature, science/health, social studies and technology/STEM into daily discussions and reviews. These programs/presentations of active student participation and the use of hands-on materials provided an opportunity for establishing student background knowledge to be used for both their enjoyment and in their future learning.

Tuesday, May 31 junior and senior members of the Waukon High School band and choir departed on a trip to New York City for several days. The 39 students, 13 chaperones and two music directors had the opportunity to see such landmarks as Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, Central Park, American Museum of Natural History (where the movie "Night at the Museum" was filmed), Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Grand Central Station, 9-11 Museum and Memorial, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. John's the Divine, Chinatown and Little Italy. While there, they also got to see performances of the musicals  "Disney's The Lion King" and "Wicked."

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met Monday evening, July 18 for its regular monthly meeting. Board member Tom Baxter was absent. A handful of district staff members were on hand for the meeting as well.

During the Secretary’s Financial Report, Board Secretary Jaime Curtin reminded board members that the June financial information is still preliminary, and they will get the final figures in September.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The regular monthly Eastern Allamakee Community School District Board of Directors meeting was held Monday, July 18 at  Kee High School in Lansing. Board members Bruce Palmborg, Bobbie Goetzinger, Melanie Mauss and Board President Heather Schulte were present along with Board Secretary/Business Manager Marian Verdon, Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier and Kee High School Principal Mary Hogan. Board member Kelli Mudderman and New Albin Elementary Principal Chad Steckel were absent.

After the adoption of the agenda, the usual and customary authorizations were approved. They included July consent items: minutes of the June meeting, bills for June and July, the Secretary’s Financial Statement, and the Activity and Food Service Reports.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach recently hosted "Diggin’ Up Dinosaurs" day camp at the Postville YMCA. A total of 12 Kindergarten through third grade students traveled back in time when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth, learning about fossils, including making their own, holding dinosaur eggs, participating in a cookie dip and enjoying caveman ice cream. The youth learned how big or small dinosaur eggs could be and made their own eggs with a dinosaur inside. They also learned exactly how tall dinosaurs were by using helium balloons and plenty of string. This camp was also held a second time in partnership with the Postville Childcare Center, where eight youth attended. For more information about 4-H and upcoming activities contact Becky Rea, 4-H K-12 Program Coordinator, at the Allamakee County Extension and Outreach Office in Waukon at 563-568-6345 or at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/allamakee/.

The Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Foundation is accepting nominations of NICC alumni and retirees to be inducted into the college’s 2016 Hall of Fame.

Each year, the college recognizes NICC alumni who have excelled in personal and professional endeavors beyond graduation. The Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are planned for October 3 at the Calmar campus and November 21 at the Peosta campus. Alumni who are graduates of an NICC certificate, diploma or degree program are eligible.

In addition to recognizing exceptional alumni, NICC is requesting nominations for the Outstanding Retiree Service Award. The Outstanding Retiree Service Award celebrates career-long achievements, loyalty and dedication to NICC and northeast Iowa, and recognizes those whose dedication, commitment and efforts rise above and beyond expectations.

ACSD leads northeast Iowa in total purchases

Northeast Iowa schools purchased over $63,000 in food from local farms during the 2015-16 school year, according to a survey by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Fourteen school districts contributed numbers to the survey, which is conducted annually on behalf of the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative.

Respondents included community school districts (CSD) in Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Howard, Fayette and Winneshiek counties.

The Allamakee Community School District secured the honors for Most Local Food Purchases with $18,540. The Decorah Community School District edged out the Postville district for second place with $14,848 and $14,334 in food purchases, respectively, with the North Fayette Valley district purchasing $8,888 in local food.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach hosted Creepy, Crawly Bugs! day camp recently. A total of 23 kindergarten through third grade students and nine fourth through sixth graders explored the world of bugs (as evident in the surrounding photos), learning about such things as the life cycle of butterflies and that America is the only country that doesn’t routinely eat bugs as part of their diets, along with making their own bug catchers and catching many insects on a nature walk. The ISU Insect Zoo deepened their knowledge when multiple insects and bugs made an appearance. Youth were able to study mealworms, beetles, walking sticks, scorpions and millipedes, pet a tarantula and more. While holding a hissing cockroach, they learned that they carry fewer germs than a human. “At camp I learned how bugs are important to the Earth; my favorite bug was the walking stick,” one camper said. The day ended with maggot painting.

by David M. Johnson

Hollywood seems a far-off land, especially to those who live in fly-over country, such as the Midwest. Movie stars, the films that they star in, the famous directors and producers that are responsible for what movie-goers watch in the theater are all part of a world not familiar to most people. Other than what  is heard and seen when entertained by their finished craft, movie-goers normally do not have any real knowledge on how they live or what it takes to make a film; it is often just taken for granted that it happens.

A group of students from Western Technical College in La Crosse, WI had a rare experience when the college sponsored their Fine Arts Club, which consisted mainly of visual communication students, on a trip to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah last January.

This May, 11 high school seniors earned two-year college transfer degrees through Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC), an academic achievement made possible because of concurrent enrollment agreements between the schools and NICC. The graduates represent three high schools in the counties of Allamakee, Fayette and Winneshiek, and their accomplishments are the result of careful academic planning, persistence, ambition and career direction.

Two of the 11 students, Alex Marti and Madison Snitker, graduated from Waukon High School and earned an NICC degree simultaneously by taking advantage of the affordable, flexible and academically challenging college credit opportunity.

“It means so much to have completed my Associate of Arts while in high school. I have a great head start, and I’m not as worried about college debt. I would like to thank Northeast Iowa Community College for giving me this opportunity,” expressed Marti.