Education

Saturday, April 8, several fifth and sixth grade band students from the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) traveled to Cedar Rapids to perform in the Coe College Honor Band. They had the opportunity to play under the direction of Robert W. Smith, who is recognized worldwide as a composer of music for bands. The students rehearsed all day and then performed a concert in the evening for a full house. Pictured above, left to right, are participating sixth grade ACSD students Kianna Krueger, Kylie Keilsmeier, Bailey Sherman and Cody Huinker. Pictured below are participating fifth grade ACSD students: Left to right - Front row: Ethan Lewey, Owen Luster. Back row: Kyrie Snitker, Brooklyn Ottaway, Hayden Holzwarth. Submitted photos.

Lukas Larson grew up watching his grandfather and father use a welder to make repairs on farm machinery and semi-trucks and always enjoyed using his hands to build and fix things. As a student at Waukon High School, Larson decided to get a head start and put those skills to the test.

He completed a career pathway certificate from Northeast Iowa Community College’s (NICC) Welding program, and is now qualified for employment in advanced manufacturing. He accomplished all of this during his junior year.
In 2016, Larson enrolled in the Northeast Iowa Career Learning Link program, which assists high school juniors and seniors in northeast Iowa in the development of career goals.

“Northeast Iowa Community College is so close to my high school that I took advantage of the opportunity right away,” said Larson, who also took several concurrent enrollment courses to earn college credit.

The Waukon Post Prom 2017 Committee was awarded a $1,000 donation from U.S. Cellular to help fund the Waukon Post Prom event coming up this Saturday, April 29. The donation is part of a partnership through the online fund raising campaign Pear, which connects groups, teams and organizations with companies that want to sponsor and support local groups. Groups can fund raise up to $1,000 for custom apparel or a direct nonprofit donation by simply engaging with their sponsor online.

The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is coming to Waukon High School this weekend, complete with Hawkeye, Duke, Colonel Blake, Klinger and Hot Lips Houlihan. The stage production of this popular TV series will be presented Saturday, April 22 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 23 at 2 p.m. in the Waukon High School auditorium. General admission tickets are being sold at the door each day of the production. For ticket and other information see the advertisement on Page 8A in this same issue of The Standard. The play is written in accordance to the original movie of M*A*S*H, but it has many of the familiar characters seen on reruns of the popular TV show. The play is set in Korea during a period of many months of the Korean Conflict. Cast members include the following: Gen.

A mere four points separated the Waukon High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter from winning a third consecutive Chapter of the Year State Championship at the annual FBLA State Leadership Conference (SLC) held April 6-8 in Coralville. Despite bringing home double-digit totals each of contest championship and runner-up results, along with numerous other top-five placewinnings, the Waukon chapter was edged out of its Chapter of the Year "three-peat" by a Western Dubuque chapter that featured 25 more students in attendance than what the Waukon High School chapter involved.

Waukon Middle School was awarded the CenturyLink Teachers and Technology Grant in the amount of $4,910 for an Interactive Touch Screen Display for the Waukon High School/Middle School Library. The grant was written by PreK-12 District Teacher Librarian Lisa Snitker. The interactive display will be used in the library makerspace where students can collaborate on the panel with 20 touch points and up to 10 users creating digital projects. A makerspace is a place where students can gather to create, invent, tinker, explore and discover using a variety of tools and materials. The interactive display will add resources available to students that will help guide their inquiry and exploration in learning through digital tools. The CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation's Teachers and Technology grants are designed to help fund projects that advance student success through the innovative use of technology.

Saturday, March 25, students from the Waukon High School Band and Vocal programs traveled to Cresco for the Iowa High School Music Association (IHSMA) State Solo and Ensemble Contests. Each soloist or ensemble performed for a certified judge and following their performance they received a rating.
A Division “I" rating is the highest rating and is considered to be a "superior" performance. Division “II” is an excellent performance, Division “III” is a good performance, Division “IV” is fair, and Division "V" is a poor performance.
The Saxophone Trio of members Erika Johnson, Katie Hagensick and Michael Smith received a “Best of Center Award” for the day, which consists of receiving a perfect score from their judge and being designated by that same judge at the end of the day as the best performance from that center for the day.
Results for Waukon High School performances from the contest day are as follows:

Kee High School’s production of the two one-act musicals “Big Bad Musical” and “Cinderella” was performed April 1 and 2. Pictured are members of the cast and crew of this year’s production. The musicals were both family-oriented shows that allowed the cast to interact with the children in the audience. Many of the children wore fairytale character costumes and were invited for a meet and greet after the show. Pictures in Cinderella’s carriage and with the other characters up on the stage were a highlight of the evening, as pictured below and to the right. Submitted photos.
 

St. Patrick School in Waukon will be hosting its annual 5K walk/run this Saturday, April 15. The event is open to all ages.

Registration for the event will be held from 7-7:45 a.m. the day of the race at the St. Patrick School Upper Building gymnasium but will not guarantee receipt of a long-sleeved t-shirt. The registration fee is now $25 ($20 for youth shirt sizes), and checks can be made payable to St. Patrick School.

The race will begin at 8 a.m. Medals will be awarded to the first two male finishers and first two female finishers in each age group.

For more information, call 563-568-2170 or e-mail kfahey@st-pats.pvt.k12.ia.us. Rain date has been set for Saturday, April 22.
 

Students in Mrs. Hemann’s first grade classroom at West Elementary School in Waukon have been learning about air, observing and investigating air and its properties. The students have used various tools to observe how air can be captured, how air can be compressed, and how air under pressure can move things. The students were able to create several things to test air and its properties. By working together, students made their own parachutes, a water fountain and a rocket balloon to show how air can move things. The students have investigated, observed, discussed and journaled about their findings. Photo and information courtesy of the Allamakee Education Association. Submitted photos.