Education

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

Students at Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) displayed a strong competitive showing at the Iowa Postsecondary Agriculture Students (PAS) Conference hosted Thursday, February 11 by Indian Hills Community College in Moravia. In the Dairy Specialist competition, NICC brought five teams and claimed the top five spots in the contest, defeating three teams from Dordt College.
In the Beef Specialist competition, NICC brought three student teams and they placed second, fourth and 10th out of 19 teams from across the state. The team of NICC student competitors placing second in the Beef Specialist competition included a trio of Waukon High School graduates, Zach Bieber, Devin Ryan and Garth Cooper, all of Waukon.

Masada (Musty) Habhab, a 1981 graduate of Waukon High School and the daughter of Marlene Habhab of Waukon, was honored as the 2015 Administrator of the Year at the annual Faculty and Staff Awards Dinner for the University of Michigan School of Medicine in Ann Arbor, MI. Habhab currently serves as Chief Administrative Officer for the school's Department of Internal Medicine, a position she has held since being appointed in 2010.
In 1986, Habhab was hired as a junior accountant to be part of the University of Michigan Hospital's finance team. Since then, the hospital has grown to serve hundreds of thousands from around the world, and the once-junior accountant has now become the lead administrator for the largest department in the Medical School.

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) and its students will have an additional source of funding to offset potential financial emergencies that they may encounter in the next two and one-half years. A $37,200 grant awarded to the college through Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation’s new Dash Emergency Grant Program will help NICC offer emergency funding to students who also receive Federal Pell Grant assistance.
Community and technical colleges provide a gateway to promising futures for students from diverse backgrounds, many who are older, lower income, working and/or raising families. These students also juggle multiple financial responsibilities, and unforeseen expenses - often less than $500 - that can threaten their ability to stay in college.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach hosted 4-H Saturday Clover Kids February 13 at the Waukon Wellness Center. The 23 Kindergarten through third grade students pictured at right participated in activities around a ‘Have a Heart’ theme. They learned how to be a caring and active citizen of their community and participated in a toothpaste experiment where they were asked to squeeze out all the toothpaste and then put it back in the tube. Youth learned that, just like our words, once the toothpaste was out it is very hard to put back in, therefore, they must choose words carefully. They ended the meeting by making Valentine’s Day cards for residents at Northgate Care Center in Waukon.

Students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Waukon Middle School recently enjoyed a day of snowshoeing with the Allamakee County Conservation Board. The snowshoeing was part of “Live Healthy Iowa,” a program promoting healthy lifestyles and choices. The ACCB has snowshoes available to rent throughout the county and provides snowshoes free of charge to schools and Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops. Submitted photo.
 

by Brianne Eilers

For the past three months, Waukon High School students Megan O'Neill and Michaela Dehli (far left and far right, respectively, on each end of back row above) have been volunteering with a group of students attending the East Elementary after school program, Kids Club. These girls have taken a group and shown them how to use cameras that were purchased by the 21st Century program grant previously. The students had creative experiences through writing scripts regarding such issues as bullying and other issues on the minds of kids today. They learned how to be directors, producers, actors and then were shown how to put these creations into a program where they were able to edit. These students hosted several family nights as well as gave a presentation at a Partnership Meeting to show parents and other community partners their productions.

The Music Department of the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) will be hosting the sixth annual Pop’s Concert Saturday, February 27 at the Waukon Junior High School gymnasium. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with concert time at 7:30 p.m. The Pop’s Concert features high energy musical numbers from the 1950s through today. Most every musical group at the Waukon Junior High and High School participate in this concert, including the jazz bands, bucket bands and all vocal groups in grades 7-12, and even an elementary vocal group. Costumes are included in most every number performed at the concert and many numbers are even choreographed.

The 2015-2016 Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc. (formerly Allamakee Dollars for Scholars) phone-a-thon to be held in February is the major fundraiser for the organization and is conducted by the student applicants in conjunction with the Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc. Board of Directors. Students use phone banks at Waukon High School and Waterville Elementary School and at Waukon State Bank and Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank in Waukon. Phone-a-thon dates this year are Tuesday, February 16, Thursday, February 18 and Tuesday, February 23.