Education

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Business and Community Solutions offers courses that meet the state of Iowa requirements for coaching authorization certification. To coach K-12 school-sponsored athletics in Iowa, an individual must be certified.
There are four courses in the 55-hour certificate series that must be taken in order to apply for a coaching authorization: Human Growth and Development for Coaching, Coaching Theory and Ethics, Body Structure and Function, and Basic Prevention and Care of Athletic Injuries.
A series of coaching authorization classes start January 19. The first three classes will be held at the NICC Waukon Center, located at 1220 Third Avenue NW, and the fourth and final class will be held at Team Rehab, located at 516 Montgomery Street in Decorah.

May 30, 1965 was an historic day for 44 young men and women of the St. Patrick High School-Waukon community. That was the day that these young adults graduated from high school.
Fast forward 50 years to September 12, 2015 when 31 of those classmates plus their guests gathered at Waukon Country Club, including any individual who attended one or more years of high school with the Class of ‘65. An evening of joyous laughter, reconnecting and reminiscing got off to a good start as classmates picked up their name tags featuring his/her respective 1965 graduation picture.
Denny Waldron, emcee, introduced the honored guest, Monsignor Joseph Slepicka, who had been associate pastor and religious instructor during the years Class of ‘65 attended high school. Waldron also regaled attendees with trivia questions pertaining to fellow classmates and high school events. The Country Club was decorated in an Irish theme.

Proceeds from the Fourth Annual Kee Hawk Homecoming Tailgate Party co-sponsored by Kerndt Brothers Bank and New Albin Savings Bank were recently distributed to the Kee High School Booster Club. The annual event was held during Kee High School's 2015 Homecoming and raised $1,369.48 in free-will donations this year. Staff members from both Kerndt Brothers Bank and New Albin Savings Bank were involved in organizing and facilitating the event, as well as donating the food served. Volunteers from the Allamakee County Cattlemen's Association grilled the hamburgers and hot dogs, with additional sponsorship support coming from Alliant Energy - Lansing Power Plant, RW Pladsen Inc., Waukon Feed Ranch Inc., Welsh’s Village Farm and Home, Schulte Farms LLC, L&M Gas & Go, Valley Ag Inc., Bodensteiner Implement, Riverland Expressions, Kol Gol Inc., Gruber Ridge Farms LLC, A-OK Well Service LLC and Walleser Excavating & Concrete.

Eitzen Lion's Club President Dick Amundson, right, presents Gail Hilleshiem of the Allamakee Community School District, left, a check for $400 for the District's Back Pack Program. The Program provides food on weekends for elementary students. The presentation was made in appreciation of support received throughout the year from the Waukon area and community for the Eitzen Lion's events. Submitted photo.

by Brianne Eilers

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

Recently, the Waukon Veterinary Service partnered with Zoetis and the National FFA Organization to donate $700 to the Little Switzerland FFA chapter at Waukon High School through the FFA Support Program. Since its start in 2008, the program has provided more than $6.5 million dollars to local FFA chapters across the nation. The donated funds are provided to chapters through the sale of medical products, such as those purchased by local animal owners from Waukon Veterinary Service. The Zoetis Industry Support Program is a company devoted to supporting the development of individual FFA chapters. The donated funds will be used to provide contest materials and other necessities for the local chapter. Waukon Veterinary Service has been donating to the chapter for many years, and that support has allowed the chapter to reach out to more students through their participation in FFA contests.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now accepting entries for the 2016 Iowa Federal Junior Duck Stamp (JDS) art contest from all student artists in kindergarten through 12th grade. In entering the JDS contest, students learn about waterfowl and their habitat, and then create an image of an eligible North American waterfowl species to enter into the contest.  This contest can be entered by school groups, informal groups, or students may enter individually.
Iowa entries for 2016 must be postmarked by March 15, 2016 and mailed to Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 399, 9981 Pacific Street, Prairie City, IA 50228.  All information needed to participate can be found on the website. The website is new with a very long address, so participants are asked to conduct a website search for “junior duck stamp”.

Hannah Stegen, daughter of Stephane and Loren Stegen of Huntsville, AL and granddaughter of Marlene and Denis Welch of rural Lansing, will be graduating from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, AL Friday, December 11 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology. She will continue studying at the University of Montevallo in pursuit of a Master's degree in Secondary Education with a focus on Social Science.
Since beginning to attend the University of Montevallo in the fall of 2012 with a major in Sociology and minor in Vocal Performance, Stegen has achieved President's List honors, requiring a 3.80 or higher grade point average, every semester. She was also chosen by her professors as Senior Elite for her Sociology major, an honor bestowed on a student who exhibits leadership and academic excellence in a specific field of study.

The Early Childhood Education program at Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) has received a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Scholarship to support its entry into a national accreditation process by the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) Early Childhood Association Degree Accreditation (ECADA) program.
The Kellogg Scholarship will defray application, self study review and site visit expenses as the college program begins its accreditation process through NAEYC. After a one-year successful review of the program, the NAEYC will award the NICC program a seven-year accreditation.
The NAEYC Commission on Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation awards accreditation to associate degree programs that demonstrate evidence of meeting professional preparation standards, and accreditation provides a framework for self study, external evaluation and improvement in the quality of teacher preparation.