Education

The Waukon Kids Day Program “Food, Fitness, Fun!” has been working hard to keep the plants in the school gardens as nourished and bountiful as possible. In August, the tomatoes, peas, cucumbers and ground cherries were coming in quickly and students shared the bounty with the Summer Feeding Program and also donated to the Allamakee County Food Shelf.

“On donation day, we took a five-minute walk to the Food Shelf,” reports Alyssa Bell, 4-H AmeriCorps member. “We donated seven pounds of produce from our small garden. That’s great! The students were very proud to share what they have grown.”

The four Waukon High School young ladies pictured above qualified to compete in the national online “Capture the Flag” competition through Girls Go Cyberstart, a cybersecurity competition which took place over the summer beginning with 719 teams from high schools across the nation. The National “Capture the Flag” competition of 120 qualifying teams involved a set of computer security puzzles and challenges designed to test skills in areas such as reverse-engineering, memory corruption and cryptography, among others. Members of that National Finalists team include, left to right in above photo, Ashley Liddiard, Bridget Duncklee, Alexis Hogan and Madelyn Waters, all under the direction of Allamakee Community School District Allamakee Accelerated Learning Program (AALP ) Teacher Peyton Lapel. Alexis Hogan earned a spot on the individual semifinalists list for her overall score in the competition. Submitted photo.
 

Samantha Swartz, a 2015 graduate of Waukon High School and the daughter of Jeff and Rae Swartz of Waukon, is a member of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine’s 20th annual class of incoming medical school students who received their ceremonial white coats August 16 at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City. Swartz was welcomed into the College of Medicine’s Class of 2023, receiving her white coat in the photo at right from Chris S. Cooper, Senior Associate Dean of the Carver College of Medicine.

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met for a special meeting Tuesday morning, August 27. The board appointed Beth Shafer of Waukon to fill the vacancy on the board left by the recent resignation of long-time member Patty Nordheim. Shafer took the oath of office and will fill out the remainder of Nordheim’s term, which is scheduled to expire at the end of this year.

The board also approved a contract with Stan and Mary Straate for a single-family home to be built by the Waukon High School Construction classes on a lot purchased from Waukon Economic Development Corporation. In personnel matters, Samantha Larsen was approved as a Middle School paraprofessional for the 2018-2019 school year.
 

The 10th Hour Middle School August summer program in the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) finished up with two weeks of fun-filled and educational activities. Students took a trip to the Rising Star Theatre in Dubuque to see “Beauty and the Beast” performed by young actors and actresses. In admiration of that performance, students spent the next week preparing for their own play called “Back to the Summer.” They worked on developing their costumes and props, and rehearsing their lines, before production on the last day of class.

Students took a break from their drama preparation and practice to be visited by Kelly Loberger, a medical student from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Loberger is spending the summer working with physicians at Gundersen Clinic in Decorah and gave a lesson to the class about the effects of smoking on health.

What do bats, mushrooms, wilderness, the Mississippi River, art, citizen science and mounds all have in common? The answer is Effigy Mounds National Monument Summer Evening Programs. Join Effigy Mounds National Monument every Sunday and Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. in the Effigy Mounds National Monument Visitor Center for fun explorations and intriguing discussions about these topics.

All programs begin at 7 p.m. and are offered through the summer season ending October 20. Attendance is free and reservations are not required. Below are the topics and remaining schedule:

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach offers ServSafe® food safety certification classes. ServSafe® meets the criteria for an individual to become a “Certified Food Protection Manager” (CFPM).

The ServSafe® program blends the latest FDA Food Code, food safety research and years of food sanitation training experience. Managers learn to implement essential food safety practices and create a culture of food safety.

The class will be taught by Jill Weber, Human Sciences Specialist, Nutrition and Wellness and Registered ServSafe® Proctor & Certified ServSafe® Instructor. Training will be offered at the Allamakee County Extension Office in Waukon Monday, September 16 from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

To register, go to  https://register.extension.iastate.edu/servsafe. Registration for the class will be taken until the class is full.
 

submitted by the Allamakee County Extension Office

September 1 marks the start of a new 4-H year. It is an exciting time of year in the world of 4-H and a perfect time for youth in fourth through 12th grade to join 4-H.

Parents may wonder the value of enrolling their child in yet another organization. They are already in sports, music, dance, church groups, etc. So, why did the parents of 229 youth in Allamakee County enroll their child in 4-H for the 2018-2019 4-H year?

Because, 4-H offers a learning experience that will benefit 4-H’ers for a lifetime. 4-H is more than cooking, sewing, hogs, cows and farming. 4-H is about empowering youth to reach their full potential through youth-adult partnerships and research-based experiences.

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met for its regular monthly meeting Monday, August 19. A number of items were addressed prior to the start of the new school year this Friday, August 23.

Under personnel matters, the board approved staff for the after school program and Lexie Bieber as a volunteer cheer coach. Barb Weipert and Lori Pladsen were approved as Middle School paraprofessionals and Liz Baures was approved as West Elementary After School Program Coordinator. Bailey Roth, Jadi Twite and Emily Stone were approved as West Elementary Paraprofessionals and Stephanie Mulvey was approved as East Elementary Library paraprofessional.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) Board of Directors held its regular meeting Monday, August 19. All of the board members were present.

Audience comments included presentations by Keystone Area Education Agency (AEA) board member Dr. Bill Withers, as well as Keystone AEA Executive Director Pat Heiderscheit. Both gave a brief summary about the social, emotional, behavior, mental health program that is underway in Iowa for students. They noted that mental health has been neglected for many years, but recent tragic events have brought the needs for improved mental health programming to the forefront.

Heiderscheit enumerated some of the programs that Keystone has  initiated. The program for the entire state began with $2 million in funding for improvement in pupils’ mental health, which results in approximately $4 per student in Iowa. Heiderscheit hopes that more funds will be appropriated.