Sparta Holds ‘STEMKAMP’ to Help Military Kids Learn Science

The Sparta Area School District has partnered with the Department of Defense to host a STEM camp for students in military-connected schools, WLAX-TV reports.

Sparta is the only school district in the state taking part in the STEMKAMP program, which is funded by the military and offered to 10 schools across the country.

“Military kids move every two to three years, and so there’s a lot of gaps in their education, Superintendent Dr. Amy Van Deuren told the TV station. “Sometimes they miss out on some of the fun because they’re moving.”

Learn more about the event and watch a video at the TV station’s website.

Kenosha theater teacher recognized

Longtime Kenosha teacher Holly Stanfield has received the 2021 Stephen Schwartz Musical Theatre Teacher of the Year Award.

A veteran theater teacher at Bradford High School, part of the Kenosha Unified School District, has been recognized with a national theater award, according to the Kenosha News.

The 2021 Stephen Schwartz Musical Theatre Teacher of the Year Award, which “honors exceptional high- and middle-school musical theater teachers,” includes a $5,000 cash prize.

“It’s an award for the whole department,” she told the newspaper. “That’s the beauty of musical theater: We have to do this together or it doesn’t happen.”

Read the full story to learn more about Stanfield, the theater department and how they’re adapting to COVID.

Prentice students design, build house from scratch

Prentice School Districts students erect a three-bedroom home as part of a classroom project. Districts students have built 13 homes in the community.

High schoolers in Prentice have again designed and built a home from scratch, the district’s 13th, WAOW-TV reports.

Tech Ed teacher Don Anderson told the station these projects teach students skills they can carry with them their whole lives, even if they don’t join a trade.

“Being here and being here on time, getting along with other students,” he said. “Then the other part also are the physical skills of hanging drywall, swinging a hammer, and putting in wood screws.”

At least one of the students, Kayden Mundt, is learning a trade.

“I work construction now, I’ve been doing a lot of drywall work,” he said. “It just so happened that I was put on a job where I learned to do my job from here.”

Read the story and watch the video at WAOW.com.

Neenah students sculpt mural: ‘Open hearts, open minds’

This side of the mural includes the “Sources of Strength “logo, while the other side features a Fibonacci spiral. This series of numbers — in which each one is the sum of the two preceding ones — is seen throughout nature and mathematics.

More than 1,000 art students at Neenah High School built and painted a three-dimensional mural, according to Green-Bay based NBC26.

Art students planned the project and were assisted by artist-in-residence Connie Greany of Legacy Murals, according to the TV station. One side features the logo of “Sources of Strength,” a youth mental health program.

Principal Brian Wunderlich said, “I think it will be a good reminder to our kids of all of the work that they did to overcome and the things that they either relied on friends or relied on teachers or relied on their parents, and that there is hope that they can kind of overcome anything if they use the resources around them to do so.”

Read the full story at the TV station’s website.

Oconto 2nd Graders Recognized for Collaborating on Book, “Sprinkling Kindness”

This class of Oconto 2nd graders wrote a book called “Sprinkling Kindness.”

A second-grade class at Oconto Elementary School wrote and illustrated a book about spreading kindness that has been recognized by a publishing company, the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports.

Caroline Laurin-Young’s class researched, wrote and illustrated their book, “Sprinkling Kindness,” which was one of 50 finalists in the 2020-21 National Book Challenge hosted by Studentreasures Publishing.

“This book project was just one of the many activities our class did when celebrating Kindness Week in the Fall,” Laurin-Young told the newspaper. “That week had such an impact on the class, that we continued doing Acts of Kindness throughout the year.”  

Read the full story at the Press-Gazette.

Racine students working to protect Lake Michigan shoreline

The Lake Michigan shoreline.

Racine students are working with community partners to protect the Lake Michigan shoreline, FOX6 reports.

Janell Decker, RUSD executive director of curriculum and instruction, told the TV station the goal is for students to not just to learn what they can do to protect the shoreline, but also the promising futures that can rise from one of our greatest resources.

“The careers and the planning and how many pieces of our community infrastructure is attached to our lake,” Decker said.

Read the full story and watch the video at FOX6.

Bloomer Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher Named a 2021 National Merit Finalist

Teacher works with students
Bloomer High School Teacher Charlene Kelley, in center, with students working on a pickle autopsy, which is part of a health class that gives students technical college credit. Kelley has been named a 2021 National Merit Finalist.

 

A Bloomer High School family and consumer sciences/health teacher has been named a 2021 National Merit Finalist by a national organization, according to a UW-Stout article.

Charlene Kelley says she enjoys teaching life skills.

“Everything I teach is practical,” Kelley told UW-Stout. “They will be able to use it every day. It’s one thing to choose to buy food that is already premade or to eat in a restaurant, but I want them to have a choice and have the skills to make a meal at home. It is practical knowledge I know they are going to use in their future.”

Read the UW-Stout article to learn more, including her work teaching about financial literacy, food insecurity and poverty.

Augusta student’s history project featured by Smithsonian

Augusta student Madelyn Davis created an online showcase about Vel Phillips, the first African American woman to graduate from the UW–Madison law school.

 

An Augusta student’s project about a Wisconsin civil rights icon has been featured on the Smithsonian’s website, according to the Leader-Telegram.

Eleventh grader Madelyn Davis, a student at Wildlands Science Research School, researched and created a project about Vel Phillips, the first African American woman to graduate from the UW–Madison law school. Davis’ work is one of 51 nationwide featured in a Smithsonian online showcase.

Davis told the newspaper she was looking for a Wisconsinite who made a difference in civil rights through nonviolence.

“I was interested in Vel Phillips because she worked tirelessly to change the living conditions for Blacks living in the Inner Core in Milwaukee,” Davis said. “Vel Phillips used peaceful protests and her platform as a council member to change rights for Blacks in Milwaukee for future generations.”

Wildlands Science Research School is a charter school authorized by the Augusta Area School District.

 

Read more about her project at the Leader-Telegram.

191 Greenfield High School Sophomores Collaborate on Pandemic Book, ‘QuaranTEENed’

Teens read book
Sophomores at Greenfield High School collaborated on a book about life during the pandemic.

 

The pandemic-era reflections of 191 Greenfield High School sophomores have been put together in a book called “QuaranTEENed,” CBS-58 reports.

The book, which started as a classroom assignment, contained vignettes from students who wrote about Covid, how the lockdown affected them and what they’ve learned. 

“When people look at this, I want them to realize that we’re just teens and we had to like go through this strange period, this strange new world, sort of,” said Cadence Brown. 

Read the full story and watch the video at CBS-58.

 

High school diesel mechanic training facility under construction in Casco

Construction project
A high school diesel mechanic training facility is under construction in Casco.

 

CASCO — A high school training facility for diesel mechanics is under construction in Casco, reports Green Bay-based WFRV-TV.

The program is a partnership between Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, the Luxemburg–Casco School District and local businesses.

“It really is meeting an industry need by doing something creative,” Superintendent Glenn Schlender told the TV station. “This is the first ever program in cooperation with a technical college, where kids can earn a technical diploma in diesel shop mechanics, along with their high school diploma.”

WFRV-TV has the full story and the video here.