16 minute read
School News
SSM Online Division Completes First Year
At the end of May when the SSM Faribault campus celebrates the conclusion of its 164th school year, the SSM Online Division will celebrate their own historical milestone—the completion of their first school year. In their inaugural year, Director Matt Wolfgram and instructors Melissa Birnbaum and Jeanne Schumacher have worked with 12 students in 8th and 9th grade from all over the United States. And despite the different time zones and grade levels, which some may see as challenges, the Online Division has had a year to remember. Over the last ten months, students have explored a variety of topics through a project-based, module-driven learning model. One of their first modules was “Mark Making and Movement.” In this module, students studied Buddhism (religion) and mindfulness (wellness and visual art) in order to explore, describe, and demonstrate their own mindfulness practice (English and 21stcentury skills). Through this, students were able to answer the question of how one can develop mindfulness practice through the study of Buddhism, physical movement, and art-making. More recently, students in the Online Division explored the question, “What is the optimal diet for an athlete and how do I create a food plan that is best for me?” To help them better understand the question at hand, students learned about the nutritional requirements of macro and micro nutrients. Each student also did a deep dive into an area of nutrition they were most interested in and created a movie presenting their findings. They even got to hear from two guest speakers who have backgrounds in the nutrition field. “The students and staff of the Online Division have much to be proud of in our inaugural year, from our arrival in August as strangers through our journey into the many complex topics we explored in our academics,” proclaimed Matt Wolfgram, Online Division Director. “What makes me proudest, though, is how we’ve brought the feel of being part of the SSM community—the support and caring—to students all over the country.” This coming school year, the Online Division will be adding 10th grade to their grade offerings as well. To learn more about this unique program, visit bit.ly/ssmonlinedivision.
SSM Celebrates Global Community at International Day
On March 27, the SSM community came together to celebrate International Day, a treasured School tradition. This year, 32 countries were represented in the traditional flag ceremony, including Brazil, New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, and Vietnam. Afterwards, the community dispersed to try chocolate mousse from Belgium, “fairy bread” from Australia, and a host of other delicious foods from all over the world.
“International Day reminds us that we are all global citizens. It helps our students make connections and open their eyes to classmates’ backgrounds that they didn’t know before, which is why I think it is a favorite day between faculty and students alike, as the main point is to celebrate our differences and similarities,” said Director of Admissions, Andrew Garlinski ’98.
Engineering COE Tours Local Facilities
In January, the Engineering Center of Excellence was able to once again partake in an activity that COVID-19 safety protocols had halted—field trips! To help them continue to explore the many areas of engineering, students toured two facilities not far from the Faribault campus. First, to learn more about product development, students visited Rockler, a local woodworking supply store, and took a class to learn about how to turns pens on a lathe by hand. A few days later, students traveled to neighboring Northfield to tour the Malt-O-Meal plant—the same facility that makes the cereal served in our dining hall! They were able to speak with many engineers to learn more about their backgrounds and duties. And even better? They got to try the Fruity Dyno Bites cereal right off the line! “The field trips that we take in the Engineering COE is what really makes our program unique,” shared program director Alex Jones. “Students have lots of opportunities to experience real engineering projects outside of the classroom. On top of this, they get to meet with many working engineers from a variety of engineering disciplines.”
Meet Robert Brown, Director of Food Services
Robert Brown joined the Shattuck-St. Mary’s faculty and staff as the Director of Food Services this past June, following the retirement of longtime director Linda Barral. Robert has been involved with the food service industry for nearly 30 years (“Wow ... can’t believe it’s been that long!” he says.) Since graduating from Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts in 2000, he’s spent time working in all restaurant positions and in many different types of establishments, including a lakeside resort in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, various restaurants in Chicago and southern Minnesota, country clubs, and a hunting preserve.
Now that you have nearly a whole school year under your belt, tell us— what’s been the biggest challenge? What’s your favorite part of your job?
RB: By far the biggest challenge that I’ve had in my first school year has been with trying to navigate sourcing of all the products we need to feed our community, since supply and markets are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Where do you source the food from?
RB: We use both local and out-of-state vendors to get the best quality products available. Recently, we were even able to purchase a whole buffalo from a local farm, which provided almost a dozen meals and a great learning opportunity for the BioScience COE students.
How do you decide how much of a menu item to make? What happens to the leftovers/food waste?
RB: When deciding on quantities for food we look at the options for the meal service and make judgments from there, making more of popular items (i.e., pasta, chicken nuggets, pizza, etc.) and filling in with the remaining items. We try to come as close as we can to limiting the number of leftovers that we have from meals, but there are a couple of ways that we utilize them. If it is a small amount, we will turn it into another dish or use it for soup, larger amounts of leftovers are served for a future meal.
Are there any updates/changes you’re looking to make for the 2022-2023 school year?
RB: A lot of the things I would like to do in the upcoming year depend on how our supply chain is, but some of the things I’m looking at are expanding our offerings at the Sabre & Hub Cafes, working with more local farmers, and producing a larger variety of international foods to represent the 32 different countries our community members hail from.
You can learn more about all the work that goes into a “typical day” for the SSM Kitchen and Servery staff in the following pages!
In December, students in the SSM BioScience Center of Excellence received handson lessons in anatomy and life skills when the kitchen purchased a whole buffalo from a local farm.
SSM Food Facts
3,120
gallons of milk
per year
3,600
slices of bacon
per week
90,720
eggs
per year
2,920
pounds of chicken
per month
740
pounds of lettuce
per week
5,760
bagels
per month
A Day in the Life:
Kitchen & Servery
No matter what you’re craving, the SSM Kitchen & Servery is bound to have something to satisfy you. From restaurant-style entrees, international cuisine, and authentic wood-fired pizza, to fresh fruits and salads, and delectable bakery items, a host of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options are offered daily. Here’s an inside look at the various processes and hard work involved in making it all happen.
PLANNING THE MENU
With the current climate of the food service industry and nationwide supply chain issues affecting food availability, the menu for the SSM dining hall is written on a weekby-week basis. Director of Food Services Robert Brown shared that due to the pandemic, it’s difficult to find consistent quality items, so the variety of what is offered is completely dependent on the supplies that are available for the upcoming week. “I’m continuously reading market reports and working with our vendors on what are going to be the best options for us,” he says. In the wee hours of the morning, you can find baker Scott Martin down below the kitchen working his magic in the bakery. With more than 40 years of experience in the industry, Scott is a seasoned pro in his trade, which he first learned while working at Safeway grocery chain. Within a normal day, Scott can be found making five to 10 different items for the SSM community to enjoy, including breads, cinnamon rolls, and donuts (which are his favorite to make!).
EARLY MORNINGS IN THE BAKERY
− Robert Brown, Director of Food Services
PREPPING MAKES PERFECT
The SSM kitchen operates 16 hours a day, seven days a week, and the team of nine chefs is constantly preparing for the next upcoming meal service. Everyone on staff contributes to the never-ending food prep, as some items can be prepped the day before and some need to be prepared just before service begins. The servery staff’s commitment to the health and well-being of the campus community is never more evident than during meal times,as you’re met with a smile and warm greeting along with your plate of nutritious and delicious food. Working closely with Health Services, students, and families to understand the needs of our population, prepared menu items are labeled with the most common allergens to help our community navigate the Servery and find items that are safe for them. The service staff is well trained to answer questions about the ingredients in menu items and the chefs are trained to properly handle foods to avoid cross-contamination.
SERVICE WITH A SMILE
CAMPUS
CARETAKERS
by Ellie Ray ’14
Led by Director of Facilities Tim Cox (center), the team of 12 facilities professionals at Shattuck-St. Mary's is comprised of painters, carpenters, a plumber, a boiler operator, and an administrative assistant.
The Unsung Heroes of SSM Campus Life
Almost every member of the SSM community can recall the first time they entered through the Whitney Memorial Arch and got their first glimpse of the breathtaking beauty of the Upper School campus. After all, how many times have you heard the comparisons to a castle, or to Harry Potter's Hogwarts?
Yet, we seldom see the hardworking teams dedicated to keeping the campus in its sparkling state, rain or shine (or snow). The planting of spring flowers, the orderly set up of every chair at Commencement, or the buzz of a packed weekend at the Sports Complex are just a few of the many aspects of SSM campus life that the facilities departments keep running smoothly—not to mention the endless snow removal during a typical Minnesota winter.
How does it all get done? Take an inside peek into the world of maintenance—a vital, yet often overlooked facet of campus life.
Facilities & Groundskeeping
Led by Tim Cox, Director of Facilities, the department consists of 12 employees, roughly divided into facilities and grounds: that’s one electrician, two painters, two carpenters, one plumber, one boiler operator, one administrative assistant, and one person supervising the St. James campus. However, in times of snow removal and event setups, it’s all hands on deck.
“Even though it seems we have different departments, that really isn’t the case,” shares Amanda Armbruster, Administrative Assistant. “Everyone helps each other out in times of need. We have a great crew of employees.”
Each employee works a forty-hour week, and each season brings a new type of busyness to everyone’s schedule—which means there’s no off-season. When it comes to a major School event, like Commencement or Reunion, the facilities team ensures the event space has everything it could possibly need to accommodate audience members and keep the event running smoothly. They do this by fulfilling a series of work orders, which include all the event requirements as listed by its organizer. These work orders are created and assigned through a maintenance tracking system called SchoolDude, and can contain anything from tables and chairs to stages and electrical equipment, not to mention the giant outdoor tent at Commencement.
For most of us on campus, filling out a work order feels almost magical: we see a problem, fill out the form, and it’s fixed in a few days, without us ever seeing the hard work that goes into it. This efficiency speaks to the incredible effort the facilities and groundskeeping employees put in every day to keep life at SSM running on track, while helping each other out however they can.
The facilities team is tasked with a wide variety of work year round. Administrative Assistant Amanda Armbruster (left) processes the numerous work orders they receive throughout each week. Marlyn "Doc" Schwanke (middle) keeps campus walls and buildings gleaming with new coats of paint, a job he's been at for 44 years. And each season brings a new round of outdoor work to tackle, such as installation of the wind screens at the tennis courts (right).
Of course, maintenance emergencies don’t always occur according to schedule. If, for example, a pipe bursts or the heat in a certain building stops working during the winter, a teacher or dorm parent on duty will call Tim Cox first, who will then reach out to the particular employee with the expertise needed to address that specific problem. At the onset of the pandemic, the facilities workers were deemed essential employees, coming into work every day while most of the country, and much of the School, switched to a remote model. Along with moving multiple industrialstrength fans into every classroom to improve ventilation, the facilities department was able to focus on areas of the School that are usually difficult to give attention to when they're full of students and teachers. So while the School may have seemed eerily quiet from the outside during that time, the facilities crew remained as busy as ever, because, as Amanda puts it, “There is always something to do in our department."
The Sports Complex
Perhaps one of the most visited areas on campus, the SSM Sports Complex operates with four full-time employees and eight part-time employees, led by Cale Politoski, Sports Complex Manager. A typical work day in the life of a Sports Complex team member consists of routinely cleaning the locker rooms and the restrooms, checking for any maintenance needs in the ice rinks and the refrigeration systems, and taking care of the garbage cans, among other duties that fluctuate in the Sports Complex’s busier seasons. “I have a really good staff who are continually willing to be flexible,” shares Cale. “I am super grateful for that.”
SSM sports keep everyone hustling September through March, while the season of summer camps keeps the Sports Complex jam-packed June through mid-August. “We host three weeks of Figure Skating Camp, two weeks of Girls Hockey Camp, four weeks of Boys Hockey Camp, two weeks of Hockey Goalie Camp, one week of Soccer Camp, and then one week to an outside group camp,” rattles off Cale. He adds that staying on top of the garbage cans and restrooms is most important during summer camp time, as well as resurfacing the ice rinks on schedule throughout each day.
When it comes to a tournament weekend, an exhibition, a showcase, or any event that will bring more people than usual to the Sports Complex, the biggest step in preparation is staffing. “I have found that it is better to over-staff for big events for the ‘just in case’ situations that could occur,” Cale explains. This includes sufficient staff to manage the restrooms and other public spaces, drivers to resurface the ice adequately, and staff to meet any other needs of a particular space, like the dome or the gymnasium.
The Sports Complex crew works tirelessly to care for the various athletic facilities at the School. Sports Complex Manager Cale Politoski (left) handles the scheduling of all of the events that take place on a daily basis, including SSM athletic games and team practices, as well as facility rentals. The complex's three sheets of ice require regular maintenance and resurfacing, as Steve DeBus (right) is shown doing in J.P. Parisé Arena.
16,960 HOURS
spent mowing the lawn from spring to fall
6 MILES
of combined campus road & sidewalk to keep snow-free
As the manager, Cale is often on call for any emergencies that might arise, which could be anything from a 3 a.m. fire alarm to a hydraulic line breaking in one of the ice resurfacers (“Olympias, not Zambonis,” Cale specifies), or the refrigeration compressors going out in one of the rinks. Regrettably, the Sports Complex was one of the areas on campus hardest-hit by the pandemic in recent years. While other areas of the School stayed up and running or were able to pivot to a remote work model, the government of Minnesota shut down all sports facilities in the state. For a few months, many of our Sports Complex employees were unable to come to work at all. When the Sports Complex was able to reopen, it did so gradually with a large number of safety measures in place, including mask policies, limits to the number of athletes in a given area, and additional rules for spectators. During the worst of the pandemic, SSM also made the difficult decision not to rent ice or turf space to outside groups in order to minimize the spread of the virus, impacting a source of revenue for the School. Fortunately, the decline in community COVID-19 cases over the past year saw the Sports Complex roaring back to life. The resilient team members have resumed their bustling schedules, often wearing many hats in their efforts to keep athletic events running smoothly while giving every athlete, spectator, and visitor a positive experience. “It is definitely a juggling act sometimes,” Cale affirms. “But we tend to find a way.”
We extend our gratitude to our first-rate facilities and Sports Complex teams for your tireless dedication to the welfare of our community. Your hard work does not go unnoticed. THANK YOU!
3 3 1
lawn mowers trucks skid steer
200
pairs of skates sharpened per week during hockey season
