St. Francis Pioneer Days
The Courier
PAGE 21
Visitors who attended the inaugural Independent School District 15 Multicultural Festival on May 3 at St. Francis High School had the opportunity to learn how to make Native American dreamcatchers and try loom beading. Entertainment featured dancing and a fashion show. There were informational booths and food booths sampling ethnic cuisine. Thank you to all who participated and made the event a success. See story on page 3.
a division of Independent School District 15 Community Education | St. Francis, Minnesota
June 2014 | Volume 21, Issue 11
Submitted Photo
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Mentoring program pairs high school and elementary students Jessica Marsolek CCCS School Social Worker
In collaboration with Tammy Sworsky, St. Francis High School (SFHS) counselor, Cedar Creek Community School (CCCS) created a mentorship program for nine pairs of student-to-student mentees and mentors. With the cooperation of teachers and parents, CCCS staff were able to identify elementary students that would benefit from or would really like to have a high school student mentor. Sworsky contacted interested high school students that were committed and the program began last October. Through an application process, training of the mentors and permission from parents and teachers, student participants were selected.
The high school students, all of whom had previously been students at CCCS, took their role of being a mentor very seriously. They cleared their busy schedules, drove themselves to CCCS and arrived with enthusiasm to share with their mentee. The mentoring program met weekly from October until the end of March. When the high school students were done with their school day, they drove to CCCS where they were paired with their mentee. The first part of the program was getting to know each other one-on-one, and the remainder was a fun activity for the entire group. The goal of the program was to improve students’ academic performance, self-esteem and enjoyment of school.
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Positive feedback was received from both elementary and high school participants, parents and teachers involved. The elementary students asked almost daily when their mentor was coming to visit them. SFHS students also expressed looking forward to coming to CCCS to see their mentee every week and shared that they experienced improvement in their ability as a leader as the program progressed. With recent cuts in funding in Anoka County for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program, our program became a great opportunity for students to experience positive mentoring. We hope to continue and grow this program in our school district. We found it to be a win/win for all involved.
Important ISD 15 calendar dates As the 2013-14 school year winds down, here are some important dates to know: } May 30 – St. Francis High School senior exemption day and Commencement, 7:00 p.m. } June 2-4 – SFHS senior exemption days, students in K-11 must attend school } June 4 – Last day of school
June What’s Inside Schools in Action........................2 School Board Highlights....... 11 Community Education.......... 13 Community & Business......... 16 St. Francis Pioneer Days........ 21 Sports & Outdoors.................. 32 Life................................................ 34 Classified..................................... 35
Pictured are students from St. Francis High School and Cedar Creek Community School who participated in a mentorship program. The goal of the program, that ran October through March, was to improve academic performance, self-esteem and enjoyment of school of the CCCS students. Submitted Photo